Chapter 1333: Purgatory On Earth

A despairing look overcame the three-eyed man’s expression. He wasn’t moving not because he didn’t want to move, but because he couldn’t.

When he saw the yin fire and heard the horrifying wails, every ounce of strength in his body abruptly fled him. Trembling from the bottom of his soul, the only thing he could do was fear and despair.

“Hmm?”

The yin fire and souls were one meter away from the young man when he slowly turned around and hmmed in question.

It was a hmm that seemed both annoyed and disdainful at the same time. Whatever the case, the sky of yin fire abruptly froze in place, and the countless wailing souls fell silent just like that.

It was as if they were afraid. It was as if they didn’t dare to move an inch further or scream for fear of annoying the young man.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“Get lost.”

The young man waved his hand, and an invisible boom crumbled the yin fire and shook his soul. Like a tidal wave, it retreated in an instant.

“What were you saying just now?”

Ye Qing turned to look at the three-eyed man after repelling the yin fire and the trapped souls.

The three-eyed man could only stare at him with his mouth agape. He would not recover his wits until Ye Qing spoke up again.

“Hello? Can you speak?”

Ye Qing’s slightly ridiculing tone abruptly brought the three-eyed man back to reality. Ice cold reality. He immediately bashed his head against the floor again and again like he was smashing garlic and begged, “Mercy, senior! Mercy! This junior realizes his mistake!”

Ye Qing snarked while looking down on the three-eyed man, “Oh yeah? Tell me, what did you do wrong?”

The three-eyed man kept kowtowing even though his face was covered in blood at this point. “This junior... this junior should not have offended you, should not have thought himself smarter than you, should not have tried to harm you...”

“I see. What do you think would be an appropriate punishment then?”

Ye Qing asked thoughtfully, “Killing you would be too good for you. The yin fire seemed pretty interesting though. Should I toss you back into its loving embrace?”

“No! Mercy, senior! This junior knows his mistake!”

Terrified, the three-eyed man kowtowed even harder than before. It seemed like there was nothing else he could do besides this. “If you forgive me, this junior is willing to do anything! Anything! This junior will become your beast of burden; the fodder you send into the greatest dangers! So please!”

One breath... two breaths... ten breaths...

The three-eyed man did not dare to stop because he didn’t hear a response from Ye Qing. He could only kowtow again and again even as the despair and fear in his heart kept growing.

He did not want to die. He was terrified to die. After all, death was not the end in the Void Stomach City. It was just the beginning of a more painful, terrifying, and despairing eternity.

The souls of those who died here would not simply disappear into nothing, much less fall into hell or the cycle of reincarnation. They would simply be trapped in Void Stomach City forever; unable to leave, die, or be reborn. They would suffer for eternity.

The living at least still had a sliver of hope, but the dead truly could do nothing but despair forever and ever.

That was why the people of Void Stomach City fought tooth and nail to live even a second longer.

“Enough. At this rate, you won’t be able to function as my beast of burden.”

Just when the three-eyed man was about to succumb to total despair, Ye Qing finally gave him a response.

“Ah!”

Mad joy filled the three-eyed man after he recovered from his shock, “Thank you for showing mercy, senior! Thank you thank you thank you!”

“Now, get up!”

Ye Qing waved his hand and motioned for the three-eyed man to stand up. But as soon as he did this, Ye Qing abruptly tapped him in his third eye without warning.

The three-eyed man was caught off guard, of course. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to react before his pupils dilated, and his eyes grew murky and unfocused.

While this was going on, Ye Qing’s pupils also turned as black as the night. A demonic lotus could be seen flickering in and out of existence behind them.

A dozen or so breaths later, Ye Qing finally removed his finger from the three-eyed man’s forehead. The demonic lotus in his eyes had vanished as well.

“So this is Void Stomach City?”

Ye Qing murmured to himself while mulling over the knowledge and memories he had gleaned from the three-eyed man’s mind. He now had a rough idea of this place.

Void Stomach City was a purgatory on earth. Here, there was no good, no evil, and no rules. There was only chaos, despair, and suffering.

Void Stomach City was always filled with dangers and terrors. Slaughter and despair were its main themes.

The tainted air that permeated this place warped a person’s mind and body over time. That was what had happened to the three-eyed man and those he saw earlier. Once enough time had passed, they would mutate into beings that were neither humans nor ghosts.

The three-eyed man was one of the “luckier” ones. He had only come to the Void Stomach City for a few months. That was why he only grew an eye on his forehead. The longer one stayed in Void Stomach City, the greater the extent of their corruption, the worse their mutation would be. In the end, they would completely lose their humanity and transform into a monster in both body and soul.

The city was absolutely crawling with Strangers. A simple walk on the street might see your shadow being consumed by a shadow Stranger. Staying inside a building might see you hanging on the beam for no reason. Eating might see you possessed by a hungry ghost. Sleeping might see you invaded by a dream woman. In conclusion, there were Strangers everywhere.

The weather was a constant deluge of disasters. Today, it might rain Tainted Rain. Tomorrow, a Corrosive Wind might blow. The day after that, a Silent Snow might fall from the sky. Three days from today, a blood moon might rise to the sky. Not a single day went by where the people could rest easily.

Pain and suffering existed everywhere in the city. The thirsty could only drink iron water to sate their thirst. The hungry could only eat charcoal to satisfy their hunger, and the weary could only sleep on nail beds to alleviate their fatigue.

Even worse, one must avoid death at all costs inside Void Stomach City. After all, death was not a release, but the beginning of an even worse suffering and despair.

No one knew why the Void Stomach City existed, or whether the giant ghoul that encompassed it was its master.

One thing for certain, Void Stomach City was a true purgatory on earth. It was a city of sin of evil with no end or escape.

Ye Qing let out a murky breath. His heart could not help but feel heavy.

The Void Stomach City was one place that absolutely should not exist in this world. If possible, he didn’t mind destroying it.

That said, he mustn’t forget his priorities. He must rescue his Pacification Bureau colleagues first.

On a related note, the reason the people fought each other to get on the Yin Horse Carriage was because it was the only way to leave the Void Stomach City. However, the Yin Horse Carriage also took one person only. Naturally, they fought tooth and nail for the right to get on.

“Let’s leave.”

After taking a moment to sort out his feelings, Ye Qing turned around and walked toward the deeper parts of the city. Papersmith was right behind him.

The three-eyed man had long awakened at this point. His eyes focused on Ye Qing’s back, and his expression showed that he was fighting an internal struggle. In the end though, he clenched his teeth and chased after Ye Qing.

The fact that Ye Qing had ignored him meant that he had decided to let him go. If he wanted to leave, he could leave any time he wanted to. But if he did, he might lose his one and only chance at leaving this purgatory on earth. Sure, it was hardly a sure thing, but still, he wasn’t willing to let the opportunity slip.

Rather than barely surviving every day just to repeat it all over again, he would rather gamble it all on the hope of true release. That was why he went after Ye Qing.

If there was one thing that relieved the three-eyed man, it was that Ye Qing did not chase him away.

There were buildings stacked up like the scales of a fish, a maze of streets that looked impossible to navigate, and countless people coming back and forth inside the Void Stomach City. It looked almost no different from the real world.