Two Hells

Black wisps flowed out of Alex's ears and mouth, forming the figure of Kanghui.

"So, did you speak to Chongli?" Da Siming rushed forward, shaking her by the shoulders.

Kanghui blinked a few times before brushing his hands off. "You spoke to him, no?"

"Uh, huh?"

"Question answered." She glanced at the awakening Alex, who was groaning from his ordeal while Arahabaki sat with his arms folded on the grass.

"What did he say?" Da Siming asked while jumping around like a monkey, or at the very least to Alex, who was feeling rather giddy by the whole disorienting incident.

"Nothing much. He spoke to Alex more."

"So, what did he say to you?"

Alex rubbed his head, ignoring Da Siming while he looked around, and spotted another unfamiliar face, a pretty young girl next to Arahabaki. She bore a resemblance to Da Siming, which made him cautious.

"What are you staring at?" The girl snapped at him.

Meeting new beings sucked in the hidden dimension. Dumped to die by Kanghui, arm locked by Arahabaki, harassed by Da Siming and now getting treated like some pervert by the newcomer.

Nah, he told himself, women are trouble in the human world and a thousand times more so in the hidden dimension

Da Siming shook him with excitement. "Well?"

"Stop shaking me already!" Alex yelled as he squirmed away.

"Ahhh, pretty boy has attitude," Arahabaki chortled. "Don't mind me, but every darn thing here has an attitude. Kanghui, shall we go?"

"You go to your side first. I need to take him around the Xitian side of town."

"Damn it, why?"

"Need to record him. Bureaucracy."

"You are joking…," Arahabaki jumped up to his feet. "You? Anti-authoritarian and all?"

"Easier with me," Kanghui said and pointed at Alex. "Him alone, probably a thousand years to move through them."

Da Siming sighed loudly. "I can only imagine."

"What does she mean it will take me a thousand years?" Alex nudged him.

"There's this sham show of the Ten Courts of Hell, more for ghosts, not really for you, but Xitian requires it," Da Siming replied and then asked, "you know the eighteenth level of hell?"

Alex grimaced as he thought of his family holiday to Singapore and the Haw Par Villa when he was ten years old. He recalled the gruesome detail of tortures from cutting tongues out to roasting over fires, displayed in the miniature diorama exhibit about the eighteenth levels of Hell.

"The one reserved for the worst sinners?" Alex cringed as he thought of the Chamber of Saws listed as part of the eighteenth level of Hell in Haw Par Villa.

"You are in the nineteenth," Da Siming added.

"NINETEENTH? WHAT THE HELL DID I DO WRONG IN MY FORMER HUMAN LIFE?"

"Stop scaring him," Kanghui said.

"Fine, fine," Da Siming shrugged and then hurriedly whispered into Alex's ear. "She's the nineteenth."

"I heard that," Kanghui started walking out of the garden and to Da Siming's horror, on the gravel which crunched under her boots.

With a swift turn and a deliberate crunch on the gravel, she smiled and said, "I hope they turn you deaf with the complaints later."

"Noooooooo…" Da Siming wrought his head in despair as his face crumpled up with each crunch heard.

"Who turn who deaf?" Alex asked.

"Shut up and walk on the gravel out of this damn compound," Arahabaki shoved him aside to walk with Kanghui.

"Hey, wait for me," Shao Siming called out as Alex quickly scurried up to the two.

"NOT YOU TOO! STOP TRAMPLING ON THE GRAVEL!" they could hear Da Siming hollering behind them as they exit his courtyard into the busy street lanes of Youdu on the Xitian side.

Alex turned around to look, but the courtyard with its temple has already vanished, replaced by another.

"Where did it go?"

Shao Siming flicked his forehead painfully before he could dodge. "My brother's abode is actually on the top."

She pointed to the floating island of Xitian.

"You mean their abodes can just… um… drop by here?"

She nodded. "That's one method of travelling. Ourselves or our homes."

"So, why are you following us?"

"What are you two chatting about? Hurry and follow!" Arahabaki called out as Kanghui stopped to turn and look at the two of them.

"Where's Yata? Or is she the new Yata?" Alex looked around for the spider being.

"Who is this Yata?" Shao Siming glanced around.

"Didn't realise you like that spider so much," Arahabaki commented as he waved his hand.

"WHAT? You think I am a SPIDER?"

A heavy smack landed on the back of poor Alex's head, pushing him further while Arahabaki looked at his own hands, then in front of him, as though puzzled.

"Weird. The spider should appear."

"And who are you?" Alex winced as he glared at Shao Siming.

"Shao Siming, oracle of lesser fates."

Alex blinked. Wasn't she supposed to be the wife or some assistant of Da Siming? Why the heck did he get stuck with the big guns of the hidden dimension?

In his previous pitiful human life, it was a dream to rub shoulders with renowned experts and powerful people. Alex worked hard in his archaeological research for the opportunity to attend conferences in bid to get a renowned professor's notice.

All for naught.

Now, after death, he dreaded rubbing shoulders with the powerful beings. One after another, trouble had followed.

Come to think of it, the only international collaboration of worth in Alex's resume was the very one that killed him. Aware that now another was looking for him to be some replacement, Alex sighed at his fate.

The grass didn't look any greener from the other side once he was on it.

"Yata isn't coming. He is in my shrine again," Kanghui's voice distracted him from his thoughts as her eyes glowed red while Arahabaki's face fell. "The only place you can't pull him out to torment. Now come along."

Then Arahabaki perked up. "Say, I never saw the Ten Courts of Hell. Can I tag along?"

"Why not? Might get things processed faster," Kanghui did her predictable shrug again as the streets grew busier once they took a left out of the side street and entered the main stretch of Youdu.

"Why don't you just create a portal in?" Arahabaki asked while swirling a small chain around his finger.

"Can't," Shao Siming barged in between Kanghui and Arahabaki. "You can't just break into that area. It's controlled."

"We HAVE TO WALK TO THE DAMN PORTAL? Oh come on… even Yomi-no-kuni swallows anything any time anywhere," Arahabaki grumbled.

"What is Yomi-no-Kuni?" Shao Siming tilted her head.

Alex looked at her in surprise.

"WHAT? I have something on my face?"

He shook his head. "Don't you guys know about each other? Even I know it's the Japanese netherworld."

"Equivalent of the Ten Courts of Hell, except more efficient, Izanami is the judge, jury and executor there for the ghosts," Arahabaki added. "Otherwise, they opt to go through your nonsensical theme park of Courts."

"Doesn't sound too good…" Alex mumbled, remembering Izanami as the Goddess of Death to the Japanese.

The Japanese had nothing nice to praise her for, especially the part about her appearance being in the decomposing form of flesh and bones, with maggots and disgusting foul creatures running all over it. Like those three girls in bikini which Arahabaki had brought up when they first met.

Worse for Yomi-no-Kuni, being the storage facility of ghosts who existed in eternal, shadowy gloom in the never ending twilight, regardless of the good or bad deeds done in life.

Not a hell Alex envisioned himself to be in.

"It's actually an underground rave party for ghosts. Girls are much hotter there. Everyone turns young again. Entertainment is excellent - party every day, orgies, free flow buffet. I sometimes gatecrash to check out the new incoming chicks, AV models, porn actresses… whole lotta fun."

"Yeah, for you…" Alex muttered under his breath, troubled because Arahabaki once again read his mind.

"I would bring you in to see for yourself but its portals can't open in the Xitian side of Youdu," Arahabaki wrapped his arm around Alex's neck again then whispered, "it's a huge cesspool of orgies indulging in everything you fantasise about."

Alex tried pulling himself away, but Arahabaki held him closer while Shao Siming tried to get in between them to eavesdrop.

"Sweetie, if you are into Alex, just say so," Arahabaki winked.

"WELL, I AM NOT…" Shao Siming protested as her face scrunched up with a foot stomp.

Alex looked at the both of them. It almost seemed like Shao Siming was more interested in Arahabaki than him. The punk like bad boy attitude and dressing seemed to attract females in the hidden dimension as well.

Girls really like the bad boys. Alex shook his head at the thought. Was it the sense of urge to reform and change a bad boy? Or was it the thrill?

With a quick flick of Kanghui's fingers, Arahabaki withdrew his arm.

"He isn't going to Yomi-no-Kuni. Besides, once Izanami will detect him on entry and me too. My mark is on him," Kanghui said. "She and I don't interfere with each other."

"Spoil sport," Arahabaki grouched.

"He isn't Japanese as per the entry requirements of Yomi-no-Kuni," Kanghui reminded Arahabaki.