Chapter 134: The Mirror of Justice Shines High

Arsaces fell silent for a moment, as if organizing her words, before speaking a few seconds later: "The Bright Mirror High-Hanging... It is a sword."

"It was forged over a millennium from the five-colored stones used by Goddess Nüwa to patch the heavens. Above, it can observe the mortal world; below, it can survey the netherworld. Furthermore... everything it observes is preserved within the mirror, allowing the nether-emissaries to view these recordings at any time."

Qin Ye furrowed his brows. Intuition told him there was more to it. That piercing chill just now... this mirror harbored killing intent toward him.

"Do you sense a threat to your life?" Unexpectedly, Arsaces said directly, "Then you are right. The so-called Bright Mirror High-Hanging is the principle of the netherworld—it does not allow a villain to go unpunished, nor does it allow a good person to be wronged... It has its own standard of judgment, and it... is alive."

"Once you commit an act contrary to the identity of a nether-emissary... such as tampering arbitrarily with the Book of Life and Death, or establishing private prisons at will, it... will ruthlessly erase you!"

"Alive?" Qin Ye stared in astonishment at the mirror in his hand. It reflected his own face. He turned it over and over, examining it several times, but found nothing unusual.

He intended to put it down, but paused. After hesitating for half a second, he couldn't help but use the mirror to straighten his hair.

Arsaces's expression turned ashen.

Qin Ye remained unfazed, continuing to tilt his head to inspect his skin. Ah... still so dazzlingly handsome it could shatter the firmament...

"...Advanced stage narcissistic cancer, completely incurable." Arsaces sighed with a look of profound pity.

"Ahem... Habit becomes second nature..." Qin Ye gave a dry cough. "That is not the point! The point is... this official happens to know a few minor tricks. No matter how aloof it may be, it is bound to respond."

"Are you... kidding me?" Arsaces looked at him as if he had seen a ghost.

In her hundreds of years in the netherworld, even she had never witnessed the spirit of the Bright Mirror High-Hanging manifesting.

Qin Ye sneered, gently stroking the mirror's surface: "O mirror, oh mirror..."

Arsaces reined in her expression, taking on a hint of seriousness.

"Who is the most handsome man among all the nether-emissaries?"

"What the hell...!" Arsaces wanted nothing more than to slap this unreliable nether-emissary to death! The look of lingering hope she had held a moment earlier must have been utterly foolish, truly!

Just as her three corpse spirits were practically about to leap out of her body from the sheer exasperation Qin Ye caused, the mirror's surface actually began to ripple with waves.

Arsaces could scarcely believe her eyes!

The very last nether-emissary in the world asks a question utterly devoid of dignity, and the magic mirror—no, the Bright Mirror—actually responds?

It responded?!

Are you fucking kidding me?!

Qin Ye was also stunned, then looked out the window with the lonely detachment of one standing at the heights. "As expected... good looks are absolute justice..."

"Bah!" Before his voice even faded, a stream of green fire spewed directly out of the magic mirror. A line of text, clearly written in fury and distorted by anger, glowing a bloody red, appeared on the mirror: "Get your hand off, you ugly freak!!"

...

Qin Ye fell silent for two seconds.

Two seconds later, Arsaces's voice, a mix of shock and rage, rang out by the window: "What are you trying to do?! Let go... Put your hand down! Do you know what this is? It's a celestial treasure of the netherworld! Believe it or not, chipping a corner of it could get you a life sentence!"

"No one stop me!! Today, I swear I'm going to make it tell the truth! Speak while looking at this official's face!! Speak with your conscience!" Qin Ye leaned his upper body out of the window, his temples throbbing, and said through clenched teeth. Arsaces was pulling desperately at his clothes in a rather delicate posture.

The mirror teetered precariously in his hand as lines of text designed to test Qin Ye's nerves flashed rapidly across its surface: "Drop it then! If you have the guts, drop it! If you have the guts, smash this mirror into pieces!"

"Fine then! I have an old friend named Pan An; now your daddy has even become a handsome deity. Aren't you going to speak up? Or is it that after living in the netherworld for thousands of years, your aesthetic has finally collapsed to the point of structural failure, and you can only admit that this deity is peerlessly handsome, yet the words are stuck in your throat?"

"Hahaha... The master map of the netherworld is right here in your daddy's hands! This mirror is so scared, please, let go! If you don't let go, I'm going to scream rape?"

Qin Ye swallowed hard, whipped his head around, pulled his body back in, and looked solemnly at Arsaces. "Little Ah, how many times have I told you? A scholar may be killed but not humiliated. Integrity is the principle that while alive one should be a hero among men, and in death a hero among ghosts. How could a nether-emissary ever allow a lingering spirit to ride over his head? How many times must I tell you? Stop pulling on me! Some spirits just need to be reminded of who the master is!"

Arsaces silently looked at her hands, which were still wrapped around Qin Ye's waist, and cast a cold glance at him. "Young man... You want to die, don't you?"

"However, since you've so earnestly pleaded for me to stay, I shall magnanimously grant you your wish and spare its life." Mid-sentence, Qin Ye had already agilely retreated to the side of the bed. Placing the mirror beside him, he picked up a pillowcase and began gently wiping it down.

His movements were exceptionally natural and smooth.

"Oh? Wasn't someone just trying to smash this mirror to pieces? Let me tell you, I'm never getting over this hurdle! Sitting high in the netherworld for millennia, this mirror has never seen anyone dare to be so arrogant in front of me!" Line after line of text appeared on the mirror, firing off five insults a second.

Qin Ye frowned. "As a divine artifact of the netherworld, can't you be a little less petty?"

He then turned his head. "Little Ah, hurry up and apologize. Look at what a state you've driven others into."

Silence reigned behind him.

Three seconds later, accompanied by a resounding "bang," Qin Ye was perfectly plastered against the door, sliding down while rubbing his lower back.

"My Lord, you needn't bicker with it." Arsaces walked over to the Bright Mirror High-Hanging with a smile and curtsied. "This official..."

"I know, Alashas, isn't it? Back then, wasn't it you who caused the apocalypse explosion and was cast into the Naraka Abyss by this mirror? When did you get out of prison? Do tell so this mirror can have a good laugh." Another line of text appeared.

Qin Ye keenly noticed that the hand Arsaces had placed on her knee gave a sharp crack.

Being able to produce a cracking sound while in a silicone body... it could be said that Arsaces's anger meter was instantly maxed out.

"My Lord..." Qin Ye sidled over as well, offering an awkward smile. "That was just a little joke just now. Um... you see, with the explosion of mortal spirits imminent and only myself left in the Underworld, I've finally managed to scrape together a construction team, missing only the master map. Would you... be so kind as to spit it out pleasantly?"

"That depends on this mirror's mood." The Bright Mirror High-Hanging spoke lazily. Before it could continue, Arsaces's icy voice rang out: "My Lord, this is no joke. Although the Bright Mirror High-Hanging is a celestial treasure, during Ksitigarbha's attainment of Buddhahood, just how much damage did you sustain? Only we can help you recover your original state. Once the mortal realm collapses and ten thousand ghosts roam free, we won't even be able to handle the mortal affairs in time. Do you still expect to have the leisure to help your spirit leave its vessel and return to being a celestial treasure?"

An unexpected silence fell.

Several seconds later, the Bright Mirror High-Hanging spoke, "Little girl... can you perceive the extent of this mirror's injuries?"

Arsaces offered a shallow bow. "This official was once a Judge governing a province, after all. As a celestial treasure, your spirit entity is unable to leave its vessel; yet when unsealed just now, you failed to break through my self-contained boundary. You... are at most at the impermanence level now."

Silence once more.

A full ten minutes passed before the Bright Mirror High-Hanging finally withdrew its sharp edges. Its voice steadied—one could not tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman—as it asked gravely, "What has happened to the mortal realm?"

Over the next thirty minutes, Qin Ye analyzed the situation in the mortal realm and detailed the preparations and work he had carried out in the netherworld.

The Bright Mirror High-Hanging was silent for a while before finally letting out a sigh. "The Asura Path... the Preta Path... the three great path lords... They actually weren't taken away..."

The mirror spun, reflecting Qin Ye's face—not merely as a shadow, but with the reflection of Qin Ye within the mirror saying solemnly: "Within ten years at most, the decisive battle between Yin and Yang will erupt. They... are by no means benevolent entities! Even with all the evil ghosts this mirror has witnessed, they... are among the most fiendish of all!"

"You have met them?" Qin Ye's gaze flashed, and he immediately asked.

"I have..." The Bright Mirror High-Hanging drew a sharp breath. "When the Six Paths were first established, they were extremely unstable and required the souls of ancient villains as foundations. To capture them... a total of eighteen Lords, three Ghost Kings, over two hundred Judges, Impermanences, soul-catchers, and countless ghost-officers were dispatched... Don't expect this mirror to project their true forms; even this mirror... cannot project that source of all evils."

Qin Ye drew in a sharp breath. "What is their... nether energy index? If Di Ting's is thirty million?"

The Bright Mirror High-Hanging fell silent for a moment before answering solemnly, "Each of them is at least twelve million or more!"

Both Qin Ye and Arsaces felt their scalps tingle.

"Peak Lords... approaching the rank of Yama. No wonder... no wonder such a massive military force had to be mobilized..." Arsaces murmured. "Even if they suffered heavy damage during Ksitigarbha's attainment of Buddhahood, right now... they are likely still at least in the millions!"

In the human world, there were three blood-dripping eyes watching this place without a single moment of respite.

The Bright Mirror High-Hanging took a deep breath. "Kid... as the nether-emissary chosen by Meng Po, let bygones be bygones. When the time comes, place this mirror atop the Ghost Gate, and it will be to your benefit."

It paused. "As for the master map, I do have it. Furthermore, the moment Ksitigarbha attained Buddhahood, Meng Po happened to be reporting to Heavenly Emperor Bao, and her very first reaction was to grab this mirror and check the netherworld master map. Clever girl..."

Qin Ye asked in a low voice, "Little Ah, is Meng Po... really that strong? To be able to go from Heavenly Emperor Bao to the Bright Mirror High-Hanging in an instant?"

Arsaces said indifferently, "Heavenly Emperor Bao governs the Fifth Hall; his full name is Bao Zheng, whom you should know. The Bright Mirror High-Hanging was bestowed upon Heavenly Emperor Bao by King Yama and sits right above the Fifth Hall to weigh all crimes and punishments. It's not particularly miraculous."

Qin Ye nodded and looked sincerely at the Bright Mirror High-Hanging. "Then... when can you give it to me?"

"Now."

Before the voice finished echoing, a beam of golden light shot directly into Qin Ye's glabella. Qin Ye trembled all over, blinked his eyes, and with a dull thud, fainted and collapsed.

"Is he alright?" Arsaces asked casually.

"He's fine," the Bright Mirror High-Hanging said indifferently. "The netherworld is vast, spanning millions of square kilometers. This mirror imprinted the information directly into his mind; the volume of data is simply too massive for him to digest all at once. He'll be fine after sleeping for a few days."

What they were discussing, Qin Ye could no longer hear.

At this very moment, while his physical body remained unconscious, his soul had entered an incomparably vast world.

Suffused with nether energy, the sky flashed with blood-red lightning, and ghost fire blazed for ten thousand丈. Right before him, a majestic giant city, unlike any he had ever seen, appeared completely before his eyes.

Hundreds of millions of lingering spirits converged from all directions, and the terrifying nether energy made it difficult for him to breathe. Yet he felt as though he were the eyes of the Heavenly Emperor, gazing upon this city whose grandeur defied description!

Right at the gates of the giant city, on a towering stone monument, two blood-red characters were written in the iron-hook silver-stroke style!

Fengdu!

The Six Paths of Reincarnation, the Ten Courts of Hell, the Eighteen Minor Hells, the Naihe Bridge, the Three-Life Stone... everything existed just as it had before that world-shaking cataclysm had yet to arrive—the complete netherworld!