Day of Ascension

Xu Ying and Yuanqi caught the scent of meat from afar, and their hunger became unbearable.

Strange figures filled the tavern, eating and drinking. Xu Ying glanced sideways, and a chill ran down his spine.

The strange figures weren’t human—they were skeletons, feasting. On the tables lay human hearts, brains, and other grisly dishes.

Xu Ying and Yuanqi walked forward under the strange gazes of the tavern’s patrons. A skeleton asked, “Where are they going?”

An old ghost answered, “The Homeward Pavilion[1].”

“They cannot go any further. If they pass the Homeward Pavilion and see their hometown, they will never return to the mortal realm.”

The old ghost murmured, “They should stay here like us. We can eat their flesh and turn them into wandering spirits, instead of letting them march to their deaths.”

The fog ahead gradually thickened. Through the green fog, white walls and green tiles entered Xu Ying’s vision. A long, broad street stretched forward, lined with old shops.

Looking at this street, Xu Ying felt a sense of familiarity, yet he knew he had never been here.

A clear, rhythmic chorus of children reading reached Xu Ying’s ears. He followed the sound to a school and looked through the window. Inside were more than twenty students, reading as they swayed their heads.

The teacher was a young man who appeared to be in his twenties.

Xu Ying studied his face. It felt familiar, but he could not place it.

A moment later, their class ended. The children poured out of the private school, their boisterous merriment filling the air.

The schoolmistress walked out, dressed in a white skirt. She was a gentle, soft-spoken woman. She stroked the heads of several children affectionately.

Xu Ying felt puzzled. This woman gave him a sense of familiarity as well, yet he couldn’t remember when he had seen her.

The woman noticed Xu Ying and asked with a smile, “Young man, who are you looking for?”

Xu Ying shook his head. “I’m just passing by. May I ask how to get out of here?”

The woman raised her hand and pointed the way. Xu Ying thanked her and walked in that direction.

That woman watched him leave, then called out to a mischievous child, “Ah Ying, don’t run too far. It’s almost lunchtime!”

“I got it, Mom!” The mischievous child ran past Xu Ying, bumping into his leg as he passed.

Xu Ying froze and stood there like a statue.

He turned back abruptly. The private school and that street had already dissipated like smoke.

He looked at the child ahead of him. The child stopped and turned around. He looked exactly like Xu Ying when he was a child.

The child smiled, and he, too, dissipated like smoke.

Tears streamed down Xu Ying’s face.

Yuanqi noticed Xu Ying had stopped and asked in confusion, “What’s wrong, Ah Ying?

“I saw my parents.”

Xu Ying remained rooted to the spot. After a long while, he said in a raspy voice, “But I couldn’t recognize them. I couldn’t recognize them...”

He dropped the great bell, crouched on the ground, and sobbed with his face buried in his hands. “I can’t remember what they look like. I can’t remember their names. I just saw them, but I couldn’t recognize them.”

Yuanqi leaned in on him and patted his shoulder. Then, he said in a low voice, “Ah Ying, we should keep moving.”

Xu Ying stood up silently and walked in the direction the woman had shown.

The way ahead stretched long and harsh.

To the side was a flat, wide road, but Xu Ying did not take that path. Instead, he followed this difficult path.

A group of gods soon arrived in the vicinity of the tavern in pursuit. One of them, a gray-robed man, called out in a deep voice, “Halt! Homeward is ahead. Let’s go around it!”

Although the gray-robed man didn’t seem old, he stood thirteen to fourteen chi tall. A dragon horn rose from his forehead, and sharp claws extended from his fingers.

A god asked, “Senior Shi Longzi, what happens if we enter it?”

That gray-robed man was a stone dragon of Ningyuan Confucian Temple.

The Ningyuan Confucian Temple was rich with incense smoke, dedicated to the Greatest Sage and First Teacher. In front of and behind the main hall stood four bronze pillars, each with a coiling stone dragon carved from the hardest stone.

As the temple swelled with worshippers, the four stone dragons gradually gained supernatural abilities.

The four dragons had absorbed incense for four hundred years. Each had extraordinary achievements and attained golden bodies. The gray-robed man was Shi Longzi.

Shi Longzi’s eyes flickered. “Homeward doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the underworld. It is extremely mysterious. Rumors say that those who enter it will see their hometown. That place exists between the underworld and the mortal realm. Make the slightest mistake, and you will never return. You’ll become a wandering spirit!”

A voice rang out with a laugh. “I heard that some who are near death would hide in Homeward to exist between the two realms, neither alive nor dead, never aging and never perishing. Intruding on their territory is perilous. To survive, they would do anything!”

Shi Longzi followed that voice and saw Zhou Yang approaching, leading a group of officials.

Their gazes met, then parted.

Shi Longzi said, “Xu Ying has entered Homeward. He won’t come out alive. You can go back now, Magistrate Zhou.”

Zhou Yang said calmly, “He has violated the imperial law. If he is alive, I want to see him; if he is dead, I want his corpse.”

Their gazes met again. Smoke swirled behind Shi Longzi as incense qi gradually thickened. Golden light radiated from him: a clear sign that he was channeling his golden body.

Smiling faintly, Zhou Yang remained composed. He said eerily, “The Underworld Court’s golden body is a touch inferior to our Zhou clan’s Vajra Indestructible Body. I happen to have forged one myself.”

Shi Longzi sneered coldly, “We don’t know which is superior. Moreover, you are still young, Magistrate Zhou. How far could your Vajra Indestructible Body have reached?”

Zhou Yang smiled faintly. “The second level!”

Shi Longzi narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling pressured.

If Zhou Yang had reached only the first level, Shi Longzi could secure an easy victory. The second level made the outcome uncertain. If they fought, both sides would suffer. They might even perish together.

Zhou Yang wasn’t willing to fall out with the god either. He suggested, “Since Xu Ying has entered the Homeward Pavilion and his status is unknown, there is no need to fight. Shi Longzi, we’ll go around it and wait further ahead.”

Shi Longzi nodded. “As for who captures Xu Ying, we’ll leave it to luck!”

He left with his group.

Zhou Yang watched him leave, his gaze flickering. He looked toward the Homeward Pavilion, shrouded in fog, and whispered, “Rumors say that place allows one to exist between life and death. Many terrifying experts are said to be hidden here. When their lifespans near the end, they enter this place. Once inside, they never leave...”

A government official behind him lowered his voice. “Sir, is the legend of the Homeward Pavilion true?”

Zhou Yang’s expression flickered with uncertainty. He chose another route around the Homeward Pavilion and said, “I used to think it was fake, but I heard something later.”

With a short pause, he continued, “The story spread within the clan. It says our ancestor once faced a fatal calamity. He planned to enter the Homeward Pavilion and exist between life and death to avoid it. Afterward, with his talent and wisdom, he overcame the calamity and extended his lifespan. That spared him from entering. Only then did I realize the legend is real.”

The officials exchanged glances, then looked toward the place shrouded in fog. An official muttered, “Can criminal Xu Ying really walk out after entering it?”

Zhou Yang shook his head. “His lifespan hasn’t ended. He might still come out. But he might also...”

His expression darkened. “Get possessed by those neither human nor ghost. Their lifespans are over, so they take a living body to return!”

The officials shuddered involuntarily.

The fog shrouding the Homeward Pavilion grew increasingly thicker. The path beneath Xu Ying’s feet also grew increasingly arduous. A bottomless abyss yawned below, jagged rocks loomed above. One misstep meant death.

Beyond the cliff lay the Lone Log Bridge, suspended between two fortress-like peaks. It was a single round log. If it rolled even slightly, one would fall into the abyss.

Xu Ying took off his shoes, then steadied his breath. Barefoot, he stepped onto the round log. He focused on the shifting pressure beneath his feet and moved forward inch by inch.

Behind him, Yuanqi coiled around the log and wormed his way forward.

They looked down and saw mist swirling. A green river flowed through the abyss, bubbling with sickly foam. Rotting corpses drifted on the surface.

The bubbles swelled. Faces formed within them. One by one, they rose above the river.

On one bubble, a young girl’s face appeared. She asked Xu Ying with a captivating allure, “Young man, where are you from?”

Xu Ying didn’t answer.

Yuanqi blew at the bubble. The young girl’s face twisted, crying, “I’m going to die! I’m going to die! Ahhh—”

The bubble burst with a pop, splashing green water across Yuanqi’s face.

Trembling, Yuanqi followed Xu Ying across the Lone Log Bridge to the opposite bank.

They continued along the mountain path and saw someone standing by the roadside with three legs, unmoving.

When they neared, they realized that there was no third leg. Instead, someone had nailed him to a wooden stake.

Xu Ying and Yuanqi’s scalps turned numb. They tried to pass quietly, yet the man, still alive, begged with a trembling voice, “Save me...”

Yuanqi felt a pang of pity and asked, “How can we save you?”

That person cried out, “Give me two years of your lifespan!”

Yuanqi turned to Xu Ying and said, “We can save him if we give him two years of lifespan. Since we have plenty of lifespan left, why don’t we save him?”

As soon as he said that, the trees by the roadside turned around one after another. Each one looked like a three-legged figure, a wooden stake beneath them.

They cried out, “Give me two years of lifespan. Save me!”

Yuanqi jumped in fright. Only then did he realize they weren’t nailed to stakes. They were rooted in the earth, fused with the trees.

Yuanqi hurriedly caught up to Xu Ying and didn’t utter another word about saving them.

They pressed on, tension mounting. Ahead, they saw people sitting by the roadside, looking up at the sky. Thick flower stalks were growing from their mouths. Others stood rooted like scarecrows, branches sprouting from their bodies. Their rib-like branches exposed beating hearts.

There were many such sights.

These people had used strange exorcism techniques to extend their lives. Many had turned themselves into wood or plants, taking on weird forms.

After a long walk, they finally saw a house. A man stood before it. Broad-shouldered, bearded, and normal. He sized up Xu Ying and Yuanqi, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Xu Ying mustered his courage and approached to ask for directions. The bearded man exclaimed in surprise, “You came from the mortal realm? Who pointed you in this direction? This is the only path of survival in Homeward. It’s impossible to come here without an expert’s guidance!”

Xu Ying hesitated, then recounted his journey through Homeward and his encounter with his parents. “If not for my parents’ guidance, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”

The bearded man grew more astonished. “Homeward, homeward, what you see here is, of course, your hometown! Young man, those were scenes from your childhood. Your parents saw your future seven or eight years ago and pointed you toward survival. They are true experts. Remarkable, truly amazing!”

Xu Ying was baffled. In his memories, his parents lost their lives in Xujiaping Village, and they were ordinary people. What was this talk about them being experts?

He tried to recall their faces from the Homeward Pavilion. The memory blurred. The appearances of his parents also gradually grew hazy. They stood in his memories, but their faces were blank, without any features.

The bearded man said, “I can send you out of Homeward, but my enemy is coming for me. He will be here soon. We made a pact while we were alive. He entered Homeward not long ago. Today is the day we settle it. Rest in my house. I’ll send you off after I kill him.”

Xu Ying and Yuanqi were stunned.

Making a duel pact during his lifetime and dueling after his death. That was quite the spirit this bearded man had.

The two entered the house and saw the bearded man retrieve a sword case. It was half as tall as a person. He placed it before him, standing proudly with one hand resting on it.

Before long, the air grew heavy. A fierce storm swept through the underworld. Lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled as the sky turned dark.

Within the dark clouds, a divine, towering figure took shape. He cried out, “Yuan Tiangang[2], you severed my neck on Panlong Mountain and disrupted my cultivation! Today, I shall slay you and have my revenge!”

1. A pavilion every soul passes by on their journey to the underworld. From there, they can see their families and loved ones in the living world. ☜

2. A renowned figure, astrologer, fortune teller, and physiognomist during the Tang dynasty, known for predicting China’s future. ☜