536. Make New Friends
Added 2023-04-14 14:00:03 +0000 UTCHui stood there smiling until the reaper faded away. The second she faded away, the smile dropped off his face. No time to waste. While sheâs away, time to find out what happened to all the other reapers before me!
He hurried off into the town, looking around for a clerk with some free time. All the clerks rushed by, eyes dead ahead, clutching records and scrolls to their chests. After a few minutes, Hui frowned. Narrowing his eyes, he leaned against a wall and watched the rushing clerks. Thereâs no way all of you are that busy all the time. I know your tricks. Someoneâs using the old clipboard tactic⌠Iâd bet my life on it!
If I was in the habit of betting. Or betting my life. Or⌠if I was alive.
A few moments later, Hui stepped forward, into the way of a bookish-looking male clerk in formal robes, a court hat, and glasses. The clerk drew to a halt, startled. He glanced left and right, glasses reflecting light, then went to step around Hui.
Hui moved to the side, blocking his path. âGood evening, Elder Brother.â
âIâm busy,â the man said, adjusting his glasses.
âSo busy that youâve had to take three circuits of the main street with the same four scrolls?â Hui asked politely, smiling.
The manâs eyes widened behind his glasses. He coughed and went to push by Hui more forcefully. âExcuse me.â
âElder Brother, no, no. Please. I donât want to give you more work. I just want to chat,â Hui said, backing away in pace with the man.
âWe shouldnât chat with the reapers,â the man said.
âSays who?â Hui asked, still smiling.
The man hesitated. He drew to a halt, momentarily giving up on leaving Hui behind. Stiffly, he bowed. âPlease let me pass.â
âWas it Elder Sister Reaper?â Hui asked.
The man jolted.
Hui grinned. He nodded at the man and turned, walking alongside him. âElder Brother, Iâm also a reaper. Do I not have equal standing?â
âErâŚâ The man coughed awkwardly.
âAh! Iâve been impolite. Iâm not allowed to give my name, but what about Elder Brother?â
âYun Qianfan,â the man said shortly. He swerved hard down a side alley.
Hui followed, sticking to his side like glue. âIndeed, what a learned name. Truly, it shows Elder Brotherâs intelligence. Elder Brother, could you tell me? What happened to the other reapers before me?â
Yun Qianfan stopped dead and took a sharp turn. Unbothered, Hui moved with him. Elder Brother appears to have been a court official in his life, from his robes. He never cultivated a day in his life. Meanwhile, I retain my full cultivation. Elder Brother might have the advantage of knowing the lay of the land, but he still canât possibly shake me off! The gap between his evasion and my stickiness is simply too high!
Robes swished. Yun Qianfan took sharp turns one after another, but Hui kept pace with him. At last, Yun Qianfan adjusted his glasses and took a long breath. âYouâre being petty.â
âElder Brother, Iâm dead. Arenât I allowed to be a little petty?â Hui asked.
Sighing, Yun Qianfan looked at Hui. âYou arenât going to give up?â
âIâm known to be persistent,â Hui said, nodding.
Yun Qianfan glanced left and right, then darted down a narrow alleyway. He looked at Hui over the rims of his lenses. âWhat do you want to know?â
Hui grinned. âIâm glad Elder Brother has seen reason. What happened to the reapers ahead of me?â
âFailed,â Yun Qianfan said.
âFailed?â
âThey couldnât handle the job. They went insane, or got corrupted by the dangerous types of qi that lurk around death and resentful souls. Ultimately, Elder Sisteâahem, Mamian had to guide them into the path of reincarnation,â Yun Qianfan said primly, his glasses flashing.
Hui frowned. âIs that all?â
âAllâyou just learned that your coworker murdered all those who came ahead of you after they went insane and got corrupted, and your reaction is âthatâs all?ââ Yun Qianfan asked, startled.
Hui waved his hand. âElder Brother, thatâs well within expectations.â I know that Iâm in a cultivation world, so itâs not that unusual for coworkers to murder one another. On top of that, Iâve personally encountered multiple types of harmful qi already. None of this is unexpected. Hmm, but I guess Elder Sister didnât want to tell me? Well, it is a bit grim, I suppose, to tell me that she guided all those in the job ahead of me into reincarnationâŚ
Eh, but itâs not that big a deal. Weâre dead. Itâs the natural progression of things! Naturally, Iâm not going to easily go along with the natural progression of death, but then, Iâve got a lot to do before I give up!
Yun Qianfan adjusted his glasses again. âIf thatâs all?â
âAh, yes, yes. Many thanks! Iâll come ask Elder Brother if I have questions again!â Hui said, stepping aside.
âPlease donât,â Yun Qianfan said, gathering his scrolls close once more.
âI have the premonition that weâll become great friends,â Hui called after him.
Yun Qianfan hurried out of the alley, leaving Hui behind.
Hui snorted. He shook his head after Yun Qianfan. If you arenât working, why are you in such a hurry to run off? Elder Brother, if youâre being lazy, then commit to being lazy! Besides, whatâs the harm in stopping to chat with me? I didnât even ask a hard question.
Dusting off his robes, he paused to consider his next course of action. Iâve got a free pass to do what I like for a time, but⌠what should I do? I could go back to the mortal realm, but I havenât done much down here. Once I inevitably break free of the Underworld, itâll be difficult to reenter this space. I know Han Qinâs beloved is down here somewhere, but I havenât seen her prison yet. Now that the reaperâs away and Zhu Diyu is distracted, as usual, I should take this opportunity to go search for her. After all, itâs relatively easy for me to visit the mortal realm, and for now, Zhubi should be sufficient to train up and watch over my children. If I have time afterward, Iâll stop by the mortal realm, obviously, but first, letâs go find that phoenix lady!
Although Iâm easily suppressing the phoenix flames right now, I wonât be able to rely on the Sanzuâs waters forever. If anyone knows how to remove it or snuff it out, itâs the lady who developed the phoenix flame in the first place! Maybe thereâs some mystery Han Qin isnât aware of.
So decided, Hui nodded. He leaped into the sky and flew up, ascending toward the roof of the Underworld. From on high, I should be able to get a better feel for where Han Qinâs beloved is. For where the prisons in general are! Surely the Underworld has prisons. Iâm sure of it!
Stone stretched in all directions. The small city of clerks appeared even smaller from above, little more than a blemish on the stone floor. Zhu Diyuâs court and throne stood out more clearly, along with the long line of souls slowly approaching the Lord of the Underworld. He spun slowly, searching the extremities of the world.
Well, Iâve already done this. I canât be surprised if it doesnât add anything more.
But instead⌠Hui focused, reaching out to his soul and circulating his death qi. The third eye on his soulâs forehead opened.
The world didnât turn black and white this time, but instead, the scenery below changed. Immediately, a cloying scent of iron and rot suffused his nose. Hui clapped his hand over his nose instinctively. WhatâŚ?
A sea of white bones carpeted the floor, occasionally pitting away to reveal deep pools of boiling blood. Larger bones jutted out of the ground, curling toward the sky. The throne Zhu Diyu sat upon suddenly appeared fleshy and raw, like rotten flesh. Instead of hair, a constant stream of bright crimson blood ran down over his shoulders from atop his bare skull.
Hui jerked back. Is this what the Underworld truly looks like?
Zhu Diyu looked up. Nothing sat in the depths of his eye sockets but shadow, shadow so deep as to have no depth. Although he had no face, Hui got the impression that the man smiled at him. Zhu Diyuâs bony jaw moved up and down.
Somehow, Hui found himself understanding the manâs words. I already gave it to you long ago.
Hui frowned. Gave⌠what to me�
Ah! Wait! My talismansâthat is, Zhu Diyuâs talisman! The one with the waves. Is that what he means? But⌠what does that mean? âI already gaveâŚâ but what for?
Wait. Hui tore off a bit of his sleeve and bit his thumb. Dark Sanzu river water marked the cloth, and he stared at the formula, thumb to his lips. Waves⌠vibrations⌠dimensions⌠I never fully understood this attack. Is there some further mystery to it, that I havenât yet comprehended?
His third eye closed. The Underworld returned to its usual appearance. Down below him, Zhu Diyu turned back to the approaching souls. All returned to normal.
Hui looked at his talisman again. You know what? Letâs go use this at the borders of the Underworld, not right in the middle. Iâm not sure what itâs going to do, or if itâll even work, but I donât want to launch an attack right over Zhu Diyu and have the reaper and all the clerks jump me for âattacking the Lord of the Underworld.â No, no. I must avoid such misunderstandings at all cost!
Nodding to himself, he tucked the talisman into his robes and flew away, hurtling toward the edges of the Underworld.