The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

"No, I just hate trouble."

Heca continued leading the way, answering in a rather matter-of-fact tone.

"It's wonderful that the Ghost Clan is willing to guard Hell. That Ghost King of Gods is very powerful. With her here, they should be able to suppress Hell forever and prevent any riots. However, it's a pity that there are still some minor issues regarding this deal that need to be resolved... We've arrived."

As Heca spoke, a simple, four-cornered pavilion appeared in the thick darkness before them.

Beside the round stone table in the pavilion, two figures sat quietly, seemingly waiting for their arrival.

Compared to the underworld where the dead can still see, the darkness in hell is far more intense, making it impossible to see anything in its entirety.

"……Who is this?"

With a slightly puzzled look, Jin Jieluo glanced at Shi Bai, then turned his gaze to Heka, his expression becoming even more confused.

After all, Heka's clothes and decorations were completely copied from Shi Bai's. However, at the suggestion of someone who couldn't stand it anymore, Heka's decorations have now been completely changed.

A stylish T-shirt paired with a fashionable short skirt—Shi Bai gave the other person's clothing advice based entirely on the scene in his memory.

"him?"

Turning her head to look at the person who had been holding a black box and fiddling with it since sitting on the stone bench, Heka shook her head after thinking for a moment.

“Just treat his words as…”

"Crack!!"

A sudden flash of light interrupted Heca's words.

"It's alright, you two continue chatting."

Facing the three pairs of eyes all fixed on him, Shi Bai waved his phone with a calm expression.

"I'm just taking a picture, capturing the scene, so I can pass it down as a family heirloom."

"...Let's continue our conversation."

After a moment of silence, Heca turned his gaze back to her.

"You can move into Hell. I will grant you the highest authority besides mine. I will not interfere with how you build Hell, but I have only one request..."

"You guys handle things yourselves, and absolutely don't cause me any trouble. I absolutely hate troublesome things, that's all, meow!!"

Turning his head, Shi Bai gave Heca a thumbs-up.

"I've said what you wanted to say, so you don't need to thank me."

Heca: "..."

...You'll get beaten to death if you keep acting like this, do you know that?!

“…Yes, that’s right.”

After a moment of silence, and considering that she really had no way to deal with the other party, Heca reluctantly spoke.

"As long as you don't cause me any trouble, and don't let those vengeful spirits or other extremely evil beings escape from Hell, then Hell is yours for the taking. Although the construction of Hell is entirely up to you, you will still need to cooperate with Yama of the Underworld afterwards, and the necessary punishments will still be in place... How about it, isn't this a very practical deal for you?"

“I can do all those things. I will guard Hell from now on. But before that, you must also keep your promise to me.”

Nodding, Jin Jieluo spoke calmly.

"If there's anyone in the world who can solve her problems, it's you. To be honest, Kasen's condition is terrible right now. If this continues, she'll eventually become a murderer who has completely lost her will... You should have a way to solve this problem, right?"

"Inner demons... those are the most troublesome things..."

Frustrated, Heka scratched her hair and turned to look at Huashan, who was sitting quietly to the side. Heka looked quite conflicted.

"Actually, it's difficult for others to help with things that involve one's own mind and spirit. After all, others can't really get involved in these kinds of things... Just like you can't eat or sleep for someone else, it's the same principle."

"So even you can't do anything about it..."

Upon hearing Heca's words, Jinkara's eyes quickly dimmed.

"Well... I don't have a solution, but others might. That's why I left before."

Nodding, Heca precisely grabbed the hand of someone who was about to sneak away when she sensed something was wrong.

"For something like this, you should ask him!"

P.S.: Two more updates to come.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Black-Hearted Entrepreneur of the Underworld

"...So you've been planning this from the very beginning, haven't you?"

Shi Bai stared blankly at the hand of a certain goddess that was firmly gripping his wrist, his words carrying a hint of speechlessness.

"You followed me for so long just to bring me here to solve your problem?"

"But I really can't help with the problem of inner demons. However, I think you should be more experienced. If I don't come to you, who else can I turn to?"

Heca opened his mouth dryly.

"So, that explains why you think I have experience in this kind of thing?"

Half-forced back into his seat, Shi Bai rolled his eyes.

"You think I can definitely solve the problems you can't? So who gave you this misconception?"

"To be able to bear such a huge sin and still maintain the most basic normalcy in your thinking, even if you have never had inner demons, you should have had relevant experience, right?"

Releasing her grip, the goddess of the underworld looked completely at ease.

"Furthermore, as the only immortal and forbidden being who has survived from the last era to the present, you certainly know far more than I do."

"Immortal and immortal...!?"

Before Shi Bai could react, Jin Jieluo was shocked by Heka's words, and his usually calm face showed shock for the first time.

"...Sure, I can help, but what terms can you offer me in return?"

Shi Bai glanced at Jin Jieluo and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"That's right, I do have a way, but so what? Asking for my help comes at a price. What can you offer? I won't do something like helping someone to the point of tears."

"...How about I grant you the authority to freely enter and exit the underworld?"

After thinking for a moment, Heca's face turned serious.

"The living cannot enter the underworld, you know? Even the ghosts can only stay in hell, as long as you don't wantonly disrupt the cycle of reincarnation... What kind of look is that?"

"Looking at someone like they're an idiot."

Shi Bai pursed his lips and waved his hand dismissively.

"I can come and go in the underworld at will, and you can't stop me. I can make hundreds or thousands of gates to hell in a minute. You're not a fool to use that as a bargaining chip. Do you think you can get something for nothing?"

"That's different!!"

After a slight pause, Heca, her face flushed, began to argue loudly.

"Your method of entry completely violates the rules. I gave you access to the underworld, second only to mine, and that's a whole..."

"No, change it."

Interrupting Heca's words, Shi Bai looked at the extremely trouble-averse Hell Goddess with disdain.

"Your plan is clearly to trick me into becoming your helper to solve your problems. What would I need that kind of authority for?"

"Then... then would it be alright to let that Yama freely enter and leave the Underworld!?"

With an expression of having her secret exposed, and seeing the undisguised contempt on the man's face, Heca spoke up, slightly annoyed.

However, she was stunned as soon as she finished speaking, and hurriedly waved her hand, trying to deny what she had just said.

"No, that's not right. That last sentence doesn't count. That was just..."

"Okay, that's the condition."

Safety didn't give Heca a chance to finish speaking. Shi Bai pulled out a hammer from somewhere and tapped it on the stone table, sealing the deal.

"make a deal!!"

"No, that won't do. Yama cannot leave the Underworld to go to the World of the Living; that would violate the rules of the Underworld."

Heca hurriedly stopped her.

"Life and death are unrelated; this is an ironclad rule. If even the distinction between life and death becomes blurred, it will be a disaster for the entire world..."

"If it's just one person, it should be fine, right?"

Shi Bai shook the hammer in his hand and spoke lazily.

"Anyway, isn't my existence the biggest challenge to the rules? What's wrong with making an exception? The rules have been broken for a long time anyway. Don't you hate troublesome things the most? Hmm... how about this, if you ever encounter something really troublesome in the future, you can come to me, and I'll give you a 10% discount on my service fee."

"...No, if you want me to agree to this condition, you must also agree to one of my conditions, otherwise I will absolutely not allow it."

After thinking for a moment, Heca shook her head firmly.

"Furthermore, Yama's main workplace is in the underworld. Even if I agree to your condition, there are extremely strict restrictions on the time she can go to the mortal world. It's impossible for her to do as she pleases like you do."

"Then let's follow the labor law and work five days a week with two days off."

Shi Bai answered quite quickly.

"As for working hours, nine to five, what do you think?"

"Don't even think about it, how could that be possible?!"

After hearing what someone said, Heca almost jumped up from his chair.

"There are only three days of vacation per year to go to the afterlife; no more than that!!!"

"Holy crap, are you guys in the underworld even more heartless than those unscrupulous entrepreneurs with their 996 work schedule?! You only allow three days off a year???"

Shi Bai leaned back tactically, his face showing shock.

"This is the biggest concession I can offer; any more is absolutely impossible!!"

Heca glared fiercely at someone, his face full of reluctance.

"Allowing this kind of thing to happen is already breaking the rules. Do you really think allowing this kind of thing is just something I can say casually? Let me tell you, it's incredibly troublesome. If it weren't for..."

"Uh... isn't that right?"

Shi Bai spread his hands, his face showing complete innocence.

"You my foot!! I already showed you mercy by tampering with the River of Oblivion, and now you're asking for something this outrageous..."

"Hmm... speaking of which, didn't you bring this up yourself first?"

"That was a slip of the tongue... Never mind, I only get three days off a year at most, nothing else."

Heca pressed his forehead hard with what looked like a headache, glared at someone fiercely, and then reluctantly began to speak.

"Also, there are conditions to getting me to agree to this. Since you want that Yama to go to the Rebirth Realm, you must also agree to one condition!"

"Hmm... what are the conditions?"

After thinking for a moment, Shi Bai asked Heca in front of him.

"Let me make this clear beforehand, if this condition is too unreasonable, I absolutely cannot..."

"It's a very simple thing, and it will only benefit you, with no harm."

In retaliation, Heca interrupted the other person in the same way, letting out a soft snort.

"The conditions I want you to agree to are very simple."

"Hmm...so what exactly is it?"

Shi Bai's face remained noncommittal.

"Come to the underworld and become a nominal god!!"

P.S.: Wait a minute, there's another update coming.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Ancient Salesman

The netherworld and hell.