Chapter 2: 002 there is something wrong with this underworld

The sole problem at this moment was the female ghost accompanying me.

I turned, meeting White Impermanence’s gaze.

“Have you been watching me because there’s something you wish to say?”

“Just the two of us on a mission, Little Black and I,” White Impermanence murmured dreamily, two rosy blushes blooming on her cheeks.

“It’s almost like, like a honey…”

“Let’s go.”

I must have been out of my mind to even consider asking her.

In worlds teeming with ghosts or those of vast expanse, Black and White Impermanence typically operated separately.

Black Impermanence was tasked with apprehending malevolent souls, while White Impermanence was responsible for guiding benevolent ones.

Their sole commonality lay in the exceptional power of the souls they were sent to retrieve.

The reason White Impermanence and I were paired for this particular mission stemmed from Lord Yama’s ‘benevolence’ towards me.

“The first time is always a little awkward, so let experienced Old White guide you,” the Loli Yama had said.

“You’ll be much more proficient afterwards.”

Even though this was my debut as Black Impermanence, I was hardly a novice.

I had performed soul-reaping missions for a considerable time in my previous worlds, and the procedure remained consistent.

The only variable was the soul power of the target living soul.

As for soul power, what suspense could there be when a ghost messenger, specialized in soul collection, encountered a mortal whose lifespan was nearing its end?

The Loli Yama’s concerns seemed somewhat superfluous.

“Lord Black and White Impermanence are here!”

The voice ahead sounded suspiciously like a student scout warning others about a form teacher at the stairwell.

Having secluded myself for ten years, I had never once visited the Ghost Gate.

Yet, on my very first passage, I stumbled upon ghosts slacking off.

What kind of place was the Underworld?

It was the very embodiment of power and deterrence within the ghost realm.

For subordinates to behave so differently whether their superiors were present or not… this generation of lesser demons was truly lacking!

Feeling a slight surge of anger, I resolved to rectify this unhealthy trend on behalf of their leader.

“Lord Ox-Head, wake up quickly!”

Huh? Ox-Head?

I looked up.

The ghost with two horns atop its head and a mouth full of flat, herbivore teeth was indeed Ox-Head.

His nostrils flared and deflated, and drool dripped onto the ground; this fellow…

Perhaps sensing my displeasure, the lesser demons quickly poked Ox-Head’s snorting nostrils with their tridents.

“Lord, wake up!”

“Holy crap!” Ox-Head’s massive body rose like a mountain.

Though this fellow was a brute, he was nonetheless an official of the Underworld.

To openly slack off and even curse in public…

“Lord Ox-Head, please don’t swear!” the lesser demons hurriedly interjected.

“Lord Black and White Impermanence have arrived!”

‘…Do these lesser demons have mind-reading abilities?’

Ox-Head blinked his two large, dark eyes at us, then chuckled foolishly the next second.

“Oh! Isn’t this Lord White Impermanence? How have you been recently? And this must be the newly appointed Lord Black Impermanence, a pleasure to meet you! Haha, I just dreamt that a green ox gave me a pile of excellent fodder, but when I woke up, all the grass was gone! Ah, my grass!”

He actually managed to spin that back into a plausible excuse.

The two Ox-Heads I had encountered previously were both honest and dependable, yet this one was glib-tongued.

It seemed there was a considerable difference even among Ox-Heads.

“Ox-Head, where’s Horse-Face?” White Impermanence asked, giggling behind her hand.

“Oh! Old Horse!” Ox-Head slapped his thigh, his innocent large eyes wide.

“Old Horse still retains his habit of sleeping while standing from his living days.

He’s been standing here for so long that his heel bones are really aching, so he said he went to ask Granny Meng for some liniment.”

Well, this fellow was definitely lying, and he was so brazen that he didn’t even bother to conceal the fact that he was sleeping on duty.

Ox-Head and Horse-Face were responsible for guarding the Ghost Gate and escorting malevolent spirits.

Yet, they were now leading the way in dereliction of duty.

Truly, they were the worst generation of ghost soldiers I had ever seen.

No, not just the ghost soldiers.

To be precise, a strange atmosphere permeated the entire Underworld.

What exactly was going on?

“Little Black, if we don’t leave soon, we might miss our mission and get punished,” White Impermanence floated over again.

“But as long as it’s with Little Black…”

“No, we’re leaving now.”

I resolutely stepped out of the Ghost Gate.

The Yin-Yang Road outside the Ghost Gate connected the Human Realm and the Ghost Realm.

The further one traveled from the Underworld, the stronger the aura of life became.

The dense auras of life and death mingled and contended, forming the perpetual mists that shrouded the Yin-Yang Road.

Within this fog, discerning direction was challenging, causing ordinary living souls to quickly lose their way upon entering.

Should they be unlucky enough to be caught by patrolling lesser demons, they would be taken to the Underworld and forcibly reincarnated.

However, this was no issue for me, as I possessed soul power at the pinnacle of the Underworld’s hierarchy.

The stronger one’s soul power, the less effective the mist became; to my eyes, these mists were virtually nonexistent.

Moreover, I carried a Soul-Guiding Needle (TL Note: A magical compass that points to souls or significant locations), which, once activated with a soul incantation, would have its black tip point towards the nearest Underworld entrance, making getting lost an impossibility.

But now, I was to traverse the Yin-Yang Road to the Human Realm.

Following the white tip of the Soul-Guiding Needle, White Impermanence and I arrived at the end of the Yin-Yang Road—the Yin-Yang Gate.

The Yin-Yang Gate was not a literal door but a distorted spatial passage.

Through it, I could vaguely discern the scenery on the other side.

The Human Realm… I hadn’t visited it in ten years.

The Human Realm, with its human inhabitants, felt like an even longer separation.

A faint sense of nostalgia stirred within me.

As I raised my foot, preparing to step through the Yin-Yang Gate, my hand was caught by White Impermanence.

“Old White, what is it?”

“Is Little Black ready?” White Impermanence blinked at me, a truly mysterious air about her.

‘What kind of question was that?’

“Of course.” This time, I didn’t pull away from White Impermanence; instead, I simply led her across the chaotic threshold.

A few white clouds drifted across the cerulean sky, and large trees, their branches intertwined and leaves dripping with verdant life, stood majestically.

A bright world unfolded before my eyes.

Five thousand years…

Though I had yet to see any humans, my nearly numb heart finally began to throb with renewed excitement.

This was the sensation of returning to the Human Realm!

Whoosh!

Something streaked across the sky.

‘Was it an airplane or a bird-person?’

I lifted my head, a hint of girlish mischief finally playing on my lips.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Again, two streaks of red and blue light darted across the sky.

Wait…

My smile froze on my face.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

One after another, streaks of escaping light sliced the sky above my head into several segments.

‘What in the world?!’

I grabbed White Impermanence’s slender wrist with a backhand, pulling her with me as I floated into the sky.

The view, previously obscured by the forest, now fully opened.

One after another, people flew past me, riding various objects—gourds, small boats, and, of course, most commonly, long swords.

My mouth twitched, and I abruptly turned to stare at White Impermanence.

“Hey, could this world be…”

“Yes,” White Impermanence replied with an innocent expression.

“This is a Xianxia (TL Note: A genre of Chinese fantasy fiction, often involving immortal heroes, magic, and cultivation) world.”