Bare minutes after he’d been rudely ripped from the surface, Hui stepped back into the mortal world, raising a hand to squint against the sunlight. I feel like a yo-yo, zipping back and forth between the realms… but then, I’ve only got myself to blame. If I hadn’t been up exploring the mortal realm… no. If I hadn’t died in the first place, I wouldn’t have to worry about the Underworld.

Ahhh, dammit. I’m still annoyed that I died. It was so easy to accept death back when I was dying, but now that I’m dead, I hate it! I want to be alive, thanks. No thanks to this unpaid, all-hours job! I can’t even cultivate in peace without Elder Sister interrupting me. I can’t sneak out in peace, either! Always being interrupted by Elder Sister… ugh. I want to be alive again. I need to reverse my death already!

Death… reversal…

“We’re here,” the reaper said.

“Huh?” Hui asked. He turned in a slow circle. But… there’s nothing here.

They stood in the middle of a flatlands somewhere in the Eastern Alliance, judging by the thick mud underfoot and the dark clouds overhead. No rain fell presently, but the clouds threatened to break out into thunder at any moment, the dark gray tinged with a bruised purple. Moss crawled over a few stones nearby, but aside from that, the land had no outstanding features. Featureless brown mud coated the ground in all directions.

The reaper scowled. She walked out into the middle of the clearing and stomped.

Mud flew up, blasted into the sky. A shockwave spread out from her foot, rippling through the air and the ground alike. Underneath her foot, the mud cleared out to a depth of ten meters. The very rooftops of a village appeared.

Oh. A mudslide, Hui realized. A moment later, he frowned. There’s no hills around. How could there be a mudslide?

The reaper stomped again, stomping on air this time. Another shockwave blasted from her foot, blowing the mud away from the stone houses. The entirety of the village appeared, from the tiled roofs to the cobbled pathways.

Hui eyed her foot with trepidation. She stepped on me with that lethal weapon? I’m lucky my soul didn’t get dispersed!

Dropping down into the bowl of mud she’d created by stomping, the reaper looked around. She frowned. “This was not supposed to happen.”

“No?” Hui asked, landing behind her.

“No. There was a sudden influx of discarnate souls. It’s our job to figure out why,” the reaper said.

“And this is the source of those damaged souls?” Hui said, quickly catching up. Elder Sister, you couldn’t mention that until now?

Well, to be fair, I was running about in the mortal realm until the very last minute. I can’t complain too much.

The reaper nodded. She strode off into the village. Hui followed her, looking around as he walked.

Bodies laid all over the village. Draping out of the windows, laid on the center of the road, humans, dogs, chickens, and horses alike. Songbirds laid in piles beneath trees. Indiscriminately, the mud had smothered everything. Not a thing remained.

Hui drew a slow breath. The thick scent of clay mud and rain filled the air, the bodies so well preserved by the mud that they hadn’t begun to smell yet. A faint tinge of qi circulated in the air. It circulated differently from ordinary qi, though Hui couldn’t put his finger on why. He rolled his wrist, capturing a thread of qi in his palm. “Did a rogue cultivator destroy this village? If there’s no hill, then this must be a magical attack, right?”

After all, she said there was an influx of discarnate souls. Damaged and incomplete souls that can’t reincarnate. If not a cultivator’s attack, what could do that?

Well, any sort of magical being, undead, or demon, I suppose. The evil kind of demon, not the animals-turning-into-people kind of demon. Though… well, the animals-turning-into-people kind usually has a cultivation, so I suppose it could be one of those, too.

“I hope that’s all it is,” the reaper murmured. She squinted down a narrow alleyway.

The second she looked away, Hui lifted the thread of qi to his eye and squinted closely at it. There’s… no resentment in this. Phew! Thank goodness. If this was my fault, I’d never forgive myself.

Although… the resentment demon should only attack the source of its resentment. It’s possible it might attack a small village like this on accident, or destroy the whole thing because a small piece of its resentment originated here, but it’s unlikely. It’s not the safest thing for me to let the resentment demon run wild, but on the other hand, if it attacks a few sects in the Eastern Alliance, which is apparently plotting against my home region… well, I won’t begrudge it a few sect smashings.

He spun the qi around his hand again, then caught it and rubbed it between his fingers thoughtfully. There is something strange about this, though. I wish I knew what…

The reaper stopped. She nodded at Hui. “You take that half of the village, and I’ll take this half. Call for me if you see anything strange.”

“Strange? Like what?” Hui asked, tilting his head.

She paused. “Any remnant souls left behind. Anything that stands out to you. Footprints, a distinct qi signature, scraps of fabric, or signs of the magical attack that caused this mudslide. The usual things you’d look for on an investigation. Don’t worry. I’ll check your work.”

Ah! That’s reassuring. I don’t have to worry about missing something and ruining our whole investigation. Hui nodded. “I understand. I’ll go now, Elder Sister!”

The reaper nodded. She turned and left, scanning through the village. Hui went the opposite direction, wandering down the main thoroughfare. Turning a corner, he came upon the marketplace.

Men, women, and children splayed out left and right, caught in the middle of their shopping. Some carried bundles of vegetables or bags of rice, or held the hands of their children. None of them cowered or hunched protectively.

Hui frowned. They all died in an instant, with no indication of their impending doom. They couldn’t see the mud coming… or, perhaps, the attacker buried them after killing them, to disguise their traces.

But if the mud didn’t kill them, then… what did?

In the corner, something shifted. A wide-brimmed triangular hat fell to the side, the white strips of paper hanging from its edge now stained with mud. Underneath, a man in ragged black robes coughed weakly, struggling to sit up. A few streaks of white colored his black hair. Bare legs and feet stuck out from beneath his robes, his feet calloused from walking.

Hui ran to the man’s side. “Elder Brother! Are you hurt?”

The man waved his hand weakly. He turned his head to the side and coughed up mud.

Kneeling, Hui helped him sit up. “What happened here?”

The man coughed again. “I…” He gestured Hui closer.

Hui hesitated, doing his best not to show his reluctance on his face. He leaned in very, very slowly.

Elder Brother can see and interact with me. I’ve been wandering in and out of the mortal realm, so I might have disregarded it, but right now, I’m a reaper. Mortals and ordinary cultivators shouldn’t be able to see me. Although I’m playing along for now, Elder Brother is extremely suspicious!

How long should I play along for? I want to know what Elder Brother’s game is, but I don’t want Elder Brother to play his game out and stab me in the gut, or whatever his plan is. Hui flicked his eyes toward the reaper. Elder Sister… Elder Sister, come save me! Elder Sister, this small cultivator is in trouble! Why didn’t we agree on a signal? Elder Sister…!

The man coughed again. This time, blood came up. His hand trembled feebly, as though he stood on the brink of death. “C…come… closer…”

Hui bit his lip. I don’t want to! I don’t want toooo! I don’t want to come closer! Elder Brotherrrr! Can you be less suspicious? Please? How did you survive under the mud, huh? Why are you spitting up mud when no one here died of mud? Why are you interacting with me, a reaper? So suspicious!

But I have to come closer. Otherwise, he’ll know I’m suspicious of him and go ahead and attack him. But if I get closer, he stabs me! I… what can I do? In this situation…

Hui licked his lips. The only thing I can rely on… is the same thing I always rely on! He plopped down and played dead.

The man blinked. I’m the one on the brink of death, so why did he die?