The Underworld, the Crown Prince's Palace.
Li Yuheng lay on the couch with his legs crossed, playing with a wisp of ghostly energy between his fingertips.
The ghostly energy transformed into various shapes between his fingers, from a roaring dragon to a rolling piglet, finally settling on a handsome face that resembled him nine-tenths.
"So boring—"
A clear, melodious voice echoed through the empty hall, carrying the unique clarity of a young person.
A series of hurried footsteps could be faintly heard outside the hall, accompanied by his father, Yama, roaring with a strong voice but also a hint of anxiety:
"Judge Cui! Why haven't you submitted last month's performance report yet?! And you, Meng Po! Where's the satisfaction survey report for the new soup?! If you don't submit it today, your entire year-end bonus will be deducted!"
Li Yuheng listened intently, then pursed his lips.
here we go again.
Every month, the week before the monthly summary report was due, his father would be like a man possessed, chasing after the heads of various departments all over the underworld.
The way it was so deadly, anyone who didn't know better would think the underworld was about to go bankrupt and be liquidated.
Because of the long-standing preference for sons over daughters in the human world, female officials make up the majority of the officials in charge of various departments in the underworld.
Therefore, in Li Yuheng's view, his father's behavior can be summarized as: chasing after a female ghost every day.
Of course, this statement is somewhat biased.
When Yama, the King of Hell, urged the report, he always treated men and women equally, and all ghosts were treated equally.
And it doesn't happen every day, just about seven or eight days every month...
The King of Hell guards against all employees with procrastination issues, from the Black and White Impermanence to the toll collectors at the Bridge of Helplessness.
Regardless of gender, delay will indiscriminately lead to death.
But Li Yuheng didn't care about these trivial details.
He felt perfectly justified in pinning this label on his father, even finding the description remarkably apt.
"No, we can't stay in this lifeless place any longer. We need to find something fun."
Li Yuheng sat up with a swift motion.
Especially recently, as he has grown older, he has officially begun his pre-service training as the Crown Prince of the Underworld.
This training was absolutely unbearable.
Every day, he either studied how to review those never-ending official documents or listened to his father's endless lectures on the ways of being a ruler.
What he couldn't stand the most were those old ghosts.
They would say things like, "Your Highness has grown up; the future of the Underworld depends on you, blah blah blah..."
Everyone who saw him wore a worried old father's face, as if the underworld would collapse tomorrow if he didn't grow up.
Speaking is something everyone can do.
Li Yuheng would also say, "I want to be the boss of the Three Realms!"
These old devils, it's easy for them to talk when they're not the ones suffering.
If you're so capable, try being forced to sit at your desk and review official documents every day and see what it's like!
Just thinking about the mountains of files and endless lectures gave Li Yuheng a huge headache.
Just then, a bold and outrageous idea suddenly popped into my head.
Go to the human world!
Be a dog!
The more he thought about it, the more brilliant the idea seemed.
Being a dog is so great.
He didn't have to learn to approve those endless official documents, he didn't have to listen to his father's nagging day after day, and he didn't have to deal with the old men's occasional advice to study.
You only need to think about three important things each day:
What to eat, what to play, where to sleep.
Freedom! Unbridled freedom! Full of unknown joys!
That makes sense. At this time, although Li Yuheng was already showing the beginnings of the arrogant and domineering person he would become in the future, he was still in the stage of youthful mentality.
Simply put, it's a mix of irritability and naivety, mischievousness and simplicity.
That sharp tongue that would later cause headaches for the Three Realms had not yet been fully developed, and his ability to criticize everything and everyone was still in its infancy.
They're still in their prime; although they might cause trouble occasionally, they're not the type to launch indiscriminate attacks on everyone.
"It's settled then!"
Li Yuheng suddenly jumped off the couch, his face finally showing a long-lost look of excitement.
His mother went back to her parents' home today, so if we don't leave now, when will we?
Let's get right to it.
He casually grabbed the blank "Registration Book for Underworld Officials' Travels" from the table and wrote down in a flourish:
"Reason for leave: To experience life at the grassroots level and investigate the current living conditions of people, pending further notice."
After finishing writing, he threw the pen down and didn't bother to get his dad to stamp it.
Anyway, his dad is busy "chasing after the female ghost".
After walking to the palace entrance and thinking for a moment, he turned back and added:
"Mother and Father, do not worry, your son is leaving. If you encounter any emergency, you can burn paper money to contact me; whether the signal is good or bad depends entirely on fate."
Having done all this, Li Yuheng clapped his hands in satisfaction, and with a flicker of his body, headed straight for the mortal realm.
…
On a sunny street in the human world.
Li Yuheng is now a small brown and white beagle, hopping happily down the street.
He felt the warm sunlight shining on his fur and breathed in the air filled with the aroma of cooking, feeling that this was absolutely the best decision he had ever made.
"Woof woof!"
free!
He barked happily twice, wagging his tail like a little windmill.
I never knew being a dog could be so fun!
No need to approve official documents, no need to listen to nagging, you can go wherever you want!
He was happily rushing forward when, without noticing, a black and white, glossy-furred calico cat gracefully strolled out from around the corner.
Little Beagle couldn't stop in time and crashed headfirst into the cow cat.
"Meow--!"
Are you looking for death?!
Shu Bai stumbled from the impact, instantly bristling with fur, arching its back, its tail standing upright like a flagpole, and glaring fiercely at the reckless fellow in front of it.
He wasn't in a good mood today.
I just got into a fight with that orange cat from the next block. I won, but my ear got scratched and it still hurts.
Li Yuheng was a little dazed from the impact, but everything looked new and pleasing to the eye.
He shook his head, saw that it was a beautiful cow cat in front of him, and immediately grinned.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! Hello, little brother!"
He greeted us warmly, wagging his tail even more enthusiastically.
This cat looks so spirited, with its distinct black and white markings, unlike those drab ghosts in the underworld.
Shu Bai looked at the silly dog in front of him.
With drooping ears, sticking out its tongue, and a silly grin on its face, its clear eyes revealed utter stupidity.
He wrinkled his nose in disgust and flicked his tail, which had been bumped.
He couldn't be bothered to argue with such a clearly mentally unstable dog. He gave Li Yuheng a cold glance, turned around, and walked away without looking back.
"Hey? Don't go, little bro! Let's be friends!"
Li Yuheng was still calling out enthusiastically from behind.
He thought the cat was pretty cool; even its aloofness was so cool.
Shu Bai didn't even bother to glance at her, lightly leaping onto the low wall beside her, her figure quickly disappearing over the top of the wall.
Only Li Yuheng, the dog, remained in the same spot, tilting his head in confusion.
Why did you leave?
He muttered something to himself, but was quickly drawn to the aroma of meat buns wafting from the street.
He immediately forgot about that little incident and happily skipped over to the source of the fragrance.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Shu Bai glanced back at the direction where the silly dog had disappeared, and scratched his still slightly uncomfortable ear.
Then, it licked its front paws in that same position, started washing its face, and thought to itself: What a bad day, running into a crazy dog. So unlucky.
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