The reaper led the way, but this ti, Hui walked abreast with her, fully aware of their destination. Back to Zhu Diyus court. Weve been by twice in such short succession does the reaper always visit this often, or is it only since I arrived that shes been so active?
Hui straightened his robes, dusting them down self-consciously. Elder Sister, remind again. What are we reporting to Zhu Diyu about?
She stared at him, dead-eyed. Do you not rember?
No, no. I just want to make sure were on the sa page, Hui said, nodding.
Si Wang summoned that resentnt demon. We must let Zhu Diyu know that hes active again, and that hes found this new way to tamper with the natural passage of souls, the reaper declared.
Yes, yes. Si Wang is the one tampering, and certainly not this small cultivator. Hui tucked his hands behind his back and peered at the reaper from the corner of his eyes. Elder Sister, is it natural for resentnt to build up like that?
She shook her head. All the more reason why we must inform Zhu Diyu of what has happened.
No, I dont an the demon. I an resentnt, building up in the mortal world. Is it supposed to happen like that? Hui asked, tilting his head.
The reaper sighed. Its sothing that has always happened since ancient tis. Ghouls and ghosts are an unavoidable part of the Underworlds operation. Although
Although?
Recently, more resentnt has been building up. Were understaffed, with only one reaper, and with Heaven in disarray, the Underworld has beco unstable as you should well know, the reaper said, shooting a look at Hui.
Hui swallowed. Have I been found out? Or rather, how has Elder Sister not noticed? Could it be that she knows, and shes warning to stop before it becos a real problem?
I cant. I cant, Elder Sister! Stopping ans giving up on my children. And I could never do that. Over my dead bodyoull have to drag to hellyouthat that is, it isnt happening!
Smoothing his collar, Hui nodded. I have noticed, Elder Sister. The realm is surprisingly shaky. I thought the Underworld would have a much stabler foundation.
It did, once. But as the Heavens suffer, so does the Underworld. The three realms are tied together, and no one of them can escape the others plight. More than anything, the Heavens must be rallied back into their proper shape. The reaper scowled.
But theres nothing we in the Underworld can do, Hui guessed.
She shook her head. They ignore us. They ignore the mortal realm. The Heavens have vanished into themselves, and no one can communicate with them anymore.
Mmm, thats true, Hui said. Even Master only managed it once, with great difficulty. Although given that its Master Im not sure hed communicate, even if he could! Hed expect to simply comprehend what the problem was, without any extraneous hints!
Hui coughed. Going back to the resentnt, though is there any way for us to clear it away?
A long ti ago when the Heavens were functional, and the Underworld wasnt crumbling, it was our, the reapers, job to handle excess resentnt. Now, though we dont have enough ti to handle resentnt. Its all we can do to reap troubleso souls before they can sow resentnt to try to stave off future problems.
Ah? But Elder Sister and I seem to have so free ti, Hui said.
You are certainly free, the reaper said, her voice acid.
Hui jolted. Er, is Elder Sister working while I rest? My apologies, I didnt an to step on a landmine!
She waved her hand. But youre recovering. Once youre recovered, youll be out at all hours, like .
Oh, Hui said. ntal note: never recover! I need to train my children. I cant afford for my job to be my life!
In any case, even if I only worked your hours, I still wouldnt have enough ti to exorcise resentnt from the world. Resentnt requires one to comprehend the fundantal issues that caused the resentnt, and either address them or otherwise calm the resentful souls. It can take days to resolve a single case of resentnt. Once they ball together into sothing that can be turned into a demon like the one we saw, its nearly impossible to untangle all the resentnt and resolve it.
She spread her hands. Like threads. One thread knotted can be unknotted. Two, three, four twenty threads knotted together, and youll be there all day, unable to fully unwind the threads.
Ah I understand, Hui said. What Elder Sisters saying is that its relatively easy to figure out whats making one ghost angry. But once its two ghosts, or five, or ten just like how ten people can all hate the sa thing for different reasons, it becos nearly impossible to assuage their resentnt and put them to rest.
If our full-ti job was dealing with resentnt, Im sure we could manage, but if its a part of our job
The reaper glanced at him, then shrugged. Sotis mortal cultivators exorcise resentnt, or resentful spirits on the verge of descending into deep-seated resentnt. But its rare that mortals can exorcise enough to make up for the ever-building resentnt that fills the realm.
Hui nodded. That might also explain why I never encountered resentnt in the Southern Sect Conference. Not only is it the smallest region, but its cardinal sect is also an exorcist sect. Although All-Heavens Sect certainly cultivated things other than exorcism, they likely served to keep resentnt relatively rare in the Southern Sect Conference.
Hmm, I wonder. That demonic cultivator whose body I gained rot qi from I wonder if I could sense resentnt on her, if I returned now? Perhaps resentnt is difficult to sense unless one is truly dead or perhaps even a reaper. Clearly mortals can sense it, as the reaper indicated that sotis mortals dispel it, but perhaps its sothing one must cultivate, not sothing one can simply walk by and naturally pick up on.
I should ask an All-Heavens life qi cultivator if they know about resentnt. If anyone would, it would be one of them.
But I killed the leader of the life-qi-cultivating exorcism faction of All-Heavens. Which life qi cultivator is going to happily answer ? Especially since I only have death qi right now! So far, Ive dealt with the ghouls, who dont care, and Song Wei, who who extra wouldnt care, and a few Starbound Sect cultivators who are probably too low realm to be able to sense anything about my cultivation. At best, they might be able to get the impression of coldness or death but nothing more than that.
And after all, Im Martial Brother Lao Gongshi to them. Why suspect ?
Wait, hold on. Thats it! Ill just wear a disguise! Yes, yes. No one should have a problem with the innocent white lotus Song Wei asking about resentnt! Excellent. If I end up at All-Heavens Sect again, Ill do that for sure!
Hui nodded to himself, smiling a little.
The reaper shot him a suspicious glare. What are you thinking about?
Ah! Nothing, Elder Sister, Hui said, shaking his head.
If youre thinking about nothing, then why are you smiling like that? she asked.
Eh is small cultivator not allowed to smile? My apologies, Elder Sister. Ill be sure to keep a neutral face from now on, Hui said.
The reaper rolled her eyes. Naturally, you can smile. Its just that your smile is suspicious.
Can Elder Sister please elaborate? How is my smile suspicious? Hui asked, tilting his head.
Taking a deep breath, the reaper put a hand against her forehead. She took a slow breath in, and slowly let it out, then glared at Hui. Stop talking. Were almost there.
Hui saluted sharply. As Elder Sister wishes! I almost forgot about Elder Sisters terrifying feet! Small cultivator values his life afterlife! I have no desire to be stepped upon!
They reached Zhu Diyus court. As usual, Zhu Diyu slumped in his throne, his eyes half shut, but unlike the usual slow progression of souls, hundreds of souls stread past, hurtling through the proceedings and into the cycle of reincarnation.
Huis eyes widened. He darted his gaze toward the reaper. Is this okay?
The reaper didnt react. Walking under the mass of flying souls, she walked toward Zhu Diyu.
I guess I guess this is normal? Is this normal? Should it be normal? It doesnt feel right With one last glance at the souls, Hui followed the reaper toward Zhu Diyus throne.
Zhu Diyu yawned, sitting up slightly as they approached. A faint glimr of interest shone in his eyes. He nodded. For you to co to like this did sothing happen?
Er before that, please forgive this small cultivator, but is it normal for these souls to rush through like this? Hui asked, unable to hold back his curiosity.
Zhu Diyu glanced up, as though hed only just noticed the souls overhead. He nodded. Most souls can be left to the realms automatic processes. I dont need to personally intervene with the majority of souls. Only those with resentnt, great virtuous or evil deeds, or a strong attachnt to life must be personally processed by myself. You simply joined us during one of those relatively rare periods where I personally ran the entire proceedings.
Realm? So the Underworld is a secretahem! Hui carefully schooled his face into a neutral expression. No, no. This world is composed of three realms. Theyve called the Underworld a realm before, as they should. Theres no need to get so excited. In any case, if I wanted to destroy the Underworld, I could, secret realm or not. Its more impressive that it hasnt crumbled under its own weight yet.
Should I bring that up to Zhu Diyu? It seems dangerous, but
Internally, Hui shook his head. And lose my route to the mortal realm? No, no! Besides, Im being careful. The Underworld is damaged, but it shouldnt collapse on its own just yet, not even with going through it. Im being very careful and using existing holes, after all! No, no, this small cultivator would never do sothing so dangerous as damage the Underworld intentionally!
That, and I definitely dont want to let Zhu Diyu know that I know what the outer structure of the Underworld looks like. Thatll raise a few questions, a few questions I dont want to answer!
Dont drift off, the reaper muttered, nudging Hui.
Hui jolted awake. He nodded thankfully at the reaper. A beat later, his eyes widened, just a little bit. He glanced at the reaper out of the corner of his eyes. Ah? Elder Sister bothered to wake up despite her cold interior, could it be? Does Elder Sister perhaps care about , after all?
No, no, Elder Sister! This small cultivator is a married man! Ah, but if you insist, I suppose I could ask Bai Xue and Li Xiang to allow to open the harem once more?
Zhu Diyu raised his eyebrows silently. A small smile played over his lips. Mamian never acted like this around the previous second reaper. Excellent! My matchmaking prowess is unparalleled!
The reaper narrowed her eyes, glancing from Hui to Zhu Diyu. She pursed her lips. I feel like a great deal of useless thoughts are being thought right now.
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