Mom said, “Wait a moment,” and never came back.
Dad said, “I'll be back soon,” and never came back.
Grandma said, “I'll cook a little later,” and never stood up again.
He waited his whole life, only to be let down three times. For eighteen years, no one ever favored him or kept him in their thoughts.
On his eighteenth birthday, he cooked a bowl of noodles, never took a bite, and died silently in his old family home in the countryside.
For two years after his death, no one came to claim his body. Maggots gnawed his bones, rats and ants devoured his flesh.
He was consumed by an injustice that had never been avenged, and a bone-deep chill.
The boy's resentment gathered into a soul, turning him into a vengeful ghost.
That year, spiritual qi revival transformed the world. Demons and evil spirits ran rampant, and powerful beings descended to earth.
The Heavenly Dao favored all living things, yet had failed Lin Ye alone.
People hunted ghosts and drove out evil, treating spirits like a plague.
Only Zhong Kui descended to earth and saw the purity in his heart.
“Though you are a vengeful ghost, you have no blood on your hands.”
He taught him the way of ghosts and passed on his ghostly power.
He made resentment his body and sinister energy his blade.
Using the uncanny to suppress the uncanny, and ghosts to destroy evil.
