Chapter Three: First Exploration of Soul Calming (Part One)

“What’s the matter?” Shi Jun followed Chiyang along a gravel path, noticing her silent contemplation. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked.

Chiyang turned her face toward him, her gaze lingering on Shi Jun before she replied softly, “You should hurry back.”

“Why?” Shi Jun was puzzled. “Since the Emperor of the Underworld gave me the token, shouldn’t that mean I’m allowed to come and go freely? Besides, after all the trouble I went through to get here, leaving right away seems a shame…”

“Do you realize,” Chiyang interrupted with uncharacteristic seriousness, “just how lucky you were to come out of this unharmed? What if your quick wits hadn’t saved you? It wouldn’t just be you—your friends would be lost too, with no one to bury their bones! Even if you triggered the token’s mechanism by accident, Hu Hai is an outsider with no connection to the underworld, and it’s not suitable for you to bring him here. And the Underworld is not as peaceful as it appears on the surface—danger and unforeseen events are everywhere. If something happens, you might not even be able to protect yourself, let alone your friends. So, as long as I’m free, let me send you back right away. It’s safer that way, don’t you think?”

Shi Jun hung his head, lost in thought. He knew Chiyang was right and could sense her concern for him. He hadn’t planned to barge into the underworld so recklessly, but since he’d come all this way by chance, he was unwilling to leave without at least trying to find news of his father.

He’d wanted to confide this burden to Chiyang, but it was a family matter; he wasn’t even sure if he could find his father here, so there was no point in making it public. Besides, he knew her temperament—once she made up her mind, she wouldn’t easily relent. So the words at the tip of his tongue were swallowed back. His eyes sparkled as he forced a smile. “But I shouldn’t be in any danger here, right? Besides, I think I’m technically a ‘Warden of the Underworld’ now. Surely a little sightseeing isn’t too much to ask. By the way, I haven’t seen the little rascal lately. Where has she gone?”

Chiyang recognized his attempt to change the subject and knew her words had fallen on deaf ears. She was both anxious and frustrated, but since Shi Jun was even more stubborn than she was when he set his mind to something, she could only try a gentler approach. “I’m saying this for your own good. Please, just listen to me this once—afterwards…”

She was cut short as a great black bird materialized in the air before them and alighted on her shoulder, chattering in its own language.

Chiyang listened, frowning. “Wuchang? What’s he doing here?” She turned hastily to Shi Jun. “Wait here for me. I’ll be back soon.”

With that, her form flickered and vanished along with the giant bird.

A moment later, Chiyang returned, her expression dark. She stood dazed for a moment, then addressed Shi Jun. “The Emperor has summoned me—something urgent has happened. I must go at once to Elysium (Hell)… Listen, you and your friends must stay in Sufeng Courtyard and under no circumstances leave. It is my forbidden ground, protected by wards—no one can harm you here as long as you stay inside. Wait for me to return!”

With a helpless sigh, she vanished once more.

* * *

Shi Jun had intended to ask about the little rascal, but with Chiyang’s abrupt departure, he was left bewildered. After a moment’s thought, he made his way back along the path to the pavilion where Hu Hai and the others waited.

As he entered, he heard Raksha scolding, “I told you—fire and water don’t mix! Eating too much won’t do you any good!”

“If I don’t eat, it’s wasted! Besides, will it kill me?” Modo retorted.

It turned out that after learning Modo was from the Demon Realm, Raksha had explained that Chiyang’s spirit fruit only benefited those from the underworld; for demons, it was not only useless but potentially harmful.

“What about me? I’m human—will it be good for me?” Hu Hai asked, disappointed. What a picky fruit—only good for underworld folk, and useless for mortals?

“I wouldn’t know,” Raksha admitted. “No living person has ever come to the underworld before. But I doubt it’ll do you much good.”

“Never mind, I’ve already eaten it. At least it fills the stomach—nothing to lose.” Hu Hai brushed aside his disappointment, then brightened as he saw Shi Jun return. “Hey, Old Shi! Come here, we saved you a few. They’re not great, but think of it as a free lunch—maybe you’ll get lucky. By the way, where’s your shrew?”

“A shrew, you say? You mean Chiyang?” Raksha’s ears perked up, delighted. “I like that name!”

“How about I call you ‘shrew’ too?” Modo teased from the side.

“Don’t you dare!” The two immediately resumed their usual bickering.

“She was summoned by the Emperor. Before she left, she told us to wait here—it’s not safe outside,” Shi Jun replied, though his mind was elsewhere, focused on how to search for his father. He sat down listlessly.

“What’s unsafe? Nonsense.” Hu Hai waved it off. “I just wandered all over, using your name for free food and drink—nothing happened.”

“You did what?” Shi Jun perked up. “I haven’t even asked what adventures you’ve had yet. Impersonating me, were you? Spill it!”

Hu Hai puffed up with pride and recounted his escapades in detail. Though not much of a liar or an insulter, he had a knack for storytelling, and soon had Shi Jun listening in rapt amazement.

Chased by a fat mushroom desperate for compliments, a chance encounter with Modo and Raksha, being mistaken for a high-ranking Warden and treated like a VIP… When he described the close call with treasure at the Soul Hunter’s house, he sighed heavily.

“My hand was just one centimeter away from that box of treasure—one centimeter! And then, at the crucial moment, Three Eyes here barged in and ruined everything!”

Though he and Raksha were on good terms now, Hu Hai couldn’t help seething at the memory of his lost fortune.

“Hey, did you know your shrew is actually an immortal?” Hu Hai blurted out another secret before Shi Jun could respond.

“An immortal?” Shi Jun was taken aback.

“Three Eyes said the shrew was originally an immortal sent to undergo tribulation. Something went wrong, she died, then by some miracle survived and gained benefits, and later was recruited by the Emperor of the Underworld…” Hu Hai poured out all the rumors he’d picked up.

“And get this: the underworld is organized much like our own world—very strict hierarchy. Even the military is split into regular and local forces. The regulars are the Underworld Army, commanded by four Marshals: Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind, directly under the Emperor, responsible for defending the borders and waging war with other realms. Your Chiyang is the Fire Marshal, commanding four Generals—Thunderbolt, Blaze, Crimson Brocade, and Grand Flame. Sounds impressive, right? Then there’s the Earth Marshal, Yasha, with Generals Thicksoil, Blue Rock, Yellow Sand, and Blackstone; the Water Marshal is Granny Meng—she’s not just a soul-forgetting vendor, but a formidable commander with Generals Canglang, Torrent, Glacier, and Clear Stream. Finally, Wuchang leads the Wind troops, with Generals Tornado, Purple Smoke, Cloud Remover, and Swinging Willow—names that just scream ‘wind’…

“And as for the local forces—they’re called Ghost Troops, under the Warden’s Office, commanded by Wardens of each level, and under the local Kings of Hell. They handle internal security, like police in the mortal world, and don’t take part in wars with other realms. The regular army and Ghost Troops are separate, but sometimes coordinate. From what I gathered, there’s a lot of rivalry and conflict between them over jurisdiction, power, and resources.”

“Of course there is,” Shi Jun nodded. “I bet that’s just as the Emperor wants. Each level of hell governs itself but is checked by the others; the local troops can only maintain order in their own realm and are too weak to challenge the regular army. The Emperor is quite shrewd.”

“Yeah, but who’d have guessed your shrew is one of the great Marshals?”

“One of the great Marshals?” Shi Jun mused. He remembered Chiyang being addressed as ‘Marshal Chi’ before. So she really was a high official in the underworld. But why would the Emperor assign someone of her rank to be his assistant? Was there another reason…?

“Why are you spacing out?” Hu Hai nudged him. “Are we just going to sit here forever? Scenery doesn’t fill your belly. Let’s go explore, maybe visit that greedy Soul Hunter again—he must have more loot!”

As always, Hu Hai had treasure on his mind.

* * *

Modo and Raksha’s quarrel had fizzled out. Raksha, after playing with Silver Flame for a while and getting nothing but lazy indifference, grew bored. She perked up at the suggestion. “Exactly! What’s the point of sitting here? Let’s go out. The Burning Heart Hell is my turf—I can show you around.”

“Right,” Shi Jun snapped back to the moment and smiled apologetically at Raksha. “I haven’t even thanked you yet for helping me find my friends…”

Raksha blushed, an unusual shyness softening her usual fierceness. Hu Hai and Modo exchanged incredulous glances, shocked to see the fierce Three Eyes act bashful. At last, Raksha murmured, “You don’t need to thank me, Warden Brother. Just promise me one thing.”

“No way!” Hu Hai jumped up. Having spent the journey chatting with Raksha, he knew what she was after. He immediately objected.

“Who asked you?” Raksha shot him a glare, her boldness returning. “I wasn’t talking to you!”

“Seriously, don’t promise her anything! She wants to come back to the mortal world with us!” Hu Hai announced loudly.

Shi Jun was stunned. Bring Three Eyes back to the mortal world? That was not something he could casually agree to. He hesitated. “It’s not that I don’t want to, but…”

“But what?” Raksha kicked Hu Hai hard, then sidled up to Shi Jun and wheedled, “Don’t worry! As long as we keep it from my foster father, no one will notice. I promise I won’t cause you any trouble!”

“That’s just it!” Shi Jun’s eyes lit up as he grasped for an excuse. “Your foster father, the Ashura King, would never let me off if anything happened to you. If I took you and something went wrong, I’d be in real trouble!” Inwardly, he thought, With your temper, I’m not worried for your safety—but for anyone who meets you in the human world! But he couldn’t say that aloud, and quickly changed the subject as Raksha seemed about to protest. “Besides, I still have things to do here. I won’t be leaving for a while and will need your help, little sister.”

Raksha, easily distracted and pleased by being called “little sister,” immediately forgot her protest. She didn’t even ask what Shi Jun needed help with, but patted her chest and promised, “Help? No problem! I’ll help you with anything, Warden Brother!”

“Good! Then I want you to take me somewhere—the Soul Pacification Office.”