“This year’s acceptance rate for the Immortal Ascension Exam for Mortals is only 0.3 percent, even lower than last year.”
“At the end of the year, every department in the Heavenly Court is short-handed. The Jade Emperor said that to solve the scarcity of human resources, we have to rely on you, Yama.”
“It’s not much. All the bureaus combined, a hundred thousand will suffice.”
Taibai Jinxing stroked his beard, smiling as he conveyed the leader’s requirements to Yama.
“Please put the Jade Emperor’s mind at ease; this matter is as good as done!”
Having just seen off the people from Spirit Mountain three minutes ago, Yama was currently controlling his trembling hands and agreeing with a forced laugh.
Taibai Jinxing nodded. He had arrived on a celestial crane, and he departed on a celestial crane.
As for how to complete this massive order, that was Yama’s problem to solve; Taibai Jinxing was merely the messenger.
Everyone was a beast of burden in this system. If the pressure was put on you, then his life became easier.
At this moment, Yama really wanted to curse someone’s mother.
Spirit Mountain wanted eighty thousand, and the Heavenly Court wanted a hundred thousand. He almost thought that Sun the Monkey was about to cause another ruckus in the Heavenly Court.
Day after day, they kept shearing him for all he was worth!
He flicked his sleeves and sat down. Before he could even get a sip of coffee, a ghost messenger rushed in to report: “Reporting to Yama, the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas have sent an envoy seeking an audience.”
“Go, go, go! I’m not seeing them! Just say I’m dead!”
“Goddammit, I can’t afford to provoke the Buddha or the Jade Emperor, but do they think I’m afraid of some Dragon Kings?”
His own Underworld was short-staffed too; who was he supposed to ask for people?
After finishing his rant, Yama pulled up the Book of Life and Death on his computer. He randomly selected three hundred thousand lucky winners and, with a single click, checked the boxes for cancer and car accidents.
These channels were highly efficient and processed quickly.
It wouldn’t be long before his Underworld gained a hundred and twenty thousand new employees.
Shen Fuxing was unlucky. At only sixteen years old, she was selected by Yama.
However, she was rather proactive. She didn’t wait for a car accident; she slit her own wrists to meet the Impermanence.
Yama wanted her dead by the third watch, but she cut her throat by the second.
Seeing such a rebellious creature for the first time—one who actually defied the control of his Book of Life and Death—Yama specifically picked her out from the three hundred thousand for a private audience.
He peered at her through a magnifying glass, his expression identical to that of a mortal seeing a ghost.
Three parts confusion, three parts horror, and four parts disbelief.
And guess what?
The young girl before him wasn’t a ghost. She looked like the Primordial Spirit of some immortal, yet she possessed no immortal qi whatsoever.
Yama was baffled.
What kind of species was this? More ghost-like than a ghost.
Originally, he wanted to keep her in the Underworld for proper study, but unfortunately, today was the agreed-upon delivery date. When Taibai Jinxing arrived and saw Shen Fuxing, he couldn’t help but lament Yama’s moral bankruptcy and lack of basic decency.
What a fine young girl, only sixteen, an age where she should be rolling around at her family’s knees. To meet a quota, Yama actually had the heart to lay a hand on her.
There truly are many wicked people in this world…
The hand holding his horsetail whisk rested on the crown of Shen Fuxing’s head. “I’m taking this child to the Heavenly Court. The remaining balance of fifty thousand Merit will be transferred to the Underworld’s account shortly.”
Yama smiled, trying to pull her back to his side. “I intend to keep her in the Underworld to run errands. The Heavenly Court doesn’t hire child labor. I’ll make it up to you with an adult later.”
He was joking, of course. If this neither-human-nor-ghost thing went to the heavens and someone noticed something strange, the subsequent investigation into his private recruitment of a hundred and twenty thousand employees for the Underworld would put him in danger.
“The Underworld is gloomy; it’s no place for a little girl.”
“Besides, who says the Heavenly Court doesn’t hire child labor? The Great God of the Three Altars and Seas was also a child laborer. Did he complain?”
“This—”
Taibai Jinxing appeared kind and honest, but in reality, he was eloquent and glib. With just a few words, he left Yama feeling like a boiling teapot stuffed with dumplings—full of words, but unable to pour a single one out.
“Don’t be angry. If I get the chance, I’ll put in a few good words for you before the Jade Emperor.”
Taibai Jinxing was a master of placating people. With a flick of his whisk, a celestial crane flew in from afar. It carried him and Shen Fuxing away, vanishing in an instant.
A burst of colorful language erupted from Yama’s mouth.
In a mere half-hour, Shen Fuxing had gone from the mortal realm to the Underworld, and then was whisked away from the Underworld to the Heavenly Court by Taibai Jinxing.
It was quite the packed itinerary.
Except, she remained silent the entire time, showing the same expression whether she saw ghosts or gods.
She had a look of utter indifference, as if she wouldn’t even be interested if the sky suddenly ripped open. This completely threw off Taibai Jinxing, who had been maintaining his sage-like aura for quite some time.
Were mortal children nowadays so psychologically resilient?
Where was the curiosity? The wonder? The worship?
Back when the Weaver Girl’s mortal husband rode a cow to heaven, the desire in his eyes to marry into the family had almost overflowed.
Give me some kind of reaction, hey!
Taibai Jinxing tilted his head and asked gently and kindly, “Child, why aren’t you speaking?”
Shen Fuxing slowly looked up at him, her gaze somewhat hollow. “Why do you think he suddenly just left me? He clearly promised we would never be apart.”
“…”
Taibai Jinxing silently raised a barrier around the celestial crane to prevent any tragedies caused by items falling from a great height.
Considering Shen Fuxing’s current age, he mulled it over for a moment and asked tentatively, “Child, does this ‘he’ refer to—?”
Shen Fuxing lowered her head, her expression somber. “My grandfather.”
Taibai Jinxing understood. He lifted his Daoist robe and sat down, offering comfort and guidance. “Life and death are natural laws. Every mortal goes through this. Don’t be too grieved; please accept my condolences.”
“My grandpa didn’t die of natural causes.” Shen Fuxing pinched the hem of her clothes, tears welling in her eyes. “Liver cancer. It was already terminal when they found it. We left the hospital to go home, and in just five days…”
She choked up, raising a hand to wipe away her tears.
The blood on the cuts on her wrists had not yet dried, the wounds deep enough to show bone, making it hard for one to bear looking at them.
Taibai Jinxing lowered his eyes and stroked his beard, lost in thought.
“Do you have no other relatives at home?”
Shen Fuxing shook her head, her voice raspy. “I only had my grandpa.”
Taibai Jinxing nodded, having roughly guessed why Shen Fuxing had passed away at the age of sixteen.
This silly child.
He looked at Shen Fuxing and smiled slightly. “If your grandfather left within the last half-month, you might just be able to see him in the Heavenly Court.”
“What?” Shen Fuxing looked up, tears hanging from her eyelashes.
Taibai Jinxing told her that his trip to the Underworld was specifically to recruit personnel for the Heavenly Court.
Yama, with his impatient nature and dislike for following procedures, used cancer for this project every year.
As for the fact that every year the Three Pure Ones would release a batch of resources for the Heavenly Court to cultivate fresh blood in the lower realm, yet in the end, they could only cross off a bunch of mortals via the Underworld to finish the job… that was something better left unsaid.
Shen Fuxing’s eyes shimmered, her wet eyelashes trembling. “Really?”
Taibai Jinxing chuckled. “Would an old man like me really lie to a little girl?”
The gloom in Shen Fuxing’s eyes gradually dispersed, and vitality was re-injected into her desolate gaze. Her clean, clear eyes sparkled with tears, like bright stars in the night.
“Then, how can I find him?”
In truth, Taibai Jinxing couldn’t guarantee a hundred percent that Shen Fuxing’s grandfather was in the Heavenly Court. But the urgent task at hand was to give this child a reason to live.
If he was really there, all would be well.
Even if he wasn’t, the Heavenly Court had many things the mortal realm didn’t. Once she spent some time here and found it novel, she would stop thinking about those sad things.
Taibai Jinxing thought for a moment and said slowly, “Your grandfather should be in the Heavenly Court, that’s for sure. But which department he was assigned to and what position he holds depends thirty percent on his resume and seventy percent on luck.”
The Southern Heavenly Gate was now in sight. He smiled slightly and said, “All things in the world are governed by Karmic Affinity. To those who are persistent, the Heavenly Dao will surely provide an answer.”
It sounded very profound.
Translated, it meant one thing: This old man doesn’t know either.
Regardless, he was a stranger who had comforted her, given her a ride 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, dropped her off at the newcomer registration area of the Southern Heavenly Gate, and drifted away.
With a hundred thousand new beasts of burden added to the Heavenly Court, it was a sea of people outside the Southern Heavenly Gate.
Unlike the modern clothing of the mortal realm, the attire of the ancient people was preserved here, though it was completely unrelated to the funeral-style fashion seen in xianxia dramas.
The passing immortals were all dressed in magnificent and unique clothing.
Aside from the Heavenly Soldiers and Immortal Attendants who wore uniform work clothes, every immortal’s styling was different.
“These spots are all filled. Why is there still one more?”
“Just send the extra one back. It’s full; where are we supposed to stuff her?”
Shen Fuxing had arrived late and stood at the very end of the line.
When it was finally her turn, the several divine officials responsible for assigning newcomers whispered among themselves, saying exactly the kind of things that made Shen Fuxing want to die.
Although she was already dead.
Just as Shen Fuxing stood there, blank and at a loss, one divine official bit his finger and said with a worried frown, “Tsk, actually, it’s not entirely full. The Third Prince’s palace is still short a personal attendant.”