Chapter 33: Ghosts and Demons

Mo Qingyan mentioned that this red pencil was left by a senior.
But Senior Sister Mo is already a third-year student, so the senior she spoke of should have graduated by now.

“You can see the Bixian?” Mo Qingyan asked again; my earlier reaction had been quite obvious.

I nodded.
Mo Qingyan then asked, “What do they look like?
Tell me.”

“But, you said before that I couldn’t describe the Bixian, and if you wanted to see them, couldn’t you just put on your glasses?” I asked, puzzled.

“The risk of seeing ghosts is too great.
Some ghosts, just by being seen, might cling to you.
To be safe, I always take off my glasses every time I invite Bixian.
The taboo about discussing Bixian is only during the Bixian game; now that they’re gone, of course, you can talk about them,” Mo Qingyan said.

She had just saved my life, so of course I would tell her everything I knew.
Thus, I described all three Bixian, especially emphasizing the weasel whose art style was clearly different from the other two.

“You really saw a weasel?” Xiao Qing asked, a little surprised.
I nodded, and Mo Qingyan sighed, “Rare indeed.
I didn’t expect you to actually summon a ‘xian’.”

“Huh?
Just a weasel?
Can that really be called a ‘xian’?” I was a bit confused.
Although the weasel did exhibit some strange abilities beyond the ordinary, to call it a ‘xian’ felt a bit undeserving of the title.

“Of course, it can be called a ‘xian.’
In the north, they worship weasels, believing them to be spiritual, and respectfully call them Yellow Great Immortals, much like Fox Immortals,” Ou Zhiqin explained.

“Heh heh, to call them ‘xian’ is actually to say ‘demon.’
Bixian isn’t a serious divination or spirit-invitation ritual after all.
At most, what you invite are fox spirits, snake spirits, and the like, which are actually just demons,” Mo Qingyan said, cutting right to the chase.

“So there really are demons in this world?
What’s the difference between them and ghosts?” I exclaimed, not particularly surprised, after all, if ghosts exist, it’s not strange for demons to exist too.

“Demons are just like in stories.
They are generally animals that have lived too long, or the resentful souls of dead animals, that absorb spiritual or ominous energy and gain sentience, turning into demons.
Ghosts are humans who become spirits after death, so of course they are different,” Mo Qingyan said.

“Don’t demons also include the resentful souls of dead animals?
And can demons also transform into human form, like in stories?” I recalled the weasel earlier, which had remained in its animal form, even though it walked upright like a human.

“Theoretically, it should be possible,” Mo Qingyan said.
I strangely retorted, “Why theoretically?
What about in practice?”

“Because I haven’t seen it, and the records are all a bit vague and unclear.
It seems there haven’t been any records of demons transforming for a long time, at least the existing records are from seventy or eighty years ago,” Mo Qingyan said.

“Furthermore, the records of demons transforming into humans are varied and inconsistent.
Some say they are reincarnated as infants in pregnant women’s wombs, some say human transformation is merely an illusion or trick, and some say demons wear thick clothes and ask passersby on the street, ‘Do I look like a human?’ and only if the passerby answers yes, can they truly transform into humans.
With so many legends, it’s impossible to prove which one is true,” Ou Zhiqin also added.

“Alright, then what about ‘xian’?
Since there are mentions of Fox Immortals and Yellow Great Immortals, do true immortals really exist?” I asked.
Being hunted by the Painted Skin Ghost, and with it still not killed, I began to consider whether I should seek help from immortals or Buddhas for protection.

“True immortals, I don’t know.
Legends are all ethereal, and no one can prove they’ve actually seen true immortals.
But Daoist priests and monks genuinely have the ability to exorcise ghosts or deliver departed souls,” Mo Qingyan said.

“What about ghosts?
Those other two Bixian, they really looked like ghosts, didn’t they?” I asked.
Although the Painted Skin Ghost had the word ‘ghost’ in its name, it was different from what we traditionally mean by ‘ghost’.
Before yesterday, I didn’t believe in ghosts existing in the world.
Even after seeing the Painted Skin Ghost, I just thought of it as some kind of demon or monster.
It wasn’t until I saw the two invited Bixian that I became certain that ghosts truly existed in the world, in the usual sense—people who become ghosts after death.

“That’s right, those two are indeed the kind of ghosts often spoken of in horror stories.
Because their grievances were too strong before death, and they died unwillingly, they linger in the human world through some twist of fate.
If no one is invited to perform a ritual for them, they will never find peace,” Mo Qingyan gave a definitive answer.

“I presume you could tell how they died?
It’s easy to discern how ghosts died; they maintain the gruesome state of their death, visible at a glance.
The female ghost was hanged, most likely a girl who committed suicide after being bullied in our school six years ago.”

So she was a classmate.
No wonder she was wearing the Jianlong Middle School uniform.
But when I thought of her as a young girl in her prime, and then her current terrifying image with messy long hair and an elongated neck, I couldn’t help but feel a chill.
A ghost formed after such a death made me even more afraid.

“But I can’t tell about that middle-aged man.
From his appearance, it looks like he was encased in concrete.
Could it be that he offended the triads and was put in a cement barrel and dumped in the river?” I asked again.

“Him, I only have some guesses.
I don’t know if you’ve heard this legend: our school used to be a mass grave called Jianlong Ridge.
When the mass grave was leveled to build the school, accidents kept happening on the construction site.
It was only later, after using some methods, that the wandering spirits calmed down,” Mo Qingyan said.

“I’ve heard of it.” I nodded.
This legend was quite widespread in our school, with several different versions, and many students had told it.

“It’s said that the method used back then was to cast living people, inverted, into the load-bearing pillars.
This method was called ‘beating human piles’ or ‘human pillars,’ a very cruel form of human sacrifice handed down from ancient architects,” Mo Qingyan said.

“No way?
Our school was built using such an evil and cruel method?
How could that possibly be approved?
That’s completely murder and crime!” I was stunned.

“Evil, but effective, isn’t it?
Otherwise, ‘beating human piles’ wouldn’t have survived into modern times, nor would it have been so prevalent in ancient times, because ‘beating human piles’ could effectively pacify vengeful spirits’ mischief.
Many unscrupulous bosses secretly used it, even knowing it was a crime,” Mo Qingyan explained.

“Using such a cruel method, sealing people alive in concrete pillars, wouldn’t it give rise to even more resentful spirits?
I even saw him turn into a ghost.” The thought of the pillar covered in talismans that had trapped the Painted Skin Ghost made me largely believe this conjecture.

“Most likely, yes.
But it takes some time for a resentful spirit to form.
By then, the project would have been smoothly completed, and the boss would have run off with the money.
As for hauntings later, what does that have to do with him?
One can only trust the wisdom of future generations,” Mo Qingyan said.