Chapter Ninety-One: Black Impermanence

After hearing the old Taoist’s explanation, I finally understood. To reach the netherworld, one had to have real skill; otherwise, there was no way at all to get there by crossing over.

The reason was simple. Only after passing through the Inn of Rebirth and registering upon the Road of the Yellow Springs did a wandering soul truly set foot on the path to the underworld. But on that journey, the soul had to pass through thirteen stations before it could safely enter the netherworld.

Among those thirteen stops, the most infamous were Evil Dog Ridge and Golden Rooster Mountain. Even a soul escorted and protected by a death envoy could be torn to pieces at any moment by the ferocious hounds on Evil Dog Ridge or the golden roosters on Golden Rooster Mountain. Let alone someone like me, crossing over without an escort. Unless I possessed astonishing Taoist arts and had the ability to deal with those dogs and roosters, I might perhaps make it through those thirteen stations. With my current meager abilities, though, I would likely be shredded to soul-dust the moment I reached Evil Dog Ridge.

At the thought of this, a chill of cold sweat instantly broke out along my back. I was fortunate indeed to have met the old Taoist here; otherwise, as he said, once I set foot on the Road of the Yellow Springs, I might never even know how I died.

Of course, I did not blame Qin Yu. She had meant well, but she had never crossed over into the netherworld herself, so she had no idea how perilous this journey truly was.

My heart sank then. If I could not get through those thirteen stations, there was no need even to mention finding Han Qiang.

Just as I was at a loss for what to do, the old Taoist beside me suddenly said, “I have a few friends on the other side. Maybe I can have them help you look into it.”

Delighted, I hurriedly thanked him.

The old Taoist chuckled twice, revealing a mouthful of teeth blackened by smoke. “No need to thank me. Consider it repayment for the last time you helped me drive off those villagers at Clear Wind Temple.”

When he finished speaking, he said no more. Instead, he took out a yellow talisman, lit it, and very soon a cold wind rose where the talisman burned. Then I saw a black figure more than three meters tall stride out from within that wind.

The instant I saw him, my heart nearly leapt straight out of my chest.

The towering figure wore a black robe and a tall hat inscribed with the words May All Under Heaven Be at Peace. A scarlet tongue hung from his mouth, stretching down to his chest.

Black Unseen Official!

I was so frightened that every hair on my body stood on end. The old Taoist slapped my shoulder and said, “Relax, kid. This is only a projection of Black Unseen Official from the netherworld, like a video call in the mortal world. What are you so scared for?”

Only then did I draw a breath and steady myself. I had thought the netherworld would be backward compared to the world of the living, but who could have guessed that down below they were even more advanced, with three-dimensional projection technology already in place?

What surprised me even more was that the old Taoist seemed to know Black Unseen Official very well. He greeted him at once, saying, “Long time no see, Brother Black.”

Black Unseen Official in front of us smiled. That smile was as eerie as could be, and then he said, “Well, well, old man, what made you think of me now? If you were coming to the netherworld, why not come directly to see your Black Brother? Instead you used a thousand-mile mystic light talisman. That hurts my feelings. Not very sincere of you.”

Then he gave the old Taoist a contemptuous look and said, “You should learn from that drunken fool from Mount Shu, Ding. Not long ago he brought a big jug of fine liquor over from the living world and spent three days and three nights drinking with that ox-headed brute. He made Bull-Head badmouth both White Brother and me for ages!”

The old Taoist laughed. “Brother Black, I’ve been busy, that’s all. When I’ve got time, I’ll definitely haul down a whole cart of liquor and come drink until we can’t stand straight, you and White Brother included.”

After that, he got straight to the point. “Brother Black, I’ve come to ask a favor. Help me look into someone.”

Black Unseen Official nodded. “What kind of matter?”

So the old Taoist explained that he wanted to find out about Han Qiang. After hearing the story, Black Unseen Official’s expression barely changed at all, as though such a matter was trivial beyond mention for a yin deity of his rank and station.

Soon, he readily agreed. He said he would immediately send someone to check with the Registry Office, and if there was any news, he would notify the old Taoist at once and have Han Qiang’s soul sent to the Inn of Rebirth.

When I heard that, my heart surged with joy. I had thought this would be harder than ascending to heaven, yet the old Taoist had solved it so easily.

By then, all my prejudice toward the old Taoist had vanished without a trace. Looking at him now, I was certain he must be a member of Mount Mao, and one of considerable standing at that. Add to that his connection with Black Unseen Official in the netherworld, and I found myself feeling that this old Taoist was unfathomably deep.

What I could not understand, however, was this: if he truly was a high-ranking figure of Mount Mao, why would he make copies of his own sect’s prized manual and sell it everywhere? Could Mount Mao really have been driven to the point of selling off its pots and pans?

But that did not seem right either. Mount Mao had stood for a thousand years, and within the Taoist world it stood as one of the three great powers alongside Mount Shu and Dragon-Tiger Mountain. How could it possibly be poor? Just from the furnishings in Qin Yu’s Three Flowers Mystic Hall, one could tell that Mount Mao must be rolling in wealth.

The old Taoist seemed to read the doubt on my face and smiled as he said that he sold books not for money, but in the hope of carrying Mount Mao’s Taoist arts far and wide.

Well, that explanation was hard to fault.

After that, I went nowhere. I stayed in the Inn of Rebirth and waited there for three full days. Every day, aside from chatting and joking with the old Taoist, I spent the rest of my time watching those soulless ghosts shuffling back and forth.

Before entering the Inn of Rebirth, they did not know they were already dead, so they all wore blank, bewildered expressions. But once they stepped onto the Road of the Yellow Springs, memories of their former lives would rise in their minds. Many would try to turn back and run, only to be met by merciless iron whips. Some souls were even beaten to the point of scattering completely by the yin soldiers stationed at the entrance to the Yellow Springs Road.

Watching such scenes, which made the scalp prickle, and hearing the howls and wails drifting along the Road of the Yellow Springs, I could not keep the chill from crawling up my spine. It was a good thing I had met this old Taoist here. Otherwise, I truly did not dare imagine what horrors awaited me after entering the Road of the Yellow Springs.

At noon on the third day, Black Unseen Official suddenly sent the old Taoist a thousand-mile mystic light talisman, and the old Taoist immediately asked whether he had found Han Qiang.

Black Unseen Official nodded and said he had, and that he had already sent someone to bring him to the Inn of Rebirth.

When I heard that, my whole body trembled with excitement. Heaven had truly blessed me. Han Qiang had indeed not yet been reincarnated. At last, I had found him.

Toward evening, two yin soldiers brought a burly man to the Inn of Rebirth. He wore a set of ancient blue battle armor and looked imposing, almost heroic.

I recognized him at once. He was Han Qiang, the very man shown in the photograph Peng Lei had given me.

Perhaps because he had become an official of the underworld, forty-odd years had passed and Han Qiang’s appearance had not changed in the slightest. He still looked exactly as he had in his youth. When he saw me and the old Taoist, he frowned slightly, his face full of confusion.

Still, Han Qiang knew that Black Unseen Official had sent him to meet us, and he also understood that our relationship with Black Unseen Official was surely not ordinary. Black Unseen Official held a very high position in the netherworld, so Han Qiang could not afford to offend him. Thus he looked at us both with great respect and said, “I am Han Qiang, currently serving as an infantry captain in the camp of Marshal Ox-Head’s yin army. May I ask what business the two gentlemen have with me?”

Perhaps because my grandfather had been taken away by Bull-Head, the mention of that name made my heart instinctively jolt. But very soon I recovered my composure, then took out the photograph Peng Lei had given me and asked whether he knew the person in it.

The moment Han Qiang saw the photo in my hand, he froze. His eyes reddened slightly, and he subconsciously looked at me and said, “This is Lei. Little brother, what is your relationship with Lei?”