Chapter 372: Yuan's Skins
The entire New Beginning Realm is composed of four continents and two oceans: the Azure Mountain Continent, Tong Continent, Jun Prefecture, and Jingling Continent.
The two oceans, the Heavenly Expanse Ocean and the Eastern Sunrise Ocean, span a vast area, together nearly matching the size of the four continents.
Each of the four continents has an Underworld Emperor presiding over it, while the two oceans currently do not, as there are no human settlements there. The Underworld also has an Emperor in charge.
The Death God is the sole deity of the Underworld Office, and beneath the Death God are the Emperors. Currently, there are five Emperors in the Underworld Office, known as the Five Underworld Emperors, each governing their respective regions.
Below the Emperors are the Guardians. Guardians hold an extremely high status in the Underworld Office because their numbers are exceedingly scarce; each Emperor can only command nine Guardians.
This means that for a colossal entity like the Underworld Office, the total number of Guardians is merely forty-five. This clearly shows how rare Guardians are in the Underworld Office, and precisely because of their rarity, they possess a very high status, second only to the Emperors.
Within the four continents, almost every Guardian commands thousands of Emissaries of Death, and these Emissaries of Death are responsible for managing each city for their respective Guardian.
However, the situation in the Underworld differs somewhat from the four continents. While the Guardians here also have a considerable number of Underworld Officials under them, the vast majority of these officials are Ghost Officials; there are few living individuals among them.
Furthermore, these Underworld Officials do not manage cities like the Emissaries of Death in the mortal realm. Their existence is to ensure the normal operation of the vast Underworld institution, handling a series of tasks such as interrogating souls, guarding souls, escorting souls to reincarnation, and so forth.
Yang Haoran glanced at Xu Meijing, seeing that her complexion had mostly returned to normal. He hesitated, then asked,
"Since Meng Po is a Guardian, with her status and position, why would she guard the Bridge of Helplessness?"
Xu Meijing continued walking as she replied, "How would I know? Perhaps it's part of her duty, or perhaps she has some peculiar hobby."
"Then why are the gates of the Underworld wide open, without even a single guard? " Yang Haoran pressed.
Xu Meijing pondered for a moment, then answered, "Perhaps the people of the Underworld don't believe outsiders would dare to force their way in."
Passing through the city gates, they were met with ancient buildings, predominantly black, comprising residences, shops, and streets.
Xu Meijing, worried that Yang Haoran might not be familiar with the place, explained, "The Ghost Officials of the Underworld live here, and some mortal Underworld Officials also reside here, which is why there are these residences, streets, and shops. However, since Ghost Officials lack physical bodies, their needs differ greatly from those of living people. This means most of the goods sold in these shops in the Underworld are suitable for the dead, and not really for the living."
"What currency do they use? " Yang Haoran asked.
"Underworld Currency, but not the kind you see up there with denominations in the billions; it's the Underworld Currency issued by the Underworld itself," Xu Meijing clarified.
Yang Haoran nodded slightly, wearing an expression of understanding.
"At the very center of this city, there's a massive plaza known as the Last Plaza. It's called the Last Plaza because the Hall of Judgment is located behind it. All souls must pass through this plaza before entering the Hall of Judgment for their judgment, making it their final path before their fate is decided. Hence, the Last Plaza."
"Upon arriving in the Underworld, all souls must enter the Hall of Judgment to be judged, and their fate, whether they enter the reincarnation platform to be reborn or are cast into hell for torment, is decided based on their actions in life. Of course, some souls are directly dealt with."
"I can't tell you everything about the Underworld in a short time. If you have time, go read the Iron Books; they contain all the records of the Underworld. After reading them, you'll have a clear understanding of the Underworld. Don't go through life confused and ignorant."
After saying so much, Xu Meijing didn't want to continue. She felt giving Yang Haoran a general overview was enough; if he truly wanted a comprehensive understanding of the Underworld, he would have to look up the information himself.
What Xu Meijing didn't know was that Yang Haoran wasn't entirely ignorant of the Underworld. While he didn't know as much detail as she did, he still had some understanding of certain things. He hadn't revealed this, instead pretending to know nothing, purely to pander to Xu Meijing's proud nature.
Seeing Xu Meijing's exasperated expression, Yang Haoran didn't explain. Instead, he smiled and took a bottle of mineral water from his independent space, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to her.
Xu Meijing didn't stand on ceremony, nor did she question whether the mineral water was problematic. She took it and immediately took a sip.
Meanwhile, Yang Haoran stopped in his tracks.
Xu Meijing looked at Yang Haoran in confusion, seeing his gaze fixed on a shop beside them.
Hanging at the entrance of this shop were entire human skins, of men, women, young, and old. Their private parts weren't pixelated as they would be in movies, but each was tastefully covered by a delicate modesty cloth.
Yang Haoran, of course, wasn't interested in the private parts of these skins; what drew his attention was the skins themselves.
These several human skins were hung high like clothes in a clothing store, obviously displayed at the entrance to attract customers.
In the mortal realm, an ordinary person seeing this scene would likely be scared out of their wits. However, this was the Underworld, and the pedestrians on this street were either Ghost Officials or Underworld Officials from the mortal realm. Those accustomed to the sight showed no reaction, and those who weren't didn't react much either.
This was Yang Haoran's first time seeing such a sight, but he merely furrowed his brow, a strange look in his eyes.
Above the shop hung a plaque, on which four blood-red characters were crookedly written: Yuan's Skins.
At the shop's entrance stood two stunningly beautiful women, dressed in cheongsams that perfectly accentuated their figures.
"Those aren't real human skins; they're merely refined products, things for the dead. You don't need them yet, why the rush? " Xu Meijing asked.
"I'm a bit curious, so I want to go in and take a look," Yang Haoran said with a smile.
Xu Meijing rolled her eyes at Yang Haoran, an exasperated expression on her face.
"Can your curiosity not be so intense? Ugh, never mind. If you want to see, I'll accompany you. Let's go."
The two walked towards the shop named Yuan's Skins. As they reached the entrance, the two beautiful women bowed and offered professional smiles.
"Welcome to Yuan's Skins, Yuan's Skins, we understand your wardrobe."
Yang Haoran smiled and nodded back at the two women, though their lines truly made him feel like laughing and crying at the same time.
"They are all artificial beauties, and not even living beings, so don't have any improper thoughts," Xu Meijing reminded him from the side.
"You've probably misunderstood; I genuinely don't have any improper thoughts."
Yang Haoran usually couldn't be bothered to explain such misunderstandings, but in front of Xu Meijing, he felt it was necessary.
"If you have no improper thoughts at all when facing such exquisite beauties, that's even scarier than having them."
Xu Meijing's reply made Yang Haoran's mouth twitch slightly. This made him regret his explanation just now.
"Hello, respected guests. Sales associate Xiao Mei, number twelve, is delighted to serve you. May I ask what kind of skin you two are looking for? We have all kinds of styles here."
Just then, a sales associate appeared before Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing, her attitude exceedingly warm. This associate was also a woman, with looks and a figure even more outstanding than the two at the entrance.
Yang Haoran's gaze swept across the shop. The entire interior was filled with various skins, hung neatly on walls or racks like clothes in a mortal realm apparel store, creating a strong visual impact.
"We'll just look for now," Xu Meijing said indifferently.
"Alright, please feel free to browse. If you find something you like, you can try it on, no problem at all," the sales associate said with a smile.
"How do you 'try on' these? " Yang Haoran asked, his face full of curiosity.
As Yang Haoran spoke, Xu Meijing felt a little embarrassed and quickly walked to the side, pretending to admire other skins, while the sales associate looked at Yang Haoran with a strange expression.
Under the sales associate's peculiar gaze, Yang Haoran maintained a smile on his face, but inwardly, he felt a bit awkward. From the reactions of Xu Meijing and the sales associate, he knew he had probably made a fool of himself.
However, the sales associate's reaction was quite good; though she felt strange, she quickly returned to normal.
"Sir, how did you put on this skin you're wearing? Then you can put on our skins using the same method. However, sir, the craftsmanship of your current skin is a bit coarse, far from as exquisite as those from Yuan's Skins. So, Xiao Mei thinks it's very necessary for you to change your skin."
Sales associate Xiao Mei explained with a smile. From her words and actions, she had no intention of mocking or belittling Yang Haoran; she was merely speaking the truth from her perspective. Yet, it was this very truth that left Yang Haoran standing there awkwardly, and made Xu Meijing, who was admiring other skins, burst out laughing.
"Beautiful lady, your sales performance probably isn't very good, is it? " Yang Haoran chuckled awkwardly, asking sales associate Xiao Mei.
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