Three times married to Yama

Is this an illustrated guide to all kinds of demons?

I put the picture book aside for the time being and opened the letter my father left behind.

My dearest daughter:

Greetings! I feel as if we are meeting in person upon receiving your letter!

By the time you read this letter, I will have already gone to avoid karmic debts. Your father will be wandering around and it will be inconvenient for him to take you with him. Don't look for me or worry about me. I will naturally appear when the time is right.

This book, "Records of a Hundred Ghosts in the World," is the culmination of my father's life's work, and I'm leaving it to you.

Do not trust anyone who wants to take this book, and never give this book to anyone else. Remember this!

At last.

Dad knows your secret.

My eyes widened suddenly, and tears streamed down my face, landing on the letter.

I always thought I was hiding it well, but I never expected that my dad already knew my secret, yet he never exposed me.

He clearly forbids me from learning those things, yet he lets me secretly learn them behind my back. He really is a strange, stinky old man.

I carefully placed the Hundred Ghosts Record and the letter close to my body, then prepared to go down the mountain and go home.

As soon as I emerged from the patch of hemp, I heard Aunt Hui's voice from above.

"Lan Yin, what are you doing here so late at night?"

I,"……"

Shouldn't Aunt Hui be at the hotel in town? How did she end up here?

Did she never leave and instead keep an eye on me around my house?

Thinking about this, I broke out in a cold sweat.

"My dad's dog, Ah Huang, is also missing. It always likes to run up this mountain, so I thought I'd come up to look for it." I looked at Aunt Hui with a calm expression.

The night was so dark that there was only a little moonlight, making it difficult to see the person in front of you clearly.

"Oh, so did you find it?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, I don't know where Ah Huang went. Aunt Hui, didn't you go back to the hotel? What are you doing here?"

As I asked, I broke off a few sprigs of hemp and held them in my hand.

Aunt Hui sighed softly, "I was worried about my senior brother and couldn't sleep no matter what, so I thought I'd come to find you. Then I saw you coming up the mountain, so I followed you."

"What a coincidence." I smiled slightly, then turned and walked down the mountain.

Aunt Hui followed behind me, saying, "Yes, when I saw you going up the mountain in the middle of the night, I thought your senior brother had left something for you and secretly hidden it on the mountain."

This is the second time she has mentioned that my dad left me something.

I couldn't help but wonder if Aunt Hui was really there to help my dad, or if she had other motives.

"It's a pity my dad didn't leave me anything." I said with a helpless yet curious tone, "Aunt Hui, what do you think my dad would have left me if he had?"

Aunt Hui didn't answer me immediately. She was silent for a while, and I could only hear her footsteps behind me without turning around.

It wasn't until we reached the foot of the mountain that I heard Aunt Hui speak again, "My senior brother has many treasures, and you are his only daughter. All his things should be left to you."

"Of all the treasures, the 'Record of One Hundred Ghosts in the World' is the most precious."

I was still puzzled, "What is that?"

Aunt Hui, "That book records all the ghosts in the world..."

Aunt Hui paused abruptly at this point, then said after a moment's hesitation, "Hey, why am I telling you this? You don't have any anyway."

I think Aunt Hui might be bluffing me. If I had the Hundred Ghosts Record, I would definitely keep asking her questions when I heard her hesitate.

After all, they already have it in their hands, so who wouldn't want to know the secret behind it?

But I refuse.

If she doesn't want to say, then she doesn't; I'm not that curious anyway.

"Aunt Hui, do you think my dad has any illegitimate daughters? Could he have left his things to her?" I suddenly asked Aunt Hui.

Aunt Hui was stunned. "Huh??"

I chuckled and handed the patchouli I was holding to Aunt Hui. "I thought the atmosphere was too serious, so I was just joking with you."

"And nowadays, people in the city like to use this for hot pot. Aunt Hui, you should take some home and try it."

After a few seconds of silence, Aunt Hui suddenly screamed in pain, "Aaaaaah, what is this thing! It hurts and itches so much!!"

She was hurt by the prickly pain from the moxa stick, and I panicked. "I'm so sorry, Aunt Hui, I don't know what pain is and I didn't know this stuff could prick you. You should go to the clinic in town right away, it can't be delayed!"

Under the moonlight, I saw Aunt Hui's eyes gleaming faintly. Her voice was tinged with resentment. "It's alright. You don't know how powerful this thing is. I'll go back to town to deal with it and won't take you home. Be careful on your way."

"Okay, Aunt Hui, goodbye."

Of course I know how potent patchouli is; after all, my dad used to scream in pain from being pricked by it.

My intuition tells me that Aunt Hui might really be my dad's junior sister, but she is also really after the Hundred Ghosts Record.

After sending her away, I jogged home, ready to ponder the Hundred Ghosts Record, when I saw the wooden box on the table.

This was given to me by the old woman when I left this morning. She said it was given to me by the Lord of the Underworld and that I could only open it when I got home.

I took the wooden box back to my room, and after closing all the doors and windows, I carefully opened it.

Inside was a black piece of paper and a dark blue, flame-shaped earring.

I unfolded the paper, and there were three lines of golden writing on it.

My wife.

I bestow upon you the Spirit Flame, which may grant me divine powers in times of crisis.

Signed: Yan Jinyue.

Is Yan Jinyue the name of the Lord of the Underworld?

Although his words were written in a very formal style, I could still understand what he meant.

He gave me this deep blue earring; it's meant to allow me to connect with him in times of crisis, or something like that.

But I don't have pierced ears, so after thinking about it, I pinned the earring to my collar.

But Yan Jinyue is really strange. Didn't he say that marrying me was not his wish? And it's only a three-year contract marriage, yet he still gave me gifts?

But I didn't think too much about it. I just needed to live out the next three years peacefully. I hoped that Yan Jinyue wouldn't look for me during those three years, so that the fact that I wasn't Qin Zhi would be exposed.

I took out the "Record of a Hundred Ghosts" to see what my father had recorded in this work that he had poured his heart and soul into.

I flipped through the pages quickly, becoming more and more terrified as I went on. Each page described a type of ghost, detailing its formation, characteristics, weaknesses, and methods of dealing with it.

Some ghosts can be dealt with even by ordinary people if their weaknesses are known.

There are many kinds of ghosts and monsters in it, most of which I have never even heard of.

After closing the picture book, my heart was filled with turmoil. I still knew too little about my father. What kind of person was he in the past?

After hiding the Hundred Ghosts Record, I prepared to rest immediately. I hadn't slept for a day and a night, and my body couldn't take it anymore.

Just as dawn was breaking, a piercing scream shattered the daylight, and I was instantly jolted awake.

Not long after, I heard villagers hurrying past my courtyard, discussing the matter in fear as they walked.

The door to my courtyard was also being knocked on loudly, and Aunt Hui's voice followed immediately.

No, why is she here so early in the morning?

I put on my clothes and went to open the door. Aunt Hui outside looked very serious.

"Your village is haunted; an entire family died."