"Yuxin, how did you become one of Ming Luoxin's subordinates?"
Hell itself was already extremely cold, and Yuxin, who had been leading the way ahead in silence for quite some time, made me feel an even deeper chill.
Frost covered the entire cold and hellish landscape, living up to its reputation of being cold as hell.
The trees, roads, and everything within sight were all deep blue.
Even the ghostly flames were blue.
But then again, ghostly flames were probably naturally blue.
But the coldness was absolutely undeniable.
"...it's all fate, isn't it the same for all of you?"
Yuxin replied without even turning her head.
Although she said she didn't turn her head, her semi-transparent state did look quite eerie.
And it seemed like her mouth didn't move when she spoke... wait, she's a ghost, how does she speak?
Oh well, just think of it as her spirit being able to cause vibrations in the air, it's best not to dwell on it too much.
But her silent nature was quite annoying, for goodness' sake, say something, it's really awkward for you to keep quiet like this.
"I haven't done this kind of work before. If you expect me to provide an introduction to hell, that would be too difficult for me."
Perhaps realizing why I brought up the topic, Yuxin said this.
"Normally, I'm just like any ordinary soul, wandering within the realm of the Cold Hell, drifting around and reporting any information I hear to Lord Ming Luoxin. Although I have finished repenting, I always felt that the human world is not a good fit for me. So, I petitioned to Lord Ming Luoxin, and at that time, he was short-handed, so he took me under his wing."
"I see. But isn't it unpleasant to stay in such a dark place like hell all the time?"
"We are souls, after all."
Yuxin smiled.
"Isn't there any place more suitable for souls than hell?"
"Well... when you put it that way, you're not wrong."
"So, do you just drift around like this normally?"
Oyado asked from the side.
"Don't you get bored?"
"It's much better than the constant killings and conflicts among our kind in the human world... By the way, why are you going to the Abyss? Although I haven't been there, I heard it's a place just like the human world, full of disputes and killings everywhere."
"We're going to find a friend."
Aliyah glanced at me before saying.
"He ended up in the Abyss for some reason, so we're going to bring him back."
"Is that so... it seems like you're really good friends, not many people would go to the Abyss for a friend."
"Well, that guy tends to be reckless, if we don't go save him, who else will?"
Bai Yueguang chimed in from the side. I shot him a glance and gestured rudely.
In this world, only we understand the meaning of this gesture, right?
"But in hell, we don't just drift around. I'm also responsible for guiding some newly arrived souls, and at the same time, I can gather information about the human world from these newcomers and report back to Lord Ming Luoxin."
"Information? But don't most newly deceased souls just repeat their grudges from before they died?"
"That's right, most of them are like that. But it's advantageous in its own way, after all, this way we quickly find out which countries are at war, given the sheer number of souls, they can't hide it even if they wanted to."
"What's the use of knowing which sides are at war?"
"At least we know there will be a lot of undead coming in the next period of time, so we can prepare in advance."
Why do I feel like you guys are running a market... predicting customer flow and all...
Seems like even Hell is not having an easy time, indeed, getting employed anywhere is not easy.
"By the way, is Hell really underground? The sky here is all black, it should be underground, right?"
"Well~ I'm not very sure about this, rather than saying that Hell is in a certain direction on Earth, it's more like they exist in different spaces. It's not as simple as moving from one area to another because the concepts are different."
"A different space..."
I rested my chin on my hand, thinking.
"Then Ming Luoxin must have the ability to manipulate space, otherwise how could she move around so easily."
"Of course, Mistress Ming Luoxin is the master of this space; naturally, she can come and go as she pleases."
That makes sense, she is the boss, so coming and going freely is pretty normal.
"Then Hell should be very safe, right? Isn't this place where the undead redeem their sins from their past lives?"
Taishi Xi suddenly asked.
In theory, that's correct, but many undead escape to avoid punishment, which is why the passage to the Abyss is in the center of the Iron Tree Hell, as it's difficult for the undead to pass through there."
"Oh, what happens if those undead escape?"
"They will become what you call ghosts, or other types of undead in the human world. Among them are the stronger ones... you know about the demon in the Abyss—Liejiao, right?"
"I do..."
More than just knowing, that guy almost killed me once, I even got a great sword from him...
It's been a while since I last used it...
"So it's that guy... you're starting to understand the relationship between your Hell and the Abyss."
It's simply a loop system.
Die in the human world and become undead, undead who want to replay the human life scenario need to redeem themselves and then reload the human life.
If the ghost is destroyed, then it's like total annihilation, right? Then the cycle can't continue, right?
At a simple thought, why does it feel like life is resetting, or maybe it's the result of playing too many pay-to-win games.
"Wait, what's over there?"
Suddenly, Aliyah pointed ahead.
We've been in Hell for some time now, and the surroundings are clearer.
Ignoring those strange withered trees around, in the distance, countless blades are extending from a large tree, intertwining like branches, creating a maze of blades.
And that large tree... even from here, you can see how massive it is.
How did this come to be? This place is truly terrifying.
"Up ahead is the Iron Tree Hell."
Suddenly, Yuxin stopped. Her lifeless eyes looking at us.
"From here on, it's up to you."
