Gu Wuming lazily woke up in the first rays of morning sunlight. He instinctively pulled the chain, only to hear a clattering sound - there was nothing but emptiness on the other end of the chain, no trace of Gu Qiqi.
The chain was made of the strongest iron rock in the demon world, and without his key, no one could open it. Naturally, Gu Qiqi couldn't either. He jumped up suddenly and ran to the window to take a look. Next to the empty chain lay a severed hand with its snow-white bones clearly illuminated by the sunlight.
"Crazy! This girl must be crazy!" Gu Wuming threw the chain aside and jumped out of the window as if he had gone mad as well.
When I stood at the summit of Welcoming Moon Mountain, the dark yellow moon hung in the sky like a broken washbasin. A miasma-like fog surged in the surrounding woods. As expected, Ah-Tou, that fox, hadn't fully recovered his vitality yet, and Welcoming Moon Mountain still wasn't refreshed.
In the glade in front of me, the once lush wildflowers and plants had been scattered and trampled. Some places had simply turned into bald patches, and the dark soil was turned over from the ground, a sight too distressing to behold.
At the edge of the woods not far from me, Gu Qiqi, with a severed hand, supported the pale-faced and weak Ah-Sheng. A talisman with red characters on a black background glowed with a fiery brilliance under the moonlight, and was firmly attached to Ah-Sheng's chest as if it were growing on him. The two sat against an old tree, warily looking at everyone in front of them.
"Auntie Shaluo!" Zhong Xiaokui dashed out from beside Chifeng, his face full of tears as he rushed to my side. He grabbed onto me as if seeing a savior and exclaimed, "Why are you here? This is great, really great! I don't want to kill anyone, I really don't! That chap doesn't look like a bad guy at all!"
"Don't make a fuss!" I signaled to the kid to stop talking. "Auntie knows what to do."
"Tree demoness, this matter is an internal affair of the Underworld. You'd better not meddle," Chifeng coldly glanced at me, then cast a quick look at the skeleton, Gu Wuming, beside me. "And you, take your sister away at once. Just now, she used her demon powers to stir up a tricky fog and disrupt our tracking. We won't hold her accountable for that. But if you keep delaying our business, don't blame us for being rude!"
"Oh! This incident has caused quite a stir, huh? Two of the Ten Hell Kings in the Underworld are actually involved!" I chuckled, tsk-tsking. "But there must be grounds for killing someone, no? Even though it's a Stone of the Dead, you and I both know that from the moment it left the Underworld, it became a true flesh and blood human. Regardless of his origin, as long as he is a human at present, you cannot arbitrarily decide his life and death. Also, Zhong Xiaokui is still a minor. Instead of setting a good example, you are teaching him to kill?"
"Lady Tree Demoness, this is the king's command. We must take the Stone of the Dead back to the Underworld, back to where it belongs," Mosong, more polite than Chifeng, slightly bowed to me. "As you stated, once the Stone of the Dead entered the human world, it became a true flesh and blood body. Only the descendants of Ghost King Zhong Kui can kill the physical form of the Stone of the Dead and send it back to the Underworld. No one else can harm him. For the safety of the human world, it is Zhong Xiaokui's responsibility as a ghost king to seal the Stone of the Dead back to River Styx. I hope you don't stand in the way, your honor. Otherwise, it'll be difficult for you to explain to the king."
In fact, what Mosong said wasn't entirely unreasonable. After all, Ah-Sheng was "dangerous goods" capable of killing people with his eyes. I didn't know much about him, plus I didn't have much of a friendship with Gu Wuming in the first place. Did I really need to set myself up against that formidable Hell King for his sister and Ah-Sheng? I'm a businesswoman after all, so I'd better calculate some accounts, right?!
"Hey... you're not..." Gu Wuming probably sensed some bad signs from my silence and quickly grabbed me, saying, "You promised me! You..."
"Go with your brother... It's enough that you accompanied me this far." On the other side, Ah-Sheng's pale lips moved, addressing Gu Qiqi, who had been tightly protecting him. Although Zhong Xiaokui's Evil Suppressing talisman, specially designed to deal with demons, wasn't an immediate threat to his life, it would gradually disperse his vitality, causing unbearable pain.
"You're not evil and shouldn't be treated like this!" Gu Qiqi shouted with rare anger at everyone present. "You are unfair!"
"Fool, what they did is not wrong." Ah-Sheng gently pulled down her clenched fist. "In the beginning, many people did indeed turn into stone because of my gaze. My existence has always been defined as evil and destructive. That old ba*tard Zhong Kui pointed his sword at my head and asked me why I had killed so many people. I said I just want to observe them, that's all. I wanted to see their faces, their expressions—everything about humans that I couldn't see on that desolate cliff in Greece. It was so interesting. I liked the girl who sang on the highest haystack in the village. I couldn't help but pick fresh flowers for her, but I forgot that I couldn't look at her. I cannot follow my heart in this world, even if it's just a quick look at someone I like..."
At this moment, it suddenly occurred to me that with that geezer Zhong Kui's straightforward hatred for evil, if this Stone of the Dead was truly heinous, he could easily use his Zhong Kui sword, which is invincible in slaying demons and eliminating evil, to annihilate this stone. Why only destroy its corporeal body and trap it in the Underworld?!
"You..." Gu Qiqi lowered her head, holding him even tighter.
"Since the first time you appeared in front of me, I knew you weren't human but a bone demon," he smiled at her. "Actually, these specially made sunglasses block my vision. You guessed it right at the beginning; I'm almost blind. However, I can distinguish the types of supernatural beings by their scent and even figure out what clothes they're wearing. From your manner of speech, I can imagine what you look like in my mind. I can also do household chores and so on like a normal person, which is already a bonus. If I had known how to interact with the world in this way from the beginning, it wouldn't have led to such serious consequences."
"You knew from the beginning that I am a skeleton without flesh and blood?" Gu Qiqi was shocked.
"Yeah," he grinned, forcing a smirk. "A ghastly white, skinless, fleshless, ugly skeleton girl." He paused, "But I like talking to you. Since you mind me seeing your true appearance so much, I simply acted like I didn't know. That way, you might stay with me a little longer. Hehe."
"You even knew that I'm a bone demon... then… then that Professor Xiao..." Gu Qiqi thought of Professor Xiao, who he interacted with all the time, the sanctimonious man who ultimately chose to betray him.
"When I just left the Underworld and became a human, I was very weak. He found me in the mountains, took me home, and took care of me. He also noticed the abnormality in me. He's not a bad guy, just someone who wants too many things but can't get them," he lowered his head and sighed deeply. "Actually, I planned to fulfill his desires."
"You know he wants to hand you over to the research team for experiments, you know he wants to exploit you for fame and fortune, and you still want to fulfill his desires?" Gu Qiqi's voice rose instantly.
He gave a half smile, "I need a reason to continue existing, even if it means being used." He patted Gu Qiqi's cold cheek. "I wish I were Live, not Evil. This idea is a bit silly, but I really wish for it. However, I failed. I killed those three thugs, and I should bear the blame. Come on now, go with your brother."
"I won't! As long as I'm here, no one can take you away!" Gu Qiqi stubbornly held onto him. "You're the only person who knows my true identity and still wants to be friends with me."
"Uncle Chifeng..." Zhong Xiaokui sidled up to Chifeng and Mosong, "please drop it… Let's just pretend we didn't see them, okay? Isn't that stone wearing sunglasses? He won't hurt people so easily…"
"Zhong Xiaokui, you're talking such nonsense!" Chifeng's face was like a shrinking Antarctic iceberg, angrily saying, "Who can guarantee that an evil thing like him won't take lives again in the future? As a descendant of the Zhong family, subduing demons and warding off evil spirits to protect the human world is your family motto! You..." As he spoke, there was a sudden rumbling sound from underground. After a moment, Old Man Bai, who was as chubby as a winter melon, bore out from the ground, spitting out the soil in his mouth while waving a scroll in his hand.
"Hell Kings, please hold off for a moment. Today, this useless old man is representing all the demons in Wangchuan city and within a hundred miles to intercede for Ah-Sheng. Look, these are the signatures of all us demons; we are all Ah-Sheng's customers. Although he's a Stone of the Dead known as a fiend, every action he has taken during the days we've known him has been a great favor that we'll forever be grateful for!" Old Man Bai almost rolled in front of Chifeng, opening the scroll in his hand. It was densely packed with the bizarre signatures of various supernatural beings. "The goldfish he sold us are not ordinary fish, but Youmeng[1] fish he brought from the River Styx. When we place these fish by our pillows before sleeping, we can see our long-lost loved ones, forever parted, in dreams. The dreams are lifelike, and each fish represents a dream. I, Old Bai, and my wife have been separated by death for many years. Thanks to Ah-Sheng, we can continue our fate again in my dreams. Do you know, for me, it's not a dream; it's the happiness that this Old Man Bai lost for many years."
With a thump, Old Man Bai knelt down and kowtowed. "I heard that the Hell Kings are here on the order of the Lord of the Underworld to apprehend Ah-Sheng. Although Ah-Sheng is a Stone of the Dead, he has already turned towards goodness and not evil. We implore your honored selves to consider this and please grant him a chance to live!"
Gu Qiqi finally understood why he only sold goldfish.
"Hehe, when I was at River Styx, I was quite bored. I would play with the fish in the river when I had nothing to do and learned how to raise Youmeng fish. So..."
"Stop it..." Gu Qiqi gently covered his mouth. "Everything you've done is to give yourself a reason to exist. As a person unrelated to evil or destruction, someone who won't harm others and can even help them, existing as a normal person. You are 'Live,' not 'Evil.' I understand."
Ah-Sheng smiled in relief, pushed her away unexpectedly, and said, "Get going. Thank you. You still owe me a wish. I want you to leave with your brother now."
"You see this..." Mosong walked over to Chifeng, his tone seeming to soften.
"Say no more! The Stone of the Dead must be sealed back in the Underworld; that's the king's command!" Chifeng said flatly. "As the Hell King of the Tenth Palace, is your mind not clear?!"
"Uncle Chifeng, you really have no humane feelings!" Zhong Xiaokui snorted discontentedly. He muttered to himself, and with a move of his fingers, he actually summoned back the talisman from Ah-Sheng's chest, threw it aside, and then parked his butt on the ground. "Anyway, I won't do anything more. If you have the ability, feel free to catch him yourself."
"You!" Chifeng's face turned green with anger at this kid.
"I'm not leaving." Gu Qiqi resolutely said to Ah-Sheng. Then, she knelt on the ground and shouted to Gu Wuming, "Brother, you lost our bet. Ah-Sheng knows what I look like and still chose to be my friend. You must keep your promise and let me decide my own life."
"Silly girl, you..." Gu Wuming hopped about in anxiety and rushed towards Gu Qiqi desperately. At this point, I thought I had almost calculated the accounts. I quietly plucked a hair from my head, held it in my palm, blew a breath into it, and softly uttered, "Go!"
In an instant, countless jade-green light beams emerged from the ground, forming a ring that enclosed the location of Gu Qiqi and Ah-Sheng. The intense radiance made it almost impossible for everyone to open their eyes.
Within the swirling vortex of air, this radiance continued to spread, swiftly surrounding the entire Welcoming Moon Mountain. Accompanied by a tremendous roar, all the light beams vanished in a flash, as if they had never appeared. When everyone opened their eyes again, they found themselves at the foot of the mountain. The figures of Gu Qiqi and Ah-Sheng were nowhere to be seen.
Chifeng took off the hand that was blocking his eyes and angrily rebuked me, "What have you done?" I clapped my hands and said with a cheerful smile, "Back when I first took human form, I used a strand of my hair and a breath of true energy to stabilize the embankment of a lake, preventing it from flooding for hundreds of years. My hair and true energy form the strongest seal in the world. When my cultivation was still shallow, I could stabilize a lake. Now, with thousands of years of cultivation, placing a seal on Welcoming Moon Mountain to block those who shouldn't enter is a piece of cake for me. From this moment on, Chifeng, Mosong, people from the Underworld are forbidden to step foot on Welcoming Moon Mountain. Not even your king."
Chifeng's expression changed, and he skeptically moved forward. In an instant, he was bounced back by an invisible power grid-like thing, cutting a sorry figure as he landed on the ground. After that, no matter what tricks he used, he couldn't break through the invisible barrier.
"All right, stop wasting your energy. As long as I'm alive, this barrier cannot be breached." I gloated, winking at him.
"You... I..." Chifeng's face turned almost as red as his hair.
"Relax, I will explain to the Lord of the Underworld. This time it really isn't your dereliction of duty." I patted Chifeng and Mosong on the shoulders, yawned, and planned to leave.
[1] 幽梦 can be translated as dreams or dreamscapes, but it often carries a connotation of dreams that are deep, profound, or haunting. Yōu can mean secluded, deep, or mysterious, adding a layer of depth or mystery to the dreams. In this context, it can imply an intense/immersive dream experience.
Translator:
In Chinese mythology and folklore, the Ten Hell Kings are prominent deities responsible for judging the deceased souls and assigning them to their appropriate afterlife destinations based on their past actions. Yama or Yama Raja, the Lord of the Underworld oversees the Ten Hell Kings. Yama is the supreme judge and ruler of the Underworld.
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