The eighteen riders disappeared on their horses, and I was surprised to find that the horses beneath Bingbing and me had vanished at some point. We were suddenly standing on the ground. Bingbing, slow to react, hadn't even noticed the anomaly. Her hands still held the reins in a riding posture, her legs slightly straddled, as if she were still mounted.
After I pointed it out, Bingbing suddenly came to her senses. "Whoa, have we returned to the mortal realm?"
"Not quite, but we must have entered the chaotic space between the two realms," I replied.
We boarded the small train and counted the stations. When we reached the second stop, two familiar figures, an old man and a young boy, got on.
It was the other party who recognized us first. "Hey, hey, esteemed sirs, we meet again!"
"Old man... how did you two get back on the train?" I asked, puzzled. It was the same grandfather and grandson we had met at the station when we first arrived. The grandson had a sister who was still alive, but I had forgotten her name. In any case, I had already instructed Wu Zetian to send underworld officials to provide some assistance to the little girl.
"We got off at the wrong stop!" the old man said with a wry smile.
Meeting old acquaintances in a foreign land, I chatted with the old man for a while. They alighted at the fourth stop, but they seemed much happier, perhaps satisfied with the verdict or the underworld environment that was about to usher in a new life.
Bingbing and I continued our journey by train, alighting at the seventh stop.
We climbed over the Bridge of Forgetfulness and, as expected, found the Meng Po from when we arrived. We walked through the dim, hazy area, found the Ghost Gate, and exited the City God Temple. A clear, crisp air, tinged with the scent of sea breeze, invigorated us.
"Oh my god, we're finally alive again!" Bingbing exclaimed.
I finally saw the sun, and it felt incredibly welcoming. Judging by its position, it was likely evening, with the sky ablaze with twilight hues. I wondered how much time had passed in the mortal realm.
As the official of the City God Temple saw us off, he expressed his gratitude to me. He mentioned that Commander Wu had already put in a good word for him, arranging a transfer to a better City God Temple with more substantial "grey income," and thanked me for my consideration.
These kinds of easy favors, I rarely refused. Helping others often meant helping oneself. If I were to die one day, perhaps they would have an opportunity to repay my kindness.
"Safe travels, Lord Wu, Lord Zheng!"
"Lord Li, please stay!" I cupped my hands in return.
Outside the City God Temple, I spotted a familiar BMW sedan parked by the roadside in the distance. Mengmeng and the fox spirit were sitting on the roof, idly playing with blades of grass.
Upon seeing Bingbing and me emerge, the two spirits immediately rushed over and greeted us affectionately for a while.
"How long was I inside?" I asked Mengmeng. Then, realizing she might not remember, I turned to the fox spirit.
"Twenty-nine hours," the fox spirit replied.
I looked at Bingbing again. She did some quick mental arithmetic. "It seems time is consistent between the two realms."
I snapped my fingers, and the fox spirit produced a cigarette from his pocket and lit it for me. I took a deep drag. Smoking in the underworld was completely different. Due to the lack of air pressure, one had to inhale very forcefully and exhale with equal effort. It was unlike breathing in the free air, where inhalation was a passive action, making the process of smoking feel very natural.
Bingbing and I changed back into the clothes we had left in the car. As I took off my uniform, I discovered the bundle that had been tied to the back of my belt was still there. Upon opening it, I found that the gold and silver treasures I had purchased from the underworld market had become impossibly old, turning into a pile of scrap metal, as if they had just been dug out of the ground.
It seemed that items did not transfer well between realms. Just as I was about to discard them as trash, Bingbing stopped me. "Brother, don't throw them away!"
"It's all rust, what's the point of keeping it?" I asked, disgusted, smelling my fingers. An indescribable musty odor filled the air, presumably the true scent of the underworld, which we hadn't noticed while we were there.
"Could this be considered... an antique?" Bingbing inquired. "If it is, it could be worth a fortune!"
Antiques?
I wasn't particularly concerned about the monetary value of antiques, because antiques possess another kind of value!
I immediately activated my Qi-sensing technique and looked at these "antiques." As Bingbing had suspected, the aura of these treasures was exceptionally strong. Two of the hairpins even emanated a purple aura!
"We're rich!" I exclaimed excitedly.