Chapter 21 Ye Jie - Judge
Only after the Nanling Crane had flown away did Ye Jie turn his gaze with interest to the boy. The boy was tightly bound by the Soul Binding Rope, unable to move.
Noticing Ye Jie's gaze, the boy in the blue bellyband spat, "Do you know who I am? I'm Guichaba's follower! I have Guichaba's recommendation order on me, you'd better quickly..."
Before he could finish his words, he was slapped hard. The pain awakened his mind. He spat out a few broken teeth, but before the teeth hit the ground, they turned into a puff of green smoke and dissipated. In the end, he could only look at Ye Jie with fear in his eyes.
"Of course I know who you are. Do you still remember Xia Xianshou? He mentioned you to me. You cheated many wandering souls and threw them into the wilderness, didn't you?" Ye Jie said slowly.
"So what?" the boy said indignantly.
"Those who were awarded hundreds of Yin De after their death had done many good deeds in their lives. They gave you their Yin De with great hope, willingly giving up better reincarnation opportunities to fulfill their last wishes. And yet, you deceived them." Ye Jie sighed. "Good people shouldn't be treated like this. You deserve to die."
"What does this have to do with you? They are stupid and believed my sweet words. This is my ability! What's wrong with me earning good karma through my ability? When I become a formal ghost messenger, I can at least be among the top performers in Guangwang Palace!" The boy said disapprovingly.
"You deceived them, leaving them filled with despair in their final moments before entering the cycle of reincarnation." Ye Jie looked him up and down. "How many people have you deceived with this childlike appearance? Don't you have any remorse in your heart?"
The boy closed his eyes and said nothing more to Ye Jie.
"If you want to stall for time, forget it. You're only at the late First Stage. My Soul Binding Rope can restrain you for more than an hour." Ye Jie patiently reminded him, "Besides, you don't even need to wait for an hour. Your soul will be shattered before you can even begin to reincarnate."
"What..." Hearing this, the boy finally couldn't help but said, "Are you crazy? You can't do this!"
"Why not? As long as you haven't become an official ghost messenger, you will not be protected by the rules of the underworld. Even if I kill you, at most I will only deduct a little bit of your good karma. Didn't you say this yourself?" Ye Jie shrugged.
"I... I was recommended by Guichaba. If you dare to touch me, you will definitely regret it in the future!" The boy brought up Guichaba's name again, trying to scare Ye Jie away.
"Ghost Messenger Ba...it does sound a bit difficult." Ye Jie touched his chin and said with some difficulty.
"Just be smart! Let me go!" the boy continued to threaten.
Ye Jie thought about it and finally suggested, "How about this? Give me all the good karma you earned through deception, and I'll let you go. We'll let this matter go. What do you think?"
The boy curled his lips and said, "After all this talk, you still want some hidden virtue? Well, I'm screwed this time. I was caught by the Soul Binding Rope in this deserted alley. Bring me the fragments of your Book of Life and Death, and I'll give you some hidden virtue."
Ye Jie took out the torn page and put it in the boy's hand. When he took it back, he looked at his own information again, but found that the column of Yin De had increased by as much as ten thousand.
"Just this little? Don't tell me that this is all the good deeds you have done. This little bit of good deeds is not enough for me to let you go." Ye Jie shook his head, and the soul-breaking arrow in his other hand was ready to go.
"Wait!" The boy glared at Ye Jie angrily and took the fragment again. After a while, he said angrily, "This is all the good deeds I have done. You can use the Book of Life and Death to check it yourself. Now, can you let me go?"
Ye Jie took back the torn page and examined it carefully.
【Life and Death Book Files:】
【Name: Ye Jie】
【Level: Second Level Soul Building Realm Early Stage】
【Kung Fu Skills Learned: Soul-Breaking Arrow (Minor Success), Soul-Binding Rope (Beginner), Cloud-Blinding Eyes (Beginner)】
【Innate magical power: None】
Yin De: 65,000
"You've gained quite a lot of good karma by cheating people..." Ye Jie sighed.
"Let me go now!" the boy snorted.
Ye Jie smiled apologetically: "Actually, I just lied to you. Even if you give me all your Yin De, I will not let you go. I will destroy your soul and make you scatter to pieces."
"What?" The boy finally couldn't help himself. "Sixty thousand Yin De is not enough for you? You are really greedy... Give me some time, I can get you more Yin De."
"No, you don't understand what I mean." Ye Jie corrected him, "No matter how much Yin De you give me, you're dead. I don't care about your Yin De, but I hope you can also experience the feeling of being deceived. Only by experiencing that feeling can you understand the pain and despair in the hearts of those wandering souls whose Yin De you deceived."
The boy was startled, with a bad feeling in his heart. He looked down and saw the name on the torn page in Ye Jie's hand. He suddenly said:
"I know you. You're the ghost messenger Jie who helps wandering souls fulfill their last wishes. Why didn't you come to help me when my soul returned to the underworld? My life story is also very tragic. I did this for a reason..."
Ye Jie shook his head: "No matter how miserable your life experience is, it is not an excuse for you to deceive others."
The boy gritted his teeth and mustered up the courage to say, "You can't hurt me... You're so kind, you'd even help a wandering soul with nothing. How could you do something so terrifying that it would cause them to shatter their souls and be condemned to eternal damnation?"
Ye Jie glanced at him and said, "If I kill you now, no wandering soul will be deceived by you in the future. This will benefit countless wandering souls, which is a great thing. On the contrary, if I let you go, it would be the greatest irresponsibility. Your death will bring peace to thousands of wandering souls. I cannot be a small benefactor and forget the greater good."
The boy trembled all over and cried, "I apologize, isn't it okay for me to apologize now? I also hid some spirit stones, I can give them all to you..."
"It's too late to apologize now. Those wandering souls whose deeds you deceived have long since been reincarnated in endless regret. Can you apologize to them? They cry in the darkness with no one to turn to, and cry out in despair with no one to answer. Do you think an apology can make up for all this?" Ye Jie raised his hand, and a pitch-black arrow gathered in his palm. "Some people's death will make the world a better place. Today, let me be the judge and give justice to those deceived and helpless wandering souls."
The boy burst into tears, his head pointed at by the soul-breaking arrow. Tears fell like pearls from a broken string. He sobbed and his whole body trembled. "I know I was wrong. I will never lie to anyone again..."
Seeing this, Ye Jie nodded with satisfaction: "Remember the pain and bitterness of being deceived. This will be the last thing you remember before your soul flies away."
A dark black light flashed, and a pitch-black arrow burst out. The arrow struck the boy's head, like a stone smashing into a calm lake, sending ripples everywhere and creating endless waves of soul energy. Endless waves of soul energy surged up, transforming into turbulent vortexes of spiritual power.
The vortex slowly subsided and everything returned to calm. The sound of something falling was heard on the ground, a wisp of green smoke rose up, and the boy's figure disappeared without a trace.
Ye Jie glanced at the torn page and destroyed the wandering soul, which resulted in him being deducted 10,000 merits. Apart from that, there was no other punishment.
He leaned over and quickly counted the boy's belongings. A heavy Earth-Shrinking Stone, a branch of the Azure Sky with seven green leaves, and an explosive talisman imbued with immense spiritual power. Picking up the talisman and sensing the power contained within the yellow paper, Ye Jie couldn't help but smack his lips in amazement.
Once the talisman was activated, the resulting explosion was as powerful as a full-strength attack from a peak-level second-order cultivator. Even at the Hades Market, it would have amassed tens of thousands of Yin De. Ye Jie was shocked, having never imagined the boy possessed such a lethal move. If he hadn't immediately restrained him with the Soul Binding Rope, the consequences could have been disastrous.
Years of experience had made him feel slightly alert. From the moment he captured the boy, he always felt that someone was watching him. However, no matter how he tried to focus his perception, he could not detect anything unusual. Even when he concentrated on his perception, the feeling of being watched disappeared.
This situation can only mean one possibility: that person's strength is far beyond his own.
After accepting all the boy's belongings with a smile, Ye Jie quickly set off and left the place.
