“This year’s Lower Realm Ascension Examination has an acceptance rate of only 0.3%, even lower than last year’s.”
“By year-end, all departments in the Heavenly Court are short-staffed. The Jade Emperor says that to solve the human resource shortage, we still have to rely on you, Yama.”
“Not many—just a hundred thousand in total across all offices.”
Taibai Jinxing stroked his beard and smiled as he conveyed the leadership’s demands to Yama.
“Please assure the Jade Emperor that this matter is in my hands!”
Having just sent off the people from Ling Mountain three minutes ago, Yama now controlled his trembling hands and agreed with a cheerful laugh.
Taibai Jinxing nodded, having arrived on a celestial crane, and departed on one as well.
How to fulfill this massive order was Yama’s concern; he was only responsible for delivering the message.
Everyone was just a workhorse—when the pressure was on you, others could relax.
Yama really felt like cursing right now.
Ling Mountain wanted eighty thousand, the Heavenly Court wanted a hundred thousand—he thought Sun Wukong was about to wreak havoc in the heavens again.
Day after day, they just kept picking on him!
Sitting down with a flick of his sleeve, before he could even take a sip of his coffee, a ghost messenger hurried in to report: “Your Honor, the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas have sent someone to request an audience.”
“Go away! No audience! Tell them I’m dead!”
“Damn it, I can’t afford to offend Tathagata or the Jade Emperor, but am I supposed to fear some Dragon King?”
His underworld was short on people too—who was he supposed to ask for them?
After venting his frustrations, Yama pulled up the Book of Life and Death on his computer, randomly selected three hundred thousand lucky individuals, and with a single click, marked them for cancer or car accidents.
These methods were efficient and quick to process.
It wouldn’t be long before his underworld gained a hundred and twenty thousand new employees.
Shen Fuxing was unlucky—at just sixteen years old, she was chosen by Yama.
But she was rather extreme; instead of waiting for a car accident, she slit her wrists and met the underworld envoys herself.
If Yama wanted her dead by the third watch, she’d cut her throat by the second.
Seeing such a rebellious soul for the first time—one who wasn’t even controlled by his Book of Life and Death—Yama specifically picked her out from the three hundred thousand for a private audience.
He examined her with a magnifying glass, his expression exactly like a mortal seeing a ghost.
Three parts confusion, three parts terror, four parts disbelief.
Guess what?
The young girl before him wasn’t a ghost—she seemed like the Primordial Spirit of some immortal, yet she carried no immortal aura.
Yama was baffled.
What kind of creature was this? More ghostly than a ghost.
He originally wanted to keep her in the underworld for thorough study, but he had promised to deliver the goods today. When Taibai Jinxing arrived and saw Shen Fuxing, he couldn’t help but lament how Yama had lost all morals and was doing inhumane things.
Such a fine young girl, only sixteen—the age to be rolling around playfully on her family’s lap—and for the sake of performance metrics, Yama could still bring himself to do this.
Truly, there are more bad people in the world~
Resting his hand holding the whisk on Shen Fuxing’s head, he said, “I’ll take this child to the Heavenly Court. The remaining fifty thousand Merit will be transferred to the underworld’s account shortly.”
Yama smiled, trying to pull her back to his side. “I was planning to keep her in the underworld for errands. The Heavenly Court doesn’t hire child labor—I’ll send you an adult replacement later.”
Joking aside, if this neither-human-nor-ghost creature went up to the heavens and someone noticed something strange, an investigation might follow, putting his secret recruitment of a hundred and twenty thousand employees in the underworld at risk.
“The underworld is gloomy—no place for a young girl.”
“Besides, who says the Heavenly Court doesn’t hire child labor? The Third Prince is also child labor—did he complain?”
“Well—”
Taibai Jinxing appeared broad-minded and honest, but in reality, he was eloquent and glib-tongued. With just a few words, he left Yama feeling like dumplings stuffed into a boiling kettle—full of things to say but utterly unable to get them out.
“Don’t be angry. I’ll put in a good word for you in front of the Jade Emperor when I get the chance.”
Taibai Jinxing was skilled at soothing people. With a flick of his horsetail whisk, a crane flew in from afar, carrying him and Shen Fuxing away in the blink of an eye.
A torrent of colorful curses erupted from Yama’s mouth.
In just half an hour, Shen Fuxing had gone from the mortal realm to the underworld, only to be whisked away from there by Taibai Jinxing to the Heavenly Court.
Her itinerary was certainly eventful.
Yet, she remained silent the entire time, wearing the same expression whether she saw ghosts or gods.
Her utterly indifferent demeanor, as if she wouldn’t even care if the sky suddenly cracked open, left Taibai Jinxing, who had been trying to maintain an air of immortal grace, completely at a loss.
Are mortal children these days so mentally resilient?
Where’s the curiosity? The awe? The admiration?
Back when the Weaver Girl’s mortal husband rode a cow to the heavens, the desire in his eyes to stay and marry into the family was practically overflowing.
Could you at least give some reaction?!
Taibai Jinxing tilted his head and asked gently and kindly, “Child, why aren’t you speaking?”
Shen Fuxing slowly looked up at him, her eyes slightly vacant. “Why did he suddenly abandon me? He promised we’d never be apart.”
“…”
Taibai Jinxing quietly raised a Barrier around the crane to prevent any tragic accidents caused by high-altitude object throwing.
Considering Shen Fuxing’s age, he pondered for a moment before tentatively asking, “Child, who is this ‘he’ you’re referring to—?”
Shen Fuxing lowered her head, her expression somber. “My grandfather.”
Taibai Jinxing understood. He lifted his Taoist robe and sat down, offering comfort and guidance. “Life and death are natural laws. All mortals must face this. Don’t grieve too much. Accept it and move on.”
“My grandfather didn’t die a natural death.” Shen Fuxing pinched the hem of her clothes, tears welling up in her eyes. “Liver cancer. By the time it was discovered, it was already terminal. He was discharged from the hospital and returned home, and in just five days, he…”
She choked up, raising a hand to wipe away her tears.
The cut on her wrist was still stained with fresh blood, deep enough to reveal bone, making it unbearable to look at.
Taibai Jinxing lowered his gaze, stroking his beard thoughtfully.
“Are there no other relatives in your family?”
Shen Fuxing shook her head, her voice hoarse. “I only had my grandfather.”
Taibai Jinxing nodded, roughly guessing why Shen Fuxing had met her end at the tender age of sixteen.
This foolish child.
He looked at Shen Fuxing and smiled slightly. “If your grandfather passed away within the last half-month, you might just see him in the Heavenly Court.”
“What?” Shen Fuxing looked up, tears clinging to her eyelashes.
Taibai Jinxing explained that his visit to the underworld was to recruit personnel for the Heavenly Court.
Yama, with his impatient nature and aversion to lengthy procedures, had been using cancer for this project every year.
As for the fact that the Three Pure Ones allocated resources annually to cultivate fresh talent for the Heavenly Court in the mortal realm, yet they could only rely on the underworld to round up mortals to meet quotas—well, that was a topic best left unspoken…
Shen Fuxing’s eyes flickered, her damp eyelashes trembling slightly. “Really?”
Taibai Jinxing chuckled softly. “Would an old man like me lie to a young girl like you?”
The gloom in Shen Fuxing’s eyes gradually lifted, and a renewed vitality infused her desolate expression. Her clear, bright eyes, glistening with tears, shone like stars in the night sky.
“Then, how can I find him?”
Truthfully, Taibai Jinxing couldn’t guarantee that Shen Fuxing’s grandfather was definitely in the Heavenly Court. But for now, the priority was to give this child something to live for.
If he was truly there, all would be well.
Even if he wasn’t there, the Heavenly Court had plenty of things the mortal realm lacked. After staying for a while and finding everything novel, she wouldn’t dwell on those sad matters anymore.
Taibai Jinxing pondered for a moment before slowly saying, “Your grandfather should be fine in the Heavenly Court, but as for which department he was assigned to or what position he holds, three parts depend on his record, and seven parts rely on luck.”
The Southern Heavenly Gate was now within sight. He smiled faintly and said, “All matters in the world follow the Karmic Law. For those who persist, the Heavenly Dao will surely provide an answer.”
It sounded profound.
Translated into plain language, it meant one thing: This old man doesn’t know either.
Regardless, they were merely passing acquaintances, yet he had comforted her, taken her on a celestial crane, and patiently told her all this.
He was a good immortal.
Shen Fuxing wiped away her tears and thanked him sincerely.
Taibai Jinxing patted her head, placed her at the newcomer registration area of the Southern Heavenly Gate, and drifted away.
With a hundred thousand new workers added to the Heavenly Court, the area outside the Southern Heavenly Gate was packed with crowds.
Unlike the modern attire of the mortal realm, ancient-style clothing was preserved here, but it bore no resemblance to the funeral-like aesthetics often seen in fantasy dramas.
The immortals coming and going were all dressed in splendid and distinctive attire.
Apart from the Heavenly Soldiers and Celestial Attendants in uniform work clothes, every immortal had a unique style.
“It’s already full, how come there’s one more?”
“If there’s an extra, just send this one back. Where are we supposed to place her when it’s full?”
Shen Fuxing arrived late and stood at the very end of the line.
When it was finally her turn, several divine officials responsible for newcomer assignments whispered among themselves, saying things that made Shen Fuxing wish she were dead.
Though she was already dead.
Just as Shen Fuxing stood there stiffly, at a loss for what to do, one of the divine officials bit his finger, frowning in distress, and said, “Tsk, actually, it’s not completely full. The Third Prince’s palace still lacks one personal attendant.”