The underground tunnel shook as the Wu and Zhou clan were evacuating. The part of tunnel they were in was located outside of the city, so it did not collapse like the other parts of the tunnel.
Ling had stopped in her tracks and stared back at the direction they had came from. An image of Zhang had flashed in her mind, and she suddenly started running back towards the city.
She knew something had gone wrong and that she had to go back. She had to go back for Zhang, no matter how strong he was he did not possess much essence and how would he be able to take on a whole army alone.
But before she could even take a few steps her path was blocked by the clan’s soldiers. It was their duty to keep Ling, her family and the Zhou clan’s members safe. For this, many of their brothers in arms had died.
The 300 soldiers of the Zhou clan had most likely all died to buy enough time for them to escape.
Ling's father walked towards his daughter, and tried to persuade her. He told her that Zhang would be probably fine, and they'd be able to meet up with him at the capital where it is safe.
Not far away from Ling, Zhang's mother had fainted. She had been worrying about Zhang ever since she entered the tunnel. And the explosion had made her imagine all sorts of nightmarish scenes, where her son was killed.
Both of the clans resumed their evacuation soon after the tremor. They were almost at the end of the tunnel and would soon reach an underground safe house, where they could stay for a few days and then proceed to the capitol.
Unknown to them, their greatest fear had indeed came true. In the crater where the explosion happened, a black colored flame flickered as the wind blew and soon disappeared. Zhang had indeed gone to the world of the dead and was no longer part of the living world.
The soldiers of the Siwang Empire went frantic, their commanding officer had just died and they were still in enemy’s territory. Out of the 10,000 soldiers only roughly 4000 are alive. Zhang was able to kill possibly 200 or so of them, while the explosion and the ground collapsing down had claimed the lives of the rest.
That night, the Siwang Empire had successfully taken over ten cities within the Heilong Kingdom, along with many other cities in various neighboring kingdoms. And also collecting millions of souls, slaves, and lots of wealth to send back to the empire.
Not knowing what was happening Zhang stood there dumbfounded, and as the black fire reached Zhang it was sucked back into his pendant.
And a sudden feeling spread throughout Zhang, he could sense his essence circulating throughout his body, although only a minuscule amount which had never happened before.
Zhang touched his pendant, and for the first time in his life, he started to wonder ‘what the heck was this pendant?’ Over the years it became practically a part of him, he never took it off, nor did it ever part from him.
Zhang decided that it was not safe to stay in one place. Who knows if more undead would come here or if something more sinister was lurking around within the mist. Zhang kept moving as quickly as possible through the mist, then suddenly he came to a complete stop.
He almost ran off the ledge of a very steep cliff, if not for the fact that he accidentally kicked a rock when he was running and heard it fell down the cliff, he would’ve ran off the ledge.
To his amazement the mist suddenly dissipated and revealed a massive city that stretched further than the eye could see, and what seemed like rivers of people heading towards the city. He could make out that these were people and not undead, or at least he hoped so, because they were not dressed in all white like the undead that attacked him. The odd thing was that the people were all in orderly lines, and did not run about.
Zhang decided to head towards the palace because it was so far the only sign of people that he encountered. Each step he took toward the city the more details he would notice about it. It had many towers that spiraled into the clouds, walls that stretched across the horizon, and gave off a dominating aura.
When he finally reached the back of the line heading to the city, Zhang walked up and asked a man who was standing in front of him in line. "Sir can you happen to tell me where this place is?"
The man turned back toward Zhang and said "Do you not know? Are you perhaps one of those people?"
"What people?” Zhang replied all confused.
"I'm not sure how to tell you this kid but you're dead, this is the underworld. Were you not paying attention when you entered into the gates of hell and were briefed by the reapers?" The man asked.
The man's words made Zhang remember when the countless soldiers attacked him and after managing to fight for a while he blanked out. He should have realized sooner because why didn't he have a single wound on his body? Obviously if someone had saved him or if he somehow got away he would still have an immeasurable wounds on his body.
As the shock and realization slowly kicked in, the man began speaking to him once more.
"It’s okay kid, it takes everyone a bit of time to accept that they are dead. Like for instance, who would've thought that I died because I choked on that piece of tofu I was eating. Might be a dumb way to die but well, we all end up in the same place no matter how we die. Since you seemed to missed the briefing I suggest you follow me when we get into the city. It is probably fate that we met today."
Zhang simply nodded and stood waiting in line like everyone else. The man would occasionally talk to him about this and that. For instance, once a person entered hell they would be sorted based on their good deeds and sins. Those who had done more good deeds than evil would be sent to the city to wait for their turn to be reincarnated again, those who have done more bad than good were sent to the 18 levels of hell where they would undergo an unimaginable torture to make up for their sins.
Also, the place where Zhang appeared before was called the Forest of the Forgotten. Those whose bad deeds outweigh their good deeds but not by very much that they would be sent into the 18 levels of hell. They were exiled into the forest for a certain amount of years before they would be judged once more. So they would lose their minds wandering in the white mist and would become like animals, while others who were able to hold on to their humanity will eventually be let into the city.
He took the golden drop and placed it in his mouth and swallowed it, and the golden drop slowly expanded from inside his stomach and spread throughout his body. It then began emitting a visible aura around Zhang.