Many years later.
Jiang Younian lay in his hospital bed, looking incredibly aged. He held Xie Nanzhou’s hand to comfort him. "Don't be sad. I'm twenty years older than you in this life, so it was always certain I would go first. Didn't you know that all along? Once I get down there, I'll immediately take the exam for a position in the Underworld and, while I'm at it, clean up the 20th floor. It hasn't been lived in for decades; I can only imagine how filthy it is. By the time you come down, I'll have passed the exam, so you can just focus on your own testing, and I'll take care of you. Once you pass too, we’ll never have to suffer through the cycle of reincarnation again."
Xie Nanzhou was already at the age of "knowing the decree of heaven," yet he looked much younger than Jiang Younian. When the end finally came, Jiang Younian took the beads from his wrist and placed them into Xie Nanzhou’s hand.
Chapter 245