I struggled desperately, but Soren Black showed no intention of stopping. Instead, he cruelly tore open my shoulder and bit off a chunk of flesh. I screamed in terror.
Watching Soren Black noisily chew on my shoulder flesh, I stared at him in horror.
Suppressing my anger, I glared at Soren Black, wanting nothing more than to break free from these restraints. But no matter how hard I tried, I was completely powerless.
He looked utterly satisfied, while I was furious. I kept trying to unleash my ghostly power and release my killing intent, but the ropes binding me felt like an unbreakable wall of steel. No matter how I crashed against it, I couldn't break through.
"Next, a sprinkle of salt. That should make it taste even better."
I glared fiercely at Soren Black, eyes wide. Sure enough, he pulled a small packet from his pocket, opened his mouth to reveal sharp teeth, and prepared to bite into my shoulder again.
"I say, Soren Black, haven’t you had enough? Why don’t you stop now? Or do you want to keep going until the Marshal Leopard notices?"
It was Ray Lin, still looking like a ghostly taxi driver, appearing behind Soren Black.
With a snort, Soren Black burst out laughing. Then, turning to Ray Lin, he said, "You really know how to hide your ghostly energy, don’t you?"
Ghosts are never reasonable, and they love to play tricks on people. For some reason, this saying suddenly came to mind.
"Oh, I’m not sure who you are, but from the way you talk, it seems we know each other. And this must be Ethan Zhang, right?"
Soren Black really did recognize me, and I was grinding my teeth in frustration. He reached out, removed the cloth from my mouth, and immediately made a shushing gesture.
Marshal Leopard looked doubtful, counting on his fingers, then raised his pen and wrote a character on Ray Lin’s paper. I stared in surprise—the writing looked like clusters of tadpoles. Very strange, but I’d definitely seen this script before.
Then the rope binding me was untied. I clenched my fists, my teeth grinding. Soren Black kept insisting it was just a joke, but I didn’t believe him—he really wanted to eat more of my flesh.
"But honestly, little Mason’s flesh tastes better. Ethan Zhang, your flesh is delicious, but it’s still not as good as Mason Yu’s."
I stared wide-eyed at Soren Black. He must be talking about Mason Yu, but I had no intention of digging into their relationship. I quickly moved over to Ray Lin’s side.
"Don’t worry, Ethan. The two Hell’s Registrars escorting Boss Chang’s soul just arrived. They’ll probably set out tomorrow. We should also go tell the Marshal Leopard that we’re heading back to the Seventh Tribunal for business."
I nodded.
Ray Lin glared fiercely. I looked at him in surprise, then turned around—it was Soren Black, dressed as a street vendor, carrying a large bundle and smiling at us.
"Soren Black, you still remember me, huh? Heh. So, what are you really up to, coming to a place like this? Who are you doing it for?"
For a moment, I saw Soren Black’s expression change. He smiled slyly, then patted me on the shoulder.
"These ropes were made from stones Boss Yin gave me back when I followed him—stones from Abyssal Hell. Pretty powerful stuff. Well, Ethan Zhang, I’d better get back to my business now. You two be careful, Marshal Leopard isn’t just any ordinary character."
With that, Soren Black pulled up his hood and quickly headed toward the town. I could only sigh, and Ray Lin and I hurried to leave as well.
Back in town, we saw the two Hell’s Registrars—one tall, one short—eating in a shop. I felt relieved. There were still seven or eight hours until tomorrow, and those two seemed determined to eat and drink their fill before setting out.
"Let’s go, Ethan. We need to find Marshal Leopard to get clearance to pass through."
I responded and followed Ray Lin toward the city gate. When we arrived at the checkpoint, Marshal Leopard was still diligently working. Ray Lin pulled out two sheets of white paper, handed me one, and I immediately sensed something strange about it.
It didn’t feel like paper—more like cloth. Rubbing it felt odd, not smooth like regular paper, and there was a faint, peculiar power inside.
"Ethan, don’t look into it too deeply."
Ray Lin smiled as he spoke, snapping me out of my thoughts. The white paper somehow made me want to send out my Specter Web to investigate—very strange.
We continued to sit on the sofa at the checkpoint, waiting for Marshal Leopard to finish his work. After a while, since no Hell’s Registrars came in, we walked over.
"Marshal Leopard, the two of us need to return to the Seventh Tribunal tomorrow for some business."
Ray Lin took the lead and handed over his paper. Marshal Leopard glanced at us, holding up his pen.
"Li Nian, Liu Si, a lot of ghosts left here today. Did you two do something?"
"Huh? Not at all, Marshal Leopard. We didn’t do anything. Hurry up, our brothers are waiting for us to drink."
Marshal Leopard looked doubtful, counting on his fingers, then raised his pen and wrote a character on Ray Lin’s paper. I stared in surprise—the writing looked like clusters of tadpoles. Very strange, but I’d definitely seen this script before.
But I couldn’t quite remember where. I stared blankly as Ray Lin gladly took the paper, then hurriedly kicked me. I smiled and handed over my own sheet.
"Liu Si, are you interested in these characters?"
"No, Marshal Leopard, heh, I’m just curious what it is."
Suddenly, Marshal Leopard looked up, staring at me in a daze, his left hand counting on his fingers, moving constantly.
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"Liu Si, what’s going on with you lately? Your Law of Karma seems chaotic—it’s like you’re not yourself."
A chill ran through me as I silently watched Marshal Leopard, but he still wrote on the paper. This time, the character was bigger than the one on Ray Lin’s sheet.
After I took it, I thanked him and left the checkpoint with Ray Lin.
It was a close call, but Ray Lin didn’t look too good.
"What’s wrong?"
Ray Lin looked at me and said,
"As far as I know, those characters are unique to the Underworld Court. Only thousand-year-old ghosts with certain ranks—judges, marshals, and so on—have the authority to know them. Ordinary ghosts can’t understand them. It’s very peculiar. Most high-level matters in the Underworld Court are communicated using that script."
I nodded, recalling that the character on my white paper was a bit different from Ray Lin’s—not just bigger, but structurally distinct.
We found a secluded spot and took out the two sheets of white paper. As soon as I pulled mine out, I was amazed—the tadpole-like strokes on my sheet actually started moving, and gradually became identical to the ones on Ray Lin’s.
"Maybe we’re just overthinking it."
Ray Lin said, and I breathed a sigh of relief. We sat in the restaurant opposite the two Hell’s Registrars escorting Boss Chang’s soul, eating and drinking while keeping a close eye on their every move.
The two Hell’s Registrars got drunk and fell asleep at the table, so we could only wait quietly.
The next day, the two Hell’s Registrars woke up, and we hurried after them. Outside the cell where the souls were held, we watched as the two led Boss Chang out.
Boss Chang’s face was ashen, his eyes completely lifeless.
"Wow, I really don’t know what’s wrong with this guy. He’s about to reincarnate, but still looks like this."
"Let’s go. Who cares? We just have to escort him to the Bridge of Remorse."
Just as we were about to follow, suddenly a voice called out from behind.
"Gentlemen, would you like to buy some food for the road?"
Ray Lin glared fiercely. I looked at him in surprise, then turned around—it was Soren Black, dressed like a vendor, carrying a big bundle and smiling at us.
"What do you want? Get lost."
Ray Lin shouted without holding back. Soren Black smiled and lowered his voice.
"I’m really short on money right now. How about it, Ethan Zhang—give me all your cash. If you’re ever in danger, I’ll save your life."
I stared at Soren Black as he watched me, as if he knew I was carrying a lot of money.
"It’s already taken care of. We don’t need your help to get clearance."
"Oh, really? I don’t think so."
Soren Black winked at us, and we followed him to the back of a building. There were no ghosts around, and I saw a long line at the checkpoint.
We took out our clearance papers and showed them to Soren Black.
"You don’t understand it, so what can you see?"
Soren Black studied the two sheets of white paper for a long time, but couldn’t figure anything out.
"I get the feeling Marshal Leopard already knows you’re not Hell’s Registrars."
Soren Black said, looking at me.
After thinking it over, I handed him all my money. He took it happily and told us to go ahead—if anything happened, he’d show up right away.
We reached the city gate, where many Hell’s Registrars were leading Yin Prisoners through the stone wall. The two Hell’s Registrars escorting Boss Chang hadn’t come out yet.
Finally, the two Hell’s Registrars came out with Boss Chang. At that moment, we saw Marshal Leopard coming out too, heading toward us.
Ray Lin smiled, telling me not to worry. It looked like Marshal Leopard wasn’t after us, but was heading for the cell instead.
The two Hell’s Registrars escorting Boss Chang had already crossed over, slipping into the wall. Ray Lin and I followed.
Just as I was about to enter the wall, a flash of red light suddenly burst forth, throwing me backward. I cried out in surprise as Deathbane Aura kept spilling out of me, and my disguise as Liu Si began to collapse.