Forbidden to Capture Rare Cute Ghosts - Chapter 1

“Drip drip…”

Water droplets slid down from the broken lamp above, pooling into a small puddle on the ground.

Nan Deng was hiding in a corner, curling his legs up and not daring to move.

This place was an abandoned amusement park. The broken half of the wall just happened to block him completely.

On the other side of the broken wall were a few people. Nan Deng could vaguely hear them talking.

“How many have we caught?”

“We’ve got six tonight… that makes thirty-seven.”

The person who spoke was holding a clay pot, and something inside it continuously quivered as if it wanted to break out of the container.

He swiftly pasted two talismans onto the lid of the clay pot.

The talismans emitted a weak glow and then dimmed down while the clay pot also calmed down.

“There are a total of two hundred and sixty-one escaped from the tower.”

Another person dragged a wooden compass in his hand while scanning the surroundings warily, “There are at least a hundred of class two resentful souls, and we haven’t even reached half yet.”

There were four of them in the group; they each wore identical gray clothes with simple gold thread patterns on the shoulders and a small silver badge pinned to their chest.

The badge had a simple symbol engraved on it, representing the sign of a celestial master.

Nan Deng looked up at the top of the broken wall, pondering the possibility of escape.

Many ghosts that originally lived in the abandoned amusement park were caught; he hid quickly and was not discovered. Now it was probably just him left.

Those celestial masters had a compass that could detect ghost’s locations. They also surrounded the entire amusement park with an invisibility cloak.

Nan Deng watched as several ghosts attempting to escape were stopped by the cloak and failed to escape, screaming miserably.

He listened to the movements of the group while slowly moving to the other side, trying his best to hide himself.

The falling water droplets passed through Nan Deng’s semi-transparent spirit body without making any noise.

He could only wait for them to leave before the cloak would disappear.

The atmosphere here is gloomy and heavy. Let’s look further inside.

The four of them continued to move forward, carefully searching the area at a slow pace, with occasional conversations heard amidst the silence.

“It’s been a thousand years since the Yezhang tower was built, and this is the first time it’s collapsed…”

“Why did it have to be at a time like this…”

“It’s almost dawn, and we need to hurry.”

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Nan Deng moved to the right side of the broken wall.

The wooden compass’s needle wobbled back and forth without pointing to a specific location.

The four celestial masters truly hadn’t noticed him, having turned their backs toward the broken wall and moved a short distance away.

Nan Deng barely breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing his cold hands on his knees.

“Over there!”

“Bang!”

Suddenly, there was a loud noise, startling Nan Deng.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a thin and tall shadow roaring angrily, climbing, and moving among the collapsed ruins.

It was another ghost, and it moved on all fours with exceptionally abnormal proportions. It continually spewed blue flames from its mouth, attacking the four celestial masters who tried to surround it.

“It’s a level-three resentful soul!” The tall man in the group dodged sideways, waving his hand, and scattering a handful of talismans that spun in midair in circles, only to be nimbly dodged by the shadow.

“It’s actually a level three…” His companion, who was clearly somewhat fearful, gripped their wooden sword tightly, “Should we request for backup?”

The recent heavy evil energy around this area attracted many ghosts; higher-level celestial masters had already come to clean up the place once before.

Level-three resentful souls were of moderate strength, and although there were four of them, two of the team members had just been promoted from apprentices to junior ranks. They accompanied their senior brother and sister on this mission to help catch any missed low-level ghosts.

Their small team would have some difficulty catching a level-three resentful soul.

It seemed the shadow was not keen on confronting the celestial masters; it spewed a large blue flame, turned around, and leaped to the top of the ruins, and tried to escape.

The novice celestial master with the wooden sword couldn’t dodge in time, and a burnt mark appeared on the side of his face.

“Bang!”

Another loud noise as the shadow hit an invisible wall and was accompanied by a roar. A small net-like glow appeared in midair.

He pushed himself up from the ground and tore apart the curses stuck to his body, then lunged towards the outer side and continued to bump against the barrier.

“Boom-Boom-” The shadow displayed immense strength, causing the luminous barrier to emit tiny sparks as if he could really break through it.

Nan Deng also started to get worried. If this ghost could break the barrier, then he could easily escape.

The team leader, a celestial master, remained relatively calm. With a wooden sword soaked in incantation water in hand, he advanced and jabbed it towards the shadow.

The shadow, desperate to escape, was stabbed in the back by the wooden sword. He let out a dreadful scream, shaking his body to fling the sword away.

He turned around and pounced at the person closest to him.

The darkness of the night was profound. Nan Deng dared not to let his guard down and constantly looked up, focusing on the barrier beside him, hoping it would break.

The commotion was getting louder on the shadow’s side; the blood spraying out from his wounds surprisingly had a scorching effect. Several celestial masters had been injured.

“We’re running out of talismans!”

“Be careful!”

Splattering of blood glowing with a blue hue, one of the celestial masters took a step back as he clutched his burnt arm, “This resentful soul… it’s likely close to level four now.”

Minor injuries didn’t bother the shadow; his bleeding managed to stall the team’s actions.

The barrier was able to trap him, but that was it.

They had already sent a signal to the inner court, and nearby celestial masters would come to assist. If nobody came…

If all else failed, they would have to let this ghost escape and try to capture him later on.

The team leader, a celestial master, put away his communicator. He briefly lost focus, and the shadow took this opportunity to raise a section of an iron pillar and smash it towards him.

His companion swiftly pulled him away, but his wrist got scalded by the blue fire.

The companion cried out in pain. The shadow seized the opportunity; with his thin arm, he grabbed hold of the companion’s collar and yanked him over, baring his irregularly sharp teeth.

Everything happened too quickly and the situation became critical. Another member immediately tried to withdraw the barrier and let the shadow escape.

“Thud-“

Just then, a light beam shot over from a distance and hit right in front of the shadow, skewering him straight through.

The shadow toppled forward, pressed on the wound on his chest, and staggeringly stood up.

The beam of light disappeared, leaving behind a rotating Silver Bagua Huan, suspended in mid-air.

The junior celestial master nearby seemed gleeful, “Reinforcements have arrived!”

His companion stared at the Bagua Huan incredulously, “Is this…”

Nan Deng noticed the anomaly and glanced upward subtly.

From his perspective, he could see a blurry figure emerging from the direction of the main gate of the amusement park.

The newcomer was also a celestial master, who strolled unhindered into the area enclosed by the light barrier.

Even though grievously injured, the shadow didn’t let up and roared while retreating.

He sensed the situation turning for the worse and nervously observed the approaching figure.

At this point, the remaining four celestial masters also retreated, seemingly sharing the same fear as the shadow.

“It’s Lian… The chief,” someone whispered.

There were only seven chief celestial masters in the inner court. They thought the reinforcement would be a squad like them, executing a task nearby. To their surprise, it was Lian Yi.

Of the four, only the team leader had encountered Lian Yi before. But even those who hadn’t met him personally had heard his name.

Suddenly, the malicious energy around intensified, and clouds blocked out the dim sunlight.

The invisible pressure and coldness approached as if the air had solidified.

If not for the Bagua Huan in midair, all celestial masters present might question if the newcomer was even alive.

In a blink, the person strode into the area of the light barrier and finally showed a handsome and aloof side profile.

He was quite tall and in black clothing, similar to other celestial masters, with his right hand slightly raised.

The Bagua Huan was manipulated to attack the shadow again, but he managed to dodge it.

The shadow’s chest injury bled incessantly. Wheezing heavily, he coughed up a handful of blood and pounced at the newcomer.

But before he could take two steps, the Bagua Huan quickly spun backward, slapping directly onto the shadow’s back.

The shadow fell to the ground clumsily, unable to move under the seemingly heavy pressure of the small silver artifact, while his deformed spine creaked under it.

The previous squad retreated to the side, their expressions showing astonishment.

The chief celestial master’s capabilities were truly terrifying; they couldn’t defeat a single ghost, yet he subdued it effortlessly.

Noticing that the level-three resentful soul had utterly lost its ability to fight back, the team leader stepped forward: “Thank you, Chief, for stepping in. We were on an urgent mission to capture a runaway resentful soul from the Yezhang Tower…”

Reporting to a higher-ranked celestial master was customary. The team leader kept his head bowed, and reported, “The regional Earth Spirit in this area was confirmed dead yesterday. As a result, we’ve had numerous resentful souls sneaking in. We’ve captured thirty-seven during the last three days, and this is the thirty-eighth one.”

The regional Earth Spirit used to be an ancient tree. Its existence helped to weaken the malicious energy, but now, with the Earth Spirit’s death, ghosts are growing more rampant.

“Additionally, more than ten people in the vicinity have been harmed by resentful souls, suffering varying degrees of spirit and Qi depletion. They have all taken their medications and returned home, and talismans have been posted on the houses…”

The shadow on the ground was still struggling, with the Eight Trigrams encircling it immovably. It violently clawed at the ground, cursing under its breath, “I will kill you all…”

Lian Yi, standing in the front, held his gaze low, exuding a chilling aloofness.

A frown tugged at his eyebrows, suggesting his impatience and desire for the shadow to shut up.

The eight trigram continued its downward thrust, fracturing the shadow’s spine. Simultaneously, white flames rose from the ground, trapping it firmly.

The shadow was torched by the flames, releasing sporadic shrill screams.

“Chief, I wonder…”

The team leader, affected by the activity around, trembled inwardly. He took a deep breath and continued, “Your reason for coming here is…”

Typically, celestial masters would capture resentful souls and confine them in some magical device like a clay pot and then sequester them collectively into Yezhang Tower.

Inside the Tower, there are formations to decompose resentment and malicious energy. With the energy of resentful souls gradually weakening, they will become ordinary dead souls and depart to where they should go.

However, exorcising them on the spot, using the way they died before they became resentful souls, and letting them “die” again, not only takes a lot of spiritual techniques but even the strongest senior celestial masters will not easily do it.

Resentful souls were once humans. Killing them again as a celestial master can increase one’s karma.

The white flame continued to burn, illuminating the surrounding grassland. Apart from the wind, the only sound was the lament of the shadow just before it dissipated.

The junior celestial master at the back had never witnessed such a scene and couldn’t help but turn to look sidelong.

Lian Yi was standing at the front, still appearing indifferent.

Under the flame’s reflection, his left eye exhibited an unnatural sheen – a grayish pupil.

Without wearing a badge and clad in all black, his identity wasn’t immediately distinguishable. Coupled with his peculiar black-gray eyes, he emitted a somewhat indescribable eeriness.

A junior celestial master, recalling rumors about Lian Yi, quickly lowered his gaze and didn’t dare to look again under the pressure that seemed substantial.

Finally, the resentful soul on the ground was completely dead. It had condensed into a small spot of light, blown away by the wind towards the distance.

The Bagua Huan hummed, returning to Lian Yi’s grasp.

He sheathed the Bagua Huan and simply stated, “Just happened to pass by.”

In other words, he wasn’t here for a mission, nor did he require anyone’s help.

The team leader exhaled in relief, “Alright…”

Off to the side, Nan Deng was cornered, shivering non-stop.

He had overheard the whole ordeal. The newcomer seemed extraordinarily formidable, and the ghost couldn’t escape.

If he were caught, he would probably suffer the same fate.

Meanwhile, Nan Deng caught sight of another semi-transparent soul crawling towards him.

It was the ghost of a little girl. She slowly approached the ruined wall and looked up at Nan Deng, revealing a face full of burn scars.

Nan Deng’s eyelashes trembled. He motioned for her to be quiet and gently waved his hand.

But the little girl didn’t understand his intentions and just tilted her head, remaining motionless.

Nan Deng plucked up his courage, whispering as quietly as possible, “There’s… not enough room here.”

The ruined wall couldn’t accommodate the two of them. The little ghost needed to find somewhere else to hide.

In the distance, the team leader was preparing to send Lian Yi off, while the others stayed to clean up.

He always kept a distance from Lian Yi, bowing his head respectfully.

Lian Yi seemed to sense something, stopped his steps, and fixed his gaze accurately on a section of the ruined wall.

The team leader asked cautiously, “Is something wrong, Chief?”

Translator Footnotes:

天師 (tian shi): A term for an exorcist, which translates directly to “Celestial Master” but effectively implies an exorcist or one who disciplines the spiritual or supernatural.

符咒 (fu zhou): A paper charm or talisman, usually inscribed with mystical incantations or diagrams using cinnabar ink. Used in Taoism for a variety of purposes such as healing, protecting, or attacking.

八卦 (Ba Gua): Literally translates to ‘eight symbols’. In Chinese culture, they are a set of eight diagrams used in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality.

八卦環 (Bagua Huan): Translated as “eight trigram ring”, it’s an item used by celestial masters in this story, possibly relating to Bagua, a fundamental philosophical concept in ancient China.

首席 (shouxi): Here, it refers to the highest ranking or the chief within a group or organization.

怨魂 (yuan hun): Translated as “resentful soul”, it’s a kind of ghost in Chinese folklore.

地靈 (diling): An “Earth Spirit” refers to a supernatural entity believed to reside within the earth, usually associated with natural occurrences or landmarks.

業障 (yezhang): Translated as “Karma”, it’s a concept that reflects the consequences of one’s actions.