Chapter 499: Meeting the Lord of the Underworld

Chapter 499: Meeting the Lord of the Underworld

The reaper set off, then paused and glanced back. Stick close. I have the authority to fly across the Sanzu, but you dont. If you get too far from me, youll fall into its waters, and Ill have to fish you out again. Dont cause any more extra work for me!

Hui nodded. Many apologies for all the overtime small cultivator might have caused for Elder Sister.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

She snorted. As if thats enough to compensate for the years Ive had to keep an eye on you. Youd better work hard and pick up your half of the slack quick around here!

Years? Hui asked, surprised. I really lost track of time in there. I have no idea how long I was under. Itit could be centuries! Its a cultivation world, after all. Everyone I know and love could already be long since dead

Ten long years, the reaper emphasized, letting the exhaustion come out in her voice.

Oh, Hui said. Thats not so bad. Even if my children failed in cultivation, they should still be alive

Wait, my kids. Its been ten years! I totally abandoned them. Fuck! I didnt want to do that! I wanted to be there and help raise them dammit! I messed up! I messed up bad!

The reaper frowned at him. What is it now?

Nothing. Im just reflecting on the joy of childrearing, Hui sighed melodramatically.

The reaper scoffed. Joy? I saved you from ten years of dealing with shit. Literally.

Surely it isnt all bad, Hui said wistfully.

Ha, well. Thats a mans perspective, isnt it, the reaper grumbled bitterly.

Hui looked at her. Elder Sister did you have a bad experience with children?

She snorted. Hmph.

She doesnt want to talk about it? It is a very personal question, after all. Hui pressed his lips together, regret welling up in him. Whether childrearing is a good or bad experience, I meant to be there. Alongside Bai Xue, and and if I got lucky, Li Xiang, too. I didnt want to abandon my kids the way my dad abandoned me.

But here I am. Abandoning them, like a total shitball. Man. I really fucked up this time, huh? Hui shook his head, disappointed in himself.

The reaper looked at him. What? You arent really broken up about that, are you?

Hui took a deep breath and sighed. I I dont want anyone to experience the same things I did. My father wasnt really present. And when he was, he Hui shook his head. I wanted to be there. Be a positive influence. But instead, Im

Youre dead, the reaper said flatly.

I know, but

You died. Youre only getting this second chance because Zhu Diyu has taken a liking to you. So stop your complaining and suck it up. After all, if not for Zhu Diyu, you wouldnt even have the ability to regret that you cant be there for those children of yours.

But still Hui shook his head. Leaving a burden on the others around me I didnt mean to do that. I wasnt thinking straight at the time. Or rather, I thought there wasnt much hope for me on this side. I knew Zhu Diyu had his eye on me, but then, so does Heaven. I might have been falling directly into a trap, and never open my eyes again.

I knew there was a possibility I might not fully die, a chance I was banking on, but even so, it was a slim chance. A chance I couldnt completely rely on. Better to do the things Ive always wanted to do once and for all than regret that I couldnt do them before I died, I thought. Just in case it went wrong, and I didnt wake up.

But now that Im on the other side and still myself, still awake and alive, I

The reaper rolled her eyes. If youre lucky, you might be able to watch over them from this side. There, are you happy now?

Hui nodded, slowly. Its better than nothing, he muttered.

A second later, he perked up. Wait. Children?

Huh? the reaper asked, frowning at him.

Elder Sister said children of yours. Plural. Does that mean, then, that means, that Li Xiang and I, too Hui said excitedly.

The reaper smacked him on the head. Are you excited you have children or depressed about it? Make up your mind.

Go on, Zhu Diyu said.

Was was Starbound Sect meant to fall when Ying Lin ascended, instead of Master? he asked.

Zhu Diyu waved his hand. These things we cannot know. Karma is not something that one can see clearly ahead of time. It is the actions sown and reaped. Although some things may be preordained, or perhaps, likely to happen, once one has stirred the great workings of karma and shifted their order, the original cloudy chain stretching into the future becomes so clouded that it cannot be read. I am not one who worries overmuch on the fate of the world, and so, I cannot remember the precise timing of these things, as karma was originally meant to proceed.

So then Then, is it fine that I mucked with the order of things, and brought back Starbound Sect? Hui wondered.

What you mean to ask is meaningless. Once the die has been cast, it cannot be withdrawn. In the air, if your reflexes are fast enough and your eyes quick enough, you might predict where it lands and what face it shows, but if a stray wind blows or it strikes a hair you could not see, then it might show a different face anyways. That I saw the way the die would land is irrelevant, ultimately, when you have snatched the die from the air and rerolled it entirely.

Hui nodded slowly. I think I understand? Rather than a rigid and predetermined thing, karma is more like a chain of occurrences. I wasnt part of that chain, so naturally, adding me altered it, but it is the nature of the chain that until one experiences it, anything might happen. Thus, although I altered the original order of karma, it was never certain to begin with, and so my alteration can be overlooked or something?

In any case, you are dead, Zhu Diyu declared.

Yes, Hui agreed.

But I have taken an interest in you, and we happen to be down a reaper. Mamian will show you the ropes, and soon, you will be able to take on the role of reaper yourself, Zhu Diyu intoned, leaning back. There was a finality to his words that suggested he did not wish to be questioned or countered.

Hui gulped. He licked his lips. Er, but, I is there a way this small cultivator can return to life?

Zhu Diyu shrugged. Would I tell you if I knew?

It might motivate me, Hui said, shrugging back.

Zhu Diyu looked at him, his face suddenly cold and expressionless.

Ah! Excuse me. I didnt mean to imply that Senior needed to exert himself to motivate this small cultivator. No, no. One as buglike as myself would never presume that someone as lofty as Senior would need to act directly to receive my full effort and whole-hearted labor! Hui cried, bowing even deeper until his forehead pressed against the floor.

Alright, thats enough, the reaper said. She yanked him up by the collar and set him on his feet. Lets get started. Theres plenty of souls that need to be reaped today, and Im already behind.

Yes, yes. Lets do that, Hui agreed, not daring to look at Zhu Diyu. I didnt mean to immediately piss off the Lord of the Underworld on my first day! Whoops.

Ah, but on the other hand he didnt reply. Doesnt that indicate that theres still hope for me? A way to return to life?

Hui glanced down at his stomach. He smiled slightly. It seems like all my preparations werent in vain. This small cultivator isnt going to stay dead for long! Li Xiang, Bai Xue, Xingxue, Zhubi everyone, wait for me! Im coming back!

On his throne, Zhu Diyu chuckled lightly. He cast a silent look down at the two cultivators and shook his head.

Hui trembled. Er, he isnt reading my thoughts, is he? Senior, pleaseplease ignore those previous thoughts! A slip of the mind, thats all. Im thinking about labor, labor! Nothing but long, hard hours and work, work, work on this small cultivators mind! Yes, Im nothing but a tiny cog in the Underworld machine!

The reaper turned and walked away. Hui scurried after her, excited to be out of Zhu Diyus gaze.

As the two figures in white walked off, Zhu Diyu watched them go. He snorted quietly to himself.

A clerk approached him from the side. Sir, weve finished preparing the documents for the next batch of souls. She held up a massive stack of papers.

Zhu Diyu sighed heavily, looking the stack up and down. Somewhat reluctantly, he took them and thumped them on his desk. Cant someone else take this on?

The clerk frowned at him. Sir, no one would dare override the word of the Lord of the Underworld. There isnt a single clerk who aspires to your position.

You should be more proactive, Zhu Diyu replied, leafing through the papers absentmindedly. He waved his hand, and the massive stack whirled together into an equally massive scroll.

More proactive in usurping the throne? the clerk asked, confused.

Zhu Diyu snorted. He waved his hand.

The clerk bowed. Please forgive the slip of my tongue! She turned and marched off, shoulders squared, to rejoin the cadre of clerks in the back of the office.

Zhu Diyu looked at the scroll again, then lifted his head and looked at the endless march of souls. He sighed deeply. Next.