Chapter Fifteen: Manifestation Outside the Body (Part One)

Shi Jun slipped onto the balcony while no one was paying attention and took several deep breaths of the night air, hoping to clear his tangled thoughts. The most pressing task before him, aside from quickly finding and subduing the remaining five ghost spirits, was to advance his cultivation and strengthen his abilities; in comparison, the latter seemed even more urgent.

He had long been mentally prepared—this role as a Netherworld Enforcer was far from easy—but the succession of events that followed still caught him off guard. Especially the journey to the underworld: after personally experiencing a fantastical realm he could never have imagined, he realized his life's path had shifted on the night of his eighteenth birthday. From then on, he could no longer live as an ordinary person. Shi Jun couldn't tell if he felt excitement or loss.

The words of Ancestor Huangquan in the Netherworld still echoed in his mind: “Would you prefer a peaceful, ordinary life as a mortal, or become a dominator who commands the fate of millions?” At that time, his answer was simple: “I wish to become someone strong enough to control the course of my own life.”

There was a time when Shi Jun merely hoped to be an average, ordinary person. Unlike many of his peers, he never dreamed of being a hero. Was this what people called a lack of ambition? He wasn't sure. He had never cared for fame or gain, nor did he bother to compete with others in trivial matters. Yet he had his own judgments of right and wrong. He didn’t demand that others agree with him, nor did he care for their approval; he only wished to live quietly and do as he pleased.

Perhaps this was due to his mother’s teachings. From a young age, he often heard her say, “One should be content with the ordinary, but never let oneself become mediocre within that ordinariness.”

He didn’t even mind being mediocre—after all, among the countless lives in this world, how many truly stand out? Like the vast sky and its millions of stars: when people gaze upward, they only see the brightest few. But is the fleeting brilliance gained at the cost of burning one’s life truly worth it? Maybe mediocrity has its own joys.

Yet now, Shi Jun knew that the page of his life as an ordinary person had been torn away by the hand of fate. He didn’t know what awaited him, but instead of fear or panic, he felt a subtle anticipation, as if he had long awaited this moment. This sudden awareness astonished him more than anything else; he wondered deep within: had he been repressing his true desires all these years?

Shi Jun couldn’t fathom how a mere Netherworld Enforcer could be equated with a “dominator of millions,” but for some reason, he believed every word Ancestor Huangquan said was sincere. Unfortunately, the “dominator” that the ancestor hoped for was now troubled by how to locate a few ghost spirits.

Shi Jun couldn’t help but shake his head and smile bitterly at himself.

* * * * * * *

“Hey, what are you doing hiding here alone?” A sharp voice tore Shi Jun from his reverie. Turning, he saw Motuo and Chishang had followed him.

“Old Shi, good news! I just asked Chishang—he thinks the case at the TV station may have been caused by his third brother, Wangli!” Motuo exclaimed excitedly.

Shi Jun was startled and looked to Chishang for confirmation.

Chishang nodded awkwardly. “Yes, my third brother is called Wangli. He’s best at possession. Not just mortals—even after years of cultivation, most experts in the underworld get completely outmaneuvered by him. A few times, when we were sent out by the Nether Emperor, tough opponents were easily handled after my third brother possessed them. Also, he’s rather fond of food…” He grew tense, then asked nervously, “He didn’t commit some grave offense that you have to eliminate him for, did he? Honestly, among us siblings, my third brother has the gentlest temperament.”

Seeing Chishang waiting anxiously for his answer, Shi Jun smiled. “Don’t worry! If your third brother’s actions are limited to this, it’s a headache, but not enough to warrant elimination. However, in the human world, this has caused quite a stir, so we need to find your third brother soon, before he causes any further trouble.”

Chishang relaxed, his expression easing as he murmured, “Good, that’s good.”

“Yes, Old Shi, you know, those siblings of his really get along well. Having more brothers is a blessing. Too bad my mom only had me…” Motuo rambled, then suddenly his eyes lit up. “Hey, why don’t we all become sworn brothers? I heard from Sister Liu earlier that people in the human world love to form oath-brotherhoods, right?”

Shi Jun chuckled. “Do we really need a ceremony? We’ve already shared life-and-death and hardships together. We’re brothers already—no need to fuss over formalities.” Yet, his heart warmed at the thought.

Chishang asked Motuo, “Didn’t you say you wanted to discuss some grand plan? Why aren’t you bringing it up now?”

“Ah?” Motuo scratched his head and paused, embarrassed. “Ahem, what grand plan? Don’t mind me—I just meant we should discuss how to… how to find your brothers!” Motuo, good-hearted as he was, changed “capture” to “find” so Chishang wouldn’t be uncomfortable.

Chishang, shrewd as ever, immediately understood Motuo’s intent and simply grinned, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter. After we arrived in the human world, we split up. We haven’t met since, but at the beginning, we agreed to amuse ourselves for a while and reunite at the place we came out on the night of the full moon.”

Full moon night? The place they came out? Shi Jun instinctively looked up at the sky, where a thin crescent moon hung quietly. “So there are still twenty days to go? Your holiday is really long… Wait, is the place you’ll meet the night of the full moon my house?”

“Your house? I don’t know,” Chishang shrugged. “It’s wherever we left the token and entered the human world.”

Oh no! Shi Jun’s heart sank: that must be his own home! If his mother happened to be home that day, it could spell disaster. If anything went wrong… Sweat broke out on his forehead as he murmured, “No, I must find them before the full moon!”

“What? Before the full moon? Are you kidding?” Motuo cried, counting on his fingers. “No way, that’s too short! Don’t even dream about it. Forget subduing them—just figuring out where they are is already a problem!”

“It has to be done!” Shi Jun gritted his teeth. “I won’t let anything happen to my mother!”