Chapter 135 Meng Po's River of Oblivion, Fengdu's predicament...

Somewhat unexpectedly, outside the inn lay a dark wetland, bathed in the crimson glow of a blood moon. The eerie atmosphere, coupled with the dazed and bewildered expressions on the ghosts' faces and the streaks of blood, instilled a sense of dread for no apparent reason.

Inside the inn, however, candlelight shone brightly, and the air was warm and peaceful.

It's not a fairyland, but the human world, a dream, a hazy, dreamlike scene of laughter.

It was so disorienting, so disorienting that even ghosts shed tears of blood.

Unbeknownst to them, a woman chuckled softly, and with that chuckle, everyone, including the ghosts, turned to look at the second floor.

There was a woman named Meng Po, a thousand-year-old ghost, by the River of Oblivion, near the Bridge of Helplessness, who prepared an eight-flavor soup to forget the suffering of the world.

"Line up and get your own bowl of soup."

"After you finish drinking, move on."

As she spoke, the ghosts suddenly snapped back to their senses. Amidst the chaos and quiet, the ferrymen arranged order and teams, beginning their "work" at Zuoyin Inn for the night.

The first floor on the left was extremely large, yet also extremely empty. There was a row of wooden tables filled with wooden bowls. Each ghost picked up their own bowl and walked forward in a line, receiving the so-called "Meng Po soup" that could make them forget their past lives.

The soup seemed to flow down from the second floor, connected by several sections of bamboo tubes. What's even more amazing is that there were several outlets, but today's ghosts could only use the first one. When they held the bowl to their mouths, the Meng Po soup flowed out naturally without anyone's help.

Suddenly, an orderly queue began to form in the inn: people lined up to get soup, drank soup, cried, and moved forward.

It seems that some people were unwilling to drink it, but ultimately, remembering what happened with the male ghost, they dared not utter a sound.

It's so quiet. So this is what reincarnation is like.

...

Huang walked up to Meng Po, bowed respectfully, and then asked, "Lady Meng Po, may I ask why Zuo Yin Inn is opening late tonight?"

Meng Po's eyes flickered slightly. The woman sat lazily on a high seat in the first-floor hall, casually rubbing her forehead, and said, "Didn't I say that Zuo has guests tonight, so the soup will be brewed a little later?"

Her words were tinged with arrogance, and Huang Xiang swallowed his words again and again, finally bowing his head helplessly and saying, "I see."

There are so many ghost cultivators in Fengdu, but there is only one Meng Po, who is not someone a ferryman like him can afford to offend.

Meng Po glanced at him, then the woman smiled and kindly said,

"You should be more concerned about the Yama Palace right now than Zuo Yin."

The Hall of Yama?

...Lancet?

Why hasn't Lan Si returned yet...?

Huang Xiang looked up in an instant, and the other ferrymen reacted immediately. In no time, they heard hurried footsteps of ghost messengers, followed by shouts—

"Qin Guang, King of Hell, has issued a decree! A living person has forcibly entered Fengdu, causing chaos among the ghosts! The ferrymen in Fengdu must now do everything in their power to stop the chaos and capture the living soul!"

"The incident occurred in Chujiang and Biancheng Yanluodian!"

"Some ghosts have already taken the opportunity to return to the living!"

"Everyone assemble!"

"..."

Huang wanted to ferry the others to obey immediately, but Zuo knew that there were still more than ten ghosts in the inn who had not yet entered the cycle of reincarnation...

Hesitantly, Meng Po straightened up gently, and the woman said leisurely, "Go ahead, I'll keep an eye on the ghosts here."

Before the words were even finished, several ferrymen carrying weapons rushed out of Zuoyin and headed with the ghost messengers to the distant Yama's Palace. The ghostly chaos was against the will of Heaven and could not be delayed.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed that only a few scattered ghosts remained in the inn.

Meng Po didn't speak, but sat leisurely in her high seat, watching with great interest as these "guests" pretended to queue up.

What are you waiting for?

It seemed that the work for tonight was finally coming to an end, but five "ghosts" were unable to be reborn. So Meng Po finally spoke, and the woman smiled and raised her eyes slightly. A strange and quiet chill wrapped around them like silk.

...

Upon arriving in Fengdu, the group was somewhat disoriented.

They entered through the haunted house and indeed avoided the underworld, and it even seemed that they had missed the Yama's palace.

In the distance, there seemed to be the sound of rushing water. Looking closely, the night was shrouded in mist under the blood moon. When I looked up again, I saw the two characters "Zuo Yin".

Many ghosts gathered here, so they all mingled in and watched what would happen.

They had discussed this before. The gods had fallen millions of years ago, and only Fengdu was still special, existing as a place where souls continued to circulate. But finding Lord Taishan... they still had no clue.

At that moment, the scholar smiled and said, “Legend has it that Fengdu was built by the Lord of Mount Tai. Behind Zuoyin is the Bridge of Helplessness. Once a soul crosses it, it will be reborn in the River of Oblivion.”

“In ancient times, Lord Taishan lived there.”

A bridge spans the river of life, where mortals come and go, while deities meet at Mount Tai.

What they had to do was cross the so-called Zuoyin Inn and head towards the Naihe Bridge; once they reached it, that was what he wanted.

...

Meng Po yawned and chuckled leisurely.

"If you drink my Meng Po soup, you will die; if you don't drink it, you will never see the Bridge of Helplessness."

Upon hearing this, Qingyu, holding the bowl in her hand, smiled and sighed. Gently, she placed the bowl on the wooden table, turned around, looked up, and said directly,

"The Nine Stars have appeared in the human world. We have come by the will of Heaven to see Mount Tai and borrow the land of Fengdu to resolve the Nine Stars."

Qin Tianshu unconsciously curled his lips. The scholar raised his eyes and glanced at Zuo Yin. The huge inn was ordinary every night, but at this moment, it was like a dream.

Meng Po: "Lord Taishan? Hahahaha, how interesting. What's the use of seeking his help in matters of destiny in the human world?"

"Nine stars? That makes sense, we're almost all together."

Her words were inexplicable and completely incomprehensible, but after a short while she laughed again, "Never mind, I do owe you a favor after all."

Qin Tianshu: "Human favors?"

This was even more incomprehensible, but Qingyu and his group couldn't care less. Zhang Xuan lowered his head in thought and said to Lin Fanxiang, "Besides us, why are there still living people entering Fengdu..."

Lin Fanxiang shook her head. For some reason, she felt a sense of familiarity when she saw Meng Po, and she also felt uneasy.

Upon hearing this, Wen Chuan said calmly, "We entered through the haunted house, and there was another person who followed us in."

Is there one more person?

Including them, and those living people who forced their way into Fengdu... three groups of people... Fengdu is really lively tonight.

Qingyu lowered her eyes for a moment, listening to the seemingly casual but actually probing conversation between the scholar and Meng Po. The implication was that, at some point, Meng Po owed them a favor.

This favor was only enough for Meng Po to pretend she didn't see the living people and to keep the ferrymen from suspecting anything; it wasn't enough to see Lord Taishan.

To see Lady Taishan, I must do her an even bigger favor.

Qingyu: "What exactly do you want us to do?"

Meng Po smiled, and the woman looked Qing Yu up and down with a half-smile, her gaze lingering for a moment on the peach blossom in her hair before quietly shifting away.

"Have a dream, save a person."

"If it succeeds, whether it's Nine Stars or Mount Tai, you will all get what you want."

"If that doesn't work, then drink a bowl of Meng Po soup and go to the next life."

She spoke slowly and deliberately, smiling languidly, as if she was certain they would agree.

Zhang Xuan blinked, then tilted his head and secretly asked Qin Tianshu, "Will the appearance of the Nine Stars really destroy the world...? Or should we leave? I have a feeling this Meng Po is trying to trick us..."

Qin Tianshu: "...Get out of here!"

Since we've come this far, why not just knock Zhang Xuan to death with a fan?

Wen Chuan, who was standing to the side, looked up. The young man was still holding Cai Cai. He looked at Meng Po and asked calmly,

"What dream? Who was it?"

Meng Po smiled, and the woman straightened up, gently waving her hand. The blue mist dispersed, and a beautiful, dreamlike starry curtain slowly unfolded before everyone's eyes. Her voice was ethereal—

"A thousand-year dream, a stargazer."

Stargazing...

Lin Fanxiang looked at Meng Po, and unconsciously took a step forward to speak, "You..."

Why do you feel so familiar?

Why is it a stargazer?

Meng Po seemed not to have seen her actions and words. The woman simply sat there calmly, too lazy to even get up. She smiled and spoke, like a completely kind person.

"The Yama Palace is already in turmoil, and they will begin searching soon. I will not protect you again then."

"Once Qin Guang discovers you, no matter how powerful you are in the human world, you will all be destined to have your souls scattered here."

Have you thought it through?

Qingyu and the person next to her exchanged a glance, and finally the woman said, "Okay."

"Hehehe,"

Meng Po smiled, stretched out her fair hand, and gently turned it, filling the lamplight with fragrance—the next moment, two bamboo tubes suddenly swayed, as if to remind everyone.

Everyone turned to look at the bamboo tube, which was not the same bamboo tube the ghost had received in his past life, but from another place.

There are six bamboo tubes in total, and each seems to have its own purpose.

"You, and you, use this."

Whether it was due to the difference between men and women, Meng Po pointed out that Qing Yu and Fan Xiang used one bamboo tube, while Wen Chuan and the others used another.

They didn't ask any questions, just exchanged a glance, and drank the soup together.

Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment, then the young man leaned closer to smell it. For some reason, he felt as if he saw Meng Po's ambiguous, helpless smile.

"It'll get cold if you don't drink it now."

What happens if it gets cold?

Meng Po smiled and said, "When the soup gets cold, you'll get cold too."

Zhang Xuan: "...glug glug..."

Accompanied by the sound of water flowing and splashing, the chicks began to cluck.

Meng Po hissed and looked at the chick with a smile, "You, a chick whose soul hasn't even awakened, want to dream?"

Cai Cai: "Coo coo coo".

Actually, it was originally intended to be left with the Li family. After all, the journey to Fengdu was unpredictable, so why bring a little chick along? Unfortunately, when it was time to leave, it followed Wen Chuan wherever he went and refused to stay.

It was as if they were determined to go through this final journey together.

In the end, the scholar smiled and said, "Take it with you."

Our Vegetable King is really something else.

...

The inn had fallen silent again, though the blood moon outside still shone, its faint white light signifying the approaching dawn.

The sunlight was distant, and the wooden door moved slightly.

"Meow~"

A meow rang out, and Meng Po, who was leaning against the high chair, opened her eyes.

The woman looked up at the man and smiled.

"You've finally arrived."

The man held the black cat and stared blankly at Meng Po, as if he had seen her many times before, yet it also seemed like the first time.

Amidst the pervasive blue mist, chilling red light, and eerie atmosphere, the black cat transformed into a visible gust of wind and returned completely to Meng Po's body.

Moss demon, black cat, stargazer.

Her three souls are finally coming back.

Meng Po chanted softly, and the woman was finally lifted up by the man. Her skirt swayed gently in the dim, dreamlike light, and they turned and went upstairs.

Gently, the eight-flavor bitter soup has already boiled.

She laughed.

"A visitor outside the dream, a person within the dream."

"When you wake up, you realize that it was not a dream."