It had been a while. Sam Hersh just kept grabbing little fish in the creek. These little fish swam slowly. I didn’t stop him, only watched quietly. There was nothing I could do—this was simply the way to survive here.
"Just wait a bit longer, Ethan, let me eat a little more and then we can get back on the road. I haven’t had meat in days."
The ghostly energy all around began to shift, moving off into the distance—no one wanted to end up in the mouth of this red-haired orangutan.
The sky was starting to brighten, though there was no sunlight. Yet the plants here looked so real, even though they were merely manifestations of ghostly energy.
"By the way, what conditions do you need to be reincarnated here?"
I asked, as Sam Hersh stood up, chewing on a small fish. A shriek rang out, and soon the fish was swallowed down.
"I don’t know. Most people say you have to wait for the right opportunity to be reincarnated. Maybe those folks in the towns know more."
"Do you know the Beast Lord?"
I asked again. Sam Hersh shook his head.
"That’s just a rumor. They say he’s the master of the Animal Realm, but no one’s ever seen him. Come on, you two are lucky today—we have to get moving. Otherwise, I’d be feasting right now."
We started moving again. After eating more than thirty little fish, Sam Hersh ran even faster, constantly licking his lips.
"You know, Ethan, when I first got here, I was so hungry I could only eat grass roots and things like that. Later, someone taught me how to hunt. Even when I caught prey, eating it raw was so disgusting. Just thinking about how long it will be before I can reincarnate made me miserable for ages. But now, I’ve gotten used to it. Maybe that’s just how people are—if you’re alive, you’ll eat anything, even shit, just to keep going."
I smiled helplessly. If you think about it, dung beetles really do eat shit, and have done so for years. For humans, that’s almost unimaginable. After suffering in Hell, you get thrown into the Animal Realm to keep suffering. There’s no end in sight to this torment.
"See over there, Ethan."
Sam Hersh stopped, and I looked over. Sure enough, there was a wooden village on the edge of the forest, with fields surrounding it. Animals were working near the fields—it was surreal.
Just as we were about to get closer, I sensed a surge of ghostly energy flying our way. With a bang, I grabbed Sam Hersh by the red hair on his head and yanked him back.
A huge meteor hammer smashed into the ground, leaving a pit. Before us stood a nearly three-meter-tall deer, upright, gripping a massive meteor hammer.
"Where did you wild things come from? What are you doing here? Get lost—useless creatures like you aren’t wanted here."
"What are you talking about? You need people here, right? That’s why we came."
Sam Hersh said nervously. I quietly observed the deer in front of us. It was unnaturally large, but still a deer. The ghostly energy around it was strong, and its body seemed twisted in places—as if forcibly stretched.
"What are you staring at, Fat Cat?"
The deer said this and suddenly strode over. I didn’t think much of it, but I started to understand what John Chou had said about needing to look powerful—not just on the outside. In this world of animals and insects, strength is everything.
With a whoosh, I flew forward, raising both hands in the air. Before the deer could swing its meteor hammer down, I had already sent it flying.
"Impressive, Ethan."
Sam Hersh started dancing with excitement. The deer, after crashing to the ground, got up and looked at me.
"You might be fat, but your strength is pretty balanced. Come with me—let’s see what you can do."
Sam Hersh and I followed. Only now did I notice that the fields were planted with rice, just recently sown. Horses, deer, donkeys, even cats and dogs—all were standing upright. Their paws were nimble, busy catching bugs in the fields. The insects, once spotted, quickly flew away, desperately trying to escape. Some were snatched up and eaten on the spot.
It was less a city and more a village. Most of the beasts wore coarse gray clothing. I saw all sorts of workshops—unbelievable, really, for the Animal Realm.
"Come here, you two."
Strange eyes all around stared at us. Sam Hersh and I were led to a chopping board, where a cleaver, some thread, and paper had been placed.
"Try it out. If you can use these, you can stay."
Sam Hersh looked terrified. I stepped forward, trying to grip the cleaver with my hand, but found it extremely difficult. After several failed attempts, I changed tactics and released ghostly energy from my hand, condensing it into a shape. Soon, the ghostly energy formed a hand, and I easily managed to chop vegetables, thread a needle, and fold a paper airplane.
"I didn’t expect you could do that. Looks like you’ve got a bright future ahead, brother. Your turn, Red-Haired Orangutan."
I watched Sam Hersh struggle to hold the cleaver, barely passing after some fumbling. But when it came to threading the needle, his hands weren’t nimble enough—he just couldn’t do it. Then he tried folding paper, but after a while, he had to give up.
"No good. Have you forgotten what it felt like to be human?"
Sam Hersh sighed helplessly.
"It’s been over a hundred years since I’ve seen anyone use human tools or build houses. I forgot all that ages ago."
"You failed. Get lost."
(Irrelevant system message, skip translation.)
Sam Hersh hung his head in defeat.
"How about this? I’ll teach him. It’ll only take a few days."
Then I learned this deer was the leader here, named Zhao Tianming. In life, he was a hunter, spent his whole life hunting, and after death was sent straight to Animal Hell. He’d suffered enough torment before ending up here.
"Why did you all end up like this? Your ghostly forms seem a bit off."
I asked, and Zhao Tianming just smiled and shook his head.
"Any soul entering the Animal Realm will be forcibly twisted by its power into the shape of a punished animal or insect. This force of reincarnation can’t be reversed. The only way is to keep using your ghostly energy to twist your own soul—like standing upright. At first, it’s impossible. You have to keep standing up, keep warping your ghostly form. The whole process is agonizing. I’ve never seen anyone who can manifest ghostly energy outside their body like you can."
I didn’t say anything, then asked if he’d seen a red-haired wolf.
"That guy? He’s the Beast Lord’s envoy, right? A really powerful one. He came here before, said he was here to inspect something. It was an honor for us—getting to meet the Beast Lord’s envoy."
My heart skipped. I had no idea what John Chou was rambling about, but everyone here seemed to believe it. After asking where John Chou went, I learned this was the most remote village. Past the forest, you’d reach the city—a much bigger city.
I didn’t know why John Chou had left in such a hurry without waiting for me. Now I had to catch up, but I was still worried about Sam Hersh. Maybe this place was his last chance—if he went back to the grasslands, he’d eventually fall into the Hungry Ghost Realm.
"Hurry up. I’ll show you what to do."
As I spoke, Sam Hersh looked miserably at the things on the table. The animals around us were all busy, but no matter how many times Sam Hersh tried, he kept failing—his fingers just weren’t nimble.
"Forget it, Ethan. Go do what you need to do. I’ll just go back to the grasslands."
I asked in confusion.
"Why not go into the forest? I saw a lot of fruit trees there."
"That’s their territory. Any place that produces food belongs to someone. If I take anything, I’ll be killed and made into jerky."
I stared at Sam Hersh in shock, finally understanding. There are the Primal and the Evolutionary factions—these are the classes within the Animal Realm. But it reminded me of something: whether it’s a soul or a ghost, anyone who can forcibly twist themselves into something else… I know one, 001. She’s the one who turned me into a panda. When I ate the Phantom Morph Pearl, it made me think of pandas.
"Forget it, I give up, Ethan. It’s rare for me to come here, but I really can’t do it—can’t be like I was before, when I was human. I don’t remember that anymore."
I didn’t know what to say. He’d lived here for centuries, completely forgotten what it was like to be human, become an animal, just trying not to starve and waiting for a chance at reincarnation. But that chance was slim. I’d asked the deer too, and even he didn’t know how one could reincarnate as an animal.
For ghosts in the Animal Realm, reincarnation is a mystery.
Watching Sam Hersh give up completely, he got up to leave, and the deer beside him left without a word.
"We can’t keep someone who can’t do anything."
I watched Sam Hersh quietly, then suddenly flew over and grabbed him.
"Try again, okay? It’s hard, but if you give up halfway, it’s all over. You managed just now, didn’t you? You don’t want to die, do you!"
Sam Hersh hesitated, then finally nodded.