How could it be hellfire?

"I'm going to change my clothes too. Fangfangfang made an exception and prepared a style I liked for me as well. See you in a bit, sir."

Then, accompanied by a trot and the clatter of footsteps going up the stairs, the room finally quieted down.

Gu Lili sat gently on the edge of the bed, slowly taking off her yellowed white T-shirt and faded jeans, and putting on the Hanfu that she had only seen online. The outermost layer of the wide-sleeved blouse had exquisite embroidery and soft gauze, making it look very delicate. Although she often paid attention to these clothing cultures when she was in the human world, she still studied how to wear it for a long time this first time, and finally searched online before she could put it on properly.

She didn't know how Fangfang knew her preferences so well; she casually mentioned Hanfu, and the other party could guess what she was thinking.

"Lady Meng Po, I've changed."

When 389 bounced down, it really startled Gu Lili. This guy was wearing a Qing Dynasty official's robe, his face and raised hands were painted with purplish-blue bruises, and there was a bright orange talisman pasted in the center of his official hat.

"What??? Fangfangfang agreed???" Gu Lili asked, pouting.

“Yeah, it’s Ghost Festival, of course we have to make the ghosts happy. I told her I’d be happy wearing this for the festival, and she agreed.” 389 laughed so hard he almost fell over. After laughing, he said breathlessly, “Alright, sir, hurry up and comb your hair. Fangfangfang told us not to be late.”

Fortunately, 389 had some skills. She quickly combed Gu Lili's hair into a bun by twisting and turning the hair. She then picked up an elegant hairpin from the table and inserted it into the bun, making Gu Lili look even more charming.

"Ding~" A message popped up on my phone from Fangfangfang: "My lord, it's getting late, we have to set off."

"Okay, okay, I'll be right out." Gu Lili quickly replied to the message, then pulled 389 and walked outside.

As soon as they stepped out of the room, Fangfangfang was already waiting in the corridor. When the other party saw them come out, he grabbed their arms and began the teleportation.

After a cloud of black smoke, the group arrived at the banquet hall next to Guannan Hall. Outside the hall, round tables were laden with desserts and drinks. Some of the early-arriving public relations staff were already seated. Fangfangfang led them inside.

"The area outside is where the public relations staff have their meals. Lady Meng Po will be sitting with the judges," Fangfangfang explained as they walked.

"The Judge? The Zhong Kui from last time, the one who looked fierce?"

"Yes, there have always been four judges in our underworld."

Rewards and Benevolence Office: Wei Zheng

Punishment Department: Zhong Kui

Investigation Division: Lu Zhidao

Yin Law Division: Cui Jue

"They and I are...colleagues?" Gu Lili didn't know much about the underworld system, and besides, the things people said in the human world might not be accurate, or maybe someone had been promoted.

"Yes, sir, but now that the underworld is operating with modern technology, only Zhong Kui still lives and works in the underworld. The others are busy with their duties and often have to go out to learn modern technology and management. They also don't like crowds and often don't come to gatherings. You probably won't see them today either."

"I don't know much about those legends, I only know that there are judges and Yama in the underworld."

"The Ten Kings of Hell are now on duty in shifts, changing every two thousand years. King Qin Guang is currently on duty, but he rarely participates in such occasions, unlike Lord Guan Nan who can quickly adapt to the new era of the underworld."

Fangfangfang patiently explained, but Gu Lili couldn't really tell who was who. People her age don't pay as much attention to burning incense and worshipping Buddha as the older generation, so she naturally doesn't know much about the superstitions and mysticism of gods and Buddhas.

As they spoke, the group arrived at the inner hall. The inner hall was not as brightly decorated as Gu Lili had imagined; instead, it was extremely simple, without any festive decorations, and even the layout and color scheme were somewhat gloomy and dark.

Upon closer inspection, the only difference from the outside is that each person has their own small table with their own nameplate, drinks, and snacks. There is a main table set up in front of the inner hall, which is presumably where Guan Nan is located.

"My lord, the annual meeting is just a formality. You can eat and drink as you please inside the hall. The public relations staff and assistants can only sit outside. 389 and I will go out now. We will wait for you at the hall entrance after the annual meeting."

Fangfangfang led Gu Lili to a seat, bowed and gave her a few instructions, then led 389, who was covered with yellow talismans, out of the hall. From a distance, they looked just like the corpse drivers from western Hunan described in the book.

"Oh, Meng Po is here!"

The hall was so dark, and the other person's black official robes matched his skin color, that Gu Lili didn't notice Zhong Kui at the next table when she sat down.

The greeting left Gu Lili a little bewildered. If they were of equal rank, she didn't know how to address him. Calling him by his name directly seemed impolite, given that he was thousands of years older than her. So she simply clasped her hands together and replied, "Brother Zhong Kui!"

"Eh? Hehehe, Meng Po, you can call me whatever you want. We'll be spending a thousand years together, so there's no need to be so formal. Come on, have a drink first!"

Zhong Kui overheard the other person's thoughts, smiled gently, and decided to invite him to have a few drinks to relieve his boredom.

Gu Lili hated these kinds of polite formalities between colleagues the most when she was alive, but Zhong Kui's words about getting along for a thousand years reminded her that if she needed Netherfire again next time... So she raised the wine glass on the table, put on a smile, and said, "I'll drink it, Brother Zhong Kui."

"No..." Zhong Kui was startled. Seeing that the other person's cup was already empty, he hurriedly stood up and stopped the cup: "No, Meng Po... don't be greedy for wine, don't be greedy for wine!"

"Hiccup~" Gu Lili hiccuped, looking at the two Zhong Kui phantoms talking in front of her, she shook her head in disbelief, until the phantoms merged into one, then slowly said, "This wine...this wine...is very sweet."

"This wine is made from the finest nectar sent by Jade Void Palace and peach blossoms from Qingqiu Mountain that contain ancient spiritual energy. It can enhance cultivation and increase inner strength, but you..." Seeing that the other party was completely unwilling to put down the wine cup, Zhong Kui disregarded his manners and directly snatched the wine cup away.

“Oh dear, Meng Po, please stop drinking. The wine is fine, but this wine cup is a celestial artifact—the Lianfeng Never-Empty Cup. As long as you don’t put it down, the wine in the cup will never be empty until the restriction on the corresponding ‘Liuyun Never-Filling Jar’ is lifted. This cup is only offered to high-ranking officials once a year during the Ghost Festival.”

"Besides..." Zhong Kui pushed the wine cup further behind him and continued, "Besides, you've only just reshaped your spirit body after taking over, you can't handle such a heavy dose of tonics. You... sit down and rest properly."

Zhong Kui thought for a moment and realized that he had been craving wine and had wanted to have a few drinks himself under the pretext of paying respects to Meng Po, but he hadn't expected Gu Lili to drink so heartily instead.

Gu Lili was only being polite, but the wine was so sweet and refreshing that she couldn't stop drinking it. However, Zhong Kui snatched her wine cup away, and after glancing at the ghost messengers entering the hall one by one, she had no choice but to sit down reluctantly and wait for the feast to begin.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside the door. Surrounded by several public relations personnel, a woman in white slowly walked into the inner hall and sat down opposite Gu Lili.

Attracted by the sound, Zhong Kui looked up and said, "It's Bai Muyu." Then he casually picked up a piece of hard candy and put it in his mouth to chew.

"She didn't look like this before..."

"She was beautiful, and the admiration of some ghosts or underworld officials annoyed her, so she always wore a mask to show off her power and only took it off when having dinner."

As Zhong Kui spoke, he chewed the hard candy in his mouth, making a crunching sound, and a faint aroma of fructose filled the air. Gu Lili looked at the candy box, picked and chose, and finally picked up an orange hard candy and put it in her mouth. The sweet orange flavor filled her mouth, and the smell of alcohol was suppressed quite a bit.

Gu Lili, with a candy in her mouth, looked into the hall and then asked Zhong Kui, "Will Ox-Head, Horse-Face, and Black and White Impermanence also come?"

"They will come, but they will all be drinking with the public relations staff outside the palace. Our Lord Yama can skip this if he has other business, but the ghost messengers must come, and they are the ones who should come."

"Oh? What's wrong? Is there some explanation?"

“You’re new to this job, so you may not know this. People in the human world celebrate the Ghost Festival to commemorate and remember the deceased. There are so many tears shed in the human world…” Zhong Kui picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and said, “Some souls will try to use their connections to return to the human world today. If all the ghost messengers are stationed outside, how can the souls possibly go back?”

"You mean..."

"Shh, those of us who work in the underworld have all been through the human world, how could we really be as hard as stone?"

"Aren't you afraid of being discovered by Lord Guan Nan?"

Zhong Kui raised his wine cup and swirled it, saying, "Why do you think Lord Guan Nan is hosting this banquet? The ghost messengers are all tacitly aware of this, and they all try to drink as much as possible, which is why there are no empty cups."

"Meng Po... Meng Po..." Zhong Kui was talking to himself when he turned around and Meng Po was already lying on the table.

"Lord Guan Nan has arrived!" the public relations officer outside the hall announced loudly.

Upon hearing the announcement, the seated underworld officials rose to their feet and bowed. Gu Lili, still tipsy, didn't even lift her eyelids, only reaching out to search for the sweet fructose on the table, when she unexpectedly touched a large hand resting on the edge of the table.

"The banquet hasn't even started yet, how come she's so drunk?" Guan Nan asked.

Zhong Kui replied somewhat guiltily, "Meng Po was just drinking with me and didn't understand the mystery of not filling the cup completely, so she gulped it down in one go..."

“Guan Nan, Meng Po is already so drunk that she can’t continue attending the banquet. Why don’t we have the PR person take her back?” Bai Muyu walked over from the opposite table and said softly.

Guan Nan looked outside the hall and saw Meng Po's assistant 389, who was holding a wine cup tightly and leaning on the table with her head turned to the side. The talisman on her head was swaying up and down with her deep breaths.

"These two, master and servant, really do look alike." Guan Nan withdrew his gaze, looked down at Meng Po who was still holding his hand, and said, "Never mind, the banquet is about to begin. You all drink, I'll take her back."

“Guan Nan…”

After Guan Nan finished speaking, he activated the teleportation, sending himself and Meng Po back to Meng Po's Residence. Bai Muyu was left standing alone, her face gloomy, her fierce eyes and clenched fists indicating that Meng Po's ghost life was not going to be peaceful.

"Have you touched enough?"

In the center, Meng Po was present. Gu Lili, who had been teleported back, lay on the sofa with her eyes still glazed over. She held onto Guan Nan's hand tightly and refused to let go. After being held for a while, Guan Nan seemed to get annoyed. Seeing that Gu Lili did not respond, he had no choice but to forcibly pull his hand away and turn to leave.

Just as Guan Nan withdrew his right hand, Meng Po's essence suddenly emerged from Gu Lili's forehead, gathering into a ball of green light that floated around Gu Lili.

Guan Nan felt something was amiss, so he closed his eyes, raised his hands, and made a hand seal to try to imprison the ball of light. However, the ball of light seemed to be aware of its own existence and retreated back into Gu Lili's forehead.

Then Gu Lili sat up, opened her eyes, and saw only eerie green flames in them; her eyes were no longer visible.

Countless fine cracks appeared on his body, with green light shining through them, as if something was about to burst out of his body.

Meng Po, who is a wandering spirit, needs to reshape her spiritual body. Gu Lili was originally a mortal, and without the support of spiritual power, the process of reshaping her spiritual body would be very slow. However, perhaps because she drank too much tonic wine today, her spiritual body was damaged and developed minor cracks.

Guan Nan tried again to suppress the Meng Po essence within Gu Lili by making hand seals, but then saw a ball of eerie green float out from between her eyebrows: "...How could it be... Netherfire??"