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When he saw that Su Yi was just about to write an IOU note, the old man in Daoist robes couldn’t remain calm. He coughed dryly, “Fellow Daoist Su, the Record of the Ten Yama Kings…”
Before he could finish, Su Yi said without so much as looking up, “Be patient.”
With that, he flicked his brush across the page and wrote his pledge: “I’ve given this good fortune to someone else on your behalf. Remember to thank me later.”
His handwriting was majestic, elegant, and unrestrained.
When the old pawnbroker saw the note’s contents, it was as if he’d been struck by lightning, and his heart clenched. He’s… giving it away?
Don’t tell me he plans to just give it to that master and apprentice for free?
The Heart-Inquiring Bell, Starry Abacus, and Scales of Judgment called out in unison, “Well written!”
But when the three spirits saw the contents of Su Yi’s message, they looked at each other. He’s giving the mistress’s good fortune away, and he even wants her to remember to thank him?
Is that… really okay?
But the three spirits considerately chose not to comment. Besides, given the bond between His Excellency Su and the mistress, it seems… There's nothing inappropriate about this.
After all, when he carelessly destroyed over ten thousand of the mistress’s beloved paper cranes, she chose to forgive him.
“There. Put the note away, and take out the Record of the Ten Yama Kings,” said Su Yi.
The old pawnbroker seemed to have already given up the struggle. He straightforwardly agreed, as he was well aware that even if he refused, the Scales of Judgment would obsequiously over the treasure up anyway.
And indeed, he’d only just thought this when a palm-sized, perfectly square jade record appeared on the scales’ tray.
The counterweight swayed and said meekly, “Your Excellency Su, please accept it.”
This was what they meant when they said, “A child sells his father’s farm without regret!”
The old pawnbroker had long since realized this was coming, but the heartache still made his features contort.
“Agree to three conditions, and the jade record is yours,” said Su Yi, looking at the old man in Daoist robes.
The old man’s heart shook, and he said solemnly, “And what might they be, Fellow Daoist?”
The white-robed Wang Ting, however, was a bit ill at ease; he feared Su Yi would demand something outrageous.
“First,” said Su Yi, “Although your disciple has a rare Mysterious Netherworld Dao Bone, stepping onto the path of the Yama Kings will still be incomparably perilous. Unless you can locate the ruins of the Limitless Palace in the Sea of Bitterness, don’t let your disciple attempt to force his way into the Imperial Realm. Otherwise, I can tell you that if he tries to break through, he’ll die beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
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The old man in Daoist robes was flabbergasted, and waves of shock coursed through his heart.
Only now did he realize that Su Yi hadn’t just realized what he and his apprentice were trying to do; he even knew full well what dangers awaited Wang Ting as he tried to walk the “Path of the Yama Kings”!
Even more unbelievably, Su Yi knew that Wang Ting’s only hope of success was in the ruins of the Limitless Palace in the Sea of Bitterness!
When he considered everything mysterious about Su Yi, as well as the pawnbroker and treasure spirits’ respectful behavior, the old man in Daoist robes was increasingly aware that the blue-robed young man’s origins were almost certainly grand beyond imagination!
Some time passed before the old man in Daoist robes nodded. “Fellow Daoist, rest assured. I won’t let my apprentice attempt to prove his Dao until we’ve found the ruins.”
“My second condition is that, should your apprentice successfully step onto the path of the Ten Yama Kings, you take a trip to the Nine Netherworld Rivers and catch the Qieluo Fish living near the riverbed,” said Su Yi. “As many as you can.”
The old man in Daoist robes couldn’t help but ask, “Fellow Daoist, what are the fish for?”
“Dried, those little fish are the pawnshop owner’s favorite snack,” said Su Yi. “Use them to repay her benevolence. After all, all I really did today was borrow flowers to offer the Buddha; she’s the one who left the Record of the Ten Yama Kings here.”
Both master and apprentice were dumbstruck. We’re supposed to repay her benevolence… with fish!?
They were both befuddled, and they found this difficult to believe.
However, the old pawnbroker and the treasure spirits felt differently; they were actually quite moved. So, he still remembers the mistress’s favorite snack…
“The third condition,” said Su Yi, looking directly at the old man in Daoist robes, “is that on the day of the Lantern Festival, you help me kill a few willfully blind fools.”
The old man’s heart shook. He didn’t ask why, nor did he ask who Su Yi wanted killed. He just straightforwardly agreed. “Fellow Daoist, rest assured. I won’t disappoint you!”
He’d originally thought Su Yi’s demands would be quite strict, but it seemed that wasn’t the case at all!
The white-robed Wang Ting sighed in relief and said gratefully, “Senior Su, thank you for helping us achieve our goal!”
The way he addressed Su Yi had changed.
So, Brother Su revealed himself and went so far as to give away the Record of the Ten Yama Kings, all to help the Cui Family… Cui Jingyan was still hidden in the corner, and she’d witnessed this entire interaction. A warm current coursed through her, and she felt both delighted and indescribably moved.
Had Su Yi known what she was thinking, he likely wouldn’t have known whether to laugh or cry.
Su Yi didn’t want to provoke trouble, but he was curious to see if this master and apprentice duo could make the legacy of the long-vanished Ten Yama Kings take root and grow!
Before long, master and apprentice bade farewell and left.
Su Yi didn’t intend to stay any longer. “Old pawnbroker, where do you plan to go next?”
Inwardly, the pawnbroker said, Some place where I won’t encounter you, Your Excellency Su. If I keep operating at a loss like this, the pawnshop will go broke!
But outwardly, the pawnbroker looked reluctant. “I’d hoped to stay in the Netherworld for a while; that way, I could perhaps see you more often. Alas, the Pawnshop of the Heavens has its own will, and in a few days, it’ll break through the barrier between worlds and depart the Netherworld.”
The Heart-Inquiring Bell said sweetly, “Pawnbroker, His Excellency Su is asking which plane we plan to visit next.”
The corners of the pawnbroker’s lips twitched, and he couldn’t help but rebuke the bell. “I don’t need you to tell me that! Can’t you see I haven’t finished talking yet?”
Su Yi laughed. “Enough, it doesn’t matter whether you tell me or not. We ought to get going. See us off.”
“Got it!” the old pawnbroker said hurriedly.
As he spoke, he took out a bronze disc and led the way out of the pawnshop. Su Yi and Cui Jingyan followed him out.
“Safe travels!”
“Take care, Your Excellency Su!”
“Your Excellency Su, we look forward to seeing you again!”
The Heart-Inquiring Bell, Starry Abacus, and Scales of Judgment called out, looking reluctant to part…
However, as soon as Su Yi disappeared from the pawn shop, all three of them sighed in relief, as if his very presence put enormous pressure on them.
“He finally left.”
“Just now… was my flattery over the top?”
“Don’t say that. It’s called ‘respect’!”
Outside the pawnshop.
The night was dark and deep, and a silver crescent moon hung in the night sky.
After seeing Su Yi and Cui Jingyan off, the pawnbroker similarly felt a massive weight lift from his shoulders. He straightened his back and muttered, “I just wonder who’s blind enough to target the Cui Family during the Lantern Festival with His Excellency Su around… heh heh, they’ve brought this misfortune upon themselves!
“It’s a pity that the mistress isn’t here. If she learned that His Excellency hadn’t passed away, I bet she’d cast aside all reservations and kill her way into the Netherworld!”
……
Near the gates of Ziluo City.
Su Yi and Cui Jingyan appeared out of nowhere amidst silent spatial ripples.
“Brother Su, I want to go home and see my father.” Cui Jingyan was desperate to return home and tell her father about the third elder’s betrayal.
Su Yi nodded. “Don’t divulge anything about that master and apprentice, and don’t tell anyone what you saw tonight except for your father.”
“Got it!” Cui Jingyan straightforwardly agreed. “Is there anything else?”
After what happened tonight, she obviously had complete confidence in him; she was even starting to rely on him.
“Nope,” said Su Yi.
With that, he walked right toward the city gates.
Cui Jingyan was briefly stunned, and a thought rose unbidden to the forefront of her consciousness. Is there any woman in this world who could make him pause reluctantly before leaving?
In the end, Cui Jingyan shook her head. I’m afraid Su Yi will never let any woman tie him down. He’s too unfettered, as impossible to restrain as the wind…
Then, she dashed home without pursuing that line of thought any further.
……
Tonight, Ziluo City was livelier than ever. There were resplendent lanterns all over the place, and the streets were packed.
Su Yi slipped through the crowd, hands behind his back, feeling leisurely and at ease.
The Netherworld was, ultimately, a boundless world, not the terrifying place people of other planes pictured it as.
Here, too, was human life in all its facets, with all the joys, sorrows, unions, and partings of mortal dust.
However, Su Yi knew that in the ancient era, the Netherworld was a strange place that connected all other worlds, a place otherworlders viewed as “hell.”
What had happened to transform the Netherworld into its current state? Su Yi didn’t know either.
All he knew was that in the ancient era, when the Infernal Palace was at its peak, it presided over the Bureaus of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the Bureau of Adjudication, the Ten Great Yama Kings, the Five Directions Ghost Gate, and other such factions. In that era, it was a dark realm those of other worlds viewed with dread!
When Su Yi arrived in the eastern district of Ziluo City, the liveliness and uproar he’d seen along the way vanished, replaced with cold stillness.
In Ziluo City, this was a forbidden ground, the former home of the Bureau of Adjudication. However, the bureau had fallen a long time ago, and it had long since been reduced to ruins.
Everywhere he looked, Su Yi saw the ruins of ancient buildings and streets overgrown with weeds. Against the inky darkness of the night sky, it seemed utterly desolate.
Throughout its history, this had been known as haunted ground. The numerous inauspicious rumors about it meant that only a few brave explorers dared venture inside.
The ruins of the Bureau of Adjudication were within the ruined stretch of city!
Su Yi swept his gaze across the area. The faint silver moonlight illuminated ruined buildings as numerous as trees in a forest, but there was almost no sign of lamplight. The darkness spread through every corner of the streets, lending them a strange and sinister presence.
It’s the same as ever, thought Su Yi.
This really was a dangerous place, and the air was full of malevolent, baleful energies. Never mind ordinary people; even cultivators dared not enter a place with such dense yin qi at night.
As he pondered, Su Yi proceeded into the ruins shrouded in darkness, and his figure gradually disappeared from view.