Chapter Six: My Grandfather’s Speculation

I looked at the old man with a confused expression, unable to find words.

The old man smiled and said, “Your grandfather and I are twin brothers. Formally speaking, you should call me Second Grandfather. But I don’t have a name; I’ve always lived under your grandfather’s identity.”

“So, that means one of us must be an unregistered person,” I said.

“That’s unavoidable. The Yuan family has a strict rule—only nine members across three generations. If I didn’t conceal myself, I would have died long ago,” my Second Grandfather explained.

He continued, “A few years ago, your grandfather arranged a backup plan for you, but he never told you. How is your grandfather doing?”

When he asked, tears welled up uncontrollably, and I choked out the story in broken sentences.

Second Grandfather patted my head and comforted me, “Don’t worry, your grandfather is fine. As he said himself, he’s very capable! He can return even after visiting the King of Hell. Besides, if he had died, I would have sensed it.”

That brought me some relief. Wiping my tears, I asked, “Second Grandfather, my grandfather never explained things clearly to me. He said I was a stolen child and that the ghosts of the underworld are after me. What exactly is going on?”

Second Grandfather lit a cigarette and said thoughtfully, “That’s a long story.”

“Our Yuan family is a lineage of sorcerers. You are the seventh generation now, right?”

“Your great-grandfather broke a major taboo in sorcery, and the Yuan family was punished by the gods. The curse says: ‘No more than nine members across three generations, or the family line will be wiped out.’”

“In other words, the combined count of three generations must not exceed nine people, or the entire family will perish.”

I couldn’t help but ask, “Second Grandfather, what exactly did our Yuan family do wrong?”

He shook his head. “I never inherited the family’s secret arts. My father and grandfather never told me that part of the secret. I only heard vaguely that the Yuan family defied the will of Heaven.”

“Your grandfather also said that the family’s sin must never be discussed casually, or else the ghosts and gods will punish us for disrespecting fate.”

I unconsciously muttered, “Is this divine law or tyranny? We can’t even talk about it?”

Second Grandfather shook his head. “What Heaven has ordained, no one can change.”

“But your father and grandfather have already begun to reverse this fate through you. Maybe this is the turning point for the Yuan family’s misfortune.”

“Counting from my grandfather’s generation, your father is the ‘third generation,’ and you were not supposed to be born.”

“Your grandfather originally didn’t intend to use secret arts to continue the family line. Because if he did, your father would have to die.”

“Though your grandfather wanted a grandson, he couldn’t bear to lose his son.”

“If he had to choose between a grandson who wasn’t born and the son he raised for so many years, he would definitely choose his son.”

“That’s human nature.”

“But your father refused to accept this! He couldn’t understand why the Yuan family was cursed and punished by the gods, so he secretly got married.”

Second Grandfather took another puff and carefully recounted the story of my parents’ marriage and my birth.

Listening to the Yuan family’s history sent chills down my spine. After a while, my voice trembling, I said, “Second Grandfather, it sounds like my mother deliberately came to harm the Yuan family.”

How could I accept such a thing?

He said gently, “Don’t cry yet, let me explain slowly.”

“Your mother’s background is indeed strange. Your parents married without your grandfather’s knowledge. By the time your father told your grandfather, they had already registered their marriage.”

“That meant your mother had become part of the Yuan family, and your grandfather couldn’t oppose it anymore.”

“Your mother said she married your father to repay him for saving her life while he was a soldier. Your grandfather never believed this.”

Second Grandfather tapped his cigarette and said, “At that time, he even asked me to investigate that woman’s origins.”

“What I found was flawless—nothing suspicious. But precisely because it was flawless, it made us uneasy.”

“In fact, your mother’s actions later struck at the Yuan family’s vulnerabilities and gradually forced your grandfather to act.”

“Though your grandfather was wise, he couldn’t bring himself to harm your father and eventually fell into a trap.”

“It wasn’t until after you were born that your mother’s true identity became somewhat clear.”

Second Grandfather sighed, “Do you know why your father went mad?”

“Because he saw your mother’s real face.”

“When your grandfather examined your mother’s body, he found her eyes were different. Her left eye was a ghost eye with a vertical pupil.”

“From that ghost eye, your grandfather inferred her origins.”

I couldn’t contain my anger and asked coldly, “Who is plotting against our Yuan family? Why are they doing this?”

At that moment, Second Grandfather seemed to see something different in my eyes and was startled. He nearly dropped his cigarette. “Such fierce energy! It seems you’re beginning to awaken a vengeful spirit.”

I ignored his remark and pressed on, “Who are my enemies?”

Second Grandfather knew I wouldn’t stop questioning, so he said, “Judging from your mother’s ghost eye, she must be from the Thirteen Ghost Gates.”

“There is a secret art known only to the Thirteen Ghost Gates that allows a person to cultivate a ghostly body.”

Before I could ask more, he said, “Let me tell you about the Thirteen Ghost Gates.”

Many years ago, a ghost rhyme circulated in the martial world:

The Yin and Yang realms, the Yellow Springs’ gate,
Thirteen Ghost Gates guarded by living men.
Overseer, jailer, the brocade-clad marquis,
At the station for the dead, watching the mountain hound.
Door gods at the Water Immortal’s temple,
Red lanterns and white banners circle the streets.

This ghost rhyme is like a children’s song sung by ghosts—a catchy ditty! Such rhymes don’t spread without reason. Whenever one appears, great events stir between the worlds of the living and the dead.

Behind each ghost rhyme lies a hidden secret. This one, “Thirteen Ghost Gates,” is no exception.

However, it seems one line was lost in transmission. The last two lines refer to the sorcerers guarding the ghost gates, but only twelve are named.

There are thirteen gates but only twelve sorcerers mentioned. Why one line was lost, and who the thirteenth sorcerer is, no one knows.

As for the origins of the Thirteen Ghost Gates, it’s even more mysterious.

Legend has it that an ancient dynasty established thirteen armies to guard the gates between the yin and yang realms, called the Thirteen Celestial Guards.

When the dynasty fell, the Thirteen Celestial Guards disappeared as well.

But they did not vanish entirely. Instead, they passed down their knowledge in secret and formed a vast organization known as the Thirteen Ghost Gates.

The Thirteen Ghost Gates are not thirteen individuals but thirteen sorcerer clans.

They operate with great secrecy. Some appear in the martial world stirring trouble under various identities; others live quietly as ordinary people.

No one can say how powerful the Thirteen Ghost Gates truly are.

I’ve spent half my life in the martial world and have only heard their name—never seen them.