Xu Zhengyang frowned, then flew to another place, where he saw a stone tablet in front of the door that read: "Those who are evil in their past lives will suffer the most in their reincarnations."
Flying to another place, the stone tablet reads: "The judgment has been handed down. The wheel is for livestock."
Fly to another place, and there is a stone tablet that reads: "The ten evil deeds are pardoned in the south, and those who commit them shall be sent to hell."
...
Xu Zhengyang flew back and forth among the pavilions on the plain, and after looking at dozens of them, he suddenly realized that these pools of varying sizes were the Pools of Reincarnation. However, they were not like the six realms of reincarnation in human legends, which required the Dharma wheel and the Buddhas of the three worlds. These pavilions were probably the residences of the underworld officials, who were responsible for monitoring all kinds of souls, including human souls, and for determining whether they would be human or animal in their next life, and whether their next life would be good or bad, bitter or sweet.
They flew around to many places, but never saw a single underworld official.
In front of a pavilion with a stone tablet inscribed with "Seven evil deeds, the soul will be shattered and incomplete," Xu Zhengyang stopped and looked into the distance along the river. Ah, so this is the Reincarnation Pool where ghosts are shattered and reincarnated into various kinds of insects.
Xu Zhengyang frowned. He saw various ghosts curiously pouring into the river leading to other pools of reincarnation, while others swam from one pool to another. However, most of the ghosts were bewildered and helpless, letting the thick liquid sweep them into the pools, where they disappeared as they floated and sank.
Why can all these living souls, including human souls, wander back and forth in this pool of reincarnation? Although they cannot escape the thick liquid, they can roam freely in it without restraint. Moreover, they all retain the memories of their previous lives before being reincarnated?
Perhaps, once you enter this pool of reincarnation, the memories of your past life will naturally disappear when you are reincarnated?
Xu Zhengyang got up and flew back to the pavilion in front of the original gate, where the stone tablet read "Those who did good in their past lives will be blessed in reincarnation." When he looked again, he saw ghosts pouring in from other waterways, as well as creatures such as beasts and birds.
Suddenly, the roar of a wild beast echoed from the river.
Xu Zhengyang glanced to the side and saw two ferocious tigers struggling in the thick mud. He could even understand what they were roaring: "Reincarnated as a human, reincarnated as a human, never to be a tiger again..."
"Damn it!" Xu Zhengyang roared in fury. "Tigers are tigers! They're almost extinct now, and you think you can be reincarnated as humans? This is outrageous! Rare animals are protected!" With a thought, Xu Zhengyang unleashed his divine power, attempting to grab the souls of the two hungry tigers and drag them ashore, then send them to the Pool of Reincarnation where they belonged.
Unexpectedly, the divine power did not move at all when it touched the spot.
Xu Zhengyang pulled out the case file and asked, "Why can't I capture their ghosts and bring them ashore?"
The verdict book shimmered with light: the judges of the mortal world have no right to bring the ghosts from the River of Reincarnation ashore.
Xu Zhengyang frowned and asked, "Isn't my position as a judge higher than those ghost officials in the underworld who are in charge of these things?"
The verdict was: It was because each person was performing their own duties.
"Damn it!" Xu Zhengyang roared, "There isn't a single ghost messenger to be seen in this underworld now. Most of them are dead. Who's going to take care of these things?"
The verdict was: Heaven's way is natural, and there is a cycle of reincarnation.
Xu Zhengyang glared and cursed: "Naturally my ass! Without rules, there can be no order! At the beginning of the River of Three Crossings where we came from, there wasn't a single evil spirit in that slow-moving stream. They were all good spirits. Why is no one in charge? Now these tigers want to be reincarnated as humans. This, this... Damn it, could it be that these two tigers did all sorts of good deeds in the zoo in their past lives, so Heaven allowed them to be reincarnated as humans?"
The verdict sheet flashed, but then showed nothing more.
Xu Zhengyang sighed and asked, "Are the gods in the human world truly unable to govern matters in the underworld?"
The verdict states: The City God of the human realm has the authority to perform the duties of a judge in the underworld.
Hmm... I need to get promoted first. Sigh, it seems that higher rank makes things easier, while lower rank makes things difficult. This City God from the human realm can only be a judge in the underworld. As a judge in the underworld, I can't even handle the affairs of ordinary ghost messengers.
It's true what they say, whoever controls the territory makes the rules, and the emperor is far away!
Xu Zhengyang sighed. There was nothing he could do about it. After thinking for a while, he asked, "The case file... why is there not a single ghost messenger in the underworld?" Although he had already guessed the answer, he still asked with a glimmer of hope, hoping to get a different answer.
However, the verdict did not provide an answer.
Xu Zhengyang then asked, "Where are the Yama Palaces in the underworld?"
The verdict remained silent.
Xu Zhengyang asked again, "Where did Yama and the Ten Kings of Hell go? What about Judge Cui, Meng Po, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and Zhong Kui?"
The verdict remains silent.
“Tell me! You son of a bitch!” Xu Zhengyang practically roared.
After the judgment book flickered for a long, long time, just as Xu Zhengyang was about to retract it into his body, it finally displayed a line of text: "Failed to contact various parts of the underworld."
This time, Xu Zhengyang's anger was instantly extinguished as if by a bucket of cold water, and he fell silent.
The outcome was something he had already anticipated, yet it still caused him an inexplicable pang of pain... Where had all the gods gone, in the underworld and in the mortal realm? Had they really gotten tired of living and all of them fucking committed suicide?
Looking around, I deeply felt the ancient aura of this underworld, so tranquil it was heartbreaking, filled with an incomparable desolation, loneliness, and utter solitude that rose in my heart.
What exactly happened?
Xu Zhengyang turned his head and slowly stepped into the pavilion.
The pavilion was completely empty and spotless. In this underworld, there was no dust or filth. Everything, including the ancient pines and cypresses among the towering mountains, was lifeless, as if petrified, clean, quiet, and solemn... Stepping up the stairs to the second floor, one would see tables and chairs scattered on the ground as if they had been smashed.
There were also some books, ledgers, and writing brushes scattered on the ground.
In short, the second floor was, to put it bluntly, a complete mess, yet even amidst the scattered items, it felt remarkably clean.
Xu Zhengyang bent down and picked up a book, opened it and looked at it. It contained names and numbers, and the following was a record of the reasons why some people who were escorted ashore from the River of Reincarnation were sent to other pools of reincarnation: because they were not good people and were not qualified to be reincarnated into the next life to receive blessings.
Xu Zhengyang thought to himself that there were not many underworld officials, but countless souls. He figured these ghost officials must be using divine artifacts to carry out their duties, otherwise they would all be exhausted.
Where is the magical artifact?
Xu Zhengyang searched the room thoroughly but couldn't find any other objects.
I picked up a calligraphy brush and examined it for a long time, but couldn't see anything special about it.
Xu Zhengyang tossed aside the calligraphy brush, walked to the window, gently pushed it open, and gazed at the lifeless scene outside. He thought to himself, since there were these buildings housing the offices of the underworld officials, then the Yama's Palace should also exist; he just hadn't found it yet. But looking at the office, with its broken desks and chairs scattered about, it seemed as if a fight had broken out there. What on earth had happened in the underworld?
Based on the scenes he has discovered in the underworld, Xu Zhengyang seems to understand that many existing conditions in the human world are due to the absence of officials and rules in the underworld, which leads to disorder and directly affects the survival of various beings in the human world.
Suddenly, the window that had been pushed open fell silently, and even after it hit the ground, it didn't make a sound.
Xu Zhengyang stared blankly at the shattered window below. How could there be no sound?
In this underworld, can't there be any sound? Are all things illusory? Yet those souls still make sounds, whether they cry, laugh, quarrel, or make a fuss.
Never mind all that, it's not important.
Xu Zhengyang shook his head, then with a thought, his figure gracefully flew out of the window and leaped into the air.
Xu Zhengyang wasn't sure how vast the underworld was, or how much time it had taken to travel there, but he did know that it had taken a long time.
"Where is the Hall of Yama? Someone tell me!" Xu Zhengyang roared, his voice so loud it shook the sky. Even the countless souls in the River of Reincarnation were startled by his voice and looked up at the sky.
However, those souls could not see where Xu Zhengyang was.
There was no echo. The sound was initially very loud, but it was like a pebble falling into a deep pool, making only a soft sound and creating a ripple before returning to calm in an instant, without making a sound again.
Xu Zhengyang's body rose higher and higher, leaping into the air.
Yet the sky seemed endless, still so dark, deep, and vast…
Xu Zhengyang didn't care about any of that. He just wanted to stand taller and look farther, to see more places, and to find the location of the Yama's Palace.
Below lay an endless, dark green plain, dotted with blood-yellow pools of varying sizes, like scattered jade stones. Xu Zhengyang was somewhat surprised to find that he had no idea how long or how far he had flown, and now he could no longer even see the endless mountains that the River of Three Crossings had traversed.
Thinking of this, Xu Zhengyang couldn't help but shudder. Goodness, I have to go back right away!
In a moment of clarity, sensing the swift passage of time, Xu Zhengyang suddenly opened his eyes.
But she found herself still lying in the bedroom. The room was dimly lit, but it was still clear that it was daytime. Through the light blue curtains, she could see that the sky outside was bright.
Xu Zhengyang sat up and glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table.
My God, it's already the tenth day!
Luckily, I came back early and in time. If I had come back any later, who knows where Chen Chaojiang would have taken me by now.
After checking his body and moving his limbs, he was found to be fine.
A rumbling sound came from his stomach, and Xu Zhengyang suddenly realized that he hadn't eaten for ten days. Although he had told Chen Chaojiang before that he didn't need to worry about his food and drink, because the case book had indicated that once a person becomes a judge and his soul leaves his body, all his organs will automatically stop functioning and will not consume energy, just like a corpse. The divine power stored in his body will also protect his health and well-being.
Xu Zhengyang couldn't help but mutter: Chen Chaojiang is really stubborn. He really listens and believes it.
Aren't you worried about what will happen if your buddy dies?
Well, you can't blame Chen Chaojiang. Who told him to know he was a god? Besides, he was just following my orders.
With a wry smile, Xu Zhengyang picked up an unopened pack of Yuxi cigarettes from the bedside table, opened it, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it, and planned to finish the cigarette to calm himself down before leaving.
Suddenly, a loud bang rang out, dust billowed, and sawdust flew everywhere. The door had been kicked open! A figure rushed in like the wind, a worried cry rang out: "Zhengyang!"
Volume Three, Judge Chapter 132: The Crab King Captures the Dragon Eagle, Seeking the Ebony Root
The dust settled, and the room returned to its cleanliness.
The door, covered with a brown soft layer, had been kicked open with a large hole in the center. The edges of the hole revealed irregular fragments of broken wooden planks, and the lock on the door frame was also cracked, silently telling the tragic story of the innocent person who had been hit by such a powerful force.
Xu Zhengyang held the newly lit cigarette between his fingers, his mouth slightly open, looking at Chen Chaojiang, who had rushed towards him but stopped abruptly, with a somewhat surprised expression. After a long while, he muttered, "What are you doing? Are you going to tear this place down?"
“It’s been ten days,” Chen Chaojiang replied coldly, then turned and walked to a chair to the side to sit down.
Chen Chaojiang's face was still pale, and his narrow eyes remained icy, but both his cheeks and eyes carried a sense of relief after relaxing from extreme worry. His slightly long hair was a bit messy, his eyes were dark-rimmed, and he had grown dark stubble.
"Chaojiang, I'm sorry to have troubled you." Xu Zhengyang looked at Chen Chaojiang and knew that Chen Chaojiang had been suffering in hesitation and worry these past few days.
"It's good that you're alright." A relaxed smile appeared on Chen Chaojiang's pale and cold face.
"Nonsense, I'm a god! How could anything happen to me?" Xu Zhengyang chuckled, took a drag of his cigarette, and then tossed one to Chen Chaojiang.
Chen Chaojiang gently raised his left hand, not so much to catch the cigarette as to how Xu Zhengyang had accurately tossed it between his fingers. He lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, blinked his narrow eyes, and said coldly, "You said that even though you're a god, you still get drunk and vomit, and feel pain when you're beaten..."
"Well, that's true." Xu Zhengyang scratched his head, then laughed, "Let's not talk about that. Chaojiang, am I awesome? I can go ten days without eating or drinking."
"Um."
"Aren't you going to ask me what I've been busy with?"
Chen Chaojiang shook his head and said, "I won't ask."
Aren't you curious?
"You are a god, what could be more astonishing than that?"
Xu Zhengyang was defeated...
"Has anyone contacted me these past few days?" Xu Zhengyang asked.
“Well, my family called a few times, but I didn’t answer. Yao Chushun also told them that you forgot your phone.” Chen Chaojiang thought for a moment and then said, “Li Bingjie and her bodyguard came twice, but I didn’t let them in.” Before Xu Zhengyang could say anything, Chen Chaojiang had already taken out his phone and tossed it to him. “Call your family. They’re very worried.”
Xu Zhengyang took the phone, nodded, and dialed his home number:
"Mother, it's me, Zhengyang. Did you miss me?"
“Zhengyang! You brat, why didn’t you even answer the phone? You…you…” After the initial surprise on the other end of the phone, Yuan Suqin’s sobbing voice came through.
"Oh, don't be angry or sad, Mom. I just got back today. I've been so busy these past few days. I'm going home tonight."
“Okay, okay, your dad’s right here, go say a few words to him…” Yuan Suqin was speaking when she faintly heard Xu Neng’s slightly angry voice coming from the other end: “What’s there to say? I already told you nothing would happen, don’t worry about it, Zhengyang is all grown up now…”