Chapter 1 Arriving at the Destination

“We’re here?”

Hu Ma was also a little surprised, squinting his eyes as he looked ahead.

Through the hazy mist, a city was indeed visible in the distance. Logically, any city seen from afar would appear small, easily encompassed by the human eye. But now, looking ahead within the Yin realm, he saw that this city was impossibly vast, with layers of towering pagodas and palaces, shrouded in sorrowful clouds and endless wails. The surging baleful aura formed狂风 (kuang feng, violent winds) that swept back and forth.

The Five Fiends were already the most baleful beings Hu Ma had ever seen, aside from the Zhenchui Office, but thrown in there, they probably wouldn't even cast a shadow.

Was this Woe-Begone City?

It felt somewhat unreal. It was said to be the most mysterious and dangerous place, only accessible to the Ten Surnames and their close relatives.

Yet, Erguotou had found it so easily?

As if sensing Hu Ma's surprise, Erguotou lowered his voice and chuckled, "Finding one's way in the Yin realm is different from up there."

"You can even understand it as there being no geographical boundaries in this Yin realm."

"Whether it's finding this Woe-Begone City or when I found the Hu family's treasure, as long as I know where it is, I can find it quickly."

"Passing through mountains and rivers along the way are merely necessary obstacles, not a true need to traverse mountains and rivers."

"..."

While explaining, he made a friendly analogy, "That's right, this is also why when we walk the Ghost Gate to summon souls for others, a few incantations, plus the birth date and time, can bring people back. Otherwise, think about it, just finding someone in the yang world requires sending letters and traveling, wearing out countless shoes. How could it be possible to say a word and have the person appear?"

Hu Ma tried hard to understand Erguotou's words, unable to help but sigh, "Yes, I really don't understand this. I need to learn and see more."

"That's your business."

Erguotou smiled, waved his hand, and said, "My task is complete now that I've helped you find this place."

"Brother, be careful yourself. Woe-Begone City is, after all, the most difficult place to go in the Yin realm..."

"..."

"Huh?"

Hearing his words, Hu Ma was taken aback and quickly said, "Old Brother, aren't you coming in with me?"

"This..."

Erguotou looked embarrassed and said awkwardly, "Brother, we agreed that I would just bring you to Woe-Begone City, right? Do I need to go in?"

Sensing his worries, Hu Ma quickly said, "Old Brother, you don't know, I'm not actually going into Woe-Begone City. I'm just here to meet two people outside Woe-Begone City, to find out some information. Besides, Old Brother, what are you afraid of? That young master of our family hasn't come down, and I'm one of your own. Aren't you free and unrestrained in this Yin realm?"

"I know you're usually careful, but do you think that this carefulness is best served by avoiding everything, or by grasping more key information to avoid misfortune and seek good fortune?"

"After all, the world is about to change, and the great trend is coming. Can you hide from it by continuing to hide?"

"..."

These words were sincere, and Erguotou was moved. After hesitating slightly, he tentatively asked, "Then if I really don't need to enter Woe-Begone City, I'll just..."

"Follow you over to take a look?"

"By the way, who exactly are you going to see?"

"..."

"Who cares who it is? They wouldn't dare suspect that we're hiding anything in the Zhenchui Office, would they?"

Seeing that Erguotou was tempted, Hu Ma felt relieved.

His weakness was now very obvious, which was his lack of knowledge. He could be said to be ignorant of this world, especially the Yin realm. If the other party started talking about some secret matters when conveying information, it would be a minor matter to make a fool of himself, but a big trouble to delay things. Bringing Erguotou, an expert in soul-summoning, would save him a lot of trouble.

While nodding, he looked around, up and down, and said, "By the way, which way is north?"

He remembered that the Divine Hands Zhao family and the Jiangtou Chen family had agreed to meet him in a small village called Guli, north of Woe-Begone City.

"Where is there east, west, south, or north in the Yin realm?"

Erguotou frowned and said, "However, north belongs to water, the location of the Yellow Springs, which can be used to represent the north."

As he spoke, he gently shook the Yin-Yang Compass in his hand, and he already had a good idea, pointing in one direction.

"As expected, with Old Brother following along, there's nothing difficult. If I came by myself, I would be terrified."

Hu Ma couldn't help but clap his hands and sincerely praise him, which made Erguotou a little embarrassed.

This little brother was one of his own. Although he was a bit reckless and short-sighted, he was wholeheartedly helping his brothers. He had been thinking of leaving him behind, which was really wrong of him.

So, having determined the direction, the two of them headed north. This time, they didn't go far before seeing a vaguely visible village under the rolling Yin winds and wronged souls of the adjacent Woe-Begone City. Through the hazy mist, it seemed like its shape was constantly distorted. Hu Ma saw a small stone tablet outside the village, which was indeed Guli Village.

Erguotou also looked around outside the village and sighed softly, "The ancestors of those with thriving incense above correspond to an old fire pit or ancestral hall above. With this, the ancestors will..."

"Judging from the size of this village, it must be a thriving clan that has been passed down for dozens of generations above."

"..."

It is said that the most important thing for soul summoners is knowledge. I am truly ashamed. This soul summoner of the same family is actually gaining knowledge from Old Brother Erguotou.

Hu Ma thought to himself and walked into the village with Erguotou.

As they got closer and closer to the village, Hu Ma suddenly felt a wonderful sensation, feeling more and more grounded, and his breathing gradually became smoother.

On the other hand, Erguotou's body became increasingly faint, vaguely only leaving a shadow.

"Who exactly is waiting for us in this village?"

Erguotou couldn't help but be surprised, "This skill is remarkable!"

"Stealing the sky and swapping the sun, using the fake for the real, they... they have actually opened up a place for living people to live in this Yin realm."

"This is even more difficult than opening up a ghost den in the yang world, especially now that there are billions of souls in this Yin realm, unable to be reincarnated, all crowded together, making it difficult. Yet they can still open up such a place outside Woe-Begone City. It's simply a miraculous method!"

"..."

'After all, they are the Divine Hands Zhao family and the Jiangtou Chen family. It's not surprising that they have this method...'

Hu Ma thought to himself, just as he was about to find his way in, he suddenly heard someone laughing in the village ahead, "We've been waiting for a long time."

"As expected of a soul summoner of the same family, I knew you couldn't lose your old skills just because you got the Zhenchui Office."

"Avoiding the ears and eyes of the Yin messengers, entering the Yin realm, and finding Woe-Begone City are all just housekeeping skills, nothing to worry about."

"..."

As he spoke, the hazy village seemed to float out of the water, clearly appearing in front of Hu Ma and Erguotou. Two people were standing at the entrance of the village, one wearing a silver robe and a red crown, handsome and spirited, like a red-crowned rooster, who was Zhao Sanyi of the Divine Hands Zhao family, and the other wearing a black robe, with a small, morose face, who was Chen Abao of the Jiangtou Chen family.

The two of them came out of the village to greet them, and as they spoke, they looked at Hu Ma and Erguotou, slightly stunned.

Scanning from Hu Ma's face to Erguotou in his out-of-body state, their expressions were somewhat puzzled.

"Hehe, you two have misunderstood. Our young master has not come."

Hu Ma said directly when he saw the two of them, "This little matter is just being handled by my soul summoning 'Big Ladle'." (Da Zhuodao, top expert)

He had been wearing a mask when he met these two before, but the Ba Xi Men (Variety Arts Sect) was known for its sharp eyes, let alone the patriarchs of the variety arts.

So now that he wasn't wearing a mask, they probably recognized him, so he might as well admit it directly.

"This..."

Hearing Hu Ma's words, the two seemed a little surprised, and their eyes couldn't help but glance in Erguotou's direction.

Hu Ma smiled and explained, "This is an expert in our soul-summoning arts, and also a minor hall official, here to help."

"His surname is..."

"..."

Erguotou had already become very vigilant at this time. Seeing that he was being mentioned, he lowered his voice, "Just say my surname is Bao."

He used some kind of spell so that the two people opposite him couldn't hear him, but they noticed that he was whispering to Hu Ma.

Hu Ma also changed his words and laughed, "Yes, Brother Bao."

"Brother Bao's skills and knowledge are top-notch in our sect. With him here, anything can be said."

"..."

Zhao Sanyi and Chen Abao both had complicated expressions. They took a deep look at Hu Ma and then put on smiles:

"Yes, this old brother's skills are not small, the soul-summoning arts really have hidden dragons and crouching tigers!"

"Please, let's go into the village to talk!"

"..."

They moved aside, and Hu Ma and Erguotou stepped in.

As soon as they entered the village, they felt different again. The light and飘飘 (piao piao, floating) feeling in the Yin realm had disappeared, and their feet were firmly on the ground, with solid strength.

Although they still couldn't see the sun and moon when they looked up, the feeling was just like coming to a small village in the yang world with cloudy weather.

Looking around, there were actually pedestrians coming and going, indistinguishable between the living and the dead. There were teahouses and restaurants on the street, and paper effigy shops could be seen everywhere.

Even Hu Ma felt a little surprised. Running to the Yin realm to open a paper effigy shop, burning them now and using them immediately, wasn't this... opening a printing factory?

But Erguotou didn't look around like Hu Ma.

As soon as he met these two people, he felt that they were very capable, and he regretted following Hu Ma in.

Afraid of being exposed again, he became even more cautious.

Zhao Sanyi and Chen Abao walked behind, but they looked at each other, their eyes full of complexity:

"An expert in the soul-summoning arts? After what happened twenty years ago, there are no more 'cross the bridge' soul summoners left. Where did this one come from?"

"Don't underestimate our Variety Arts Sect's eyesight. The mouth shape of this 'Ladler' at the beginning didn't seem to want to say his surname was Bao?"

(End of Chapter)