"Xie Jin, Fan Xiaoguo."
So the legends were really true?
Du Yu remembered reading that the White Impermanence was named Xie Bi'an, and the Black Impermanence was named Fan Wujiu.
Following Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo, the three of them moved forward with the crowd.
The queue of tens of thousands moved much faster than Du Yu had imagined; they were practically jogging the whole way.
Soon, they reached the front of the line.
Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo didn't lead Du Yu directly through the Ghost Gate Pass. Instead, Xie Jin stepped forward and addressed a dark-faced Yin Messenger: "Hello, sir. We have a suspected wrongful death case here. He won't be crossing the Wangchuan River for now. Could you please have a judge come out to take him?"
The dark-faced Yin Messenger nodded, turned, and entered the Ghost Gate Pass. Shortly after, a middle-aged giant emerged, clad in a wine-red official robe. Standing two meters tall with a full beard, he held a pure black *ruyi* scepter.
"Who needs judging? Hurry up," the giant boomed, his voice like a low rumble.
"Hello, sir!" Xie Jin bowed deeply. "It's us. We brought a wrongful death case today. We need you to make the ruling."
"Wrongful death?" The giant didn't even lift his eyelids. He pulled a book from his robe and flipped through it rapidly. "No can do. The wrongful death quota's been full for years. List him as an 'Accidental Death' instead. Add five years to his next life's lifespan. Otherwise, it's too much paperwork." He snapped the book shut and turned to leave. Du Yu and the two women were left stunned.
"Sir!" Fan Xiaoguo reacted first, calling out. "This deceased was likely killed due to *Taishu* interference! He *has* to be classified as a wrongful death!"
"*Taishu*? So what?!" The giant spun around. "The Bureau of Legends has been defunct for nearly a thousand years! How many cases of *Taishu* interference haven't you seen? If every death caused by *Taishu* counted as wrongful death, would there be any order left in the world? Any governance left in the Netherworld?!" As he spoke, he advanced, radiating palpable anger. The two girls were forced back, stumbling.
Just as the three were panicking, a fierce gust of wind swept past their ears from behind, aimed directly at the giant. In a flash, a figure in white robes stood before them, his back to the trio. He faced the giant, holding a massive brush plastered with talismanic charms. Though his frame was far less imposing than the giant's, the giant's eyes widened in sheer terror at the sight of him. Before he could utter a word, the white-robed man reached out and delivered a thunderous slap across his bearded face.
The blow was so powerful it spun the giant around once.
"Three issues," the white-robed man said calmly. "First, from now on, never speak like that to fellow Yin Messengers again. Second, a wrongful death is a wrongful death. No matter how many die, it remains the Judge's duty. Third, the Bureau of Legends has *never* been defunct."
Du Yu was terrified. The red-robed giant was intimidating enough, but this white-robed newcomer had just slapped him! Who *was* he?
Before Du Yu could process it, the red-robed giant dropped to his knees with a *thump*, his voice almost tearful as he cried out:
"As you command, Chief Judge!" The title "Chief Judge" echoed out. Not only the giant, but Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo beside Du Yu immediately knelt as well. Within moments, every Black and White Impermanence and Yin Messenger guard nearby had dropped to their knees. Looking around, only the souls remained standing.
Then, the souls slowly followed suit, kneeling down. Du Yu was no exception.
In the square of ten thousand, only the white-robed man stood tall, hands clasped behind his back.
"Judges have ranks? Who is this?" Du Yu whispered to Xie Jin while kneeling.
"Of course they have ranks!" Xie Jin whispered back. "The Netherworld has Four Great Judges! Lord Wei Zheng of the Reward Division, Lord Zhong Kui of the Punishment Division, Lord Lu Zhidao of the Investigation Division... and this one before you is the foremost of the Four Great Judges! Cui Jue, Lord of the Yin Law Division! He is also the Chief of the Eight Great Yin Messengers of the Underworld, known as the 'Literary Judge'!"
The white-robed man turned slowly. His face was scholarly, yet radiated an undeniable aura of authority.
"Rise, all of you. I merely happened to be passing by. Let's not make this a big affair; it would be troublesome if the Yama Kings heard." With that, the Yin Messengers gradually stood up, bowed respectfully to Cui Jue, and returned to their duties.
Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo also stood. It was their first time seeing the Chief Judge, and they couldn't help feeling awed.
"You may rise too," Cui Jue said to Du Yu, who was still kneeling. "I will personally oversee your judgment this time."
Du Yu felt overwhelmed. "Oh, oh, thank you!"
Cui Jue waved his right hand. The Soul-Hooking Brush in his hand glowed with blue light, its talismans fluttering off. His left hand flipped, and a ledger-like book materialized in his palm. On its cover were the stark characters: *Book of Life and Death*.
As the book flipped open seemingly of its own accord, the brush's blue light intensified. Du Yu slowly stood up. "Sir, do you need my name? I'm Du Yu..."
Cui Jue smiled wordlessly. He was about to write Du Yu's name when his gaze fixed on Du Yu's face. "You..." Cui Jue started to say something, but the words seemed to catch in his throat. After a moment's thought, he asked, "What did you just call me?"
"Sir? What's wrong?" Du Yu looked at Cui Jue, puzzled.
Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo dared not speak. They clearly saw profound confusion written on the Chief Judge's face. As a being who understood Yin and Yang, past and present, what could possibly baffle him?
After a long pause, Cui Jue finally spoke: "In the 19th Year of Zhenguan... did we meet?"
"The 19th Year of Zhenguan?" Du Yu was stunned, then chuckled. "Not just Zhenguan 19, even the 19th Year of the Republic, I wouldn't have existed then."
Xie Jin also felt something was off. "Chief Judge," she said to Cui Jue, "have you forgotten he's a mortal? He wouldn't remember anything from Zhenguan 19."
"It's strange," Cui Jue said. "Before seeing this young man, I had no recollection of such a memory. Yet upon seeing him, the memories surged forth like a spring." But why? Cui Jue had encountered countless souls over a thousand years. Why did only Du Yu appear in these memories?
After brief contemplation, Cui Jue formed a bold hypothesis and couldn't help feeling excited.
"Young man, I ask you: did you choose reincarnation or becoming a Messenger?"
"Reincarnation. Rich second generation."
Seeing Du Yu's immediate answer, Cui Jue shook his head.
"Young man, though I can rule your death wrongful, you must understand the number of wrongful deaths has been immense in recent years. Reincarnation requires queuing."
Du Yu nodded. "I know. The two Yin Messenger sisters told me."
"You know you must queue, but do you know how long?"
"No, I don't."
"Seven hundred and twenty-six years," Cui Jue said with a slight smile. "Until then, you would merely be a wandering ghost in this corner of the Netherworld."
"Seven hundred years?!" Du Yu was genuinely shocked. Seven hundred years later... would that world still be the world he imagined? The world he wanted to return to?
Seeing Cui Jue's meaningful expression, Du Yu suddenly realized things might not be so simple.
"Sir, do you have something else to say?"
Cui Jue smiled and nodded. "Indeed. I need you to do something for me. If you do it well, I will use all my connections to move you to the front of the reincarnation queue as much as possible. Deal?"
*Do something?*
Not only Du Yu, but Xie Jin and Fan Xiaoguo were also confused. Cui Jue was a Yin Immortal, not omnipotent, but possessing immense power and abilities. What could such a being possibly need a mere wandering ghost to help him with?
"Then I need to ask first, sir," Du Yu said. "Is this thing dangerous?"
"Extremely dangerous. If mishandled, the living will die, and the dead will scatter."
"This..."
Du Yu had asked almost rhetorically, never expecting Cui Jue to admit it so readily.
"...Sir, are you serious? This makes it very hard for me to agree."
"I won't deceive you. The task I ask of you truly is very dangerous. However, it is all based on my conjecture and hypothesis. It might not even require you. So I want you to think clearly. Seven hundred years of waiting? Or a chance to gamble?"
"I..." Du Yu hesitated visibly.
In life, he'd had many such opportunities, but without exception, Du Yu had given up on them all. He was never someone who fought for things, even back in the orphanage days. He never actively sought anything. Perhaps that was why he was never adopted.
"I accept."
Du Yu answered solemnly.
"I'll help you with that extremely dangerous task. You get me back to the living world."
Cui Jue nodded and addressed Xie Jin: "Forty *li* west of the Ghost Gate Pass lies a mountain shrouded in Yin energy. Half green, half black, the mortals call it 'Peak of No Return.' At its foot stands a building. Take Du Yu there."
Xie Jin didn't dare delay. She quickly pulled Du Yu and Fan Xiaoguo to leave.
After bidding farewell to Cui Jue, the three returned to the minivan.
"Sis Bai, what's going on?" Fan Xiaoguo muttered as she started the engine. "The Chief Judge felt... off."
"How could we understand the thoughts of such great figures? We just follow orders." Xie Jin replied.
Du Yu looked out the window, his mind a turmoil of emotions.
"Du Yu," Xie Jin asked, "did you ever meet Cui Jue in the living world?"
"No. That was my first time seeing him."
"That's really strange."
Just then, Xie Jin's phone rang.
Seeing the caller ID, she immediately straightened her posture.
"Hello? Greetings, Ancestor," Xie Jin answered respectfully.
"Oh, Jin, my dear descendant! Who are you with?"
"Reporting to Ancestor, I am with Fan Xiaoguo. We are escorting a wrongful death case."
Hearing her name mentioned, Fan Xiaoguo chimed in towards the phone: "Greetings, Seventh Ancestor Grandfather."
"Xiaoguo? Hello. Send my regards to the Eighth Master for me."
"By your grace, Eighth Ancestor Grandfather speaks of you often at home."
"Speaks of me? That old ghost still owes me a meal! I say, Jin, my dear, weren't you supposed to teach me how to use that photo editing app today? It's been half the day. Aren't you done yet?"
"Ah, Ancestor, I'm truly sorry." Xie Jin apologized profusely and recounted the entire sequence of events to the person on the other end.
Who could make Xie Jin call them 'Ancestor'? It must be Xie Bi'an, the one mortals call Seventh Master, the White Impermanence,* Du Yu thought to himself.
After hearing Xie Jin's story, Xie Bi'an paused for a long moment. "Jin, my dear... what did you say the name of the person you're escorting is?"
"His name is Du Yu."
For some