A crackling sound rang out—a streak of black wind swept past as the Wild Boar King’s wraith swung his blade. Chains of red whipped out from the wind, instantly binding the Wild Boar King’s wraith. His massive blade halted just centimeters from the left side of my head, the chains tightening relentlessly. My eyes turned golden-red.
Black snowflakes began to drift around me. As they touched the Wild Boar King’s wraith, they instantly formed black ice petals.
I raised my hand, a hiss escaping me. My left hand twisted into a snake, darting through the air to sink its green fangs into the Wild Boar King’s wraith’s throat. He stared at me, unmoving.
“So that’s it. To wield so many kinds of power—rather peculiar, even if you’re just a chubby panda.”
“Can’t you tell black and white apart? I’m a panda, not a cat—and I’m not chubby!”
I glared, anger flaring. Suddenly, a surge of power slammed into me. As I turned, John Chou crashed into the ground beside me with a thunderous boom, the earth caving in. Green Ghost Aura surged toward us like a living tide.
The Wild Boar King’s wraith dissolved into viscous green sludge, splattering in all directions.
“Come down here, brother.”
John Chou called out. I quickly joined him. With a crash, the Wild Boar King landed before us, surging Ghost Aura instantly flooding back into his body.
“Finally ready to talk?”
“It doesn’t matter what you say. You’ve destroyed my territory, and that debt—”
John Chou just smiled and shook his head.
“How’s your deal with the Hungry Ghost Realm going?”
Instantly, I saw the Wild Boar King’s brows furrow—John Chou had clearly said something that caught him off guard.
“How did you know about that?”
John Chou glanced around, waving his paw in front of him.
“Such a huge stockpile of grain, and at a critical moment like this, you didn’t send it to the front lines in Barbaric Summer Three Continents. Instead, you hoarded it here, and used so many Qing-Capturing Wraiths to craft Ghost Aura-infused packaging. What for? Your men slipped up—these provisions are meant for the Hungry Ghost Realm, aren’t they?”
“You’re clever—for a wolf.”
The Wild Boar King said this, and John Chou laughed. I pointed at myself.
“I’m a panda.”
The Wild Boar King never once looked at me, his expression full of contempt. I felt my anger simmering.
“I don’t know who you really are on the inside, but since you know so much—what do you want?”
“I want to enter the Animal Realm.”
John Chou said it straight out. The Wild Boar King laughed.
“Heh.”
The Wild Boar King chuckled, raising his blade again, eyes locked on us.
“After what you’ve done, you think you’ll get away unscathed? And you want to enter the Animal Realm, don’t—”
“Letting us in would be a huge benefit to you.”
The Wild Boar King hesitated, then lowered his blade.
“You’d better not be lying. What benefit?”
“The Animal Realm’s situation isn’t good, is it? Care to explain? What exactly is your deal with the Hungry Ghost Realm? We’re not just heading to the Animal Realm—we’ll be making a stop at the Hungry Ghost Realm too.”
The Wild Boar King looked even more puzzled.
“You seem to know a lot about the Sanzu. Who are you, really?”
“Who I am doesn’t matter. Hurry up—after all, you’re not comfortable right now, are you?”
The Wild Boar King sat down, but his massive frame still looked like a mountain even seated.
“It’s not a deal with the Hungry Ghost Realm. The Animal Realm is the chain that binds the hungry ghosts. For the Sanzu to function normally, we’ve paid a heavy price.”
“So it’s true? I won’t ask what kind of agreement you have with the Netherworld. But endlessly feeding those eternally starving hungry ghosts—one day you’ll run dry. That bottomless pit can never be filled.”
The Wild Boar King snorted, then burst out laughing.
“I’ve been farming here for tens of thousands of years. You’re right, I’m not comfortable at all—forced to keep farming, endlessly, in this cycle. No one could stand it. All right, tell me about this benefit you’re offering.”
“We’re here to reclaim what’s disrupted the order of the Sanzu.”
For a moment, the Wild Boar King’s eyes went wide.
“Are you people from the Netherworld?”
“Of course. Who else but the Netherworld could twist our bodies and souls into beasts? What do you think?”
I stared at John Chou in surprise. He’d been probing from the start, and now he’d used the Netherworld as bait to lure the Wild Boar King in.
“If you’re from the Netherworld, why didn’t you say so earlier? Where’s your token?”
As the Wild Boar King spoke, John Chou smiled and raised a hand. A flash of white, and a red, rectangular token appeared in his palm, bearing the character 'Yama,' with a single stroke below.
“It really is an edict from the First Hall Yama. My men suffered heavy losses—this debt—”
“Blame it on the Yamas, not us. We’re just following orders—and we were told not to reveal our mission under any circumstances.”
The Wild Boar King rested his chin on one hand, deep in thought. After a while, he started to laugh.
“But taking away the Bloodbane Power that’s disrupting the Sanzu—won’t be easy! That was left behind by the Bloodshade Sovereign years ago. It’s badly interfering with the Sanzu’s flow. Because of that monster, our workload has grown a hundredfold.”
I swallowed hard. The Wild Boar King seemed to still be weighing something.
“Your concern is understandable. If the Bloodbane Power isn’t properly contained, it’ll destroy the Sanzu—and you’ll suffer the consequences.”
The Wild Boar King nodded.
“You seem to know exactly where the Bloodshade Sovereign is, don’t you?”
“We called him over ourselves. He showed us how to recover the Bloodbane Power. Now he’s imprisoned in the Avici Hell. We’ll reclaim the power and store it in the Netherworld. Once we succeed, your workload will lighten, won’t it?”
The Wild Boar King nodded, then stood up.
“Fine, take this.”
The Wild Boar King reached into his pocket and pulled out a jade-green, round pig token, which John Chou took.
“There are cities in the Animal Realm. This token will let you pass freely. When you meet the Lord of Beasts, he’ll guide you to where the Bloodbane Power is sealed.”
John Chou nodded. I kept swallowing nervously, and at last the Wild Boar King looked at me.
“This chubby panda doesn’t look like much—a rookie spy for the Netherworld.”
I was about to speak when John Chou burst out laughing.
“He’s a newbie. The spies we planted in the other seven continents got taken out, didn’t they? Anyone who can wipe out top-tier spies is impressive—the Old Hell crowd, for sure.”
The Wild Boar King chuckled.
“Trying to pry secrets out of me won’t work. We have our own agreements with Old Hell.”
“I see. So what’s your position in the war?”
The Wild Boar King scratched his head before answering.
“We’re basically middlemen. We can help Old Hell, and we can help the Netherworld. But we keep everything strictly confidential. The First Hall Yama sent you here—surely there’s something you want to discuss with the Animal Realm?”
John Chou shook his head.
“Right now, the most important thing is recovering the Bloodbane Power.”
The Wild Boar King got up, then turned and beckoned with a finger.
“Follow me.”
We floated up, following the Wild Boar King to the edge of the massive pit.
“I’ll send you straight over. Listen carefully—in the Animal Realm, you’re beasts too. Don’t think of yourselves as human. If you act superior, you’ll only anger the others here. Take this warning seriously.”
John Chou nodded.
“We’ll remember. By the way, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
The Wild Boar King turned his head. John Chou smiled as he spoke.
“Do you know anything about the Bloodshade Sovereign? What tricks did he pull back then?”
The Wild Boar King shook his head.
“I’m not sure either. But when we came to, the Sanzu was already disrupted by the Bloodbane Power.”
The smile in John Chou’s eyes grew. The Wild Boar King slowly floated over the pit, raising one hand and muttering under his breath.
I turned to stare at John Chou, utterly incredulous. He was spouting nonsense with a straight face—and the other guy actually believed it! That pig really was dumb.
With a buzz, the Wild Boar King turned his head—quickly.
John Chou and I flew straight across, a swirling vortex of colors appeared before us. We dove in, and the entrance snapped shut behind us.
“We’re finally heading to the Animal Realm, brother.”
But I couldn’t feel happy at all—I could understand how Yuki Han felt.
“Have you always liked doing things this way since you were born?”
John Chou tilted his head slightly. We were sinking now, with no idea how long it would take to reach the Animal Realm.
“What are you talking about? Brother, do you really think that pig is dumb?”
I stared in shock, eyes wide.
“Brother, that pig’s lived for tens of thousands of years. If you believe everything he says... you really are one adorable chubby panda!”