I glanced around, searching for my gold chain. In the chaos just now, I grabbed one, but now it's missing. Looking ahead, there are only thirty or forty ghosts before it's my turn.
Who was it? My gaze swept around at the ghosts rushing past—none seemed special. Some still looked as they did at the moment of death.
Suddenly, my eyes locked onto the guy who snatched my bag earlier—a young Yellow Ghost, maybe in his twenties, but something felt off. A flash of insight crossed my mind.
Suddenly, I saw that young Yellow Ghost seem to smile at me. I looked over immediately, but he just looked blank. I wondered if I'd imagined it, but quickly dismissed the thought, staring intently at him.
My instincts weren't wrong. Before, I might've thought I was imagining things, but since losing my emotions, I've noticed much more. My heart is like a dead lake—without a ripple, everything I see reflected on its surface.
Ahead, two Hell’s Registrars—one tall, one short—shouted for the ghosts in line to get their offerings ready.
I gripped the pearl in my hand, about the size of an egg, and started thinking of a plan. This pearl, though a mortal object, had been in the Underworld for years and was saturated with yin energy. I looked around—no ghost was paying me any attention.
With a gulp, I pushed the pearl into my abdomen. Instantly, the ghost veins in my body followed the pearl's yin energy and entered it, then began to separate. The egg-sized pearl shrank, and some white powder appeared on the other side, which the baleful energy began to gather.
Soon, I had two pearls in my hand—one large, one small. I breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, I turned my head, and the young Yellow Ghost was watching me again from my right.
It was my turn. I quickly handed over the smaller pearl, but the two Hell’s Registrars’ eyes locked onto the larger one in my hand.
“Sigh, brother, you just arrived, there are things you don't understand. Let him pass.”
The tall Hell’s Registrar was about to snatch the larger pearl from my hand, but the short one held him back. I passed through without trouble and soon saw, in the distance, a bustling, enormous city. As I crossed the checkpoint, I could feel the power of the Underworld Court.
Before, there was nothing here, but now many ghosts were rushing into the city. This place was like a refuge. Large numbers of ghosts flooded inside to escape the power struggles around the Underworld Court.
Sure enough, my gold chain had been taken by that Yellow Ghost who'd stolen my things. He broke off a piece of the chain, handed it over, and passed through the checkpoint smoothly.
As he walked past me, the Yellow Ghost stopped.
“Is there something on my face, friend?”
I shook my head, staring at him. Being able to steal my gold chain without anyone noticing—he was impressive.
The Yellow Ghost had short hair, dressed neatly in modern black casual clothes, with a crossbody bag at his waist. He’d already put the gold chain back in the bag.
“Friend, your trick of splitting the pearl in two was clever, but it’s not perfect. The Hell’s Registrars might not notice, but there are plenty of strong types in the city. You’d better be careful.”
He smiled and dashed off, holding up two fingers with a strand of black thread between them—my Specter Web. I stared in shock as he disappeared in a flash.
I touched the pearl. Sure enough, when I split the yin-saturated pearl, some of my Specter Web was left behind. I could still see strands poking out from the pearl, so I hurriedly picked them out one by one.
That guy seemed to know I'd noticed his hidden identity before talking to me. I sighed. People like him probably have some skill and want to do something in Hollowbelly City. I didn't think much of it and lined up after walking forward.
Soon I saw a huge notice board posted by the city gate, covered with strings of bright red characters.
First: No flying or private fighting in the city. Second: No hiding your wealth. Third: Work hard to make money.
I found these three city rules strange, especially the last one—work hard to make money.
“Attention, newcomers—come get your tag!”
The Hell’s Registrars at the gate shouted, handing out shiny white bracelets from a basket. Each had a small red tag about four or five centimeters long, marked with a number.
Every ghost passing through was forced to wear one of these bracelets. I held out my right hand, and with a snap, it was on. I felt the power of the Underworld Court cover my body, as if inspecting me. I did my best to suppress my ghostly energy.
3986746—that was my number. It seemed to represent the population, which reminded me of Lord Wraith’s practices.
Inside the city, shouts rang out everywhere. Shops of every kind lined the streets, and the ghosts were all calling out. I noticed their bracelets had tags in different colors—black, green, and gold.
The ghosts entering the city were immediately drawn into the shops by the merchants’ shouting. Most of the street was lined with food stalls. As I walked along, ghosts kept trying to pull me into their stores, but I refused them all.
I looked at the tag in my hand, still unsure what it was for. Just then, another shop owner stopped me.
“Brother, come in and have a taste! Our Fresh Treasure House has the best food on Hollowbelly Street.”
I glanced at the five-story building next door—packed and bustling, with ghosts eating and drinking inside. I shook my head and asked about the tag on my hand, but the boss’s face immediately darkened, and he held out his hand.
“Ten thousand, and I’ll tell you.”
It looked like he wanted ten thousand spirit bills, but all I had was the pearl—no spirit money. I refused. Then I asked several ghosts on the street, but they were all obsessed with money. That boss was actually cheap; some wanted ten thousand, others as much as one hundred thousand.
Here, ghosts existed for money. They worked desperately to earn it, though I had no idea why. I was starting to think I’d made a mistake coming here, but it was too late to turn back.
I kept asking about other matters, like the passage to the living world, but not a single ghost would tell me.
Smiling ghosts passed by, especially fawning over the wealthy newcomers, treating them like honored guests. But a penniless ghost like me got no attention—after all, I’d refused every food stall, clothing shop, or brothel I’d come across.
Beside me, laughter and seductive voices drifted from a brothel. Many ghosts looked on enviously as several alluring, scantily clad ghost women joked on the balcony, while a lavishly dressed man wrapped his arm around their waists. One of the women fed him wine mouth to mouth.
It was the Yellow Ghost who stole my gold chain—I recognized him instantly. He looked at me with a smile.
I had no desire to get involved with him, so I started to leave, but suddenly a group of seductive ghost women appeared before me, pulling me into the brothel without a word.
We reached the third floor. The Yellow Ghost was still joking with the women. Then the ghost women started undressing me. I struggled, glaring coldly at the smiling Yellow Ghost.
“Alright, you all go now.”
With three crisp claps, the ghost women left the room.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing in particular, Ethan Zhang.”
I immediately became alert, baleful energy beginning to flow inside me.
“You’d better not. If you use your power while wearing that thing on your hand, King Hollowbelly will know instantly.”
The Yellow Ghost kept drinking, smiling at me.
“Right, that’s it. It’s fate that we meet here. My name’s Jerry Li—I share the ‘Yuan’ character with you.”
I sat down. Jerry Li poured me a drink, which I sipped—it had no taste at all. He studied me for a moment, then smiled.
“The tag on your hand—red, black, green, then gold—shows a resident’s rank here. It’s not about strength, but wealth. In three days, we’ll all go to Hollowbelly Manor to present gifts to King Hollowbelly, who’ll assign your rank based on the amount. Every month, there’s a gift ceremony, and your rank changes with what you offer.”
“What does that mean?”
I asked. Jerry Li walked to the balcony, drinking and smiling as he looked down.
“Isn’t it great? Here, money solves everything, and there’s no end to it.”
With a snap, Jerry Li opened his waist bag, spilling out a pile of gleaming gold.
“There are plenty like me here—hiding their true ghost rank, taking money from weaker ghosts. It’s allowed, and nobody cares.”
“Tell me—where’s the passage to the living world?”
I asked, but Jerry Li just smiled and shook his head.
“With your strength, breaking through will be tough. After all, King Hollowbelly is the top ghost king among the Ten Underworld Marshals.”