"How long was I gone?"
As soon as I regained consciousness, I asked. Old Cat, who was beside me, smiled and replied.
"Only about an hour."
I grunted in acknowledgment and floated up.
"Let's head back to the shop first."
When I returned to the shop, Sylvia Blue was already asleep on the bench behind the counter, and Heavenly Soul was leisurely cleaning up the dishes.
"Back so soon?"
I nodded and grunted in response.
Heavenly Soul wiped his hands and sat down.
Old Cat arrived and sat down with a serious look in his eyes.
"Emperor God wants to negotiate with the Underworld Court. In this darkness, they hope you can make arrangements."
I said, and Old Cat nodded.
"I can't do this alone. We'll need those three guys and you, Ethan Zhang."
At that moment, I was anxious to get both sides to meet and negotiate as soon as possible. Both sides were on edge, ready to explode. I didn't know what Yin Choujian was thinking, but nobody wanted war.
The sooner this is resolved, the better. Since Yin Choujian and his people have already made an agreement with the Underworld, the Underworld might act soon. They won't sit and wait to be destroyed. If war breaks out, the normal order between yin and yang will be disrupted, which is the last thing the Underworld wants.
"I'll contact them now."
As I spoke, I took out the black sphere from my body. With a thought, I sensed the Undertaker instantly.
"What's up, Zhang Qingyuan?"
"I hope you can come over. There's something important I need to discuss with you. Please."
A moment later, the Undertaker replied.
"Got it. We'll be there in about half an hour."
"There's one more person. I'll contact her."
I looked at Old Cat in confusion. The person he mentioned was likely one of the original five who were directly named by Darkness at the Dark Banquet: Tom Eternal, The Undertaker, The Forsaken, The Sleeper, and me, The Watcher—the sixth, directly acknowledged by Darkness.
After Old Cat left, Heavenly Soul stared at me, his expression grave.
"Ethan Zhang, what are you really thinking?"
I grunted and replied.
"I don't want to see a war happen."
"No one does. If we get dragged into a war this big, it could last for years, maybe decades. Why are you helping Emperor God? The Underworld Court isn't planning to negotiate peacefully with Old Hell's forces."
I understood what Heavenly Soul meant. The Underworld would never bow to Old Hell, because the current order was built by their own hands—it's absolutely forbidden to violate it. If they did yield, it would mean admitting their order was wrong.
On this point, I could understand. After all, the Yama Kings are prideful—they would never admit their mistakes easily.
"It's really not worth it. All this fuss over pride—why can't they join forces and build a better Hell together?"
"Two tigers can't share one mountain. This has been true since ancient times, Ethan Zhang—even a three-year-old knows that."
I grunted. Heavenly Soul poured me a drink; I took a sip and smiled faintly.
"Even at such a high position, as a god revered by ghosts, they still can't change their human nature. It's sad, really. They can't understand, or maybe they refuse to understand—even now, all they care about is saving face, never letting a single crack show. Negotiations like these might be meaningless."
"Ethan Zhang, I've thought for a long time that you pretend to be confused when you know exactly what's going on."
I smiled bitterly and shook my head.
"Maybe so."
"Pepper salt chicken skewers..."
A smacking sound. I smiled and got up, walked over. Qi was smacking her lips, licking constantly, drooling again. I'd never seen her full. After covering her with a blanket and wiping her mouth, Qi grabbed my hand, so I sat beside her.
Many times, Sylvia Blue and Rachel Lan are really alike—in personality and temperament. Rachel Lan might seem cold at first, but around people she knows, she can be just as affectionate as Sylvia Blue, especially when she's drunk.
"Thank you for coming back, Sylvia Blue."
I whispered, and Heavenly Soul grinned while leaning on the counter.
"Maybe, someday, there's a way to restore your body and make you human again."
"I'll find a way, no matter what stands in my way. It's my duty as your husband."
Soon, the three members of the Dark Banquet arrived.
"What happened? You look anxious. Things on our side have reached a risky stage, so we've had to stop for now."
The Undertaker asked as soon as he walked in. I grunted, and a surge of black energy erupted from me, swirling around the three of them. After a while, their eyes widened in shock.
"This is unbelievable. The war between Old Hell and New Hell... it's just too incredible."
The Sleeper spoke, while the Artisan and the Undertaker stared at me, eyes serious. I had just used the power of Darkness to transmit everything I knew about the war between Old and New Hell directly into their minds, giving them a clear understanding.
"No wonder Phantom Sage hasn't contacted us lately or continued trading."
"What do you mean?"
I stared in surprise, eyes wide. The Sleeper continued.
All along, it was the Sleeper who kept in touch with Phantom in the Shadow Realm. They exchanged technology for two thousand years, each side developing things to their own advantage.
The cooperation with the Shadow Realm started by accident, all because of Xu Fu. When Xu Fu was nearly killed by Yin Choujian, it was the Dark Banquet who saved him. Xu Fu's uniqueness, or rather the uniqueness of the Immortality Society—humans who could live endlessly—caught the interest of the Dark Banquet.
After Xu Fu's soul was scattered, the fragments drifted to a world unknown to the Dark Banquet. That's when the cooperation began.
Repeated cooperation and technology exchanges, with no interference from either side, all based on fairness. This direct partnership allowed both sides to progress greatly. Through working with the Dark Banquet, the three found a way to reconstruct their bodies and return to the world of yin and yang.
When ghosts reach a certain level, like the Qing Ghost class, they have physical bodies. That's the result of condensed yin energy, which completely severs the connection to their former human selves. The Emperor Gods are just condensed masses of conscious yin energy, with no bodies.
"So, it was the mind control technology that let them find a way back to the living world a few centuries ago. They've probably finished the experiment and rebuilt their bodies by now."
The Undertaker said, and I swallowed.
"I just didn't expect things to get this far. It hasn't affected this darkness much, but if chaos breaks out between humans and ghosts, it'll ruin our plans too."
After the Artisan finished speaking, without delay, I followed the three into the center of the thirteen great pillars.
"That guy should be contacting the other person acknowledged by Darkness. All six of us are needed for Darkness to recognize us, so the others' minds can enter this darkness."
While waiting, I felt uneasy. The last person acknowledged by the will of Darkness—I had never met them. Who could it be?
Gradually, I sensed Old Cat's presence, and another, unfamiliar one—a woman.
We all looked toward the western sky. Two dark shapes quickly floated toward us. My eyes widened as I stared at the woman beside Old Cat—Loraine Locke.
The one responsible for giving birth to Rufina Howard every century—she's her mother.
"What..."
My eyes widened. The woman before me was indeed Luo Shui—her features were almost sculpted from clay, somewhat like Rufina Howard, but stiffer.
"What's wrong? Surprised, Zhang Qingyuan?"
"Very surprised."
The Reincarnator, I didn't expect you'd come.
The Undertaker said immediately. I looked at Loraine Locke in confusion—her name given by the will of Darkness was The Reincarnator.
"Why didn't you last time...?"
"Everything in the living world has nothing to do with me, so I won't fight anyone there. I only carry out my mission. No need to ask more, Ethan Zhang—hurry up, the balance between yin and yang can't hold much longer."
I asked, startled.
"What do you mean, exactly?"
"That's why I came back to this darkness. Since the three from Old Hell are willing to negotiate with the Underworld Court, we need to arrange this meeting quickly. Your intuition is right—your perception of darkness is sharper than any of us, Ethan Zhang."
Luo Shui spoke in words I couldn't fully understand.
After a brief pause, I saw Old Cat sitting cross-legged on the ground.
"According to the hexagram order."
Luo Shui spoke. I grunted, and then the six of us formed a circle, shaping a hexagram, and closed our eyes.
After a while, I felt the power of darkness spread throughout my body.
"Please allow the minds from other worlds to enter, Darkness."
Old Cat spoke. Gradually, I felt myself losing consciousness, yet I could see everything around me clearly. In front of us, the thirteen pillars glowed with a faint black light.