Chapter Six: Accidental Entry into the Netherworld (Part II)

“Go on a trip, my foot! You just stay home and behave yourself!” Shi Jun was genuinely delighted to see his old friend, but he quickly extinguished Hu Hai’s fanciful notions.

When one plan failed, Hu Hai hatched another. “Fine, I won’t go. But at least let me see your two treasures, won’t you?”

“Alright, but don’t mess with them. These things are a little peculiar,” Shi Jun replied helplessly, handing over the token and the pouch to Hu Hai.

“Got it! Don’t worry, I’m just going to take a look. What else am I supposed to do when I’m bored?” Hu Hai wore a look of exaggerated misery, though his mind was whirling with schemes.

“Hu Hai, to tell you the truth, all I’ve got is this token. As for how it’s supposed to take me to the Netherworld, I honestly have no idea,” Shi Jun said, misled by Hu Hai’s facade and trying to comfort him.

“You don’t know how to use it? That’s careless! Why didn’t you ask properly? But never mind! With me around, a little thing like this will be sorted in no time.” Hu Hai, excited by the challenge, dropped all pretenses, grabbed the token, and hurried off to his room to study it.

Shi Jun was glad for the peace and quiet, so he retreated to his bedroom, closing his eyes and sinking into thought.

* * * * * * * *

These past few days, Shi Jun had been plagued by puzzlement: What was so special about the art of object control, so highly recommended by Chiyang and the Little Mischief? As it stood, he could only improve his success rate at moving small objects. When it came to heavier items, he was powerless, and his abilities fell far short of Su Su’s—let alone being able to confront vengeful spirits and fierce ghosts. Was it that his mental strength wasn’t powerful enough? Or was there some hidden trick?

Comparing himself to Su Su, Shi Jun felt disheartened. First, Su Su’s mastery of object control was far superior: where Shi Jun’s mind struggled to move objects, Su Su’s will commanded them effortlessly—worlds apart. Second, Su Su could manipulate objects ten times heavier than Shi Jun could, and her power was incomparable. Third, Su Su seemed capable of retrieving objects from a distance, a feat Shi Jun hadn’t even approached.

In truth, Shi Jun underestimated himself, unaware of the secret hidden within his own body. Fundamentally, due to his unique constitution, he possessed immense latent mental strength. Yet, because a mysterious figure had placed a special seal on him at birth—lasting eighteen years—he appeared weak. Though the seal’s power was now waning, he could only access a ten-thousandth of his true strength. The seal also interfered with the aggregation of his mental power, making it much harder for him to wield than for most people, and naturally resulting in a vast gap between himself and pure mental entities like Su Su.

Most importantly, Shi Jun had yet to grasp the true nature of power. Aside from innate mental strength, the universe holds another form of fundamental force: material force. This energy, hidden in all things, manifests in myriad forms and constantly flows, responsible for phenomena both great and small: light, electricity, heat, cold, planetary gravity, molecular movement—all are expressions of this power. Yet, when Chiyang explained things to Shi Jun, he deliberately avoided mentioning this (in fact, only by combining mental power and material force can one achieve the true “source power”), leaving Shi Jun ignorant of the path toward merging the two, and unable to embark on the journey to true strength.

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Shi Jun had already reached the limits of his power; without a better method, he could only accumulate strength slowly over time. Unaware of this, he succumbed to negative thoughts.

* * * * * * * *

After sitting for a while, Shi Jun found himself stifled and got up to seek Hu Hai for a chat to lighten his mood.

He pushed open the guest room door to find Hu Hai sitting cross-legged on the bed, turning the token over in his hands, muttering constantly.

Seeing Shi Jun enter, Hu Hai perked up. He beckoned Shi Jun to sit beside him and shoved the token into his hand, saying, “Take a look—this token seems odd. Look closely at the Sanskrit around its edge…”

Shi Jun was curious about Hu Hai’s discovery, so he followed Hu Hai’s finger and examined it carefully.

“There are ten characters in total, arranged clockwise: Hong, Mo, Mi, Ma, Mi, Si, Xi, Tuo, Fa, Yi. It seems to be a kind of incantation.”

Shi Jun was amazed. “I’m impressed! You even recognize such obscure script?”

“You underestimated me, didn’t you?” Hu Hai was quite proud. “This is family knowledge. My father loves collecting antiques as much as making money, and as his heir, this is nothing!”

“Or are you bluffing? I can’t make sense of any of it,” Shi Jun remained a bit skeptical.

“Come on!” Hu Hai gave Shi Jun a shove and continued, “This incantation probably has something to do with opening the Netherworld gateway, but it seems to be missing something…”

Shi Jun was taken in by Hu Hai’s seriousness and became intrigued, so he took the token and examined it even more closely.

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Just as before, the moment Shi Jun’s gaze met the token’s surface, he was irresistibly drawn to its patterns, as if he might fall inside. His heart stirred, and, imitating Hu Hai, he softly chanted the incantation.

In an instant, a dazzling circle of silver-gray light flared around the token. As the radiance flashed, the token began to tremble violently, slipped from Shi Jun’s grasp, and suddenly expanded in size. At its center, a round black hole appeared, from which a fierce suction burst forth, enveloping Shi Jun entirely.

Events had now spiraled out of Shi Jun’s control. He felt an immense pressure sweep over him, accompanied by a deafening roar, and was wrenched inside. Darkness fell, and he lost consciousness.

Hu Hai, sitting right beside Shi Jun, witnessed the token leap from Shi Jun’s hand. Before he could even be surprised, a swirling, mist-shrouded black hole appeared and swallowed Shi Jun in an instant.

Barely pausing to think, Hu Hai reached out to seize Shi Jun’s arm, trying to pull him back from the void. But the suction was so strong that not only did he fail to retrieve Shi Jun, he himself was caught and dragged toward the black hole.

In a split second, a thought flashed through Hu Hai’s mind: Netherworld passage! Far from frightened, he was thrilled. Gripping Shi Jun with one hand, he reached with the other—amid the chaos—and grabbed the large backpack he had left on the bed, prepared for their “Two-Day Netherworld Adventure.” Suddenly, the world spun, and in the blink of an eye, he and Shi Jun were swept inside, vanishing without a trace.

* * * * * * * *

The now empty guest room was left with only the token floating in midair, bouncing gently and emitting eerie silver-gray light.

After consuming Shi Jun and Hu Hai, the black hole at the token’s center began to shrink as the token’s trembling slowed. At the instant before disappearance, it had contracted to the size of a coin, and from its mouth several wisps of black smoke drifted out. Then the black hole vanished completely, and the token hovered briefly before ceasing all movement. With a sudden flash of silver, the token disappeared as well.

The wisps of black smoke that had slipped from the black hole darted about the room at incredible speed, weaving and whistling faintly. Moments later, they all shot out the open window, vanishing into the sky above the steel city.

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