Chapter 128: Merit Seal—Karmic Lock
The starving ghost thought it over more and more and felt she had figured out the truth. She had been wandering around the school for three years. Girls her age were mostly like her—admiring top students, liking handsome boys who were good at sports. Only this little shaman hugged books all day long, a complete bookworm.
At this moment, Yin Shaoli and Luo Man had already finished their brief academic discussion.
“I think you have real talent in this area. If you don’t mind hardship and fatigue, it’s not too late to start learning from now,” Yin Shaoli said, rarely extending an invitation to someone with zero foundation.
Luo Man shook her head. “I’m only interested. For now, I don’t plan to study it in depth.”
Hearing that, Su Keke suddenly thought of Qian Yunze—those two had rather similar viewpoints in this regard.
Hiding behind Su Keke, the starving ghost stared at her idol without the slightest restraint, occasionally whispering to Su Keke, “Look, aren’t my idol’s lips super sexy? And his nose bridge is so high and straight. If he takes off those glasses, you’ll be handsome-crying. I’m not lying—tall and handsome, top-to-bottom idol standard.”
Su Keke whispered back, “My uncle is even taller and more handsome than him.”
Yin Shaoli suddenly turned his head and looked toward the starving ghost.
The starving ghost was both excited and panicked, but also very cowardly, floating tightly behind Su Keke.
Yin Shaoli’s brows furrowed, and he said to her, “To be honest, I don’t think this kind of immature attention counts as love. I’m sorry about what happened back then, but you also caused great trouble to my life.”
This girl—he hadn’t even remembered her name, and he had never paid attention to her.
Yet she had died for him for no reason at all. To Yin Shaoli, it was absurd and impossible to understand.
He didn’t even know how he had drawn her attention—was it because his grades were too good, or because his roommate once joked about him having a good body?
He had thought wearing glasses would keep trouble away. But after this incident, not only did he have to wear ugly black-rimmed glasses, he also had to dress in baggy clothes. He even didn’t dare let his grades stand out too much.
None of that was the most important. The important thing was—
Yin Shaoli touched his left arm.
There was a shackle there—a lock born from cause-and-effect, because he had inadvertently created bad karma with his words.
Hearing him, the starving ghost lowered her head, guilt written all over her face as she murmured, “I’m sorry, Yin Shaoli. I couldn’t control myself. But my death—I’ve never blamed you…”
Su Keke was unhappy. “Master Yin, she died because of you in a sense. Can’t you speak a little more gently? If it were a girl with a worse temperament, she would’ve long since turned into a vicious ghost and come for revenge!”
Yin Shaoli’s expression darkened slightly. “So what did I do wrong? Was I wrong not to reject her directly because I didn’t want to hurt her pride, and my gentle refusal got taken as real?
“In the end this karmic burden lands on me, and I have to bear the consequences. You’re in the same line—you should know that for us practitioners, the biggest taboo is being entangled in karma.”
The more the starving ghost listened, the guiltier she felt. Indeed, her death had nothing to do with her idol. She brought it on herself. Didn’t her roommates tell her back then? He was refusing her politely. It was she who hated studying, so all her thoughts were thrown into those illusory romances.
She knew clearly—she and her idol were impossible.
Yin Shaoli glanced at the starving ghost. His gaze was calm. He suddenly rolled up his sleeve, revealing a section of his left arm, and asked Su Keke, “What do you see?”
Su Keke’s eyes widened slightly. “This is… a karmic lock?”
On Yin Shaoli’s arm was a faint dark ring-shaped shackle. Others couldn’t see it, but Su Keke had heard Shifu talk about it: among practitioners, some methods place great weight on karma. In order to correct themselves, they make karmic retribution appear on their bodies—such as merit seals and karmic locks.
If one accumulates merit, the golden glow on the merit seal becomes stronger, greatly benefiting cultivation.
On the other hand, if karmic retribution clings to you, a karmic lock appears. Each time you form an evil consequence, the karmic lock grows heavier.
In Su Keke’s view, Yin Shaoli’s karmic lock wasn’t heavy at all—just a small evil consequence.
Luo Man listened, confused. Karmic lock?
“Keke, where’s a lock? Why can’t I see anything?”
Su Keke explained, “Only Dao cultivators can see it. You can understand it as a kind of qi. Spiritual qi is qi; ghost qi, yin qi, and sha qi are all qi. This karmic lock and merit seal are also formed from qi. In our eyes, qi has color and weight.”
Luo Man nodded and smiled. “Looks like there’s far too much to learn if you enter the Mystical Gate. My heart isn’t in that. I won’t join the excitement.”
Yin Shaoli’s face was indifferent as he let his sleeve fall back down. “Since I formally entered the Mystical Gate at five years old, I’ve accumulated countless merits. I have a high reputation in the sect and am valued by my master. Yet the appearance of this karmic lock—”
His voice cut off. He gave a low snort. “Forget it. Human nature is like this. And what this karmic lock brings isn’t all bad.”
The starving ghost understood—it was because of her.
She felt sorry toward her idol, but thinking that something on his body existed because of her made her feel a strange secret delight. What was wrong with her?
Sure enough—ghost or not, she was still this kind of person.
“Yin Shaoli, I’m sorry. It’s all my willfulness that harmed you.”
Yin Shaoli no longer knew what mood to use to speak to her. “Harming me is a small matter. Losing your life is the big one. You can take even a polite refusal as truth—your brain…”
Yin Shaoli pressed his lips together and swallowed the rest.
The person was already dead. No matter what he said, it wouldn’t change anything.
The starving ghost, with good self-awareness, finished for him: “My brain is full of paste.”
Yin Shaoli: …
“Is there anything I can do to help you?” the starving ghost asked softly.
“If you go reincarnate early, that would be the greatest help to me.”
The starving ghost nodded and lowered her head in guilt. It was the first time she’d realized her death could also affect other people.
Yin Shaoli exchanged phone numbers with Su Keke. “If you run into difficulties in that area, you can contact me. And what I told you today—you can think about it carefully. The Yin clan of the Mystical Gate welcomes you anytime.”
Su Keke gave a small “Oh.” “Okay.”
But she didn’t want to join any Yin clan of the Mystical Gate. She still hadn’t digested everything Shifu taught her, and she hadn’t finished reading the precious ancestral notes left by the founders. Why rush to learn other people’s things?
When Yin Shaoli was leaving, the starving ghost stared at his back and suddenly called out, “Yin Shaoli!”
The boy paused and turned back to look at her.
The starving ghost rubbed her hands together, looking very nervous. “In the future, don’t dress yourself up like this anymore. You’re so outstanding—you really shouldn’t, just because of the impact I had on you… you… anyway, you shouldn’t be like this. This kind of thing won’t happen again, because—”
She gave a bitter smile. “Someone as stupid as me probably can’t be found again, right?”
“You are indeed a bit stupid,” Yin Shaoli said. “But you’re also very kind.”
Since she had no resentment after death, that was why the karmic lock on his arm was so light.
A huge smile bloomed on the starving ghost’s face—she was delighted.
As Yin Shaoli walked farther away, he suddenly felt his arm grow a little lighter. He froze slightly, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes, and then he smiled.
This world had all kinds of strange people, but someone who not only didn’t resent him after death but even thanked him—this was the first time he had seen it.
Yin Shaoli suddenly turned around and looked at the two girls and one ghost in the distance.
They had come to find him specifically to fulfill a ghost’s wish?
He had a feeling—he would see this Su Keke again very soon.
