Chapter 28: Become a Ghost

The Zhou Wang finished speaking with a smile and fell silent.

Zhu Zijin, holding the chilled dairy dessert, froze for a moment upon seeing his father suddenly fall still, then tremblingly extended a finger to test his breath.

Pan Yun had already risen and told the attendant standing by, "The Zhou Wang has passed."

Zhu Zijin collapsed to the ground with a thud, wailing loudly; the courtyard erupted in deafening cries.

Those who had served the Zhou Wang closely cried the loudest and most heartbreakingly, sinking to the ground and wailing toward the sky.

They were not merely mourning the Zhou Wang—they were mourning themselves.

Pan Yun's gaze swept over them; the youngest among them was about seventeen.

In two months, Pan Yun had grown familiar with him—he was always diligent, had followed the Zhou Wang into exile in Yunnan, and upon entering the mansion was immediately entrusted with important duties; at thirteen, he was promoted to serve the Zhou Wang directly due to his outstanding performance.

He had known since last year that he would be buried alive with him—he was only sixteen then.

Pan Yun turned and left.

Outside the main courtyard, a group of beauties had collapsed along the path; the most elaborately dressed among them was a beautiful woman in her thirties—they were all the Zhou Wang's concubines, and without an imperial edict, they too were required to die with him.

Lady Gong, the Zhou Wang's principal wife, had also been among them, but she was no longer here.

The Zhou Wang's funeral had been prepared in advance; the mansion's manager immediately produced the prearranged items, and the spirit hall was erected at top speed, with officials from the Ministry of Rites assisting and swiftly guiding Zhu Zijin to dress the Zhou Wang in his burial robes and place him in the coffin, which was then moved into the spirit hall.

Pan Yun walked once around the spirit hall, quietly reciting a spell; the soul, which had been dissolving and departing, slowly solidified, and soon took shape, sitting at the head of the coffin.

He looked utterly bewildered; Pan Yun stepped before him, gently tapped his forehead with a finger, and whispered, "Awaken."

The Zhou Wang instantly came to his senses, his eyes meeting Pan Yun's smiling gaze.

Zhou Wang: …

Cries filled the spirit hall inside and out; the Zhou Wang stiffly turned his head to look at the body lying in the coffin, his eyes gradually widening in shock.

He—he—he really became a ghost!

This was a new world, a new understanding.

The Zhou Wang slowly floated upward, gleefully drifting everywhere—out of the spirit hall, out of the courtyard… then he couldn't go any further.

He turned back in confusion, then floated gently back; at first he was clumsy, always blown off course by the wind, but gradually he found the trick—like a child learning to walk, he could now drift forward, stumbling but according to his will.

He drifted before Pan Yun and asked, "Why can't I leave the Zhou Wangfu?"

Pan Yun: "Your Highness, you have only seven days. If you drift out and cannot find your way back, you won't enter the underworld properly—you'll become a wandering ghost, easily devoured by outside spirits. This mansion is protecting you."

"Meow—" Pan Xiaohei alerted that someone was coming.

No sooner had the sound faded than Master Xuanmiao pushed the door open, "What are you doing here? The Zhou Wang Fei has summoned you, Prince Xiangfu has ordered Sixth Lady to be buried alive…"

Master Xuanmiao's words abruptly stopped; she stared wide-eyed at the Zhou Wang's soul, floating midair, curiously peering up at the rafters.

She glared at Pan Yun and hissed, "Are you mad?"

In this world, except for the dead with exceptionally deep attachments who return as spirits, all other ghosts cannot take human form—they remain as vague energy clusters.

They slowly dissipate into heaven and earth; some Daoists believe this dissipation is a return to nature, others believe it is the process of descending to the underworld and being reborn.

Only those with immense resentment and obsession, unwilling to die and refusing to accept their death, naturally awaken as human-shaped entities in another space, invisible to ordinary people—these are called ghosts.

Besides natural ghosting, there is another method: at the moment of death, one can gather the soul's energy, awaken the person's former consciousness, and thus become a ghost.

Master Xuanmiao had captured ghosts and communicated with spirits before, but this was the first time she had seen a human-made soul condensed into a ghost.

She stepped forward, seized Pan Yun's arm, yanked her behind herself, and watched the Zhou Wang with wary eyes.

Zhou Wang: …

When he distributed his estate before death, he had even gifted Master Xuanmiao a sword—how could it be that after only two hours, he was now treated as an enemy?

Pan Yun poked her head out from behind Master Xuanmiao and explained, "Don't worry—he retains all his memories; this soul is solidly formed, not missing a single soul or *po*."

The Zhou Wang's heart tightened; he floated down and asked, "Can souls be missing?"

"Yes," Pan Yun said. "An inexperienced cultivator summoning a soul might only retrieve one soul or one *po*; the rest scatter across heaven and earth. Such a summoned soul lacks full personality—not only will it forget things, it may become violent."

"But I am not inexperienced," Pan Yun said. "Though I'm mediocre in other areas, I am most proficient in arrays, talismans, and soul-summoning—so Your Highness, rest assured, you are perfectly whole."

Master Xuanmiao, seeing the Zhou Wang's vivid expression, relaxed slightly—but hearing Pan Yun speak so casually, she felt a lump rise in her chest.

She was about to speak when the door opened again; Tao Ji rushed in, "Sister, what are you doing in here? The Wang Fei, the Heir, and Prince Xiangfu are arguing."

As Tao Ji spoke, he passed straight through the Zhou Wang's soul; after walking past, he shuddered and frowned, "Why is the yin energy so thick? Your room is far from the spirit hall…"

Pan Yun's eyes widened; she looked from Tao Ji to the Zhou Wang's soul, then to Master Xuanmiao, her eyes brightening, "You didn't see him?"

Tao Ji: "See what?" The Zhou Wang was right in front of him, waving vigorously, seemingly amused, even brushing his hand across Tao Ji's face.

Tao Ji frowned, swatted the air in front of him, and stepped beside Master Xuanmiao, glancing around, "Sister, do you feel it? The yin energy in this room is extremely heavy."

"I feel it," Master Xuanmiao sighed, bowing to the Zhou Wang. "Please, Your Highness, spare my third master—stop tormenting him."

Tao Ji yelped, leapt three feet in the air, and instantly scrambled to the farthest corner, putting maximum distance between himself and the soul. "He—he—he became a ghost?!"

Zhou Wang: "If I'm dead, what else would I become but a ghost?"

Pan Yun, too tired to explain, picked up the black cat and walked out—the Daoists in this world weren't all like Master Xuanmiao, able to see ghosts.

Pan Yun suddenly felt much more confident.

She smiled and walked toward the side room beside the spirit hall.

The Wang Fei, Zhu Zijin, and Prince Xiangfu's family were all there.

It was summer, and the weather was scorching; corpses were typically kept for only three to seven days before being moved elsewhere.

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Whether to bury him or not was another matter, but the coffin certainly couldn't remain in the spirit hall forever—it could be temporarily stored in temples, Daoist monasteries, or other places until further imperial edicts arrived or other regional princes sent envoys to pay respects.

But before that, the burial offerings and people to be interred must all be prepared during the mourning period—those destined for the tomb must be sent there, those to be moved with the coffin must be relocated together.

Although the Zhou Wang left a will requesting a frugal funeral with no burial offerings, certain essentials were still required.

Otherwise, not only Prince Xiangfu, but the eunuchs and Ministry of Rites officials present would question Zhu Zijin's filial piety.

Everyone agreed on the burial offerings, but Zhu Zijin and the Wang Fei jointly refused the human sacrifices.

Zhu Zijin said: "My father had a dying wish—he did not want anyone to be buried with him. I do not wish to defy his final wish."

Prince Xiangfu: "This is ancestral custom. Your father went alone to the underworld—do you not wish to send someone down to serve him, to fulfill your filial duty? All you care about is winning a reputation for kindness. Clearly, an adopted son can never truly understand his father."

Wang Fei: "Fourth Uncle, this is also my wish, and the Wang's wish. As you said, we have no children of our own. The Wang has always believed it was karmic retribution for killing too many men during his youth while patrolling the borders."

Since that thought took root, we have treated others with leniency, accumulated virtue through good deeds, hoping only that in our next life we may be granted a biological child. Neither I nor the Wang wish for anyone to die in sacrifice. The Ministry of Rites' Physician Zhang is right here—he knows well that the Wang has submitted memorials every year requesting the abolition of burial sacrifice in our mansion. The Heir is merely honoring the Wang's dying wish."

Physician Zhang immediately nodded: "Indeed, this is true."

"Then, in your opinion, Physician Zhang, is the Heir's action an act of filial piety?"

After a pause, Physician Zhang nodded: "To obey one's father's wish is indeed filial piety."

Zhu Youjue asked coldly: "Then how does my sister-in-law intend to handle the matter of burial sacrifice? According to ancestral custom, to spare my elder brother from loneliness and suffering in the afterlife, the six ladies of the mansion should have been sacrificed long ago. Are my sister-in-law and the Heir prepared to defy ancestral law and suppress this matter?"

Pan Yun and the other two walked to the side chamber, and she prodded Tao Ji, who stood beside her.

Tao Ji flinched and immediately said: "What's hard about that? Since the Zhou Wang submitted a memorial before his death, just petition the Emperor again."

Zhu Zijin nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes! Let the Emperor decide whether to follow ancestral custom or honor our father's wish. I will submit a memorial to His Majesty at once."

Zhu Youjue turned to the eunuch: "I fear there is not enough time. We may miss the auspicious hour for my elder brother."

The eunuch: "This…"

Wang Fei glanced at Qin Jiaojie.

Qin Jiaojie immediately stepped forward and slipped a large red envelope into the hands of the eunuch and Physician Zhang: "There's plenty of time, plenty of time. Our Wang Fu will send messengers galloping to Jingcheng. We ask only that you two stay a few extra days to attend to official business."

This open bribery turned Zhu Youjue's face pale—but… no matter what he said, it would be inappropriate, so he swallowed it back.

The Zhou Wang, watching nearby, sighed: "Fourth son is skilled at hiding his feelings. If Second son were here, Wang Fei's words would have sent him smashing through my funeral hall already."

Perhaps because he was dead, the Zhou Wang had grown more candid. Before Pan Yun and Master Xuanmiao, he began commenting on his brother.

"Actually, Fourth son isn't bad. I never intended to bring Zijin back. But Wang Fei began having nightmares, so she sent people to Jingcheng to investigate. Alas, that child suffered terribly. Second son, that bastard, dumped all the farm work on him—and worse, he beat and cursed him constantly. Not a single inch of his body was unbruised. He was raised by my own hands, from diapers to adulthood—how could I bear to stand by and let him die?"

Pan Yun found him tedious and stepped farther away. Just then, Prince Xiangfu was attacking Tao Ji, accusing him of poor medical skill, calling him a Daoist Priest who performed sorcery, claiming Wang Fei and the Heir had been deceived by him into acting against propriety.

Tao Ji was not intimidated; he clashed with him fiercely. Only when Physician Zhang intervened did they finally stop.

Pan Yun's purpose in coming here was to guide Zhu Zijin in drafting the memorial, and to subtly influence Physician Zhang and the eunuch—to plant a seed, wishing them pleasant dreams that night.

A memorial sent solely by the Wang Fu lacked sufficient weight. But if two imperial envoys delivered it and spoke well of the Zhou Wangfu, that would be perfect.

She had not conjured the Zhou Wang into a ghost merely to watch the spectacle—he must also contribute to fulfilling his own dying wish, wouldn't he?

The ten lucky numbers for this chapter are those ending in 3. Screenshot as proof. Screenshot deadline: before the next chapter updates.

(End of Chapter)