Who hid my body?

Chapter 380 Zoe
Once you cross the river, you've officially entered the realm of the underworld.

The dead in the underworld were not just background figures; they were still warmly welcoming Bai Wei and Faen, their faces full of sincere smiles.

Forget about those unpleasant things!

"Death is rebirth!"

They were saying this loudly.

"Is this some kind of special ritual?" Bai Wei asked the two soul guides beside him.

"Yes, but also no." The soul guide shook his head and explained with a smile, "Welcoming the newcomers is not some ritual written in the rules, but something we want to do from the bottom of our hearts. We are truly family."

“Family…” Upon hearing this word, Fain thought of his granddaughter again, and his eyes dimmed once more. “Aina… how is she now?”

“It will be alright, Fan,” the Soul Guide said to Fan. “If you’re really worried, you can go out and take a look.”

Upon hearing this, Fan's dim eyes immediately brightened again, and he asked tremblingly, "Will I... will I ever see Aina again?"

“Generally speaking, it’s not possible,” the soul guide said. “There is a distinction between the living and the dead. Unless you become a soul guide like us, you can’t leave this place. Becoming a soul guide requires hundreds of years of training, by which time your granddaughter will definitely be gone.”

Farn asked anxiously, "Then why did you say..."

"The Spirit Blossom Festival," the Soul Guide said with a smile. "You're in luck; the Spirit Blossom Festival is almost here."

"The Spirit Blossom Festival?"

“Yes, this is the grandest festival in the underworld,” the soul guide said. “If you are lucky enough, you will receive the Lord’s favor and have your wish granted. At that time, you can use this wish to see your granddaughter.”

Farn opened his mouth, then asked anxiously, "So what exactly should I do?"

“Nothing needs to be done.” The soul guide shook his head. “Just wait and have hope.”

Farn wanted to ask more questions, but the guide had already led them to a simple thatched hut.

"Alright, this is where you'll be staying," the soul guide asked with a smile. "See if you're satisfied."

Bai Wei looked up at the thatched hut in front of him and asked, "Will we live here from now on?"

“Ah, of course not.” The soul guide shook his head. “We don’t have that many rules. You can live wherever you want. In fact, the vast majority of people in the underworld don’t live in houses.”

"Where will you stay?"

"Whatever." The soul guide pointed to the flower bushes in front of him. "You can live directly in the Blooming Spirit Flower."

"Sleeping among the flowers?"

“Yes, many people do this,” the soul guide said. “We are the dead, we don’t get sick, and there’s no bad weather in the underworld. There’s really no difference between living in a flower garden and living in a house; it’s just a matter of whether you can accept it psychologically. The longer someone has been dead, the more carefree they become, while those who have just died mostly retain their habits from their previous life and are not so easy to adapt to. So most of the houses here are prepared for you newcomers.”

"I see." Bai Wei then asked, "So what do we need to do on a daily basis?"

"Do whatever you want."

"Ok?"

"Do whatever you want," the soul guide repeated, then said with a smile, "Please, we're all dead now, do we really need to work?"

"But aren't you working?"

“This isn’t a job, it’s a hobby.” The Soul Guide waved his hand. “I just wanted to be a Soul Guide, so I became one. If you don’t want to do anything, then do nothing. Don’t forget, we are dead. Dead people don’t need to work like living people. The only thing the dead have to do here is enjoy life, nothing more.”

"Is it enough to just enjoy life?" Bai Wei said with a smile. "It sounds a bit unreal."

“For those of you who have just died, it will indeed take some time to adjust to this kind of life,” the Soul Guide patted Bai Wei on the shoulder. “But you will soon understand that this is our life. We have suffered too much in our lives, and we don’t need to suffer anymore. Let me give you some advice.”

"You said."

“Go and wander around, see the world,” the soul guide said. “Compared to words, your eyes can give you a more direct understanding of this world, can’t they?”

“That’s true.” Bai Wei nodded slightly. “Thank you for your suggestion. I’ll go take a look.”

"Actually, I don't need to give any special advice. Most people's first reaction upon arriving here is to explore and feel the land with their own feet," the Soul Guide said with a smile. "Go ahead and explore boldly. As I said before, there are no taboos for you or me in this world. You can stop whenever you want, and you can enter every house you see. The owners of the houses will not only not stop you, but will also warmly welcome you. If you get tired, just pick a couple of Spirit Blossom Flowers to eat."

Did the deceased still need to eat?

"Of course, even souls can still be irritable," the soul guide shrugged. "But you won't die even if you don't eat; it will only make you feel weak. Some people actually enjoy that feeling, so it's up to you to choose whether to go a thousand years without eating. Oh, and by the way, there's another special type of dead you need to be aware of."

"A special deceased?"

“Yes.” The soul guide nodded slightly. “You should know that not all the dead can keep their souls intact, and those whose souls are incomplete cannot live a normal life even after death. Their spirits will be in a very strange state, like a flame that could be extinguished at any moment.”

"Are there really people like that?" Bai Wei asked, feigning surprise. "And what kind of behavior would such a person exhibit?"

“That depends on the extent of the damage to his soul,” the soul guide said. “Most of the dead like this are unable to think clearly or communicate effectively. They are more easily bound by their obsessions from their previous life, exhibiting an almost pathological obsession with certain things. You’ll know when you meet them.”

“I understand.” Bai Wei nodded, then asked one last question, “What kind of dead person would have an incomplete soul?”

"They were drawn into an incomprehensible war, affected by unimaginable forces," the Soul Guide replied. "So most of these people died a thousand years ago, at the hands of that man named Vessas."

After answering the question, the soul guide left.

Bai Wei looked at Faen beside him: "How about it, want to go for a walk together?"

“I’m sorry, Mr. Bai Wei.” As Bai Wei expected, Fain shook his head. “I really’m not in the mood.”

Are you still thinking about your granddaughter?

“Yes,” Farn said softly. “Her parents are gone, and I’m her only family. I really don’t know how she’s going to live. Ah… she’s never been away from me for so long, never.”

Farn kept rambling on, clearly indicating that he still needed some time before he could let go of everything as the two soul guides had suggested.

Bai Wei didn't offer any advice, simply nodding and saying "Take care" before leaving. After all, he didn't have time to leisurely spend hundreds or thousands of years here. He only had one thing to do: find the Lord of the Underworld and retrieve his heart. The Lord of the Underworld was definitely in this kingdom. But what intrigued Bai Wei was that the Lord of the Underworld surely anticipated his arrival; what preparations would He make?

It should be noted that the other churches have been thrown into chaos by Bai Wei's return, and those deities have begun to resort to any means necessary to fight against Bai Wei.

Only the Underworld remained peaceful and serene, even continuing to accept the dead as usual, seemingly completely indifferent to Bai Wei.

Why is this?

Is it because the Lord of the Underworld has truly become indifferent to life and death, or does he have some confidence in dealing with Bai Wei?

Bai Wei wasn't sure either. In the past, he would probably have stayed hidden as a precaution, quietly waiting for the Lord of the Underworld to slip up.

But now... all we need to do is find the Lord of the Underworld.

So how do we find it?

Bai Wei pondered for a moment.

Okay, let's find someone to show us the way.

Bai Wei's understanding of this area was not as extensive as that of other places, so he could not find many people, and he was not even sure if those people could help him find the Lord of the Underworld.

But there is one person he still wants to see.

After a series of twists and turns, Bai Wei arrived at the foot of a huge tree.

The plants in the Underworld are not real, but rather created by the power of the Lord of the Underworld. Therefore, theoretically speaking, the plants here can take any form they want.

As long as it's something the inhabitants of the underworld are willing to see, there's no problem.

The towering tree in front of Bai Wei was none other than the one in Peach Blossom Village.

However, the tree in Peach Blossom Village has withered, while this one is still lush and leafy, casting large patches of shadow on the ground.

In the shadows, a small girl stood there, looking up at the ancient tree before her.

Her body, bathed in the shade of the tree, flickered in and out of light, like a flame that might be extinguished at any moment.

Bai Wei walked up behind her and lowered his voice: "Hello."

The little girl's body flickered, but she did not respond.

But Bai Wei knew she wasn't doing it on purpose; she simply couldn't respond because she was the one the soul guide had described as having a broken soul, and even in the land of the dead, she remained incomplete.

Bai Wei knew her name—Zoe.

In the relatively short and somewhat lacking Underworld chapter, she is arguably the NPC who left the deepest impression on all players.

The reason is that she is the designated target of persecution in this game.

As mentioned earlier, people with incomplete souls are bound by obsessions, which causes them to react only to specific things.

What could elicit a reaction from Zoe was... Vesas.

Yes, she is the only character players can directly interact with in the entire Blasphemy game who has a direct connection to Vesas, and can also be considered the only confirmed follower of Vesas in the game.

However, players know this not because the game shows Zoe and Vesas's story from a thousand years ago, but also because Zoe, in her current state, is incapable of telling the story. In her normal state, no matter how the player interacts with Zoe, she will not respond.

Unless the player possesses "Vesas's Body Part".

Zoe only reacts to Vesas's body parts. As long as a player possesses a piece of Vesas's body, they can have very simple conversations with Zoe, but these conversations still don't yield any information, making it seem like a useless Easter egg. Until one day, a player suddenly had the idea to say to Zoe, "I am Vesas, I'm about to resurrect, please V50 for my final help."

Upon hearing this, Zoe finally broke her silence and gave the player a soul shard.

In the game, Soul Shards are the currency of the Underworld and can be used to purchase special items in the Underworld.

However, as the name suggests, soul fragments are items that consume souls. For a deceased person with a complete soul, missing soul fragments can be replenished, but this is not possible for a fragmented soul like Zoe's.

This means that every time Zoe gives a player a soul shard, she becomes weaker. But if the player keeps asking for it, Zoe will keep giving until the soul is completely annihilated.

Therefore, draining Zoe's entire soul became the first thing many players would do upon entering the Underworld map, and even Bai Wei was no exception, because soul fragments in the game are really rare.

Of course, after being a scoundrel for so long, I would occasionally feel guilty and wonder if I could save this poor little girl.

Unfortunately, no matter how players try, she is like Hachiko in "Hachiko: A Dog's Tale," waiting for her deceased owner to return, and ultimately cannot be redeemed.

This has become a regret for many players.

But now, Bai Wei finally has the opportunity to make up for this regret in person.

He put his hand on Zoe's shoulder.

"No need to wait any longer," he said with a smile. "I'm back."

As Bai Wei watched Zoe's empty eyes gradually regain their sparkle, a long-forgotten, hazy memory surged into his mind, making him feel somewhat dazed.

"Ah, yes, it's you." Bai Wei seemed to remember something, then smiled and repeated, "I'm back."

He remembered who Zoe was, and Zoe recognized him too.

But that was all. Zoe didn't say anything more, nor did she do anything that she would have done at their reunion a thousand years later. She just quietly looked at Bai Wei, just as she had quietly looked at the tree above her head for the past thousand years.

"Is this all there is to it?" Bai Wei asked with some regret, but still shook his head and said, "Fine, take me to find the Lord of the Underworld, Zoe."

Zoe nodded.

(End of this chapter)