After his exhaustive search yielded no results, Leng Jing remained empty-handed. Though he had soared through the heavens, delved into the earth, and plunged into the seas, he could not detect even a trace of Leng Qingqing’s aura. In his disappointment, he decided his only recourse was to venture into the Netherworld to inspect the Book of Life and Death and uncover Leng Qingqing’s exact whereabouts.
However, the Netherworld was a realm of myth and mystery, having little contact with the Celestial Realm. Even the methods of reaching it were a subject of debate among the immortals. Legend had it that the Soul Reapers of Hell would come to collect a soul just before a creature’s death. After making inquiries, Leng Jing learned from an ancient dragon that the Dragon Race possessed a site known as the Dragon’s Tomb, where the corpses of deceased dragons were taken for burial. It was said that the Soul Reapers would visit the tomb to escort the dragon souls away. Perhaps by going there, he could find a way into the Netherworld.
Overjoyed, Leng Jing immediately flew to the Dragon’s Tomb in the far west. It was a steep cliff overlooking the sea, perpetually shrouded in dark clouds, with turbulent, crashing waves below—a truly magnificent sight.
The broad summit of the cliff was littered with massive ruins and countless dragon bones, clearly the final resting place of the Dragon Race. In the center of the tomb was a patch of level ground. Leng Jing spread out a piece of silk he had brought, weighing down the four corners with stones. Then, he transformed into a white dragon and lay down on his back, four legs in the air, pretending to be a dragon corpse.
But when would the Soul Reapers arrive? There was no set time. Leng Jing persisted in playing dead, waiting and waiting.
He waited for seven full days.
On this day, as usual, Leng Jing first caught some sea fish and crabs to eat. Once full, he returned to his spot to resume playing dead. Finally, a turning point arrived. While he was fast asleep, he heard the faint clinking of iron chains nearby. Peeking through narrowed eyes, he saw two Soul Reapers—one in black and one in white—with chains wrapped around their waists, approaching to harvest a soul.
The two Soul Reapers reached him. The Black Reaper remarked, "A young dragon died this time. What a pity."
The White Reaper shook his head. "Who cares? Just get the chains on him and let's go. I have a card game to catch. That Ox-Head fellow invited me to play today and even offered his ghost-bride as collateral. I can't be late. Hurry up, hurry up!"
Without further ado, the two hurried Soul Reapers threw the iron chain around Leng Jing’s neck, attempting to hook his soul out.
However, after pulling for a long time, they met with no success. They found it strange—how could there be no soul? Unless the dragon’s soul had dissipated before they arrived. These low-level Soul Reapers did not recognize Leng Jing, nor had they been granted access to the *Anti-Jing Manual* reserved for the higher-ups. Thus, they were utterly bewildered.
"I am already a soul," Leng Jing said, opening his eyes, irritated by these two dawdling fellows. "My corpse has already turned into dragon bone; it's right over there."
"Oh!" The two Soul Reapers realized their 'mistake' and began dragging Leng Jing away, floating toward the barrier of the Netherworld.
***
They drifted through the sky until they reached the corner of the world where heaven and earth blurred in the west. Beside the Pillar of Heaven, the Soul Reapers chanted an incantation, and an illusory, dark barrier gate appeared before them. They shoved Leng Jing through, and inside lay the outer entrance to the Netherworld.
The world of the Netherworld was indeed thick with yin energy, perpetually shrouded in black storms. A winding, long river led directly to the Capital of the Dead. Its waters were dark and turbid. The Soul Reapers, floating in mid-air, told Leng Jing that this dismal river was the Yellow Springs.
Soon, they descended at the entrance of the Yellow Springs. A long bridge with many branching paths spanned the river—this was the Bridge of Helplessness. Many souls were lined up to cross. An old woman stood at the reincarnation fork of the bridge, handing out a peculiar noodle soup. This was the Soup of Oblivion, and the old woman was clearly Lady Meng.
"I can't forget! I still can't forget!!" a soul standing beside the old woman shouted raucously, causing a stir among the other ghosts waiting for their soup.
"Shut up!" the old woman screamed, nearly breaking into a curse.
Several Soul Reapers finally seized the troublemaking soul and hurriedly apologized to Lady Meng. Lady Meng huffed, "Why is it this man again? Wasn't he sent to the Hell of Tongue-Ripping? How did he manage to sneak out and cause trouble again and again?"
A Soul Reaper said sheepishly, "The Warden had a birthday these past few days, and the brothers had a few too many drinks, giving him the chance to slip out. Our apologies, Lady Meng. In life, this man worked in advertising for humans, specifically selling health supplements. He still has some muddled memories of his past life and keeps coming here to bother you! Please, calm your anger..."
At that moment, the soul began to shout again, "Even after drinking Meng Po's soup, I just can't forget! This holiday season, don't accept gifts; if you do, make sure it's Meng Po's soup~ Hey, once you drink Meng Po's soup, you just can't forget~ Can't forget~~ Don't pull me, I'm just expanding the promotion~"
And so, the noisy fellow was finally shoved away.
Both the Soul Reapers and Leng Jing were left speechless. Wiping sweat from his brow, a Soul Reaper said to Leng Jing, "You need to go to the Spirit Judgment Platform to wait for your verdict—to see if your sins merit Hell or if you may enter reincarnation. Let's go!"
They led Leng Jing across the Bridge of Helplessness, through layers of black pavilions, to a grand hall. This was the place where deceased spirit beasts were judged, called the Spirit Judgment Platform. Upon entering, Leng Jing saw that many were already there. He took his numbered tally and found a place to wait.
"I've been waiting for eight hundred years, and they still haven't given me a verdict!" an old Qilin was leading a group of spirit beast ghosts. They wore headbands that read "Death is Certain" and held signs in protest.
"We want a verdict! We want reincarnation! Protest the Netherworld's inaction!!" the other old dragons, phoenixes, and Qilins shouted in unison.
It seemed that due to the massive workload, the Netherworld's ability to attend to these spirit beasts was a matter of time.
An old dragon even shoved a protest sign into Leng Jing’s hand, pulling him into the demonstration. Thus, Leng Jing inexplicably joined the grand procession of the spirit beast protest group.
This protest gained the support of other ghosts who had been stranded in the Netherworld without proper arrangements. As they marched, the crowd grew longer and longer, eventually reaching the highest authority of the Netherworld—the Hall of the Wheel of Reincarnation. The old Qilin held his sign high and shouted slogans, demanding that the Yama King and the Magistrates inside come out to give them justice.
At that very moment, the high officials within the Hall of the Wheel of Reincarnation were relaying supreme instructions regarding the distribution of the *Anti-Jing Manual*. They emphasized the need to implement the "Anti-Jing" tasks thoroughly, treating it as the top priority for the near future, and coordinating with other high-level officials across the Three Realms to achieve perfection in their "Anti-Jing" efforts. They then distributed a copy of the manual to everyone and organized the officials to study its detailed rules.
Just then, a Soul Reaper reported to the Yama King, "Your Majesty, those old spirit beast fellows are making trouble again!"
The Yama King said displeasedly, "Can't you see we're busy? Tell them to get lost!"
"But Your Majesty, they're being quite fierce this time. What if we can't suppress them?" the Soul Reaper said with a bitter face.
"Arrest them all and throw them into the Prison of Reflection for reform!" the Magistrate ordered.
The Soul Reaper took the command and deployed more men to seize the rioting old spirit beasts.
The two sides engaged in a chaotic brawl and standoff outside the hall. The leading old Qilin balanced a large Netherworld-specialty watermelon on his head and led a vanguard of elderly spirit beasts. Relying on years of experience dealing with Soul Reapers, they actually broke through the combat lines and charged straight into the inner council chamber—and, naturally, the bewildered Leng Jing followed them in, also inexplicably balancing a watermelon on his head.
"Aaaaaah! Yama! This old man will fight you to the end!" The old Qilin, watermelon on head and "Death is Certain" bandeau tied around his brow, charged in screaming. Before the high officials and Magistrates could react, the Qilin and his followers hurled their watermelons, splattering the Yama King’s face and head.
"You old fossil!!! Have you gone mad!!!" The Yama King flew into a rage, and another melee ensued. Eventually, the old Qilins were dragged away by the Soul Reapers who rushed in.
However, during the chaos, Leng Jing—still with a watermelon on his head—spied a stack of *Anti-Jing Manuals* on a table. While everyone else was fighting, he flipped through the book that was "absolutely forbidden for Leng Jing to see," page by page.
"Evil," Leng Jing spat out, his voice cold as ice.
Instantly, the atmosphere in the hall froze.
Only then did the crowd notice the presence of this young man.
"Damn it, this is truly too evil," Leng Jing said. As he spoke his second sentence, the Magistrates retreated in terror, and the Yama King began to scrutinize Leng Jing with a suspicious expression.
The more he looked, the more cold sweat broke out on the Yama King’s forehead. This youth—from his features to the smallest details, his brow, his eyes, his aura—was identical to the Leng Jing described in the *Anti-Jing Manual*... the resemblance was uncanny!
"May I ask your esteemed name?" the Yama King ventured, cupping his hands.
"Leng Jing." Leng Jing’s gaze turned frigid, enough to freeze a man solid.
Suddenly—
The ensuing scene was far too violent and bloody. For the sake of the physical and mental health of the young readers, the author will refrain from further description.
In short, after Leng Jing’s fury was spent, most of the Netherworld’s buildings had collapsed due to intense lightning strikes. The air was thick with the smell of scorched earth. Had the inhabitants not already been dead ghosts, there would surely have been corpses everywhere. As it was, everyone was charred black. Reports kept coming in from the deeper levels of Hell, asking if the higher-ups had reformed all punishments into lightning strikes.
Fortunately, the blackened Yama King managed to offer Leng Jing a reliable explanation. He remained polite, cupping his hands with a forced smile. "Exalted Immortal, please calm your anger. Regarding the matter of the Snake God, King Leng Qingqing, there is still room for maneuver. Please look at the last page of the manual."
Leng Jing flipped to the final page and saw it was covered in dense writing. The Yama King explained, "It describes the method to restore King Leng Qingqing. Although his memories are temporarily sealed and he has been turned into a mortal, as long as you find him and make him truly fall in love with you, the seal’s shackles will be broken. However, if this is not accomplished within one year, King Leng Qingqing will remain a mortal forever."
"How do I find him?" Leng Jing asked.
"Exalted Immortal, the book states that both you and King Leng Qingqing are protected by Dragon Seals. As long as he is within three feet of you, your Dragon Seal will react. To my knowledge, King Leng Qingqing last disappeared in the southeast. If you follow that lead, you should find something! My Netherworld barrier is weak; it truly cannot withstand any more of your 'affection'!" The Yama King bowed deeply to him.
"If that is the case, I shall try. If we are fated, then it is destiny, and he cannot escape; if we are not, then I cannot force it." Leng Jing’s voice fell, and he chanted, "To the heavens above and the Yellow Springs below, in both vast realms, he is nowhere to be found. Today, I swear an oath: Leng Jing shall find the snake’s trail!"
With a long whistle, he instantly transformed into a streak of light and roared away.
Once Leng Jing was gone, the Yama King collapsed onto the ground, unable to get up for a long time. The Magistrates were also sprawled about, so charred that one could not be distinguished from another.
Meanwhile, the blackened group of elderly spirit beasts took advantage of the chaos to escape the Soul Reapers. They reached the fork of the Reincarnation Bridge, stepped over the unconscious Lady Meng—who had been blasted black by Leng Jing’s lightning—and ran cheering toward the Hall of Reincarnation.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 龙之冢 | Dragon's Tomb | A burial ground for the Dragon Race. |
| 鬼差 | Soul Reaper | Also known as Ghost Messengers; subordinates in the Netherworld. |
| 黄泉 | Yellow Springs | The river of the dead, similar to the Styx. |
| 奈何桥 | Bridge of Helplessness | The bridge souls cross to reach reincarnation. |
| 孟婆 | Lady Meng | The old woman who serves the soup of oblivion. |
| 孟婆汤 | Soup of Oblivion | Also known as Meng Po's Soup; makes souls forget their past lives. |
| 审灵台 | Spirit Judgment Platform | Where deceased spirits are judged. |
| 转轮殿 | Hall of the Wheel of Reincarnation | The administrative center for reincarnation in the Netherworld. |
| 阎王 | Yama King | The King of Hell/Netherworld. |
| 判官 | Magistrate | Judges who assist the Yama King. |
| 防净手册 | Anti-Jing Manual | A manual created by the immortals to trick or manage Leng Jing. |
| 龙印 | Dragon Seal | A mystical mark or protection inherent to the Dragon Race. |
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