Following after the reaper, Hui looked around. The Underworld stretched all around them, an enormous dark cave filled with souls. Some wandered aimlessly through the air or ran along the ground, as if searching for something. A few drifted, unable to move themselves. One or two flickered, fluttering at the edges as if broken.

“Elder Sister, what are these?” Hui asked. This doesn’t seem to be punishment or Nirvana, so… what are these souls doing?

“These are souls outside the cycle of reincarnation. Some of them are disparate souls, and lack the capacity of reincarnation until the rest of their pieces materialize… or until they fade away. Others refused Meng Po’s soup, or refused to reincarnate. Some simply haven’t found their way.” She gazed over the field, then shrugged. “There’s more like this on the other side of the Sanzu. Zhu Diyu forcibly moved these ones to this side a hundred years ago, hoping it might progress them toward reincarnation and prevent them from accidentally returning to the world as ghosts, but it doesn’t seem to have accomplished much.”

“Ah,” Hui said, nodding. How pitiful.

The reaper looked at him from the corner of her eyes. “Don’t pity them too much. You’re in the same state, aren’t you?”

“That’s true,” Hui said, nodding. And not only that, but I have to work, too! Come to think of it, I’m the pitiful one here. He snorted at himself and shook his head. No, no. I still have my wits, and I seem to be in better shape than these souls. I won’t be envious of them.

He looked at the reaper. “Are we going to the surface?”

She rolled her eyes. “Not this quickly. We need to get your sword, first.”

“Er, I’m not good with swords…” Hui said, biting his lip.

“You can pick a different kind of weapon, if you prefer,” she said.

“I’m not good with weapons…” Hui said.

The reaper stared at him. “Are you a cultivator?”

“Yes!”

“Then how are you not good with weapons?” she asked.

Hui licked his lips. “I’m… I’m a magical techniques-using cultivator! Talismans, not swords!”

The reaper sighed. “We’ll find you something. That Zhu Diyu, giving me such a troublesome newbie..."

"Elder Sister, you’ve watched me for this long and you don’t know that I can’t use swords well?” Hui asked playfully.

“You’ve encountered me this many times and don’t know my name?” the reaper returned, arching a brow.

“I’ve asked!” Hui said, putting his hands up.

“In any case, I was busy with real work. I didn’t have time to sit around and watch you all the time,” the reaper said.

“Ah, that’s right. What, precisely, do reapers do?” Hui asked, putting a finger on the side of his face.

“Reap,” the reaper said flatly.

Hui stared at her.

The reaper grinned. “Most souls automatically enter the cycle of reincarnation, and need no assistance. Our job is to attend to the souls that don’t come willingly. The ones that fight back, or have an overpowerful attraction to life. We can’t catch them all, which is why so many death cultivators, ghouls, and ghosts roam the lands, but we try to stop the worst of them. The ones that could change the order of the world, upset karma, or fundamentally alter the cycle of reincarnation.”

“Powerful souls, then?” Hui asked.

“You counted,” the reaper said, leveling him with a stare.

“Ah, so not powerful souls, necessarily,” Hui said, nodding.

“Significant souls,” the reaper stressed. “Zhu Diyu can foresee the paths karma might take. If the soul might alter karma from its expected path… then we’re sent to reap it.”

“Oh. Eh, but then… Elder Sister let me go a great many times. Is that not—”

The reaper waved her hand. “Zhu Diyu took an interest in you. I was set to monitor you for his own interest.”

Hui frowned. “So Elder Sister was a stalker by proxy?”

She blinked at him. After a beat, she laughed aloud. “You’re incredibly bold for a coward!”

“Ah, well, I’ve been saved by my tongue before,” Hui admitted. He glanced at the ground and kicked at a bit of dust. “Er, but… I should be more careful. I have a bit of a heart-demon.”

“That isn’t a heart-demon. It’s confidence,” the reaper returned flatly.

“Dangerous stuff,” Hui said.

Ahead, a complex of buildings stood, constructed from the same stone that stretched in all directions to the point that they nearly blended into the cave’s distant walls. Each building had a sloped roof and boxy walls, with no decorations anywhere in sight. Ghostly lanterns burned in their hollow windows, flickering away. The entire manor had a spartan demeanor. Nothing extra. Nothing added. Simple buildings in a simple arrangement.

Hui frowned. Even the poorest sect would have a nicer manor than this. Is this all that the Underworld has to offer?

No, no. I’m sure Zhu Diyu stays somewhere else. This must be the workers’ accommodations. Hui shook his head, but then paused. Master’s peak only had a hut. I can’t really look down on this. It’s actually a pretty nice building, all in all.

Ghosts flickered around the manor, rushing here and there. Unlike the ghosts drifting in the field, however, these ghosts moved with purpose. Some carried linens or tea, and all wore the same simple uniform.

Hui glanced at the reaper. “These ghosts… they’re servants?”

The reaper nodded. “Ghosts remain because they have strong desires, but not all ghosts can act on those desires… or necessarily remember what they want. Those who have not satisfied their desires and do not wish to become evil ghosts in the mortal realm can come here and act as servants until they give up on their desires and move on to the next life.”

Hui blinked. “Eh, is that… you and me?”

She snorted lightly. “You live up to your name, sometimes. Yes. We’re in the same situation. We’re merely fortunate enough that Lord Zhu Diyu has seen fit to give us more privileged roles.”

Everything in the Underworld moves at Zhu Diyu’s whims. The only thing that stands between me and those servants is his favor. Hui frowned. It’s a feudal society, but… it doesn’t mean I like it. Being pressured like this… I spent my entire first life under someone’s thumb like this. No… even if I have a privileged role, I can’t stay here forever. Not that I want to be a reaper. I don’t. Nor do I want to be dead. Very much the opposite! But… it certainly kills any interest I might have had in remaining here.

This is a reminder to not lose sight of my goals. I want to escape this place and return to the mortal realm as soon as possible. I can’t forget that.

He nodded to himself. “Thank you for reminding me of that, Elder Sister.”

She gestured him on. As she walked, she pointed to one of the smaller buildings, one split neatly in two. “Our quarters are here. I’m on the left, you’re on the right. You won’t spend much time here, but this is where you can rest if you need to.”

Turning, she pointed at a much larger apartment-like building, standing three or four stories tall. “This is where the clerks live.”

“The clerks?” Hui asked.

“The ones who investigate souls and report on their lives,” the reaper explained.

Hui looked up at the imposingly large building. “That sounds awful.”

The reaper snorted. “I wouldn’t want that life. Though I believe the clerks share that opinion about our job.”

“Are they cultivators, too?” Hui asked, curious.

“Some were. Some are officials from various imperial courts, or merely commoners with some skill with letters. As long as the clerks are willing to work diligently, Zhu Diyu doesn’t discriminate,” she said. She gazed up at the building, watching the ghost flames dance in the lanterns. “Most people don’t keep their cultivation after they die. Even I had to build back up after death. You… are a bit unique.”

Hui looked at her profile. “I’m a dead soul who was implanted in a living body, right? This whole time, I’ve been neither alive nor dead. But because I cultivated my soul alongside my body, I can retain my cultivation here.”

“Perhaps it’s more correct to say you were both alive and dead,” the reaper refuted him. “But… yes.”

Hui touched his chest. “Earlier, I sensed my soul inside myself. I’m… not a soul, in other words. Am I in a body? What’s happening?”

“It took you a while to ask. We reapers can interfere with the mortal world, in however limited a capacity. Thus, we require bodies of a sort, or else, as souls wandering the mortal world, we would quickly become ghosts.” She touched her chest. “These bodies are constructs of Zhu Diyu’s making. Stone for flesh. Sanzu River water for blood. The cold wind of the Underworld for breath.”

Our bodies are tied to the Underworld, then. Hui patted his chest self-consciously. If I want to escape, I’m gonna need a new body. Again.

I wonder if I can use the lotus clone technique in this form? Ah! Not to make new clones. I need to let my soul rest and heal. But to create a new single body for myself. It’s possible, right? Well, maybe once I get to the mortal world…

The reaper sighed. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Eh? What does Elder Sister mean?” Hui asked innocently.

She shook her head at him and gestured him on. “The armory is this way.”

“Ah, Elder Sister. When I became a drowned ghost earlier, does the body not prevent that?” Hui asked.

The reaper shook her head. “In the first place, these bodies have no specific appearance. They only appear the way you conceive of yourself looking. If you decide that you’re a drowned ghost, then the body will adapt—”

Adapt? Hui looked at the reaper, then imagined himself as the reaper.

The reaper stared at herself. She cocked an eyebrow.

Hui grinned back, quickly thinking about his ordinary appearance. The body reverted to his usual look. “Elder Sister, these bodies are incredibly flexible. I like them, I like them a lot!”

The reaper sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “It’s dangerous to do that. You might forget yourself in the disguise. You should only use that technique in emergencies.”

“Eh, Elder Sister, you know me. I’d probably feel uncomfortable if I wasn’t able to quickly disguise myself,” Hui said, scratching his cheek.

“You still have your techniques. Why not use that snakeskin technique of yours?” she suggested.

“Ah, I could, but…” Hui hesitated. “My cultivation is still… I need some time to meditate and recover.”

“Use that first,” the reaper ordered. She turned away, flicking her hair.

Hui hurried after her. “Of course, of course!”