Chapter 1610 - 1457: Yin Yang Inn 13
The Yin Yang Inn is in charge of guiding spirits across; although spirits that linger too long will be judged as disturbing Yin and Yang and turned into food for the Wood Demon, before that happens, no one in the inn is allowed to harm a guest.
Feng Lin and Li Yu spoke up for Shuangshuang out of good intentions, wanting to vent her anger and take revenge for her, but if the two of them really laid hands on Qi Shaobo, the consequences would be far too serious.
Even if Shuangshuang could guarantee that Feng Lin and Li Yu wouldn’t be punished, the two of them could forget about continuing to stay at the Yin Yang Inn. To pay such a steep price for a man like Qi Shaobo is just not worth it.
You have to know that working in the Yin Yang Inn is equivalent to having the Underworld as your backing. Although Li Yu and Feng Lin are both demons, by virtue of this job they can accumulate Merit and eventually become Merit Immortals.
Even if they don’t become immortals, with Merit on them, those who have attained the Dao will not treat them like ordinary demon creatures to be slaughtered—or rather, they won’t dare provoke them, because provoking them is equivalent to provoking the Underworld.
Feng Lin and Li Yu knew Shuangshuang was doing it for their own good, but they were still a bit indignant. Feng Lin grabbed Shuangshuang’s hand: "Shopkeeper, we’re just going to let this scum off like that? And even send him into the Yellow Springs!"
Li Yu was much calmer. Seeing Feng Lin so anxious, he raised his hand and slapped Feng Lin’s hand off of Shuangshuang, saying blandly, "Stupid cat, can you not be so impulsive.
If we really can’t work at the Yin Yang Inn anymore, that’s the same as having our contract with the inn dissolved. Then the two of us won’t even be able to find where the inn is, and in this lifetime you can forget about ever seeing the Shopkeeper again.
This price really isn’t worth it. Besides, the Shopkeeper must have her own plans. Listen to what the Shopkeeper has to say, don’t jump to conclusions in such a rush."
Shuangshuang smiled, utterly composed as she said, "Exactly—let him enter the Yellow Springs. Who said going into the Yellow Springs is a good thing? This Lord Qi has plenty of karmic debts on him."
Qi Shaobo killed his wife and harmed his daughter; during his time in office he hoarded wealth endlessly, carelessly passed judgment on wrongful cases—people who died directly by his hand, and indirectly because of him, are simply too many.
The punishments of Hell circulated among the mortal world are, in fact, mostly inaccurate; and because this era values men over women, the punishments that get passed around are all harsher on women.
But in reality, the Underworld has always been the fairest: fair reincarnation rules, fair laws of judgment.
So long as it’s murder, whether you killed your own daughter, your wife, or a stranger, it’s all equally a grave crime—let alone the fact that Qi Shaobo has caused the deaths of so many others.
With so many charges on Qi Shaobo, once he enters the Yellow Springs, he can kiss reincarnation goodbye and go fall into the Hell path, demoted to an Evil Ghost to receive punishment.
And the punishment for Evil Ghosts is anything but easy to bear, or else those Evil Ghosts wouldn’t be trying to escape every single year.
Even if the Underworld is still in chaos, it’s not to be trifled with. Of the Evil Ghosts that escape from Hell, you could say not one in ten thousand survives.
Most are captured, a small portion are beaten into ash and smoke, and as for those Evil Ghosts who manage to escape with difficulty, they’ll be dragged back by Shuangshuang without exception.
Even so, these Evil Ghosts still flee, all clinging to that sliver of hope that they might escape alive; and if they can’t, being beaten into ash and smoke is not a bad ending either.
Because when undergoing punishment in Hell, Evil Ghosts suffer the most brutal torment yet are unable to die—truly, even the wish to die is a luxury. So their escape from Hell is at once a bid for life and a bid for death.
Just now, Feng Lin and Li Yu were too furious; the first thing they thought of was to kill Qi Shaobo to vent Shuangshuang’s anger. Thinking it over now, killing him can’t compare to sending him into Hell for a truly satisfying revenge.
Only then did Feng Lin change his mind, no longer planning to kill Qi Shaobo, but instead growing a little anxious: "Shopkeeper, what if that scum doesn’t dare come into the Yellow Springs because you’re here? What do we do then?"
Shuangshuang calmly swayed her round fan. "He won’t. I know Qi Shaobo. He’s the type who, for the sake of benefit, for the sake of himself, will do anything, abandon anything.
Likewise, there’s nothing he won’t do. Once he realizes he can’t escape at all and that entering the Yellow Springs to reincarnate is his only path, he won’t hesitate in the slightest to throw away his dignity and come beg me—his daughter, who practically counts as his enemy.
He already knows that if he wants reincarnation he has to come to the Yellow Springs Inn. Once he understands that he can’t leave this sea of flowers, he’ll naturally come beg me to let him enter the Yellow Springs."
Shuangshuang simply didn’t take Qi Shaobo to heart. After soothing Feng Lin and Li Yu, she left. There was still some time before she had to send Hou Mingyue and the rest of the ghosts into the Yellow Springs.
After Shuangshuang left, Feng Lin went off to find a spot to sleep. A cat has to sleep ten hours out of the twelve in a day; even though he’s become a Monster and doesn’t need that much sleep, he still can’t change his habits.
Seeing Feng Lin go to bed, Li Yu flicked his fingers, his gaze turning toward the sea of Manjushaka blossoms outside. The corner of his mouth couldn’t help but curl into a malicious smile; his figure shifted, and he vanished from the inn.
......
The opening time of the Yin Yang Gate is at midnight. The location where the Yin Yang Gate opens is in the backyard of the Yin Yang Inn; the place itself doesn’t matter—what matters is the Gatekeeper Shuangshuang’s position.
Midnight arrived very quickly. All the ghosts who needed reincarnation had already, under Feng Lin and Li Yu’s arrangements, lined up in advance in the backyard of the Yin Yang Inn.
When Shuangshuang arrived, she unexpectedly found Qi Shaobo standing furtively in the middle of a group of ghosts, trying his best to shrink his presence, not letting Shuangshuang notice him.
Shuangshuang’s gaze swept over to Li Yu, who was leaning lazily against a tree trunk in the courtyard, wearing an expression of "this has nothing to do with me." She couldn’t help but smile and shake her head.
From what she knows of Qi Shaobo, this man is ruthless and vicious yet suspicious, cowardly, and afraid of death. If no one had instigated him, he’d never have thought things through so quickly, nor would he have the guts to show up in front of her this soon.
As for the people in the inn, Pei Shaosen doesn’t know the ins and outs of the matter, and Feng Lin is simple-minded and straightforward. Only Li Yu, with his scheming nature, would have the ability to sway Qi Shaobo into hurrying over to deliver himself to death.
Knowing Li Yu meant well, Shuangshuang said nothing. She directly raised her hand, and a massive Array surfaced in her palm; this Array was the key to summoning the Yin Yang Gate.
Once the Array left Shuangshuang’s palm, it hung in the air opposite her and then began to grow larger bit by bit.
As the Array kept expanding, a huge gate slowly emerged from within it, transforming from illusion into reality.
Earlier today, Pei Shaosen had just been dragged by Li Yu to finish accounting for Qi Shaobo’s sins. Qi Shaobo has committed so many wicked deeds in his life that his memories are dark and vile.
Such memories made it very hard for Pei Shaosen, a true gentleman, to maintain a state of neither joy nor anger while faithfully recording the man’s past. The Merit Pen is extremely sensitive; it will alter the accountant’s memories according to the owner’s state of mind.
The stronger the owner’s emotional reaction of like or dislike toward a person, the more memories the Merit Pen will modify.