“A bit, yes,” Zu An said while thinking,

It wasn't just them. Aren’t the two of you the same?

The White Guard of Impermanence explained with a chuckle, “It’s actually not their fault. After all, the position of Naihe Oblivion Ferryman is quite lucrative.”

“Lucrative job?” Zu An was confused. He really couldn't associate being a ferryman with a lucrative post.

“Of course it’s a lucrative job,” the Black Guard of Impermanence said in a low, muffled voice. “After all, when one dies, their souls are captured by us brothers and brought up to the Hell Gates, upon which they fall under Ox Head and Horse Face’s jurisdiction. Their subordinates escort the dead through the Yellow Springs Path before arriving at the Hall of King Qin Guang. After that is crossing the Naihe Oblivion River. The only way to cross involves a Naihe Oblivion Ferryman, and the ferryman never brings anyone across for free. All souls need to pay the toll.”

Zu An was stunned. “What money would souls even have?”

“Of course they have some. Normally, the relatives of the deceased among the living, their loved ones and descendants, burn a lot of ritual money for them. It is those who die violently or lonely souls who have no one seeing them off who cannot get on the ship,” the Black Guard of Impermanence explained. “Without a ferry, those souls are forced to continue on their own to enter the cycle of reincarnation, so they often take the risk and swim to shore. Still, there are some ghosts that try treachery and use other schemes to get on the boat. And yet in the end, they are just tossed into the Naihe Oblivion River.”

The White Guard of Impermanence added, “The Naihe Oblivion River is a mysterious river of Hell. No matter what kind of being enters the river, they will have all of their memories washed away and become empty-headed fools. They thus forever remain in the river and become river ghosts. Throughout the countless years, there have been innumerable river ghosts. Whenever a new soul accidentally falls into the river, the river ghosts frantically grab and tear at that soul, denying them the chance to climb ashore and turning them into a river ghost just like themselves; one becomes forever trapped in the river, unable to return to the cycle of reincarnation to be set free.” The White Guard of Impermanence almost seemed happy to talk about them. He clearly looked down on those river ghosts who wanted others to suffer because they were suffering.

Zu An clicked his tongue in amazement as he listened. He had felt the power of the Naihe Oblivion Water even when he was fighting against the War Priest. That was just a single drop, and yet it was already so strong. If it were a whole river… Just thinking about it was terrifying.

The White Guard of Impermanence smiled and said, “Every single soul that enters hell, regardless of how much authority or wealth they had, or how high their cultivation was before they passed on, needs to pay the Naihe Oblivion Ferrymen. So tell me, do you think it’s a lucrative job or not?”

“It really is indeed.” Zu An thought to himself,

No wonder the Black and White Guards of Impermanence became so much more friendly when they knew what kind of identity I was going to have.

It seemed that the idiom 'money will make ghosts turn millstones' really was true.

“By the way, what was the Hall of King Qin Guang you guys were just talking about just now?” he asked, remembering some of the names they had mentioned.

The White and Black Guards of Impermanence wanted to cultivate a better relationship with him to begin with. It wasn’t too often one would run into a newbie who didn’t know anything here, so they were more than happy to explain things. “Our Hell has eight great kings of hell, and every single one of them has their respective palace. The Hall of King Qin Guang is where he rules, and it is also the first palace that ghosts need to pass through.”

“The Hall of King Qin Guang is mainly in charge of determining whether or not we ghost emissaries caught the wrong person. If there is no mistake, then the ghost will be judged based on whether their life was good or evil. If their good exceeds their evil, they are sent directly to the Hall of Reincarnation to enter the six paths of reincarnation. If their evil is greater, hmph… then they have quite the experience awaiting them.” The White Guard of Impermanence’s laugh was especially sinister.

The Black Guard of Impermanence explained, “If they have done more evil, they enter through the great kings of hell’s respective palaces one after another. Depending on what kinds of evils they have done, they are sent to different regions to experience endless torture. They can only endure countless years of pain before they can wash away their evils and be allowed into the six paths of reincarnation.

“Of course, there are some individuals who have committed so many evils that they might never be able to leave Hell.”

Zu An suddenly remembered Ka Qier and asked about the Skin-Flaying Hell.

“The Skin Flaying Hell… It seems to belong to the Hall of King Bian Cheng,” the White Guard of Impermanence replied after taking a moment to think.

“Does hell have ghost kings?” Zu An asked directly.

“Ghost kings?” The White Guard of Impermanence laughed. “Those guys in hell are all prisoners. With us brothers here, how could they dare to claim to be kings?”

Zu An was stunned. If there were no ghost kings, what was going on with the Skin-Flaying King?

Just then, the Black Guard of Impermanence explained, “But there are some evil ghosts in Hell who suffer torture day and night, so they can’t help but be filled with negative emotions. This often causes them to frequently fight each other, and sometimes, an especially strong one might appear. They call themselves ghost kings in private, but to the rest of us, it is just a joke.”

Zu An frowned slightly. He felt that something wasn’t quite right here. He asked, “Then in what kinds of situations can those ghost kings leave and act on their own?”

The Black Guard of Impermanence was stunned. “Normally, it is only after they’ve paid for their evil that they can be cleansed and moved to the Hall of Reincarnation before being sent into the six paths. But anyone who could become a ghost king would normally be someone responsible for great evil, so how could they possibly be cleansed of their sins? What you are talking about does not really happen.”

“Then what if a ghost king really did leave?” Zu An continued.

The White Guard of Impermanence laughed heartily and said, “That would be impossible unless all of us are killed.”

The Black Guard of Impermanence’s serious face also had a bit of a smile on it, as if he had heard something extremely laughable.

As he looked at the Black and White Guards of Impermanence, Zu An was starting to feel more and more doubt. But when he saw that he couldn't obtain any more useful information, he asked about some other things. “By the way, you guys said that the Hall of Qin Guang examines whether one has lived a good or evil life, but there are so many people in the world and so many things have happened. Would anyone really be able to judge them all?”

“This is where your lack of information confuses you.” The White Guard of Impermanence chuckled, making his long tongue look especially terrifying. “The Hall of Qin Guang has a Mirror of Evil. Any ghost that has his reflection shown in the mirror has the events of his life revealed, especially the evils he has done, so every ghost who enters Hell is convinced by the decision.”

“There was actually something so amazing in this world!” Zu An exclaimed in surprise. He really couldn't imagine how the mirror did all of that.

“Hell has so many mysterious and incredible things that we have no way to talk about all of it. We can slowly chat about it with Brother Zu when we get a chance in the future.” The Black and White Guards of Impermanence enjoyed the feeling of mentoring a newcomer. They remembered how they had been about the same when they first came here in the past, knowing nothing and wanting to ask about everything.

Zu An suddenly saw what appeared to be a blood-red lantern light in front of him and was stunned. After all, once he entered Hell, he had found himself in an almost completely grayscale world without other colors. That was why the blood-red glow was especially striking.

Up ahead, there was a quiet and secluded path with beautiful flowers to either side. However, there wasn’t even a single leaf. Every single flower blossomed like strands of fine silk; gathered at the center were flower petals. They looked beautiful, yet also dangerous. Additionally, the flowers’ bright red color gave off an ominous air.

“So these are the legendary Red Spider Lilies?” Zu An asked, recalling some legends.

“That’s right, the human world sometimes calls these Red Spider Lilies. These flowers grow at the sides of the Yellow Springs, and also serve to guide souls. The flowers can condense fragmented souls and make them remember some things from their previous incarnations,” explained the White Guard of Impermanence.

“Previous incarnations?” Zu An repeated in surprise. He reflexively sniffed the floral scent in the air, and memories of when he had typed furiously in online forums reappeared. He was about to say something when some terrifying scenes appeared in his head. It was as if the world was perishing and all life was howling in grief.

His expression changed as he felt an intense pain in his head. He couldn't endure it even with his willpower and screamed.

“What’s wrong?” The Black and White Guards of Impermanence hurriedly asked.

“It’s nothing.” Zu An’s expression was a bit pale. The earlier scene had only flickered past, and yet all of it just seemed too real. He tried to recall it, but he couldn't remember anything specific anymore.