"Keep them," I said.
"But, we've left too many bullets for them. If they all start shooting, I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it!"
I thought about it. It was true, and there was no need to keep so much ammunition. Based on our previous battles, we only needed to leave them the autocannon. But, with so much equipment, it was easy to burn it, but how would I take it back?
Unable to figure out a solution, I used the Soul Reaping Order to contact Zhang Xiaomiao and ask Yaoyao and Shabiya what to do.
After some deliberation, they concluded that there was no way to handle it. However, once I returned to the Yang Realm, all those guns and cannons would naturally turn to dust.
This also adhered to the law of conservation of energy. As I left the underworld system, weapons matched to my energy would also disappear, their energy returning to zero.
"Then let's keep them."
"When are you coming back?" Yaoyao asked.
"I don't know yet. I haven't encountered any masters," I said.
"Be sure to stay safe. If you need any more weapons, feel free to contact us anytime. Shen Xingyue's machines are all ready for you, you can replicate weapons whenever you want!" Yaoyao said.
I hadn't expected that my impromptu visit to the underworld would receive such strong support from Shabiya. I would have to thank them properly later.
Not long after, a small carriage sent by the county yamen arrived. It was different from what I had imagined. I had expected a small carriage pulled by a single horse, like in those historical dramas. Instead, it was a deluxe four-wheeled carriage, pulled by four horses. The carriage compartment was even larger than an ordinary car. In front of the compartment was a seat where the "driver" sat to steer. Behind it was a screen, and beyond the screen was the actual carriage interior.
Bingbing and I climbed the steps onto the carriage, walked around the screen, lifted the curtain, and entered the compartment. It was about the size of a double bed and was indeed designed as such, complete with bedding and pillows. There was also a small low table with desserts and strange fruits that we couldn't enjoy, and a pot of fine wine that smelled like swill.
We weren't thirsty or hungry anyway, and we didn't feel any sense of hunger or thirst, just like not needing to breathe.
I was quite pleased with the carriage. After bidding farewell to the people from the county yamen, we left through the city gate. The officer, Jiang Jun, had assigned ten cavalrymen to me, with each soldier carrying my rifle. He said these ten soldiers were now under my command.
I didn't refuse. If we encountered any trouble on the road, their rifles could provide some defense.
Jiang Jun also told me that the four horses pulling the carriage were all fine steeds, and the carriage frame, harness, and saddle system were interchangeable. If there was an emergency, all we had to do was cut the lever on the axle, and the four draft horses would transform into four warhorses for us to ride.
This was primarily for escaping.
I thanked the officer, bid farewell to the generals, and set off with Bingbing and the ten cavalrymen.
As we passed through the misty battlefield ahead, I saw the "corpses" left from the previous battle. It turned out that the dead in the underworld could also die. However, when they died, they didn't turn into corpses, but rather into something resembling paper figures. They weren't flat paper figures, but three-dimensional ones, which looked quite eerie.
I asked the cavalrymen why they didn't clear the battlefield. The captain replied that it wasn't necessary; in some time, they would naturally weather away.
Bingbing quietly asked me, "If living people turn into ghosts when they die, what do ghosts turn into when they die?"
"Jian," I replied. I had heard this from the elders.
"Then, if living people die and go from the Yang Realm to the underworld, and the dead die and go from ghost to Jian, where do they go from the underworld? To hell?" Bingbing pressed on.
This question truly stumped me. But I knew it definitely wasn't hell, because hell was just a part of the underworld, a place for serving sentences. Corresponding to the underworld and the Yang Realm, there was a third world, the realm of the dead after they ceased to be ghosts. I didn't know what it was.
I asked Bingbing to ask the cavalry captain, but he didn't know the specific destination of Jian either.
I would have to consult my colleagues at the Underworld Official's Mansion later. Perhaps they would know, or rather, they definitely would know!
The procession passed through the battlefield and turned left onto an official road. After about half an hour of travel, a large river appeared ahead, but there was no bridge.
The cavalry scouts ahead reported to the captain that the water depth today was three inches.
"What does that mean?" I asked, getting out of the carriage.
"The water is three inches deep, so we can wade across the river," the captain said.
I stood on the carriage and squinted ahead. The vast river offered no glimpse of the opposite bank, nor did it reveal any bends upstream or downstream. It looked more like a large lake than a river, yet the water was clearly flowing.