After bathing his mom, he had to feed her dinner.
Although she was still in the stage of illness, she did not forget to practice qigong after dinner. She sat cross-legged on the sofa, listening to soothing music, and soon entered her inner world.
After settling his mother, Ye Qing hurried to the kitchen, snatched the dishes from his grandmother, and took over the chores of washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen…
By the time everything was done, it was almost nine o’clock in the evening.
This has been the routine almost every day for seven years. Ye Qing had long been accustomed to it and didn’t feel too tired after a busy day. When he returned to his room, he didn’t rest, but immediately turned on the computer.
The case of his second-hand desktop computer was very noisy.
Ye Qing wanted to search the Internet for information related to the “Black Jade Hand”, but as soon as he connected, he felt his body suddenly stiffen. His left hand was pressing uncontrollably on the computer keyboard.
“Here it comes, it’s finally acting up.” Ye Qing realized that the black jade hand wanted to take action.
Buzz…
The noise level of the case increased, showing it was overloaded.
A few minutes later, there was a hissing sound, as if sparks were flickering inside the computer case, then there was a click, and the computer froze completely.
“I guess it’s scrapped.”
Ye Qing felt sorrowful, as he was the only one in the family who could earn money and had been in a state of repaying debts for the past two years. This second-hand computer was bought after he gritted his teeth and endured the ‘guilty pleasure’ in his heart.
Now it was finished!
Boom…
A loud rumble echoed in his mind, and Ye Qing’s vision flashed from dark to bright, then he inexplicably found himself in a strange space.
At this moment, he seemed to be a hundred meters in the air, neither in the sky nor on the ground, in a completely suspended state.
At its feet was a long island, over two hundred meters long and about fifty-sixty meters at its widest point. The total area was about ten thousand square meters.
It could only be called a small island because it looked like an island; it was bare, with only brown soil and nothing else, not even a blade of grass.
Around the island, instead of sea, there was a gray fog that spread above his head and in all directions.
A small island covered in thick fog.
Ye Qing was about to call out when he saw a cloud of mist floating towards him.
When it was less than five meters away, the mist condensed into a dark gray figure.
It had arms and legs, and even clear facial features. Its facial features looked very familiar to Ye Qing, and after studying it carefully for a few seconds, he suddenly realized that it looked exactly like him.
“You can ask questions.” The gray mist man spoke in a human voice, with a flat tone, and no emotion could be heard: “Don’t ask superficial questions such as ‘Who are you?’“
“Who are you?”
By now, Ye Qing was no longer afraid. His stubbornness acted up, and he had to ask exactly this question!
“Did you see the four words carved on the black jade hand?” The gray mist man answered this irrelevant question with another question.
“Heavenly Catcher.” Ye Qing replied.
“Yes, it is the ‘Heavenly Catcher’.” The gray mist man nodded, and his hair made of fog swirled and surged, looking very strange: “However, the Heavenly Catcher is not the black jade hand, but you!”
“Me?!”
Ye Qing frowned, thought for a moment, and vaguely guessed the answer: “Are you saying that because I received the black jade hand, I became the Heavenly Catcher?”
“Yes, you are very smart.” The gray mist man nodded again: “You are now the Heavenly Catcher, and if you don’t die, you will always be.”
“Okay.” Ye Qing glanced around: “I’m the catcher, but where is this place?”
“This is the prison space attached to the Heavenly Catcher. The prisoners you capture will be held here.” The gray mist man replied: “To be precise, this should be the Ninth Heavenly Prison.”
The ninth prison? The ninth prison meant that there were at least eight more… However, Ye Qing did not ask about the other prisons, because he had not figured out the ninth prison yet.
But although he did not ask, the gray mist man took the initiative to say: “As far as I know, there should be no other Heavenly Prisons on Earth. I just checked some information about the Earth through the Internet, and found no signs of the existence of other Heavenly Prisons.”
From its words, Ye Qing guessed: “You are not from Earth…”
Ye Qing didn’t know how to address it. Humanoid? Definitely not! Living thing? Not appropriate either.
“Yes, I’m from outer space.” The gray mist man understood Ye Qing’s meaning and took the initiative to explain: “I am the steward of the Ninth Heavenly Prison. You can also say that I am your assistant. You can even regard me as an execution program.”
“Butler.” Ye Qing nodded and said, “Butler is more humane.”
“Thank you.” The gray mist man really acted like a butler. He bowed slightly to Ye Qing and said, “From today on, I will accompany you until the end of your life. Please give me a title, for example, add a mark before the word ‘butler’.”
“Wu (Mist)!” Ye Qing replied without hesitation, “Butler Wu, that’s what I will call you from now on.”
“Thank you very much, master.” Butler Wu bowed again and said, “I would also like you to determine my appearance and personality traits. Of course, if you wish, I can remain the way I am now.”
“A middle-aged man in his forties who looks 30% like me would be suitable.” Ye Qing didn’t hesitate and almost immediately took on the role of ‘master’, giving instructions one after another: “In terms of personality, be steady, cheerful, and humorous, definitely not gloomy!”
“Understood!”
Butler Wu suddenly transformed into a middle-aged butler dressed in a tuxedo. He looked no different from a real person. Moreover, he looked very much like the father in Ye Qing’s memory.
Ye Qing wanted to correct him and tell him not to be like his father. However, he changed his mind and thought that treating him as a three-dimensional photograph of his father would be a good spiritual support.
Butler Wu had a kind smile on his face, and his tone of voice became more animated: “Master, the Ninth Heavenly Prison you have now is only in its initial state. According to the level classification, it is only a zero-level Heavenly Prison. You need to upgrade it as soon as possible. The higher the level of the Heavenly Prison, the more powerful you will be.”
“Okay.” Ye Qing nodded and said, “Tell me as much as you can about this Heavenly Prison.”
Ye Qing no longer had any worries in his heart. He completely relaxed and was all ears.
“Before explaining, I must congratulate you,” said Butler Wu politely. “Your calmness and self-control have far exceeded my expectations. Before this, I thought you would scream in fear. Master, I am very optimistic about your future.”
Ye Qing laughed and said frankly, “I was scared, but I didn’t show it.”
“That’s pretty good. After all, you were just an ordinary young man growing up on Earth. Your family background wouldn’t give you the chance to experience too many things,” Butler Wu said honestly.
Ye Qing didn’t say anything, but he knew in his heart that his family situation was unique, and he had matured a little earlier due to seven years of hardship. From the age of seventeen, he had to take care of his mother, who was like a child, work and study, earn money to support his family, all this while hiding his weakness and pretending to be strong…
Butler Wu returned to the topic and began a detailed introduction of the Heavenly Prison.
“First of all, the origins of the Heavenly Catcher and the Ninth Heavenly Prison remain a mystery; no one knows how this identity and the accompanying space were formed. Although I am the execution program of the Heavenly Prison, I do not have the relevant answers either.
Moreover, every time the Heavenly Prison changes its owner, my knowledge and memory will be completely erased, leaving only the most basic execution ability. Now, the knowledge I possess in the present is because I have been reactivated by my new master, you, and have absorbed a vast amount of information from the internet.
Every time the Heavenly Prison changes its owner, it means that the previous owner has reached the end of his life. Perhaps he lived for a long time and his life span has run out, or perhaps he failed to capture a criminal and was unfortunately killed. In short, when the owner dies, the level of the Heavenly Prison is reset to zero. The new owner, that is, the new Heavenly Catcher, will have to start from scratch.”
“The higher the level of the Heavenly Prison, the stronger the Heavenly Catcher will be. Although I no longer have any memories of the past, I can predict that once the level of the Heavenly Prison exceeds level five, you will be able to gain the powerful ability to travel the universe. Of course, for you, at level zero, there is still a long way to go, because it is very difficult to increase the level of the Heavenly Prison.”
Ye Qing suddenly interrupted and said, “At level five I can travel the universe. Then, at what level can I cure my mother’s brain disease?”
“I’m not sure. I can only roughly estimate that it must be at least level three.” Butler Wu replied, “Master’s mother has suffered severe brain trauma, and too much time has passed. It is much harder to completely cure her than to transplant an entirely new brain. The human brain is extremely complex and sophisticated. It can only be created by a greater power that sustains life…”
Ye Qing understood that the life-sustaining greater power was the combination of yin and yang to produce offspring. It was indeed the most ordinary, yet supreme magical power.
“Level three?” Ye Qing asked, “How long will it take?”
“It’s impossible to be sure. It depends on how hard you work, Master.” Butler Wu replied earnestly, “According to Earth time, it may only take a few years to achieve it, or you may die before you achieve it. The Heavenly Catcher is floating in the sea of sin, never reaching the other side of peace.”
“I understand.” Ye Qing nodded and said, “Go on, tell me about this Zero-Level Heavenly Prison first.”
