Arriving at the old spot by the banks of the River of Oblivion, I saw a slender figure sitting on the ground, his black hair fluttering behind him like the guiding butterfly of the underworld.
I walked up to him and sat down beside him on the ground, taking the wine jug he handed to me.
Removing the mud seal, the fragrance of the wine rushed into my nose. Without hesitation, I raised the wine jug and took a big gulp, feeling the spicy flavor penetrate deep into my lungs like fire.
Putting down the wine jug, I wiped the residue from my mouth and couldn't help but praise, "Good wine."
Yanwang turned to look at me, his eyes having heterochromia. One was a normal black color, while the other had a complex array inside, looking very eerie.
"Is the matter of the She Formation handled?" Yanwang asked.
I nodded and looked at the struggling souls in the River of Oblivion in front of me. "I released a corpse. He will come to the underworld to find me after a hundred years. Don't forget then."
Yanwang didn't ask for any more specific details but changed the subject. "Do you have any targets next?"
I took another sip of wine and remained silent.
"Then take a break," Yanwang continued, "It's not good for you to always be in the human world."
I quickly finished a jar of wine, feeling a bit drunk. Pointing at a soul struggling in the river of forgetfulness, I asked, "He has been struggling in the river for a hundred years, but why does he still keep struggling when he has moved forward a hundred meters?"
The King of Hell did not look at the soul I pointed at, but looked at me. His voice was emptier than the wind in the underworld, "People struggle in life and as spirits after death. Do you know why?"
I shook my head, as a soul struggling in this realm, I really didn't understand why I was struggling.
"Because people are greedy and always want what they cannot have," the King of Hell said, taking back the empty wine jar from my hand. His hand was warm because he was different from me. He was still alive.
"They always want what they cannot have!" I said bitterly, standing up unsteadily. I was standing on the bank of the river of forgetfulness, and the river water had wet my shoes.
Trying to keep a clear head, I said, "I'm drunk, I'll go back first."
The King of Hell did not get up, he looked up at me, and the spell in his eyes flickered. He warned me, "Be careful on the way."
I turned around to leave, but the next moment I was dragged by the ankle into the river of forgetfulness by a soul in the river.
As I fell into the river of forgetfulness, I suddenly became sober. Looking at the blood-yellow water and the countless souls struggling under me, being crushed and broken by other souls, I realized they were still desperately struggling to pull themselves and other souls down.
The water of the river of forgetfulness was gradually corroding me, and I felt my soul getting weaker and weaker. I started to struggle like the other souls, trying to climb up, even if it meant pulling down other souls.
However hard I tried, more and more souls rushed towards me, biting and tearing at me. To them, I must have been a great source of nourishment.
My eyes saw nothing but souls coming at me, tightly surrounding me without a single gap. They bit off my legs, my hands, and tore out my hair, even gnawing at my throat.
At that moment, I prayed I wouldn't forget why I struggled, and when I struggled ashore in the Lethe River after thousands of years, Yama could still remember our agreement.
My consciousness became increasingly blurred, and blood-yellow water flowed into my nose and mouth, forcing me to close my eyes.
"Cough... cough... cough... ugh..." At the moment when I closed my eyes, I was suddenly lifted up, hanging in mid-air and coughing violently until I vomited.
"Qin Su!" Yama's empty voice echoed in my ear. I tried to turn my head with the last of my strength, but found that my head was hanging down and I couldn't lift it up.
I tried to lift my hand to prop up my head, but all I saw was a bald, half-arm. Then I remembered that my hand had been bitten off and my neck had been broken.
In the end, all I could do was weakly respond, but my bitten throat could not make a sound.
Yama held me, missing an arm and a leg, and flew towards his palace. His half-sleeve was wet and blood-yellow water was lying down below.
But no matter how hard I tried, more and more souls rushed towards me, tearing and biting at me. For them, I should be a great supplement.
My eyes were filled with souls biting towards me, tightly surrounding me without any gap. They bit off my legs, my hands, tore my hair, and gnawed at my throat.
At that moment, I only prayed that I would not forget why I struggled. When I struggled to the shore of the Forgotten River after thousands of years, Yama would still remember our agreement.
My consciousness began to blur more and more, and the blood-yellow water flowed into my mouth and nose, forcing me to close my eyes.
"Cough... cough cough... vomit..." At the moment when I closed my eyes, I was suddenly lifted up by someone, and I coughed violently until I vomited.
"Qin Su!" Yama's empty voice echoed in my ears. I tried to turn my head with the last bit of strength, but found that my head was drooping and I couldn't lift it no matter what.
I wanted to raise my hand to support my head, but all I saw was a bald half-arm.
It was only then that I remembered that my hand had been bitten off and my neck had been broken.
Finally, I could only weakly respond, but my bitten throat could not make a sound.
Yama held me, who was missing an arm and a leg, and flew towards his palace. His half-sleeve was soaked and blood-yellow water lay beneath him.
Yama flew at a fast speed and arrived at his palace in an instant, walking towards a side hall and pushing open the heavy giant door.
The sound of "squeak" echoed in the empty palace.
I felt a coldness on my back, and then a strong chill penetrated into my body.
Yama adjusted my head, and I finally saw where I was.
The walls and roof were made of black boulders, and eerie ghost fires flickered in all four directions. There was only an ice-cold bed, which was the entire equipment in this side hall.
The air was thickest with Yin Qi beneath the bed, which passed through the purification of the ice-cold bed, and what entered my body was pure and undamaged Yin Qi.
My body gradually recovered, although not very quickly.
"You rest here." Yama looked at me and instructed.
I blinked to indicate that I understood.
Yama then left the side hall and walked towards his storeroom. After passing through the wide and dark passage, he pushed open the door of the storeroom.
With another creaking sound, Yanwang walked in, reached out his hand and picked up a bundle of ghost fire, illuminating the things in front of him.
The storeroom was large, and all kinds of things were neatly organized on the shelves. However, judging from the dust that had settled on them, it seemed that Yanwang did not often come here.
Yanwang walked towards the shelf marked "River of Oblivion" according to his memory.
The front part of the shelf was full of books about the River of Oblivion. Yanwang stood in front of the shelf, carefully looking back at each book. After flipping through more than ten books, Yanwang lifted his unusually pale hand that rarely saw sunlight.
He took down the ancient book called "Medical Treatment for the River of Oblivion."
Yanwang brushed off the dust on the cover with his hand, opened the first page, and saw a painting. In the painting, the River of Oblivion water rushed endlessly, and the souls were vaguely visible.
Yanwang flipped to the next page, where the two small characters "River of Oblivion" were written in silver hooks with the words "Mad Doctor" underneath.
Yanwang continued to flip through the book. The front half of the book was about the life of the author and the River of Oblivion, while the latter half was about the methods of treating those who were hurt by the River of Oblivion water.
Yanwang raised the ghost fire in his hand so that he could see the words more clearly.
His heterochromatic eyes carefully read the words on the book, "If one's body has been corroded by the water of the River of Oblivion, depending on the severity of the injury, the skin, flesh, and bone need to be peeled, scraped, and removed. If one possesses sufficient power, they can be reborn after this process."
Yanwang's expression remained unchanged. He closed the book and put it back where it belonged.