Chapter Five: Returned

"Damn, did I really come back?" Yang Meng looked around in disbelief, but he still clutched the wine gourd from Yi Di in his hand—so what had just happened wasn’t a dream.

He’d chatted with the mysterious immortal for quite a while; that man, after being trapped for so long, had turned into a complete chatterbox! Drinking with Yang Meng, he spilled all manner of secrets from the Heavenly Court and news from the Underworld.

Yang Meng wanted to hand over the position of 'Emperor of the East Mountain' to him, but the Way of Heaven only allowed a mortal to inherit it. Moreover, the mysterious immortal had no interest in the title, only expressing his hope to one day taste the 'white liquor' Yang Meng had described. Then, without warning, he set Yang Meng ablaze.

The immortal hadn’t been joking about burning him; Yang Meng saw the man wave his hand, and the black flame called 'Black Domain' engulfed him. He was truly burned to ashes—and then returned to the mortal world.

When Yang Meng came to his senses, he was back among the living—wasn’t this the rundown little house he’d just interviewed for?

Returning to the human world, Yang Meng was elated, but thinking about the burning, he was furious. The pain of the black fire wasn’t like a burn; it was more like being stabbed by countless needles, piercing straight to his heart! He’d never suffered such agony before—almost died from it! The more he remembered, the angrier he got, cursing the mysterious immortal roundly.

So what if you’re a god? Don’t think I won’t curse you just because you can’t hear me—and even if you could, I’d curse you anyway! Now that the mortal and immortal realms are separated, you can’t come for me!

Yang Meng cursed with gusto, unaware that, far away in the Palace of the East Mountain, the mysterious immortal was cursing just as fiercely!

"Where’s my Primordial Golden Bowl? Where’s my Nine Dragon Fire Shield? Where’s my Golden Jiao Shears? Where’s my Sun-Shot Bow? Where’s my Three Pure Bells? Where’s my Heavenly Dipper Ruler?" He counted on his fingers. "Huang Feihu! You bastard, just wait until I catch you!"

Just then, his black flame flew back from outside, landing in his hand. After a grunt, the man cursed even louder: "Thief! I risked being trapped again to use 'Black Domain' to send you back, and you dared steal a bit of my 'Black Domain'! You little scoundrel!"

The returning Black Domain was missing a portion—clearly, Yang Meng had taken it with him!

This Black Domain was no ordinary item, born from the ancient divine weapon, the Pangu Axe.

They say the Pangu Axe can split heaven and earth and traverse the void. In truth, it’s the power of the axe itself that splits heaven and earth, while the ability to traverse the void comes from the black flame—Black Domain—entwined around its blade.

Black Domain can burn open the barriers between the three realms; back then, Pangu used it to carve out the Underworld.

Now that the mortal and immortal worlds are separated, only Black Domain can open a passage between them.

The separation of the two realms is part of a conspiracy; the mysterious man, possessing Black Domain, capable of crossing worlds, was thus imprisoned for ten thousand years!

He sent Yang Meng back to the mortal world chiefly to protect himself: without the permission of the Emperor of the East Mountain, no one can enter the palace. This is a rule recognized by the Way of Heaven since Pangu established the palace. After being trapped for ten thousand years, the mysterious man’s cultivation was greatly diminished, so he needed a safe place to recover—there was no place safer than the Palace of the East Mountain.

Now, by sending Yang Meng back to the mortal world, it’s like throwing the key to the safe into the deepest trench of the Mariana—no one can enter the Palace of the East Mountain.

As a cultivator, he’d already treated Yang Meng with great righteousness: Yang Meng inherited the celestial post of Emperor of the East Mountain; he gifted him Yi Di’s wine gourd; before sending him off, he used Black Domain’s flame to purge the impurities in Yang Meng’s body and reforge his flesh, repaying the favor of Yang Meng’s rescue.

But he hadn’t expected that, while Yang Meng had indeed been sent away, he’d also taken a portion of the Black Domain flame.

Black Domain was his greatest asset now; while Yang Meng only took a bit, it infuriated him—this was outright theft!

If he ever meets that kid again, he’ll definitely teach him a lesson!

Yang Meng had no idea he’d already been marked; he cursed until his mouth was dry and his throat sore.

But he couldn’t help it—the pain of a thousand needles was something he never wanted to experience again!

He was still cursing when suddenly his phone rang. "Huh? Brother Liu, why are you calling me?"

The caller was Liu Qi, a colleague at the same delivery station as Yang Meng. Nowadays, most delivery services are outsourced to private stations, which has caused delivery incomes to drop sharply.

Old Liu was over forty but still fought on the front lines of delivery—he had no choice, since his daughter was in college.

Apart from food orders, Old Liu’s most frequent calls were from his daughter. What reason could a college girl have to call her dad? Money! She complained her monthly allowance of fifteen hundred was too little and demanded he double it.

Talk about easy money—does she really think delivering food is that simple?

Their city was barely a third-tier town, no comparison to big-city couriers. At their station, running six hundred orders a month only got you just over three thousand as base pay. You had to watch punctuality and positive reviews. Working flat out, you could earn five or six thousand, but legends of earning ten thousand a month? Out of a thousand, maybe one or two, and that’s pure luck.

Liu Qi said, "Boss Zhou just sent a notice—said your phone wasn’t reachable and told me to inform you."

Yang Meng was taken aback. "Boss Zhou? What’s he up to now? How’s he going to squeeze more of our hard-earned money?"

Boss Zhou’s full name was Zhou Han, the manager of their delivery station. He called himself a 'firm hand,' but his real talent was fleecing Yang Meng and the others.

People think delivery makes good money, but it’s the deductions that add up! Their station had clear rules: one bad review, twenty deducted; one complaint, five hundred! Two complaints a month and you’re fired! Take more than two days off and your base pay drops to zero...

They were also required to deliver on time, but how possible was that? For example, the restaurant predicts the meal ready at 11:45, delivery at noon—but you arrive and they dally, handing over the food at 11:55. Making it on time would be a miracle.

Add in running red lights, one-way streets, speeding, traffic fines, the occasional accident, weird customers... tsk, it’s tough work!

What? You say you want to follow traffic rules? With all those couriers on the street, how many actually do...

And Boss Zhou was a rare breed, always finding new ways to take your money.

Here’s a simple example: all delivery stations recruit new workers every single day, all year round.

The reason is clear: just hiring someone makes them money. Helmets, uniforms, gear boxes, raincoats, badges—all purchased by the delivery workers themselves, costing a few hundred, while the actual cost is negligible. And none of it is refunded on departure.

That’s small change. Few people have their own scooters or e-bikes when job-hunting; without transportation, how can you deliver?

Boss Zhou had cozy ties with the e-bike dealership. Brand new bikes, thirty-six fifty each; six hundred fifty upfront and you ride home, the remaining three thousand spread over ten installments, thirty in interest and thirty-nine in service fees per month—three sixty-nine a month, ten installments total, and the bike ends up costing over four thousand three hundred...

Hu Er Leng, though he sold cars, was familiar with the e-bike market. After seeing the bikes at Yang Meng’s station, he said if any of them sold for over two thousand, he’d let Yang Meng use his head as a chamber pot. He didn’t even know what random brand they were, and if he had to buy one? He wouldn’t even look at it if it cost more than fifteen hundred...

The reason was simple: few delivery workers last long—'iron stations, flowing couriers.' Boss Zhou made his fortune through these schemes; rumor had it he’d just bought his mistress a new apartment, over a million, paid in full...

Who wouldn’t be jealous seeing that?

Yang Meng had considered changing jobs, but without higher education, this was still the most lucrative option available. He called himself 'a thousand deaths won’t resign'—meaning he’d be infuriated a thousand times but wouldn’t quit, waking up every day ready to face new blows...

Hearing Old Liu mention Boss Zhou, Yang Meng frowned; whenever Boss Zhou sought him out, trouble was sure to follow.

Sure enough, Old Liu said, "Boss Zhou just announced—everyone has to return to the station for a meeting tonight!"

Yang Meng was surprised. "I took today off—what meeting?"

Old Liu replied, "Xiao Yang, Boss Zhou said everyone must return today! The head office is sending big shots to inspect, especially senior employees who’ve been here over a year—nobody can miss it!"

Yang Meng sneered, "Damn, he’s good for nothing but showboating!"

Old Liu laughed, "Shh, don’t say that out loud! Boss Zhou said if you show up, you get a hundred bonus; if not, five hundred fine—everyone can decide for themselves."

Yang Meng was stunned. "What if you didn’t notify me?"

"Straight five hundred deducted, don’t blame me. That’s Boss Zhou’s exact words: we’re to keep our phones on 24/7; if your phone doesn’t connect, that’s your problem. I didn’t want you to lose money, so I kept calling," Liu Qi explained.

Yang Meng quickly replied, "Thanks, Brother Liu! Damn, Boss Zhou’s brain must be soaked in urine. By his logic, if I go home and miss this, I’ll definitely get five hundred docked?"

Old Liu chuckled, "Enough! Don’t take it so hard—just don’t fight with your paycheck! Be back at six, Boss Zhou said dinner’s on the station tonight!"

"Alright, thanks, Brother Liu. I’ll head back," Yang Meng said as he walked out, but when he opened the door, he froze in place. "Damn! Where’s my scooter?"

ps: Is it the first of the month today? Old Yang’s begging for votes, asking for monthly votes, recommendations...

Thanks to my readers for their support—four alliance leaders already: Water Lord Thirteen, White Marsh, Luo Bing Di Wei, Pp_peggy... Many thanks. To all who voted, Old Yang is truly grateful.

Alright, I know you’re used to my four chapters a day, and now the new book seems slow to update, but that’s just the nature of new releases. Trust me, when the new book period ends, the pace will roar back.