Young, I was free of earthly will.
My nature was to live in peace.
Yet I was caught in a dust-filled trap.
Waking up, thirty years had gone.
The caged bird dreams of trees and air.
Fishs yearn for the ancient stream.
I plough the earth at the edge of the South.
Returning to my humble field.
- Tao Yuanming, "Returning to Live in the Country"
///
What is freedom?
For some, it's infinite wealth. For others, it's returning to their humble fields.
To Bai Huayin, well, it's to turn 18, and run away.
Growing up, her family was never stable. Her mom and dad would always get in fights, and eventually, the divorce came when her older brother ran from home.
Instead of concerning herself with anything family related, Bai Huayin would bury herself in books, studying for a good score, so maybe she could at least go to college after running off, and get a good job.
Developing steadily worsening health, she eventually ended up with a skeleton-like body.
And on her big day after the Gaokao, before she was going back to pack her things, her vision blacked out in the middle of the street.
She felt her heart slowly grow weaker.
'Ah, it's the end, isn't it?' Bai Huayin despaired.
As her vision blurred, Bai Huayin started having visions of her brother again, of the crashing waves, and her promise, and countless regrets.
"Big Brother! Someday I'll become super rich and buy a seaside mansion, then we can spend every day beside the ocean!"
'I'm sorry, Big Brother, but I'll never get to see the sea with you again.'
She closed her eyes, and lost consciousness…
…
…
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."
"This is the best I can do."
…
...
Drip…
Drip...
'…Wait, drip? Am I still alive? An IV bag? My blood?'
Bai Huayin painfully opened her eyes through an intense headache.
"God, it feels as if they hammered every part of my skull. What did those good-for-nothing doctors do?"
Still squinting her eyes to adjust to the light, Bai Huayin sits up, but when she did,
Splash!
"Splash? Wait, why is my entire back wet! Where am I?!" Bai Huayin panicked, quickly sobering up despite the sharp pain still in her head.
Looking down, she realizes her current form right now was translucent, a subtle ghostly-white hue radiating to the stream below.
Scanning her surroundings, Bai Huayin found that she was in a short and narrow cave tunnel. Beside her lies a flat wooden walkway, and on the other side, a seemingly infinite stretching row of Traditional Chinese doors, with a low hanging roof and a wooden step.
"Am I… in the Underworld?" Bai Huayin asked nobody.
Bai Huayin lifted herself up, shaking off the water from her garment right now. She was wearing a simple white robe, but strangely it fit her perfectly.
"I'm guessing I died, right?"
Bai Huayin stared off into her reflection for a long minute. Looking back at her life, it seemed there was really nothing and nobody to live for, but she still had an entire future ahead of her!
In the end, she never got to meet new friends, run to a big city, and get rich!
"And I never got to know what happened to him either."
Bai Huayin's eyes fogged with a bit of tears, but she quickly wiped them away. This was no time to be sad after all, she was just gifted a new chance at life! After all, who would just stand here moping around in an ominous place like this!
"Ok, since I basically look like a ghost right now, what type of underworld is this?"
She looked to the side, noticing there were paintings on the doors of the building, as well as extravagantly embedded gold dragons on the pillars.
"Chinese… why am I not surprised?"
Bai Huayin mumbled, looking back down suspiciously at the stream below
"So then this must be the Nai River. If this gets into my system, I'll lose my memories, right?"
Just to check if she didn't drink any beforehand, Bai Huayin checked into her memory library. Often she used this to remember test material, but now it's used like this…
"Physics, Math, Chinese, Chemistry, it's all still pretty fresh! Jackpot~" Bai Huayin giggled.
If she was reborn into a less advanced time, she would definitely use her modern knowledge! Then she would be able to obtain everything she would ever want!
"Ok! Now that just leaves one problem left."
Bai Huayin felt the need to move somewhere else. Just standing around doing nothing has made her a bit restless, but she had to weigh her choices carefully!
"Since this is the underworld, I don't think going through this door is a good idea. Maybe I go downstream? But the problem is which way…"
Bai Huayin thought for a while, before resigning and putting her hand on the metal handles. Just as she was about to pull the door open however, she noticed something strange!
"The paintings! Why are they all facing a single direction?"
Since there was no mention of this location in historical texts, Bai Huayin had to just guess where she needed to go. Thankfully, she had a brighter mind than most.
"Maybe this is a way for nobody to get lost in the Underworld!" Bai Huayin puffed her chest in pride. "As expected of detective Bai, I'm just too smart for my own good!"
Unfortunately, no amount of mental genius or IQ could prepare her for a marathon. Behind her suddenly were echoes of a set of clanking armour running behind her.
Danger!
"Split to the bridge path! I'll check below this level!"
Guards shouted from behind her, and they didn't seem to be far!
Bai Huayin panicked! Thankfully it wasn't in the opposite direction of her destination. Tripping over herself, she got up hurriedly and ran!
'If I'm right, the Underworld's main purpose was torture and reincarnation! If I make it to the Naihe Bridge, it should allow me to escape without losing my memories! There should be one to nine in total, I'll cross the most luxurious one!'
Bai Huayin shone with greed and determination, but her physical condition quickly deteriorated. After isolating herself for so many years, how could anyone expect her to run a full sprint for so long!
Running the hardest she physically could, Bai Huayin eventually reached a low terrace of carved stone, but was already out of breath! The cave entrance was now behind her, and an ominous grey sky with black-green clouds and lightning was now raging above her.
'So this is the Underworld' Bai Huayin looked ahead, finally getting to see the frankly beautiful scene of the Underworld. It was a gothic dark palace with permanent heavy rain. However, Bai Huayin couldn't rest here. The guards were closing in quick!
'Their echoes are getting louder by the second!' Bai Huayin panicked as she rushed quickly to the Terrace of Forgetfulness.
Quickly, she climbed over the low terrace and ran past two broken bridges. Ahead were four other bridges, but too late! The guard behind her already climbed the terrace too!
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" The guard behind her yelled.
Bai Huayin almost fell from the guard's heavy shout, but she dared not stop!
"Shit! This is the old version of the Underworld! If there are six different bridges, that means the one made of jade or gold is the best bridge!"
The Underworld is massive, the only way to have so many people reincarnate every day is to have more space. It's to the point this Terrace was more suited to be called a port by its size, and not even the Gold Bridge, the one before the Jade Bridge, was in her eyesight!
However, the guard was catching up fast! There was no more time to think!
Her only option now was the iron spiked bridge a few meters from her. Originally, this bridge was meant for sinners, but now Bai Huayin had no choice but to pray the guard is too weak willed to follow her on it.
Running harder than she ever ran in her life, Bai Huayin suddenly turned and leapt onto the iron spiked bridge!
The guard, who was centimeters from catching her, quickly tried to pivot, but his heavy weight just ended up making him trip over and slide over a few meters instead!
However, Bai Huayin wasn't in the clear just yet.
'SO PAINFUL!!!'
Since Bai Huayin was getting stabbed in her pure soul state, the pain was actually amplified many times! The pain was so unbearable, she was unable to even pass out!
Many think the Illusion Bridge or the Broken Bridge were the worst of the Underworld, but in reality, it was the Iron Spiked Bridge, since it tested the limits of your soul!
Damage to the soul is unrepairable without either time or treasures, so the guard was unwilling to dare put his neck on the sword just to chase some random girl! He would rather be punished by the Great Yama!
She almost fell over, but an unfamiliar blue energy started gathering around her. In just a few seconds, she managed to temper her soul enough to feel almost no pain! Soon enough, Bai Huayin managed to collect herself again.
'The guard behind me stopped, so the only way is forward now.' Bai Huayin panted, sweat dripping down her hair.
Reluctantly, she took her next step.
'This is the worst option I could take, but if it means I escape this place at least, I'll take anything! I refuse to die leaving all my memories behind!'
Bai Huayin's soul started to crack, but her determination stayed strong! The pure forgetfulness water started to slowly seep in drop by drop, but the cracks were quickly mended by the blue energy.
Repeating the process, tempering her soul, each step felt progressively less painful, until finally she reached the end.
Now right before the portal, Bai Huayin could no longer even see the guard behind her. Taking a step forward, her vision turned to oblivion once more. Bai Huayin closed her eyes and fell through to her new life.
…
…
"Since you passed the iron bridge, I suppose I'll leave this little one with you as well then…"
"…"
"May we meet again, Little Sis."
…
...
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[Sunset Fish Port, West Prefecture, Golden Wind Continent]
[Third Ranked Realm, Immortal World!]