Dark clouds and criss-crossing purple lightning blanketed the sky.

A girl looking to be around nineteen-years-old was standing at the front desk of the inn, her two hands propping up her chin as she stared out the door. The sky outside was overcast, with not even a sliver of sunlight.

"Shopkeeper, the bill!" a pale-faced woman said to the girl.

The girl's languidly looked over the woman, her fingers nimbly dancing over the abacus, effortlessly quick and skillful.

The beads of the abacus were glossy, like they had lasted for a very long time.

The girl stared at the front desk's abacus, not raising her head as she said, "Three hundred million!"

The woman faintly nodded her head, throwing out three hundred million ming bi 2 before promptly leaving the inn.

The girl indifferently put the money into the front desk and once again propped up her chin as she looked outside.

This was the nether world, with no difference between day and night, the sky forever a plane of grey.

A very large inn towered at the netherworld's only road; ghosts all call it——Yellow Springs Inn.

I am Zhang Xiao Qi, as well as the inn's owner. I can't remember how old I am; I only remember that the dynasty I lived in was Qin3.

Entering the inn was another pale, deathly gray-faced young man clothed in black-casual clothes. The moment he walked in he faced me and shouted, "Shopkeeper, I want a bowl of beef noodle soup!"

Finis.h.i.+ng his sentence, he walked up to the empty side of the room to the empty table number three and sat down.

I wrote the young man's order for beef noodle soup onto a slip of paper, then on the back added table three; this way it would be easier for the waiter to send him his order.

Immediately the paper slip was slipped into the dark pathway on the right side of the front desk.

The dark pathway on the right led to the kitchen, where the chefs would go through the pathway to get the orders I wrote, and when the orders are done they would leave it to the waiters to serve it to the customers.

The dark pathway on the left led to the Human Resource Department, where accounts are set up.

I saw that the young man seemed to be in a bad mood, so I couldn't help but look at him a few times, but unexpectedly I was seen.

The man said angrily, "What are you looking at, have you not seen a ghost before?"

I watched him as I humphed disdainfully; what do you mean I haven't seen a ghost before, what I see the most is ghosts.

From this man's temper, with one glance I could tell, when he lived he probably had an unfulfilled wish, up till his death he still was unable to complete it, which was why his temper was so bad.

It would be beneath my dignity to argue with this man, and when he saw me not talking further he felt it too awkward to say anything more, after all, here, I am the boss.

After a short while the waiter brought the beef noodle soup to the man's table, the man picked up his chopsticks and was just about to eat when Hei Bai Wu Chang 4 walked in.

I looked at Hei Bai Wu Chang and laughed, "Gentlemen, you two haven't visited our store in such a long time, what brings you here today?"

Hei Wu Chang looked at me and laughed, "Shopkeeper Xiao Qi, yesterday a ghost we had in our hands ran away, we two brothers are looking for him right now, if Shopkeeper Xiao Qi sees him, we'll have to inconvenience you to inform us!"

After he finished talking Bai Wu Chang took out a folded piece of paper and said, "Shopkeeper Xiao Qi, look, this is the portrait of the criminal!"

I took the paper that Bai Wu Chang handed to me, opening up the paper and laughing as I said to Hei Bai Wu Chang, "To be able to escape from your hands, this person's ability must really be out of the ordinary!"

Bai Wu Chang laughed with mirth, "Exactly, he is the human world's Thousand Jade Hall's Hall Master Luo Qian Qi!"

When he finished speaking, I had already fully opened the paper and seen clearly what this man's appearance was like.

Drawn was a young man who was very handsome, had deep eyes, a high nose bridge, and a handsome and out of the ordinary face.

I stared at the man drawn for a while, feeling a sense of familiarity, then my line of sight unconsciously drifted towards that man who was eating his beef noodle soup.

I glanced at the man, thinking: was it him?

Bai Wu Chang laughed as he said, "Shopkeeper Xiao Qi, have you met this man before?"

The man probably saw that I was looking at him; he stopped his chopsticks and glanced at me before continuing to eat his noodles.

I whispered, pointing at the man eating noodles, keeping my voice flat as I told Hei Bai Wu Chang, "I feel like the man over there eating noodles seems a little similar, you two go over and check if it's similar to him or not!"

Hei Bai Wu Chang heard my words and walked towards the man.

I just sat at the front desk happily and waited to watch a good show.

Hei Bai Wu Chang stopped near the man. Bai Wu Chang said, "Raise your head!"

The man continued to eat his noodles, totally disregarding Hei Bai Wu Chang.

Hei Bai Wu Chang saw that he unexpectedly refused to acknowledge them and quickly became angry.

Hei Wu Chang looked at the man and shouted, "Deserves to die!"

Finis.h.i.+ng his sentence, Hei Wu Chang put a hand on the man's left shoulder, probably preparing to lift the man up.

Just after Hei Wu Chang put his hand down, the man's face instantly became cold.

The man's voice was cold as he said, "Take your hand off!"

Hei Bai Wu Chang stopped and stared blankly; I also stopped and stared blankly. This man had such a bold tone; could it be that he really was that Luo Qian Qi or whatever?

Hei Bai Wu Chang looked at the man and snorted coldly. Hei Wu Chang said, "Such a bold tone!"

Saying this, Hei Wu Chang used force in his right hand, preparing to lift the man off the seat.

"Bang!"

When it registered to me all I saw was that Hei Wu Chang had already been thrown to the ground from that man's shoulder throw 5.

The man dusted off the dust on his body, looking at Hei Wu Chang disdainfully as he said, "The netherworld's Hei Bai Wu Chang only has this much ability?"

When Bai Wu Chang saw the man's appearance he suddenly understood, stuttering, "Luo, Luo Qian Qi!"

When the inn's other customers saw that that man once provoked threw down Hei Wu Chang, they sent looks of curiosity to this side.

After Luo Qian Qi stared at the ghosts menacingly, one by one they retracted their gaze.

I stared blankly for a moment, thinking: he really is Luo Qian Qi?

Luo Qian Qi glanced at me before preparing to leave the inn.

I suddenly realized that he still had not paid for his meal!

I looked at Luo Qian Qi's leaving figure and yelled, "Stop, if you want to go you first have to pay; it's three hundred million!"

Luo Qian Qi stopped and looked at me, then looked at Hei Bai Wu Chang. When Hei Bai Wu Chang saw that Luo Qian Qi was looking at them, they unconsciously s.h.i.+vered.

Luo Qian Qi looked at Hei Bai Wu Chang, coldly smiling as he said to me, "Those two pieces of trash will pay for me!"

After saying this, Luo Qian Qi swaggered out of the inn.

I looked at Luo Qian Qi's back thinking in my heart: What kind of thing was a Thousand Jade Hall's Hall Master? Was it very awesome?

I thought for a while, before waving Hei Bai Wu Chang over saying, "You two come here!"

Hei Bai Wu Chang both looked at me, then walked up to the front desk.

Bai Wu Chang laughed in a high pitch [nervously] and said, "Shopkeeper Xiao Qi, is there any matter?"

I looked at Hei Bai Wu Chang while laughing and said, "Just now I saw that Luo Qian Qi just waved and managed to hit Hei Wu Chang stomach down, don't tell me you guys also cannot beat him?"

Listening to my words Hei Wu Chang's face did not look too good, Bai Wu Chang looked at Hei Wu Chang and laughed dryly, saying, "Luo Qian Qi is Thousand Jade Hall's Hall Master, and Thousand Jade Hall is also the human world's largest ghost catching family, to be so young and be the Hall Master, you say if he is powerful or not!"

I looked at Hei Bai Wu Chang and laughed a little, saying, "Then now that he has left, how will you two report back?"

Bai Wu Chang's face showed helplessness as he said, "What else can we do other than wait for punishment; it's not our fault that we were unlucky, being entrusted with this task!"

I looked at them and laughed, before picking up my brush and writing on the white paper a "pardon" character, saying, "I hope this will help you two brothers!"

Hei Bai Wu Chang looked at the character that I sent them and their faces became happy. Bai Wu Chang said hurriedly, "Many thanks to Shopkeeper Xiao Qi!"

I waved at them, "It's nothing, just quickly be on your way!"

Hei Bai Wu Chang nodded and left the inn.

After Hei Bai Wu Chang left, those ghosts looked at Hei Bai Wu Changs' leaving figure again with meaningful gazes.

At this time, I couldn't help but be curious about Luo Qian Qi, about Thousand Jade Hall, about the outside world.

It has already been a very long time since I went outside, how much did the outside world change? What became of the Qin Dynasty?

I once heard a few newly deceased ghosts say that the Qin Dynasty had already died, and now it is the year 2008, in the Republic of China, where there is no Emperor; instead it is a democracy.

I sat at the front desk, contemplating whether or not I should go outside and take a look. after all it's been thousands of years!

I cracked my knuckles, happily saying, "Ok, let's go out and play for a few days, it's decided!"

I wrote a paper slip to the left dark pathway, and after a while a girl in seductive clothes walked up to the front desk.

I raised my head at looked at her. Her name was Hong Yan.

Hong Yan had bold red lipstick, a head full of golden waves, a fiery red dress reaching up to her knees, bold red high-heels. She propped up her chin with one hand as she looked at me.

I said indifferently, "You came!"

She winked at me, laughing, "Shopkeeper, you asked for me!"

I nodded, "Yes, I am planning to go out to play, you just stay here and settle bills!"

"What?" Hearing me speak, Hong Yan was alarmed, suddenly jumping very high, causing all the ghosts eating their meals to look over here with curious gazes.

I watched the ghosts and unhappily said, "What are you looking at, eat your food!"

The moment my voice fell, those ghosts all quickly swished their heads back.

I looked at Hong Yan and unhappily said, "Did you eat the wrong medicine? To get surprised about something so trivial!"

Hong Yan once again used her hands to support her chin, "You want to go out and play, if this matter is spread outside, not just me; I'm afraid the entire netherworld will be in a roar!"

I laughed dryly, "Is it really that strange?"

"Yes!" Hong Yan made a very exaggerated face, "A ghost thousands of years old, who has never left the netherworld before, and has never even left the Yellow Springs Inn before, now says you say you want to go out; if there wasn't an uproar it would be strange!"

I laughed mischievously, "It's because I haven't gone outside before that I would want to go outside for a look now!"

Hong Yan nodded her head, saying caringly, "It's not like you can't go out, but you have to be careful, there are a lot of swindlers outside, and also a lot of Daoist priests!"

I nodded my head, smiling, and following this Hong Yan said, "You as a thousands-of-years-old ghost, watching you I've only ever seen you bullying others, as for others bullying you……tsk, tsk!"

I stared at her coldly, "Does anyone talk like you?" 6

Hong Yan laughed mischievously, "Hee hee, I am only saying the truth!"

I waved at her, "Ok, I get it, when I leave you look over the inn well!"

Hong Yan patted her chest in seriousness and said, "I'll take care of things here, you can leave it to me!"

I laughed, walking out the door as I said to Hong Yan, "Then I'll be going!"

Hong Yan nodded, "Be careful outside ok!"

I smiled and nodded my head, then left the inn.

Footnotes

1. Yellow Springs (黃泉): the netherworld in Chinese Mythology ↩

2. Ming bi (冥幣): Paper burned for the dead as money they would use in the netherworld. Ming bi comes in various forms, some looking like actual Chinese bills, some are just bill-looking paper with a cartoonish-ancient emperor instead of Mao Ze Dong, and some are just red and gold/yellow paper. Usually we get the red-and-gold-decorative-paper kind and we fold it into the shape of a gold ingot (the dumpling shaped ones, aka sycee) and burn it. ↩

3. Qin Dynasty: It was a long time ago, which is all you really need to know. Because of Qin s.h.i.+ Huang’s beneficial but tyrannical rule, the Qin Dynasty ended up lasting only 14 years. ↩

4. Hei Bai Wu Chang (黑白無常): Translated literally as "Black and White Impermanence," they are two deities in Daoism serving by Yama's (the ruler of the netherworld) side who escort the dead to the netherworld. ↩

5. shoulder throw: a judo move ↩

6. Xiao Qi is saying that Hong Yan talks too exaggeratedly ↩