In an instant, the evil ghost let out a miserable scream. I glanced at Mona Ouyang standing nearby, his expression wicked. The ghost lay on the scorching, smoke-belching ground, its body burning relentlessly as it struggled violently, but it could never escape Mona Ouyang's control.
“Stop wasting your energy. This is the realm of dreams, and since I was able to enter, I can control your dream. After all, I am the master of dreams.”
Mona Ouyang gave a mocking, sinister laugh as he spoke. Goosebumps prickled all over me, and I shot him a sideways glance.
“Why are you so excited? Did something good happen?”
Mona Ouyang turned his head, grinning and nodding enthusiastically.
“Of course! Something good just happened, but this guy showed up to ruin it. Now I’m furious. I’m going to give this soul who’s never tasted hell a proper tour—and then finish him off.”
“Do whatever you want to him, but can you let me go back first?”
I was actually in a pretty good mood now. If this evil ghost died, the Lama Order wouldn’t have to deal with so much trouble, and they probably wouldn’t be affected by the disaster. I could go back, get some sleep, and move on to somewhere else. After just a few days here, my skin already felt dry.
Lately, I’d been exposed to the wind and sun every day, and my skin was getting dull. I definitely didn’t want to look haggard by the time Ethan Zhang came back.
Mona Ouyang looked at me in confusion.
“What’s there to think about? It’s such a hassle. If you’re not here, I can’t keep him trapped. He invaded your dream and dragged you into one he created, but you’re the core. He wants to devour you in this nightmare made just for you. If you leave, the dream collapses, and he returns to his ghostly body. How am I supposed to catch him then?”
“Alright, alright, I get it. Just hurry up and finish off this evil ghost.”
The whimpering stopped. I looked over in confusion as Mona Ouyang let out a cold laugh and pulled me along, flying toward the ghost.
Heh, what’s wrong? Can’t take it anymore? This is just a taste of the Fiery Hell. Next is the Tongue-Pulling Hell, the Needle Hell, the Frozen Hell, and more. Consider this your last tour before death. Everything you see here is as real as it gets.
“I can’t die yet.”
The evil ghost spoke. It was different from the one I’d seen beneath the Golden Temple—back then, the ghost seemed mindless, lost. Now, it raised its head. In its black eyes glimmered flecks of crimson. It was a bald monk, with scar marks on his scalp. I stared in shock.
“Alright, go ahead and talk. If you can convince me, I’ll let you go tonight.”
Mona Ouyang sat down. I noticed a sofa had appeared behind me too, so I sat, sinking comfortably into its softness.
“I absolutely can’t die yet. I still have things to do. I know I’m steeped in sin, lost in the darkness for years, but now I’m awake. I know exactly how much harm I’ve done. I want to make amends to the Zen Order. I want to help them however I can...”
Before the evil ghost could finish speaking, Mona Ouyang started laughing.
“Spare me the grand speeches. Maybe the girl beside you would be moved, but I won’t be.”
As Mona Ouyang spoke, he glanced at me. I immediately glared at the ghost lying on the ground, annoyed. Mona Ouyang just laughed.
“Believe it or not, I’m a member of the Zen Order. The reason I could draw on their power and turn it into ghostly strength is simple: I’ve done far too many evil deeds. Greed drove me. After clashing with my sect, I left in a fit of anger. Later, I used the Extermination of the Buddhists as an excuse to take revenge.”
The evil ghost’s real name was Zachary Lee, a disgraced official. He had no background, just a minor clerk. In one political struggle, he backed the wrong person, and when his patron fell, he was implicated—sent far away for forced labor, five years of it.
Those five years were pure torment for Zachary Lee. He had no word of his wife and children back home. But along the way, he met a monk also exiled for some crime. They hit it off, and the monk taught him many things. The days of hard labor became a little easier.
But when he finally returned home after five years, he found his hometown destroyed by feuding warlords. His wife and children had died in the chaos. Heartbroken, Zachary Lee lost all hope and became a monk. Thanks to the monk’s introduction, he joined Providence Abbey, a monastery with decent incense and worship.
Zachary Lee enjoyed life at the abbey, but his rank was the lowest, so he did all the menial work. He had good advice, but no one listened. Worse, as a former clerk, many monks looked down on him.
Because Providence Abbey prospered, they bought lots of farmland and tried to expand. Zachary Lee advised against it, warning that the times were unstable.
But the abbey expanded anyway, building new monasteries and dormitories nearby, acquiring vast fields, and giving rice and flour to starving locals to help them survive the famine.
Zachary Lee started feeling bored with monastic life. All he could do was menial labor every day. Even when he spent time studying the scriptures, he couldn't advance any higher.
Maybe it was the habits he'd picked up as a minor clerk—Zachary Lee could never settle down. One day, when his senior monks ordered him to do heavy work again, his frustration boiled over. He fought with them and left Providence Abbey, vowing to return and tear down their shabby temple someday.
After leaving, Zachary Lee went to stay with a distant relative. The family treated him well—his father's brother, who sympathized with his suffering. They even spent a little money to get Zachary Lee a clerk's job. He had no choice; after all his wandering, he was right back where he started.
But Zachary Lee still wanted to rise in rank. One day, an opportunity came: the inspector arrived to investigate local affairs, apparently because tax revenues kept shrinking.
Zachary Lee spoke bluntly about the prosperous Buddhist temples nearby. Poor people preferred to give their money to the temples rather than pay taxes.
The inspector was just looking to pocket some money—he needed a reason to file his report. Zachary Lee, familiar with the temples, wrote many documents about their operations.
That earned Zachary Lee a big promotion—he was made county constable. When the inspector left, he kept telling Zachary Lee to keep collecting evidence.
Zachary Lee quickly caught on and bribed a master who often worked at the temples. With his help, Zachary Lee got records of temple labor and finances.
At that time, Emperor Tang Wuzong was furious. Why did monks have so much money, buying land and property without paying taxes? He ordered inspectors to investigate across the land.
Thanks to the evidence Zachary Lee gathered about the temple incomes, he rose swiftly through the ranks. Emperor Tang Wuzong issued the order for the Extermination of the Buddhists, sending Zachary Lee, now a general despite his illness, to lead the siege against the temples.
Zachary Lee’s resentment toward the Zen Order erupted. He led his troops in a bloody massacre, burning temples and looting everything of value—keeping some for himself, handing the rest over.
After nearly five years in the temples, Zachary Lee knew exactly what was valuable and what wasn’t. He brought in a fortune for the treasury and was made the Grand General of the Extermination, commanding over twenty thousand soldiers.
Zachary Lee led his army from temple to temple, growing ever more ruthless. At last, he returned to the abbey where he’d once become a monk and personally beheaded every monk inside.
Having avenged himself, Zachary Lee didn’t realize that his body was now shrouded in black energy from all the evil he’d committed. Soon after, in a war with a warlord, he was beheaded.
After death, Zachary Lee became a headless ghost, his head and body forever separated, tormented by karmic retribution and growing pain.
“Even now I remember everything I did. I don’t want to think about it anymore. The stronger I grow, the more I suffer. My only relief is in the dreams I create. The only way out is to rise from the depths and help the Zen Order—only if Buddha forgives me can I be freed.”
Clap, clap, clap.
Mona Ouyang clapped his hands and burst out laughing.
“You really are something. If you’re going to brag, don’t do it to me. What a load of nonsense. Just die!”