Chapter Sixty-Five: Luck

“When you kill the Dragon King of the East Sea, you will become the Dragon King of the East Sea.”

“Are you playing with me, Master?! How could I possibly kill the Dragon King of the East Sea? I can’t even defeat that little brute from Cloud Cave Lake, let alone one of the Four Sea Dragon Kings!”

As soon as Duan Lingqi heard Su Yuanbai’s words, he shook his head like a rattling drum, sighing deeply.

“Then do you still wish to become the Dragon King of the East Sea?” Su Yuanbai asked quietly.

“No, I don’t,” Duan Lingqi replied, resolute. Though he had lived for ages, he was no fool. The Dragon King of the East Sea might have had his share of tragic tales, but he remained the foremost among the Four Dragon Kings. Duan Lingqi was merely a minor flood dragon—not even a true dragon!

“Do you know why Yama sent Black and White Impermanence to seize this prison warden?” Su Yuanbai gazed at Qu Hanchen, whose body lay on the ground, covered in intricate, shifting black patterns. He glanced sideways at the golden, dense runes above Duan Lingqi’s head and asked slowly.

“Why? Was it because we talked about killing Yama in the underworld, and he overheard us?” Duan Lingqi, unable to see the golden runes atop his own head, raised his eyes to Qu Hanchen on the floor and asked Su Yuanbai in confusion.

“Yinbei City lies at the foot of Shadow Mountain in the Netherworld. Yama is but the lord of the Fifth Court. If he could hear everything said in the underworld, his power would rival that of the Emperor of the North, the ruler of all ghosts and spirits.” Su Yuanbai spoke softly.

“Then is it because his allotted lifespan has ended?” Duan Lingqi muttered.

“Have you ever seen a commoner’s lifespan end, and Black and White Impermanence come personally to collect their soul? Besides, does he look like someone destined for a short life?” Su Yuanbai countered, glancing sideways at Duan Lingqi.

“Then what could it be?” Duan Lingqi muttered, glancing repeatedly at Xi Chunxue for help, unable to guess the answer to his master’s question.

“It’s because he truly has the qualification to kill Yama and take his place. Normally, divine beings are immortal; even if you kill them, they can reconstitute their bodies.” Xi Chunxue looked at Su Yuanbai, her breath heavy.

“Precisely. But I hadn’t expected the previous Yama to be one I personally appointed, which has made his situation somewhat unique.” Su Yuanbai spoke slowly.

At this moment, Qu Hanchen’s condition was indeed peculiar. The instant his soul merged with his physical body, his consciousness began to plummet endlessly into a boundless abyss.

A piercing cold wind surged violently from the depths of the abyss, and those two monsters suddenly appeared at his side.

The creature called Tu, with its body bent into nine curves, supported Qu Hanchen as he fell, spreading blood-stained fingers to drive away the vengeful spirits and fierce ghosts that emerged from the abyssal walls.

Meanwhile, the monster named Bo, with three tiger eyes, fired cold black beams, eradicating those fierce ghosts missed by Tu.

Suddenly, a massive jade tablet spanned the abyss, halting Qu Hanchen’s descent. The tablet emitted waves of ghostly light, causing Tu and Bo to leave Qu Hanchen, leaping into the abyss instead.

One by one, the hideous vengeful ghosts followed the jade tablet to Qu Hanchen’s side. Just as he thought they would devour him, they suddenly knelt before him in worship.

Qu Hanchen was bewildered, sensing a strange awe, and the jade tablet beneath him transformed into a leaf-like boat, carrying him gently across the dreadful, lightless abyss.

As he crossed, Qu Hanchen instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself in a sumptuous palace, seated high in the center of the hall.

“Xie Miu’an, of the Xie family in Annan County, North Youzhou; born on the ninth day of the fourth month, at the hour of the pig, in the twelfth year of Qichen; scheduled to die on the first day of the ninth month, at the hour of the monkey, in the thirty-sixth year of Tiansheng…”

Below, a red-robed official held a ledger in his left hand and a brush in his right, raising his eyes to the central figure in the hall—a crowned Yama, eyes closed and composed. The words just spoken seemed to have come from Yama himself.

He licked the tip of his brush, making an entry in the ledger. When Qu Hanchen’s consciousness returned, he found four pairs of eyes fixed upon him, making him uneasy.

“What happened?” Qu Hanchen whispered to Xi Chunxue beside him.

“You changed the Book of Life and Death?!”

But before Xi Chunxue could reply, Xie Miu’an had already rushed to his side, accompanied by the golden-eyed tiger, startling Qu Hanchen into stepping back several paces.

“Aren’t you the prison warden of the Inner Court? How did you end up here, and how have you aged so much?” Qu Hanchen, struggling to recognize the stooped old man’s face and attire, realized it was the warden Xie Miu’an and asked in astonishment.

“How did my skin become this color?” Very soon, Qu Hanchen discovered something even more shocking—his skin had turned a ghostly blue-green. With a more ferocious expression, he would look exactly like a blue-faced demon from hell.

“Shared consciousness?” Xi Chunxue looked at Su Yuanbai in confusion.

Su Yuanbai nodded.

“Ahem, look at me—shouldn’t you go down again and change my entry in the Book of Life and Death? Or if it’s too much trouble, just cross it out!” Duan Lingqi, hearing this, coughed heavily to catch Qu Hanchen’s attention, forcing a friendly smile, though with his flood dragon’s head, any smile looked terrifying.

“If he goes down again, when his consciousness returns, he’ll likely be Yama. Luck only comes once; that was already fortunate.” Su Yuanbai spoke calmly.

“Huh? Why?” Duan Lingqi exclaimed.

“Because he’s too weak. His consciousness is no match for Yama’s. But precisely because he’s so weak, his faint awareness didn’t attract Yama’s attention. Next time, things may not be so lucky.” Xi Chunxue said softly, watching Su Yuanbai. Seeing he didn’t shake his head, she knew her guess was correct.

“Then let him stay weak! That’s best!” Duan Lingqi suddenly thought of a clever idea and hurried to say it.

“Then he’ll just wait for death, as you do. Do you think that if you don’t seek out the Dragon King of the East Sea, he won’t seek you out? I granted you destiny, but they too are bound by fate. Destiny allows only one. There can be only one Dragon King of the East Sea.” Su Yuanbai smiled gently, gazing at the golden, intricate runes atop Duan Lingqi’s head.

“How can a little flood dragon like me compete with them?! The only thing I have is the cloud-patterned deer pouch you gave me, which is a primordial spiritual artifact.” Duan Lingqi instinctively reached into his robe, only to find it empty.

“Huh? Where did it go?! How has my connection to the artifact been severed?!” Duan Lingqi was startled, quickly closing his eyes and focusing, trying to summon the cloud-patterned deer pouch, but found nothing.

“It’s here.” Su Yuanbai took the cloud-patterned deer pouch from his robes, speaking calmly.