Chapter 116

The person behind her realized they'd been exposed at the same moment. In a flash, Lin Yu grabbed a stool and hurled it at them.

A clatter rang out as the wooden stool was caught midair and tossed aside, shattering on the ground. A long-haired woman materialized in the darkness, dim light from outside the window falling across them both. Lin Yu met her gaze for an instant.

The newcomer wore a purple robe, her hair loosely pinned with a single hairpin, silk-like strands falling straight to her waist. Her skin had a ghostly pallor in the moonlight, and she was staring at Lin Yu.

Her pupils were pitch-black—dark hair, dark eyes—making her skin seem even paler. Her gaze at Lin Yu was utterly calm, almost devoid of emotion, like still water, as if she were looking at a dead thing.

At the dead of night, for someone like this to appear behind her like a specter, she couldn't be up to any good.

Lin Yu instinctively gathered spiritual power in her palm. In that single exchange of glances, they both sensed the killing intent in each other's eyes, yet remarkably, neither made a move.

Neither moved. The Judge scanned Lin Yu from head to toe and spoke without emotion: "Your name isn't in the Book of Life and Death."

An abrupt, cryptic statement, but it revealed her identity—someone connected to the Book of Life and Death, surely from the Ghost Realm. Lin Yu asked, "Are you Yama, or a Judge?"

Lin Yu remained equally calm. "Since my name isn't there, coming all this way to find me is wasted effort. Please leave."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the Judge, who had been a distance away, appeared before her in a flash—so fast Lin Yu couldn't even see her move, truly like a ghost. The Judge opened the fan in her hand and pressed it unceremoniously against Lin Yu's throat.

The Judge said: "One who is alive but not in the Book of Life and Death—that is a thief of life."

"The world's fates ebb and flow. For you to live, someone must have died in your place. This stolen time—doesn't it weigh on your conscience?"

"No." It was an exquisitely crafted iron fan, and pressed against her neck, it was uncomfortable. Lin Yu casually grabbed the other end and moved it aside, then looked up. "If someone died for me, then I must live even more—live by any means necessary—to honor those who died in my place."

She meant her parents. Ten years ago, on that night, they had died silently to let her and Lin Zhao live. So of course she had to live.

Lin Yu continued: "This isn't stealing life. It's that my fate isn't sealed."

No one had ever said such a thing, and the Judge had never heard it. She laughed in anger—many people clung to life shamelessly, but this was the first time she'd heard someone claim their fate wasn't sealed. "A bunch of twisted nonsense! You deserve to die!"

The Judge's eyes suddenly turned red. Lin Yu's casting stalled for a moment—she couldn't move. Instantly, she realized this person's eyes could control movement.

"I saw you have some cultivation, and thought to spare you for the difficulty of your path, so I'd let you end yourself. But since you refuse to die, I'll have to help you along."

The Judge reached up to touch Lin Yu's cheek, her long fingernails lightly scraping past her temple, tucking a stray strand of hair back. "Too bad you're unlucky, running into me."

"When a ghost messenger collects a soul, it doesn't hurt. But I'm a Judge—I don't collect souls; I have to peel your soul out raw." The Judge smiled. "Don't worry, I'm quick. It'll hurt for just a moment. Once you're dead, the pain stops."

So she was a Judge... Lin Yu furrowed her brow. Why would a Judge leave the Judge Hall to collect souls in the mortal world, instead of judging the dead?

But now wasn't the time to think about that. A cold touch kept brushing her cheek—the Judge also had no body heat; her fingers were icy.

Lin Yu glanced around. This was an ordinary inn room; there was nowhere to hide, and she couldn't move. The only thing nearby was the open window, where a steady breeze blew in.

It was late now, so late that the sparse pedestrians on the street had vanished, leaving it empty.

"Once you're dead, your past deeds will be judged by me. You carry heavy sins." The Judge curled her lips and leaned close to Lin Yu's ear. "How about begging for your life now?"

Though her body was frozen, she could still speak. Lin Yu cooperated: "Alright."

Before she even finished speaking, taking advantage of the Judge's momentary lapse, she glanced at the window out of the corner of her eye, then without hesitation threw herself backward out the window!

A strong sensation of falling hit her. The moment she left the Judge's line of sight, the immobilization spell instantly lost its effect. Just before landing, Lin Yu saw the Judge's half-body leaning out the window; the Judge stared down at Lin Yu in disbelief. At that moment, Lin Yu looked up and gave her a contemptuous smile.

"You..." The Judge slammed her fist against the window frame.

The iron fan was tossed into the air, opened, and spun toward Lin Yu like a sharp spike, which Lin Yu easily dodged. The iron fan grazed past her and embedded itself deep into the wall behind her, carving a hole in it.

Having dodged the fan, in the time it took to turn around, the Judge's pale fingers were once again around Lin Yu's throat. Lin Yu's eyes flickered, and she used her spiritual power to fling the Judge away.

The Judge stumbled back dozens of steps before steadying herself. She was shocked. "Aren't you mortal?"

How could a mortal possess such cultivation?

The Book of Life and Death records only a person's birth and death, not their life story. Only after death would the soul enter the Judge Hall, where the Mirror of Past Lives reveals one's history, and the Judge pronounces judgment.

Not long ago, in the Netherworld, the Judge had caught a glimpse of Lin Yu through a massive barrier. With that single glance, she knew this person was a thief of life—such people were supposed to be caught by ghost messengers, not a Judge.

But at that moment, Lin Yu had piqued her curiosity, because she saw that Lin Yu carried heavy sins. And not just sins—merit as well.

She also carried deep, accumulated merit.

Sins and merit—two opposing things that shouldn't coexist in one person. In the Judge's eyes, everyone was black or white.

Mortals were like specks of dust in the sea. If they sinned, they sinned; if they were evil, they were evil, and they deserved hell. But in Lin Yu, she saw a very subtle balance—a cancelling of merit and fault.

She was neither good nor evil, without merit or fault. So how was she to be judged?

That was when the Judge had conceived the idea of capturing this person. She wanted to see what Lin Yu had done; she wanted to judge her merits and faults.

Now, the Judge's look at Lin Yu was complex. She sensed that Lin Yu's past would surpass everyone she'd seen in her hundred years as a Judge.

She had to take Lin Yu's soul; she had to see the Mirror of Past Lives.

The Judge extended her hand to summon the iron fan. The dark iron sliced through the air with a piercing whistle. "What if you have high cultivation? Don't waste your strength. Tonight, you're coming back to the Judge Hall with me."

Lin Yu arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Lin Yu could feel the determination in her opponent—she wouldn't stop until she succeeded. This was a densely populated city; fighting here wasn't a good idea, and it might bring more unnecessary trouble. She hadn't planned on a big conflict, but now it seemed unavoidable.

Lin Yu clenched her fist. Wind whipped up, sending dead leaves skittering and rustling. She looked at the purple-robed Judge in the distance. It seemed she'd have to fight.

Cold wind howled, making their robes flutter. The Judge, iron fan in hand, came at her again without mercy. Lin Yu parried each strike with ease—these attacks were nothing to her. The only thing she had to watch out for was the Judge's eyes.

She couldn't meet her gaze, couldn't look into her eyes. Lin Yu's gaze stayed mostly on the ground, relying on the direction of the wind and the source of the sound of the fan slicing air to gauge the Judge's movements.

Constantly defending wasn't a good strategy. Soon, Lin Yu found her moment—the instant the Judge's fan left her hand, she snatched it away with brute force. It was just ordinary iron, not a magical artifact, so it would be easier to handle.

Seeing this, the Judge moved to reclaim the fan. But before she could get close, Lin Yu's palm ignited with a faint blue flame, and the fire spread up the iron fan.

Once the entire fan was glowing red-hot, Lin Yu casually tossed it back at the Judge. The Judge recoiled from the blinding light and scorching heat, grinding her teeth almost imperceptibly.

"How do you know fire magic?" The Judge gnashed her teeth.

Fire-related spells—in this world, only the Crimson God could use them. How could a mortal...

Di Ting had asked the same question. Lin Yu looked at the dying flame in her palm. She wasn't about to recount getting chased by the Crimson God's fireballs again. But she also felt puzzled—was it really true that no one else in the world could use fire magic besides the Crimson God?

The Judge clenched her fist and said nothing more. Her precious iron fan had been melted by Lin Yu. And this person knew fire spells; without her fan, if it came down to raw cultivation, she probably couldn't beat Lin Yu.

"We'll see about that." The Judge left only those words before vanishing into the night like the wind.

Lin Yu pursed her lips, watching where she'd gone. After a moment's thought, she turned and went back into the inn. She needed to leave quickly.

...

"It's not even dawn yet. What are you calling me for?" The Snow God rubbed his sleep-filled eyes. Ever since leaving Heaven's Mandate Tower, he'd stopped returning to his big cat form for easier travel.

Across from him, Zhang Yulin sat primly, looking at him with disdain. "What was your true form before you ascended? You've been a cat for so long, but you're not even alert. You can fall asleep anywhere."

"I'm a lynx, much more formidable than an ordinary cat, okay?" The Snow God muttered. "You're clueless—not all cats are naturally wary."

Zhang Yulin scoffed. Lin Yu cut in, "We're leaving for the Cang region now."

The Snow God froze. "Why?"

"Someone followed us. Our trail is exposed. If one person can find us today, a second will come tomorrow. We need to move first." Lin Yu said succinctly.

Before the other two could respond, a knock sounded at the door. The three inside fell instantly silent, exchanging glances but no one moved.

It was still before the third watch, and the sky hadn't even lightened. Who would come calling at this hour?