Chapter Seventy-Four: Talking About Origins with the Prison King

"Ghost King, your perception is truly sharp. You are correct—I was indeed a soldier among the living, serving in the army of a nation on the Wildlands Continent. This nation is called the Kingdom of Greenpeak. Have you ever heard of the Kingdom of Greenpeak?" Wei Xiaoping said.

"I have not. I've been imprisoned here by the King of Hell for several millennia. In the world I left behind, such a nation likely did not yet exist. Still, I can see you are a soldier! But in that nation, you must have been more than just a common foot soldier, right? If you were ordinary, the King of Hell would never have entrusted two such excellent Nether Hounds to serve under your command," the Ghost King remarked.

"Thanks to the grace of the King of Greenpeak, I was made a general," Wei Xiaoping replied.

"A general?" The Ghost King was somewhat surprised. "No wonder you could slay the Wolf-Lion Beast spirit! To become a general proves your abilities are extraordinary. How many years have you served as a general, General Wei?"

"Five or six years now. I became a general in the Kingdom of Greenpeak when I was about twenty years old."

"General at twenty? Then you must have joined the army quite young and fought in many battles?"

"I had never served in the army before becoming a general," Wei Xiaoping answered.

Hearing this, the Ghost King was astonished! So young, never having served before, yet the moment he entered the military he was made a general? Such a thing has never been heard of since ancient times. It seems this new spirit is quite a remarkable character!

"Wang Jiming, bring a stool for General Wei!" the Ghost King ordered.

The prison ghost named Wang Jiming moved to one side and set out a stool.

"Please, General Wei, have a seat," Wang Jiming said, his ghastly face showing a look of respect despite its hideousness.

"Thank you," Wei Xiaoping walked over, saluted the Ghost King with clasped fists, then sat down.

"General Wei, to become a general without ever having served or fought—you're no ordinary man! Clearly your story is remarkable," the Ghost King praised.

"Indeed, my experiences are quite unlike those of others," Wei Xiaoping replied after a moment’s thought.

"Would you tell me about them? When I lived among the living, nothing delighted me more than befriending men of talent and virtue. Even after being punished and confined here by the King of Hell, I have kept that preference."

Hearing these words, Wei Xiaoping thought to himself: So the Ghost King likes men like me? If that's true, perhaps he wasn't such an evil person in life. Usually, only the most wicked souls are sent here after death. Yet from everything I have seen and heard so far, there is no malice in his words or actions.

"Ghost King, what would you like to hear? Which part of my life interests you?"

"Your words show you are an extraordinary man, and such men always have fascinating stories. If you would, I’d like to hear about your life among the living—from childhood until now!" The Ghost King’s eagerness was obvious.

"But, Ghost King, to tell my story from childhood to the present would take a very long time—several days and nights might not suffice! I am anxious to return to the world of the living and can’t spare so much time."

"Then keep it brief! Tell it as you please."

"Very well, I’ll start simply with our birth. My brother and I were born in a remote mountain area of the Kingdom of Greenpeak."

"You have a brother as well?" the Ghost King asked when Wei Xiaoping mentioned his sibling.

"Yes, we are twins."

"Oh! Then you two must look quite alike?" The Ghost King smiled.

"Indeed, almost identical. Our parents were farmers, and our family was desperately poor. As far as I remember, when my brother and I were three or four, just barely understanding things, our parents would take us with them to the fields every day. While they worked, we played nearby. Sometimes we helped out a little."

"Your parents brought you to the fields at such a young age? Did you not have a grandmother or grandfather to look after you?" the Ghost King inquired.

"Grandmother? Grandfather? Before I was five, I didn’t even know what those words meant! Only after five did I learn about them, and also that my grandparents had died long ago. Both my parents were orphans."

"I see, your parents endured much hardship. And things would only have become harder with you two to raise."

"I remember that before my brother and I were five, we had never worn a single new piece of clothing."

"Did you ever attend a private school?" the Ghost King asked.

"Private school? What is that? I’ve never heard of it."

"It’s a place where children learn to read and write."

"Oh! No, my brother and I only began to study and learn letters after entering the Greenpeak Monastery."

"Greenpeak Monastery? From the name, it sounds like a place for cultivating the Dao and seeking immortality?"

"Exactly! The Greenpeak Monastery is a Daoist temple with over a thousand years of history. Its founder was Master Shangheng. Today, more than two thousand Daoists reside there. Master Shangheng has cultivated and practiced for more than a thousand years and achieved great mastery in both Dao and the path of immortality. As for longevity, ordinary people live only several decades to a hundred years, but he has lived over a thousand and still appears as vigorous as a man of thirty or forty. Through countless years of cultivation, he has nearly attained immortality."

"How did you come to be a disciple at Greenpeak Monastery?"

"My brother and I were fated to meet our master, who brought us there. The thing I am most proud of in this life is becoming a disciple under Master Xuanzhe."

"Oh! How did you and Master Xuanzhe meet?"

"About twenty years ago, one day my brother Xiaofan and I were working in the fields with our parents. A Daoist priest passed by, saw us playing, and studied us for a while. Then he called my parents to one side and spoke to them. I didn’t know then, but later I learned this was Master Xuanzhe. As my parents listened to him, their faces grew grave and sorrowful. Soon after, my brother and I were called over, and our whole family knelt before the Daoist priest.

When we finished bowing in thanks, Master Xuanzhe whispered a few more words to our parents, then drew a beautiful longsword from his back and tossed it high into the air, where it hovered three fathoms above the ground. He leaped up and stood on the sword, and with it, slowly flew away.

The following year, after our birthday, our parents led us back to the spot where we had met the priest. From there, we walked toward a small hill not far from our fields. When we arrived, Master Xuanzhe was already waiting for us. Our parents spoke with him again, then, weeping, brought us to his side. The Daoist drew out his longsword and cast it into the air; then, with each hand holding one of us, he carried us up onto the sword and we drifted off toward Greenpeak Mountain.

Only then did we realize that the conversation our parents had with the priest the previous year was to agree upon this day, to entrust my brother and me to his care."