Chapter Fourteen: A Chaotic Situation!
The King of the Underworld brought Lin Xiaowan back to his office, where Wang Zixuan had already been waiting for quite some time. The King lounged lazily in his chair and gestured for Lin Xiaowan to sit wherever she liked.
He then turned to Wang Zixuan. “I’ve managed to suppress this matter for now. But soon enough, someone from the Celestial Court will come to investigate.”
Wang Zixuan replied, “This whole affair reeks of someone pulling strings behind the scenes.”
The King of the Underworld waved his hand dismissively. “You think you were that discreet? Don’t overthink it. For now, let’s focus on Lin Xiaowan’s situation.”
Wang Zixuan said, “Isn’t she fine now?”
Before the King could respond, she had already figured it out. If Lin Xiaowan’s case wasn’t handled properly and the Celestial Court really did send someone to investigate, a mountain of trouble would surely follow.
Wang Zixuan said, “If there’s no other way, she could be my contract-holder and return to the living world. Otherwise, she could stay by your side and help out.”
The King of the Underworld said, “You think that’s a solution? If I were an investigator, unless Lin Xiaowan could never speak again, I’d have a thousand ways to extract information from her. Pair that with findings from other sources and there’d be no need for a trial—the case would be closed.”
Wang Zixuan fell silent. The King was right. Having handled so many cases, she was confident in her own ability to get to the bottom of things, let alone the experts the Celestial Court would send. Still, Wang Zixuan couldn’t accept it.
She pressed, “Is there really no other way?”
The King of the Underworld revealed a mysterious smile. “There is—reincarnation.”
Wang Zixuan gave a wry smile. “Reincarnation? They can still investigate her past-life memories!”
The King replied, “But what if, after she’s reincarnated, she dies and her soul can’t be found?”
The very next day, Lin Xiaowan was arranged for reincarnation, and she happened to be reborn in M City. Many people were watching her reincarnation, each with a different motive, but sharing a surprisingly similar goal.
In that same inconspicuous wooden cabin, Zhong Kui was leisurely eating steak. The air shimmered, and a man in black suddenly appeared.
The man in black cupped his hands and spoke in a hoarse voice, “Everything is going as you predicted. Wang Zixuan arranged for Lin Xiaowan to be reincarnated in M City. Shouldn’t we prepare for the next step?”
Zhong Kui slowly set down his knife and fork and wiped his mouth. “What’s the rush? There are people far more anxious than us, aren’t there?”
Zhong Kui was right. At that very moment, several elders in the Celestial Court were discussing the matter in a conference room.
The Yellow Emperor asked, “Who are we sending down to the Underworld for this case?”
The Elder Lord replied, “Isn’t that entirely up to you? Was it really necessary to summon all of us for this?”
The Buddha said, “Amitabha. The Buddhist realm has never interfered in the affairs of the Celestial Court. The Yellow Emperor can decide on his own.”
The Yellow Emperor pressed, “Are you sure you want no part in this? This concerns Wang Zixuan—are you truly unaware of her identity? If this matter can be resolved, it would benefit all of us, wouldn’t it?”
The Elder Lord said, “Could it be him? Didn’t you have him executed all those years ago, with his soul sealed away? Has he managed to escape?”
The Yellow Emperor replied, “The seal is still intact, but somehow, the King of the Underworld has found a way to let him return to life. As for this Wang Zixuan, though her soul hasn’t awakened yet, we can’t let our guard down. We all fought in that great battle back then—need I say more about what it was like?”
The Buddha said, “You mean to use this opportunity to seal him once more—and perhaps deal a heavy blow to the Underworld as well? But I fear things won’t be so simple this time.”