Save me. Why Doesn't the Heavenly Dao Help Them?

"It's a Vengeful Spirit. It bears no malice towards others, so there's no need to mind it." Yin Yan whispered an explanation into Yu Zhen's ear, treating the man by the stairs as if he were thin air.

Yin Le disliked this eldest cousin, Chou Junwen, the most. Hearing this, he rolled his eyes dramatically and deliberately raised his voice, "Oh my, Cousin Junwen is up. Look at those dark circles. You must have done too many guilty deeds to have nightmares and sleep poorly at night."

This was originally just a normal spat, but Chou Junwen reacted as if his sore spot had been poked. He suddenly went berserk, rushed over in a few steps, and grabbed Yin Le by the collar, saying viciously, "You brat, what did you say! So disrespectful. I'll teach you a lesson today." As he spoke, he raised his fist.

Yin Le was stunned by his actions. When he came to his senses, his face flushed red with anger. While pulling at the hand on his collar, he roared, "What did I say? Why don't you listen to what you just said! Did my brother provoke you? You're useless yourself, only knowing how to be jealous of those better off than you. Let me tell you, my brother and Brother Yu are doing great, we don't need you spewing crap here!"

"You! Fine, fine, fine, spewing crap, is it? I'll teach you how to speak properly today!"

Provoked by this tirade, Chou Junwen grew even angrier. He forcefully held down Yin Le's struggling legs and raised his fist to strike.

Thud.

Chou Junwen's fist was halfway through its swing when he himself fell to the ground.

Yin Yan retracted his leg with a cold expression, stepped forward to look down on Chou Junwen, and said, "Bullying a younger brother, you're unworthy of being a man."

Yu Zhen, on the other hand, hurried over to help Yin Le up. After checking him for injuries and confirming he was fine, he also turned to look at Chou Junwen, but his gaze fell on the female ghost behind him.

He had seen it clearly just now. After Yin Le finished his first retort, that female ghost had suddenly blown a breath of air into Chou Junwen's ear, and then Chou Junwen had exploded, rushing over to hit someone.

When Yin Yan had acted just now, although he hadn't used his fist, avoiding skin contact with Chou Junwen, and had only kicked him away with his leg, the aura emanating from Yin Yan's body still affected the female ghost.

Now, the female ghost had been kicked away from Chou Junwen's body. She cowered to one side, looking at Yin Yan with apprehension and fear, hovering without daring to approach.

She only dared to blow some yin wind to amplify the emotions of the person she haunted and make them lose control, and she would cower the moment she was frightened. From this, it seemed this female ghost wasn't too evil, even appearing quite timid. But what was with all this baleful qi around her?

"Waaah..."

A child's cry suddenly came from upstairs. The hovering female ghost paused, then actually turned and drifted away.

Yu Zhen was stunned again.

Just now, after the child's cry sounded, the baleful qi on the female ghost suddenly weakened, revealing her original appearance. She was actually a very pure and beautiful young girl.

Without the female ghost's "assist," Chou Junwen seemed to have finally calmed down. Or perhaps he was frightened by Yin Yan's gaze, which looked at him like he was trash or a dead man. He stopped his rampage, climbed up from the floor himself, and shot Yin Yan a glare that held little menace. He muttered, "Only knows how to act tough with family... What bad luck! Get lost after you're done with the New Year's greetings. Just seeing you guys is annoying."

After speaking, he turned and left, cursing and grumbling, looking like a grumpy person who hadn't woken up properly.

"As if anyone wanted to come," Yin Le muttered with a scowl, then looked at Yin Yan with starry eyes. "Big Brother, you were so cool just now! That Foshan Shadowless Kick went out, bam, and the bad guy was defeated!"

Yin Yan walked back, gave him a faint glance, and said, "You need to train properly in the future. Don't just play with figurines."

"Got it, got it. I promise I'll train properly. We won't be weak in fights from now on," Yin Le replied sycophantically, immediately throwing the recent unpleasantness to the back of his mind, his heart bigger than the sky.

Not long after Chou Junwen left, a nanny holding a crying four or five-year-old child with an open mouth hurried down from upstairs, walking quickly towards the kitchen. She was probably taking the child to eat breakfast.

And the female ghost followed a few meters behind the nanny, watching the child eagerly but not daring to get closer, afraid that the baleful qi on her body would affect the child.

Seeing this, the last bit of fear and vigilance Yu Zhen had for the female ghost disappeared. His gaze paused on the child for a moment before he turned to Yin Le and asked, "That child is...?"

"You mean Ruijie? That's my eldest nephew. It's a pity. He lost his mom at two, has a father like that, and has the status of an illegitimate child... sigh." Yin Le sighed like an adult, his tone somewhat lamenting.

Lost his mom at two?

Yu Zhen's heart stirred. He glanced again at the female ghost who had revealed her true form after retracting her baleful qi, took his phone out of his pocket, and started searching.

The mother of Chou Junwen's illegitimate child was a young model, and the Chou Family was a relatively old and wealthy family in B City. It should be possible to find gossip about the scions of such prominent families online.

Sure enough, after a short while, a search result for "mistress" related to Chou Junwen popped up. After a separate search, a lot of information appeared, and among it, in the most inconspicuous spot, was a piece of information related to a "deceased young model."

Xin Xiaoxiao, a print model, mistress of a certain wealthy businessman's son, passed away accidentally a few years ago, leaving behind a son.

A few vague sentences. A life was summed up just that simply.

"You can see that little girl?"

A sharp, childish voice suddenly sounded from behind. Yu Zhen was startled and nearly threw his phone, but Yin Yan caught his hand in time.

"Xiao Le, the tea is cold. Go get a fresh pot of hot tea," Yin Yan said, taking the opportunity to put an arm around his shoulder as he spoke to Yin Le on the other side.

Hearing this, Yin Le leaned over and touched the teapot. Seeing that it was indeed not very hot, he obediently got up and left with the teapot.

After he left, Yin Yan stretched out his hand and flicked the back of the sofa behind Yu Zhen, saying, "I spared you because you carry karma, but why are you actively provoking us now?"

A shrill, soft cry sounded, and the translucent figure of a child about one year old rolled out. It lifted its head, but it had a bizarre old man's face. It smiled fawningly at Yin Yan and said, "So there is another immortal here. No wonder, no wonder. I've just been trapped in this house for too long and wanted to find someone to talk to."

But Yin Yan didn't fall for his act. He lightly lifted a finger. The Infant Spirit's expression changed drastically. Its translucent figure flickered as if struck by something. An arm strangely disappeared, then quickly grew back, and its figure became even fainter.

"Immortal, have mercy, have mercy!" The Infant Spirit didn't dare to lie anymore. It curled into a ball and rolled far away, explaining with fear-filled eyes, "I saw that the child had dense merit, so I wanted to trick some of it over. Spare my life, Immortal, I won't dare to do it again."

It clearly had the body of an infant, yet it had the face of an old man and the cunning demeanor of an adult. Yu Zhen felt very uncomfortable watching it and couldn't help but lean closer to Yin Yan.

Yin Yan took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, retracting his power. He asked, "Whose child are you?"

Hearing this question, the Infant Spirit knew it was temporarily safe and also knew it had provoked someone it shouldn't have. It answered honestly, "Chou Xiehua."

Chou Xiehua, Old Master Chou.

Yu Zhen was surprised. If this Infant Spirit was Old Master Chou's child, then how many years had it existed? It must have been half a century.

"How many spiritual bodies have you devoured?" Yin Yan continued to ask.

The Infant Spirit stiffened, not expecting him to see even that. It opened its mouth to lie, but remembering the heavy blow it had just received, it answered honestly, "Three. One of Chou Feixiong's children, one of Chou Feijun's children, and one of Chou Junhao's children."

Chou Junhao, Chou Feijun's son, is only twenty years old this year.

Yu Zhen was shocked. Three. No wonder this Infant Spirit was so powerful, even possessing adult-like thoughts and communication abilities.

Yin Yan lightly tapped the armrest of the sofa and said, "Then do you know that those who absorb other spiritual bodies without reason are all considered evil ghosts, never to enter reincarnation, and must also..."

"I beg the immortal not to destroy me! I have never harmed a living person. The spiritual bodies I devoured were all half-spirits harmed into existence by the Chou Family. If I didn't devour them, they would have had their souls scattered in the end anyway. I beg the immortal to spare my life."

The Infant Spirit didn't wait for Yin Yan to finish speaking and began to wail and beg for mercy. Its tantrum-throwing, rolling-on-the-ground appearance was somewhat like that of a child.

Yin Yan waved his hand to stop the Infant Spirit's wailing and trapped it within an invisible barrier. He looked at Yu Zhen and said, "Even if an Infant Spirit doesn't intentionally harm people, its very existence will still have a negative impact on those around it. Whether to send it away or not, the decision is yours."

Yu Zhen furrowed his brows slightly. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Does it still have a chance at reincarnation?"

"No. Once purified, its soul will be scattered and dispersed."

Yu Zhen remembered the story his grandfather had told him and became even more hesitant. Although the Infant Spirit before him looked evil and terrifying and had even tried to trick him out of his merit, his grandfather had said that infant spirits are born ignorant. If they weren't betrayed or harmed by humans, they wouldn't turn into evil ghosts or vengeful spirits.

And those devoured half-spirits, he was a little concerned about them.

"Can I talk to it?" he asked, tilting his head.

Yin Yan watched him quietly for a few seconds, then let go of his hand. With a wave of his hand, the trapped Infant Spirit floated over.

Yin Le had already returned with the hot tea. It wasn't convenient for Yu Zhen to talk, so he made an excuse to go to the washroom and took the trapped Infant Spirit with him.

It was unknown what Yin Yan had done to the Infant Spirit, but the one that followed him had become somewhat dazed. It answered whatever was asked, holding nothing back. Aside from its ferocious face, it actually looked a bit like a small child again.

And after this questioning, Yu Zhen's furrowed brows never relaxed.

The Infant Spirit called itself San'er, because it was Chou Xiehua's third child—the child he secretly had with a mistress outside after his first wife died.

And from the very beginning, Chou Xiehua never intended for this child to live.

In that era, feudal superstitions were still rampant. Chou Xiehua appeared serious and upright on the surface, but he was actually a thorough old feudalist. Back then, when the Chou Family's business faced a crisis, he heard about a method to change one's luck from somewhere—raising a little ghost.

Moreover, the method he heard of was rather advanced. The little ghost to be raised wasn't one invited from elsewhere, but one he fathered himself.

This third child was the little ghost he had prepared.

Not long after San'er was born, he was "abducted" by a nanny and died a miserable, lonely death in some remote mountain gully.

The ignorant Infant Spirit was gathered back by its own father using a secret technique and trapped in this mansion. It wasn't until Chou Feixiong secretly fooled around outside and brought back an unborn half-spirit that it devoured the other and gradually developed its own consciousness.

It was also from that time that it stopped protecting the Chou Family, and the Chou Family's business began to decline.

The three half-spirits it devoured were all children from the Chou Family men's affairs outside, secretly aborted or gotten rid of through various means.

Normally, most aborted or miscarried children would not become half-spirits. At worst, they would fail to reincarnate and enter the cycle again. But perhaps influenced by Old Master Chou, or because the Chou Family men had guilty consciences, after they created a life, they would use a soul-trapping method left by Old Master Chou to "deliver" the child.

Coincidentally, the time when the Infant Spirit devoured the first half-spirit was around the same time Yin Yan was born. Afterward, the Chou Family's business worsened, and Old Master Chou's superstitious tendencies flared up, making him think it was Yin Yan's birth that caused it.

In the end, Yu Zhen didn't touch the Infant Spirit. He even took it upon himself to release it.

When he returned to the living room, the main group that had gone to visit Old Master Chou had already returned. He looked at this group of sanctimonious Chou Family men, but only felt like he was looking at a line of executioners with blood on their hands.

The younger generation of the Chou Family had all gotten up and come downstairs. Chou Feixiong had two sons, and Chou Feijun had a son and a daughter. Yu Zhen looked them over one by one and found that, except for Chou Feixiong's younger son, everyone else had something unpleasant attached to them to varying degrees.

His gaze fell again on Chou Feixiong, who was currently talking big about business. Looking at the faint layer of baleful qi that was barely visible on him, he lowered his eyes and held Yin Yan's hand.

There's an old saying that's very true: what's more terrifying than ghosts and gods is the human heart.

These younger members of the Chou Family were indeed as Yin Le had said: sharp-tongued and annoying. They spoke sarcastically the entire time and even indirectly asked about Yu Zhen's family background, showing the snobbish attitude of someone ready to treat people differently based on their status.

For once, Yu Zhen didn't maintain his politeness and treated them like thin air. Yin Le, on the other hand, retorted directly. Chou Feiting also couldn't stand the vexing attitudes of these nephews of hers and fired off the three soul-crushing questions most unbearable to the younger generation during the New Year: How are your studies? Do you have a partner? Have you made any achievements at work this year?

The atmosphere in the living room was so murky it was suffocating. Yu Zhen saw the female ghost float back from a distance, looking like she wanted to go back to haunting Chou Junwen but was wary of Yin Yan. He thought for a moment, and for the first time, used the ghost-guiding technique Yin Yan had taught him to draw the female ghost over. Then he tugged on Yin Yan's hand, signaling for him to leave with him for a moment.

Yin Yan saw his action, squeezed his hand back, and stood up. He said to Chou Feiqian and Chou Feiting, "Mom, Aunt, I'm taking Yu Zhen to the balcony for some fresh air. The heating in the living room is a bit stuffy, and he's not feeling well."

Chou Feiqian looked over and saw that Yu Zhen's complexion was indeed not good. The fire in her heart, ignited by the nasty words of those younger relatives, almost couldn't be suppressed. She endured it and said, "The heating and certain people in this living room are indeed uncomfortable. Go on. It's cold on the balcony, remember to put on your coat before you go. Don't stay too long, we should be going home soon."

Yin Yan nodded. He first went to the entryway to get their coats, scarves, and other things before heading to the balcony.

"Tsk, country folk are country folk. They're so used to freezing in the winter they can't even enjoy the blessing of heating," Chou Junwen couldn't help but mock.

Chou Feiqian's face stiffened. Before she could explode, Chou Feiting threw down a sunflower seed and raised her voice, "Junwen, you'll be thirty-one after the New Year, right? How's your work? Do you have a partner? Xiao Yan has already entered the family's main company to manage projects, and when he was sent abroad, he managed the branch company so well it prospered. How about you, are you still running that game company of yours that was supposed to make big money?"

"Pfft." Yin Le laughed very deliberately and raised his voice, "Aunt, the game company was ages ago. It went bankrupt a long time ago. Now, Eldest Cousin runs an entertainment club. He sleeps during the day and works at night, he's very busy."

Sleeps during the day and works at night... hearing this, Chou Feiting couldn't help but laugh. She said meaningfully, "Oh, an entertainment club. That's a profitable business too..."

This round of overt retorts and subtle sarcasm choked Chou Junwen until his face turned red. But because Chou Feiting was an elder and it wasn't appropriate to talk back, he held his breath and said nothing.

After reaching the balcony, Yin Yan immediately waved his hand to set up a barrier to prevent anyone from eavesdropping. Then he leaned to one side, quietly not disturbing Yu Zhen.

Yu Zhen gave him a grateful look, then turned to the female ghost who had been drawn over, her face full of fear. He softened his expression and asked, "Why are you haunting Chou Junwen? And this baleful qi on you... have you ever harmed anyone?"

Hearing this, the female ghost shook her head frantically and replied in a panic, "I-I haven't harmed anyone. This is something my little daughter gave me. I'm haunting Chou Junwen only because I want to protect my son. I beg you, don't take me away, I'm begging you."

Little daughter?

Yu Zhen paused, looking at her hand subconsciously touching her abdomen. A wave of deep sorrow suddenly rose in his heart.

If a pregnant woman dies unexpectedly, due to maternal instincts or other strong attachments, they can easily become evil ghosts, and the baleful qi on their bodies will be much denser than other ghosts.

"Then the cause of your death..."

The female ghost quieted down. Tears of blood suddenly streamed from her eyes as she replied, "Drug overdose... How could I possibly take drugs? It was Chou Junwen who hired someone to harm me! He didn't want the child in my belly! I want revenge! I want re—No, I can't. I still have to protect Ruijie. He's still young, I can't leave him all alone in this family, I can't..."

She was an evil ghost, after all. Negative emotions occupied the majority of her thoughts, but her maternal instinct made her suppress them deeply. She only haunted her enemy, making him unable to sleep or rest peacefully, while watching over her child from afar.

Ghosts have reasons for doing evil, but sometimes, when people do evil, it's truly just pure evil.

Yu Zhen let the female ghost go. He even found an opportunity to approach her son, Chou Ruijie, and placed a protective shield on him using the method Yin Yan had taught him, so that he wouldn't be affected by ghosts, making it convenient for the female ghost to watch over him from a close distance.

When they left the Chou Family's house, Yu Zhen was a bit silent. Chou Feiqian thought he was upset from being pushed around by Chou Junwen and the others. The resentment she felt towards her maternal family almost burst out. After arriving home, she immediately got busy with lunch, making delicious food for Yu Zhen to cheer him up.

Seeing her worry, Yu Zhen forced himself to cheer up and ate lunch with a happy expression. Afterward, he made an excuse to take a nap and returned to his room.

"Why did you let them go?"

Yin Yan walked up behind Yu Zhen, placed a hand on his head, and gently ruffled his hair.

Yu Zhen's wandering thoughts returned. He tilted his head back to look at him and replied, "I just feel that they aren't actually bad... Although the Infant Spirit devoured three half-spirits, it left Xin Xiaoxiao's soul in the villa, which shows it isn't a truly evil spirit. And Xin Xiaoxiao... she just wants to protect her child."

"Evil spirits are fickle. Perhaps they aren't harming people now, but there's no guarantee for the future."

Yu Zhen's head drooped. He said, "I know... If they really want to take revenge on the Chou Family, then... you reap what you sow. Innocent people need protection, but executioners... I don't want to help them. Not one bit."

Grandpa had said that in this world, every cause has an effect. When faced with the evil consequences of a cause, if it's truly difficult, just let nature take its course. The Heavenly Dao will bring an end to this karma.

He couldn't bring himself to make the Infant Spirit's soul dissipate, nor could he force a deeply obsessed mother to leave her child and re-enter reincarnation. So he could only let nature take its course and pretend he saw nothing today. In the end, the Heavenly Dao would give this entanglement a resolution anyway.

But Yin Yan remained calm, saying, "Have you ever thought that after an evil spirit loses its reason, it won't just seek revenge, but will also harm other innocent people? Not everyone in the Chou Family is a bad person."

Yu Zhen froze.

"Evil spirits can't control themselves, most of the time."

Yu Zhen was stunned. He thought of the nannies and security guards working for the Chou Family, of Chou Feixiong's younger son whose aura was normal. The light in his eyes dimmed little by little. He said, "Do they have to be sent away? I... Was I wrong?"

A suffocatingly thick despair and melancholy filled his heart. Within it was doubt about the good and evil in the world, self-doubt and denial, and a fervent emotion of unwillingness and subtle resistance.

That was the unwillingness and anger buried deep in his soul, the very source of his baleful qi.

Are ghosts necessarily bad? Must humans always be saved? When the two are in opposition, just because the Heavenly Dao favors mortals, must one unconditionally side with humanity?

But weren't ghosts human before they became ghosts? Before she or he became an evil ghost, when he or she was still human, when they were persecuted by other humans, why didn't the Heavenly Dao help them?

Doesn't everyone say that good is rewarded with good, and evil is rewarded with evil?

The infant spirits were just ignorant children when they were alive, how could they have done evil? Xin Xiaoxiao was just an ordinary, beautiful girl, a mother who mistakenly trusted a scumbag. What evil did she do? Who should be held accountable for her miserable, unjust death?

In this world, so many innocent people are deceived, trampled upon, and persecuted by others. After they die, they are unwilling to let their grievances dissipate just like that. They want revenge, they want to fulfill their lingering obsessions, or they simply want to escape the past and live again. For this, they become ghosts or fall into demonhood. Does that make them necessarily bad? Do they deserve to die a thousand deaths, to be condemned and hunted by all?

Do they deserve... to not even have the slightest possibility of happiness?

The newly formed Dao Heart instantly reached the brink of shattering. Unwilling questions from the depths of his soul echoed in his heart. The aura on Yu Zhen's body slowly changed, his eyes lost focus, and baleful qi flickered in and out of existence.

"Yu Zhen!"

Yin Yan's expression changed drastically. He turned, grabbed his shoulders, and first used a barrier to block the aura on his body. Looking into his eyes, he said earnestly, "You are not wrong. I am here. You are not wrong. The Heavenly Dao has no emotions, but we do. You can help them, restrain them, and let them exist in this world in a more suitable way. Problems and contradictions will always exist, but mutual destruction is not the only solution. Yu Zhen, I'm here, look at me!"

The turbulent Dao Heart precariously stabilized. Yu Zhen's unfocused eyes slowly shifted over, as if looking at Yin Yan, but also not. His expression was numb, as if he had lost his senses. He suddenly reached out a hand towards him and said softly, "Master... I don't want to die... Save me..."

Thump.

It was as if a heavy hammer had smashed into his heart. Yin Yan's mind was violently shaken. He instinctively reached out to grab the hand that drooped halfway, and embraced the person who had fainted after speaking. His body was as stiff as a rock, his hands slowly wrapped around his body, his fingertips turning white from the force.

He had thought of thousands of things his disciple might say before death, but he never expected that the person he thought was determined to die would, in the end, say such a sentence.

Save me.

His disciple was asking for help.

"I'm sorry."

He lowered his head, his voice heavy and almost inaudible. "I'm sorry, I couldn't save you. I'm sorry."