I quickly pulled out the "Soul Snatching Order" from my waist and waved it in front of their faces.
The ghosts then stopped crowding closer but didn't retreat. Logically, ghosts should be terrified of grim reapers coming to capture them, like drunkards encountering police officers. Yet, these ghosts showed no fear.
I figured it was because so many grim reapers had visited over the past century that they had all become desensitized.
Seeing me display the token, Zheng Bingbing quickly did the same, mimicking my movements and circling it around. However, her circle was a bit too wide, and her arm and hand, carrying the token, passed through the heads of several ghosts. Fortunately, these ghosts were phantoms, and Bingbing didn't "poke" through them, nor did they seem to mind.
"Who's in charge here?" I asked.
The ghosts parted, creating a path, and a middle-aged man wearing a skullcap slowly floated over. He stopped before me, hands behind his back, and scrutinized me from head to toe. "A living grim reaper? Now that's something I haven't seen in a long time."
"...Where did you learn that new phrase?" I couldn't help but chuckle. He had a northeastern accent. A century ago, northeastern accents had already formed here. I hadn't heard much from further back, but I had heard interviews from when the Young Marshal was alive, with his standard northeastern accent, which was clearly a habit formed in his youth a hundred years ago.
The middle-aged man narrowed his wrinkled eyes and didn't answer my question. He then scrutinized Zheng Bingbing again. However, Bingbing couldn't see him; her gaze was not directed at him but at a little girl ghost, who was cowering behind an old woman ghost, looking frightened.
The middle-aged man turned back to me and asked in a low voice, "What are you two here for?"
Before I could speak, he continued on his own, "If you're still here to tell us to give up seeking revenge on Du Li San, then please turn back."
"No, you can go seek revenge," I said, having already formulated my response.
The middle-aged ghost paused slightly, then gave a wry smile. "A hundred years, and finally a grim reaper willing to say that to us. What does this mean?"
"What does it mean?" I asked, playing along.
"It means the Grim Reaper's Office has finally degenerated," the middle-aged man shook his head. "You know full well that Du Li San's power in the underworld is even greater than when he was alive. Why would you agree to let us seek revenge? Aren't you worried we'll be throwing ourselves against a rock?"
I cursed inwardly, "You've said it all, so what am I supposed to say?"
I felt that the issue with these ghosts was no longer simply about seeking revenge. Other grim reapers had undoubtedly explained the pros and cons to them countless times. They knew that even if they entered the underworld and found Du Li San, a high-ranking official there, their thousand lonely souls would have no power to exact revenge. Yet, they had been delaying their entry into the underworld precisely because they wanted revenge.
Perhaps it was a form of obsession. The living feared obsession and getting stuck in a rut, and so did the dead.
Knowing it was impossible, yet unable to let go, they could only languish in place.
Fortunately, through my thoughts along the way, I had devised a method to help them resolve this. Whether it would work, I wasn't sure, but I was willing to try. Trying wouldn't cost me anything, and I had nothing to lose.
"Bingbing, are you alright?" I turned to ask.
Zheng Bingbing wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded weakly. "I think so."
"I'll need to talk to them for a while. Why don't you find a place to sit down?" I said, noticing her legs trembling more and more.
Bingbing looked around. "Sit where? On a grave?"
I turned to the middle-aged man. "Would it be possible for us to sit down and talk? I'm a bit tired."
The middle-aged man nodded and gestured to two ghosts squatting on nearby graves to move aside. I pulled Bingbing over, and we each sat on a grave. Years of natural erosion had flattened the grave mounds, making them quite smooth and comfortable to sit on.
The owner of the grave I sat on was a young girl who looked barely an adult. She was quite attractive, but her clothing was a bit disheveled.
They should all be wearing what they wore in life. I guessed that this young girl might have been "bullied" by Du Li San's subordinates before her death.
What surprised me was that this girl ghost's aura was yellow, a third-level strength, which wasn't low.
The girl looked at me mournfully, slightly displeased that I had occupied her grave. I waved at her, signaling her to come closer.
The girl floated over and stood before me, tilting her head to look at me.