Chapter Thirteen: Survival

After speaking, Zhao Fifteen turned and left the room.

Once he was gone, I gazed at the old-fashioned surroundings and the dark imprint left by a finger on the back of my hand, still unsettled. Sitting on a carved round stool, my mind replayed everything that had happened: Su Ying’s sudden appearance, the giant ghost, the alluring fox spirit, the beauty’s coffin, the illusions in my heart, countless wandering souls, the ghost city inspector covered in chains, and now, this inn of shadows and light.

Perhaps my nerves had been taut for too long, but now, with no imminent danger, I walked over to the sandalwood bed. There was only a simple quilt. Lying down felt uncomfortable, yet after so much desperate fleeing, sleepiness washed over me as soon as I settled in.

When I awoke, it was Zhao Fifteen who roused me.

“How long did I sleep?”

“About a day,” Zhao Fifteen replied, holding an antique pocket watch.

I was shocked—did that mean I hadn’t been home in days? My parents would surely be worried.

He chuckled, “No need to fret. Time in the ghost city doesn’t match the real world. Look for yourself—it’s barely six o’clock. Out there, dawn has just broken.”

I glanced at the old pocket watch. Indeed, it showed just past six, and the date was correct.

“Why is that?” I managed to ask after a pause.

Zhao Fifteen grinned, “That’s the rule: ‘Yang hours, yin fate; yin hours, yang soul.’ Once someone enters the ghost path, the world begins to change. The time system is just one aspect. Here, a day may only equal one or two hours in the real world, and that’s just the ratio in the ghost city. In the true underworld, time compresses even further. I once heard from a master that a day in the living world is a year in the underworld, and ratios vary across regions.”

Hearing this was like a tale from another world, leaving me speechless with astonishment.

“At seven sharp, we’ll return together. Chu Yi will prepare the Three Pure Ones Crossing Array and slaughter a grand rooster to guide us. Just remember—never look back. Leave the rest to me.”

I nodded, silent.

Countless doubts swirled in my heart, but I kept quiet, knowing that once I returned to the living world, all truths would be revealed.

Thinking of kind-hearted Su Ying, I couldn’t help but wonder what the fate array in my body truly looked like.

“Come, let’s go. By the time we reach the crossroads, it will be time.”

The three-way crossroads is the necessary passage for returning to the living world. The road to the ghost city is singular, with no chance of turning back. Yet, ages ago, a deity, seeking to revive his beloved, allied with demons and caused havoc in the underworld. Thus, a three-way path emerged.

One leads to the living world, one to the ghost city, and one to the domain of demons.

Following Zhao Fifteen, we left the inn. He raised his hand and summoned a taxi.

It was the same paper-like cab I’d seen earlier.

“Driver, the crossroads!”

The cab driver glanced at us, then raised a hand, waving his five fingers inside the car.

I was puzzled, thinking he wouldn’t take us.

Zhao Fifteen promptly pulled five large bills from his pocket.

Stunned, I realized they were the paper money burned during the Ghost Festival or funerals—notes from the Bank of Heaven and Earth.

Five colorful bills, each valued at ten billion.

So the driver’s five fingers meant fifty billion! If I mentioned this after returning, people would surely think I was a fool.

The driver pocketed the five bills, then beckoned us aboard.

Thus, Zhao Fifteen and I set off toward the crossroads.

This was the same road I’d wandered for hours before; it was indeed long, taking the taxi about twenty minutes to traverse.

Through the window, I saw thick mist ahead, with countless shadows flickering.

The driver slammed the brakes, turned, and said, “We’re here!”

Stepping out, I watched the ghost city taxi drive away, feeling uneasy.

“Don’t stare. The underworld is divided into countless regions, just like the living world,” Zhao Fifteen said.

“For instance, what you see here is merely Chengdu’s underground ghost city, but ghost cities differ from real-world cities. The underworld hasn’t developed as swiftly as our world, so every ghost city follows the same mold. Wherever you go, they look alike. As for what the underworld truly is, I don’t know—I’ve only been to a dozen ghost cities myself.”

Standing at the crossroads, we walked to its end.

Looking ahead, I saw three giant whirlpools, reminiscent of portals from fantasy novels. Each gate appeared differently. The one before me was especially clear and brighter than the others.

This was the gate back to the living world.

Zhao Fifteen explained that once the gate opened, two grand roosters tied together would appear. We simply had to ride them to return.

I was perplexed. Surely grand roosters couldn’t bear our physical weight, since both of us were corporeal this time. Zhao Fifteen explained that typically, only souls traverse the underworld; bodies are rare. My physical body had been brought here because I lay in the beauty’s coffin. If I were physical and Zhao Fifteen merely a spirit, we couldn’t ride the tied roosters together; so he was forced to bring his physical form as well.

As Zhao Fifteen explained, a clear rooster’s crow echoed from the depths of the gate.

The sound pierced the space, scattering the wandering souls instantly.

Then came a second crow.

At that moment, Zhao Fifteen seized my hand, shaping it into a sword gesture.

“Swift!”

With that word, he and I shot into the air, flying toward the gate. As it opened, we slipped inside.

Cluck-cluck-cluck…

When Zhao Fifteen released my hand, I found myself astride something.

Looking down, I saw a grand rooster with a red comb beneath me. Gripping the rope around its neck, I realized this rooster was vastly different from any I’d seen before—it was as large as a horse. Though I’d never ridden a horse, holding tight to the rope and sitting astride this rooster, I felt as if I were riding one.

Beside me, Zhao Fifteen glanced over, grabbed the rope on my rooster, and gave it a sharp tug.

“Return to the living world!”

He traced a rune in the air with his sword gesture, and as it solidified, the red-combed rooster began a wild sprint, its speed surpassing anything I could imagine. The wind roared in my ears.

I heard countless voices, even hands reaching to tug at my clothes, but the rooster’s crow scattered them.

Though I couldn’t see my surroundings, I sensed we were drawing closer—I could breathe in the scent of light mingled with earth.

“Careful, we’re almost there. Don’t listen or think about anything!”

Suddenly, a familiar street appeared before me—Wood Cabinet Street.

“This way!”

Not far off, Chen Chu Yi stood, smiling, and waved to us.

“Don’t look back, we’re almost there!”

A chill swept over me, icy energy spreading around me. Thanks to Zhao Fifteen’s warning, I kept my focus—otherwise, I might have failed at the very threshold of returning.

Cluck-cluck-cluck-cluck…

As my heart raced, the sound of the grand rooster echoed nearby.

“We’ve finally arrived!” Zhao Fifteen let out a long breath.