Chapter 1 The Real World

As a child, I always thought the world was only two colors: absolute white and absolute black.

Growing up, I realized that it's hard to find absolute white, and it seems impossible to discover absolute black. The gray area that should be at the border seems to be the mainstream of everything.

Just like this world, some people who deserve to die haven't died, or at least, haven't died completely.

The stage is changing, and many people who should have stepped down long ago are still hiding in the corners, refusing to leave.

The old monkey's body is very majestic, at least from a visual point of view, not inferior to the Dharma Body of King Chujiang.

It's hard to imagine,

someone who relies on absorbing luck,

using all sorts of methods to "live on," or rather, a monkey who "lives on,"

when it straightens its back,

when it puffs out its chest,

when it stands up completely,

actually has the aura of a mountain,

without the slightest feeling of sickness,

fierce to an utter mess.

Zhou Ze stood up, and the others in the bookstore also stood up.

"Lao An, take everyone back a bit, find a safer place to stay."

Right now, this location is fine for watching King Chujiang perform a pantomime, since everyone is just a puff of air in King Chujiang's eyes and doesn't count for much.

But next,

this place will become a battlefield,

and once these two terrifying entities start fighting, this mountain range will likely be severely affected.

Lawyer An nodded, waved his hand, and signaled everyone to follow him in retreat.

Boss Zhou didn't retreat.

As everyone moved back,

he remained standing where he was.

After a while,

the people in the bookstore even noticed that their boss was moving forward, as if he wanted to get closer to the battle.

The little monkey jumped out of Xu Qinglang's arms and chased after Zhou Ze.

Zhou Ze lowered his head,

looked at the little monkey at his feet,

and didn't scold it back,

allowing it to grab his trouser leg and climb onto his shoulder.

"Don't bother packing up the tents, just take what you need, let's get to the mountain behind us quickly. Did anyone bring binoculars?"

Lawyer An urged and directed everyone.

The reason for bringing so many people this time was to have enough manpower to find the dragon vein. They weren't brought here to fight, and even if they were, it wouldn't be against opponents of this level.

So, to avoid unnecessary losses, everyone should retreat a bit when they need to.

As for the boss,

what exactly did the boss mean by what he just said?

…………

The dragon vein was still roaring, but at this moment, it seemed to have completely lost its role as the protagonist, becoming merely an accessory in the corner of the frame.

No one paid attention to its thoughts anymore, and it no longer had the right to attract much attention.

King Chujiang's face was hidden beneath his beaded crown,

but you could feel the impatient emotions emanating from him.

Monkey,

it's a monkey again.

The era of the Yama King has clearly ended so long ago,

but there are always various monkeys that pop up from time to time,

unable to change the overall situation,

but still able to make you feel uneasy.

Not long ago, a black monkey led the bone scraps from the sealed land and suddenly broke through the main city of the underworld.

And now,

after finally returning to the world to breathe some fresh air for the first time in a thousand years, intending to collect a dragon vein to take back as a snack for Di Ting,

he could still run into a monkey.

Is this a monkey,

or a louse?

How can they jump around and never be caught?

"He seems to think… you're annoying."

A mass of black shadow flickered in the old monkey's eyes, emitting its voice.

"Sixty years ago, was it him who almost beat you to death?"

The old monkey asked with a smile.

Back then, the Bodhisattva issued a decree, and King Chujiang personally took action to suppress the leader of the Enforcement Team, as well as the entire Enforcement Team faction.

"He was born at the right time… you're no match for him."

"Bah."

The old monkey cursed,

"If you can't beat him, you can't beat him. Don't make excuses saying he was lucky and that's why you lost. It's embarrassing."

The black shadow stopped speaking.

It couldn't understand.

Since it had come out of the cold pool,

this battle,

win or lose,

would be an end of sorts.

Why didn't this old monkey have any awareness of that?

People on the verge of death are supposed to speak kindly, but why wasn't that showing at all in this old macaque?

King Chujiang's Dharma Body raised its hand,

and a voice filled with majesty and law began to brew,

asking:

"I don't remember you."

Each generation of Yama King is paired with a monkey. This has become a tradition of the Mount Tai Yama King lineage. Even a mid-level figure like Lawyer An can list them off, from the initial Purple-Gold Divine Monkey to the final Mountain-Moving Ape, let alone one of the supreme beings of the underworld?

But counting and calculating,

it seemed that the one in front of him

wasn't on the list.

King Chujiang knew that

within a hundred miles,

deep in a cave covered in white bones, there was a great demon lurking. But that great demon, sensing his aura, didn't dare to move at all.

There was also a strange creature spying on this place, but it also showed no intention of revealing itself.

Before, these two could barely catch his eye;

but these two didn't move, and out of nowhere, such a big one appeared.

He was a Yama King, one of the supreme rulers of the underworld;

for thousands of years,

how many had dared to walk so unreservedly in front of him,

showing him the intention to challenge him?

"When Grandpa here started out, you were still playing in the mud."

The old monkey grinned,

his body slowly bending down,

two huge monkey paws grabbing at the ground,

like a sprinter preparing for a race.

It was planning to launch an attack.

One of King Chujiang's hands was still suppressing the dragon vein, while the other was placed in front of him, waiting.

What he didn't know was that

the sentence "I don't remember you"

had already touched the old backup monkey's sore spot.

The old monkey's face was down,

and the corner of his mouth twitched,

"You will remember me."

…………

"Tsk tsk, that old monkey is awesome."

On the hilltop, the others from the bookstore were all on the west side, except for Lawyer An, who was on the east side.

Because most of the people and beasts in the bookstore liked to watch the Yama King's figure, only Lawyer An had a special fondness for the old monkey. To get a better view, their positions naturally diverged.

Lawyer An put down his binoculars,

"Pop!"

opened a can of beer, and took a sip.

"Glug, glug."

Waiting for the fight to start,

so satisfying.

The only regret was that he didn't have popcorn.

"You know him?"

At this moment,

a familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind Lawyer An.

Lawyer An was so startled that he shivered,

only then realizing that the guy who liked to carry batteries had appeared beside him at some point.

Honestly,

standing next to someone who could easily crush you to death,

that feeling was really bad.

It was like working in a large corporation and the CEO suddenly appearing next to you.

In romance dramas, the CEO always seems to have nothing to do and likes to hang around the young female employees, waiting to have an ill-matched romance,

but in reality, under normal circumstances, the number of times you can see the CEO up close in a year, besides during general meetings, is really rare.

"I don't know him, but I've loved watching *Journey to the West* since I was a kid. I have a special feeling for monkeys."

"You're very interesting."

The middle-aged man smiled,

standing next to Lawyer An,

seemingly watching the "battle" ahead together.

What a pity,

Lawyer An didn't know the true identity of the man in front of him.

If he knew that this man was King Chujiang,

if he knew that this man was one of the contemporary rulers of hell,

and that he had said "he's very interesting,"

it was very likely

that Lawyer An could have seized the opportunity to become a member of the inner circle.

But now,

he just gave the other party a sympathetic smile and said:

"I originally thought you were already tall, but who knew someone even taller would come along? Annoying, isn't it?"

The middle-aged man didn't seem to understand what Lawyer An meant at first,

but after a while,

he realized that Lawyer An still didn't know his identity.

He immediately said:

"Yes."

"It's okay, you're already much, much taller than me anyway. There will be another chance next time."

Lawyer An was even comforting him at this point,

completely unaware that the other man's Dharma Body was standing right in front.

"You are very interesting."

The middle-aged man said again.

He had said this twice.

If I didn't think you were a bit interesting, I would have cracked open your skull and searched your soul already.

Because you're definitely hiding something.

Life

is perhaps filled with something called "accident."

If King Chujiang were to crack open Lawyer An's skull at this moment,

some secrets that would shock even someone of his status might be revealed.

But he didn't,

in his eyes,

Lawyer An was quite interesting.

There were countless ants in the world, but there weren't many who could make him feel interested.

"Are you from the underworld?"

Lawyer An hesitated for a moment, but still tentatively asked.

He could sense that the other party didn't seem to have any malice towards him.

King Chujiang nodded.

"I used to be, too."

King Chujiang nodded again, indicating that he understood.

"I really miss the years when I worked in the underworld. Those were the most fulfilling and meaningful years of my life.

That was a time full of passion and enthusiasm,

that was a journey filled with faith and glory.

Even now,

sometimes when I dream of the past,

I still wet my pillow in my sleep."

"How do you fall asleep?"

"Don't worry about the details."

King Chujiang laughed again.

He didn't care about the battle in front of him.

He seemed to prefer chatting with this little guy who took him to prostitutes.

Moreover,

he still remembered

how this little guy had evaluated the high-ranking officials of the underworld back at the barbecue stall.

What an interesting little fellow.

"If…"

"If what?"

"If you were given another chance to return to the underworld, would you be willing?"

"Damn, big brother, you must be a high-ranking official, right? What color is the belt on your waist?"

To dare say such a thing, he must be at least a judge, and the color of the belt must be pretty high.

"You answer first."

Lawyer An sighed and said:

"I can't go back, the past was too beautiful."

"Is that so?"

"Maybe."

"The underworld has recently lost a lot of people."

"I heard."

"After you go back, you might not only be reinstated, but you might also get a red belt to wear."

The lowest-level judge?

Lawyer An revealed a look of longing,

while inwardly snickering.

"You still don't want to go back?"

"I am a sinful person, I have to atone for my sins first before going back clean."

Pingdeng Wang An said with sincerity.