Volume 2: The Path That Can Be Told Chapter 176: Conversation Between Two Ghosts

The younger ghost said, “I’m not afraid my elder brother will laugh at me, but on the day I first arrived, it scared me. That thing with a form but no shadow—what was it called again?”

“The original spirit,” replied the older ghost.

“That’s right, the original spirit. How can that original spirit turn into three souls and seven spirits? Isn’t that amazing?”

The older ghost lowered his voice and said, “I’m only telling you this. Don’t spread it around.”

Not understanding the mystery, the younger ghost nodded repeatedly. “Of course not.”

The older ghost continued, “It is said that the original spirit contains a person’s vital energy, spirit, and essence during their lifetime. When they enter hell, these are taken by the King of Hell for cultivation. The reason the King of Hell has such great power is because it comes from the accumulated vital energy, spirit, and essence of countless people.”

The younger ghost gasped in shock. “I see.”

The older ghost asked, “Do you know what each of the three souls and seven spirits is for?”

The younger ghost shook his head dumbly.

The older ghost said proudly, “If I tell you, what benefit will you bring me?”

The younger ghost stammered an apologetic smile. “Elder brother, I’ve just arrived here. There’s nothing worth your attention.”

The older ghost replied, “It’s not that difficult. Later, speak well of me to the judge in the Department of Punishing Evils. If you can get me assigned to a position there, I will be eternally grateful for this kindness.”

The younger ghost said, “Don’t worry, elder brother. I’m not heartless. I’ve been grateful for your care these past few days. If I get the chance, I’ll definitely mention you to the judge.”

The older ghost smiled. “Then thank you. As for those three souls and seven spirits, in the netherworld, they’re actually secrets that aren’t truly secret. Ordinary ghosts probably won’t ever find out about them in their entire lives. I happened to overhear some officials talking about it, so I remembered it. Listen carefully.”

The younger ghost nodded obediently, inwardly cursing the older ghost for being so wordy.

The older ghost continued, “The first of the three souls is called ‘Fetal Light,’ which governs one’s fate. The second is called ‘Vigorous Spirit,’ which controls wealth and fortune. The third is called ‘Mysterious Essence,’ which relates to disasters and misfortune.”

“The Fetal Light, which governs fate, is the most important. Living in a human body for a long time naturally makes one clear-minded and prolongs life. The Vigorous Spirit, which controls wealth, gives people wisdom and the ability to plan and work hard. As for the Mysterious Essence, it relates to impure thoughts, making people lustful and indulgent.”

The younger ghost was amazed by the older ghost’s detailed explanation. “So, after living a whole life, I never knew these three souls held so many mysteries.”

As they were talking, something staggered around the corner. Upon closer inspection, it was a pig.

The older ghost pointed at the pig and asked, “Look closely at this pig. What’s different about it?”

The younger ghost examined the pig carefully, tilted his head, and thought for a moment before saying, “This pig is like us—it’s a ghost pig!”

The old ghost said, “As you said. What else?”
The young ghost thought for a moment and replied, “There’s nothing else. This pig seems a bit too thin.”
The old ghost nodded and said, “You’re quite clever. Do you know how many years this pig has been in the netherworld?”
The young ghost naturally shook his head. The old ghost said, “It’s probably tens of thousands of years.”
“That’s impossible! Could this pig be immortal?” the young ghost exclaimed in surprise.
“The King of Qin Guang taught it immortality, so it remains immortal.”
The young ghost shook his head again. “That can’t be right. Could this pig also avoid the Three Calamities?”
“Huh? You actually know about the Three Calamities?” the old ghost was surprised.
“I read some Taoist books when I was young, but I achieved nothing from them,” the young ghost said.
The old ghost said, “Ghosts have no human form, no nine orifices, and don’t eat grains, so naturally they’re not affected by the Three Calamities. Besides, there’s never been such a thing as the Three Calamities harming anyone in the netherworld. If you don’t even know this, how could you willingly become a ghost official?”
The young ghost smiled bitterly. “After drinking the Mengpo soup, I forgot everything about my past life. There are some things I refuse to forget, so I became a ghost. What’s wrong with that?”
The old ghost waved his hand and said, “People are said to be emotional, but who knew ghosts are the most emotionally attached in the world? Enough about this. Back to the pig—where were we?”
The young ghost said, “Why is this pig so thin?”
The old ghost replied, “Pigs in the world are all greedy for food, except for this one. That’s because it lacks one soul—only two souls and seven spirits.”
The young ghost thought for a moment and asked, “Is it because it lacks the spirit of yin?”
The old ghost smiled and said, “I told you you were clever. Indeed, in a few hundred years, you might even become the leader of ghost officials!” The two ghosts chatted idly some more, and Wukong had no interest in listening anymore.
Undoubtedly, this pig was the one that lost a soul tens of thousands of years ago. The King of Qin Guang was quite interesting too—he let this pig reincarnate in the netherworld…
Without the spirit of yin, without desires for lust and pleasure or greed for food, how could it gain weight? And its spirit of yin had attached itself to Fengmeng’s soul-catching banner!
So that’s how it is. No wonder, after Fengmeng reincarnated as Marshal Tian Peng, his true nature showed—turns out, a pig’s spirit of yin was causing the trouble. Lust and greed for pleasure—those are indeed Zhu Bajie’s true traits.
The world is full of wonders!
By now, Wukong had explored the entire netherworld and had many questions in his mind.
Previously, when he talked to Dayu, from Dayu’s words, it seemed that the heavenly realm wasn’t innate but was built by the immortals later on. Those with greater powers then claimed to rule all living beings. Since the netherworld was under the control of the heavenly realm, it was likely built later as well.

These days, whether it’s humans or beasts, their vital spirits are all led to the netherworld after death. But what about before the netherworld was established? Could it be that these vital spirits wandered around in the world? If so, wouldn’t their numbers keep increasing, with vital spirits floating everywhere?

I’ll have to ask Dayu about this when I get the chance; I simply can’t figure it out on my own.

This netherworld seems to have only ten halls. It is said that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, the ruler of the netherworld, is in charge here. Why isn’t there any sign of him, nor does anyone mention him?

Wukong had an idea, moved swiftly, and arrived at the Hall of the King of Hell. Hundreds of years ago, he was imprisoned in the netherworld—clearly not something the Twoblack and white Immortals could do. How could the vital spirit of a Taiyi Golden Immortal be controlled at will? Who was really behind this? He needed to get information from the King of Hell.

At that moment, the King of Hell was sitting in meditation in the main hall, with no one else present aside from him.

Wukong hid behind the King of Hell and said in a sinister tone, “Old Fifth, an old friend has come to see you.”

Wukong’s voice wasn’t loud, but to the King of Hell, it was like hearing a thunderclap at the edge of a cliff. He jumped up in fright and took some time to recover.

His face turned pale. He looked around but saw no one. Trembling, he asked, “Who… who’s speaking?”

Wukong remained silent. The King of Hell searched the hall, and Wukong called out from behind him again, “Old Fifth!”

The King of Hell turned sharply, but there was still nothing there. Suddenly, a giant hand like a clamp seized his throat, preventing him from moving. He knew he had encountered a superior.

“P-please, immortal, spare my life! I… I’ve done nothing wrong!” The King of Hell’s throat hurt terribly as he barely managed to squeeze out these words.

Wukong said, “Seeing how scared you are, have you done something shameful?”

The King of Hell replied, “No… I’ve never done anything shameful.”

Wukong increased the pressure on his throat and said, “Then better not talk about it!”

By now, the King of Hell could no longer speak, his eyes filled with fear. As the famous King of Hell, more people probably knew his name than the name of the Jade Emperor. Could he really die like this, without any explanation?

Seeing the King of Hell’s face turn from white to green and then to purple, Wukong eased his grip slightly and said viciously, “Think carefully. If you really can’t remember, you won’t get another chance.” He knew that no other method would work; only threatening death would be effective. It wasn’t ordinary people who feared death the most, but those who had gone through great hardships to become immortals—they understood the value of life best.

Sure enough, the King of Hell said, “I’ll tell you! Ahem, immortal, please stop pressing so hard. Let me catch my breath.”

Wukong said, “Only those who know when to act wisely are truly outstanding. If you had told us earlier, why would we have had to go through such hardships?”
The King of Hell took a few deep breaths. Not daring to ask about Wukong’s background, he began to recount some trivial matters—whom he had accepted bribes from today, or whom he had mistakenly sent to hell due to a bad mood the next day. Wukong remained patient and listened to them all in order.
Indeed, the King of Hell rambled on for over an hour before finally saying, “There’s also… that year, on orders from the celestial boys of the Tushita Palace, I captured a Taiyi Golden Immortal…”
Tushita Palace? Wukong had gone to great lengths to bring out Laozi—how amusing and frustrating!
It was indeed Laozi. It seemed the scheming between the Three Pure Ones and the Jade Emperor had begun long ago. It appeared he had been used by them once again. It seems he needed to be even more cautious of those Three Pure Ones.