The Netherworld Mistress Doesn’t Want to Be the Netherworld King

A Cha had been the King of the Underworld for ten thousand years, and she was sick of it.

The Nether Palace was cold and dreary all year round. There was no aroma of roasted chestnuts, no bustle of street life, and not a single kind word to be heard. Ten thousand years of loneliness were driving her mad.

She secretly slipped into the human world and opened a little shop in the old town, keeping its doors open only at midnight.

Most of the customers who came in the dead of night had no shadows. Each carried an unfulfilled wish and wandered alone.

She was soft-hearted and wanted to help them, even if it meant breaking the rules.

Shen Ji, who had been by her side for ten thousand years, came after her with a cold expression, reminding her every day, "Your Highness, it's time to return to the Underworld."

Yet he would quietly buy her hot roasted chestnuts, take the blame for her before the Underworld, and risk his life to protect her if anyone hurt her.

Then a roguishly handsome man named Lu Xun appeared. Carrying a black umbrella, he came to the shop every day to freeload on food and drink, complaining about her antics.

But whenever she couldn't handle a vicious spirit, Lu Xun was always the first to step in, grinning as he said, "Little King of the Underworld, if you can't manage, just call me."

She was the revered ruler of the Underworld, but all she wanted was to be a girl who could indulge in the simple pleasures of the human world.

Shen Ji said, "I've watched over you for ten thousand years and kept you safe."

Lu Xun said, "What do the rules between yin and yang matter? As long as you're happy."

The little midnight shop kept its lights burning.

It eased the lingering regrets of the living and warmed a lonely heart after ten thousand years.