Traveler of the River of Time and Space-Chapter 206 - 6: Soul Guide

Soon after.

A woman dressed in blood-red finery appeared before him, her head adorned with bone-made ornaments, and at her waist was a sharp sword seemingly forged from a human spine. She slightly bowed to Su Ziyu and said, "Yama requests your presence!"

"Please follow me."

Bone Woman.

Su Ziyu had seen her near Rashomon during the day; she was guarding behind the collapsed gate then.

Does Yama want to see me?

It seems they are all aware of my presence.

Su Ziyu hesitated ever so slightly, but then quickly followed. He hadn't found any hints for the main quest in the past two days, and the ghosts he encountered offered no obvious clues. Perhaps meeting Yama of the Ghost Capital could yield some results.

"This way, please!" The Bone Woman led the way, and they headed directly toward the Imperial Palace.

The Fusang Imperial Palace was also modeled after Chang'an, though its scale appeared much smaller.

Along the way, there were some night patrols, but they only patrolled within the Imperial City of Ghost Capital. Not many demons or ghosts could be seen here, as if the interior of Ghost Capital was still under their control.

——"Spiritual Vision!"

Su Ziyu couldn't help his reckless curiosity and activated Spiritual Vision, looking up at the Imperial City before him.

Quickly.

A coiled dragon appeared in his vision, its body pale yellow and somewhat hazy, seemingly in a state of decline without self-awareness. It was more like the mythical dragon spirit representing Fusang Court's fortunes, as Huaxia would say.

Unfortunately, this dragon seemed to be barely hanging on.

Its presence was limited to the Imperial City, at most extending to the outskirts of Ghost Capital, but had no effect outside Kyoto.

This signifies that the power of the Mortal World's court has weakened to the point where control outside of Kyoto is gradually lost.

——"Night patrols in the dark, day patrols at dawn."

The Ghost Messengers near the Imperial City were mostly those conducting night patrols, appearing to be spirits of samurai. They moved aside upon seeing the Bone Woman and Su Ziyu.

"Meow~!"

A black shadow dropped from the wall, revealing a Dual-tailed Cat Demon.

This cat demon, dressed in a black and red kimono, touched its whiskers after landing, looked at the Bone Woman ahead, and asked, "Who is he?"

"Yama wants to see him," the Bone Woman replied emotionlessly. "Nine Lives Cat! Move aside!"

Another pretty powerful demon.

Its strength seemed comparable to the Three-tailed Fox of the Cyan Bamboo Forest, but Su Ziyu noticed a token at its waist with the words 'Soul Guide' on it.

"Meow! Fine." The cat demon curiously sized up Su Ziyu, then turned around to make space.

As the two brushed past each other, the cat demon suddenly said, "Bone Woman! I caught quite a few wandering souls today! Soon my rank will surpass yours!"

With that, it leapt away and disappeared from view.

Feline talent really is impressive, even as demons they seem formidable.

In front of a palace.

The Bone Woman halted and spoke softly, "Lord Yama. The person has been brought."

Creak.

The heavy door opened, and a slightly lazy female voice came from within, "Come in."

"Bone Woman, you may withdraw."

Two maids wearing ghost masks stood by the doorway. Su Ziyu glanced at the Ghost Female beside him, took a deep breath, and walked into the grand hall ahead.

Ghostly flames in eerie green lit up the sides of the palace.

As Su Ziyu entered the hall and looked up, he saw a woman seated on the throne, shrouded in faint mist, making it difficult to see her features clearly. Beside her was a white-haired Judge holding a Soul-Grabbing Pen.

Wisps of ghost fire floated around.

Su Ziyu felt a sharp gaze fall upon him, and then the lazy female voice sounded again, "You bear the scent of the Underworld."

"Are you a soul returned to life?"

Not quite comprehending, Su Ziyu chose not to reply, only shifting his footing slightly.

A tense silence followed.

Soon, the lazy female voice spoke again, now tinged with slight displeasure, "As a living person who trespassed twice into the Underworld, do you acknowledge your guilt?"

Su Ziyu shook his head and replied, "The Gates of Ghosts opened wide, I merely stumbled in by accident."

The questioning voice abruptly stopped.

Moments later, the female voice resumed, "Enough. I will not hold you accountable."

"Currently, we are in need of people, thus I ask you, are you willing to serve the Netherworld?"

"I will not be stingy with rewards."

Is she trying to recruit me?

Su Ziyu curiously looked ahead, seemingly wanting to pierce through the mist, and asked, "With the Gates of Ghosts wide open, ghosts roam even in daylight."

"What exactly happened in the Netherworld? Why did Rashomon collapse?"

A chilly wind blew through.

After a moment of silence, a female voice of authority came, "Just some malevolent beings causing trouble, that's all."

"I will deal with them myself."

"Would you be willing to act as a Soul Guide for the Netherworld, assisting me in resolving this chaos of the Underworld?" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The moment the words fell,

data streams in Su Ziyu's mind suddenly stirred, and in the next instant, a surge of data emerged.

"Scanning analysis complete!"

"Data computation complete!"

"Transmitting..."

"Current plane: Medieval Civilization."

"Civilization level: One."

"Energy level: Three."

"Pollution level: Medium."

"Alert! Alert!"

"Current world experiencing plane overlap!... Unknown reason caused chaos between the Underworld and Mortal World!..."

"Recording plane coordinates!... Adding to correction sequence!... Activating Space-Time Monitor System autonomous response mode!..."

"Mission issued."

"Mission objective: Restructure the Realm of Yin and Yang, reshape the Path of Reincarnation."

"Mission reward: Authority level increase! Space enhancement expansion! Law domain—Space! Law domain—Death!"

Something's off!?

Why is the triggered main quest of such high difficulty?

The reward is too generous!

Domains are powerful forces mastered by those at the Legendary Level, yet the reward for this main quest is the Space Domain and Death Domain.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Rewards this high for the main quest imply exceedingly high difficulty as well!

Surely, there's something else I don't know about.

Su Ziyu pondered for a moment, then looked up toward the front of the hall and spoke in a steady voice, "Alright."

"Good." A token engraved with 'Soul Guide' flew towards him.

The lazy female voice followed, "This is the Soul Summoning Token from the Netherworld, keep it safe. You can now access the Realm of Yin and Yang freely."

"For the time being, you shall act alongside the Black and White Ghost Emissaries."

"The Judge will inform you of your tasks."

"You may withdraw."

Su Ziyu took a deep look at the cloud-enveloped throne area, then turned and left the hall.

A moment later.

The mist around the throne dissipated, and a girl around seven or eight years old jumped down. She looked exquisitely cunning, wearing a light red, lavish gown, with a crescent-shaped ornament on her head. Pouting, she looked at the white-haired Judge beside her and said, "When will big sister return?"

"I can't keep this up much longer!"

Hearing her, the white-haired Judge revealed a wry smile and softly said, "Yue Ji, please endure a bit longer."

"Lord Yama should be back soon."

Despite his words, the white-haired Judge's face showed a hint of concern.

With Rashomon collapsed.

The Ghost Capital in chaos.

The Underworld now rampant with spirits, the greatest fear is them causing havoc in the Mortal World. The current status is maintained solely by this white-haired Judge, yet others are not aware of Yama's disappearance, else the Underworld's situation might be even more chaotic.

"What's the deal with this Yama? Why won't they even show up?" Su Ziyu stood outside the hall, frowning slightly.

Playing with the Soul Summoning Token in his hand, he walked toward the outskirts of the Imperial City.

Meow.

With a cat's cry, a black shadow suddenly darted over, snatching the Soul Summoning Token right from his hand.

.........