Others Keep It Real, I Keep It Underworld

* This is my own take on metaphysics. Most of the Underworld's lore is original to this story, so please read the content warnings first~ * Upcoming story: The Right Way to Use a Gossip System. Please add it to your favorites! The day before, Yan Xu was drinking with Meng Po in the Underworld. When she opened her eyes the next morning, she found her soul sealed inside the body of a pitiful girl with no parents, no family, and no one who would notice even if she died alone at home. ...Oh, right. Every King of Hell gets kicked down to the mortal realm for a trial before taking office. She had to catch evil spirits, guide the dead to the afterlife, and accumulate enough good karma before she could return to the Underworld. * A new teahouse opened on a pedestrian street in Yucheng. Its owner, surnamed Yan, was young, but had a big mouth. She claimed to have connections in both the mortal and spirit worlds, and said she was an expert in fortune-telling and ghostbusting. A wealthy man said strange things kept happening at home and asked her to inspect the feng shui. Boss Yan exchanged a glance with the ghost hanging around his neck. "Forget the feng shui for now. Let's talk about how you took someone's life." The rich man fled in a panic, only to be arrested by the police when he got home. A lovesick woman came to ask her about her future with her scumbag boyfriend. Boss Yan: "He's cheating, visiting prostitutes, and gambling..." The lovesick woman interrupted her with tears in her eyes. "He promised he'd change. I believe him." Yan Xu calmly finished her sentence: "And he's blocking your fortune." The woman's expression changed at once. She grabbed her phone and broke up with the scumbag on the spot. A soccer player kept having the same nightmare after every match. In it, a crowd surrounded him and cursed him out. Master Yan looked concerned. "The ghosts in the Underworld are sending you a dream to curse you. The police station is full of righteous energy, so ghosts and monsters don't dare go near it. Why don't you hide out there? Don't worry. Just tell the police about your match-fixing and gambling, and they'll be happy to take you in." The player stormed off, threatening to report her to the industry and commerce authorities on his way out. But a few days later, he showed up in tears at the police station to turn himself in. He wanted to get some decent sleep in the detention center. At first, plenty of people looked down on Yan Xu. She was young and only knew how to put on a show with ghosts and spirits, bragging about having connections in the Underworld. In their opinion, her shabby teahouse was bound to go under sooner or later. They waited and waited, but Yan Xu's teahouse not only stayed open, it flourished, with customers streaming through the door. Powerful people from all walks of life spent fortunes just to get her readings. Her clients were already booking fortune-telling and ghost-cleansing appointments a year in advance. After all, while other people didn't know the truth, the powerful knew it all too well. Master Yan didn't need connections. She was the Underworld's own super-powerful connection! * At first, Yan Xu thought she had come to the mortal realm to undergo a trial and live through hard times. Later, she looked at all the delicious food and entertainment in the human world, then at the people and ghosts around her, all competing for her attention and trying to treat her well... Well... staying in the mortal realm was actually pretty fun. :) Please add my upcoming story, The Right Way to Use a Gossip System, to your favorites! Thank you so much, everyone! Chi Yiyi transmigrated into a half-finished entertainment-industry novel as a minor celebrity with the same name, and got bound to a Gossip System. When she arrived, she happened to be in the middle of a live variety show. The host asked her to share her impressions of the other three guests. Chi Yiyi had three juicy secrets from the starter pack in hand. Calmly looking at the latest heartthrob, she said, "I think you're incredibly devoted. I mean, you're especially devoted to all five of your girlfriends at the same time." Then she turned to the rising young actress. "Sure, you smoke and drink, but as long as you pay back the more than eighty million you evaded in taxes, you're still a good girl." Finally, she looked at the male star with a huge following and shook her head. "I don't dare comment. I'm afraid he'll kill me to silence me, just like he killed the paparazzo who caught him in a scandal." Guests/Host: ??!! The fans were furious, jumping up and down. "This washed-up nobody only knows how to spout nonsense and chase clout! Get lost! You think you can slander our brother/sister? Watch out for a lawyer's letter!" But the fans didn't stay mad for long. Every scandal Chi Yiyi exposed turned out to be true. The heartthrob's harem imploded, and all five girlfriends brought out their chat logs and exposed him. The tax bureau announced a hefty fine for the rising young actress. The male star with a huge following was taken away by the police, who also dug up the corpse of a paparazzo in the backyard of his villa. The heartbroken fans whose idols had fallen from grace gave up on love and became gossip enthusiasts, camping out under her Weibo posts every day to beg her for more scoops. After that, perhaps it was just people's imagination, but the masked Good Samaritan who kept appearing in the news lately seemed to have Chi Yiyi's build and presence... [A financial product endorsed by a celebrity was a scam. After a tip from a Good Samaritan, police acted quickly and recovered all the money victims had lost.] [Following a tip from a Good Samaritan, authorities are investigating a popular sanitary pad brand for using moldy, substandard cotton.] [A Good Samaritan reported serious sanitation violations at a food processing plant. The relevant authorities have issued a warning and ordered the plant to make corrections.] Chi Yiyi, the Good Samaritan, looked proud. "Of course I should put the gossip privileges I worked so hard to earn to better use!" Theme: Good is rewarded, and evil is punished.