Go all out

Chapter 47: The Thunder Tribulation Descends

“Hmph, ‘face’? Why on earth should I give you any face?” The water corpse sneered, How arrogant! I was furious inside, Old Lady Liu’s expression darkened, and the boat we were standing on immediately began to tilt forward. The three of us were startled. Since I was closest to Old Lady Liu—who was standing at the bow—a snake’s tail slowly emerged from beneath her leather coat. Scales the size of a fist, a pale green color, glowed. After catching a glimpse of it, I nearly fainted from fright. That snake’s tail that had emerged was thicker than my thigh. If Old Lady Liu revealed her true form, this boat would surely sink. The boat was tilting more and more severely, looking as if the entire vessel was about to capsize. Terrified, I could do nothing but cling to the railing at the side of the boat, staring at the coffin underwater. Both sides were on the brink of conflict—it was a tense standoff, I was eager to see Old Lady Liu’s true power and to catch a glimpse of the water corpse’s true form, but unexpectedly, the hand that had emerged from the coffin suddenly retracted. Without any warning, the entire coffin shot backward like a speedboat and plunged rapidly to the bottom. Soon, the water’s surface returned to its previous calm, I was dumbfounded, and so were Yang Yun and Zhang Qiang. What was that all about? That was way too quick a retreat. “Hmph! A creature who hasn’t even cultivated for three hundred years dares to compete with Old Lady Liu? Run any slower, and I’ll smash your coffin to pieces,” Old Lady Liu stomped her cane fiercely. The snake’s tail behind her flashed and retracted. The bow of the boat loosened, and after a violent lurch, it settled back into calm. I was still stunned. Just how many years has Old Lady Liu been cultivating? “You don’t want this so-called ‘Cave of Corpses’ anymore, so hand over those bones to Old Lady Liu right now…” Old Lady Liu’s eyes were fixed on the water’s surface in the distance. Soon, a set of white bones rose from the depths and drifted slowly toward us. Zhang Qiang swung his body hook out, snagged the woman’s skeletal remains, and pulled them ashore. Seeing the skeletal remains, I sighed. Inside her womb lay the skeletal remains of an undeveloped fetus—a stillborn child. It was a terrible tragedy. I looked at the woman’s skull, now nothing but bones. Her nose was high and prominent; I could vaguely sense that she must have been exceptionally beautiful in life—perhaps not quite a woman of unparalleled beauty, but certainly a rare and stunning beauty. No wonder this water corpse had even claimed the woman’s skeletal remains as its own. “All right, Old Lady Liu, I’m going to find something to eat,” Old Lady Liu tapped her cane on the ground and turned to leave. Naturally, I grew a bit anxious and hurriedly said, “Thank you, Old Lady Liu… oh, no, Grandma Liu…” Granny Liu turned back and glared at me. “Don’t go making up family ties, and don’t call me Grandma. I, Granny Liu, don’t have a grandson like you—good-for-nothing, wandering around in a place like this…” I felt a bit embarrassed. It had indeed been a bit dangerous just now; if Old Lady Liu hadn’t shown up, the three of us would’ve really come away empty-handed. “I understand,” Aunt Liu walked away slowly. A mist rose around her, making everything hazy; I didn’t even know how she was moving, and she gradually faded from view right before my eyes. I stood there dumbfounded for a moment, then suddenly remembered she’d said she’d come find me again in a month. More than ten days had passed since then, which meant Old Lady Liu would be back to see me in half a month. It’s not that I’m afraid—she knew my mom, and they seemed to get along well, so she naturally wouldn’t do anything to me. It’s just that last time she asked me to give her “hope,” and I’m a bit confused. What kind of hope could I possibly give her? Shaking my head to myself, Yang Yun had already gathered the woman’s remains, while Zhang Qiang walked into his houseboat, fetched another rooster, tied it to the stern, and slit its throat just the same—blood spurted out. Neither of them seemed the least bit interested in asking Old Lady Liu about anything. Clearly, they’d also figured out that Old Lady Liu’s true form was a snake. Of course, they were both curious as to why I knew such a powerful giant snake—they just kept their curiosity to themselves and didn’t ask outright. It was time to head back. Zhang Qiang hauled in the anchor and began the journey home. Along the way, Yang Yun finally let out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t spoken a word on the way there, but on the way back—perhaps because he was in a good mood—he occasionally exchanged a few words. Zhang Qiang, however, remained as he always was: a man of few words. Of course, with an Underworld official by my side, I naturally asked him some curious questions about the Underworld. Yang Yun didn’t have much to say on the subject, but it still broadened my horizons. For instance, he told me that the best way to deal with ghosts is with a young boy’s urine—luckily, I’m still a young boy… Then I asked him if every country had its own Underworld. He smiled and shook his head—there’s only one Underworld, and there’s only one King Yama. though other countries do have an afterlife—they just don’t call it the “Underworld”; they call it “Hell.” We have “ghost officers,” while they have “Grim Reapers”… The differences are quite significant. However, even though Yang Yun has been a ghost officer for over a thousand years, he’s never been to the hells in other countries or met their Grim Reapers. In fact, he’s quite curious about them. In the Underworld and the realm of the dead, everyone has their own duties; there’s very little he can oversee—it’s kind of like being an urban management officer, though better than that. We chatted about this and that along the way, and time flew by until we reached the spot where Zhang Qiang had first docked his boat. I told Zhang Qiang where I lived so he could come collect 30,000 yuan from me in a month—though, of course, I’d be sure to bring it to him myself. Yang Yun and I headed into the village. I sat on the electric scooter while he pushed it from behind at breakneck speed. After dropping me off at home, he hurried back down to the Underworld to the City of the Wrongfully Deceased. I felt relieved to have done my part. I opened the shop door, went into the backyard, took a good shower, and then lay down on the bed and fell asleep. I slept soundly that night. In a daze, I dreamed I was in the cave where my mom lived, chatting happily with her. Suddenly, a huge white wolf appeared and pounced on me. She pinned me down with her body and spoke to me in human language, “Don’t you dare call my mom ‘Mom’…” Phew, I opened my eyes and sat up, slowly recalling what the white wolf had said to me in my dream just now. Could she be my mom’s daughter— my sister? Well, she didn’t seem very friendly toward me in the dream, I let out a wry laugh, and saw that it was already past five o’clock. I sat on the bed and began practicing breathing exercises, feeling the changes in my body’s energy. It was actually a very subtle sensation, as if my entire body were breathing, After practicing for over half an hour, I got up, got dressed, and went to open the door, ready to start business. But I noticed mice constantly scurrying out of the house—not many, just seven or eight. I was wondering what was going on when I opened the shop door and saw that there were also some mice on the street, emerging from holes and running around, all heading in the same direction. I found it strange, but didn’t think too much of it. Opening the shop and making some noise was my main priority. Last night I made 21,000, but I’m still 30,000 in the red—I need to hurry up and make some money. Around noon, I called Tianzhan, but his phone was still turned off. This couldn’t help but make me a little worried. What on earth had happened to Tian Zhan? Feeling worried, I went to the backyard to make lunch when I heard a loud crash from the sky—it was thunder. I was startled—why would there be thunder in broad daylight? I rushed outside and stood on tiptoe to see a flash of dry lightning strike the distant horizon. It hit the mountains far away. I was filled with astonishment and doubt: Could it be that the Rat Demon’s lightning tribulation is happening today? It’s only been a few days! I saw with my own eyes that lightning struck the same spot five times before the sky finally calmed down. I stood there dumbfounded for a while. With the lightning striking five times in a row, the Rat Spirit’s chances of survival were likely very slim—especially since she was pregnant. Suddenly, I felt a pang of sympathy for her. How should I put it? She’s a good mother. The thunder stopped, and the onlookers lining the street began to disperse. I sighed and went back to the kitchen to cook. After eating, I sat inside the shop. Business wasn’t great today—I only took one life. The customer paid 300 yuan, and with a few other items, the total came to about 500 or 600 yuan. That’s a long way from my goal of 30,000 yuan. Nothing to be done—I’ll just have to keep going tomorrow. Just as I was about to close the shop, my phone in my pocket rang. I pulled it out and saw it was Tian Zhan. I breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly answered. “What’s going on? Your phone’s been off for so long,” I couldn’t help but complain. “Something came up,” Tian Zhan’s voice carried a hint of pain. I quickly asked, “Are you hurt?” “Yeah,” I immediately got a little annoyed. “What exactly is your mission this time?”