332: Otherworldly Pinyin

Without a moment's rest, he pulled Tudor back into the shadows; the two of them practically fled in panic.

"Lord Judge." You Yu pulled off his bone mask, his face a picture of utter despair.

"Starting tomorrow, I have to wear the 'Deep One' persona during the day and act like a charlatan; at night, I have to be a teacher for the literacy class."

"I can't live like this anymore!!!"

Tudor silently pulled out a blank jade slip, and the tip of the judges brush lit up with a faint glow as he deflected, "Ah! I shall first organize the teaching difficulties for tonight so that when the 'Teacher Ghost Messengers' arrive, there can be a seamless transition."

You Yu watched the side profile of the Judge as he recorded the jade slip, feeling even more depressed.

Looking up at the murky night sky of the slums, for the first time he missed the Netherworld's never-ending overtime pay and His Majesty's cold face.

[At least the ghosts in the Netherworld are literate!]

Forty-eight hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Deep within an abandoned mine near the slums, space rippled slightly. Hei Jing, dressed in a pitch-Black Impermanence robe, stood tall as a pine, his youthful face showing the fatigue of traveling across planes.

Behind him, one hundred and twenty clerical Ghost Messengers stood solemnly, their soul bodies solid; most had been teachers in life, their eyes reflecting scrutiny and a faint, undetectable excitement.

[To be able to carry out education in another world is quite a miraculous encounter for a ghost's life!]

"Minister You, Lord Judge," Hei Jing said with a cupped-fist salute, feigning solemnity.

"By order of the Secretary-General, all members of the Literacy Group have arrived. All necessary items have also been brought along." After speaking, he took out a storage ring from his robes and handed it to the Judge.

Tudor took the ring, casually slipped it onto his finger, and then scanned it with his divine sense.

Instantly, the scene inside the ring appeared in his mind:

It was filled with dense rows of jade slips, the text and patterns on each slip clearly visible.

Clearly, they were all finished products.

Seeing this, Tudor's tensed nerves finally relaxed a little.

He let out a long breath and remarked, "You've worked hard, Hei Jing."

Hei Jing quickly shook his head.

"It's what we should do, Lord Judge."

The Judge nodded and then asked, "You've all read the briefing on the situation here, right?"

Hei Jing nodded again, "Yes, we've looked it over."

"The target group here has been enslaved for a long time, their cultural level is extremely low, the illiteracy rate is very high, and the Orcs' comprehension is also quite limited. Even worse, their bloodline talent is almost negligible."

The Black Impermanence's summary was concise and clear, without any prejudice or subjective judgment.

"Exactly."

You Yu, who had been silent, suddenly interjected, "Following conventional teaching methods, I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve results. Therefore, we need to take some special measures."

At this moment, an elderly gentleman with gray hair floated out and took a big step forward.

"Lord Judge, Minister You, after our discussion, we believe the situation here is unique. 'Spoon-feeding' education might be the most appropriate method."

With a wave of his hand, several specially made jade slips hovered. On them were strange symbols paired with pictures and objects familiar to Orcs.

"This is the 'Abyss Phonetic Symbols,' developed over two days by borrowing the pinyin method from Mercury and combining it with the pronunciations of the Ativi Continent."

"Thirty-six basic symbols correspond to basic pronunciations, to be memorized through pictures."

He pointed to a vine symbol: "This symbol is pronounced 'a', and it's paired with a picture of 'ore'."

Then he pointed to the rightmost water drop symbol: "This symbol is pronounced 'o', and it's paired with a picture of a 'waterskin'."

"First teach the symbol pronunciations through rote memorization. Then use the symbols to spell simple words, such as 'Abyss' or 'Breath'."

"Finally, transition to text; we don't seek deep understanding, only that they can recite prayers and understand the priest's commands."

Tudor's eyes lit up.

[It's actually Pinyin!]

He had heard the Prefecture City God boast about this thing back in the Netherworld, saying it was a marvelous divine tool for dealing with illiterates in the mortal realm.

"Well done~"

He immediately made the final decision and agreed.

"Hei Jing, take the Literacy Group and start immediately. Divide them into small classes for teaching, and set the location in the mine."

"Understood, Lord Judge."

...The literacy campaign quietly unfolded in the abandoned mine, as one hundred and twenty teacher Ghost Messengers transformed into strict enlighteners.

The mine was separated by a Silence Array, divided into over a dozen teaching points.

"A—" An old teacher ghost pointed at the vine symbol, leading the reading in a resonant voice.

"A—"

The Orc slaves opened their mouths, imitating with varying degrees of success, while Old Buck made a rasping "a" sound in his throat.

"No, lower the root of your tongue. Look at the teacher's mouth shape..." The Ghost Messenger floated in front of Old Buck, demonstrating with exaggerated mouth movements.

"A—!"

Di Ya's small face turned red as she struggled to follow the pronunciation, while the Lizardman next to her accidentally got his tongue tied.

"Snap!"

A small pebble condensed from Yin energy hit the Lizardman's temple. The young female Ghost Messenger teacher in charge of him scolded with a stern face.

"Jerry, concentrate. If you make another mistake, you'll have extra practice."

"Sorry, I'll get it right away."

ﾞ━=͟͟͞͞(Ŏ◊Ŏ ‧̣̥̇)

Spoon-feeding education—simple and crude.

Repeat, and repeat again.

Symbols and pronunciations, symbols and objects—forcibly imprinted into these minds that had never before encountered knowledge.

The mine echoed with the stern scolding of the Ghost Messengers and the raspy repetitions of the Orc slaves.

Progress was slow, but it wasn't without effect.

By the second day, Old Buck could stumble through spelling the pronunciation of "Abyss" using the symbols.

Di Ya also remembered over a dozen basic symbols.

By the seventh day, the teaching entered the stage of spelling simple words.

An unexpected situation occurred.

The person in charge of Di Ya's 'Class 12' was a Ghost Messenger teacher who had taught history in his previous life.

Surnamed Li, he was straightforward and warm-hearted.

He was teaching the spelling of the word "chains." Looking at the bloodstains from the shackles on Di Ya's ankles, and then at the pure thirst for knowledge in the Rabbitman's eyes...

A surge of pent-up anger rose in Teacher Li's heart.

Pointing at the shackles on Di Ya's feet, his voice involuntarily rose: "These chains, who put them on you?!"

Di Ya shrank back and subconsciously replied, "It was the... the Overseer..."

"What right does the Overseer have to put them on you?!" Teacher Li pressed, his illusory soul body seemingly fluctuating with excitement~

"Is his strength greater than yours? Is he born more noble than you?"

"No, it's that you have been deceived, domesticated, and have forgotten that power should belong to all living beings."

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, completely deviating from the original lesson plan.

He began using the Abyss Phonetic Symbolss to spell more complex words, mixing in hand gestures to instill ideas into this group of ignorant Orc slaves: "Nobles, blood-sucking vermin."

"Power is in your hands."

"Unite, break the chains."

He wasn't teaching any profound theory, but the simplest enlightenment thoughts on oppression and resistance from Mercury's history.

Spelled out with the most direct "Abyss Phonetic Symbolss," combined with the shackles, whip marks, and hunger before them... Di Ya's small ears stood straight up, and something was ignited in her green eyes.

An unusual light also surged in Old Buck's murky eyes.

The other slaves listened with partial understanding, but the words "break the chains" were like seeds falling into a parched heart.