"Uncle Moe, Aunt Lan will be fine."
Rachel Lan held Helen Lane's hand, wiping away tears again and again, while Old Moe just smiled silently.
"Mom, it's okay."
Rachel kept comforting Helen Lane. After all, they'd previously received news that it might take ten years before we could return, but unexpectedly, we came back after just a few months.
"Rachel, why did you cut your hair so short? It looked better before."
Old Moe said this, and I hummed in response, but immediately rolled my eyes at Rachel. I quickly shook my head.
At this, Old Moe's face grew somber, as if something heavy was weighing on his heart, unsure how to express it.
"What's wrong, Uncle Moe?"
Helen Lane had also calmed down by now, and Rachel noticed something was off.
"The Underworld Court is planning to release the evil spirits."
I looked at Old Moe in confusion and asked.
"What do you mean?"
"The Underworld Denizens are to go to Hell and select evil spirits undergoing punishment. Any Blue Wraith or lower-level ghost—each Denizen must bring at least ten, and the stronger ones must bring at least a hundred."
I blinked in surprise.
"What exactly does the Underworld Court want to do?"
"It's something we can't avoid. Once war breaks out, the Underworld Court won't be able to manage the affairs of the Living World. So it's up to us Underworld Denizens to maintain everything. Manpower will be severely lacking, because we used to collect souls and hand them over to the Hell Registrars, but now the Underworld Court has no time for these dead souls. We'll have to manage them ourselves. To prevent these souls from becoming wandering ghosts, we have no choice but to use ghosts to control ghosts."
I thought about it—this method could work, but Rachel quickly spoke up.
"But what if these evil spirits rebel? Ghosts are unpredictable by nature."
I immediately realized the problem. Even with Underworld Denizens overseeing them, some evil spirits might still do what ghosts do—eat people, devour souls, and so on.
"For the lower-level Denizens, it's already incredibly difficult to bring out even one Blue Wraith-level ghost, let alone ten. Even if the Underworld Court gives us tokens to suppress the evil spirits, over time, with so many ghost markets closed, the Underworld Court's power will be restricted by the forces of the Living World. There will always be certain times and circumstances when the tokens lose their effect. If the evil spirits break free, it will be a disaster for the Living World."
"What do the Ten Guides say about this?"
I asked, and Old Moe shook his head.
"This is an official pardon from the Underworld Court—it's irreversible and already decided. In a few days, we'll have to go to each hell and select evil spirits to bring up."
"Isn't this reckless?"
I said, but then realized that although this could cause some problems, compared to the much bigger issue of unmanaged ghosts in the Living World, it's a lesser evil. Even if some souls are consumed, there's no other choice. The Underworld Court is already preparing for war and won't care about how the Denizens feel.
Then Old Moe told us that, although many Underworld Denizens were protesting and the Ten Guides had spoken directly with the Infernal Judges, the protests were ineffective. In times like these, only special measures can resolve the current deadlock.
At that moment, I heard a commotion. I immediately noticed that a large number of ghosts suddenly emerged from the floor of the café, playing and laughing with each other, then began helping themselves to food and drink.
"You lot, keep it down."
Helen Lane shouted fiercely, and the whole room of souls quieted down. As far as I know, over time, these souls will turn into ghosts.
Helen Lane told us that now most Underworld Denizens have to find their own ways to collect souls and lock them up somewhere, and they must constantly watch over them and keep records. The work is much heavier than before—almost all Denizens have quit their original jobs in the Living World to focus on managing ghosts.
"If they've quit their jobs, how do they eat?"
I looked at Helen Lane in surprise, and Old Moe laughed.
"That's nothing to worry about. The Underworld Court borrowed a lot of money from Redmond, and every month, they pay everyone in Hades Circle on time. The wages are even higher than before—just for watching over souls, you can get quite a lot, about ten thousand per person."
My jaw almost dropped—ten thousand! In H City, the average wage is only three thousand. That's triple. No wonder no one in Hades Circle is protesting now. All you need to do is find a place for the collected souls and watch over them. Aside from not being able to travel far, you get paid without really working.
Thinking about Redmond's Redmane Corp, it's a super-rich company, so this amount is nothing. There are only a little over thirty thousand people in Hades Circle anyway.
At that moment, I noticed a few people quickly passing by on the street. They looked ordinary, but I immediately sensed they were from the spell world. They glanced over and left without a word.
"Now some people from the spell world are earning extra money too. As long as they catch souls and manage them properly, the management fee is a thousand per soul per month, also paid by Redmane's company."
Rachel Lan burst out laughing, and I laughed along with her.
"Redmane really got the short end of the stick."
But apparently, Redmane's subordinates haven't received wages for hundreds of years. It's said that Redmane's company has collected a huge amount of antiques and gold bars, so covering this is no problem.
"Even now, it's still not enough people. After all, there are countless deaths from illness and accidents every day."
I hummed in agreement. Thinking about it, that's true.
(This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading!)
Just then, Ray Lin arrived at the door and knocked. I stood up.
"Uncle Moe, Aunt Lan, Rachel, I'll head out first. John Chou asked me to find him—must be something urgent."
Old Moe nodded, and I looked at Rachel Lan.
"Take care, Qingyuan."
"Don't worry, Rachel. I'm not the same as I used to be."
I turned into a streak of green light and returned to the car, where Isabelle Frost was still observing everything around her.
"The Underworld Court is still the same as before—doing whatever it takes for so-called harmony between humans and ghosts, regardless of the consequences for others."
When I got in earlier, Ray Lin and Isabelle Frost had discussed the current situation in the Living World. The car started again, and I waved to Rachel Lan standing at the shop door.
The atmosphere around us changed. Red currents, like flames, drifted past the car. I was surprised—this power made me feel a sense of dread. It must be the power of the Underworld Court.
"Miss Yi, what did you mean by 'regardless of others' lives'?"
"Brother Qingyuan, people and ghosts walk different paths. If a person spends too much time with ghosts, their lifespan will be greatly shortened. The harm far outweighs the benefit."
I hummed in agreement. Besides, the Denizens will soon have to go to Hell to select evil spirits, not only spending time with ghosts but also collecting a huge number of souls. No matter what, they'll be exposed to too much yin energy, which will consume their yang energy over time. Eventually, they'll die from it.
"Ray Lin, can you take me to see the Infernal Judges?"
I said, and Isabelle Frost snorted coldly.
"It's useless even if you go, Zhang Qingyuan. They won't listen to you."
"Maybe so, but I still want to talk to the Infernal Judges. After all, this is just too cruel for the Denizens."
Ray Lin smiled helplessly and nodded. But then I realized something: how could Ray Lin travel freely between the worlds of the living and the dead, and even enter the world of horror stories before?
"Can't you tell? Zhang Qingyuan is one of the Underworld Court's people."
I stared at Ray Lin in shock and anger, but he just smiled and nodded.
"Brother Qingyuan, honestly, we can't control these things, nor do we have the power to. Right now, to speed up the war, they're pulling out a lot of ghosts from Hell to use as labor. You'll see when you get to the Nether Hell."
"Isn't that..."
I didn't finish my sentence. Suddenly, a streak of black-green light appeared before me. I saw ghosts moving on the ground, carrying heavy stones and supplies, slowly advancing in groups across a surface covered in bones.
In the sky, huge bone monsters from the Styx were also carrying things. Ray Lin sped up, and soon I saw that a large defensive facility had been set up in the distant mountains. I sensed Yuna Ji's presence.
With a swoosh, the car stopped on a high platform built of bones. Skeletons and Underworld Court officials and officers were constantly going up and down, all extremely busy.
After getting out of the car, I flew straight over.
"Yuna..."
I was about to call out to Yuna Ji, but saw her face filled with anger as she glared at several Underworld Court officers, who stood with heads bowed, nodding and fawning.
"What the hell are you idiots doing? Are your brains made of mush? I told you about this just a few days ago, and now you're messing everything up for me!"
Yuna Ji was cursing them as the Underworld Court people kept explaining. Furious, she grabbed a stick from the table and started beating them without mercy. Instantly, they all knelt and begged for forgiveness.
"Hey, hey, Yuna Ji!"
I called out, and only then did Yuna Ji notice me and blink.
"Qingyuan, you're back."
Then she saw Isabelle Frost behind me, immediately put on a miserable face, and ran over to hug her.
"Little Yi, I'm about to be driven mad by these useless idiots. Please help me, okay?"
Yuna Ji blinked pitifully, her eyes flashing. Isabelle Frost sighed and walked over. The two quickly started talking, and I could tell it would take a while, so I sat aside.
"They're building so fast."
"Of course, Brother Qingyuan. Most people here haven't rested in three months."
I swallowed hard. No wonder everyone looks so exhausted.