113. Signing and Affixing His Mark on His Behalf
Outside the Hall of Yama.
The brass oil lamp and the Death Summoner had exhausted every conceivable method.
Yet the great gate remained unmoved.
There was simply no way to get in.
The Divine Light of Escape was useless, and the connection with the Death Summoner and the Soul-Claiming Register had been severed.
Only the Dog Keeper’s Manual still maintained contact.
The brass oil lamp anxiously asked within his heart, “Chen Huangpi, how are things inside? Has Yama or the underworld messenger cast you into the Eighteenth Layer of Hell?”
“Not yet, but soon,” Chen Huangpi replied in terror. “That judge said I’ve lived over thirty thousand years in total, counting before and after death, and it seems he wants to charge me for crimes I committed even as a stillborn.”
“What?” The brass oil lamp was furious. “Is there still justice or law in this realm of the Yellow Springs and Nether Earth?”
“By the way, what crime did you commit as a stillborn?”
“They said I drained the Yellow Springs dry and devoured the Nether Earth,” Chen Huangpi objected angrily. “But I never did those things—they’re framing me.”
“Then you’re finished.” The brass oil lamp shook his head. “When men are but fish on the chopping board and swords in the hands of fate, whatever they say is law.”
“But this Yama and the underworld messengers are supposed to be dead.”
“How could they suddenly come back to life, still judging you as in their mortal days?”
“I’m about to be sent to hell, and you’re still worrying about this. Hurry and find a way to save me!”
“I’m thinking, really thinking!”
…
Inside the hall, silence reigned.
The judge stared blankly at the Soul-Claiming Register, where the crimes Chen Huangpi had committed as a stillborn were listed one after another.
Each was a capital offense.
No sinner judged in the Yellow Springs and Nether Earth over countless years had committed sins even half as grave as those attributed to Chen Huangpi alone.
“Accusing without evidence, no shortage of charges!” Chen Huangpi gritted his teeth. “I never went to school, I can’t read, I won’t plead guilty, nor will I sign or seal anything.”
If he truly possessed such power,
he wouldn’t be trapped here, subjected to these underworld messengers and Yamas.
Besides, he never actually committed those deeds.
Listen to these charges: draining the Yellow Springs dry, devouring the Nether Earth.
Even a true immortal would struggle to accomplish such feats.
The judge ignored Chen Huangpi and instead looked at the Headless Yama in confusion. “Your Majesty, could the Soul-Claiming Register be faulty? When was the Yellow Springs drained, or the Nether Earth devoured?”
“Moreover, given his cultivation level, falling into the Yellow Springs should have annihilated him utterly, much less the Nether Earth.”
If something was wrong with the Yellow Springs and Nether Earth,
even the Soul-Claiming Register would send warnings.
Any living being nurtured by the Yellow Springs and Nether Earth would sense it.
The Ten Yama Kings could not be unaware,
let alone the Nether Sovereign who commands the four corners.
The Headless Yama’s voice hesitated slightly. “The Register cannot be wrong, yet I have found no abnormality in the Yellow Springs or Nether Earth. This matter could be grave or trivial. Let us first see what other crimes Chen Huangpi has committed before deciding.”
The judge said, “Your Majesty, this man’s sins are profound. Draining the Yellow Springs and devouring the Nether Earth are grave offenses even here. When he was in the mortal realm, his evils were beyond reckoning.”
“Hundreds of thousands of gods died because of him.”
“Even the exalted gods of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty were devoured alive by him.”
“But can such crimes really be committed by a cultivator of his level?”
“You are right!” Chen Huangpi braved himself. “If I were capable of such things, I would be immensely powerful. But look—I can’t even break the chains on my hands or the shackles on my body. There’s no way I did these things.”
The hundreds of thousands of gods were crafted by my master’s followers.
They weren’t killed by me.
Those deaths should be attributed to my master.
As for the matter of the exalted gods of the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty, that’s pure nonsense.
Thinking this, Chen Huangpi hurriedly added, “I practice Taoism; I don’t even eat beef, let alone devour the blood and flesh of exalted gods alive. I am a good child—I’m not that evil.”
…
Every word was sincere.
Not a single lie.
The judge sighed helplessly. “Your Majesty, I don’t know how to sentence this man. These are tremendous crimes, yet none could have been committed by him. It seems the Soul-Claiming Register is seriously flawed.”
“Perhaps it’s...”
“Hm?!”
“...a misunderstanding!”
The judge quickly corrected himself, for in the Yellow Springs and Nether Earth, ignorance equaled sin, and mistakes were grave offenses.
“Your Majesty, I request the Ten Directions Bone-Reflecting Mirror!”
The Ten Directions Bone-Reflecting Mirror was a wondrous treasure bestowed by the Nether Sovereign.
The “ten directions” referred to the four cardinal points, the four intercardinal points, and two additional dimensions representing time and space.
This mirror could not only reveal a person’s entire life story, but also their past and present lives, all sins committed, and all experiences, clearly and in detail.
The Death Summoner relayed this to the brass oil lamp,
then conveyed it to Chen Huangpi.
Chen Huangpi, confident he had committed none of those crimes, though somewhat uneasy, stubbornly declared, “Go ahead. I don’t mind. But when you find out I’ve been falsely accused, even if you apologize, I won’t forgive you.”
“Heh…” The judge sneered coldly. “Stubbornness is also a crime!”
Chen Huangpi immediately shut his mouth.
His gaze was furious, his heart filled with sorrow.
This Yellow Springs and Nether Earth was hardly a place for humans to dwell; ignorance was a crime, stubbornness was a crime.
Why not say that merely living was a crime?
At that moment,
the Headless Yama extended a hand and waved toward the ceiling of the hall.
The ceiling was dark and impenetrable.
Chen Huangpi had looked before but seen nothing.
Yet when the Headless Yama waved,
a beam of mirror-like light shone down directly onto Chen Huangpi.
There truly was a mirror.
Square and flat, its surface like liquid mercury,
fixed in place by four statues of listening sculptures that seemed alive.
The Ten Directions Bone-Reflecting Mirror hung suspended above the Headless Yama’s head.
As the beam illuminated him,
Chen Huangpi felt as if his entire being was laid bare.
On the mirror’s surface appeared a skeletal figure,
then blood vessels and skin grew over the bones, and in the blink of an eye, the image became Chen Huangpi’s likeness.
The Headless Yama’s fingers trembled slightly.
Ripples appeared across the mirror’s image.
But after the waves settled, nothing was different from before.
“You have no past life?” the judge exclaimed in shock. “All living beings have past and present lives, unless they are Tao Masters who have reached eternal enlightenment. None can escape this iron law. Why do you not appear in the cycle? What exactly are you?”
“A Tao Master?” Chen Huangpi questioned.
“...” The judge suddenly laughed three times, and the underworld messengers in the hall joined in.
Even the Headless Yama could not maintain his austere demeanor and chuckled lightly.
“That one?”
“Only lived a little over thirty thousand years, counting before and after death.”
“In the Yellow Springs and Nether Earth, he’s but a mere child. A Tao Master?”
“The only one who can become a Tao Master under heaven is that figure from the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty.”
“But the cosmic upheaval is about to begin. After eighteen thousand years, the Yellow Heaven will be born, and only then will that figure unite with the Dao and achieve the rank of Tao Master.”
“Wait a moment!” Chen Huangpi hurriedly said, “Then my master is the Tao Master. My master is the one you’re speaking of from the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty.”
…
The underworld messengers fell silent for a moment, then burst into uproarious laughter.
As if they had heard the greatest joke.
The Headless Yama could no longer maintain his cold, dignified tone and sneered, “That one is an old acquaintance of the Nether Sovereign. If you truly were that one’s disciple, the one who should be judged now would be me.”
Though that figure had not yet achieved Tao Master status,
everyone in the Yellow Springs and Nether Earth, the mortal realm, the Immortal Realm, and many smaller worlds knew that after eighteen thousand years, that figure would surely attain the rank of Tao Master.
The Nether Sovereign was his close friend.
How could he allow that figure’s disciple to fall into such a state?
“The Ten Directions Bone-Reflecting Mirror can’t reveal this person’s past life, which can only mean he isn’t even a living being, but merely wears a human skin.”
“Or perhaps he was born from Heaven and Earth itself.”
“Yet, with the cosmic upheaval imminent, why would Heaven and Earth produce such a useless creature?”
“Enough, enough.”
The Headless Yama dismissed Chen Huangpi with a wave, then said to the judge, “The Soul-Claiming Register may indeed be faulty. Let us set those charges aside for now and deal with them later.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Thank you, King Yama. You are a good man,” Chen Huangpi thought with great relief, believing he was about to be cast into the Eighteenth Layer of Hell.
Unexpectedly, the situation took a surprising turn.
Yet Chen Huangpi’s joy was premature.
For the Headless Yama soon said, “Let us calculate his crimes of ignorance, stubbornness, impersonating a Tao Master, impersonating a Tao Master’s disciple, and wasting our time.”
The judge replied, “I have calculated it. According to the laws of the Yellow Springs and Nether Earth, this child must be cast into the Eighteenth Layer of Hell for nineteen million years, eight hundred twenty-four years, four hours, and three quarters—neither more nor less.”
Chen Huangpi was shocked and furious. “How can it be so severe?”
“That’s only the beginning,” the judge sneered. “After serving the sentence, your soul will be shattered and your true form ground away bit by bit with a millstone. If your past deeds are discovered later, more crimes will be added.”
As he spoke, the judge took a charge sheet and approached Chen Huangpi, smiling, “Come, sign here.”
“I can’t read, and I can’t write. I won’t sign!” Chen Huangpi ground his teeth. “Not only will I not sign, but I will also accuse you of framing me.”
“Accuse? Where could you possibly accuse us?”
“The Nether Sovereign is your leader...” Chen Huangpi said with grievance, “If he weren’t dead, I would take my case to him!”
“Such insolence! How dare you curse the Nether Sovereign!” The Headless Yama exploded in rage. “Add ten million years to his sentence!”
Chen Huangpi shouted, “Even if you add a billion years, I still say this: the Nether Sovereign is dead, killed by the sun, and you cowards only know how to bully a child like me here.”
“Impudent!”
“Impudent are you!”
Chen Huangpi raged, “You worthless Yamas—my master’s head was chopped off by me and hung on the city gate. Send me to the Eighteenth Layer of Hell. When my third master comes, he will kill you all.”
“I await him,” the Headless Yama’s voice chilled to the bone. The hall was filled with ghostly winds that nearly blinded Chen Huangpi, and with a clang, he fell to the ground.
“Sign for him!”
“Yes!”
The judge picked up a pen and wrote on the charge sheet: I, Chen Huangpi, acknowledge my grave sins and willingly accept punishment. Should I retract my words, it shall be because I cannot endure the penalty. Therefore, this signature shall stand.
Seeing this, the Headless Yama could not help but sneer.
This madman spoke recklessly, every word lunatic nonsense.
Claiming his master’s head was cut off and hung on the city gate.
Did he think his master was a Tao Master?
Even if he were, the Headless Yama had never offended the Tao Master, so why treat him so?
Pondering this, the Headless Yama stroked his beard—and found nothing.
This scene was truly perplexing and left him baffled.
“Where is my head?”
(The end of this chapter)