Chapter 97 Part 1
Wu Heng watched as the headless ghost, terrified, quickly ended the live stream connection.
[Hahaha, he ran away? That ghost was all talk.]
[Having connections in the underworld is useful, even ghosts are afraid.]
[We all have connections down there, our ancestors watching over us.]
[Don’t mess with the protagonist. Serves him right, but those stolen heads…]
‘Found him. He’s here,’ Lai Jun said, showing Wu Heng his tablet.
Wu Heng: “Let’s go.”
He ended the stream and pulled Shi Xuan outside, leaving a bewildered Lai Jun.
‘Where are you going? That address is in the underworld!‘
Wu Heng turned to the Yin messenger, “Is your work stress affecting your hearing?”
Lai Jun: ‘?’
No, seriously, that address, the underworld.
You Jin cried out in alarm, “Xiao Heng!”
Wu Heng, seeing You Jin and Zhou Yi’s worried faces, smiled gently, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon, before New Year’s,”
You Jin frantically stuffed fruits and pastries into their pockets. “Take some food for the journey.”
“Come back soon!”
Xi Xi immediately said, ‘Godfather, Godfather, I’ll protect everyone while you’re gone!‘
Da Bai quickly added, ‘Me too!’
‘You’re going to the underworld? Seriously? How? You’re both alive! Don’t you need a Road Pass?‘ Lai Jun, following them out of the clinic, his voice filled with disbelief.
“The wells lead to the underworld. Just follow the waterways,” Wu Heng explained, the wells in their area connected to the Southern Gate.
Lai Jun was puzzled, souls needed Road Passes to enter the underworld, how could living humans enter? Unless they were Live Impermanences. And a living person couldn’t survive in the underworld with so little Yang qi, even Wu Heng, powerful shaman doctor, might be able to protect himself but wouldn’t be able to enter the gates.
He couldn’t just storm the gates of hell for a headless ghost, right? That would be ridiculous, was it even that important?
He offered, ‘How about I go capture that headless ghost myself?‘
“Shi Xuan, I’m taking you to the underworld.” Wu Heng suddenly took his hand, knowing he needed guidance.
Before Lai Jun could react, they jumped into the well.
“Aiya!” Lai Jun exclaimed and quickly followed.
Wu Heng had been to the underworld once, a desolate, eerie place, filled with ghosts.
Being a shaman doctor, his nature repelled the Yin qi. He hadn’t returned since, but the underworld was different now, the muddy paths being repaired, even trees planted along the sides.
Holding Shi Xuan’s hand tightly in the dim light, he looked up, the Southern Gate, a majestic structure, towering at the end of the road.
Countless spirits, led by Yin messengers, were heading towards it.
Lai Jun, staring at them, puzzled, Wu Heng he understood, but Shi Xuan, alive and well, not a scratch on him?
‘Everyone, our famous landmark, the Southern Gate! Take your photos now, only five minutes,‘ an Yin messenger called out, his official phone in hand, ‘No phones? My services are available, 500 underworld dollars per photo.’
Wu Heng was speechless, inflation down there truly out of control.
Lai Jun explained, ‘Earning a little extra on the side. Escorting souls and offering tour packages, easy money.’
Probably scamming those new ghosts, promising VIP treatment, when escorting souls was their job.
Wu Heng chuckled, “We’ll go independent then.”
They headed towards the gate, Lai Jun taking out his ID, the ghosts their road passes.
After Lai Jun passed through, he was contemplating how to sneak Wu Heng and Shi Xuan inside when Shi Xuan simply walked through.
Lai Jun was stunned. ‘How…?’
Shi Xuan pointed at the scanner. “Automatic.”
Lai Jun was even more bewildered, ‘?’
That facial recognition scanner was for high-ranking officials! Even he, as an Yin messenger, had to show his ID!
‘No facial match, no Road Pass, no entry,’ the gatekeeper, a small, green ghost, looking at Wu Heng disapprovingly, Wu Heng’s aura making them uncomfortable.
Wu Heng calmly placed his black stone seal on the scanner, and the gate opened.
He walked through, the ghost guards staring after him, stunned, then, turning to Shi Xuan, a faint smile on his face, “Borrowed authority is quite effective.”
Lai Jun suddenly rushed over, his eyes gleaming, ‘Brother Shi, why don’t you… die? You can join me, how about that?’
Had this guy worked in the underworld before, then reincarnated? That’s why the scanner recognized him?
He had wanted to offer him a lowly internship! He had underestimated him! Perhaps he was a superior!
Shi Xuan looked at him, “You still need more practice.”
Lai Jun’s heart sank, rejected again.
‘Alright, alright, let’s go catch that headless ghost and earn some merit points,’ he said, deflated.
Beyond the gates, the underworld stretched out before them, a single eerie, green moon in the sky.
Shi Xuan looked at his hands, Yin qi swirling, a sense of… belonging, like finding his roots.
They followed Lai Jun to the address he had found. The headless ghost was sleeping on the muddy ground, a pile of heads beside it, what could that shaman doctor possibly do? He couldn’t come to the underworld, could he?
And that Yin messenger, although able to capture it, escorting souls was more profitable. He wouldn’t bother.
It was well hidden in a damp, dark forest.
‘Didn’t I end the stream?’ the headless ghost mumbled, looking up, seeing a familiar handsome face.
‘Gotcha!’ Lai Jun threw his rope and expertly captured it.
The headless ghost, startled, instinctively tried to break free. It could easily snap this low-level Yin messenger’s neck!
Then it saw him, the man standing beside the shaman doctor, his expression cold, a powerful presence.
Its defiance vanished, frozen in fear.
‘So arrogant during the live stream, challenging Doctor Wu?‘ Lai Jun, surprised by the easy capture, couldn’t resist kicking it, his bully nature resurfacing.
The headless ghost cursed inwardly, it didn’t know they could track him down here.
And that shaman doctor, still alive, how did he even get here?! A Live Impermanence?
It sniffed him carefully, no, not a Live Impermanence.
“Those heads,” Wu Heng said, looking at them with disgust, “I’m taking them.”
The headless ghost, not daring to disobey, took the head it was wearing and handed it to Wu Heng, who hesitated, not sure how to even hold it.
Shi Xuan, looking at Lai Jun, “Get a bag.”
Lai Jun immediately replied, ‘Yes, sir!’
“Leave that container for me,” Wu Heng added.
Shi Xuan took off his jacket, placed it on the muddy ground, and then, holding Wu Heng’s waist, jumped down from a branch, landing on the jacket, his cloth shoes clean.
The headless ghost didn’t dare speak, afraid of getting beaten up.
“So smug earlier, during the live stream, weren’t you?” Wu Heng smiled.
