Another coarse, gravelly voice cursed darkly, "Idiot! How could mortal eyes see through yin and yang and behold our true forms? Unless his life span is exhausted and he's about to die—"
"But—" The lanky "emissary" had previously pointed at Mo Hua. "Big Brother, look, isn't this kid's eyes looking right at us?"
The one called Big Brother, the leader of the emissaries, had a human-like body but an ox-like head, though not fully evolved—it had two ox eyes but only one horn, a tall figure with murderous eyes. It turned its head to look at Mo Hua and indeed saw Mo Hua's clear eyes calmly watching them. Its pupils widened.
At that moment, Mo Hua even spoke, asking, "Which ghosts are you? Locals of Kun Prefecture?"
These words immediately startled and angered the four emissaries.
"He really can see us!"
"Such an insolent mortal boy!"
"It's always been yin emissaries questioning humans, never a human daring to question a yin emissary. He doesn't know his place!"
"Big Brother—" The skinniest of the four turned to the Ox-Head Yin Emissary and asked, making a ferocious gesture with his eyes.
The Ox-Head Yin Emissary shifted its deformed pupils and mused, "We can't find that wild ghost, and we'll be punished if we go back empty-handed. We need a scapegoat—this kid can see us yin emissaries, so his life must be short, his death near. That's why his yin-yang eyes have opened. He'll make a good scapegoat."
The skinny yin emissary drooled, "This kid looks plump. Let's cut off a few pieces and have a feast before handing him over. Then we'll torment him a bit, damage his soul, so he won't blabber in front of Judge..."
The Ox-Head Yin Emissary scolded, "Enough nonsense! Seize him quickly, before this yin path dissipates."
The skinny yin emissary acknowledged, and along with the other yin emissaries, looked toward Mo Hua. Their eyes were dark and chilling.
A muddy path from the netherworld, as if stained with the water of the Yellow Springs, spread before Mo Hua.
The skinny yin emissary's patchwork face drew close to Mo Hua. The Yellow Springs paved the way, and the yin emissary approached. Mo Hua's physical body suddenly felt suppressed by some law; he couldn't move. This was the first time Mo Hua had felt "suppressed" by ghosts and monsters, and he found it quite novel.
At the same time, the skinny yin emissary reached out, and an arm thin as bone, stained with yin water, passed straight through Mo Hua's chest, as if trying to pull something out from Mo Hua's chest. But it tugged and couldn't move it. Mo Hua only felt his mind stir slightly, and then nothing more.
The skinny yin emissary's expression flickered; something was wrong. The other yin emissaries cursed, "Hurry up! The Yin Court keeps count; don't miss the deadline."
The skinny yin emissary tugged again but still couldn't pull it out. It glanced at Mo Hua, feeling something odd but unable to articulate it. How could a dignified yin emissary fail to extract a mortal cultivator's soul?
Just then, the Ox-Head Yin Emissary, annoyed at the skinny one's dallying and struggling to even extract a soul, muttered "Waste" and strode over, pushing the skinny emissary aside. "Let me."
The Ox-Head Yin Emissary thrust his thick arm into Mo Hua's chest cavity. With higher cultivation, heavier yin energy, and greater strength, he still couldn't pull it out. His heart jumped. He looked at Mo Hua and thought, "Strange—what's going on with this kid? Can't pull out his soul?"
But with three lackeys watching, if he, the Big Brother, also failed, he'd lose face completely.
Gritting his teeth, the Ox-Head Yin Emissary pulled out an iron lock from his chest. The iron lock was pitch-black, dark and heavy, inscribed with netherworld scriptures, imbued with divine power. At its end was an iron hook, extremely sharp.
The other yin emissaries were startled. "Big Brother, killing a chicken with an ox-knife? Why did you bring out the Soul-Hook Chain?"
The Soul-Hook Chain was used to snare ferocious souls and evil ghosts, a treasure of the netherworld, awarded only to senior ghost emissaries by the Yin Court.
The Ox-Head Yin Emissary said, "We need to finish quickly; there's no time to lose." He hooked the Soul-Hook Chain into Mo Hua's chest, and indeed it locked onto Mo Hua's soul.
Mo Hua felt his soul being hooked and his expression changed slightly.
Seeing this, the Ox-Head Yin Emissary rasped, "Boy, life and death are fated; you can't blame others. Blame your sharp eyes for seeing what you shouldn't, making you the unlucky one—" He grinned ferociously and pulled hard. The immense force merging with the Soul-Hook Chain truly jolted Mo Hua's soul. Mo Hua's soul was dragged out of his body bit by bit along with the chain.
The Ox-Head Yin Emissary was secretly pleased and pulled harder, intending to yank Mo Hua's soul out in one go.
But as he pulled, he felt something off in his hand. He looked down, and his expression changed drastically.
The netherworld treasure, the Soul-Hook Chain, was cracking. Not just ordinary cracking—the edges were splitting and crumbling, as if being corroded and decayed by some force.
The Ox-Head Yin Emissary's heart turned cold. He looked up and found a slender, fair hand reaching for his ox horn. The boy whose soul was being snatched seemed to be trying to secretly break off his only horn.
The Ox-Head Yin Emissary was shocked and furious. How could a mortal being whose soul was being extracted by a yin emissary still move? And how dare this mortal wretch covet his horn?
This horn had grown after he had served as a ghost emissary for centuries, working tirelessly and accumulating much yin virtue. If he grew another horn, he could become a leader of yin emissaries, a true "Ox-Head" yin official. If this brat broke it off, what then?
Though logically, a mortal's hand couldn't break his horn, the Ox-Head Yin Emissary dared not be careless. He immediately leaned back and retreated. As he retreated, Mo Hua's hand grabbed nothing.
The Ox-Head Yin Emissary sighed in relief but then saw Mo Hua's other hand grabbing for his Soul-Hook Chain. It seemed the boy coveted the iron lock and wanted to snatch it too.
The Ox-Head Yin Emissary's soul nearly fled in panic. The Soul-Hook Chain was a gift from the Yin Court, more precious than life; he couldn't lose it. He quickly chanted a yin incantation, withdrew the iron lock, and turned it into thick yin energy, absorbing it back into himself.
Mo Hua grabbed empty air again—no horn, no chain. He was clearly displeased.
The Ox-Head Yin Emissary, however, was more scared than angry. He realized something was seriously wrong. This kid could see the death realm, ignore the laws of the netherworld, and grab the Soul-Hook Chain with his bare hands. How could he be a "scapegoat" with his life near its end? If anyone was a scapegoat, it was them, these ghost emissaries! They had come out without checking the almanac and run into something terrifying!
"Quick, leave!" the Ox-Head Yin Emissary shouted.
The other yin emissaries were confused but, spurred by his shout, instantly understood—they had run into a demon. One by one, they chanted incantations, transformed into bone-chilling yin winds, and tried to retreat along the yin path.
Mo Hua's eyes turned cold. His room was not a place to come and go as they pleased. Seeing the yin emissaries flee without taking his soul, Mo Hua reached out to grab the nearest one, the Ox-Head Yin Emissary.
The Ox-Head's deformed face twisted. Mo Hua was fast, his hand like a gale; in an instant, he grasped the emissary's shoulder. But in the next moment, his hand passed straight through the shoulder, as if they existed in different planes. His physical body could not touch the yin emissary.
Saved from disaster, the Ox-Head stepped onto the yin path stained with the water of the Yellow Springs, which carried a bone-piercing chill.
Mo Hua frowned, curious. He got out of bed and tried to step onto the yin path. But his foot went through empty air. He was a living being of flesh and blood and could not tread the yin path.
In the blink of an eye, the yin wind rolled back, the mud dried, and the yin path vanished. The four strange yin emissaries disappeared from Mo Hua's sight.
The room was empty, as if nothing had happened.
Mo Hua touched his chest. The sensation of his soul being hooked was still there, but the Soul-Hook Chain was gone. "I should have grabbed the chain first..." He shouldn't have gone for the ox's horn first, even though it seemed to contain quite a bit of divine yin virtue.
Mo Hua got up, walked around, even opened the window to look, but found no trace. He frowned. "Did they just... disappear like that?" It seemed those yin emissaries were not blocked by earthly terrain or buildings; they could freely travel between yin and yang. Wherever the yin path extended, they could go. Even ordinary formations couldn't stop them.
Mo Hua's own divine power was strong, but unless he entered a dream or a divine thought world—any illusory realm—separated by his physical body, he had little means to deal with these "yin emissaries." After all, the physical body could not touch things of the netherworld. He couldn't touch the yin emissaries, nor tread the yin path.
Frowning, Mo Hua returned to bed, sat cross-legged, and rested his chin on his hand, pondering. "What exactly are these four yin emissaries?" "Are they gods? Doesn't seem right. Ghosts? Not quite either." "Could they be... ghosts that conform to the laws of the netherworld and can use some of those laws—'official' ghosts?"
After much thought, Mo Hua felt this was the most reasonable explanation. Yin emissaries—without an "official position," how could they be called "emissaries"? But where did this "official position" come from? Who issued these ghosts their posts? Did Kun Prefecture also have a vast divine system? And this system seemed very different from the Divine Path of the Great Wilderness.
The yin emissaries could open yin-yang paths, travel freely between both worlds, use Soul-Hook Chains to capture souls, and wield some inexplicable netherworld laws. This divine system was already quite "mature." Compared to it, the barbarian gods of the Great Wilderness were like "savages," only knowing sacrifices and eating.
"But," Mo Hua thought further, "why did yin emissaries appear here?" "Does their appearance mean someone nearby died? Did they come to capture the soul of the deceased?" "And such a death might be special. If someone died naturally, there'd be no need for yin emissaries to make this trip. Their presence usually indicates an unnatural death..." "The yin emissaries also mentioned something like 'lost on the yin path, soul gone, need a scapegoat'..." "They couldn't catch the wild ghost they wanted, just happened to run into me, and wanted to take me as a scapegoat to close the case?" "Is that allowed? Isn't that... dereliction of duty and corruption?" "Catch the wrong person? It seems the divine path in Kun Prefecture isn't clear either; it's rotten to some extent..."
Mo Hua sighed softly. It was a pity he didn't know much about the secrets of the netherworld. He had little knowledge of ghost path methods. Despite his divine path achievements, he couldn't use them effectively. Otherwise, if he knew even a little ghost path magic, those yin emissaries wouldn't have gotten away.
More importantly— Mo Hua's pupils contracted. "If I'm to save Master, I must reverse yin and yang, turn death to life..." "Could the divine path of the netherworld in Kun Prefecture be related to Master's life and death?" "Did yin emissaries also come to capture Master's soul?" "What exactly is the world of the netherworld like?"
The more he thought, the more confused he became. He couldn't help muttering, "Next time I get a chance, I'll catch a yin emissary to play with..."
In the netherworld. Deep underground where ordinary cultivators' eyes couldn't see. Four yin emissaries trod on the nether soil, their faces gloomy. After walking for a while, the skinny yin emissary said, "Big Brother, are we going back like this? We haven't completed our task; we can't explain it. The Yin Court will punish us..."
The Ox-Head Yin Emissary's face was extremely ugly. "Let's go beg the master for a few more days' grace, then decide later..."
"If it doesn't work, we can catch a scapegoat," another emissary suggested. "As long as we have a scapegoat to close the case, it'll do." "Yeah, as long as we have something to present," the other two agreed. "But where can we find a scapegoat?"
The skinny yin emissary's mind stirred. "Big Brother, while we still have time, why not turn back and ambush that kid, catch his soul?" "United, we can succeed. If we can't catch him once, we can try a few times." "It's always ghosts fearing people, not the other way around." "We've done this before; we've cracked many a tough nut," another emissary said coldly. "We brothers have the Yin Court's favor. After death, we became ghost emissaries, roaming between yin and yang, capturing solitary ghosts and wild spirits, ignoring mortal rules. When have we ever suffered such humiliation? How can we be insulted by some brat who's been cultivating for who knows how many years?"
The Ox-Head Yin Emissary had just been humiliated. A mix of anger and shame churned inside him, and he feared punishment from the Yin Court for not completing the task. For a moment, he was tempted to go catch Mo Hua for revenge.
But the cracked Soul-Hook Chain lay in his bosom. The power that could corrode yin energy made his heart quail. Remembering the boy's appearance, a chill seeped into his bones, and he calmed down. He shook his head. "Forget it..."
The other yin emissaries were still unwilling. The Ox-Head said coldly, "You don't understand. This kid... we can't afford to mess with."
The skinny yin emissary frowned. "Big Brother, I've been a ghost emissary for so many years and never seen such a figure. Do you know what his background is?"
The Ox-Head furrowed his brow and finally shook his head. "I can't see through his origin either... I just feel he's neither human nor ghost, neither ghost nor god. Those eyes of his can span yin and yang, see death and life... His background must be extraordinary."
The other yin emissaries looked solemn.
The Ox-Head, feeling more and more wary, sighed. "From now on, be more careful when you act..." "Something that is neither human, ghost, nor god, unbound by yin and yang, indescribable—if such beings can show themselves and walk the world, it means the times are truly changing.""From the mortal world to the netherworld, Kun Prefecture will face great storms. The living will die, and the dead may die again..."