Are You a Transmigrator?

That night, the Corpse-Driving Man had driven six corpses. One of them was a terrifying Quasi-Emperor corpse, and it had nearly scared Gu Baishui's soul right out of his body.

Gu Baishui hadn't actually seen what the other five corpses looked like.

The curtain of rain obscured his view, but when the burly Corpse-Driving Man carried the bodies into the woodshed, Gu Baishui had glimpsed a single white figure.

Among the five black or dark-red corpses, the white one stood out.

And it was very tall.

White Impermanence turned around expressionlessly and looked at Gu Baishui with calm detachment. "That was me."

"And the Ox-Head and Horse-Face brothers outside the courtyard?"

"Mm. Two corpses."

Gu Baishui's eyelids twitched. In an instant, he remembered that rainy night at the Abandoned Temple.

A mysterious Corpse-Driving Man, driving six silent corpses.

And those six corpses were the Netherworld's officials, Ox-Head, Horse-Face, and Black and White Impermanence?!

Wasn't this joke going a bit too far?

In tales of the supernatural, Ox-Head, Horse-Face, and Black and White Impermanence were always lofty and merciless, driving evil spirits and wronged souls before them. When had they ever fallen so low as to be driven by someone else?

And of the other two corpses, one was a Quasi-Emperor corpse. Who was the other?

Gu Baishui's eyes shifted as he watched the tall, slender white figure leading the way. A vague suspicion began to take shape.

This Old Ye Residence kept Ox-Head, Horse-Face, and Black and White Impermanence. It was practically a Netherworld in the mortal realm.

Aside from those four most famous figures, the only ones in the Netherworld who hadn't shown themselves were the Judge and... the Yama King.

What rank did that Quasi-Emperor corpse hold?

The Judge? Or the Yama King?

Gu Baishui rubbed the tip of his nose and let out a deep breath.

If the most reasonable guess was right, then this Old Ye Residence was the Great Emperor Li Shiyi's mausoleum after his death.

That meant the only one who could occupy the position of Yama King was this Decaying Great Emperor.

Was the Quasi-Emperor corpse the Judge? Then who did the last corpse belong to?

Drizzle shrouded the entire gloomy residence. White Impermanence floated ahead at an unhurried pace, and Gu Baishui followed in silence.

They walked along the corridor and around several corners. White Impermanence led Gu Baishui into the depths of the residence, finally stopping in front of a brightly lit room.

"Knock, knock."

Unexpectedly, White Impermanence calmly knocked on the door. It wasn't out of courtesy, nor was he being particularly respectful; it felt more like a routine formality.

"Who is it?"

A steady, clear voice came from inside. White Impermanence raised his eyes without changing expression.

"Me."

"Little Bai?" The person inside sounded a little surprised. "What is it?"

"Brought someone."

White Impermanence was a man of few words. Apparently finding the back-and-forth too tedious, he added, "The person Miss wanted to see. He answered two questions."

There was a brief silence inside the room. Then, an emotionless voice said, "Let him in."

"Creak."

The wooden door swung open from the outside. A Green-Robed Youth peeked inside, then walked into the room.

The night wind carried drizzle into the room, lifting the pages of books in one fluttering wave after another. A broad hand quickly pressed them back down.

There were three wooden desks, one large and two small.

The red desk was the largest and occupied the seat of honor. The other two, one black and one white, were set below it, each with a cushion nearby.

Gu Baishui was already familiar with the arrangement. If nothing unexpected had happened, the white desk should have been his place.

What he hadn't expected was that a middle-aged man in a red robe was seated behind the main desk.

He wore a Judge's hat, held a brush in one hand and a book in the other, and calmly wrote and drew upon it.

Sure enough, it was just as Gu Baishui had guessed. After passing Ox-Head, Horse-Face, and Black and White Impermanence, he had arrived at the Judge's desk.

The Judge paid no attention to the young man standing below. After making several marks in his book, he set down the Judge's register and revealed his face.

Gu Baishui raised his head as well, meeting the Judge's gaze-and froze on the spot.

Silence. They stared at one another without a word. Gu Baishui opened his mouth, overwhelmed with emotion, but the Red-Robed Judge behind the desk remained expressionless.

"Sir, I thought... you really were just a storyteller."

Gu Baishui fell silent for a long while, then let out a long sigh. "So we actually met outside Luoyang City?"

"Mm."

The storyteller, who should have been locking up the tavern, slowly nodded. He set down his Judge's brush and looked up. "You promised me you wouldn't go out tonight."

Gu Baishui pursed his lips, then suddenly gave a silent laugh. "I've promised my Master and my senior brothers plenty of things, but they all know very well that I'm not someone who keeps his word. In the mountains, only Little Junior Sister is a little foolish and stubborn. She gets tricked again and again, and still there's always a next time."

The storyteller-the Judge of the Old Ye Residence-shook his head helplessly, though deep in his eyes there was also a distant, strange wistfulness.

The way this young man shamelessly carried on really did resemble the person buried deep in Miss's memories.

No wonder Miss had ultimately decided to travel with him from that Abandoned Temple, walking once more along a road that meant so much to her.

"I remember there were six... that night."

Gu Baishui hesitated, but still couldn't bring himself to say, "Six corpses."

Counting the Judge in front of him and Ox-Head, Horse-Face, and Black and White Impermanence in the courtyard, there were five corpses in all. Only the identity of the last, the old corpse at the Quasi-Emperor Realm, remained undisclosed.

"Yes. Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Black and White Impermanence, and me—that makes five."

The Red-Robed Judge brushed his sleeve and continued, "The one who got up in the middle of the night to use the toilet was our Master. He should still be outside the city. He'll enter the city after a little while."

Gu Baishui asked again, "Then these questions you gave me..."

"Miss prepared them for you."

"What are they for?"

"What do you think?" The Red-Robed Judge said expressionlessly. "It's so obvious, you shouldn't have trouble guessing."

Gu Baishui was silent for a moment, then nodded with a complicated expression. "You're looking for... a true Transmigrator."

A faint glimmer passed through the Red-Robed Judge's eyes, gone almost before it could be seen. He spoke slowly, "Of course. We're looking for a true Transmigrator. We've been searching for many, many years."

"Then, are you a Transmigrator?"

The Red-Robed Judge asked calmly, but his gaze had stayed fixed on Gu Baishui the entire time, waiting for the young man's final answer.

Miss said he wasn't. But whether he truly was or not mattered greatly to their group, just as it had with Li Shiyi back then.

Before Li Shiyi died, they had asked him the very same question.