Chapter 5: I feel a little sympathetic towards her now
On the other end of the livestream, a young girl named Bai Bai Bai Wu Chang sat with her legs crossed on a computer chair.
However, if one looked closely at her attire, they would realize it was not clothing that a normal person would wear.
She was entirely clad in white, and a tall, pointed white hat sat beside her.
In her hand was a mobile phone, displaying a man named “Liu Haoyu.”
When she saw Liu Haoyu wearing a gas mask and holding a fire axe, she immediately spat out the water she was drinking.
“The person you called… are you sure he’s here to save someone, and not to kill someone?”
Without waiting long, the streamer gave her reply.
“Yes, yes, yes! It’s him! He looks like a murderer from an American horror drama. It’s him!”
Although it was just a text reply, Bai Bai Bai Wu Chang could still discern the streamer’s excited demeanor.
The girl’s gaze swept across the livestream. Behind the streamer were three people with swollen faces, and the streamer had not yet noticed this.
Did she really think that smashing that human head into the water would make her safe?
“Alright, I’ll give him a call for you…”
The girl put down the phone in her hand and picked up another one.
This phone looked very strange. Both the screen and the back of the phone were covered in red patterns.
“Hello, is this Mr. Murderer?”
The girl knew the streamer’s intention was not to reveal their information, as online doxxing was quite serious nowadays.
So, the girl went along with the streamer’s wishes and referred to them as such.
After a moment of silence, the man on the other end of the phone asked,
“Who are you?”
The girl knew very well that her phone would appear as gibberish to him, so his suspicion was understandable.
“Don’t worry about who I am. Someone calling himself a security guard is waiting for you at an unlicensed car on Provincial Highway 845.”
“Okay.”
The call ended, and the girl sat back down. Just then, someone knocked on the door of the room.
Without turning her head, she said,
“The door cannot be opened from this side.”
“…” The person knocking on the door was somewhat speechless.
But the door was still opened.
A seven-foot-tall black shadow bent down and walked into the room.
In its hand was a string of joss paper, and it wore a tall black hat. Although its eyes were obscured by the joss paper, it couldn’t help but say upon seeing the girl in the room,
“Bai Wu Chang, it’s time to get to work.”
“What work? It’s only 3 AM. Let’s have some tea first.”
Bai Wu Chang slumped dejectedly in her chair and said to Hei Wu Chang,
“Anyway, the bridges are all broken now, and we’re not getting paid. Why bother working so hard?”
“…” Hei Wu Chang remained silent for a moment before saying, “The guide has arrived.”
“Wo Ri?!”
Hearing this, Bai Wu Chang quickly put on her hat and scrambled out of the chair.
Even after going outside, she didn’t forget to lock the door.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“You didn’t ask.”
One black and one white, one tall and one small, the two of them went outside.
This was the Underworld, not a place for the living.
Faint green mist drifted everywhere, and there was no sign of life or death. Everything was in ruins and decay.
It was like a wasteland.
Outside, Qin Liu, holding the lantern, looked dazed and confused.
Who am I, where am I?
Why have I come to this place?
Didn’t I just fall asleep inside Hong Yu…
No, is there something inside the lantern?
Qin Liu’s gaze fell upon the lantern in her hand. It contained the souls of people who had been harmed by the ghost infant, including the ghost infant itself.
Now, this thing was being beaten by the ghosts inside, looking very miserable.
She probably understood her identity and intended to throw all these souls into the Nai River.
The guide probably did this kind of work before.
However, on the way to the Nai River, she encountered the Black Impermanence again.
Based on the principle of maintaining her identity by catching up, Qin Liu chatted with him for a while.
While chatting, Hei Wu Chang led her to a small room and told her to wait.
As Qin Liu expected, Hei Wu Chang did call Bai Wu Chang out.
However, compared to Hei Wu Chang’s seven-foot height, Bai Wu Chang was quite small.
But even so, Bai Wu Chang was still a head taller than Qin Liu. Judging by measurements, this Bai Wu Chang was about 1.7 meters tall.
“Hello.”
Qin Liu very politely greeted Bai Wu Chang.
The other party seemed to find it strange, scrutinized Qin Liu up and down, and then asked in confusion,
“That’s strange… the guides before weren’t this polite?”
Hearing Bai Wu Chang’s words, Qin Liu was startled.
She didn’t know what the previous guides were like. What if the other party recognized that she wasn’t the genuine guide…
With this thought, Qin Liu said with a poker face,
“Do you need me to use my shoes to slap you awake?”
“Oh, you are indeed the guide. No mistake.”
Bai Wu Chang shrunk her head.
“So, Guide, why are you visiting so late at night?”
Qin Liu also wanted to ask why she was here so late at night!
As soon as she woke up, she had inexplicably ended up in this place. Now she wanted to go back.
But to deal with the other party, Qin Liu picked up the lantern in her hand and said,
“I’m here to escort some people across the river. They’ve all been sent, and I’m preparing to return to the human world.”
“Oh…”
Bai Wu Chang’s eyes were hidden by her tall hat, so Qin Liu couldn’t see what her expression was.
But she was sure that she must have been relieved.
It felt like being caught by the class teacher who suddenly came to check on them, only to realize they weren’t there to check her phone.
After getting acquainted with each other, Qin Liu had no intention of lingering here.
She just wanted to return to the human world. This Underworld was desolate and unpleasant to stay in.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
“Take care, and don’t forget your job.”
The black and white figures waved goodbye to Qin Liu as she walked away.
Only after her figure had completely disappeared did Bai Wu Chang finally relax her hanging heart.
“Old Hei, help me find some work quickly.”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to have tea first?”
“I don’t want King Yama to find out that I, someone with a position, haven’t done anything when he checks up. Alright, to be honest, I kind of pity her.”
——————
On the other side, although Qin Liu was not familiar with this place, her mind seemed to know how to get out.
Coupled with the fact that she had been here a few times before, she soon found the way back to the human world.
The Red Gate appeared before her.
Although she could continue forward to return to the human world, the Red Gate was a shortcut connecting the human world and the Underworld. Walking directly through the gate would be much faster.
Qin Liu opened the door and stepped into it.
What appeared before her was a strange yet familiar basement.
Inside the basement, a small coffin was placed.
Qin Liu knew that what was inside was her own body.
“Let’s take a look…”
The girl took hesitant steps, went to the coffin, and slowly opened the lid.
The moment the coffin lid opened, the fragrance of golden nanmu wood wafted towards her.
A girl, like a Sleeping Beauty, lay quietly in the coffin.
She was wearing a bright red wedding dress, with her hands clasped together on her chest, her expression extremely peaceful.
Qin Qin Liu reached out and felt for her breath.
Her breathing was very weak, as if she were in hibernation, and her heartbeat was almost imperceptible.
Furthermore, the body’s temperature was extremely cold, definitely not a temperature a human should have.
“Isn’t that your own body? What’s so interesting about it?”
At this moment, a crisp voice sounded from behind Qin Liu.
It was the childhood Qin Liu, also known as Hongmen, standing with her arms crossed behind Qin Liu.
Seeing Hongmen, Qin Liu looked a bit surprised.
She had to admit… she really looked quite cute when she was younger.
It was just that she didn’t know why Hongmen was acting so mischievous.
She looked exactly like a “female imp” from a certain type of manga.
“Just curious.”
Qin Liu’s tone was very calm. Ever since she saw this body, the voice in her mind had been repeating:
“You are the guide…”
“No matter if it’s a fierce ghost… or a wandering soul… you must bring them back to the Underworld…”
“Please remember your mission…”
This emotionless voice kept repeating. Qin Liu shook her head, dispelling the thought, and then asked Hongmen:
“Just out of curiosity, can I have my body back?”
Hearing this, Hongmen couldn’t help but let out a scoff.
“Yes,”
“But once you get your body back, you will lose all your powers as a guide,”
“And even if you return to your body, with your remaining lifespan, you will only last for half a year at most.”
“By then, you will still die and completely become a lonely wandering soul with no consciousness.”
