Qiu Hai was lounging lazily, propping his head up with one hand, already wearing a look of impatience. Hearing the ghost envoys’ words only made him grumble more:
"How dare you call her ’Ancestor’? Only I can do that!"
"Hmph, the Nether World is in chaos, so how could the mortal world be any better? Why would the Ancestor have time to visit me now?"
But as soon as he lifted his gaze, he saw the charming figure of Nanli.
She had her hair tied up in a simple bun, secured with a wooden hairpin. Her skin was delicate, and her temples had a healthy blush. Compared to before, she looked even more refined and radiant.
Qiu Hai was overjoyed, and in a flash of red, he was already in front of Nanli.
He grabbed her hand and looked her over.
"You’ve lost weight!" he exclaimed.
"No, I haven’t," Nanli withdrew a hand to touch her face. "Still about the same."
"It must be Ye Siheng treating you poorly," Qiu Hai muttered.
"Maybe it’s just the recent disaster relief efforts wearing me out," Nanli explained. "And you? How are things here? Is the Nether World in chaos?"
"With the mortal world , how could things be fine down here? We’re short on ghost envoys, and I’ve had to oversee judgments all day, barely getting any rest," Qiu Hai moved closer, insisting Nanli look at the red veins in his eyes.
Knowing he was like a loyal puppy, Nanli patted his head.
"You’ve worked hard," she said. "You’re the only Hell Lord down here, so it must be tough. Once your Death God returns, you should ask her to appoint more Hell Lords to share the workload."
What seemed like an easy suggestion made Qiu Hai’s face darken.
For the first time, he glared at Nanli fiercely, "No! There can only be one Hell Lord in the Nether World, and that’s me!"
Nanli was taken aback, blinking. "Oh, so there’s a power struggle even in the Nether World? Fine, if you don’t mind the hard work, you don’t have to mention it to the Death God."
Qiu Hai’s expression softened, but still uneasy, he added, "I’m so good at my job that if you were the Death God, you wouldn’t want to dilute my authority by appointing more Hell Lords, would you?"
Nanli nodded, agreeing with him, "Yes, yes, you’re so diligent. Besides the Death God, you should definitely be the biggest authority here, and everyone else can only work under you."
Qiu Hai was pleased, his smile enchanting enough to captivate anyone.
"You better mean it."
Nanli secretly thought, What I say doesn’t matter, only what the Death God says counts.
But she had come for an important reason. After placating Qiu Hai, she got straight to the point: "I suspect something’s been done in the Kunlun Immortal World, causing the endless snowfall in the mortal world. Can you help me open a door? I need to check it out."
"Huh?" Qiu Hai was momentarily confused. "How do I open a door?"
Nanli knocked lightly on his forehead, scolding him, "As the Hell Lord, don’t you know your Nether Sect can open doors anywhere in the vast universe?"
But after saying that, she shook her head. "However, it probably won’t work inside the Immortal World since they have layers of protective spells, as you mentioned last time."
Qiu Hai paused for a moment, a glimmer of darkness flashing in his eyes.
He stared at Nanli intently, his gaze deepening.
Nanli waved a hand in front of his face, "What’s wrong with you?"
Qiu Hai snapped back, a smile tugging at his lips. "Nothing. I rarely leave the Nether World, so I’ve almost forgotten how to open the Nether Sect."
"Ancestor, you’re right. Ever since the barrier was set up in the Immortal World, our ghost envoys haven’t needed to go there to collect souls."
Nanli was puzzled, "Then how do they reincarnate?"
"They have a reincarnation spring. When they die, their souls naturally float there, and once they jump in, they can come straight to the Nether World," Qiu Hai explained.
Nanli smirked slyly, "So they still fall under your control. If one day you see my enemies, you’d better take good care of them."
Qiu Hai’s gaze turned serious, and he promised, "Of course."
But he hadn’t forgotten why Nanli came, so he added, "Let’s check if the Immortal World is up to something. I’ll open the door for you!"
If the snow could be stopped, fewer people would die in the mortal world, which would also lighten the workload in the Nether World. After all, managing all the souls lining up for reincarnation took both manpower and effort.
He stepped forward, his red robes highlighting his pale skin and elegant posture.
With a wave of his sleeve, a door of the Nether Sect appeared before them.
Qiu Hai pushed it open, grinning, "After you, Ancestor."
Nanli didn’t move, her lips twitching slightly. "If I step through that door, won’t I drown?"
Qiu Hai raised a brow.
Turning his head, he saw an endless ocean beyond the door.
"Haha, my mistake, my mistake. I haven’t personally gone out to catch ghosts in a while."
He closed the door and opened it again.
This time, not as confident, he checked first.
Waves of heat rushed out.
The third attempt led to a snow-covered mountain, with wind and snow so fierce it was hard for them to keep their eyes open.
By now, Nanli’s expression was blank.
Though she could open the Nether Sect herself, it always led back to where she started.
The fourth time was even more absurd — they ended up right back in the Capital.
Luckily, there were no citizens in the streets due to the snowstorm, or they might have been scared to death.
Qiu Hai’s hand was trembling, and he looked pitifully at Nanli. "Ancestor, maybe you should sit down, have some tea, and let me try again slowly."
He thought it must be the long distance to Kunlun causing his mistakes.
Nanli sighed, "I take back what I said earlier. While you’re diligent, your skills are a bit lacking. I think the Death God should appoint more Hell Lords, so you feel some pressure and improve your abilities."
Qiu Hai was devastated, feeling like he wanted to die at that moment.
"Ancestor..." he muttered regretfully, clenching his fists. "Give me one more chance."
"It’s not up to me. Only the Death God decides, but I’m in a hurry right now," Nanli said, pulling over a ghost envoy. "You open the door. I need to go to the north of Kunlun, just outside the Immortal World."
The ghost envoy trembled, sensing the icy gaze from the Hell Lord.
It felt as if opening the door would result in Qiu Hai scattering his soul, never to reincarnate.
"Ance—" the ghost envoy quickly corrected himself, "My lady, perhaps you should give the Hell Lord another chance?"
Nanli smiled darkly, "If you don’t open it now, I’ll tear your soul apart."
Terrified, the ghost envoy’s hair stood on end, and he hurriedly went to open the door.
True to his diligence, he got it right on the first try.
The Kunlun region was free of wind and snow, bathed in sunshine.
Looking ahead, she saw faint, multi-colored halos. Those must be the spell barriers.
She looked up at the sky.
A dark, oppressive aura was drifting southeast, not moving very quickly.
Nanli instructed the ghost envoy, pointing upwards, "Open a door there."
After all, she hadn’t built a foundation and couldn’t fly on a sword.
The ghost envoy hesitated, "Opening a door to the sky? That’s... a bit difficult."
Nanli encouraged him, "Come on, if you do it right, I’ll have Qiu Hai give you an award for being the best employee."