Identity - Ghost

While a large investigation is being carried out behind the scenes, Stigma's group was currently walking down the market. Since Felix had to rondevu with his group soon, he gave his ticket to Stigma and told him to keep the reward if there was a chance, they then separated and would all meet in Stigma's tent by tonight.

Unlike the festive mood that was happening around them, the four were showing different expressions, especially Stigma who had a haggard expression and a bloody nose. Kirin was sleeping inside his robes so it didn't draw to much attention, Hilda was strapped to his back maintaining her silence, and Dusk followed behind them but with great distance.

Between of the siblings, the sister was browsing through the jewelry like an appraiser before handing what she liked the most to Stigma , while the brother were standing right beside him who was trying not look around like a tourist.

The leader was buying all sorts of food and carried on with the festivities, enjoying herself as she looked back at Stigma with a playful expression, but he knows all to well behind that cute smile was a she-demon.

When Stigma came out from his bath, all of them were drinking from the little brother's stash that was inside his space ring. Stigma finally had the chance to introduce Hilda to the groups when they asked why he carried a rusted sword when he carried other weapons like the ax and knives.

Their first reaction was full of curiosity, from the brother's experience and knowledge, he described his rope as durable enough to withstand a chop from an ax, even when it laid on the ground without Zen energy it would only lead the ax to bounce of.

If he applied some Zen aura the ax would suffer instead, coupled with his strength, the tension applied could break a normal sword under one strong swing or bend if it was made in the higher Tier. Stigma struggled under his bindings, yet the sword remained the same driving all of them to curiosity about the swords origins.

When he introduced Hilda towards the group, they all had different expressions when they realized Stigma 'named' his weapon; Felix was trying not to offend Stigma's childlike innocence and asked him where he found it, the little brother was holding his laughter and humored him as he called out Hilda's name with familiarity, while the girls were giggling about him naming his sword and thought it was cute.

Irritation got over Stigma when they were not taking him seriously, so took the opportunity for payback from before, he made an exaggerated story about Hilda's origins. From how they reacted from the orb, Stigma understood that these people were not familiar with dealing with cursed objects, Hilda understood immediately and played along.

He told them by nightfall he always notices a shadowy figure following him in the distance, he tried to call it out but did nothing but stare at him, as if to keep him company at night. So far, it had done nothing to him but watch from a distance leading him to ignored it. But every time he was in dark places it was always pointing at him, declaring something in silent.

By the time he notices, the sound of heavy breathing was beside him as if it was right next to his ear and every time he turned to look of the source, there was nothing there. When his back was turned, he always felt a hand brush past his shoulder, as if its was trying to catch Stigma's attention, to look back.

But every time he looked after each brush, Stigma notices shadowy figure was getting closer from each time, slowly it was getting near making him believe that it was waiting for something, and each time it got closer the louder the breathing was by his ear.

And today it was still following him.

To add a dramatic effect to the story, he ordered Dusk to brush pass their shoulders a little when they look at Hilda and breath right next to their ears, as if they were cursed and the figure was calling out to them - like a ghost.

They first thought Stigma was making a joke, but how Stigma told the story made them all feel uneasy, followed with why the sword did break was driving them to believe the sword may indeed be special.

Instinctively, rather than look at Stigma, they all looked at the rusted broad sword named Hilda on his hand. Hilda played her part and responded with a soft voice which made them all suddenly feel their backs were covered in sweat, but they all laughed it off as it was his talent for ventriloquism.

However, what happened next was a sensation of heavy breathing rights beside their ears but each time they turned there was nothing there. Unknown to them, as Stigma told his story he was also blatantly ordering Dusk who was still invisible..Silently it listened and followed Stigma's orders without question and started doing said actions, avoiding any means to harm them in the process.

They tried to laugh it off as a form of uneasiness, but Stigma understood that in this world standards, ghost or curses exist and many believe it was due to Heavenly Beings or superstition in religious practices.

But they reasoned that, although Cultivators are powerful and have the potential to become future demigod beings, they are still affected or fear dangerous elements like curses or ghost, as they are hardly any known cultivators who can use exorcism.

So areas that had experienced large bloodshed or land that had buried remains in abundance are to never be ventured unless it was recent or a thousand years had passed, they were repeatedly warned by their elders and seniors to never to enter them or else a bad omen will befall them.

Regrettably, many are still hot blooded or blinded by greed and tried taking old treasures from deceased seniors as graverobbers. Because they kept ignoring the warnings, anyone who had those treasures on their possessions would experience strange encounters like seeing something that shouldn't exist or was latched on to bizzare spirits that forced them to live in a living nightmare leading them to their death.

There were multiple ghost stories told but they all had the same message - respect the dead. One of those stories was about a people being possessed and acted like wild beast or they would turn blind after using an old mirror.

So when they heard that Hilda was capable of talking and was buried under the earth, they immediately remembered the old warnings, which they all pay heed out of respect. Causing all of them to urge Stigma to leave the sword back to where he found it and stop making scary jokes.

But Stigma wanted their little prank to be paid back in full, if not, who knows how many times it will happen and his petty honor would not allow him getting fooled again.

When Dusk finally gave the leader a small tap to the shoulder it became visible at the right time, causing not only the leader to stare at it but screamed to the top of her lungs, the brother was no different and they both screamed with terror on their faces.

Strangely when Dusk appeared right beside the the leader, two panicked but Felix was ready to fight, but Stigma was more surprise to see the sister remain expressionless like she wasn't afraid.

The leader was shaking in fear, the sister wasn't scared and laughed it off as she hugged her, while the brother tried his best not to show fear and destroyed the bottle by his gru. Felix on the other hand had jumped back with a shadow over his eyes, flipping his hand two metal rods that were over one meter each, summoned at each hand and made a fighting stance.

From how they reacted, other than the sister the two had actually met Dusk last night. Stigma was aware that Dusk can't stay invisible forever, so he made the assumption that when Dusk appeared before the three, and tried to attack it out of desperation immediately mistaking him as a malevolent spirit.

Having a shadowy figure appear out of nowhere had them all spocked to their cores, each of them gave similar but exaggerated reactions compared to how Stigma first reacted to meeting Dusk. But they tried to drive it of as a Cultivator that used a bizarre technique.

Unfortunately Dusk kept his distance since they were recognized as not 'enemies', excluding the sister both had tried to chase it around all night until it disappeared which made them have little sleep, which explains why the tent was a mess when Stigma woke up.

The leader and the little brother being undress was due to the leader spatting out bizarre knowledge of how to get rid of bad spirits, because she was heavily drunk her explanation was vague but gave a reason that spirits can see humans due to them being in clothes, so she removed her clothes and tried to removed the little brothers in fear that it will return unless all were naked.[1]

After a while, Dusk never appeared again and the leader gave up halfway eventually falling a sleep along with the two, in total they only slept in three hours until Stigma woke up. Before they slept the leader ordered both of the them spirits return if they speak of their names, so they never speak of it again, until now that is.

Seeing the leader panic made Stigma's day, he then introduced Dusk to them as his 'first' familiar, causing all of them to be baffled from the sudden news as payback from before. When he explained its abilities they immediately understood why it looked like a ghost.

The sister taught that there would be more fun of it was around and laughed it off, while the brother believed that Stigma would harder to deal with than his leader when pranks are involved.

Unfortunately, the leader was very petty and got even with Stigma by having a few sparring matches. The result, until he was strong enough, Stigma would never scare her again.

Out of ten matches; he repeatedly lost because he was weak in grappling attacks, even when he tapped out she turned deaf for a whole minute and refused to let go.

When his limbs returned feeling from going completely numb, Stigma swore in his heart; Once I gets stronger, I will haunt that b*tch if its the last thing I do or my name is not Stigma Falsus.

As an apology they told him to carry most of their belonging during shopping, placing everything inside his space ring and return them later on, at the same time Felix separated from them but he kept the orb with Stigma permission to study it.

Before they left, they told Stigma that it would be less confusing if they told him to use code names for now, these three were still on a mission so until then they can't tell him their actual names much less the organization until the mission is over.

The names are as follows; the sister will be called Veil, the brother is the Hangman - Han for short, and the leader exaggerated her code name as Princess, but Stigma called her 'Princess of Peace'[2] which both the siblings agreed but got Stigma's face kneed, ending him with a bloody nose.

They also said that these code names represents the aliases that all underworld agents will use from now on once they enter the field, so Stigma had to choose carefully in what code name will be, as it will carry on until he is dies. During their time in the market they have to carry on a mission, so Stigma had enough time until they can all leave to think about his alias.

Because Stigma didn't find any interest in the market he played around with a simple tool Veil brought out to help him with his Zen energy control. During their fight they notice Stigma had an advance level technique that focuses on aura control, with their limited time, the sister made a simple tool for him and help them as they move around.

The tool was a glass bottle filled with water and oil, the point of the training was to insert Zen energy in either the water or oil and try to separate them, the more clear one side is the more one's control is shown to have increased. So far Stigma was progressing slowly and he was trying his best to form the oil into one area, surprising them all.

Along the way they noticed that was a group of people parading in the street beating large drums on wheels in a rhythm, as they pass by they handed out flyers with the rules on the lottery.

It is as follows:

1. The lottery will go by predetermined patterns, to make sure odds are fair the numbers on the tickets are set in ten patterns only, all the tickets given are set to have prizes in each category but the numbers patterns will not be announced until the event starts; so the more tickets they buy the more chances they can get to the highest prize.

2. The odds in getting the prize are as follows: Any prizes above six will be a sixty percent, any prizes between the four and five will be thirty percent, in the third category ten percent, in the second will be eight percent and the first prize will be five percent.

3. The event will end until the end of the day, to claim the winning prize they must go to the center of the stage and give them the ticket.

'So the odds are in winning the highest prize are very minimal since we don't know the patterns and many would not dare to show off their tickets if they want it to be stolen or copied.'

As they walk down the market, they soon noticed that a handful of green stall was based near each corner with the words 'Lottery Counter', on the sign board the rules of the lottery were written along with the list of prizes.

Out of curiosity, Stigma went up to the counter and found out it was for assistance in case anyone missed the announcement. In short, the event will take place in the center of the market, which was currently occupied and will not allow entry, until the beat of the drum is heard.

"So what do you want to do? The events sound straightforward and we can at least win something along the way." Han found a place for them to rest while the girls were enjoying themselves, he then pulled out about three tickets and showed it Stigma he was participating.

"I have about two tickets, one from me and one from Felix." The girls returned and brought out some snacks for them and told them about the event. Strangely enough the leader had already bought about twenty tickets beforehand, while the sister bought about ten.

"Want to split the winnings! After today they are going to be gambling events taking place tomorrow, so we might as well buy as much as we can and sell them off and get a lot to win alot for tomorrow!!!! Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!"

...

"Sorry Stigma, the boss is a hardcore gambler so just follow her for know until she loses all her money." Veil sat beside him and gave him some tea on a bamboo cup.

"....Okay." He wasn't much of a gambling man, but trying out a lottery wasn't a bad thing. The rules weren't rigged and happened to be straight forward, so there was literally nothing to lose.

"By the way Stigma, is there something you want to buy or something to eat?" The brother gave him a corn on a comb as he leaned against a wagon.

The three were already informed from Felix about Stigma's 'past', so they tried to give him a good time. The three had already gone through rough times, but compared to them, Stigma was far worse since he can't remember anything.

Between losing something important or having nothing to enjoy, which is far worse to live with especially to a child.

"...Nothing in particular." Stigma just ate the corn in silent, on the other hand the three were feeling awkward and asked if he had any dreams.

"....Before I met you guys, I had no goal in mind other than living in the woods in peace, but you guys gave me a choice so I took it. My reason for coming here was to find a human companion, even with Hilda, Kirin and Dusk I wanted a someone human to talk with. So when I heard about this place, I thought if I can have a human slave around, then I would feel like I was still 'human'."

All of them to remain silent as Stigma described the events that happened to him, causing all of them to feel some form of worry. Living in the woods was dangerous, especially to children around Stigma's age, they can somehow relate as to why Stigma said if he was still human.

Fighting wild beast without experience, fending his life against wandering Cultivators without much support, and having his first kill at the age of ten and feel indifference. Who would not feel, uneasy.

They had all experienced their first kill or lived in dangerous moments but they had time to be able to cope with it, but Stigma had fought against Heavenly Beast and ignored the common sense on how to fear Death. Questioning as to why Stigma was still sane after seeing a dead body or killing a living creature.

"I did it for survival sake, there is nothing else to think about. If I don't fight back or get stronger, then I will die, besides I only kill when needed to or fight back when necessary. The Cultivators I met were either monsters in human skin or the type that enjoyed killing for amusement."

Finishing his corn, Stigma grabbed the tool again and focused on his training, unfortunately Veil took it away and hugged his head as she patted his head like a mother.

"Stigma, children should work after they get older, take your time and enjoy everything. Even in clans responsibilities and training come after you realize what is important."

....

"Yeah! Unless your old enough or until your strong enough. I, your father, will not allow you step in the underworld until you can beat the great me." Han smiled as he placed his hand over Stigma's head and ruffled his hair.

"Haa!? If he can beat you, then he won't go very far, he has to beat me in one hundred matches before I allow him to work on our level." The leader bit of a piece of meat from a barbeque stick and drank a bottle of wine.

Stigma listened to their ranting, and all of it made him feel something he hadn't felt in a long time, a sense of belonging. His previous life was mundane and made him feel melancholic, his parents deaths made him have a deep hole in his life, since he had no friends or a lover, it made it more of a reason to stop living.

The promise he made to his parents is what always drives him to push forward, ignoring the pain of living a life without meaning or the life of hardships he didn't care and moved on. But deep down inside, he always felt that with nothing else but a promise making him move forwards to live on, what happens afterwards if he fulfills but has noone to enjoy it with.

The thought always haunted him, but when he woke up in a world of danger, he was both excited and glad that a new choice was given to him. Between living a world with hardships or a world with no future, he would choose to stay here and fulfill his promise with a full heart.

With all those thought running through his head, Stigma realized that when he died, the owner of the body was already dead. So for an abrupt moment he found out what his code name should be, since they were both ignored when they died.

"Ghost..."

??? The two stopped arguing and looked at Stigma, they couldn't hear what he said and listened carefully.

"Ghost, my code name will be Ghost, one without a past but moves forward with a cause."

"...Stigma are you sure, you can choose a different name, afterall you have until the end until you can figure it out."

"I'm fine with that name, I don't remember my past so why mope around and get stuck in the past to pity myself, I still have my future to think about. The past is there to guide you from your mistakes, it is not what defines your future."

"True words Stigma, no, Ghost, so when we leave the market leave the credentials to us."

"Ah, can I still use my name, I still have to get something tomorrow by the guard post."

"What's there for you?" When he told them about what the incident, the leader took the opportunity and went with him, it was her chance to squeeze out free money so how could she not miss it. For safety reasons, the siblings also tagged along incase the leader went overboard, again.

"Again?" Veil pointed out what happened and Han continued on when he saw their boss ran off to buy more tickets. So far she bought back about, fifty more and tried to look for the seeler that ran off when she threatened him.

"Remember the thing about the gambling, she takes every opportunity to increase her money, believing that all she needed to win big was due to luck. She once went up to loan sharks and loaned about one hundred thousand gold coins each with interest, but she didn't pay attention about her contract with the sharks and ended losing in rigged poker match in a suspicious gambling den." - Veil

"So when she went back to get more money, they all refused until she payed them all back first. With her limited patience, instead of begging for more money, she completely went ape and demanded more money from them when they denied her for the tenth time. She didn't stop for ten days and she completely destroyed about five loan shark gangs, the owner of the gambling joint finally let her win from her ten days streak, in account of finding out the loan sharks she borrowed from were actually their investors." - Han

"...Yikes...Wait, did she return the money?"

"What do you think, so when she ask for money give her the money even a small amount to save your pocket money and run like hell or force her away from the gambling options if needed. She went on a rampage for five days when she found out the loan sharks wanted their money back, she claimed that money should be spent so why bother keeping it, so in retaliation and irritation she still kept the money and hanged every gang member upside down in their underwear in front of the nearest guards stations and went to the nearest gambling den and repeat the process.

'Dafuq?!?!? She's a demon after all!!!!!!!!!'

"I know, until she wins one match or she had her fun she won't give up, unless her master tells her to stop she won't stop. After all, her master is the reason for her gambling addiction."

"...What is he, the type that enjoys winning by chances or something?"

"No, her master is the sibling of our master who is also a woman, her cultivation training derives from how the blood flow increases one's ability. Meaning the more excited she gets, the more her abilities increases, getting faster and stronger along with her cultivation evolves."

....The hell?

[1] Fun fact, when chinese go into mourning the clothes they wear during that time must not be worn for a whole after washing, believing that the deceased relatives had recognize them when they visited and cling on to their clothes. When they leave, the relatives spirits that followed would be a form of a familiar smell to their living kin, like what favorite cologne they always used or a flower they liked when they were alive. To make them return to the afterlife, the kin must not wear the clothes so they may return to the realm of the dead believing they have finished visiting or they will remain in the world of the living and become a wandering spirit.

[2] Chineses Slang for flat chested use google. Literally "Princess of Peace". The slang usage is a reanalysis of this expression as "Too-Flat Princess", thus its use in slang to refer to flat-chested woman.