We landed swiftly upon a vast expanse resembling a large industrial zone in the mortal realm. We had to watch the signposts closely to avoid getting lost. Numerous gates stood here; no yakshas patrolled the entrances, yet each entrance bore its hell’s name, and all the heavy doors were tightly locked. This was another vast expanse of hellish realms. I felt dizzy. Mortal life shifted fleetingly, and even hell saw constant new construction. How long would it take to tour all these realms?
The Magistrate said, “Today we shall only visit Chamber Seven in Block Seven: the Solitary Souls Angling Fish in the Sword‑Sea Hell. Staff are short‑handed throughout the netherworld, so there are no gatekeepers here. Let us simply ring the doorbell directly.”
Ayù: “Very well, Magistrate.”
I searched the grounds: Block One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, then Seven. Chamber One through to Seven. There it was. Modern-style traditional Chinese characters glowed dim green: Solitary Souls Angling Fish in the Sword‑Sea Hell. I stepped forward and pressed the doorbell.
A yaksha opened the gate and paid homage to the Magistrate, then we entered. This hell takes the form of a vast sea teeming with ferocious swordfish of varying sizes with sharp edges. The realm is split into two sections. Condemned souls suffer alone on the left, while groups of three to five endure torment together on the right. A notable feature here is the small staff: only four yakshas are stationed, two on each side. It is plain to see the manpower shortage; these four labor tirelessly indeed.
This hell is also quite sizable. It is unlike the seas of the mortal realm, where only one or two people could fit on a single boulder along the shore. Ordinarily, a beach in the mortal world would already be considered crowded if more than five hundred people gathered there. In the sea within this hell live iron‑sword fish that feed on human beings. The largest iron‑sword fish measures roughly ten metres in length. When opening their mouths, they can devour twelve sinful souls at once. Smaller iron‑sword fish can consume them bite by bite.
Surprisingly, there could be numerous sinful souls on a single stone here. The tiny stone beside me had 45 sinful souls on it, while the other stones had even more. To the left, sinful souls stood or sat alone on the seaside rocks, endlessly cycling through the karmic torments of life and death. Let us observe how this male sinful spirit beside me suffered. He had just regained consciousness and was coming to his senses. The sinful soul rose and sat upon the rock. Drawn by the karmic retribution for the evil deeds of angling, he seemed to have completely forgotten the pain he had endured just moments before.
I saw images of fish swimming in the sea arise in his mind. He was certain he would catch these unusual sea fish and immediately grill and eat them aboard his boat while admiring the scenery. He gazed happily at the swordfish in the sea, with a long electric fishing rod beside him. The moment his hand touched the rod, it jerked upward automatically. Looking closely, there seemed to be a sharp, curved iron hook on the rod that caught his head, driving straight in through his mouth. Blackness engulfed his mind. He could not scream in agony as blood poured from his mouth. His limbs thrashed wildly, yet every struggle only pulled the hook deeper into his flesh.
The fishing rod hurled the condemned soul straight into the mouth of a two‑metre‑long iron swordfish below the sea. As the soul fell, he landed right onto a sharp iron spike beside the swordfish’s jaws. Impaled in terror, his body sprayed blood everywhere. The swordfish let out a hideous roar and tore his head clean off. It first devoured his nose and eyes, then the lower half of his head down to his throat. The soul’s limbs twitched and contracted in unbearable agony. The pointed jaws sliced open his belly, and the fish consumed his insides bit by bit until his entire body was eaten whole. Afterwards, the swordfish spat all his mangled, bloodied remains back onto the original stone. A karmic wind blew through the Solitary Souls Angling Fish in the Sword‑Sea Hell, restoring and reviving the broken body. Once revived, the soul was forced to endure the same torments on endless repeat. Alas, such suffering was utterly excruciating beyond words.
The Magistrate ordered a yaksha to bring the soul over for an interview with Ayù. The soul was still unconscious as the yaksha carried him over in a dazed state. I looked on perplexed, wondering how an interview could proceed while he lay unconscious. The yaksha explained that he would be given netherworld ginger broth to restore his body temperature and enable speech. After the interview ended, the karmic wind would revive him once more to resume his punishments.