Li Xin confirmed that the ghost official was indeed Chi Yu, and…

The green-faced ghost official froze for a moment. “Chi Yu, what’s wrong?”

Li Xin, having just calmed down, felt his emotions stir again, and his eyes reddened.

“When did he enter the Underworld?” Li Xin asked anxiously, unconsciously tightening his grip.

Hiss—

The green-faced ghost official winced in pain. “Master, please spare me. If you squeeze any harder, it’ll break.”

Li Xin immediately realized his mistake and quickly released his grip. “Apologies, I was rude.”

The green-faced ghost official didn’t dare to scold him and could only force a smile. But as a vicious ghost who had died a violent death, even his smile looked like a cry.

“Heh heh~ It’s fine.”

Li Xin repeated his question. “When did he enter the Underworld?”

The green-faced ghost official glanced in the direction where Chi Yu had disappeared. “He’s an old ghost, the oldest among the ghost officials in the Underworld. But as for the exact time he came, I don’t know. I do know he came before me.”

Li Xin took a deep breath. “Which division does he belong to in the Underworld, and what is his position?”

“The Department of Yincao, the Ghost Capturer,” the green-faced ghost official continued. “But normally, he’s not needed. Only when the workload is heavy, they assign him tasks.”

“Because his soul body is weak?” Li Xin asked.

“That’s part of it. But…” The green-faced ghost official lowered his voice. “He has a backer.”

“A backer?”

The green-faced ghost official forced a laugh that sounded more like crying. “I said too much. If Master has no other questions, I’ll be leaving.”

Li Xin nodded. “Thank you for the information.”

They both exchanged a bow, and the green-faced ghost official left.

Li Xin returned to his room, still unable to calm down. Years ago, after Chi Yu’s sacrifice to the heavens, his soul had shattered. Fortunately, Li Xin’s profound skills prevented the remains of his soul from disappearing immediately.

He had once thought that these souls would go to the Underworld, so centuries ago, he had repeatedly sneaked into the Underworld to search for them, but all his efforts were in vain.

Later, he learned forbidden techniques to escape the cycle of reincarnation, which made him too afraid to visit the Underworld easily.

Moreover, he never believed that Chi Yu’s remaining soul would be in the Underworld. So, after hundreds of years, he searched in the human world.

In the end, heaven didn’t disappoint him—he truly found Chi Yu’s Earth Soul and two Souls.

But these souls were severely damaged and had been tainted by many different impurities, making it impossible to merge them. Li Xin had to place them in three white jade statues of Chi Yu, daily using his own spiritual power to nourish them and help them recover.

Today, seeing Chi Yu’s Heaven Soul, Li Xin was both shocked and overjoyed. He never expected that his Heaven Soul was so complete and still serving as a ghost official in the Underworld.

Ghost officials who were detached from reincarnation were no longer ghosts, but messengers of the Underworld.

No wonder he couldn’t find him after searching so many times.

Li Xin knew that each of Chi Yu’s souls and his physical appearance were different, but why had his Heaven Soul forgotten him?

The Earth Soul was the one he had found himself. When he found the two Souls, they were weak but still retained their memories. What had happened to the Heaven Soul?

Li Xin couldn’t sleep all night, his mind filled with thoughts of how to enter the Underworld to find Chi Yu.

After Chi Yu returned, he heard from a colleague that Li Xin had been inquiring about him, which only made him more confused.

Could it be that there was some connection between them?

Thus, Chi Yu went to the biggest tavern in the Ghost Market, the Yinquan Residence.

On the surface, Yinquan Residence was a tavern, but in reality, it was a business that fulfilled the wishes of the deceased souls.

Many souls had regrets from their lives that they couldn’t let go of. They would come here, offering a large sum of money, to ask the owner to fulfill their wishes. As long as it didn’t disrupt the rules of the Underworld or involve killing people or changing fate, the owner would accept the request, making a fortune and becoming rich in the Underworld.

Moreover, no one dared to steal his business because everyone in the Underworld knew that the owner, You Jiang, was the Underworld Emperor’s lover. Even the ghost officials who went to the human world to do his bidding were sent by the Underworld Emperor.

Chi Yu had originally been a ghost official here, but the Underworld Emperor, jealous of how You Jiang treated him too well and fearing You Jiang’s anger, found an excuse to say that Chi Yu had been assigned an idle position in the Underworld, allowing him to live a relaxed life. This was how Chi Yu was sent away from You Jiang’s side.

Yinquan Residence was luxurious and very conspicuous in the Ghost Market. As soon as Chi Yu entered, he went straight through the front tavern and headed to the back hall to find You Jiang.

You Jiang was a male fox demon, naturally seductive and androgynous.

Chi Yu arrived at his door and gently knocked twice. “You Jiang, are you there?”

“Yes,” You Jiang’s lazy voice came from inside. “Come in.”

Chi Yu pushed the door open. You Jiang’s room was large and extravagant, with casually placed decorations that were top-grade magical tools coveted throughout the Six Realms. Through the swirling smoke, Chi Yu saw You Jiang lazily leaning on a couch, his loose clothes hanging off his body, holding a long, thin golden smoke pipe. His seductive eyes looked at Chi Yu with little interest.

“What brings you here today?”

Chi Yu did not answer. “How much have you smoked? The room is filled with smoke.”

You Jiang, with a serious expression, slowly sat up. “With that old man not here, can’t I indulge a little?”

Chi Yu lightly laughed. “Looking at you like this, it seems you really can’t live without him. Do you need to be together every day to feel at ease?”

“You don’t understand. This is called deep affection,” You Jiang reproached, “That old man is a scoundrel, impossible to change. If he’s not coming to find me, he’s probably lost in his harem again.”

Chi Yu, not understanding love, naturally didn’t understand You Jiang’s bitterness. “Aren’t all the past Nether Emperors supposed to have three palaces and six courtyards? If you want, maybe you could have sat on the position of the Nether Queen.”

“Not likely. That old man isn’t that kind-hearted.” You Jiang snorted lightly. “Besides, the Nether Palace is not as comfortable as here, I wouldn’t go.”

Chi Yu shook his head and got back to the main point. “I’m here today to ask something.”

You Jiang responded with an “Mm,” indicating for him to go ahead and ask.

Chi Yu found a chair and sat down. “What was I doing when I was alive? Why is it that I only have one soul entering the Netherworld?”

You Jiang was confused. “What made you ask this?”

“I met a Heavenly Master today. He mistook me for his senior brother, and then he asked the Blue-faced Ghost about me. I feel… like there’s something you haven’t told me before?”

You Jiang paused. “A Heavenly Master?”

“Yes, a Nine-Qian Heavenly Master. He looks young, but his skills are very high.”

You Jiang thought for a moment. What kind of Heavenly Master was this? And why was he asking about Chi Yu?

He took a puff from his pipe and tilted his head, exhaling a thin, white smoke. “Didn’t I tell you before? When I found you, you were in this state, your soul was severely damaged. I brought you to the Netherworld to find the old man to help fix your soul. As for why you only have one soul, I don’t know.”

Chi Yu observed You Jiang’s expression. “Is that really the case?”

“Of course.”

You Jiang’s expression was firm, and no one could detect a flaw in it.

Chi Yu lowered his head, thinking for a moment. “Then can you help me with something?”

“What kind of help? You say.”

“Can you get the Nether Emperor to issue me an order allowing me to go to the human world? I want to understand more about my past.”

You Jiang froze for a moment, then awkwardly smiled and asked, “Wasn’t everything fine before? What’s with this sudden obsession?”

Chi Yu wasn’t sure what had happened either. No one had ever asked him why he only had one soul or mentioned his life before, so he had never thought about it much.

But today, he met Li Xin. When he first saw Li Xin, he had felt a brief moment of confusion. And Li Xin had mistaken him for his senior brother. This made Chi Yu curious about his past life.

What kind of person had he been?

What had happened to him that left him with only one soul?

Could he really have some connection to Li Xin?

Would Li Xin know something?

Chi Yu sighed. “I’ve been muddling through these years, only now realizing how absurd my life has been. So, can you help me just this once?”

You Jiang hesitated, but finally agreed. “Alright, when the old man comes, I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you, You Jiang.” Chi Yu smiled faintly.

“Don’t be so polite. Come drink with me,” said You Jiang as he called in a servant to fetch some alcohol.

Chi Yu and You Jiang drank together, and Chi Yu once again thought about the strange look in Li Xin’s eyes when he looked at him.

There was sadness, guilt, and joy, a mixture so complex that Chi Yu couldn’t forget it.

At this time, the Liu family matter had been completely settled, and Li Xin had returned to his mountain-top villa early in the morning.

He couldn’t wait to see the jade crown he had personally made for Chi Yu all those years ago. Since it was completed, Chi Yu had worn it every day, treasuring it dearly.

Chang You, seeing Li Xin return, immediately approached him. “Master Li, you were right. There really is the master’s soul inside.”

“Really?” Li Xin was overjoyed and quickened his pace towards the basement.

“Indeed,” Chang You followed, “I’ve checked, but my magical power is too weak to summon the master’s soul. You’ll have to do it.”

Li Xin reached the basement and opened the secret chamber’s door. The jade crown was resting on the lotus platform in the center.

The room was sealed on all sides, and besides the lotus platform and the jade crown, there were only three white jade statues of Chi Yu.

Li Xin crouched by the lotus platform, excitedly picking up the jade crown, murmuring to himself, “I finally found you, Senior Brother. Wait for me. I will surely bring you back to life.”