"Um, An'an, I was planning to visit the Yin Officer's Mansion to familiarize myself with the place. But I heard it's at Gate 1, and we're at Gate 52. Is there a closer way to get to the Yin Officer's Mansion?" I asked again. Zheng Baobao had told me that it would take hundreds of hours to get there by horse, and that's if we didn't encounter any rebels along the way. It was too long.
"There's no other way. With your current strength and abilities, reaching City 54 as your first stop is already a considerable favor," Xie Bian said.
I felt like I understood now. The stronger one's abilities, the closer the gate they could reach from the mortal realm. No wonder the several commanders were all purple-hued. If their strength wasn't enough, they would have to travel a long distance each time they entered or left the mortal and underworld realms to report for duty, which would be too inefficient.
"Alright then, I'll come visit again when I'm stronger. Oh, right, An'an, there's one more thing. I found a master in the underworld and want to bring her back to the mortal realm. Can she only travel if she becomes a Yin Officer?" I asked again.
"Theoretically, yes," Xie Bian said. "But to turn a ghost into a Yin Officer requires a personal decree from His Highness the Young King of Hell. You'll have to ask her."
"No problem then," I said with a smile. My relationship with the Young King of Hell was quite good.
"Who have you taken a liking to?" Xie Bian asked an uncharacteristic extra question.
"The Captain of City 53, Zheng Baobao. Do you know her?"
"No, it's too far away... Is she very powerful?"
"I feel she's very powerful! At least above the blue-hued strength," I said, glancing at Zheng Baobao, who was cleaning her gun beside me. She couldn't perceive auras, so she didn't know her own strength. Anyway, when she was alive and a pirate, she had never met an opponent in one-on-one duels.
"You handle it. The person assigned to escort you will arrive in about an hour."
"Thanks, An'an."
After hanging up, since I hadn't told Zheng Baobao about this earlier, she looked at me with some doubt. "Can anyone become a Yin Officer?"
"Just tell me if you want to return to the mortal realm with me," I said with a smile.
"Don't I need to drink the Meng Po Soup?"
"Of course not."
"Then of course I do!" Zheng Baobao laughed. "I just wonder, the mortal realm... what year is it now?"
"What year were you born?" Bing Bing asked.
"The third year of Daoguang."
Bing Bing calculated, "It's already the 202nd year of Daoguang."
"...Has it been that long?" Zheng Baobao frowned, finding it hard to believe. "Then... what is the mortal realm like now? Who is the Emperor? I saw Lord Wu's hair ornament has changed. Has the dynasty changed?"
"It's changed twice," I said with a laugh. "You'll know when we get there. You go ahead and do your thing. If the Young King of Hell agrees to let you be a Yin Officer, he'll send someone to contact you."
Zheng Baobao nodded and smiled. "Alright, then, two lords, I'll return to City 53 first. A guard cannot leave his post!"
After Zheng Baobao led her team away, Bing Bing and I took advantage of the remaining time to wander around City 52 for a while. As for food, underworld food was too unappetizing. I used the money I brought to buy quite a bit of underworld loot. I wasn't sure if it would still exist when we returned, but if it did, I could give it to my fairies as gifts.
After purchasing two large bags of various gold and silver treasures, a male White Impermanence arrived on horseback, saying he was here to escort us back to the mortal realm.
Bing Bing and I also changed back into our White Impermanence uniforms and bid farewell to Wang Shoujie and the others. Since City 52 didn't have a guard for the time being, I directly asked Wang Shoujie to temporarily act as the Captain here. His nine cavalrymen were also promoted to squad leaders of the Nine Gates. Once the court's officially appointed officials or captains arrived, he would hand over his position, and then they could all return to City 54—they had to go back, their families were still in City 54. Ghosts could also form families, but they couldn't have children. Reproduction in the underworld relied entirely on transport from the mortal realm.
The White Impermanence led Bing Bing and me out of the city on horseback. After riding for a while, I suddenly saw a patch of yellow mist ahead. As we rode into the yellow mist, I looked back, and City 52 had vanished. Then, a creaking sound came from ahead. I activated my Qi sensing technique and realized it was a train station!
Upon reaching the station, Lord White Impermanence had us board a small train and told us that we could return to the Naihe Bridge we had come from by alighting at the seventh stop.
"Is the first stop considered Zero, and then the first stop we reach is the first stop?" I asked, to make sure I didn't get on the wrong train.
"Yes, esteemed lords, take care." Lord White Impermanence clasped his fists.
"Take care, Brother Eighteen. We'll meet again." I cupped my fists. This colleague had a strange name, Eighteen.