Netherworld

The stench of blood permeated the surroundings, making people want to vomit.

The ground was covered in sticky blood, like a black mirror lying on the ground and shattered. A pair of fair feet stepped on it, and with each step, long, sticky threads were pulled up.

The sharp blade still reflected a chilling light, and fresh blood dripped down the blade, mingling with the black mirror surface.

She raised her head and looked through the blood-filled sky at the bright moon overhead, which glowed faintly red against the backdrop of the blood.

Whether it was blood or tears, the red liquid flowed down the corner of her eye and into her dark hair, feeling icy cold.

She carried her sword and walked towards the moonlight, stepping over the limp corpses scattered on the ground. With each step, she left a blood-red footprint, like a blood-red lotus flower.

Legend has it that people can see ghosts when they are on the verge of death.

She could no longer feel cold or warmth. She raised her head and instinctively walked towards the light. Her heavy body had become increasingly light without her noticing. In the light, her pupils were stained red with blood.

"Young lady, where are you going?" a woman suddenly appeared in front of her and asked.

She seemed to suddenly come back to life, staring blankly at the woman in front of her, who was dressed in a beautiful brocade robe.

She shook her head.

"What's your name?" the woman asked again.

She still shook her head.

The woman, holding a round fan, smiled faintly and looked her up and down with great interest.

Although she was covered in blood, she was extremely beautiful. However, her blood-red pupils were no longer human. Yet she was not dead, and her blood continued to flow endlessly. With each step she took, a lotus flower bloomed on the ground. Suddenly, the woman laughed.

"Do you know where this is?" the woman asked with a smile.

She shook her head, staring blankly at the light behind the woman. The house was brightly lit, and countless sounds of men and women laughing and joking emanated from the light, making it seem like a palace.

"This is the Netherworld Crossing, the boundary between life and death. This is the Moonless Pavilion, a place where passing guests seek amusement. I am the owner of this place, named Moonless. Since you have nowhere else to go, why not become my daughter?" Moonless grinned and said, her face full of satisfaction with the woman.

She remained silent, her face devoid of any smile or other expression, but her lowered gaze was tantamount to a message of agreement.

“Since you have no name, I’ll call you Bu Shenglian (meaning ‘lotus step’) because I see you taking one step and creating a lotus flower!” Wang Yue said, his gaze fixed on her eyes.

This girl is extremely beautiful, especially her eyes, which are captivating.

She didn't answer but raised her head, her blood-red pupils gazing at the Forgot Moon Pavilion before her. Forgot Moon smiled faintly.

From then on, a dancer named Bu Shenglian appeared in the Forgotten Moon Pavilion of the Netherworld Crossing.

Her dance was graceful and her figure slender, as if she were a fairy descending from the sky. Before she arrived, the fragrance wafted. Legend has it that she was the reincarnation of a flower fairy, so every step she took brought forth a lotus flower, and wherever she went, a sweet floral scent would follow.

Through the thin veil and misty vision, people seemed to see what they had always dreamed of. They were intoxicated, entranced, and lost in a dreamlike reverie, unable to extricate themselves. When the dance ended and the dream faded, the flower fairy had already vanished. If they wished to see her again, they would have to wait until the following month. Bu Shenglian only danced once a month, a fact that no amount of money could change.

Strangely, no matter how many times they came to Wangyue Pavilion and how many times they watched Bu Shenglian's dance, no one ever remembered what she looked like.

People only remember their intoxicating dreams and the fairies whose faces they couldn't see clearly in those dreams.

When Bu Shenglian took off her gorgeous outer clothes, what she liked best was her worn-out plain dress. The cotton and linen material loosely covered her body, making her feel as comfortable as if she were wrapped in a quilt. She was still barefoot, busy among a pile of bottles and jars. The room was not big, but it was mostly occupied by piles of herbs.

"Xiaoxia! I'm not trying to criticize you, but I've told you to move the herbs outside for ages, and you just wouldn't listen. We've even left you some space in the yard, but you wouldn't move them, and now the whole house smells like herbs, it's suffocating! I wonder how you even sleep every night!" Wang Yue's nagging voice had been coming from the doorway until she came in. Now she was at the table, using her round fan to gently brush away the herbal dust from the chair before gracefully sitting down. As soon as she arrived, she brought with her a fresh floral fragrance.

Bu Shenglian's real name is Wang Xiaoxia, which she revealed after entering Wangyue Pavilion. For some reason, Wangyue always felt that Xiaoxia seemed to have some things she hadn't said.

"What are you doing here?" Bu Shenglian asked without looking up, still engrossed in grinding the herbs in her hands. A few messy strands of hair hung down from her temples, swaying in the wind.

Wang Yue remained seated calmly in her chair, quietly watching Wang Xiaoxia work diligently. Far from being angry, she maintained a smile on her face.

"I heard that the newly appointed Ghost King of the Ghost Realm is getting married," Wang Yue said calmly, her eyes fixed on Bu Shenglian's reaction.

She was visibly startled, and her hands paused for a moment.

"Oh," Wang Xiaoxia finally responded after a long while, and continued grinding her medicine.

She only knows how to make two kinds of medicine: a hallucinogen and an aphrodisiac.

"Legend has it that a hundred years ago, the daughter of the former Ghost King married a mortal and gave birth to a mortal child. Unexpectedly, after the child grew up, he killed his entire family in one night and disappeared. The old Ghost King also died in battle one after another, leaving only this adopted son to ascend the throne," Wang Yue said calmly, but her eyes were fixed on Wang Xiaoxia.

Wang Xiaoxia lowered her eyes, but her hands were visibly trembling. She simply let go of her hands, leaned back, and looked at Wang Yue with an indifferent expression.

"Are you done talking?" Wang Xiaoxia replied coldly, looking at Wang Yue with a detached gaze.

"Xiaoxia, after all these years, besides remembering your own name, what else have you remembered?" Wang Yue stared into Wang Xiaoxia's eyes and probed, then chuckled softly.

"No," Wang Xiaoxia still said, no matter how many times she was asked, she always gave the same answer.

"If there's no one, then there's no one!" Wang Yue said, not wanting to say anything and not wanting to ask any further.

She raised the round fan in her hand and fanned herself gently twice. The slight breeze made Bu Shenglian's hair flutter lightly, and a faint floral fragrance drifted over with the wind.

This fragrance is undetectable to others; only Wang Xiaoxia, with her exceptionally keen sense of smell, can detect it.

For many years, Wang Xiaoxia has always been accompanied by an inescapable bloody smell. The so-called "lotus step" is nothing more than blood flowing from the soles of her feet. This blood cannot be stopped no matter what. Therefore, in order to cover up the bloody smell on her body, she has an almost obsessive quest for fragrance.

Wang Xiaoxia searched for all the flowers and plants in the world, but could never find the source of this fragrance.

"What kind of fragrance are you using?" Wang Xiaoxia asked, staring blankly at Wang Yue.

"Do you want to know?" Wang Yue leaned closer and whispered mysteriously.

"Mmm," Wang Xiaoxia replied honestly and leaned closer.

Another faint floral fragrance wafted over. Wang Yue gently raised her hand, the thin gauze on her sleeve brushing against Wang Xiaoxia's thin skin. She brought her lips close to her ear and whispered softly.

Wang Xiaoxia listened very attentively.

"Body fragrance~"

“…”

"Hahaha"

A burst of laughter, louder than thunder, erupted from Wang Yue's body. Her mouth was wide open, almost revealing all her teeth. If one did not see it with their own eyes, no one would believe that the owner of Wang Yue Pavilion, the largest brothel in both the Yin and Yang realms, was such a lively woman.

Wang Xiaoxia narrowed her eyes and a wicked smile appeared on her face. With just a wave of her hand, a sweet floral fragrance wafted smoothly into Wang Yue's body through her nose.

Wang Yue immediately became alert and hurriedly tried to cover her nose with a round fan, but it was too late. Wang Xiaoxia had no other skills in making medicine, but she was extremely talented!

"What drug did you give me?" Wang Yue asked, her eyes wide.

“Aphrodisiacs! You know, I’m best at making aphrodisiacs,” Wang Xiaoxia replied slowly.

In an instant, Wang Yue felt her whole body heat up, and a blush spread across her cheeks.

"You little brat! I'll teach you a lesson!" Wang Yue cursed, standing up abruptly and glaring around the room, searching for a handy weapon.

"Stop your fuss! If I were you, I would go back to my room and take a cold shower right now. If you're late, it won't be easy for you, the dignified owner of Wangyue Pavilion, to take off your clothes and dance in public." Wang Xiaoxia said leisurely with a smug look on his face, leaning back in his chair.

She didn't administer much medicine, just enough to make Wang Yue's face flush red for an hour or so. It was just to scare her, and she always believed it.

"You just wait!" Wang Yue said, then hurriedly ran to her room.

"You just wait" is what Wang Yue most often uses to threaten Wang Xiaoxia.

Wang Xiaoxia stretched lazily and buried her whole body in the chair, closing her eyes lazily to feel the warmth of the outside air. Ever since she came to Youming Ferry a hundred years ago, she had lost her body temperature and had been living a lifeless existence here for a while.

She had thought about dying, but tried everything and failed. Wang Yue said, "Since you can't die, then live well!" She gave a bitter smile, and it was on that day that she told Wang Yue her name was Wang Xiaoxia.

She can pretend to be someone else, but she doesn't want to live her life as someone else.

Wang Xiaoxia drifted off to sleep in the chair, and was awakened by a commotion outside. Wangyue Pavilion was a brothel for guests' enjoyment, so noise was common, but this time it seemed some unusual guest had arrived. She was a light sleeper, and after listening carefully to the sounds for a while, she relaxed and gently rubbed her eyes, the remaining moisture staining her hand red. She was used to this; she hastily wiped her hand on her clothes to clean the blood and tears before lazily sitting up. She decided to go find Wangyue and ask her what was going on.

The Netherworld Crossing is located at the entrance between the mortal realm and the underworld. It belongs to neither the mortal realm nor the underworld, so there is never true night or day here, only an endless gray sky.