Chapter 105: Netherworld Envoy

The sound of the iron chain seemed to come from a distant abyss, yet it was clear enough that no one could ignore it.

The streetlamp across the street was lit, and in its dim light, a black and a white figure slowly emerged.

They wore narrow tall hats; one had a smiling face but held a mourning staff, the other had a black face and gripped an iron chain.

At first they were still across the street, but in the blink of an eye they had instant‑moved onto the steps.

Another blink, and they were already outside the threshold.

As they moved, my six‑sided palace lamp flickered, and the visible golden light of merit was diminishing.

Liu Junyan stepped aside, and the moment the White Old Lady saw those two figures, she went completely mad.

She shrieked miserably, thrashing about in the Nan Shu Fang: "I won't go with you! I can't accept judgment! I've practiced medicine and sought the Dao for hundreds of years—I should have attained immortality by now; it's heaven that's blind! I can't die, Jing Mo, save me! Save my grandmother!"

But the street outside was empty; the White Old Lady's cries echoed endlessly, yet no one answered.

The heavy iron chain clanged loudly and lashed fiercely against the White Old Lady's back.

Her robe tore at the sound, and the souls on the White Old Lady's back were instantly freed, wailing and howling as they flew out, filling the Nan Shu Fang in a dense crowd.

Soon they all rushed forward and knelt before those two figures, sobbing hesitantly, opening and closing their mouths as if accusing something.

At this moment, the merit's golden light inside the six‑sided palace lamp was nearly exhausted.

Fu Wan's firefly specks and the tiny black dots of cat bone curled up in the corner, motionless, looking rather pitiful.

The White Old Lady's corpse collapsed heavily to the ground, twitching incessantly.

Those deathly white fish‑eyes stared fixedly at me; her right hand slowly lifted, reaching toward me.

It seemed as if even in death she wanted to drag me down to hell.

The smiling white‑clad figure stepped forward, lightly tapping the mourning staff on the White Old Lady's face; her hand dropped limp, and immediately a wisp of black shadow was pulled from her corpse, which in the next instant was snared around the neck by the black‑faced, black‑clad figure's iron chain.

The white‑clad and black‑clad figures simultaneously clasped their hands and bowed toward me.

The white‑clad figure's ethereal voice rang out: "By the summons of the Netherworld Envoy, we apprehend one whose evil is full to overflowing, and rescue over a hundred wronged souls; the Netherworld Envoy's merit is boundless. After we return and report to King Yan, we will then discuss rewards for service."

As the words fell, the kneeling wronged souls all turned in unison toward me—or rather, precisely toward the six‑sided palace lamp in my hand—and bowed.

In that instant, the merit's golden light inside the six‑sided palace lamp surged upward again.

But in the end it never rose to its original height; it was short by one‑third.

I instinctively glanced at the doorway; Liu Junyan, who had been standing outside the door, was now inside, and his complexion was off.

The merit in the six‑sided palace lamp was reduced by one‑third, insufficient to support his walking out of the Dang Pu.

This was the price he paid for luring the ruler into the jar.

He knew full well how important the merit in the six‑sided palace lamp was to him, yet to capture the White Old Lady he resolutely put himself and his merit on the line, helping me summon the Black‑White Impermanence.

He… sacrificed too much for the Dang Pu and for me.

The white‑clad, black‑faced figure waved a hand, and the wronged souls vanished instantly.

They must have all been taken into the Underworld; next comes judgment and redress.

The white and black figures flickered outward again, jerking step by step; the White Old Lady's soul, dragged by the iron chain, also moved outward in the same halting fashion.

As they jerked farther and farther, their forms grew fainter, finally vanishing completely on the opposite street.

Li Qingying and I let out a long breath, slumped onto the stool, our minds in turmoil, unable to collect ourselves.

Liu Junyan, however, kept staring at the doorway, as if still waiting for something.

Not long after, a drumbeat suddenly sounded from the street outside.

The drum was empty, sounded by slapping it with the hand, accompanied by a chorus of bell chimes.

Immediately after, a shrill cat's cry rang out suddenly.

Next, a wholly black cat appeared on the street, its two upright ears wrapped in white scriptures, the tip of its tail faintly flickering with flames.

Its back rose high, its black fur bristling everywhere, yet the spine was bare, exposing eight sections of death‑white cat bone.

Those eight sections of cat bone were exactly the same as the piece Jin Wuya had brought in.

So it was it!

It is the Calamity‑Crossing Cat Sandalwood!

Liu Junyan had said that the Calamity‑Crossing Cat Sandalwood hides nine pieces of cat bone inscribed with the Lotus Sutra; when all nine are gathered, the Mystic Cat appears.

But now, the Mystic Cat outside the door has only eight pieces of scripture‑bearing cat bone, yet it has already appeared.

And its state is very fierce.

In the dark night, a pair of gloomy green cat eyes flickered with an eerie light, reminding me of those of the evil monk that day.

Therefore, this Mystic Cat must have been under the evil monk's control all along.

Just then, dense drumbeats approached from far to near.

Soon, the evil monk's tall, sturdy figure loomed into our view.

He remained barefoot, wearing monk's robes, but the string of prayer beads around his neck had been replaced, as Li Qingying said, with egg‑sized beads all carved into skull shapes.

He held a small drum in his hand; its face‑covering was flesh‑colored and well‑maintained with oil.

If one's vision is sharp enough, one can still see the fine pores on that skin of the mask.

That is a human‑skin drum!

His broad palm rhythmically struck the human‑skin drum while he chanted softly.

As he chanted, the Mystic Cat beside him grew ever more frenzied, its back arched into an unimaginable position.

Like a bow pulled to full tension, it could at any moment lunge forward and shoot into the Nan Shu Fang.

Liu Junyan had already blocked the doorway.

Li Qingying also stood outside the counter, whip in hand, ever vigilant.

And the six‑sided palace lamp in my hand was trembling incessantly.

The black specks on the cat bone seemed to sense something, constantly rolling and trembling within the merit's golden light.

It wasn't trying to rush out; rather… was it afraid?

At the same time the shrill cat cry rang out, I clearly felt a strong airflow from outside pour into Nan Shu Fang like a tornado.

The antique rack standing against the wall behind me also trembled slightly.

In the next instant, Liu Junyan had already unleashed a palm strike.

He drew symbols in his palm, his palm facing the outside sky, and muttered words under his breath.

With Liu Junyan's shout of "Water come!", it seemed as if a wave really crashed down from outside.

At the moment the wave crashed down, Liu Junyan spat out a mouthful of blood, he leaned sideways against the wall, his face deathly pale.

And that mysterious cat, which just moments ago was full of malevolent energy, now lay prone on the ground.

Beneath it lay a pit!

The pit contained water; the mysterious cat's half body was submerged in the pit, it struggled desperately and howled, but that pool of water seemed to have a seal, firmly sealing it in the pit.

This was the first time I had seen Liu Junyan unleash such a strange technique.

Very impressive.

But he had already consumed too much Merit, and was also trapped in Dang Pu, his movements restricted, yet he still gave it his all.

Seeing that things were going badly, the evil monk changed the frequency of his sutra chant, but he could never summon the mysterious cat out of that pit.

He panicked, yanking off the prayer beads from his neck, pulling off a skull bead, and actually threw it at the mysterious cat……