Hell Emperor.

Chapter 348 Hua Xiaomei-Traces
After searching in the City Lord's Mansion, Hua Xiaomei finally found Xia Wei's trail. Unable to suppress her anxiety, she ran to Xia Wei's side, grabbed her hand and spoke urgently:
"Sister Xia Wei, we just got some terrible news. Calm down and listen to me. Don't get anxious about it. It's not good if you get too anxious..."

Xia Wei was a little confused, but she still assured him, "I'm listening. Don't worry. No matter what the news is, I will stay calm."

Hua Xiaomei took a deep breath and then told what had just happened: "It's like this, we just ran into a ghost messenger from the Golden Wheel Palace..."

"The ghost from the Golden Wheel Palace is coming?" Xia Wei's eyes darkened. When she mentioned the Golden Wheel Palace, she became furious. "Could it be that the ghost from the Golden Wheel Palace attacked you and injured you?"

"It's not what you think..." Hua Xiaomei hurriedly spoke up and explained the whole story. "The ghost told me that the master of the Golden Wheel Palace is dead, and the current master is Shura Jie..."

“Xura Jie…” Xia Wei was startled, but soon reacted and exclaimed, “Wait, Shura Jie? Are you sure it’s this name? I heard from Sister Hong that Shura Jie is Ye Jie, my master…”

When Xia Wei mentioned Shura Jie, her heart trembled, and all kinds of memories of the past emerged in her mind. The deep part of her heart, which was as hard as iron, also quietly softened, and a faint warmth flowed through her.

Hua Xiaomei was not sure, so she could only say, "Maybe... I heard from the ghost messenger just now that Shura Jie is completely different from the Ye Jie I know. Both in terms of realm and strength, they are worlds apart. Even if they have the same name, it may just be a coincidence. I can't guarantee that he is definitely your master."

Hearing this, Xia Wei's face trembled and she bit her lip hard. Whenever she thought of her master, her heart was filled with bitterness and sadness. The meaning of her master to her was not as simple as turning into a ghost spirit magic weapon, but also her support when she was helpless, and a family member she trusted wholeheartedly. She wished she could go back to the past and rewrite the result of her master's soul flying away. Even if she had to sacrifice herself for this, she wanted her master to come back to her side.

Unfortunately, everything is irreversible. Xia Wei can only bury the pain deep in her heart, wipe away her tears, and start again.

Now, hearing the news about her master again, Xia Wei felt an indescribable sense of loss in her heart. She couldn't believe it all and was afraid that everything was just a bubble. She was afraid that she had finally raised hope but would be disappointed in the end.

Ren Changhong, who followed, also noticed Xia Wei's expression and couldn't help but sigh and complain to Hua Xiaomei, "Didn't I tell her that we should go to the Golden Wheel Palace first and find out the situation before telling her the news to save her from worrying for nothing? Why didn't you listen?"

Hua Xiaomei did not agree, but shook her head: "No matter what the result of this matter is, Xia Wei should know it. How can we hide it from her? We can all see how much she misses her master. Her heart has been broken for a long time. This is her last hope. Even if she is really wrong, she can completely give up the thought."

After a pause, Hua Xiaomei had another worry: "Besides, if we leave without saying goodbye, Sister Xia Wei won't know where we are and will be very worried. What if something happens to us, or if this is a trap and no one even knows about it, that would be terrible..."

Xia Wei showed gratitude on her face: "Sister Mei, thank you for not hiding it from me... The result of the soul flying away should not be changed. I just hope that a miracle will happen..."

After a person dies, the soul still exists in the world, but when the soul is scattered, it means complete extinction. The soul no longer exists in the world, and there is no chance of reincarnation. It is the most complete death.

Xia Wei witnessed with her own eyes how Ye Jie's soul was torn apart, so much so that she simply did not believe that her master could come back to her.

However, as Xia Wei said, perhaps there really are miracles in the world.

Ren Changhong didn't think so: "There are no miracles in this world, there are only powers that you don't know. Ye Jie told me that it was the Lord of the Demon Palace who reunited his soul and gave him a new life."

Hua Xiaomei was half-believing and half-doubting: "Is there really such a power? How can the soul be restored to its original state after being scattered? No matter which book in the underworld, there is no record of this. If this is said out, I am afraid that other ghost officials will think that the ghost who said this is crazy. How come I have never heard of such a method?"

Ren Changhong shrugged: "Don't say you haven't heard of it. I haven't heard of it either. However, for Her Highness Moro who has reached the ninth level, nothing is impossible. Only she is qualified to control this power."

"Morro..."

Xia Wei silently recited this name in her heart. Could it be that it was really Moro who saved her master? If so, she would like to thank the Lord of Moro.

Shan Yao, who was brought here, also heard the discussions of the crowd, and all kinds of thoughts came to his mind. So the real name of the Palace Master was Ye Jie? Who were they to the Palace Master?

Hua Xiaomei said at this time: "No matter what the result is, we have to go to the Golden Wheel Palace to find out. Sister Xia Wei, you stay in the human world and wait for us. We will be back soon."

Xia Wei opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she suppressed her longing and changed her words: "Okay, I'll stay here and wait for your good news..."

Xia Wei is not a ghost, her soul cannot leave her body, and she cannot freely travel to the underworld. She can only stay in the human world and wait, praying silently in her heart.

"You better not lie to us, otherwise..."

Seeing that Shan Yao still looked dissatisfied, Ren Changhong spoke in a cold voice, with a hint of threat in his words, and the meaning was very clear.

If what Shan Yao said was all false, and all this was just a trap set by the Lord of the Golden Wheel Palace, Ren Changhong would not let her go.

"Why would I lie to you? You were the ones who suddenly caught me and threatened to kill me... Anyway, my soul-collecting mission is not yet complete. Are you just going to leave the dead here?"

Shan Yao had no way of speaking her grievances. She was clearly just passing by while carrying out a mission, but she encountered such an unexpected disaster and almost lost her life. Where could she go to seek justice?

But... although he was helpless, Shan Yao still had some expectations in his heart, and he was looking at the two ghosts beside him with curious eyes.

If they were really the long-lost friends of the Palace Master, wouldn't it be a great achievement for me to bring them back this time? I didn't know how the Palace Master would reward me, maybe he could even upgrade the Soul Binding Rope on me to a higher level.

Shan Yao's words made Hua Xiaomei hesitate. Indeed, leaving the dead like this was not in line with the rules of the ghost catcher. If left like this for too long, the resentment in their bodies would gather and some strange walkers might appear.

However, Hua Xiaomei's anxiety finally prevailed: "Don't worry about them for now. Once this matter is confirmed, it won't be too late to come back and collect the soul... We are sorry that we delayed you from collecting the soul this time. If all this turns out to be a misunderstanding, I am willing to help you collect the soul."

Ren Changhong frowned: "Why don't you use the Golden Wheel instead of this inefficient method to summon souls? Isn't it much faster to use the Golden Wheel?"

Shan Yao scratched his head: "I seem to have heard the Palace Master say about this matter. If the Golden Wheel is used, ghosts cannot come to the palace to work, more resources cannot be collected, and the Golden Wheel Palace cannot develop. I remember that all the Golden Wheels seemed to have been dismantled by the Palace Master, and only the last one was left..." "Really..." Ren Changhong stopped asking questions, and in his heart he believed Shan Yao's previous words a little more.

If it were the master of the Golden Wheel Palace in the past, he would definitely not dismantle the Golden Wheel. Even the Golden Wheel Palace itself got its name from the Golden Wheel. How could he dismantle such a vital thing?
Shan Yao took out the shrinking stone. As the crisp sound of hitting the ground rang out, the ghosts moved away and soon arrived at the Golden Wheel Palace under the underworld.

"Ms. Yam, are you back to seduce me?"

"Miss Shan Yao is so hardworking, she will definitely become the leader of the ghost messengers in the palace..."

Seeing Shan Yao return to the hall, the ghosts who had been taken care of by her greeted her one after another, and Shan Yao responded one by one.

Some ghosts also saw a strange face following Shan Yao. Hua Xiaomei and Ren Changhong were dressed completely different from the local ghosts, and they became suspicious. But with Shan Yao around, no one asked too many questions and let them walk through the hall. Soon they came to the side hall where wandering souls were judged.

Shan Yao looked around but couldn't find the hall master in the side hall, which made him confused.

"Didn't you say the Palace Master was here? Where is he?"

Looking left and right, there was no sign of the Palace Master. Hua Xiaomei couldn't help but feel anxious. Could it be that Shan Yao was playing some tricks on her? Her tone also became hurried.

"I don't know either... the Palace Master was clearly here before."

Shan Yao scratched her head. Even if Hua Xiaomei asked her about the whereabouts of the Palace Master, she still didn't know. The Palace Master was clearly here before she left. How could he disappear in an instant?
After looking around, Shan Yao also saw a stone lion guarding not far away, and immediately said: "Shi You, where is the Palace Master? Do you know?"

When Shan Yao called his name, Shi You looked distressed, bent his body, and bowed repeatedly: "The Palace Master just went out, he should not have gone far."

Shan Yao's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Did the Palace Master say where he was going?"

Shi You shook his head, and suddenly seemed to think of something, and reminded: "Although the Palace Master didn't say where he was going, but I heard him repeatedly muttering about steel bones and the Document Palace before he left. Maybe it is related to these things."

"The Office of the Secretary? What does that mean?"

Hua Xiaomei frowned slightly, not understanding what Shi You meant. Why did the Lord of Yama keep talking about the Office of Documents? Wasn't that where the civil servants kept accounts?

Shan Yao said "oh" and seemed to have guessed where the Palace Master was going:

"Before this, the Palace Master had been thinking about building the Document Hall to improve the administrative efficiency of the Golden Wheel Palace, but he had to give up because of the lack of steel bones. Not long ago, a new bone casting hall was added to the palace, which greatly improved the efficiency of producing steel bones. I heard from the Palace Master that as long as there are enough bone pieces, the bone casting hall can produce 100,000 kilograms of steel bones a day. After these days, I think the Palace Master has gathered all the steel bones and is ready to choose a location to build the Document Hall."

After hearing this, Hua Xiaomei's mouth twitched: "In other words, there is not even a document hall in the Golden Wheel Hall? Then how do you check the accounts? How do you check the records of Yin De?"

As if he heard the mockery in Hua Xiaomei's words, Shan Yao snorted softly: "Although there is no document room in the palace, everything is in order under the management of the palace master."

"After saying so much, where is the master of the palace? Where should we find him?" Hua Xiaomei asked again.

Shan Yao didn't know either, so he could only answer: "The Palace Master is currently selecting a site for the completion of the Documents Hall. He should still be somewhere in the underworld, but we don't know where he has gone. We can wander around here, maybe we can bump into the Palace Master."

Hua Xiaomei held her forehead and sighed, "It's really a blind cat meeting a dead mouse... By the way, Sister Hong, your perception is more acute than mine, can you find out where the Palace Master is?"

Ren Changhong spread his hands and said, "If I could sense where the Palace Master was, I would have said it on the way. I would never come here with you. This place is protected by the Hades Formation. My perception is suppressed. I can only sense things a hundred steps away at most. As for the situation further away, I can't sense it either."

"Really? It seems like I can only wander around. There's nothing to do just waiting here, so I might as well look around. If I'm lucky, I might have a chance to run into him." Hua Xiaomei said helplessly.

Under the leadership of Shan Yao, several people walked around in the Golden Wheel Palace, passed by a large cafeteria, and not far away, there was another large cafeteria at the corner. After crossing the street, there was another large cafeteria at the end.

"Why are there so many large dining halls? How could a hall master build three large dining halls?"

Hua Xiaomei was in disbelief and thought she was seeing things. The interior layout of each cafeteria was exactly the same, with no difference at all. Hua Xiaomei thought she was lost and wandered around for a long time before finally returning to where she started.

"Are you hungry? The cafeteria provides spiritual grain porridge for free. It's okay to eat until you're full." Shan Yao pointed to the big pot in front.

Ren Changhong took a quick look and saw something quite interesting: "It is strictly forbidden to waste food. Violators will be boiled in oil."

Shan Yao also saw the sign not far away and said, "The Palace Master hates people who waste food the most. Although the canteen provides food for free, you have to eat as much as you take. If you take extra food and end up wasting it, you will be punished!"

Hearing this, Ren Changhong didn't feel anything, but Hua Xiaomei's eyes trembled and she couldn't speak for a long time.

Hua Xiaomei clearly remembered that Ye Jie once told her the cause of his death. He was not killed by someone, but starved to death in a famine, so he had an extraordinary obsession with food.

A hall master who could build three large dining halls, a hall master who hated people wasting food... Thinking of this, Hua Xiaomei became slightly excited, and her heart was unable to calm down. She felt that the image in her mind in the past began to overlap with the mysterious hall master described by Shan Yao. Even though they were only some tiny fragmentary traces, they still brought Hua Xiaomei endless hope and made her speed up her pace.

(End of this chapter)