Chapter 49 – Extra: The Origin
In the Underworld.
“Shuang Yu, how many years have you been a Ghost Messenger?” King Kṣitigarbha asked, holding a black chess piece, as he faced the handsome, yet coldly ascetic-looking man across from him.
A flicker of hesitation crossed Shuang Yu’s face before he answered, “Almost three hundred years, I think.”
He had no memory of his life before death. When he woke up, his soul was already standing in the Hall of the Yama King. The Yama King told him that he had committed sins in his past life and currently had two ways to atone for them. One was to be cast into the Eighteen Levels of Hell until his sins were cleared, after which he could be reincarnated. The other was to become a Ghost Messenger, enter the Three Thousand Small Worlds to capture deceased souls, and accumulate merit to erase his karmic debt.
Although he was already dead, Shuang Yu didn’t want to suffer even after death, so he firmly chose to become a Ghost Messenger. Being a Ghost Messenger was a tedious and boring job. Day after day, year after year, dealing with those ghost souls, Shuang Yu’s personality gradually became cold and numb. For humans, three hundred years was a long time. But for a Ghost Messenger like him with sins from a past life, three hundred years was just a fraction. His days as a Ghost Messenger were still long.
“Given your situation, it would take at least ten thousand years to pay off your karmic debt and be reincarnated, right?” King Kṣitigarbha asked with another smile.
Shuang Yu looked at him with some alarm. Although the other’s smile was amiable, he smelled a hint of conspiracy.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked directly.
The latter was very satisfied with his perceptiveness and said bluntly, “In recent years, the number of Resentful Spirits has been increasing, and Vicious Ghosts have been causing chaos in the mortal world. The Three Realms are all complaining. Not long ago, the Ten Yama Kings held a meeting and decided to specially dispatch Ghost Messengers to deal with these Grievance Souls lingering in the human world.”
Vicious Ghosts were a headache for all Ghost Messengers. Specializing in capturing them, outwitting and outfighting them—it was clearly a thankless job. Shuang Yu already had the thought of refusing.
“Don’t be so quick to refuse. This is a cushy job. You don’t have to fight bitterly with the Vicious Ghosts. The Ghost Messenger just needs to be reborn into the Vicious Ghost’s past life and help them fulfill their wishes to eliminate their resentment. Once the resentment is gone, the Vicious Ghost can be reincarnated, and the Ghost Messenger can gain multiple times the merit, without having to travel back and forth between the Yin and Yang Realms all day. This is a win-win-win situation. If it weren’t for you coming to play chess with this old man every day, a good thing like this would never fall to a rookie like you.”
King Kṣitigarbha quickly explained. There was no reason to refuse. After careful consideration, Shuang Yu nodded in agreement. The two of them did have a good relationship. When he was free, King Kṣitigarbha would often summon him for a game of chess and tea. The other party would certainly not harm him.
Focusing his attention on the chessboard, he didn’t notice the flash of guilt in King Kṣitigarbha’s eyes.
“Time is tight. This is your new token. Take it and report to the Palace of the Underworld!”
Shuang Yu took the new Ghost Messenger token. The moment his hand touched it, his name appeared on its surface.
“So urgent? We haven’t finished this game of chess.”
“If you’re a step late, the Vicious Ghosts will cause trouble. Hurry up and go!” King Kṣitigarbha urged Shuang Yu to leave.
Just as his figure disappeared, the Ten Yama Kings all popped up.
“Is it done?”
“You’re really making things difficult for your old pal Fat Tiger. Everyone knows that kid has a cold, lazy, and unambitious personality. If it weren’t for our friendship, this matter would have definitely fallen through!”
“This was a last resort because the situation is dire. That god of slaughter is about to fight his way to the Underworld…”
Before one of the Yama Kings could finish, King Kṣitigarbha’s palace was split in two. A man in a black and gold robe, radiating a murderous aura, floated in mid-air. He held a black longsword glowing with red light, with black horns on his head, and a red lotus mark on his forehead that complemented his crimson phoenix eyes. He looked down at the trembling gods and ghosts with a blank expression, his eyes devoid of any warmth.
“Isn’t this the Asura King? What wind blew you here?” King Kṣitigarbha shot a disappointed glare at the Yama Kings before putting on a fawning smile and approaching to inquire.
The man before them was none other than the god of slaughter who had been stirring up trouble in the Three Realms for three hundred years, the Asura King—Feng Yan.
“This seat is looking for someone. I heard… someone has seen him in the Underworld Mansion.” Feng Yan’s lips curled up slightly as he spoke in a casual tone, but his phoenix eyes held no trace of a smile, only endless killing intent.
Gulp.
King Kṣitigarbha swallowed nervously and said cooperatively, “Asura King, you turned the entire hell upside down several hundred years ago. Although I don’t know who you’re looking for, since you’ve graced us with your presence again, we can’t let you leave empty-handed. Please wait a moment, I’ll have all the residents of the Underworld…”
Half an hour later, all the Ghost Messengers and souls of the Underworld Mansion were gathered on the banks of the River of Oblivion. Feng Yan leaned lazily on a lounge chair, with King Kṣitigarbha humbly serving him by his side.
“This is a wine that Meng Po has been brewing for three hundred years. Please have a taste…” He poured a cup of wine and offered it.
Just as Feng Yan was about to drink, Ox-Head and Horse-Face arrived with the Ghost Messengers and souls. He frowned, no longer caring about the wine, and his sharp gaze swept across the crowd. Among the dense crowd of ghosts, he couldn’t find the person who made his heart tremble. He was not in the Underworld. He had come up empty again.
A single, crystalline tear rolled down from his crimson phoenix eyes, dripping into the cloudy rice wine that was as murky as the waters of the River of Oblivion. Feng Yan tilted his head back and downed the spicy liquor, a faint sourness and bitterness filling his mouth. He paused, closed his eyes, and carefully savored the murky wine.
“Asura King, have you found the person you were looking for?” King Kṣitigarbha asked, trembling.
“He is not here. This seat has disturbed you. I shall take my leave.”
Feng Yan opened his eyes, having regained his usual composure. Just before leaving, his gaze swept over the wine pot on the table. “Meng Po’s wine is brewed quite well.”
King Kṣitigarbha found the Asura King’s words baffling. Meng Po was skilled at brewing the Soup of Oblivion, but her wine-making skills were truly terrible. The wine she brewed was bitter and astringent, completely unpalatable.
“If you like it, I can have Meng Po prepare some more for you?”
“No need, this pot is enough. Please thank Meng Po on my behalf. I will surely visit again another day.”
With a slight movement of his hand, the wine pot appeared in Feng Yan’s grasp. He showed a hearty smile, and his figure vanished.
That god of slaughter was finally gone. King Kṣitigarbha wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and collapsed to the ground. Thank goodness they didn’t run into him. Otherwise, with that lord’s temperament, if he knew the person was hiding here, he would have definitely turned the Underworld Mansion upside down.
In the God-Slaying Hall, Feng Yan carefully studied the bottom of the wine pot. His four great Asura King protectors all offered him ideas: “Your Majesty, searching like this is not a solution. Why not just go on a killing spree throughout the Three Realms and Six Paths? You’ll eventually find that person…”
Feng Yan spoke casually, “I can defy the heavens, but no one in the world can bring me to justice. Even if I destroy the Three Realms and Six Paths, he will not appear again.”
The Asura Kings wanted to persuade him further, but they saw Feng Yan suddenly reveal a dazzling smile. Unlike his usual fake smile that made one’s hair stand on end, this smile was like melting ice, as brilliant as the warm sun.
“This seat accepts this bet. The Asura Realm is in your care. This seat will be leaving for a while.”
Feng Yan crushed the wine pot, and as his words fell, his figure disappeared, leaving the four Asura Kings utterly bewildered.
A bet? What bet? Perhaps they could find a clue on the wine pot. The four Asura Kings painstakingly pieced the pot back together and finally found a line of small words at the bottom: In the Three Thousand Worlds, a vast sea of people. You are so obsessed with him, but if you lose your memories, will you still fall in love?