Beneath the ground, a massive ancient city towered unexpectedly.

　　From a distance, the city was awash with ghostly flames, and the lights in every household glowed with a faint blue-green hue. The city was surrounded by a pale green river, within which countless souls churned and tumbled.

　　The van didn’t stop, heading straight for the city gate at high speed.

　　In just a moment, the vehicle arrived at the city gate. A gigantic stone gate, three to four hundred meters tall, stood imposingly before them, with seven large characters boldly inscribed above:

　　“幽门地府鬼门关！”

　　William Dawson was stunned by this magnificent sight, never expecting any of this to be real.

　　“We’re here. Hold on a second, I need to find a parking spot first.” The woman in black said as she drove the van around in search.

　　At that moment, William Dawson noticed many vans like theirs coming and going in the sky, each carrying two people—one in black, one in white. These people in black and white clothing were of all ages and genders, coming and going in an endless stream. The entire ancient city resembled a massive trade hub.

　　Beneath the Gate of Ghosts, as far as the eye could see, at least ten thousand people were lined up to enter.

　　“Uh… excuse me, I just want to ask, you’re clearly government employees, so why isn’t there a parking spot for you here?”

　　“You’re too naive. Do you know how many people die naturally or unnaturally every day? Look at all the ferries coming and going in the sky—how could there be enough parking for us?”

　　William Dawson nodded silently. So, even the underworld had its own difficulties.

　　After searching for over ten minutes, they finally found a parking spot. The three of them got out and joined the vast crowd lining up.

　　“William Dawson, let me take this chance to tell you about our tour route.” The girl in black said as she pulled a map from her satchel and handed it to William Dawson. She pointed with her fair finger to the bottom of the map, “We’re now at the ‘Gate of Ghosts,’ which is the entrance to the underworld. Surrounding the entire underworld is the ‘River of Forgetfulness.’ To cross the River of Forgetfulness, you must first go over the ‘Bridge of Helplessness,’ but before that, you have to walk the ‘Yellow Springs Road.’ Oh, and at the entrance to Yellow Springs Road, remember to stop by the Lady Meng’s office to get some Lady Meng’s Tea. There’s a summer limited edition flavor right now. After that is the ‘Reincarnation Platform.’ Oh, and you’ll also get to see the Ten Yama Kings…”

　　The girl in black enthusiastically introduced the “famous attractions” of the underworld, but as for William Dawson—

　　Silence.

　　A long silence.

　　“What’s wrong? Did I not explain it well?” The girl in black saw that William Dawson hadn’t spoken for a long time and felt something was off with her explanation.

　　“I mean,” William Dawson said through gritted teeth, “is this a joke? A tour?”

　　“Huh?” The girl in black was a bit confused.

　　“I’m dead! I just died!” After seeing the Gate of Ghosts, William Dawson finally accepted it all. No matter what he encountered here, his life was already over—there was no going back. “It’s already pretty good that I’m not sad. How can you introduce the underworld’s attractions to me like it’s a school trip?”

　　“Xiao Hei, I think he’s right. No need to introduce it to him. Besides, he’s a wrongful death, so he might not have to walk the Yellow Springs Road.” The girl in white stepped forward and said to the girl in black, “We’ve dealt with so many dead people, but this is his first time dying, after all.”

　　William Dawson looked at the two girls in front of him, not knowing what to say. His feelings were complicated, a mix of emotions. He wanted to lose his temper, but the two girls really hadn’t done anything wrong.

　　“Will we never see each other again?” William Dawson asked.

　　“The Yellow Springs Road is a one-way path. If you choose reincarnation, you’ll walk the Yellow Springs Road, gaze at the Three-Life Stone, and we’ll never meet again in this life. But if you choose to become an underworld messenger, not only do you not have to walk the Yellow Springs Road, we might even become colleagues.” The girl in white said.

　　“Then this should be our last meeting.” William Dawson said. “It might be a bit unnecessary, but can I ask your names?”

　　“Of course,” the girl in black cupped her hands like an ancient swordsman, “Hei Wuchang of the Fan family, Emma Foster.”

　　“Bai Wuchang of the Xie family, Grace Bennett.”

Chapter 2: The Gate of Ghosts in the Underworld

　　Grace Bennett, Emma Foster.

　　So the legends are all true?

　　William Dawson remembered reading that Bai Wuchang’s name was Xie Bi’an, and Hei Wuchang’s was Fan Wujiu.

　　Following Grace Bennett and Emma Foster, the three of them moved forward with the crowd.

　　This line of over ten thousand people moved much faster than William Dawson had imagined, almost jogging the whole way.

　　Soon, the three of them reached the very front of the line.

　　Grace Bennett and Emma Foster didn’t take William Dawson directly through the Gate of Ghosts. Instead, Grace Bennett stepped forward and said to a black-faced underworld messenger, “Hello, sir. We have a suspected wrongful death here, so he won’t be crossing the River of Forgetfulness for now. Could you get a judge to take over?”

　　The black-faced underworld messenger nodded, turned, and entered the Gate of Ghosts. After a short while, a burly middle-aged man in a wine-red official robe came out. He was two meters tall, had a full beard, and held a jet-black ruyi scepter in his hand.

　　“Who needs judgment? Hurry up.” The man’s voice was rough, like a low rumbling engine.