Interlude

The Churning of Wheels

“Bring the pills here! What are you doing walking over so slowly? Run over here already.”

“Who was the idiot that did not bring enough restoration salve? You had better not let me catch you.”

It had been an hour since the battle between Ji Heian and Ox-Head occurred.

The officials of the Tenth Yama Court could be seen running around the ruined dungeon of the Qincheng Prison tending to the wounded. Limbs were being reattached, wounds were being bandaged. It was a chaotic scene to say the least.

Overseeing this rescue operation was a gloomy Minister Wei. An unpleasant frown occupied his face.

“Sir, We have evaluated our losses. We lost a dozen brave guards. Around a hundred of them have fatal injuries but with the restoration salve and Lady Meng’s potions we should be able save them. The rest have some minor injuries.”

Hearing the report of his subordinate only served to deepen the wrinkles on his forehead. Seeing the state of the prison guards and the rubble that was once the infamous dungeon of the Qincheng prison left him boiling with anger.

“As for Warden Ox-Head, his situation is a bit peculiar. It would be better if you could pay him a visit.”

“Fine. You are dismissed.”

Entering a makeshift tent that the officials of the court had constructed next to the prison, Minister Wei spotted Ox-Head lying on the bed. He seemed to be conversing with Old Lady Meng as she was applying a paste to his wounds.

“How is he doing?” Walking up to the bed, Minister Wei turned Lady Meng with a concerned look on his face.

“Well...he will live. In fact, to make someone with my skills treat the minor wounds on his body is nothing short of an overkill. But the problem is this..” Lifting his robes, she pointed towards a nasty wound running from his right shoulder all the way to his torso. The cut was deep, revealing the white bones of his rib cage. Worse still, the flesh around the wound seemed to be rotting. A pungent scent wafted away from the rotting flesh.

“It's the fiendish carrion poison. That bastard applied poison to the Nether Claw. I can heal it but it will take a few years and quite a few precious herbs. I hope the Tenth Court won’t be stingy about the price of those herbs.” Even her shrill voice sounded pleasant at that moment.

“This subordinate apologizes for dereliction of duty. I let Ji Heian escape. I ask Lord Wei to punish me appropriately.” Ox-head’s weak feeble voice was heard in the tent as he tried to get himself up from his bed to greet the Minister.

Stopping Ox-Head from getting off his bed, he reassured the ashamed warden,“Nanjiang, you know I have never treated you as a subordinate. As for dereliction of duty, don’t worry about it.”

The strict and rigid Minister Wei was surprisingly being lenient. The officials of the Tenth Court would not believe it even if they saw it with their own eyes. Even from amongst his subordinates, Ox-Head was a special existence who received Minister Wei’s kindness.

He continued, “For you to survive a battle with that Ji Heian is already a show of your prowess.”

A wry smile appeared on Ox-Head’s face when he heard those words. “Lord Wei jests,I was only spared because that man did not want to start another war. And the armour bestowed by the Yama Kings also proved to be a life saving grace.”

“Regardless of the reason, you still survived and that's what matters. Take rest for now. I will handle the prison in your absence.” Flashing a smile at Lady Meng, Minister Wei walked out of the tent.

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That smile disappeared as soon as he exited the tent. With heavy steps, he moved forward, turning any rubble caught underneath his feet to dust.

“He spared Ox-Head because he does not want a war? No way. If it was that simple then why would he poison him? It's a blatant provocation.”

“He comes into my home, kills my soldiers, poisons my subordinate and runs away with my prisoner. How is that not asking for a war.”

With his teeth gritted and his hands tightly clenched, he called for all the officials of the Tenth Court.

“Hear my instructions. Deploy a legion of the Asura Army to chase the trail left behind by Ji Heian and the prisoner. Search above the clouds and below the earth, do what you must to find out where they are hiding.”

“Ji Heian might be difficult to track but that prisoner... he will learn that escaping hell is not that easy.”

“Activate the Heart Binding Curse.”

“I will go and inform the Yama Kings. We must prepare for war.”

………………

Meanwhile, the prisoner in question, Zhang Gui, was lost in a dreamlike state.

The last thing he could remember was jumping into that abyssal chasm inside the crevice created by Mister Ji along with Bo. And yet here he was right now, all alone,lost in a fuzzy fog-like world. His vision was heavily restricted by the rolling fog.

Normally, he would be concerned about his circumstances but just the thought of having escaped from hell filled him up with elation. Sure, there was a huge uncertain curtain hanging over his future. After all, his rescuer had been a strange hooded boy - it could not get shadier than that. But Zhang Gui was optimistic.

“It can’t possibly get worse than slowly dying in Diyu.”

Just then, the fog right in front of him swirled into action transforming into a vague human figure.

“Welcome to our abode, Zhang Gui.”

From its hoarse voice and bright red eyes , Zhang Gui figured it was the previously missing Mister Ji.

“Our abode? Who is our?”

“Time is short, so let’s talk fast. Your consciousness won't be able to last here for long. We have kept our end of the deal. You are safe from the Naraka Hells. Your soul has been sent to the Mortal Realm again.”

“And as a gesture of goodwill, we have given your soul a new body to inhabit. Even your friend Bo’s body could not survive the teleportation, so we had to provide his soul with a new body as well. Honestly, I feel like I have lost more in this transaction than I have gained.”

“ A new body?!” Zhang Gui hurriedly looked down but he could not see any new body. In fact, he could not see any body at all.

“As I said, it is only your consciousness here. As for your body, you can look at it in the Mortal Realm. Let us now talk about your end of the deal.”

“Here it is. The price for my freedom.”

“You must climb Mount Lao and extract the dagger stabbed into its origin vein.”

“Wait? That’s it? Where is this Lao Mountain? And where is Bo?”

Before he could even react to the task handed over to him, he left drifting away from the world of fog.

He had a lot of questions. But unfortunately they would go unasked and unanswered. Those glaring fiery eyes got farther and farther away from him until they could be seen no more.

“And friend Gui, I hope you know better than to betray our contract. Remember, the Heart Binding Curse still plagues your soul. We have suppressed it for now for you. But should we doubt your allegiance….hehehe.”

Those were the last words he heard before being expelled entirely from the world of fog.

A while after Zhang Gui’s departure, the fog covering the world began to churn. It receded away as if it had only been there to obscure Zhang Gui’s. A dirt path carving its way through a bamboo forest was revealed underneath the fog’s veil. Two men could be seen walking along the path.

Had Zhang Gui been around to witness this scene, he would easily recognize one of these men. With his face hidden under a hood - it was Ji Heian.

With an unkempt beard and hair dropping down to his waist, the man walking next to Ji Heian looked like a vagrant. His fiery red eyes, similar to those of Mister Ji, only served to add to his vagrant aura. The middle aged vagrant had an anxious look on his face.

“Second Brother Ji, are you sure that mortal will succeed? You even gave him that body. What if he betrays us? What if the forces of Diyu catch him?”

“Seventh Brother is a worrywart as always. All this time we have spent in hiding has made you spineless. How can one hope to win without ever taking the risk of failure. Pawns are intended to be sacrificed. Even if this mortal fails, we shall simply try again. If it can be done once...it can be done twice.”

“As for that fellow betraying us…. It will not be a problem.”

The vagrant did not seem too convinced with those words but decided against arguing any further.

“What is done is done. Second Brother has always been the smartest of us all. If he is so confident in his plan then it must have reasonable chances of success.”

The dirt path led them to a massive clearing. Ji Heian could make out at least a thousand people standing in the field before him. Removing the hood over his head, he made his way up to the top of an elevated pedestal.

Everyone in the crowd tried their best to catch a glimpse of their leader. Standing on top of the stone pedestal, they saw him - a pale young boy with short neatly cut black hair. He might have looked young but there was a trace of maturity in his actions.

“My people… our time has come again.”

His hoarse voice was filled with gravitas in that moment.

“We will not hide anymore. We will not run anymore.”

The thousands of red fiery eyes in the field gleamed with excitement as he said those words.

“Prepare for War!”