Ye Zhengyi explained, "At the time, a plague broke out in the west. The disaster was severe, and the local officials deliberately covered it up, which led to a catastrophe. By the time the imperial court received word, many people had already died. There were also refugees roaming unchecked, carrying the epidemic to other places. So many people had died that too many souls needed to enter the underworld. The grim reapers moved from their original residence, and the Road to the Underworld was rerouted. It happened to pass through the prince's residence. That was how it happened. No one could stop it. Liu Che didn't dwell on the matter. He simply took me away from home, and we began traveling. He seemed to have developed an interest in ghosts and the underworld, and wanted to get to the bottom of it... I'd never thought that way before. It was his suggestion that made me follow him and begin traveling through the mountains and rivers again."
At that point, Ye Zhengyi sighed wistfully. "We hadn't finished our journey or found the source when he died. As he was dying, he asked me to paint a picture. He wanted to see himself. So I painted him... and I saw Liu Che... He was clearly no ordinary person. But after he died, he didn't become a ghost. I didn't go to be reincarnated, either. I just kept traveling around, leaving behind many paintings. And then, what he hadn't seen... I saw it. I saw everything..."
My heart leaped, and I pressed him. "What did you see?"
The expression Ye Zhengyi had worn while telling his story vanished, and the weary air about him lifted. He smiled at me. "Young man, I've lived for a very long time, and I've been a ghost