"The Hell of Bitter Cold, I remember," Qi Yu recalled. "After I became the Heavenly Dao of Calamity, the Hell of Bitter Cold was handed over to Han for management, and she returned to the underworld."
"Now, it seems there are malevolent spirits causing trouble in the Hell of Bitter Cold again, making the underworld restless. Someone has lodged a complaint with the Underworld against the Nine Heavens. Also, the South Sea needs to elect a new Dragon King, and the Thirteen Heavens require divine generals, but you haven't chosen them yet."
An Nuo calculated this and couldn't help but shake her head. "Alas, there are still so many things to do."
"I will personally escort Si Qing to the Hell of Bitter Cold. As for the South Sea Dragon King and the divine generals of the Thirteen Heavens, I will handle them after I finish this." Qi Yu spoke, then a flash of inspiration struck her. As if remembering something, she grinned and beckoned to Si Qing. "Si Qing, speaking of which, I've suddenly had a brilliant idea."
Si Qing leaned in, half-believing.
Qi Yu whispered into his ear.
As Si Qing listened, his eyes widened. After a moment, a look of sudden realization appeared on his face.
"Ah!"
He gave Qi Yu a thumbs-up.
Qi Yu raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this idea brilliant?"
Si Qing clapped his hands. "Ingenious, so ingenious! The Thirteen Heavens have ten generals, four of whom are Hall-Entering Generals. Why didn't I think of this?"
An Nuo looked at them with a puzzled gaze. "What good idea have you two come up with now?"
"Heh heh heh," Qi Yu wore a mischievous expression and was about to speak when Shao Feng, standing nearby, narrowed his eyes and said, "You two aren't thinking of scheming against the Four Ancestral Dragons, are you?"
Si Qing and Qi Yu turned back together.
Shao Feng snorted, exposing their intentions. "I know exactly what you're thinking. The Thirteen Heavens need ten divine generals, but four of them can enter the main divine hall. The Four Ancestral Dragons, with immeasurable merit, would be somewhat wronged if they were only Hall-Entering Generals. Therefore, you can completely let them ascend to the hall, enjoy the highest honor, and incidentally, let them handle some of the Heavenly Dao's work."
Qi Yu's face showed guilt, but she still tried to maintain her composure and retorted, "Am I that kind of person? Father, you're judging a noble heart with a petty mind!"
"Mm, yes, I'm petty, and you're noble," Shao Feng teased. "Then, as a noble person, please remember not to summon the Four Ancestral Dragons to the Thirteen Heavens."
Si Qing, enjoying the show, couldn't help but chuckle when he heard Shao Feng's words.
Qi Yu, unable to argue with him, turned to An Nuo and complained, "Mother, please discipline him! He's so infuriating. I hadn't considered the arrangement for the Four Ancestral Dragons before, mainly because I felt they had high status and were older. It seemed there was nothing they particularly needed."
"Now that I know about the ten divine generals of the Thirteen Heavens, I suddenly had an inspiration, thinking perhaps the four of them could retire to the Thirteen Heavens."
Si Qing pouted.
Whether it was retirement or not would only be determined after those four arrived.
"Let's go, Sister. To the underworld," he beckoned to Qi Yu as if calling a puppy. "Let's resolve the issue of the Hell of Bitter Cold first, and then we can think about selecting a new Dragon King for the South Sea."
"Alright, let's go now." Qi Yu nodded, bid farewell to An Nuo and Shao Feng, and then turned to pull Si Qing down from the Nine Heavens.
On the way, Qi Yu looked at Si Qing beside her and suddenly seemed to remember something, muttering with a frown.
"Si Qing, you know, before I officially regained my status as Heavenly Dao, I felt like I had a dream."
Si Qing looked at Qi Yu curiously. "What dream did you have?"
"That dream was very complicated. How should I put it? In the dream, I dreamt that you became my brother." Qi Yu was puzzled. "This dream felt so real, as if it had actually happened to me, but I can't recall when. What do you think, was it a dream or reality?"
Upon hearing this, Si Qing's face immediately showed embarrassment. He subconsciously turned his head, pretending he knew nothing, and replied perfunctorily in a very guilty tone, "It was probably a dream. After all, to collect your soul, we searched every corner of the world, almost going through every inch of the human realm."
"So, your soul scattered so far, and it might have attached itself to someone or some animal, causing some memory confusion."
Qi Yu looked skeptical.
Si Qing immediately changed the subject. "Speaking of which, next time, no matter what happens, even if you break the sky, please try to tell me first, okay? Sister, Mother and I were so scared to death by you. Do you know how terrifying that feeling of helplessness was when I suddenly couldn't find you?"
As Si Qing spoke, he sniffled, his voice choked with emotion.
Qi Yu felt a pang of guilt at his words and forgot about her dream. She hurried to comfort him.
Thus, Si Qing conveniently managed to gloss over the "brother incident."
Upon arriving at the underworld,
Qi Yu and Si Qing did not disturb King Yama Shiding. Instead, they went directly to the Hell of Bitter Cold, one of the eighteen layers of hell, to find Han.
Han was currently in charge of managing the various evil spirits in the Hell of Bitter Cold.
When Qi Yu and Si Qing arrived, she was busy capturing a blood demon that was attempting to escape and returning it to the ice prison.
The blood demon was currently incorporeal, and its power was greatly diminished. However, even so, it was unwilling to be restrained by Han and struggled with all its might to break free.
Qi Yu and Si Qing happened upon this scene. Before they could even greet Han, they immediately suppressed it with their divine power, firmly pinning the blood demon beneath their palms.
Where their divine power struck, a snow mountain rapidly grew with Han's cooperation.
This snow mountain was black and red, with malevolent energy continuously emanating from it. However, soon, with Han's power purifying it, the malevolent energy gradually dissipated, ceasing to exist.
Even the snow mountain gradually returned to its normal white color.
"Han, you've worked hard." Qi Yu, seeing that the task was accomplished, quickly walked towards the young girl who looked exactly like her.
Han turned her head, and upon seeing who had arrived, her face lit up with surprise. "Qi Yu! I knew it was you. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the Thirteen Heavens?"
"We came specifically to help you deal with the blood demon." Qi Yu took out a scroll. "And I have a small gift for you."