Chapter 138: Leaving the Black River Prison

With that, the eighty or ninety ghost soldiers near Wei Xiaoping and the two Nether Hounds surrounded him, grabbing him and pushing him toward the bank of the Black Water River. The two Nether Hounds understood Wei Xiaoping’s intentions; they feared that if he saw Ghost King Gaoyang and his forces struggling against the Wolf-Lion Beast Ghost King, he would run back to help, thereby missing their window to return to the mortal realm. Thus, they joined the ghost soldiers in pushing him toward the shore.

The Wolf-Lion Beast Ghost King heard Wei Xiaoping instructing Ghost King Gaoyang on how to kill it. Initially, it had been focused solely on chasing them, forgetting that more and more ghost soldiers were swarming over its body. It now noticed the increasing number of spirits crawling over its head, with some even reaching out to claw at its eyes. It also saw Wei Xiaoping being pushed toward the bank by the dozens of soldiers and his two hounds.

Seeing Wei Xiaoping about to reach the shore, the Wolf-Lion Beast Ghost King roared in desperation. It thrashed its head violently, ignoring the ghosts clinging to its body, and lunged forward with renewed fury. At this moment, the beast was still about a hundred meters away.

Under normal circumstances, reaching the shore would have been easy; a single leap would have sufficed. However, Wei Xiaoping, seeing how formidable the beast was, feared that Ghost King Gaoyang and his men would be unable to defeat it. He wanted to stay and help, but the ghost soldiers and the two hounds continued to shove him toward safety. Caught between his desire to fight and their determination to ensure his departure, the struggle delayed him, allowing the Wolf-Lion Beast Ghost King to close the distance.

Watching the commotion, Ghost King Gaoyang thought to himself: "I never expected this young man to be so stubborn for the sake of loyalty! When I was in the mortal realm, I was so selfish; I killed my own brother for the throne—how shameful. My character is so base, yet I have been blessed with such a loyal brother. This life has been enough. For the sake of this brother, I will never let him die for me!"

Ghost King Gaoyang shouted in agitation, "Brother Xiaoping, there is no time left! Get to the shore! If you do not leave and miss your chance to return to the mortal realm, I will regret it for causing your delay. I would kill myself; otherwise, I would never forgive myself for the rest of my ghostly existence! If you do not go now, I will let this beast devour me, and you will live with the regret of my death forever!"

Hearing this, Wei Xiaoping felt a lump in his throat and a surge of complex emotions. Unable to find words, he cupped his hands in a gesture of farewell to the Ghost King and the soldiers. "Brother Gaoyang, brothers, take care—" With tears streaming down his face, he took a mighty leap toward the bank.

The Nether Hounds, Ma Laoda and Niu Dahua, also gazed at the Ghost King and the soldiers with tearful eyes for a moment before letting out loud howls and leaping toward the shore.

Seeing them finally take flight, Ghost King Gaoyang wept openly. "Brother Xiaoping, be careful on your journey in the mortal world! When you return, send me a dream to tell me you arrived safely! Nether Hounds, protect him well; do not let him be harmed by man or beast!"

In the blink of an eye, Wei Xiaoping and the hounds soared dozens of fathoms into the air. Suddenly, Wei Xiaoping’s head brushed against something thick, like a massive spiderweb. It offered slight resistance, but the momentum of his ascent instantly tore through it.

Immediately, the point of impact erupted with supernaturally bright white light, followed by a roar like thunder. Using the flash, Wei Xiaoping looked ahead to see nothing but barren mountains and desolate yellow earth. The light vanished as quickly as it had appeared, plunging his vision into darkness as his body landed on hard ground.

The two Nether Hounds followed, breaking through the same barrier. The brief burst of light allowed them to see the barren landscape and Wei Xiaoping standing there, staring blankly ahead. Ma Laoda and Niu Dahua landed close by.

"Ma Laoda, Niu Dahua, did you make it up?" Wei Xiaoping asked upon hearing the thud of their landing.

"General, we are here too!" Ma Laoda replied.

"Where are you? Where is this? Why is it so pitch black?" Wei Xiaoping asked.

"We have reached the mortal realm," Niu Dahua said. Being hounds, they could see in the dark and moved toward him.

"We are back? Why is it darker here than in the Black Water River? Have we fallen into another ghostly prison?" Wei Xiaoping wondered, waving his hands in the darkness.

The hounds moved closer so he could touch them. "General, we are in the mortal realm," they reassured him. "It is the dead of night. The moon has set, and clouds cover the stars, making the darkness absolute. Furthermore, you are currently in your spirit form, which cannot endure the sunlight of the day. We have returned just in time! In a few hours, dawn will break. We must hurry so you can return to your physical body before the sun rises."

"I see, it is simply the middle of the night," Wei Xiaoping said, his spirits lifting. Then, remembering the events in the Black Water prison, he grew somber. "I never imagined I would find such a loyal brother as Ghost King Gaoyang. He sent me away with such honor, while I left him behind in danger." He choked back tears.

The hounds hesitated before speaking. "Ghost King Gaoyang is indeed a man of honor. It is your fortune to have found such a brother. But our time is short; if we had stayed to fight that beast, we might not have succeeded, and we risked being captured and forced to bring it to the mortal realm, which would be a grave sin."

"It is precisely because the beast is so cruel that I fear it will vent its rage on Brother Gaoyang if it cannot capture us," Wei Xiaoping fretted. "A ghost king so desperate to escape is the most dangerous kind."

"General, worrying will not change anything," Niu Dahua said. "We are separated by the realms of life and death. We must move on."

Ma Laoda agreed. "Indeed, General. If you miss the time to return to your body, you may never return at all. Brother Gaoyang entrusted us with your safety; do not let his sacrifice be in vain."

"But if something happened to him because of me, what good is my return?"

"General," Ma Laoda insisted, "we must move forward."

"Very well. Ma Laoda, do you know the way to the Qingfeng Kingdom? It is too dark for me to see, and I have never been here before."

"Do not worry, General. We know the way. Just sit on my back," Ma Laoda said, crouching down.

Wei Xiaoping mounted the hound. "Hold onto the iron chain around my neck and sit tight," Ma Laoda instructed. "It is the hour of the Tiger; we must return before it ends. Time is of the essence."

Just then, a glow like rosy clouds appeared in the distance, drifting toward them. It stopped a few yards away, and an old man with a full beard, dressed in the robes of a judge, stepped out.

"Yama? Yama, forgive us for not recognizing your arrival!" The two Nether Hounds immediately knelt.

Hearing that the old man was the King of Hell, Wei Xiaoping quickly knelt as well.