“I’m new here and not familiar with the way, could you guide me?” Lan He looked at the ghost as if it were silly, urging him.
The wild ghost was dumbfounded, thinking that even if one is not familiar with the way, haven’t they died before…
He glanced at the hat on the other’s head and the mask on their face, recalling the recent rumors in the underworld about a new “Big Master” patrolling in the capital’s territory, with a somewhat odd temper. He guessed it must be the person in front of him and dared not ask more, to avoid trouble.
“This, this… I’m not qualified to walk on the Road to the Underworld. I only know it’s roughly out of the City God Temple, walk three and a half steps.”
Lan He asked, “Three and a half steps? In which direction do I walk three and a half steps?”
The wild ghost said bewilderingly, “Towards the direction of the Yama’s Palace.”
He looked unsure himself, as he had never been there either. He even began to doubt Lan He’s identity, stretching his neck longer, showing a look that wanted to see Lan He’s credentials.
“What are you looking at? I have a poor sense of direction.” Lan He raised his voice, and the other immediately retracted his neck, pretending nothing had happened.
No matter, he’d first go to the City God Temple, a place Lan He did know the location of, corresponding to the one in the world of the living. He hooked the old ghost and rushed towards the City God Temple.
At the temple gate, some idle underworld clerks of the City God Temple were squatting, who were also Lan He’s colleagues, but they were local, usually conscripting the local souls. Lan He was directly under the jurisdiction of Mount Tai’s underworld.
Knowing that the underworld clerks were lazy in their duties, Lan He didn’t dare entrust the old ghost to them. “Excuse me, is this the way to the Road to the Underworld? — I’m new from the Eastern Peak’s underworld, still not familiar with the way.”
The clerks nodded blankly, thinking it was quite novel for a colleague to ask where the headquarters was, newly confused. Still, they subconsciously pointed in a certain direction, but oddly, each clerk pointed in a different direction.
Normally, an underworld messenger on the Road to the Underworld wouldn’t need others’ guidance like humans or ghosts…
Seeing their different directions, Lan He thoughtfully pulled the old ghost and walked randomly in one direction: “Follow me to the netherworld!”
With one step forward, everything around him darkened. Taking two more quick steps, the surroundings started to become shadowy and distorted. As soon as he lifted his right foot for the last step, the scenery changed, and when he looked down, his left foot was already on a yellow dirt road.
To call it yellow dirt rather than yellow mud would be more accurate, constantly seeping mud water, rugged and difficult to navigate, not an easy road to walk.
The Road to the Underworld was long and gloomy, with many ghostly shadows moving in one direction. Some of them were holding the reins of cattle and horses, probably paper effigies burnt for them by their families. Some seemed to have committed crimes, being escorted.
Lan He dragged the old ghost and ran wildly, shouting as he ran: “Brother Yan San! Brother Yan San!”
The Road to the Underworld was originally silent, making Lan He’s shouts particularly prominent. The pale ghostly shadows all turned their heads, staring blankly. Some were his colleagues, also pale-faced. Occasionally, two pointed ahead, as if indicating that Yan San was still ahead.
“Thank you!” Lan He casually thanked them and didn’t care much, rushing forward.
Time in the underworld stretched longer than in the human world. Lan He didn’t know how long he had run before he finally caught up with Yan San in front of a large city.
The city walls were tall, and the gate was inscribed with the word “Youdu,” the dark underworld, the capital of the netherworld. Two green-clad ghost clerks guarded the gate, with wandering souls entering the city in succession.
Yan San was talking to one of the green-clad ghost clerks and had given him some money, still reeking of alcohol, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had lost a ghost.
“Brother Yan San.” Lan He tapped Yan San’s shoulder from behind. Yan San was slow to react and didn’t turn around at first.
Lan He pulled Yan San aside, whispering, “You’ve left behind a ghost.”
“Xiao Lai?” Yan San rubbed his eyes, taking a moment to grasp Lan He’s words, the alcohol shockingly dissipating, and upon checking his soul-hooking rope, found that its end was broken at some point, murmuring, “This is bad, even the soul-hooking rope is broken, and I have to report back in a quarter of an hour, now I’m going to be reprimanded.”
He looked at the old ghost Lan He had hooked, laughing with anger, “Well, well, I wondered why you were so eager, what did you do to the wine, and even dared to tamper with the soul-hooking rope?”
Truth be told, the old ghost had been half-dazed from Lan He’s punch earlier and had been dragged here flying, still not entirely sober. Facing Yan San, he scoffed with contempt: “Heh!”
Yan San was furious: “You dare to laugh stupidly!”
Old ghost: “??”
The old ghost looked resentfully at Lan He, blaming him for knocking him out, which made him lose control of his laughter!
Lan He raised his fist, and seeing the other cower, said to Yan San, “Don’t rush to discipline him… let me try.”
He wasn’t entirely sure, but he took off the five-colored cord that Liu Chunyang had given him, took out a piece of paper from his pocket, rubbed it a few times, wrapped it around the cord, blackened it with a pen, and then attached it to the end of Yan San’s soul-hooking rope.
With such patchwork repairs, it looked intact again in an instant.
Yan San was both surprised and delighted, lifting it up: “This can work?”
He looked at Lan He in amazement. This wasn’t just a printing press; it was an armory!
He couldn’t help asking, “Do you want to switch jobs? No, I mean, transfer to the capital. The Eastern Peak’s underworld is known as one of the ten courts, but its development can’t compare to the capital’s.”
Unexpectedly, Yan San was also trying to poach him on the sly, despite seemingly being close with Old Bai…
But Lan He wasn’t even keen on doing his current job, let alone switching.
Lan He chuckled, “Isn’t that a bit unscrupulous?”
Yan San felt no shame, “Public matters are public, private matters are private.”
Is that how this saying is used? Lan He ignored it: “This paper was borrowed from the police in the living world. It should work for a while. It’s also my first time doing this. You better go report back first.”
Yan San was overjoyed, “Good, good. Xiao Lai, you’ve really saved me today. Otherwise, the judge might have punished me severely.”
Lan He hesitated, “You should still be careful, Yan San. If you can be tricked into drinking once, it can happen again.”
But not everyone would encounter someone as kind-hearted as him.
“Right… I’ve got it,” Yan San sheepishly smiled, securing the escaped old ghost to his newly mended rope, “Great favors are not to be spoken of, I’ll find you for a drink later!”
“Go ahead.” Lan He also breathed a sigh of relief, watching him enter the city.
As Yan San’s figure merged with the shadows, Lan He turned to leave but felt something tugging at his clothes.
He looked down… well, there shouldn’t be many paper donkeys with a limp in the underworld.
“How did you end up here?” Lan He was quite surprised and immediately looked up. Since the limping donkey was here, then he—
Among the overlapping shadows of countless ghosts, he saw a tall man in black standing inside the city, moving against the flow of entering souls, conspicuously noticeable. He also happened to look over, their eyes meeting across the distance.
Was it really him?
Lan He didn’t expect to meet Song Futan here again. The previous two times were disembodied encounters, but how unlucky it was to end up in Youdu this time. He couldn’t really be dead this time, could he?
Lan He, leading the limping donkey, entered the city gates and approached Song Futan. Before he could speak, Song Futan stared at him and said, “I’m not dead.”
Lan He: “…”
“Hahaha.” Lan He laughed, “We’ve met three times now, and every time I want to ask you, are you dead?”
Song Futan looked at him, somewhat helpless…
Since their last meeting, nearly two months had passed, from spring to summer. Suddenly seeing him again, he seemed to come alive—but the truth was, he was currently on the brink of death.
“Tell me, how did you come to Youdu this time? Here, death is really just a half-step away,” Lan He asked.
Song Futan was not the first living person to end up here. Some living souls are mistakenly hooked and find their way to this place, and the work of the Underworld messengers is not always 100% accurate.
Some, fortunate enough to encounter the City God or a judge, quickly clear up the misunderstanding and manage to return to the living, thus coming back to life. Those less lucky, due to procedural delays, end up in a dire situation and can only go to the City of Untimely Deaths, as the soul being away from the body for too long leaves no opportunity for return.
“I was tricked,” Song Futan briefly explained.
Being surrounded by a crowd of ghosts was a common occurrence for him, but this time he encountered an especially cunning demon. Although it couldn’t confuse him or harm him, it managed to secretly attach him to the tail of an Underworld messenger’s soul-hooking rope, dragging him all the way to the Yellow Springs.
Song Futan couldn’t free himself, but fortunately, the limping donkey dragged him all the way and hopped in front of the Underworld messenger, which allowed him to escape. However, whether the messenger was in a rush to report back or simply negligent, he left the mistakenly brought living soul in the city without care.
Song Futan touched the prayer beads under his clothes, which glowed faintly like night pearls in Youdu, and said lightly, “I’ve been waiting for the City God or a judge, but never encountered one. I was about to force my way through. Being held accountable by the Underworld later is still better than ending up in the City of Untimely Deaths.”
“You’re really brave and skilled!” Lan He, listening to his story, understood the peril despite the calm tone.
Moreover, this wasn’t the first or second time he encountered such situations but was continuously harassed, with the slightest carelessness endangering his life, literally walking on the edge of life and death.
No wonder he could remain so calm even in the Yellow Springs…
“Forcing your way through is risky. Why not try following me?” Lan He pondered. After all, he was an Underworld messenger and might be able to get through.
Without any hesitation, Song Futan immediately agreed.
…
Lan He initially thought of asking Yan San for a way, but Yan San had gone to report back. Writing to Old Bai, he was too busy. With Song Futan having wandered here for a long time, thinking of forcing his way through, and time not being on their side, Lan He decided to go directly.
He wrapped his soul-hooking rope around Song Futan, with the limping donkey following behind, and headed towards the city exit.
Entering the city was easy, but leaving was difficult, especially when Lan He looked from a different perspective, finding the route completely changed, not just the muddy yellow earth but even the direction was different, likely to prevent souls from escaping midway.
At the entrance, two indolent green-clad Underworld clerks stopped them. It was more common to enter the city than to leave, especially for those on official business, making Song Futan particularly conspicuous. They pointed at Song Futan and said, “Souls are not allowed to leave the city!”
Lan He calmly replied, “Sorry, this is a living soul I brought here by mistake. I’m about to return him.”
The clerks looked at Lan He, recognizing an Underworld messenger among them. One asked, “Did you go through the procedures, get the travel permit?”
Indeed, even as an Underworld messenger, Lan He had to follow the process, which was quite complicated. A proper permit would have the image of Yama, requiring three seals from Yama, the City God of Youdu, and the county office.
Song Futan couldn’t wait that long.
Lan He wasn’t flustered, showing his identification, “Sorry, I’m an Underworld messenger from the Eastern Peak, here to see messenger Yan San on business. This soul was mistakenly brought by me; he was supposed to wait outside but accidentally entered. If there’s an error to report, I have to return to the Eastern Peak anyway. You’ve also spoken with Yan San before; we all know each other, so please, could you help me out?”
Lan He passed some ingots their way, thankfully having prepared some just in case.
One of the clerks accepted the ingots, pleased with the quality, “So you’re from the Eastern Peak’s Underworld. Seems like you’ve been doing well lately. We usually work so hard…”
Lan He was generous, but the clerk became greedy, feeling the ingots were not enough.
With that said, he still blocked the way, implying more was needed by looking at Lan He.
Lan He was speechless for a moment, “Actually, we’re not doing that well. If that’s the case, let him wait in the city a bit longer.”
He silently reached out to retrieve the ingots from the greedy clerk’s hand.
The clerk: “…”
Lan He: “…”
Seems like he’s letting go… not doing their job but still taking the money, Lan He increased his effort to retrieve the ingots…
The greedy ghost clerk shouted, “Hold on, dad!”
Lan He: “???”
The greedy ghost clerk chuckled twice, taking advantage of Lan He’s momentary stun to quickly pocket the ingots.
Lan He: “…………”
The clerk said with a sly grin, “We all belong to the underworld; why be so uptight? It’s just a mistaken soul, right? Just write a certification to keep on file, to avoid any trouble later, in case we don’t know where to find you. That’s all.”
“That’s easy to do.” Lan He perked up, writing a certification was no problem at all, especially since Song Futan was indeed a living soul.
However, the other ghost clerk, who had been silent up until now, said, “Hold on, he’s wearing prayer beads. How could he be a soul under your jurisdiction from the Eastern Peak?”
The prayer beads still emitted a faint light underground, glaringly out of place amid the gathered yin energy of Youdu, impossible to conceal.
Lan He was at a loss for words, indeed, even though everyone is part of the same group now, the underworld conventionally handles souls with clear religious affiliations on their own.
How to explain this…
“These aren’t prayer beads, they’re just my hobby beads,” Song Futan interjected unexpectedly, lifting his chin slightly with an undeniable tone.
“…” Lan He slowly turned to look at him, struggling to hold back a laugh.
The ghost clerk said in shock, “What? It’s still emanating Buddha’s light. It must have been held by a high monk profound in Buddhist teachings to become a sacred object!”
“I wouldn’t know, I bought it,” Song Futan replied, a hand behind his back. His cool demeanor and calm voice made it difficult for anyone to argue, “This is Buddha’s light? I thought it was just the patina developed by the previous owner.”
The ghost clerk: “…………”
Lan He barely held back his laughter, “Exactly, he’s just a bead enthusiast; it has nothing to do with faith. Brother, you’ve taken the money and I’ll give you the certification. Can I go back to report now?”
The greedy clerk scratched his head, finding it hard to argue, “Alright, alright, go on then.”
But the other clerk glared at them, unrelentingly saying, “This little money is supposed to represent the Eastern Peak’s Underworld’s face? You think you can just walk the Yellow Springs Road of our Underworld? Do you know what the Yellow Springs Road is? The Gate of Hell, where nine out of ten can’t return.”
The more Lan He thought about it, the more he felt this clerk was different from the other, not motivated by money.
And somehow, a crowd of ghosts had gathered to watch the excitement, whispering among themselves, with words like “underworld” and “Yama’s office” being thrown around.
It seems that although the two departments had long been merged, and some clerks still had dealings with each other, frictions were inevitable, each ghost to their own.
Lan He understood, immediately saying, “I can’t represent the Eastern Peak’s Underworld by any means, but how come one can’t freely walk the Yellow Springs Road?”
Although he hadn’t been in the job for long and lacked a sense of belonging, he couldn’t let Old Bai be dishonored, nor could he let the ghosts take the opportunity to slander the Eastern Peak. Besides, didn’t he have a temper of his own?
Therefore, Lan He continued, “I may not have anything else, but I do have enough money. If it’s money you’re short of, I could donate to refurbish the Yellow Springs Road — your road is all muddy water, too shoddy. Ever heard of ‘to get rich, first build roads’?”
The ghost clerk: “???”
The crowd of little ghosts laughed out loud, the difficulty of traversing the Yellow Springs Road wasn’t a new issue of a hundred or two hundred years; its disrepair was intentional. Such a twisted statement from the Eastern Peak’s messenger was quite cheeky!
And Lan He wasn’t done yet, smirking, “This way, I should qualify to use the road, right? But according to underworld rules, shouldn’t the Yellow Springs Road also be renamed to show gratitude, maybe ‘Lord Lai’s Road’?”
The ghost clerk: “…………”
Author’s Note:
Ghost clerk: Has fainted from anger, these two are more shameless than the other
Translator’s Notes:
Hi there. I usually translate a bunch of chapters to stockpile them before posting them. I planned this novel to be posted this month and had been stockpiling chapters since the month before. Therefore, I didn’t notice that another translator had started this one.
Since they started posting first, I will now be dropping this. A shame since this is a really fun novel.
But fortunately, I found another gem that I’m gonna post first.
Thank you regardless for translating this far! Looking forward to checking out the new project 😀
Any chance to pick this up again in the future?
I’ve tried following the other translator’s, but it looks like they deleted the entire project completely 🙁
Thank you for letting me know. I did not realize that but yay! I really like this novel. I need to set up a schedule for this first but I’m thinking TThSaSu, starting next week. Let me go and see my stockpile first.
Whoot! Thank YOU so much ❤️
Really love what you do 😍