Zhu Diyu lifted another document, peering at the parchment beneath it. Casually, he reached out and took a sip of his tea, then looked down at the reaper. “Is that all?”

The reaper stiffened. “When I—”

Waving his hand vaguely, Zhu Diyu yawned. “You and he are very different people. He’s probably far too cowardly to interfere.”

Hui swallowed. Er… well, usually, but… He put on an innocent look and continued to stare off into the distance, as if this conversation had nothing to do with him.

“I have proof that he interfered, and not only that, but interfered in ways that—”

Zhu Diyu sighed deeply, cutting off the reaper. “Did I ask you to monitor your compatriot, Mamian?”

The reaper’s hands curled tight, veins and tendons standing out on the back of her hand. Her face showed a hint of color for the first time as her jaw clenched. “You—you, when I did so much less, you—”

“Mmm. Is that so? It’s been so long, I’ve forgotten,” Zhu Diyu muttered, shuffling a stack of papers together.

“Forgotten?” The reaper trembled, barely able to contain her rage.

“Yes, yes. You know how many souls I see in a day. Am I supposed to remember each one?” Zhu Diyu asked flippantly.

Hui looked on, mixed between flinching and taking notes. Ah, I feel so bad for Elder Sister, but… damn! I didn’t realize Zhu Diyu was also a master at imbuing heart demons! To build up a heart demon inside Elder Sister for so long, then trigger it through such seemingly simple actions… I’m impressed, truly impressed! And yet, Elder Sister… Poor thing. Ugh, I wish I could just appreciate this artistry, but I can’t help but sympathize with the reaper. No one wants to be on the receiving end of a heart demon.

The reaper’s teeth clenched. “Zhu Diyu!”

Zhu Diyu sat up. He raised his eyebrows and propped his chin on a fist. “Oh? Are you rebelling against me? That is… the Underworld?”

Face flushed, jaw taut, the reaper pressed her lips together and said nothing. A vein throbbed in her forehead, but she refused to speak again.

Elder Sister! What resolution! Zhu Diyu stoked that heart demon for centuries, and yet, you still managed to hold out. Impressive, truly impressive. I shouldn’t look down on Elder Sister’s mental strength! Hui barely resisted the urge to nod to himself, giving the reaper an impressed look.

Sitting back in his throne once more, Zhu Diyu let out a sigh. “You can go.”

“You aren’t going to punish him?” the reaper demanded, standing upright.

“You can go,” Zhu Diyu repeated, more forcefully this time.

“Why only me? Why do I have to obey, while he—”

“If you continue to question me, I’ll take it as rebellion,” Zhu Diyu declared, narrowing his eyes at her.

The reaper shut her mouth. She whirled on her heel and stomped off.

Hui hesitated a moment. He looked up at Zhu Diyu and tilted his head. Rebellion… is that… something he wants to prevent, or is he instead… trying to force the reaper into rebelling against him?

Could it be… that his goal isn’t to repress the reaper, but to corner her into pushing him off the throne?

Zhu Diyu glanced down. His eyes met Hui’s, and he smiled.

Hui quickly bowed and scurried away. Then… he’s letting me do what I like because he wants off the throne. But how does what I’m doing lead to kicking him off the throne? Or… is it…

Hui shook his head. No point to worrying too much about it. I have my own goals, and Zhu Diyu has his. As long as they correspond, I’ll continue to use Zhu Diyu’s permissiveness to do what I need to do! But… the second Zhu Diyu tries to force me into something I don’t want, I’ll have to be as resolute as Elder Sister!

Another reason why I don’t want to stay in the Underworld forever! Zhu Diyu is a horrible boss. What a toxic working environment! Favoring one of his employees over the other… true, it’s me right now, but next time, it could be the reaper! Ahh, I understand Si Wang now. No wonder he broke free of being a reaper! No wonder he hates Zhu Diyu to this extent! If you were the rival to a man with the hobby of creating heart-demons in other people… I can only imagine how horrible that must have been for Si Wang!

Well, Si Wang is a madman now, after all. I guess I’ve just figured out how that happened!

Though, speaking of our shared hobby… I don’t seem to have a rival, now that I think about it. Hui put a hand on his chin thoughtfully, then shrugged. Better for everyone! Besides, this small cultivator has lived in a humble and quiet way, offending no one and honoring the virtues. Naturally, no one has any reason to call this small cultivator rival!

There might be a bigshot or two after my head, but rival? No, no. Not this innocent, small, righteous cultivator. Earnest and friendly, avoiding all conflicts, resolving issues peacefully, that’s me!

Ahead of him, the reaper glared daggers. The second they moved away from Zhu Diyu, she stepped close to him and snarled, “Don’t think you won. He favored you today, but next time—”

“Next time it might be you,” Hui agreed.

“Just because he seems to be overlooking your—”

“Yes, yes, I know, I know. Small reaper knows his place,” Hui said, bowing quickly. He thought for a moment, then dropped to his knees and kowtowed. “Elder Sister, please forgive me. Small cultivator knows he is unworthy of Zhu Diyu’s approval, and Elder Sister is infinitely more worthy. Elder Sister follows the rules, and has worked for many long hours. Please don’t take it out on me that Zhu Diyu is favoring me!”

The reaper stared at him. A vein throbbed on her forehead, faster and faster. At last, she drew back her leg and kicked him.

Hui went rolling over the floor, throwing himself with the blow. He bounced once, twice, three times, then struck the ground and skidded to a halt. Lying there dead, he watched the reaper from the corner of his eyes. Did that satisfy Elder Sister? Please say it did! It hurt, it really hurt. I don’t want to be kicked anymore! Those feet scare me!

She stomped over. Hui casually twitched his finger, drawing barrier talismans on the ground beside him. The reaper lifted her foot.

The second it stomped down, Hui activated his barriers and rolled away in the same instant. The reaper’s boot shattered the barriers in the space of a breath and punched into the ground. Rock and dust burst up as a crater formed beneath her. Hui rolled away at top speed as the ground continued to give way under his body. Faster, faster, faster! I’m going to fall into her hole… ahem, I mean, tumble into this gash—I mean—dammit! I see Bai Xue for ten seconds, and not even the last time I was on the surface, and suddenly everything is sexual!

At last, the rock stopped crumbling. He came to a halt and flopped over limply, going back to playing dead as if he’d never broke in the first place.

The reaper scoffed. She glared at him, then whirled and marched off.

Once she was out of sight, Hui climbed to his feet, dusting the rock dust off his blue robes. “You know, Elder Sister, it’s all Zhu Diyu’s fault. There’s no point in taking it out on me!”

She’s long gone by now. Mmm, though I feel like she would’ve just stepped on me again if I’d dared talk back.

Damn it. There’s no way Zhu Diyu doesn’t know that over-favoring one employee only makes the other employees hate them! In a way, he did warn me not to go too far, if only because it means that Elder Sister Reaper will grow angrier with me and retaliate more against me, without Zhu Diyu ever having to step in.

What a clever technique! Zhu Diyu doesn’t have to lift a finger, and he suppresses me! But… so be it! I can bear more suppression than Zhu Diyu expects. Even if Elder Sister bullies me, I’ll survive! What’s more important is that I keep my children safe… and figure out what’s going with the Night Market and the phoenix lady, and figure out why Underworld is falling apart, and handle the resentment demons and Si Wang and the Eight Tiers Palace, oh, and I can’t forget my ultimate goal of coming back to life…

Hui sighed. I have too many hobbies.