Chapter 10
“Director…”
A silent click.
The door to the Underworld Central Office, First Supervisory Department office, glowing with a faint blue light, slowly opened—
“Are you stupid? What Director! From today onwards, our boss is the Director General!”
“Right, right, we should call him Minister Wu now!”
“Minister Wu!”
“Minister Wu has made a great contribution this time, casting down the Second Yama King from the Terrace of Forgetfulness. He’s really brought honor to our Supervisory Department! We hope the Director General will continue to sup—”
The flattery abruptly stopped as the sycophantic Supervisory Envoy met Director Wu’s cold, impassive gaze. He shivered involuntarily, not daring to continue, unsure which words had displeased the new Minister Wu.
Wu Mu’s gaze swept across the office, making every Envoy’s skin crawl. He finally spoke.
“Is the Supervisory Department so idle that no one needs to work?”
“No, no, no! Not idle!”
“Work! Quick, get moving, everyone back to work!”
The black-clad Supervisory Envoys scattered like birds, no one daring to utter another word of flattery, scurrying back to their workstations with their tails between their legs.
Beep—
Wu Mu walked to the Director General’s office, swiped his card, and entered.
Thump!
The office door closed, shutting out the curious and probing gazes of the Envoys…
“Hey,” a curious Envoy whispered, emboldening himself. “I’ve never seen this Minister Wu before.”
“He wasn’t from Central Office before. He just transferred from a branch a couple of months ago.”
“So, a country bumpkin?”
“Gasp! Don’t say that!” A horrified gasp. “Do you know what Minister Wu’s true form is? A three-legged golden crow!”
“The three-legged golden crow from ‘Ten suns in the sky, Yi shoots down nine’? No wonder he was able to find fault with the Second Yama King and cast him down from the Terrace of Forgetfulness as soon as he arrived!”
“The Second Yama King, Lord Li, was known for his gentle and kind nature. He was the most approachable of the Yama Kings, always smiling, with such a good temper! And he still found fault with him!”
“Shh, keep your voice down. Gossiping about the new minister, do you want to die? I heard… this Wu Mu came specifically for the position of Director General of the First Supervisory Department. He was determined to get it!”
“Why? Good feng shui in the office?”
“Want to know? Go ask Minister Wu yourself!”
“Tch, with that icy demeanor, who would guess he’s a golden crow? I wouldn’t dare…”
Inside the Director General’s office of the First Supervisory Department.
Wu Mu surveyed the office. It was spacious, but the decor was predominantly black and white, a typical funerary style, befitting the Supervisory Department’s reputation for “raiding homes and exterminating families.”
Underworld officials often joked that the Supervisory Department was like the Jinyiwei of old—raiding homes, exterminating families, committing arson and murder, utterly ruthless.
It wasn’t far from the truth.
Tap, tap…
He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. The one-way glass allowed him to see out, but not in. The view was expansive. This was the highest floor of the tallest building in the Underworld Central Office, allowing the Supervisory Department to monitor every move of every official.
From here, the Tenth Court was clearly visible, even the Yama King’s office.
Xue Changyi, the Tenth Yama King, was sitting in his office, holding the Judge’s Pen, presumably signing documents.
His black double-breasted robe accentuated his elegant, tall figure, the high collar exuding an air of restraint.
Suddenly, Xue Changyi looked up, glancing towards the window. With his sharp senses, he might have sensed someone watching him, but the glass was one-way. Only Wu Mu could see him.
Xue Changyi couldn’t see Wu Mu at all.
Wu Mu slowly raised his hand, his long fingers and broad palm gently pressing against the one-way glass.
The gesture was like a caress across Xue Changyi’s cheek from miles away. Wu Mu’s cold eyes softened.
His lips parted slightly, and a husky sigh escaped. “…So beautiful.”
Underworld High School, Class Nine.
Bang—!
Xiang Yu burst into the classroom, panting. “Damn, I almost thought I was late!”
Yang Guang laughed. “Lao Xiang, you’re always late, nothing new.”
Xiang Yu didn’t reply, just glared at Liu Bang. “Why didn’t you wake me up? Did you want me to be late, just to laugh at me?”
“Ah Yu, you wrong me,” Liu Bang said sincerely. “I used to wake you up, but you always said you’d be late anyway, so I didn’t dare disturb your rest.”
“Hmph!” Xiang Yu continued to glare at him. “From now on, I won’t be late anymore.”
“Why?” The classmates asked.
“Yeah,” Liu Bang was also curious. “Ah Yu, what’s gotten into you?”
Xiang Yu waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t call me Ah Yu, it’s disgusting!”
He then replied, “Don’t you think… Teacher Xue’s classes are actually quite interesting?”
“Interesting?!”
“Xiang Yu, did you really eat mushrooms and hallucinate?!”
“What’s so interesting? ‘My Father’? Rice planting? Or maybe—the reflection essay?!”
Xiang Yu thought seriously for a moment. “All of them.”
He even smiled, as if reminiscing.
“Has the school hired a school nurse yet? Xiang Yu needs urgent medical attention!”
“Did the Conqueror of Chu also drink before coming to class today, like Li Bai?”
“Without two pounds of Erguotou, how could Lao Xiang say such nonsense?”
“Speaking of reflection essays, did you all finish your essays? Eight hundred words!”
All the students of Class Nine: “…”
“The teacher is coming!” Someone shouted.
The first thing they saw was Xue Changyi’s black umbrella. It was daytime now, and the spiritual energy from sunlight was much stronger than moonlight. The Judge’s Pen, transformed into a black umbrella, effectively protected Xue Changyi from absorbing too much energy.
“Class.” Xue Changyi stood behind the podium. “Class president, please collect the reflection essays.”
Ying Zheng, as always, was concise: “Okay.”
“Hey, wait, collect others’ first, I’m still fifty words short!”
“Li Bai, is this supposed to be regular script? Hahaha, you didn’t write in cursive? I can actually recognize every word this time.”
“It seems General Lü Bu’s literacy has improved under Teacher Xue’s careful guidance.”
Lü Bu: “… ” The Poet Immortal seemed to be insulting him, but he couldn’t prove it.
Ying Zheng collected all the essays and placed them on the podium.
Xue Changyi flipped through them casually, and under the anxious gazes of the class, he smiled gently, a genuine smile, not a sneer or a fake one.
“Very good. From a quick glance, all your reflection essays are well-written.” Xue Changyi said considerately, “I won’t subject you to public execution today.”
Yang Guang laughed. “Teacher, so you know it’s public execution?”
Xiang Yu corrected him, “You don’t understand. Teacher Xue is just disappointed in us.”
The other students of Class Nine: “… ” Overnight, Xiang Yu, the Conqueror of Chu, had become Teacher Xue’s biggest fan!
Someone stood outside the classroom door, a dark figure, but didn’t enter immediately.
It was the teacher for their first class.
Xue Changyi glanced at his Thousand Demon Eyes, now in wristwatch form. “Class, the new schedule has been released. Starting this week, we’ll follow the new schedule. The class president will post it on the wall later.”
Ying Zheng simply said, “Mm.”
The others were curious. “Class president, what’s our first class on Monday?”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“I bet it’s Chinese! Because Teacher Xue is our homeroom teacher.”
“No, I bet it’s math! Jiang Ziya is definitely going to give us a surprise quiz!”
Ying Zheng glanced at the schedule, a playful expression on his face for the first time.
“Brother!” Cheng Jiao chirped. “What is it~”
Ying Zheng raised an eyebrow. “PE.”
“What?”
“P-PE?!”
“Our first class on Monday is PE?”
Tap, tap, tap… Footsteps.
The teacher standing outside finally entered. Dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and black tie, with a well-fitting black vest, he had an imposing figure and well-defined muscles. The lines of his chest, visible beneath the vest, were a perfect blend of aloofness and sensuality.
—It was Director Wu.
Wu Mu surveyed Class Nine. “Class, I am your substitute PE teacher. My surname is Wu.”
Xiang Yu glared. “Isn’t this the guy who bullied our Teacher Xue yesterday? He really is the PE teacher?”
Lü Bu sneered. “PE teacher? Do you know archery? Can you hit a willow leaf from a hundred paces? Have you ever been on a battlefield, taken a head? Without the title of an undefeated God of War, you’re not qualified to be our PE teacher!”
Xue Changyi gathered the reflection essays. “Teacher Wu, then please begin your class. I won’t disturb you.”
He left the podium, and Wu Mu stepped aside to let him pass.
Xiang Yu clicked his tongue. “I don’t like that Wu guy. Yesterday he wouldn’t let go of our Teacher Xue, like some kind of pervert. Today he’s avoiding him like the plague. Is Teacher Xue some kind of virus or something?”
Thud—
Something slipped out from between the reflection essays and fell to the floor, interrupting Xiang Yu’s complaint.
It was a small booklet.
Some students had handed in their essays in notebooks, and the booklet, sandwiched between them, looked just like another notebook. Someone must have mixed it in with their homework.
“Gasp!” Li Bai sucked in a breath.
“Wah?” Cheng Jiao blinked. “Isn’t that the novel Brother Li Bai has been reading lately?”
The booklet landed face down, but the promotional band slipped off.
The band read:
Underworld R1800+ rating, annual sales TOP1!
For 200 consecutive years, the reigning sales champion!
Highly recommended by the Poet Immortal Li Bai, a mysterious and forbidden love story!
The booklet landed near Wu Mu’s feet. He bent down to pick it up, glancing at Xue Changyi, who was about to leave, and raised an eyebrow. In a low, slightly husky voice, he read the title: “…The Cold Yama’s Runaway Pregnancy.”
