Chapter 20
THE TEN KINGS were seated high, high above.
The hall was as blue as the sky; its height and depth were endless. There was always a vast expanse of stars hanging overhead, and just underfoot were the Eighteen Levels of Hell—tongue-pulling and hot oil and all—with three thousand impassable waters flowing endlessly around them. Anyone entering the hall was walking on solid ground, but it was as if that ground were unmarred glass. The ghosts below were starkly visible as they were skinned, as they passed through mountains of knives, and as they were fried in hot oil. The sight made it seem that anyone in the hall could fall through the floor into Hell at any moment.
Zhao Yunlan had asked the Magistrate to lead the way to the real Reincarnation Cycle, but the moment they reached the Netherworld, they were informed that the Ten Kings wished to see them. The Magistrate had no choice but to visit the Yanluo Courts first.
As soon as they set foot inside and got a look at the “welcoming display,” the Magistrate’s gaze flashed. The Eighteen Levels of Hell weren’t ordinarily visible within the Courts. As a rule, they were only displayed as a warning when a ghost who had committed the most heinous crimes refused to obey.
Showing it to Zhao Yunlan like this was truly no way to treat a guest.
The Ten Yanluo Kings wore fierce expressions as they peered down from their pedestals high up on the walls. The dark lighting made them look like beasts baring vicious teeth. Zhu Hong, who had tagged along, stared down into the Hell of Tongue Ripping. She saw a slouched man bound to a pole, and as she watched, one ghoul restrained him while another forced his mouth open, reaching in with a dry, blueish hand. Startled, Zhu Hong grabbed Zhao Yunlan’s arm. “D-don’t go over there.”
Zhao Yunlan pried her fingers open. “Wait for me outside.”
Stone-faced, he marched forward. With every step, he felt like he was treading on the heads of the countless ghouls below. When he reached the center of the Great Hall, he stopped. That placed him directly above the Hell of Oil Cauldrons. Zhu Hong couldn’t shake the feeling that Zhao Yunlan would be spattered with hot oil at any moment. She tried to follow but couldn’t keep from glancing downward…just in time to see a long, soft tongue being yanked out of a man’s mouth. It seemed as if the blood would surely splatter her face. Her stomach roiled. Finally, unable to bear it, she turned away.
Zhao Yunlan’s frosty gaze swept across the Ten Yanluo Kings. Then he turned to the Magistrate cowering at his side. “Do you guys expect me to just stand here while we talk?”
His voice was deep and cold. Each word pierced the distressed cries rising up from the Eighteen Levels of Hell.
To the Magistrate, Zhao Yunlan no longer seemed like the Guardian. At this moment, he was far more like Kunlun-jun. The Qin’guang King might be certain that Kunlun-jun’s spirit hadn’t been awakened, but seeing Zhao Yunlan like this made the Magistrate tremble. He shot a look at the reapers. A pair of them darted out immediately, then came back with a chair as well as some tea.
Zhao Yunlan took his seat like an important lord, crossing his legs. Then he placed a hand against the teacup that was being offered to him and glanced at the reaper’s pale face, so like papier-mâché. “I’ll pass on the tea. I’m afraid the food from down here won’t agree with my stomach. Now, you’ve put on your little show to intimidate me and kept up your appearances. But we’re all very busy, so let’s get to the point.”
Ten voices spoke, one from each of the Ten Courts, layering into a unique harmony as they angrily denounced him. “Impudent young man!”
From the moment Ghost Face had stolen Shen Wei away right before his eyes, Zhao Yunlan had felt like a chunk of ice was weighing down on his heart. He’d felt completely detached from everything anyone said or did; none of it seemed real or consequential. Only now, after having been confronted with such an extreme sight, did his mind begin to clear. Belatedly, he felt his anger float to the surface, although no trace of it showed on his face.
Zhao Yunlan crossed his arms in front of his chest. Ghost Face had taken the Soul-Executing Emissary. Whether Ghost Face harmed the Emissary or the Emissary had gone to Ghost Face’s side, it was bad news for the Netherworld. What was more, while there might not be a clear prognosis for the Great Seal, it clearly wasn’t going to hold out for much longer. And yet even under these circumstances, the Ten Courts were still putting on such an unfriendly welcome, appearances be damned.
Years of experience working with the Netherworld told Zhao Yunlan that the dumbasses were obviously planning to ask something of him, but they were unwilling to swallow their pride to do so. Either that, or they saw no need to take a mortal like him seriously and had chosen the route of coercion and bribery.
Whatever the case, it meant he was under no obligation to be polite either.
He gave a cold laugh. “You’ll all have to forgive the bad manners. My parents didn’t raise me right, so this is just who I am.”
As one, the reapers held their breaths. Some didn’t understand the situation and thought this man was clearly there to start a fight. The Ten Yanluo Courts were where every soul came to be judged for the sins committed before and after death. Every last one, even the noblest aristocrat or most commanding general, stood upright as they walked in and lay flat as they left. The reapers had seen countless souls cry out for their parents but had never seen arrogance to match this. He behaved as though he wouldn’t inevitably face reincarnation sooner or later!
Enraged, the ensemble boomed again. “Zhao Yunlan!”
Zhao Yunlan didn’t back down. “Sorry, but that’s ‘Guardian’ to you,” he retorted.
At that moment, the ground beneath them started to shake—small tremors that quickly became fiercer and fiercer. They sent sand and pebbles flying everywhere inside the Yanluo Courts.
Zhao Yunlan looked down. In the Hell of Oil Cauldrons below his feet, boiling oil was sloshing over the sides of the vats. The ghouls that had looked so impressive were now running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to escape. In the Hell of Copper Pillars, cracks appeared on the pillars, and in the Hell of the Mountain of Knives, the blades were jumping up and down like shrews.
A reaper came bursting through the doors to the Ten Yanluo Courts. Falling to their knees, they cried, “Terrible news! The Great Seal… The Great Seal broke!”
Even as they spoke, the doors to the Halls were thrown wide-open. Everyone peered out, only to see the water in the Wangchuan River boiling. All the ferrymen had abandoned their boats and taken uncertain refuge up on the Naihe Bridge, which shook precariously. The narrow Huangquan Road was already submerged beneath the rising water, and a massive black shadow was slowly approaching from below. But just as it was about to surface, it stopped. Lights as soft as fireflies began glowing on either side of the flooded Huangquan Road—pea-sized lights all in a row. Zhao Yunlan remembered the little oil lamps that had lined the road—the soul-guarding lamps.
As the soft light and the huge shadow faced off, another reaper staggered in. “Ghost City! Ghost City’s gates have cracked! It’s utter chaos! The violent ghosts are going to rebel!”
The Ten Kings, who always presented a united front, started to panic. They sounded very much like ten enormous ducks quacking noisily at one another.
Zhao Yunlan grabbed the Magistrate by the collar, jamming his gun under the man’s chin. “Take me to see the Reincarnation Cycle right now or I’ll shoot you in the head!”
“Director Zhao!” Zhu Hong screamed, unable to believe his fearlessness.
A lone Yanluo King spoke up. “Guardian, will you explain yourself?!”
This single voice, unsupported by the other nine, was thin and weak.
“Explain myself? Go fuck yourself!” Zhao Yunlan sneered. “I’ve spent a long time holding myself back with you sons of bitches. Now move!”
“Guardian, please wait!” This time, all ten voices rang out together.
Behind him, Zhao Yunlan heard a huge clang. Glancing back, he realized that the portal to Hell had been closed at some point. The hall that had been so dark was now brightly lit, revealing the Ten Kings for all to see. Exposed by the light, they seemed surprisingly normal, despite their slightly peculiar getups.
The mechanism on the wall began to turn. With a great noise of metal springs, a stone door opened in the wall, behind which was another door. The Ten Kings descended from their towering pedestals, each taking out a key that was always on their person. They opened ten doors, one after another, and behind them all lay a huge pond with an ephemeral air to it. It didn’t seem as though they were even in the Netherworld anymore—this was more reminiscent of the Jade Pond.11
And there, in the pool, Zhao Yunlan saw a gigantic lamp. It was a giant version of the small oil lamps on the Huangquan Road, standing at least a dozen meters high. The Qin’guang King, who had opened the final door, turned to Zhao Yunlan. “I’ll be honest with you now. This is the last of the Four Hallowed Artifacts, the Soul-Guarding Lamp.”
Despite the Wangchuan River’s turmoil, it was oddly peaceful thousands of zhang below the Huangquan, where the Great Seal was.
By this point, Lin Jing had escaped his bonds. He recited a water-repelling spell and circled around Shen Wei many times before climbing the Ancient Merit Tree. “Hold on, let me take a look. I must have a wire or something on me that I can use to pick the lock.”
“No need,” Shen Wei said calmly. “All you need to do is pull the icicle from my chest.”
Lin Jing shuddered. “P-pull it out? Won’t you…”