Chapter Eighty-Eight: Before the City of Wrongful Death

The river was icy to the bone, yet it could not wake me.

I could only feel myself sinking after I went under, the water surging into my body, into every organ and sinew. Then the descent stopped; I must have struck the riverbed. But I had neither the strength nor the clarity to open my eyes and see what lay around me.

How long passed in that muddled, helpless state, I could not tell.

I only heard someone calling my name.

"Lin Yi..."

The voice drifted eerily near and far, never ceasing.

My consciousness, which had already all but faded, seemed to stir again then, yet I remained dazed, so disoriented I could not even recall who I was.

I was still at the bottom of the river. The submerged weeds swayed like ghostly shadows. Between them, two blurred figures were walking toward me, calling my name as they came.

I could not make out their faces, so I asked, "Who are you?"

"Who we are does not matter. Lin Yi, come with us. Hurry, come with us... come..."

The voice continued in its hollow murmur, and my mind grew ever more indistinct. For some reason, I truly began to follow those two dark shapes, moving toward the distance.

On and on I went, from the riverbed up to the bank.

Yet the bank was not White Bridge Town. All around was endless darkness, with no edge in sight. In that way I kept walking with them for who knew how long, until a vast city slowly emerged ahead. Above its gates were three words: City of Wrongful Death.

At that sight, a flash of lucidity cut through my mind, and only then did I understand that Ma Zhenlei had already killed me. My soul had been taken here, to the City of Wrongful Death. I was dead.

The two dark shapes who had brought me here were naturally the spirit wardens. But the matter in White Bridge Town was not yet finished. I could not die here and descend into the underworld like this. So I ignored those two wardens and turned to flee. Yet no matter which way I ran, my path always led straight back to the City of Wrongful Death.

Seeing this, the two wardens said, "Lin Yi, since you are dead, you should not cling to the world of the living. You should enter the City of Wrongful Death and await judgment!"

"No. I still have things unfinished. I must go back!" I said.

One of the wardens gave a cold laugh. "When the Lord of Hell says you die at midnight, who dares keep you until dawn? Lin Yi, behave yourself and come with us into the City of Wrongful Death, and spare yourself some suffering!"

Madam Wang had fallen into the river, life or death unknown. Wuyang had entered the White River and vanished without a trace. Ma Zhenlei was still alive in White Bridge Town. None of it was over. How could I die?

"Brothers, I won't hide it from you. I truly have urgent matters left undone. Please show mercy. If you are willing to help me, Lin Yi, I will repay you handsomely one day!" I said at once.

"Is that so? And how would you repay us?" one of the wardens asked.

"I... I will burn you plenty of paper money, set up a memorial hall for you, and make offerings. How about that?" I asked.

Then the other warden said, "Forget it. This penniless brat died so young, with no fortune and no destiny to speak of. He has nothing worth taking. Stop listening to his nonsense!"

No sooner had he spoken than the sound of hoofbeats came from ahead. At once, the two wardens looked over and hurriedly knelt in salute.

A dozen underworld soldiers, along with a black sedan chair, was slowly approaching.

The person in that black sedan chair was naturally someone of rank in the underworld. I was already wanted by the netherworld and had even offended one of its great officials. If I were caught red-handed here, the road ahead would surely grow even more perilous.

So when I saw this, I hurriedly said, "Brothers, never mind. I won't go back. Please, take me at once into the City of Wrongful Death!"

"Shut up. That is the sedan of the Lord of the Hall ahead. We must kneel and pay our respects!" the wardens hissed at me.

My heart sank. How could it be such a coincidence, to run into the underworld's hall lord here of all places? Since the wardens said as much, I had no choice but to crouch low with my head bowed, praying that the hall lord would not notice me.

Yet when the black sedan arrived, it abruptly stopped.

The black curtain was drawn aside, and a man stepped down. On closer look, it was indeed Qin Zhong, the local hall lord and father of Qin Li, the execution overseer at the altar of Cloudmist Temple that day.

It really was him. He had stopped here, clearly for my sake.

"Greetings, Lord Qin! This humble one..." Both wardens hit the ground, bowing repeatedly.

Qin Zhong paid them no mind at all. Instead he came straight toward me and said, "Lin Yi, never thought you'd live to see this day, did you? Even if you possess the power to shatter another's primal spirit with a single punch, in the underworld you are nothing but an ordinary soul. You and that woman in blue, Wang Qingyi, conspired to kill my son. Today, even if I were to shred your soul into a thousand pieces, it would not quench the hatred in my heart!"

My soul had been drawn into the underworld and fallen into his hands; now I was nothing more than an ordinary ghost. Whatever he did to me, I had no power to resist.

"Underworld soldiers, heed my command. Seize him and take him back to the Hall Lord's Manor. I will avenge my son. I will make sure he never knows peace in this life or the next!" Qin Zhong roared, eyes blazing.

"Yes!"

Several underworld soldiers dismounted. In their hands the bronze chains rattled loudly, and two hooked chains shot toward me together.

I could not dodge at all. The bronze hooks pierced through my collarbones and shackled my arms and legs as well. Then Qin Zhong cast me a cold glance, signaled the underworld soldiers to return to the manor, and climbed back into the black sedan himself.

Between the City of Wrongful Death and the Hall Lord's Manor lay a stretch of the Yellow Springs Road. I was dragged along by several mounted underworld soldiers, drawing the sidelong gazes of other souls on the road.

They whispered among themselves, all manner of things.

On both sides of the Yellow Springs Road bloomed fields of red spider lilies, the same kind as those in the Returning Hidden Forest, planted by Wuyang. This road was even identical to the Yellow Springs Road beneath the lower netherworld of the Yunmeng Thirteen Ravines. Thinking of that, I could not help but sigh. The leader of the ghostly path had altered my fate, setting me on a different road, and yet now all those calculations seemed about to end here.

Farther along the Yellow Springs Road lay the place where one crossed the Naihe Bridge and drank Meng Po's soup. But before I could reach the bridge, Qin Zhong's soldiers dragged me onto another road.

This road led to the Hall Lord's Manor. It was rare for any soul to be escorted there, so the way was desolate, with no other spirits in sight.

After a while, though we had not yet reached the manor, the black sedan at the front suddenly stopped. The mounted soldiers behind it stopped as well.

"My lord, what is it?" asked one of the soldiers behind.

Thump, thump... thump-thump-thump...

Before the Qin Zhong in the sedan could answer, the sound of a rattle drum suddenly came from the road ahead.

I looked sharply forward. The light here was dim, and I could barely make out a human silhouette. In the middle of the road stood a shoulder pole, and someone was seated at one end of it, shaking a rattle drum.

"Trade for scissors, trade for knife handles, trade for good cleavers and good scissors, needles and thread, hair ties, bath soap, matches, candy, cigarette holders—anything for trade, anything you need, bring it out to trade..."

He shouted, the sound making my scalp crawl.

At the same time, I wondered: why was the itinerant peddler here? Hadn't he been locked up?

"Who is blocking the Hall Lord's path ahead? Do you know your crime!" one of the little imps in front of the sedan shouted.

At that moment, the peddler rose to his feet, hoisted his pole, and walked toward us.

At first, the imp thought he was making way and barked, "Bold of you to block the Hall Lord's path just now. Come here and plead guilty at once!"

The peddler smiled coldly. "I did not merely block the Hall Lord's path just now. Even now, I have no intention of yielding this road."

"You... you are truly insolent. Underworld soldiers, where are you? Seize him at once!" the imp cried in anger.

Four of the soldiers behind immediately rode over, their bronze chains already in motion. But the peddler only gave a faint, cold smile and said, "You lot are not fit to lay a hand on me."

The moment he finished speaking, something uncanny happened.

A burst of yin wind swept past. Not only the four mounted soldiers, but also the ones behind who had been dragging me, all toppled from their horses for reasons unknown and fell silent.

Who exactly was this peddler, to possess such terrifying strength? Others had to fight the underworld soldiers with force, yet he merely spoke a single sentence and could send them tumbling from their horses.

Then the peddler walked toward the black sedan. The little imps guarding it tried to stop him, but he merely glared at them, and they all seemed to lose their wits at once, dropping to their knees.

"So you are Lord Qin?" the peddler asked the sedan. "The one you brought here is named Lin Yi. He has a grudge with me, and I am taking him away. Does Lord Qin have any objection?"

Though his tone was mild, it carried an indescribable authority.

"To be frank, this man joined with others of the Daoist sect and killed my son..." Qin Zhong said from inside the sedan, too afraid to even show himself. He had only managed half a sentence when the peddler cut him off.

"Qin Zhong, do you think I need to say it twice?"

"No, no, no. Since he is your enemy, take him. Do with him as you please. I... I have no objection, not the slightest objection!" Qin Zhong's words were so shaken they nearly tangled in his tongue.

"Good."

Then the peddler looked at the bronze chains binding me. He turned back, drew a kitchen cleaver from his pole, and walked toward me.

When he reached me, he hacked down several times in succession, severing the bronze chains with ease.

"Well, well, boy, we meet again. We really are fated to cross paths. Come with me. We still have some accounts to settle carefully." With that, the peddler tossed the cleaver back into his pole, lifted it onto his shoulder, and walked on ahead.