I crouched at the edge of the marsh, quietly watching the bubbles gurgling on the water’s surface. Gradually, the bubbles began to settle, fixed in place, and then faces appeared upon them—faces twisted in sorrow and anguish. My hand reached out, trembling uncontrollably.
“So sour.”
I laughed. What surfaced here were the tears of women twisted by jealousy—the sourest, sharpest thing in this world.
“Is this enough, Lord Sourcewell?”
I glanced over and saw Black Shade drifting closer, her hand raised with a small puddle of water in her palm. I blinked.
“You’re telling me this is enough? Are you even thinking?”
Black Shade looked at me, puzzled. I waved my hand dismissively.
“Forget it, I didn’t explain it clearly. I need to forge eighteen Infernal Weapons, and during the forging, when tempering with hellfire, I’ll need these tears to quench them.”
“I see. Lord Sourcewell, have you already decided on the next step?”
I nodded and explained to Black Shade, step by step, how to send the weapons to the Living World. She immediately burst into wild, excited laughter.
“It really is a good plan. Why not send us to the Living World as well, to serve as your strongest wardens?”
“Strong, sure, but only at the level of those Ghost Sovereigns. Honestly, you might not be a match for the Wraithlord’s kind. They’re more adapted to battle than you are. We’ll think about your situation later.”
No sooner had I finished speaking than Black Shade’s hand slipped, and the tears I’d struggled to collect started to spill. I hurriedly crouched and tried to catch them with both hands, but Black Shade grabbed my arms, her eyes blazing with hunger.
“Send me to the Living World now. I want to unleash a massacre!”
I blinked, noticing Black Shade’s grip tightening, her excitement growing. The hell marks on her body began to flicker, her hair slowly lifting, strands twisting into faces—each one the agonized visage of a suffering woman.
“Massacre, my ass. If you enter the Temporal Loop, you can’t take hell’s power with you. You’d be reborn as a baby girl—no power at all. If you’re exposed, I guarantee you’d be killed in minutes and sent right back here. That would blow my plan and alert the Underworld Court. Besides, John Chou probably already suspects something—he’s got dozens of ways to deal with me, and he’s dug a huge pit for me to fall into. Do you want my plan to fail? Are you even thinking?”
Black Shade let go. I hurriedly lay down, carefully gathering the tears. Doing it myself was such a hassle—tedious and boring. I’d rather leave this kind of work to my subordinates.
“Forgive my mistake, Lord Sourcewell...”
“Enough talk. Get to work. Later, I need to check the Ghostfire Pool and test how the tears react.”
Black Shade was still staring at me, confused, when she suddenly yanked me to my feet again.
“Lord Sourcewell, I can’t shake the feeling that you’re different this time.”
“Of course I’m different. How could I be the same? I have thoughts, I have feelings. And right now, I am Ethan Zhang—remember that. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll kill you all myself and save the Yin-Yang Realm. Ha!”
Black Shade sighed and drifted over the black mire. I sat down, staring at the tears in my hand. I stuck out my tongue and licked them, shivering instantly.
“Exquisite.”
The taste was utterly addictive—sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, all at their most extreme. Infusing these into the weapons would make them incredibly flexible. I was eager for the day the forged weapons entered the Living World, when they grew to their full potential. When I descended upon the Living World, everything would be so much easier. No one would expect me to use this method. The thought made me laugh, but the laughter stopped abruptly.
“John Chou really is despicable—he must have set me up. Otherwise, my plan wouldn’t have failed so easily. Now, I can’t even remember my past.”
Just thinking about John Chou stirred up a mess of emotions. I saw everything he did when I was still human, but I never understood why. He didn’t seem to be after power—so what was it? I stood up, restless.
“Forget it. Too much trouble.”
Now, I just have to wait until I meet the Wraithlord again. When I recover all my memories as Ethan Zhang, I’ll know everything. With a mind as sharp as mine, how could I ever lose to those in the Yin-Yang Realm?
I sighed and sat back down, staring at the mass of black liquid slowly gathering before me.
"Once it's ready, have it sent to the Dark Heart, to my throne. Got it?"
As I spoke, Black Shade turned her head, looking at me with confusion.
"I despise you right now, Lord Sourcewell."
"Why?"
Black Shade shook her head.
"I think you might've been influenced by those people in the Living World, always scheming with low tricks. If you just descended to the Living World and opened the passage to Hell, we wardens would clear the way for you, destroy everything in sight, and then..."
I floated up, gliding past Black Shade. I couldn’t be bothered to explain—she’d never understand my struggle. If it were that simple, I wouldn’t have been tricked. The Yin-Yang Realm’s powerful laws, the suppression of the Ten Lords of Hell, all of it—Buddhism and Daoism included—are part of the rules set by the gods when the Yin-Yang Realm was created. I call them the Yin-Yang Laws. The only way to open a passage is to break those laws. But everything I tried was blocked. Being able to descend a part of myself into the Living World through Hell was already an achievement. But even laws have weaknesses. I think I’ve found one—within myself, as Ethan Zhang. Just as I was about to break the laws, the Wraithlord stopped me. I’m not worried now. As long as I follow the plan, conflict in the Yin-Yang Realm will erupt soon. Even if the Wraithlord doesn’t resurrect, even if war doesn’t start, conflict between humans and ghosts, and among humans themselves, is inevitable.
I’ve already foreseen it—human nature itself is Hell.
Suddenly, I slapped my forehead as if I’d remembered something, and burst into wild laughter.
"I really am too clever."
The eighteen Hell weapons must never appear in the form of newborns—that would give everything away. Thanks to the Yin-Yang Laws, all things are cleansed at birth. If I want to forge perfect Hell weapons, I have to water them with tears. Tears are the essence of sorrow and joy, and perfectly normal in newborns. But if the tears are only sorrowful, they’ll trigger the Yin-Yang Laws.
“Heh, all I have to do is find a thread in the web of karma that I’ve already broken, then link the weapon to someone chosen from that thread, and guide the karma to the present. That way, the weapon can exist in the Living World. And haven’t I already reclaimed two of my three strongest instincts?”
I burst out laughing. It’ll work—this trick will let me slip past the heavens. Soon, I’ll use Sourcewell to test the karma. As long as I exist, Ethan Zhang exists. I am Ethan Zhang, and Ethan Zhang is Hell.
As long as the karma can move forward, it’ll work. But the key is: who should become a Hell weapon? I pondered for a while—guess I’ll just have to see.
With a loud bang, I jumped in surprise. A massive black water sphere swept over my head. I saw Black Shade’s helpless face as she drifted slowly past.
"With your intelligence, it’s hard to explain anything to you."
I decided to head out to the Ghostfire Pool beyond the marsh and test the reaction of the tears. I floated up, gliding across the marsh toward the edge. Suddenly, I stopped, blinking—something felt off. Why had the locations of the Ghostfire Pool and the Briar Wall switched? Before me stretched an endless black wall of thorns, impaling countless people. Their bodies writhed in agony, pierced by the thorns, their cries muffled and weak.
I flew straight to the wall. The thorns began to slowly extend, reaching toward me and gathering around.
"No, this can’t be right. Did I take a wrong turn? Impossible. What did these people do while I was gone?"
Suddenly, I sensed the wardens of the Briar Wall approaching. I didn’t want to waste words with them. I spun around and instantly returned to the Forest of Faces, snorting coldly. At that moment, Black Stone emerged from the ground.
"All the wardens know you’re back, Lord Sourcewell."
I landed in front of Black Stone in surprise and patted his shoulder.
"You’ve finally wised up."
Black Stone’s rounded head twisted as he looked away.
"I can’t be bothered with those people. Go to the Ghostfire Pool for me and test the tears. I’ll head back and check on the selection process."
I handed the black tears to Black Stone and floated away.