What she had drunk was not the Oblivion Brew of this place, so naturally, the bitter water here could not serve as its antidote.
A flash of inspiration seemed to strike Wu Yinyu, the confusion that had been like a dense fog and shadow illuminated until it vanished completely. She understood now—the place in her dreams, that was where her soul was meant to return.
The Judge feigned panic, stumbling back several steps before collapsing into his chair. His voice stiff, he said, “The effect may be somewhat slow. How about this—you come back to the Nether Pagoda another day. For today, return the way you came. I shall not see you off.”
Wu Yinyu was not so naive as to let her guard down. She asked directly, “But I don’t have an Underworld Register. What am I supposed to do from now on?”
The Judge forced a calm demeanor and said, “I will simply write one for you!”
“Can you write it now?” Wu Yinyu pressed.
The Judge’s hand, resting on the table, twitched slightly, but he did not reach for the brush. “The procedure involves many steps. You simply need to wait.”
Wu Yinyu nodded in agreement, then turned and left the pagoda.
Beneath the Nether Pagoda, the two Nether Guards still stood as immovable as ever. One of them was as wooden and dull as before, while the other was grimacing and winking furiously, as if begging for rescue.
But Wu Yinyu was in no position to save this Nether Guard. She was trapped between a rock and a hard place, taking each step as it came. She could only disregard his plea, not sparing him a second glance.
Before stepping onto the Lone Log, she suspected the Judge would not let the matter rest. But glancing back at the gloomy, foreboding Nether Pagoda, she still stepped onto it.
At first, the Lone Log posed no problem whatsoever. The pitch-black sea on either side was as it always was, the sound of the water roaring as if countless Soul Spirits were floundering and struggling within.
Chaotic shouts rose and fell in a cacophony, unsettling the heart into a tangled mess.
“I won’t dare to do evil in my next life! Spare me, Sir!”
“I just want to go back and see my children one more time! After that one look, I’ll obediently accept my punishment!”
“The sea water is so hot! It hurts! I’m being boiled alive!”
“Cold! I’m freezing to death!”
Wu Yinyu remained unmoved. This was not her first time crossing the Lone Log, and hearing such wailing now no longer stirred any ripples in her heart.
When she was nearly halfway across, a sudden anomaly occurred. The Lone Log began to shake violently, like a small boat on the sea, about to be shattered by a massive wave.
How could anyone keep their footing on such a log? Wu Yinyu stumbled, her heart leaping into her throat.
Ghosts and monsters suffered torment in the water; if a living person fell in, they would fare no better. Falling in, a living person’s soul would easily be severed from its physical shell, making it impossible to ever return to the Living World.
The sea water appeared neither boiling nor frozen, but in truth, one side was scalding hot, the other bone-chillingly cold. It was specifically used to wash away the sins and filth of Malevolent Ghosts. Only by wading through this sea could one reach the Karma Mirror Platform, and only after passing the Karma Mirror Platform could one undergo Rebirth.
Originally, the only foothold on the sea was the Lone Log, barely two feet wide. Now, with the log wobbling endlessly and no handrail in sight, it was clearly intended to torment the traveler on it to death.
The Malevolent Ghosts in the water seemed to go mad, all reaching out with skeletal claws, poised to drag Wu Yinyu into the water.
If not for the Judge’s will, how could the Lone Log shake like this? How would the Malevolent Ghosts dare to try and pull someone in?
Wu Yinyu’s heart was suspended high in her chest. In a swift motion, she stripped the string of Five Emperor Coins from her wrist. She arched her body backward, behind her the ashen arms stretching out in unison. Just as she was about to fall into the water, a Lotus Pattern Arc Light suddenly blazed forth.
So bright, she could barely keep her eyes open.
All the ghostly creatures wailed in pain, withdrawing their arms simultaneously and diving into the depths in a panic.
The entire sea surface became eerily quiet, so much so that even the waves vanished. The Lone Log spanning the sea ceased its shaking, as if firmly held down by someone.
Before Wu Yinyu could even understand what had happened, before she could even snap the red string holding the Five Emperor Coins, she opened her eyes and was back in the mortal world.
The moment her eyes opened, she immediately looked towards the head of her bed. There, she saw a golden light, which had not yet had time to recede, seeping from the cracks of the brocade box.
In an instant, the light died, so fast it seemed like an illusion.
The brocade box was something Yu Zezhi had placed at her bedside. That evening at the Shengxian Treasure Shop, Yu Zezhi had said the red jade had calming properties.
So, it was only after being tampered with that it gained such calming properties.
Wu Yinyu sat up, exhaling a breath of lingering fear. She grabbed the brocade box from the table and slowly lifted the lid.
Inside, the red jade lay quietly. It still felt cool to the touch, so cold it made her hurriedly retract her fingers.
It was two in the morning. Although she usually didn’t believe in disturbing others’ sleep, right now, various questions were piling up in her heart. Unwilling to wait a single moment, she simply got up and walked towards Yu Zezhi’s room.
Wu Yinyu knocked lightly on the door. Unexpectedly, after only a few seconds of waiting, the door opened.
Yu Zezhi stood in the doorway. Although she had changed into a sleeping robe and her hair was loose and casual, there was no weariness in her eyes; she clearly hadn’t gone to bed yet.
“Is it convenient to talk?” Wu Yinyu folded her arms.
Yu Zezhi moved aside to let the visitor in.
After this ordeal, Wu Yinyu had figured out one more thing—for instance, that Yu Zezhi would not harm her.
Thus, without any reservations, she plopped down on the other’s sofa and said slowly, “I’m so tired.”
Yu Zezhi remained calm, pouring a glass of warm water and placing it before her. “You’ve returned from the Two-World Sea? What did the Judge say?”
Wu Yinyu glanced sideways at the person before her, her gaze carrying a hint of interrogation. The corner of her mouth lifted in a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, as if coaxing the other to confess everything.
“Or rather,” Yu Zezhi’s hand lightly brushed across Wu Yinyu’s shoulder, dispersing the claw marks left by the Ghostly Evil of the Two-World Sea, “did the Judge say nothing at all?”
Wu Yinyu turned her head to look at that hand. It was so close; the fragrance of the Bodhi Wood Beads on Yu Zezhi’s wrist had already wafted to her nose, soothing her heart and spirit.
She clasped her hands together and rested them on her knees. “I didn’t have time to ask the Judge about Ivory Mast Beach, and I was nearly thrown into the sea by him.”
Yu Zezhi extended her index finger, pushing the paper cup of water a little closer.
“Thankfully, someone saved me.” Wu Yinyu finally picked up the paper cup, not drinking, just using it to warm her hands.
“What person?” Yu Zezhi’s expression remained unchanged.
Wu Yinyu fixed her eyes on the person before her. “Do you know, the red jade you placed at my bedside glowed.”
Yu Zezhi replied accordingly, “Oh? Could it have been it that saved you?”
“I almost fell into the Two-World Sea when a Lotus Pattern Arc Light suddenly appeared. Not only did it suppress the evil ghosts in the water and steady the shaking Lone Log, it also brought me back.” Wu Yinyu deliberately slowed her speech, smiling brightly. “When I opened my eyes, I saw a flash of golden light from the brocade box at my bedside.”
“So the jade actually has such an effect,” Yu Zezhi remarked, her expression extremely faint.
Wu Yinyu immediately asked, “Boss Yu doesn’t seem surprised. Speaking of which, you also carry a piece of red jade on your person. Have you ever seen that Lotus Pattern Arc Light?”
“Not as such,” Yu Zezhi replied, rubbing her fingers together—the same hand that had just brushed Wu Yinyu’s shoulder.
Wu Yinyu’s gaze paused, as if it were her heart that had been rubbed.
She let out a half-hearted scoff and said slowly, “Twenty-three years ago, a woman came to the Wu family to entrust an orphan to us. That orphan was me.”
“The woman who was supposed to be in the photograph?” Yu Zezhi’s gaze didn’t shy away at all.
Wu Yinyu pressed her lips together, wondering if this person, like her, had lost her memory after Transmigration. Thus, she asked, “Then, has Boss Yu been having any strange dreams lately?”
“No,” Yu Zezhi answered swiftly.
Wu Yinyu couldn’t pry a single word out of her. Clearly, after her probing, Yu Zezhi had decided to keep her in the dark.
“It’s good that you returned safely.” Yu Zezhi seemed to be showing her guest out. “It’s deep into the night. Go back and sleep.”
Finding no excuse to stay, Wu Yinyu had to stand up. “I wish Boss Yu pleasant dreams.” The wish was so insincere it didn’t sound like a blessing at all.
Yu Zezhi said nothing, merely watching from the hallway as Wu Yinyu returned to her room.
Back in the dark expanse of the Two-World Sea, the Judge’s heart was equally uneasy. He had intended to throw Wu Yinyu into the sea, but she had somehow evaded him.
He had also seen that Lotus Pattern Arc Light. The moment he recognized the lotus pattern within the arc light, his mind fell into chaos. Beneath his mask, his face twisted into something ferocious.
He had seen that lotus pattern arc light before, twenty-three years ago. It was before the mysterious woman had cast the Twelve-Faced Die.
Back then, Thunder Tribulation had descended from the heavens. The Lightning Bolts crashing down in unison roared, illuminating even the sky of the Underworld into blinding day.
He had thought that thunder was aimed at him, so he hadn’t dared to show his face for days. After all, as a Judge, he had committed evil deeds, and the Heavenly Dao would surely punish him.
That Thunder Tribulation had lasted for three days. Every time a Heavenly Thunder fell, it was accompanied by a Lotus Pattern Arc Light, exactly the same as the one that had just appeared!
The Judge was restless and uneasy. He thought, since the Lotus Pattern Arc Light had come, wouldn’t the Thunder Tribulation follow? He had managed to evade it twenty-three years ago, but that might not be the case now.
He dawdled back to the underground of the Nether Pagoda. Looking at the group of Mill-Turning “Ghosts” from the Five Gates, he pondered… should he just let them all go?
The ones turning the mill were all incomplete souls. They only knew to be driven to work, utterly unaware of pain or suffering.
The Judge’s mind was in turmoil. He couldn’t help but connect the mysterious woman from twenty-three years ago, Wu Yinyu, and the matter of the Thunder Tribulation. He wondered, could that day’s event have been a test from the Heavenly Dao?
If he had acted as if nothing happened back then, wouldn’t he have fallen into a trap? Now, with the Underworld Register in error and karma in chaos, the Thunder Tribulation was bound to come again. He could not escape this Tribulation!
Harboring sinister thoughts, the Judge carefully recalled the woman’s appearance. Those blurry features pieced together in his mind truly formed the likeness of Yu Zezhi.
He was so frightened he stumbled, nearly colliding with the Mill-Turning Ghost in front of him. Swiftly, he waved his sleeve and cast out a Ghost Edict, intending to summon the Wu family members who had gone to Ivory Mast Beach.
With only Yu Zezhi and Yu Suhan left in the Yu family, he could only start with those few Wu family members…
Wu Qiyu had already moved on to Rebirth. The only one left to question was Song Youzhi. Fortunately, there was still someone to ask.
The torrential rain at Ivory Mast Beach hadn’t stopped. Lu Dongqing and the others who had gone there were trapped within it.
