Chapter 261: Leaving the Netherworld

Yun Qingxue looked at the King of the Underworld awkwardly and smiled.

This was quite the mess. The young couple was having a sweet little quarrel, and she felt rather out of place stuck in the middle…

She couldn’t help but feel like she was being a glaring third wheel…

“King of the Underworld, my master sent me to the Yunhuang Illusionary Realm for training, and time is limited. So, I plan to leave now. I wonder if you could help open a path from the Underworld to Yunhuang?”

“Of course…” Ming Di smiled deeply and gestured with his hand. “Flower King, follow me.”

“Alright.” Yun Qingxue nodded, then turned to Xiao Xiaoxiao, who was hiding behind her. “Xiaoxiao, take care of yourself.”

Xiao Xiaoxiao grabbed Yun Qingxue’s sleeve pitifully. “Qingxue, take me with you!”

“Xiaoxiao, once I’ve truly established myself in the Xuanling Continent, I’ll definitely invite you to visit. I’ll make sure to treat you well then!” Yun Qingxue chuckled.

Xiao Xiaoxiao pouted reluctantly, but knowing Yun Qingxue had matters to attend to, she didn’t cling to her further.

The King of the Underworld walked ahead, while Daise, holding Liuli and Adai, followed behind Yun Qingxue.

Yun Qingxue and Xiao Xiaoxiao walked in the middle, chatting as they went.

At the front, the King of the Underworld strode leisurely, though his ears were keenly attuned to the conversation behind him.

“Qingxue… you have no idea how annoying Ming Di is!” Xiao Xiaoxiao complained.

The King of the Underworld’s face darkened, and the air around him grew colder.

“Xiaoxiao, has he mistreated you?” Yun Qingxue asked immediately.

Xiao Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Aside from being unreasonable, he’s actually been quite good to me!”

The King of the Underworld’s mood improved slightly, and his expression softened. At least this girl still had some conscience!

“Xiaoxiao, you’re Ming Di’s wife. Couples should try to understand each other. Be honest with yourself—do you really not like the King of the Underworld at all?”

As soon as Yun Qingxue asked, Ming Di’s ears perked up again, and for some reason, he felt inexplicably nervous.

“I… I…”

Xiao Xiaoxiao frowned, then relaxed, wrestling with the question for a long moment before finally saying, “I don’t know… But even though he has a lot of flaws, I don’t dislike him! Qingxue, what does it feel like to like someone?”

What does it feel like to like someone?

The question truly stumped Yun Qingxue.

Officially speaking, she had only ever been involved with that scumbag Zhou Dao…

But in the end, Zhou Dao had betrayed her. So… what she once thought was love turned out to be nothing but a joke.

She really didn’t know how to answer Xiao Xiaoxiao’s question.

Yun Qingxue shook her head honestly. “I don’t know…”

“Alright, let’s not talk about this. Listen, Ox-Head and Horse-Face have already brought Zhou the scumbag’s soul to the Underworld. Don’t worry, sis will make sure he gets a proper ‘welcome’—mountains of blades, seas of fire, boiling oil cauldrons, the whole nine yards!” Xiao Xiaoxiao grinned and slung an arm around Yun Qingxue’s shoulder.

Yun Qingxue leaned in slightly and whispered, “Xiaoxiao, I think the King of the Underworld treats you well. You should try to be a little more attentive to him…”

She spoke very softly, but Ming Di, who was listening intently from the front, heard every word clearly.

He couldn’t help but nod in agreement. The Flower King might not have fully regained her powers yet, but her judgment was spot on!

She had potential!

“Treats me well? Qingxue, are your eyes working properly?” Xiao Xiaoxiao hissed under her breath. “Do you have any idea how domineering, unreasonable, dictatorial, and controlling that guy is?”

Ming Di instantly felt his heart sink again.

“Xiaoxiao, finding someone who treats you well isn’t easy. He’s the King of the Underworld—after being in power for so long, it’s natural for him to be a bit dictatorial.

Nobody’s perfect, right?”

With that, Yun Qingxue nudged Xiao Xiaoxiao playfully with her shoulder.

Xiao Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow but still retorted, “If you like him so much, you can have him!”

“Ah…” Yun Qingxue sighed and shook her head.

“Flower King, we’ve arrived.” Ming Di stopped walking ahead.

Yun Qingxue looked up and saw a hazy, gray expanse, faintly echoing with the clanging of metal and the sound of weeping.

“The Road to the Yellow Springs?” Xiao Xiaoxiao frowned and turned to Ming Di. “I remember the entrance you opened last time to send me to the Xuanling Continent wasn’t here.”

Ming Di glanced at Xiao Xiaoxiao with a meaningful smile.

Xiao Xiaoxiao instinctively shrank back. Based on past experience, whenever Ming Di smiled like that, he was definitely scheming something—and it was never good!

She was no longer the new ghost officer who had first met the King of the Underworld. She wouldn’t be fooled by his handsome face or swayed by his charming smile anymore.

No one knew better than her that beneath Ming Di’s unfairly beautiful, angelic face lurked a cunning, scheming, shameless soul…

“The entrance to the Yunhuang Illusionary Realm is elusive and only opens on its own under rare circumstances.

At other times, if one wishes to enter Yunhuang, a person of great power must forcibly open the entrance with their magic.

The reason the Flower King accidentally entered my Underworld last time was because the illusionary realm’s entrance happened to open then.” Ming Di observed Xiao Xiaoxiao’s reaction but addressed Yun Qingxue with his explanation.

He continued, “The Yunhuang Illusionary Realm is a place where reality and illusion overlap, where danger and opportunity coexist. It is far from peaceful, filled with all kinds of unknowns.

This time, the Flower King accidentally entered my Underworld, which is one thing. But if you were to stumble into another perilous realm, it could be disastrous.

So I must remind the Flower King:

While training in the Yunhuang Illusionary Realm, be cautious. Don’t let curiosity lead you and your companions into danger.”

Yun Qingxue smiled. “Thank you for the advice, King of the Underworld. My arrival here was purely accidental. When the passage between Yunhuang and the Underworld opened, I found myself unable to leave that area no matter what. In desperation, I gathered my courage to investigate—and ended up here.”

Ming Di nodded as if understanding. “The Flower King appeared in the Eighteenth Level of Hell because the entrance to the Yunhuang Illusionary Realm had shifted there and opened at that moment.

The Underworld’s hell is saturated with ghostly energy, and the dense miasma inadvertently created a looping illusionary barrier, trapping you in that area.

In any case, Flower King, be careful in all things.”

As he spoke, Ming Di gathered magic in his palm and directed it toward a spot along the Road to the Yellow Springs.

A swirling gray vortex soon appeared not far ahead.

“Enter there, and you’ll return to the Yunhuang Illusionary Realm. Farewell, Flower King.” Ming Di opened the entrance and bid Yun Qingxue a polite farewell, then cast another meaningful glance at Xiao Xiaoxiao.

Xiao Xiaoxiao shivered inwardly and whispered to Yun Qingxue, “Qingxue, I’ll find a way to visit you someday!”

Yun Qingxue smiled and hugged her. “Xiaoxiao, take care of yourself.”

“Mm, you too…” Xiao Xiaoxiao’s voice was tinged with reluctance.

Yun Qingxue released her and turned to Ming Di, half-jokingly, half-seriously saying, “King of the Underworld, Xiaoxiao may be careless, but she has a kind heart. I hope you treat her well.

I’m her family, after all. If you bully her and I find out, I’ll come back to settle the score with you!”

With that, she waved to Ming Di and Xiao Xiaoxiao, then stepped into the gray vortex with Daise and the others.