Striving for Science C77

"What... what is that?" Shen Chang'an was completely captivated by the strange, giant beast, failing to notice Dao Nian stealthily extending a leg, effortlessly tripping the vicious creature to the ground.

Shen Chang'an had only seen creatures that defied the logic of physical growth in low-quality web games from a few years ago. In recent years, gamers had increasingly high standards, and game developers were too embarrassed to create such ugly game models.

He had never seen anything so disgusting, so hideous, he almost vomited on the spot.

"Don't look." A cool hand covered his eyes, plunging him into darkness.

"Too ugly, it'll hurt your eyes."

The King of Hell, having climbed up from the ground and hurriedly closed the gate of the underworld leading to the human world, saw this scene and retracted his leg that was about to step towards Dao Nian.

"I don't know where this place is, why is there such a terrifying monster?" Dao Nian, while shielding Shen Chang'an in his arm, took advantage of Shen Chang'an's blindness to wave his hand and press the struggling beast back to the ground.

What is this thing, you don't know?

You, the Heavenly Dao, have also learned to say one thing and do another?

The Hell beast feed on the evil thoughts of all living beings in the world, consuming living souls, and have the ability to swallow the heavens and escape the earth. For years, it has been locked in the deepest part of hell, unable to harm living beings. Unexpectedly, it escaped today.

If not for the Heavenly Dao's presence here, this beast would have disrupted the entire underworld and eventually escaped to the human world. With the beast's ability, in the blink of an eye, it would have sucked the souls of countless creatures. By then, even if the Heavenly Dao personally intervened, there would be significant losses.

Moreover...

If this beast's escape was predetermined, the Heavenly Dao wouldn't have appeared.

Thinking about this, the King of Hell felt a sense of relief countless times in his heart. Today, he had mustered his courage to seek an audience with the Heavenly Dao and invited him to the underworld. Coincidentally, the human being the Heavenly Dao valued most also came here. Even if the Heavenly Dao was unwilling to intervene in these matters, he would choose to act to protect the safety of this human being.

Everything was arranged by fate. Thanks to this human who confused the Heavenly Dao, if not for him, their underworld would be in trouble.

Shen Chang'an, completely unaware that he had become the savior of the underworld, clung to Dao Nian's hand and peeked through his fingers at the beast lying on the ground. He noticed it roar at him, as if it wanted to charge towards him.

Seeing this, Shen Chang'an quickly pulled Dao Nian behind the City God and whispered to him, "This beast looks a bit scary, don't go out."

The City God, standing in front of Dao Nian and Shen Chang'an with his weak body: ...

What did he do wrong to face such an outcome?

The beast couldn't understand human language. It roared angrily, uttering threats, but apart from the highly cultivated King of Hell and Dao Nian, who could understand the language of all living beings in the world, the City God and Shen Chang'an thought it was just howling.

"You little King of Hell, I've been trapped in the underworld for tens of thousands of years. When the soul-binding chain breaks, it's the day I leave hell. Why are you stopping me?!" The beast looked at Dao Nian, who was "protected" by the City God, "Who are you, and why are you blocking my way?"

"When the soul-binding chain breaks, it is indeed the day you leave hell. But you are untamed and ferocious. As soon as you come out, you want to devour living souls, violating the rules of the underworld. According to the law, you should be apprehended." With Dao Nian present, the King of Hell could straighten his back and speak with confidence.

"Nonsense, this mere hell, how dare it control me?"

"You are in hell, you must abide by the rules of my hell. Now you have broken the rules, you must be brought to justice." The King of Hell threw out the King of Hell's Seal, "Bold beast, surrender now!"

The beast sneered. A mere King of Hell, he didn't care about him.

But before his smile could fade, he realized that the King of Hell's Seal had a binding effect on him.

This is impossible. He's a ferocious beast, a manifestation of the evil energy of Heaven and Earth. He's not under the control of the King of Hell. Why would the King of Hell's Seal have any effect on him?

The King of Hell himself was quite surprised. He threw out the King of Hell's Seal just to put on a show in front of Lord Heavenly Dao, hoping he would take the opportunity to lend a hand. He didn't expect that the King of Hell's Seal, once released, would actually sense the beast's soul.

This is...

He secretly glanced at Dao Nian beside Shen Chang'an. Could it be that Lord Heavenly Dao gave him a backdoor?

The ferocious beast, incredibly fierce, was unable to move under the control of the King of Hell's Seal. It struggled desperately to stand up, to escape the suppression of the King of Hell's Seal, but no matter how it dodged, it couldn't escape the seal's range.

"Dao Nian, do you think this looks like the scene where Fahai uses the golden bowl to subdue Bai Suzhen*?" Shen Chang'an whispered to him, watching the golden light emanating from the King of Hell's Seal envelop the beast. "Will the beast be sucked into the King of Hell's Seal in the end, like whoosh?"

TN: reference to this

The City God silently turned his head to look at Shen Chang'an. "Little Master, you should at least be serious. This is a beast that has lived for countless millennia, a beast that grows stronger with the increasing evil in the world."

"Maybe." Dao Nian said expressionlessly. "That's how they do it on TV."

After saying that, he secretly raised his finger.

The beast, still struggling against the King of Hell's Seal, felt all its strength vanish in the blink of an eye. Its body was rapidly compressed and finally sucked into the King of Hell's Seal, without even having time to utter a last word.

"It... it was sucked in?!" Shen Chang'an was dumbfounded. "That's amazing!"

The King of Hell held the King of Hell's Seal with trembling hands. Yes, even he hadn't expected it to be so powerful. This was the power bestowed upon him by Lord Heavenly Dao.

"Thank you..." The King of Hell walked towards Dao Nian and Shen Chang'an, wanting to express his gratitude to Dao Nian. But remembering that Lord Heavenly Dao seemed unwilling to reveal his abilities and identity in front of humans, he changed his tune. "I am truly sorry for the inconvenience you have suffered."

Shen Chang'an shook his head. "Such things happen, no one wants them to occur. You don't need to apologize."

"Thank you for your understanding, Little Master. Even so, I still feel bad about it. Do you have any deceased relatives? I can make arrangements for their reincarnation, and I can make things easier for them." In front of Heavenly Dao, the King of Hell didn't hesitate to offer Shen Chang'an a backdoor.

"May I ask who you are, sir?" Shen Chang'an, hearing him address himself as "Little King," had a terrible suspicion in his heart.

"This Little King manages the trivial affairs of the Underworld. The ghosts and spirits give me face and call me the King of Hell." The King of Hell smiled humbly.

Shen Chang'an: "..."

So this was the legendary King of Hell, the one who said, "If the King of Hell calls you to die at the third watch, how can you stay until the fifth watch?" As a living person, he had a natural awe for this King of Hell.

"So you are the King of Hell. This junior has met the King of Hell." Shen Chang'an was about to bow to the King of Hell, but the King of Hell repeatedly said he didn't dare, refusing to accept Shen Chang'an's bow.

Seeing this, Shen Chang'an didn't insist. He turned his head to look at Dao Nian, wondering if his materialistic worldview would be shattered after witnessing all this today.

"My parents have already been reincarnated, so I don't have any particularly close relatives." Shen Chang'an had an idea. "Recently, I had the fortune of meeting the City God and learned that I was not born to my parents. I wonder if the King of Hell could investigate who my biological parents are?"

The King of Hell immediately agreed. He tapped the King of Hell's Seal, and it clearly displayed Shen Chang'an's current family relationships. But to his surprise, the King of Hell's Seal didn't have any information about Shen Chang'an's birth, as if he had appeared out of thin air, with no past life.

But Shen Chang'an was clearly a ten-life merit body, a great benefactor who even ghosts and gods treated with respect. How could he possibly have no past life?

He looked closer, and there was detailed information about Shen Chang'an's family and friends. When it came to the content involving Lord Heavenly Dao, the record was replaced by a blinding light, and not a single word could be seen.

He had already made the promise, but he couldn't find the information. The King of Hell felt a little embarrassed. He secretly glanced at Lord Heavenly Dao, who was pale and holding the hand of his human lover, as if he was about to faint at any moment. He didn't even acknowledge the King of Hell's pleading gaze.

What use is he at this crucial moment?

As if Heavenly Dao Lord heard his thoughts, he half-lifted his eyelids, glanced at him, and then suddenly stumbled, about to fall to the ground.

"Dao Nian?" Shen Chang'an, quick as a flash, caught Dao Nian. "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know why, but my knees suddenly hurt so much," Dao Nian said, his face pale, leaning half his body against Shen Chang'an. He gave a bitter smile. "I was too eager. I thought I could walk, so I rushed to walk so far, and then I ran into all these strange problems."

"How can you blame yourself for this?" Shen Chang'an looked around, finding no suitable place to sit. He took off his jacket and laid it on the ground, helping Dao Nian sit down slowly. "Rest here for a while. It's probably because your legs haven't walked for so long, you're a little uncomfortable. It will get better gradually."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true." Shen Chang'an held Dao Nian's knee. "You won't need a wheelchair anymore."

Dao Nian lowered his head, his face filled with sorrow.

Shen Chang'an thought he was feeling sentimental about the past years when he couldn't walk, so he started making promises to him, about where they would eat, where they would play, and where they would see the scenery.

Dao Nian's expression seemed to have improved slightly, but not by much.

The King of Hell looked up at the flickering light of the King of Hell's Seal, feeling a strain in his eyes. Perhaps it was because the merit light was too dazzling and brilliant.

In the dense and intricate tapestry of Shen Chang'an's life, the King of Hell discovered that his lifespan was blank. In other words, the King of Hell and the Book of Life and Death had no control over how long he would live.

Huh? The King of Hell looked closely and discovered that one of Shen Chang'an's relatives had less than an hour left to live.

"Mr. Shen." When Shen Chang'an and Dao Nian had finished their conversation, the King of Hell walked over and said, "My subordinate has discovered that a relative of yours is about to pass away. If you have anything you wish to say to this relative, I am willing to send you on your way."

"My relative?" Shen Chang'an was stunned. His relatives had long since passed away, how could there be any relatives left? Could the King of Hell be referring to his biological parents?

"It is indeed this lady." The King of Hell swept his hand through the air, and an image of a person appeared in the void.

Is this... his grandmother?

In the years since Shen Chang'an had come of age, he had never been willing to recall this old person. Even his hatred for her, after learning that he wasn't his parents' biological child, had dissipated by more than half.

It wasn't about forgiveness or not forgiving, but because his life was still long, while she was already old and decrepit, so it was just... forgotten.

"Mr. Shen?" Seeing him lost in thought, the King of Hell called out again.

"I..." Shen Chang'an opened his mouth, but suddenly realized that whether he saw her or not, it seemed to matter little to her or to him.

He was about to refuse when he saw, in the image, this lonely old woman take a photo from under her pillow.