Chapter 419: Catching Up
After a year, the two once again strolled through the Underworld. Yang Haoran wanted to buy something to please Xu Meijing, but she refused each item.
According to Xu Meijing, there was nothing she liked.
Yang Haoran could tell that it wasn't that Xu Meijing didn't have anything she liked; rather, she didn't want to spend his Underworld Currency. After all, he intended to open a shop in the Underworld, and he would need plenty of Underworld Currency for that. Every coin saved would alleviate a bit of the pressure.
However, Xu Meijing didn't voice this thought directly. Instead, she coolly told Yang Haoran that she didn't like anything.
Seeing Xu Meijing's reluctance to buy, Yang Haoran felt a mix of helplessness and shame. He wondered if Xu Meijing's mood would improve if he told her he had given up the idea of opening a shop in the Underworld.
He thought her mood would surely brighten, but had he truly given up?
The answer was no. He hadn't given up, so he wouldn't use such a deceptive method to make Xu Meijing happy. That approach would only treat the symptom, not the root cause. How would he explain it to Xu Meijing if he successfully opened a shop one day?
Rather than resorting to deceit, it was better to let her slowly accept the truth. Even if it caused some initial resentment, things would likely improve with time.
Although they didn't buy anything, Xu Meijing's mood was noticeably better after several hours of strolling. This finally allowed the stone in Yang Haoran's heart to drop, and his tense nerves relaxed somewhat.
Even though Xu Meijing's mood had improved, she hadn't fully recovered. Thus, Yang Haoran didn't unilaterally decide to meet Jiang Dashi; he consulted her first.
Xu Meijing had known Jiang Dashi for longer than Yang Haoran had, but their relationship wasn't as close as Yang Haoran's with Jiang Dashi. At most, their connection was that of ordinary colleagues, not even friends.
Therefore, Xu Meijing had no interest in meeting Jiang Dashi. As she put it, she and Jiang Dashi weren't even friends, so there was nothing to "catch up" on. A meeting would merely consist of them looking at each other, with no topics for conversation.
Consequently, Xu Meijing decided not to accompany Yang Haoran to see Jiang Dashi. Instead, she found an inn in the Underworld to stay for the time being.
Unlike Xu Meijing, Yang Haoran had a good relationship with Jiang Dashi. Moreover, Jiang Dashi had significantly helped Yang Haoran get to where he was today, a debt he couldn't forget.
One reason he had come to the Underworld from the mortal realm ahead of schedule, besides acquiring some Underworld Currency, was to catch up with Jiang Dashi.
After finding the inn, Yang Haoran paid a portion of the Underworld Currency in advance. Once he had settled Xu Meijing into her room to rest, he dialed the phone number Jiang Dashi had given him last year.
The call was answered quickly, and Jiang Dashi's voice came through from the other end.
“Hello, who is this? ”
Although another year had passed since he last heard Jiang Dashi's voice, it still felt as familiar as ever to Yang Haoran.
“Jiang Dashi, it's Little Yang,” Yang Haoran said with a smile.
Upon hearing it was Yang Haoran, Jiang Dashi's voice grew much warmer.
“Ah, Haoran! Why are you only contacting me now? ” Jiang Dashi asked, chuckling.
“I was bogged down with trivial matters before, only managing to sort things out before the New Year. That's why I hurried to the Underworld ahead of time. I just bought a phone and called you right away,” Yang Haoran replied with a smile.
“Haha, I understand, I understand. By the way, where are you now? I'll come pick you up and bring you to my home as a guest. I happen to be off duty these days. ”
Yang Haoran told Jiang Dashi the name of the inn, and Jiang Dashi told Yang Haoran to wait a moment; he would come right away.
When it came to familiarity with the Underworld, Yang Haoran certainly couldn't compare to Jiang Dashi. After all, Jiang Dashi was a Ghost Official of the Underworld. Although he hadn't been in the Underworld for an exceedingly long time, Yang Haoran was far from being able to contend with him. If one were to speak of familiarity with the Underworld, Yang Haoran undoubtedly knew it less intimately than Jiang Dashi.
Therefore, Yang Haoran didn't wander off. Instead, he watched the bustling street from outside the inn, awaiting Jiang Dashi's arrival.
Jiang Dashi didn't keep him waiting long. After about half an hour, Jiang Dashi appeared within Yang Haoran's line of sight.
Meeting again, the two exchanged a flurry of greetings and pleasantries, after which Yang Haoran followed Jiang Dashi to his residence.
“How are housing prices in the Underworld? ” Yang Haoran couldn't help but ask on the way to Jiang Dashi's residence.
“Deadly expensive, no cheaper than the mortal realm,” Jiang Dashi said with a smile. “But we Ghost Officials are all assigned an apartment, so we don't need to worry about it. It's the spirits living at the very bottom of the Underworld who are really pressured by the housing prices. Most of them choose to rent; very few spirits can afford to buy a home. ”
Hearing Jiang Dashi's words, Yang Haoran couldn't help but sigh.
“Fighting for a home your entire life, and even after death, you still have to fight for one. How truly pathetic. ”
Jiang Dashi nodded, also sighing. “Indeed, but there's no helping it. These are the rules of the Underworld. Furthermore, these spirits aren't entirely innocent for ending up in such a state. ”
Yang Haoran, of course, understood what Jiang Dashi meant.
Any spirit residing in the Underworld was there because they were temporarily unable to reincarnate and thus remained in limbo.
There were many reasons why they couldn't reincarnate, most commonly due to misdeeds committed during their lives. These misdeeds weren't severe enough to cause their souls to scatter, so they were left to linger in the Underworld, becoming its lowest-tier inhabitants, serving the Ghost Officials or, rather, the entire Underworld itself.
As for how many years they had to serve, that depended on the sins they committed in life, ranging from a few decades to over a century.
Dozens or even hundreds of years was comparable to an entire human lifespan, often far exceeding the lifespans of most mortals. For such an extended period, they naturally needed a place to stay. Those with the means would choose to purchase their own private residences, while those less fortunate could only rent. The least capable couldn't even afford rent and had to find other ways to secure a place to settle.
“They sowed the seeds, and now they reap the harvest; there's no one else to blame,” Yang Haoran said with a smile. “Still, compared to those whose souls have scattered, they are quite fortunate. ”
Jiang Dashi nodded gently, then said, “Naturally. Let alone compared to souls that have scattered, even compared to those sent to hell to suffer, or those tormented daily in the River of Oblivion, they are still living quite happily. ”
Yang Haoran had seen the spirits struggling in the River of Oblivion. Although he couldn't comprehend the exact torment those souls endured, their distorted expressions clearly showed their immense suffering.
As for what hell truly looked like and what torments its spirits endured, Yang Haoran hadn't seen it, so he wasn't clear. However, based on his guess, he believed the spirits in hell must suffer even more terribly than those in the River of Oblivion.
Yang Haoran didn't pursue the topic further. After all, it wasn't something he could meddle with. Even if he had the power, he wouldn't. The Underworld Office had its laws, and the Underworld had its rules. If one couldn't rise above those rules, they could only honestly live beneath them, bound by their constraints.
Changing the subject, Yang Haoran inquired about Jiang Dashi's experiences after arriving in the Underworld. When Luo Yao had taken Jiang Dashi away, Yang Haoran had felt both happy and a little uneasy. He worried that Luo Yao might not keep his promise and would simply eliminate Jiang Dashi. While the possibility was low, it wasn't entirely nonexistent.
When he saw Jiang Dashi last year, his worries had vanished. Nevertheless, he was still very curious about the series of events Jiang Dashi had experienced after coming to the Underworld.
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