Bage pointed to the city below and said, "For example, this planet, located on the edge of our realm, has a timeline designated as C-142857. It's because of this that we see civilizations here similar to those on Earth, even though they're separated by vast distances."

"So, this place is called 'Earth Star.' Are you saying that Wang Kemin is living here now? Didn't he die already?" Haoyun asked, pointing to the streets below, reminiscent of Japan.

"Wang Kemin did die. So, to be precise, we're here to see the soul of Wang Kemin, reincarnated as another being," Bage corrected.

"What? Wang Kemin was an extremely wicked person in his previous life! Shouldn't someone like him go to hell and never be reborn? How is it fair for him to be reincarnated?" Haoyun furrowed his brows, questioning Bage with disbelief.

Bage calmly explained, "Haoyun, you're mistaken. In the Underworld, souls who have committed serious wrongdoings in their past lives face two types of punishment. One is called the 'Punishment of Bixi.' This punishment sends the souls directly to the city of Bixi in the Underworld, where they undergo various forms of punishment, such as repentance and hard labor. After a certain period and passing the strict assessment of Bixi, they are allowed to leave and regain the opportunity for reincarnation. However, the severity of the punishment depends on the gravity of their sins. Time is abundant in the Underworld for both us and the souls."

"The second punishment is called the 'Punishment through Reincarnation.' This involves repeatedly reincarnating souls with criminal records, allowing them to experience worldly suffering in each life, thus cleansing their sins. Only when the soul breaks free from the bondage of the flesh, achieves enlightenment, willingly endures suffering, and sincerely practices virtue to cleanse its hidden sins in the soul, will the Underworld lift the punishment."

"As for Wang Kemin's soul, although he didn't cross the red line for either of the above punishments, he was involved in events that caused suffering to others in many of his past lives. Therefore, considering his previous serious sins, the Court ultimately sentenced him to Punishment through Reincarnation. The goal is for him to personally experience the suffering he inflicted on others in every subsequent reincarnation until he achieves true enlightenment."

Hearing this, Haoyun sighed regretfully, "That's too lenient on Wang Kemin. At the very least, for someone as wicked as him, his soul should be locked away in Bixi City forever, never to be reborn."

Bage shook his head with a smile, "Haoyun, you're mistaken. The severity of the two punishments is similar, and there's no distinction between good and bad. Moreover, if necessary, the Underworld can impose both punishments simultaneously on a guilty soul."

Haoyun shrugged, indicating he still held his opinion on the matter.

Seeing this, Master Gu also shrugged and remained silent. He merely reminded everyone not to wander too far from his spiritual cover, lest they expose themselves to the public eye without magical concealment. Then, he looked down at the street, seemingly waiting for something to happen.

It was late afternoon, with the setting sun casting an extra scorching glow. A thin, ragged-looking middle-aged man emerged from around the corner, holding a sleeping toddler of about one year old. He moved slowly and unsteadily, appearing mentally absent. The man seemed like a soulless zombie, walking lifelessly, utterly forlorn and helpless.

"Who is that? Is the toddler he's carrying the reincarnation of Wang Kemin?" Haoyun whispered to Master Gu, puzzled.

"No," Master Gu replied simply.

Then, Master Gu reached out and patted Liu Erwa's head before saying lightly, "That toddler is just the man's child. The middle-aged man is the being reincarnated from Wang Kemin."

Haoyun looked at the desolate middle-aged man, puzzled, "How is that possible? It's only been a few years since Erwa died, and Wang Kemin died after him. How could Wang Kemin's soul have grown into a middle-aged man in just a few years since reincarnation?"

"I told you before, the specific rules of time differ depending on our location. For example, the last time we spent a long time in the base and the Underworld, only two or three hours had passed when we returned to your Earth timeline. Similarly, even though according to your Earth timeline, Erwa appeared a few years ago, and Wang Kemin's soul was almost simultaneously reincarnated here, the faster flow of time here means that Wang Kemin's soul can grow into an adult within a few years after reincarnation. So, it's perfectly reasonable," Dao Lao explained.

Because there was now a tangible example before him, Haoyun found this explanation easier to grasp than before. So, he stopped dwelling on the concept of time and instead said, "I think I understand what you mean now. Let's focus on the current situation. Is this middle-aged man's desolation the punishment through reincarnation?"

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Master Gu nodded in response, "Yes, living in despair is just part of his punishment through reincarnation. In fact, from the moment he was born in this world, misfortune has never left his side."

Haoyun looked at Master Gu strangely and said, "But wait, Dao Lao told me before that first and second-level misfortune are randomly generated based on individual destiny and cannot be controlled by the beings of the divine realm. Only the mold energy can forcefully impose third-level or higher misfortune on living beings in the mortal realm, right?"

"Dao Lao is correct," Master Gu replied.

Then, Master Gu pointed to the desolate figure on the street and said, "However, for beings like him who are undergoing punishment through reincarnation, their act of reincarnation is considered a special case. For such criminals undergoing punishment, the Underworld will specially 'customize' a complete set of mortal life for them and deliver all forms of punishment in the guise of 'misfortune.' The goal is to make the criminals unknowingly endure various seemingly random hardships for a long time, maximizing the torment on their souls to make them feel an inescapable pain from within."

As soon as Master Gu finished speaking, Dao Lao continued, "That's right. Although the souls undergoing punishment through reincarnation reenter the mortal world, everything that happens to them has already been arranged by the Underworld and exists independently in a form separate from other normal beings living in the mortal realm. Therefore, the misfortune that befalls them is essentially punishment executed by the Underworld. So, although these activities take place in the mortal realm, they don't actually affect the mortal timeline."

"Of course, the mold energy seems to be able to perceive the abnormal misfortune on these beings, so after many years of monitoring, we've never encountered a case where the mold energy invaded the souls undergoing punishment through reincarnation. Otherwise, these souls would be the perfect tools to trap mold energy," Dao Lao added.

After the explanations from Master Gu and Dao Lao, Haoyun could only silently think to himself: The officials of the divine realm are indeed skilled players.

Haoyun looked at the middle-aged man still struggling to walk from a distance and asked again, "By the way, what misfortunes did you arrange for Wang Kemin?"

"Actually, under normal circumstances, we wouldn't deliberately arrange any misfortunes. Although Wang Kemin's unfortunate life was set by the Underworld, the misfortunes that actually happened to him were entirely random based on his daily behavior. For example, he bit a bone while eating meat and broke his teeth; he accidentally choked on water and nearly died; he fell seriously ill immediately after receiving his salary, forcing him to spend all his money and survive on nothing for the next month, and so on."

"In short, misfortune followed him everywhere, making him accomplish nothing and unable to resist. He could only taste the bitterness and suffering of the world, spending his life in great pain. Even if he had thoughts of suicide, they always ended in failure. Moreover, this would only lead to more suffering in the long years to come," Master Gu replied.

After this exchange, Haoyun gradually formed a concept of punishment through reincarnation. Compared to the punishment of Bixi, punishment through reincarnation focused more on spiritual punishment. A being, unable to change its tragic fate and unable to end its own life prematurely, could only watch itself continuously endure unwarranted disasters throughout its life. Wouldn't they eventually collapse mentally? Moreover, what's even more terrifying is that their souls would have to undergo continuous spiritual blows through countless reincarnations.

Oh dear, just thinking about it, Haoyun could feel a chill seeping from the seams of his bones, making him shiver involuntarily. However, Haoyun then reconsidered. Those subjected to punishment through reincarnation were scoundrels who had committed countless heinous crimes in their past lives, harming countless lives. So, it was only appropriate for them to suffer such punishment.

Haoyun couldn't help but blame himself for his momentary outburst of compassion. Because those who committed such heinous crimes didn't deserve sympathy at all. Thinking of this, Haoyun's mood calmed down again. Then, he pointed to the middle-aged man who was still staggering towards them and asked, "So, what role did Wang Kemin take on in this life as punishment through reincarnation?"

Upon hearing this, Bage immediately summoned a small holographic display into his palm and introduced, "Wang Kemin, due to betraying his country in the N31 timeline of Earth, serving the invaders, and killing his compatriots in his previous life, committed unforgivable crimes. Therefore, after his death, he was sentenced to punishment through reincarnation by the 666th Court of the 13th District of the Underworld. The location where he accepted his first punishment through reincarnation is the city of Kuwayama in the C-142857 timeline of Earth."

Following that, Bage elaborated on the punishments Wang Kemin's soul had received so far. Although Haoyun was well aware that, based on the sins Wang Kemin had committed, his punishment was not worthy of any sympathy, it didn't stop Haoyun from acknowledging just how tragic Wang Kemin's life was in this incarnation.

In this life, Wang Kemin's name was Jisō Chūka. He was currently 37 years old.

(The author said, "Hmm, this name is quite festive and creative." Haoyun nodded in agreement with the author's statement.)

Jisō Chūka was born into the lowest stratum of society. His mother died in childbirth as soon as he was born. His father was a drug addict who idled away his days and engaged in shady activities to fund his own injections. Since infancy, Jisō had to rely on the moldy powdered milk and rice soup provided by neighbors to get by.

As a result, when Jisō was barely three years old, his father died of a drug overdose on the street, leaving him completely orphaned. Due to his father's drug addiction and substantial debts, relatives avoided them like they would the plague. So, after his father's death, no one was willing to adopt Jisō. In the end, the neighbors simply sent him to an orphanage, washing their hands of the matter.