Chai Shuxin, of course, had no intention of joining their fray. Tucking his hands into his sleeves, he gave Song Wentong a slight bow and said calmly, "He just mentioned that he can use the flower coin to calculate the Star Child's location. There is no need for the Mozi to be anxious."
His tone was unhurried, yet it struck the heart of the matter. Song Wentong’s expression softened slightly, though he still pointed his blade at Mu Gesheng. "Don't you dare play the shrinking turtle. Hurry up and divine!"
"I didn't see you being this proactive when I went missing," Mu Gesheng rolled his eyes toward the heavens. He stepped out of the Chai residence and walked all the way to a major crossroads. Pulling out a flower coin, he began to toss it like a common currency, stopping and starting as he went. Song Wentong had seen Mu Gesheng cast hexagrams before, but never in such a haphazard fashion. He asked suspiciously, "What exactly are you calculating?"
"Calculating where Old Fifth is," Mu Gesheng replied with a look that suggested the answer was obvious. "We follow the coin. Heads, we turn left; tails, we turn right."
The trio reached a four-way intersection. Mu Gesheng flicked his finger, sending the flower coin spinning into the air. However, after several rotations in mid-air, the copper coin landed and stood perfectly upright on its edge. It was neither heads nor tails, neither left nor right. Seeing this, Chai Shuxin asked, "What does this signify?"
"This is the place," Mu Gesheng pinched the flower coin, then raised his hand to arrange a hexagram, his fingers flying as he calculated. After a moment, he said, "I have a piece of good news and a piece of bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
Song Wentong, unwilling to waste time, snapped, "The good news."
"The good news is, Old Fifth is right here," Mu Gesheng pointed to the paved road beneath their feet.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Song Wentong scanned the surroundings. "There isn't even a stray chicken feather here!"
"The bad news is," Mu Gesheng ignored him and continued, "Old Fifth isn't here."
Song Wentong looked ready to draw his blade and hack Mu Gesheng apart, but Chai Shuxin raised a hand to stop him, musing, "Do you mean the Star Child is in this space, but not in the world of the living?"
"Exactly," Mu Gesheng clapped his hands. "As expected of Sanjiutian."
In this space, but not in the world of the living—that left only one possibility.
Song Wentong paused. "Old Fifth ran off to Fengdu?"
Fengdu—the capital of the Ghost Realm, the seat of the Underworld, and the place of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
The Ten Kings of Hell guarded the city, supported by the Ten Great Yin Commanders and the Four Judges. It was the final destination for all karma.
It was also effectively the second home of the Yin-Yang Sect.
"Did Old Third take him?"
"No," Mu Gesheng shook his head. "Today is the fifteenth. The ley lines are unstable, and rifts easily form between the Yin and Yang realms. Old Fifth is a Star Child, and the Vermilion Bird has the power to traverse the three realms. He likely stumbled in by mistake." He looked at Song Wentong. "Old Second, it's up to you."
While the Mo Sect did not possess the "Half-Spirit Body" of the Yin-Yang Sect that allowed for easy passage between realms, they were master smiths. The Red-Licking Blade in Song Wentong’s hand was an ancient divine weapon; one strike could cleave the boundary between Yin and Yang.
Mu Gesheng cast four flower coins to fix the coordinates. Song Wentong leaped into the air and plunged his blade into the point where the four lines intersected. In an instant, a sudden gale rose, forming a vortex. Song Wentong stirred the air with his blade; the wind surged downward, the ground cracked, and a flight of stairs was revealed.
Song Wentong sheathed his blade and walked straight down.
"By my count, I haven't been down here in three or four years." Mu Gesheng peered down and pulled at Chai Shuxin. "Come on, Sanjiutian, let me take you on a night tour of Fengdu."
The stairs descended continuously through thick, damp mist.
"The Yin-Yang Stairs are long. At a normal person's pace, it would take about a day and a night."
The three had been walking for a long time. Song Wentong led the way, pulling out three small lanterns from somewhere. They ignited spontaneously upon the wind, floating above each of their heads. "These are Little Sky Lanterns," Mu Gesheng explained. "They can mask the yang energy of the living."
Starting from the Mozi of two generations ago, the Mo Sect's style had become quite reckless. Song Wentong didn't care for hiding his identity in Fengdu. However, Chai Shuxin was the Lingshuzi; the medical arts of the Chai family could bring the dead back to life and forcibly extend one's lifespan, which had created many messy accounts in the Underworld's ledgers. The relationship between the two sides was awkward, and since they were here to find someone, it was better to keep a low profile.
Chai Shuxin understood the intent. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Song Wentong was clearly in a foul mood. "That brat Old Fifth only knows how to cause trouble."
"And yet you've raised him like your own son," Mu Gesheng teased. "Maybe later you can have Old Fifth find a godmother in Guanshan Yue; you'd be getting a real bargain."
"Would it kill you to talk a little less?"
Sandwiched between them, Chai Shuxin listened to the two bicker back and forth, gaining a sense of Wu Zixu’s daily life. Just as the two seemed ready to come to blows, the sound of water drifted from the distance.
It wasn't the sound of dripping or a babbling brook, but the slow, massive flow of a great river.
The long staircase came to an abrupt end. The three stepped onto level ground, and Mu Gesheng pointed into the distance. "That's the Wangchuan."
The great river flowed slowly, dotted with green lanterns and drifting shadows.
Mu Gesheng noticed Chai Shuxin’s gaze. "Is this your first time in Fengdu, Sanjiutian?"
"Yes."
"Usually, those going for reincarnation follow the Wangchuan," Mu Gesheng pointed ahead. "Up there is the Ghost Gate, which is also the city gate of Fengdu. The Wangchuan River flows through the city, and the palaces of the Ten Kings of Hell are situated along it in sequence. Ordinary people entering Fengdu follow the river from start to finish, undergoing judgment at each stage. Finally, they drink Meng Po’s Soup before the Tenth Hall, cross the Bridge of Helplessness, and enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation after the final verdict."
"Fengdu is a massive city. Aside from the Ten Halls of the Kings of Hell on the central axis, the other districts are similar to towns in the living world. Various ghosts, gods, and spectral officials live there, along with those who died prematurely and wandering ghost immortals. Though the night is endless, it remains incredibly bustling."
Song Wentong paused, as if just remembering something. "Today is the fifteenth."
"Right, I almost forgot," Mu Gesheng realized as well. "Midnight has passed; it should be the sixteenth now."
Chai Shuxin looked at them. "What's happening?"
"Nothing much, we just happened to catch a great spectacle," Mu Gesheng laughed. "At the end of the fifteenth and the start of the sixteenth, a hundred ghosts emerge from the Wangchuan—we've made it just in time for the Wangchuan Ghost Market."
The Wangchuan had several branches within Fengdu. One of them flowed past the Sansheng District and the Bureau of Underworld Law, one of the most prosperous areas in Fengdu. A Ghost Market opened every first and fifteenth of the lunar month, but the market wasn't held on the riverbanks; instead, it consisted of a cluster of boats and barges floating on the Wangchuan itself.
The three walked onto the pier. Mu Gesheng rented a boat and tossed the oar to Song Wentong. He fiddled with a Mountain Ghost Flower Coin in his hand. "Set sail, row forward."
The sound of the sculling oar was distant and rhythmic. The river was crowded with boats joined end to end, creating an extraordinary bustle. A lotus lantern hung from the prow of every vessel.
"The lotus lanterns of the Ghost Market are all different; different colors signify different businesses," Mu Gesheng explained. "Red lanterns deal in wealth; you can buy with gold. White lanterns deal in Underworld business; you can only use ghost notes or incense. Green lanterns deal in the most unusual trades, requiring one to exchange lifespan or cultivation." As he spoke, he had Song Wentong stop the boat and bought a mask from a small vessel hanging a red lantern. It was a fox mask with upturned eyes.
Mu Gesheng put on the mask and gave Chai Shuxin a grin that looked like a painted skin. "Do you want one?"
"No need," Chai Shuxin said. "Why the mask?"
"Because he has too many enemies here," Song Wentong snorted. "The first time Old Fourth entered Fengdu, it was also during a Ghost Market. This guy started gambling and won nearly half the market, offending about half the people in Fengdu in the process. He ended up being wanted across the whole city. There are still storybooks about him in the Fengdu teahouses."
"Why?" Although Chai Shuxin didn't gamble, he knew that one should accept their losses. Being hunted just for winning too much seemed excessively overbearing.
"Because he is a disciple of the Tiansuan Sect," Song Wentong said. "With the Mountain Ghost Flower Coins, his calculations are infallible. He knows how to win even with his eyes closed."
"Don't just focus on insulting me; you had a part in it too." Mu Gesheng had bought a bowl of something unknown and was eating as he spoke. "Back then, when I was the banker, the collateral I put up was your Red-Licking Blade."
Chai Shuxin looked at the bowl in Mu Gesheng’s hand, which gave off an eerie green glow. "...What is that?"
"Long-life Soup. The base is made of Meng Po’s Soup, mixed with green lotus seeds from the Wangchuan." Mu Gesheng finished it with a loud slurp. "Though this is a 'black shop'—the sign says all that, but it's actually just lotus seeds boiled in plain water. Quite sweet, though. Hey, Old Second, take a turn. I want to go eat the jelly at Ghost Granny’s stall."
"Eat my ass. Hurry up and find where Old Fifth is."
"He's at Ghost Granny’s jelly stall."
The jelly stall Mu Gesheng mentioned was on a large barge, filled with numerous vendors and brightly lit. There were variety performances on the boat; a young girl with twin buns was contorting her body, juggling two flower balls on a stack of twelve tables. With her white face and vermilion lips, it was impossible to tell if she was human or ghost. A large crowd had gathered around, also indistinguishable as humans or ghosts, all cheering loudly.
Mu Gesheng was holding a bowl of jelly, but before he could take a bite, Song Wentong grabbed him by the collar and hauled him out of the crowd. The latter sounded like he was about to explode. "All you think about is eating! I've looked everywhere—where is Old Fifth?"
"It's rare to see you have a day where your eyesight fails you." Mu Gesheng pointed. "Isn't he right there?"
The two looked where Mu Gesheng was pointing. Not far away was a large table laden with food. Beside the table, a "feather duster" was feasting greedily. The thing looked like a cross between a human and a chicken, with a head of garish, multicolored feathers, devouring the food like a whirlwind. A sign stood by the table, displaying eight bright characters: *Variety Show: The Starving Ghost’s Meal.*
It was no wonder Song Wentong hadn't recognized him at first. Zhu Yinxio had not yet fully transformed; he had barely managed a toddler’s form, yet he was covered in messy feathers. It was hard to say if he was a human draped in chicken feathers or a chicken draped in human skin. He had likely been captured as some sort of freakish specimen and tossed among a group of monsters and ghosts, looking like a bizarre, low-quality filler act.
Chai Shuxin: "..."
A dignified Star Child, begging for food at a Ghost Market under the title of a Starving Ghost—this was truly a "proud" moment.
"He must have been starving, since he didn't get dinner," Mu Gesheng watched with amusement. "The place Old Fifth got kidnapped to isn't bad; they provide room and board."
"Working for the people who sold him—is there anyone stupider?" Song Wentong was furious. "At home, his pickiness reached the heavens. Is this stuff better than what I cook?"
The focus of these two was entirely wrong. Chai Shuxin had to speak up to remind them: "Gentlemen, the priority is to take the Star Child away. This matter must be—" Before he could finish, a fierce gale erupted from the ground, whistling as it swept through. Half the variety stalls were overturned in an instant. When everyone regained their senses, they saw Song Wentong standing in the center of the ruins, blade in hand, holding a chicken-leg-munching Zhu Yinxio by the scruff of his neck.
"—handled discreetly," Chai Shuxin finished his sentence.
The crowd instantly erupted. "Who is this? How dare he wreck a stall at the Ghost Market?"
"I can't tell his origin... is he alive or dead?"
"His face is prettier than a woman's. That skin would fetch a good price..."
"Old Second has never known the meaning of discretion. When we caused a scene in Fengdu years ago, we could have waited for Old Third to mediate, but this guy insisted on drawing his blade and hacking through half the city's ghost guards." Mu Gesheng finished his jelly and wiped his mouth. "Don't just stand there. Get ready to fight."
"You're going to join in?"
"Wrecking a stall at the Ghost Market means this won't end peacefully. But since they kidnapped Old Fifth first, we're in the right to hit them..." Mu Gesheng had just rolled up his sleeves when the crowd parted. The girl who had been juggling balls stepped forward. "Which family's brat are you, to dare break ground on this Grand Duke's head?"
Mu Gesheng’s expression changed instantly. He grabbed Chai Shuxin and took a step back. "Let's go, let's go. We're not fighting this one."
Chai Shuxin had already pulled off half a glove. "Why?"
"The Grand Duke is a lord, and beauties bring calamity. I don't know this girl, but there is only one figure in Fengdu who dares call themselves 'Grand Duke'—the Great Lord Wu Nie." Mu Gesheng shook his head repeatedly. "Can't provoke her, definitely can't provoke her. If I fight her, Master will scold me to death when I get back."
"Is this lady an old acquaintance of the Master?"
"Not exactly an acquaintance; she's hundreds of years older than Master." Mu Gesheng said, "Her surname is Wu, her name is Wu Nie. She's from the Yin-Yang Sect. She settled in Fengdu over nine hundred years ago and is one of the highest-ranking elders of the current Wu clan. She's also Old Third's great-great-great-grandmother's... dammit, I can't count that far. Anyway, she's Old Third's ancestor from eighteen generations back. We can't offend her." As Mu Gesheng spoke, he moved forward to stop the confrontation, only to see Wu Nie walk up to Song Wentong. Just as she was about to speak, Zhu Yinxio suddenly doubled over and—*blegh*—vomited all over her.
He had turned this absolutely untouchable Grand Duke into a stench-ridden spittoon.
It was over. There was no saving this.
Mu Gesheng grabbed Chai Shuxin, turned around, and bolted.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 酆都 | Fengdu | The capital of the Ghost Realm/Underworld. |
| 忘川 | Wangchuan | The River of Forgetfulness (similar to the Styx). |
| 山鬼花钱 | Mountain Ghost Flower Coin | A type of numismatic charm used for divination and protection. |
| 星宿子 | Star Child | A title for Zhu Yinxio, referring to his status as a celestial being (Vermilion Bird). |
| 阴阳梯 | Yin-Yang Stairs | The mystical path connecting the living world and the Underworld. |
| 小天灯 | Little Sky Lantern | A Mo Sect tool used to mask the yang energy of living humans. |
| 鬼门关 | Ghost Gate | The entrance to the Underworld. |
| 孟婆汤 | Meng Po’s Soup | The soup of forgetfulness given to souls before reincarnation. |
| 奈何桥 | Bridge of Helplessness | The bridge over the Wangchuan River. |
| 鬼集 | Ghost Market | A spectral bazaar held on specific lunar dates. |
| 三生坊 | Sansheng District | A prosperous district in Fengdu. |
| 阴律司 | Bureau of Underworld Law | The administrative office responsible for spectral justice. |
| 舐红刀 | Red-Licking Blade | Song Wentong's ancient divine weapon. |
| 长命汤 | Long-life Soup | A street food in Fengdu made from Meng Po's soup and lotus seeds. |
| 太岁 | Grand Duke | A powerful deity/spirit; here used as a title for a formidable elder. |
| 乌孽 | Wu Nie | An ancient ancestor of the Wu family (Yin-Yang Sect) living in Fengdu. |
