Restarting the Road to the Underworld

“Let’s go, Number 93. From now on, you have 24 hours to find your granddaughter. Once the time is up, we must return to the Yellow Springs. Otherwise, not only will your soul be scattered, but your descendants will also be affected by your evil deeds and will not receive good results.”

Before leaving on the 93rd, Fangfangfang gave a final piece of advice and reminder, because if something went wrong, the order of the mortal world would be disrupted, and the entire underworld would be implicated.

“I understand, Your Excellency.” Number 93 said respectfully.

Then Fangfangfang located the earthly residence of her granddaughter No. 93. Countless lights and shadows outside the Gates of Hell converged to form a brand new Road to the Underworld, and at the end of the road was the room of her granddaughter No. 93.

At Fangfangfang's prompting, Number 93 took his first step into the human world. At the same time, the number 560,000 suddenly appeared and hovered above Number 93's head. With each step Number 93 took, the score above his head decreased by one point.

Due to the fact that teleportation was not an option for public relations during this special event, the two had no choice but to accompany Number 93 on a journey through the underworld. Although it was a walk, it felt like they were traveling at 10x speed, and in no time at all, they had already covered half the distance.

"This...is the old lady's points enough?"

"Don't worry, my lord. Lord Guan Nan has already given instructions that any extra points, including those for reincarnation, will be deducted from his account, and Lady Meng Po can make up for them later."

Gu Lili, whose thoughts had been seen through, gave an awkward smile, nodded, and said nothing more. Only when a gaping, sparking opening appeared ahead did the path to the underworld slowly dissipate, and the group stepped out of the gap, standing directly in the room of granddaughter number 93.

It was a single room that looked to be 40-50 square meters, not the mansion the group had imagined. The interior was extremely simple, with a single bed and a simple set of fabric sofas. There was no TV or computer, but one wall was used to build a bookcase, which was filled with all kinds of books. Some of the educational books looked quite old, probably because they were frequently read.

Upon entering the bedroom, the bed was neatly made, clearly indicating that the homeowner was not home.

Just as the group was wondering if they had come to the wrong place, Gu Lili looked up and saw that the bedroom wall was covered with photos of No. 93 with his granddaughter.

"Yiyi, this is the home of my granddaughter Yiyi."

Number 93 stepped forward and gently stroked his granddaughter's photo, sobbing.

Besides photo number 93, the wall is covered with pictures of children and various landscapes—some at the Great Wall, some in front of the Terracotta Army, and others relaxing on the beach with sunshine. A girl's smiling face fills the entire wall of photos. Although she wears no makeup and her attire appears rather simple, her inner world seems rich and fulfilling.

"Lady Meng Po, according to the calculation method in the mortal world, there are 19 hours left."

Fangfangfang glanced at her phone and reported to Gu Lili.

"Is it possible to find out where she is now?"

“Ghost messengers cannot directly locate the whereabouts of living people. However, some children appear many times in the photos, indicating that this should be a place she frequents. I can try to locate this place.”

Fangfangfang said, looking at the photos on the wall.

After obtaining Gu Lili's consent, Fangfangfang took out her phone and located a welfare home in the suburbs.

After being teleported again, they arrived at the welfare home.

Under a locust tree deep in the courtyard, Yiyi was holding a 5 or 6-year-old girl and reading the picture book [The Story of Cinderella].

"Sister Yiyi. Anan wasn't chosen again this time. Is Anan really mean?"

"Anan isn't bad. The parents who chose Anan must have been held up by something else. They'll come to choose Anan later."

The little girl asked in a childish voice, and when she turned around to hug Yiyi, Gu Lili realized that the child had no legs under her light pink dress.

Perhaps influenced by the girl's question, Yiyi closed the picture book and stopped reading. Instead, she put the book down and hugged the girl tighter.

"Don't worry, Anan. I'll stay with you until you're chosen."

"Are Anan's parents still with her?"

The little girl turned to the side and gently leaned against Yiyi's chest, asking cautiously.

“Anan’s parents went to heaven after seeing that Anan had her sister with her. They are watching over us from heaven with her sister’s parents and grandmother.”

The little girl didn't say anything more, but instead closed her eyes and snuggled even closer into Yiyi's arms.

"Sister Yiyi~ Sister Yiyi".

An impatient shout came from afar, followed by a slightly older boy rushing towards them.

"Sister Yiyi, the dean said it's time to eat, and told me to hurry up and call you to eat."

Before Yiyi could answer, the little boy dashed away like a gust of wind.

"Sister Yiyi, when will I be able to run?"

"It'll be soon, soon. When our Anan grows up a little more, he can get a prosthetic leg. Times have changed. Prosthetic legs nowadays are not only very functional, but also much more exquisite in appearance. When the time comes, I'll help Anan customize your favorite Hello Kitty pattern, okay?"

Hearing Yiyi's words, the little girl's anxiety subsided. The maturity that shouldn't belong to her age had faded from her face. She pouted and shook her head, urging Anan to take her to eat, because the orphanage's menu today included her favorite braised pork.

“It seems my granddaughter is doing well. If she doesn’t make any mistakes in the future, she should have a good life in her next life too. There are still 12 hours left, but there are too many children inside. Children with spiritual energy will see us, so we can’t go in.”

Fangfangfang walked up to number 93 and said.

"I want to go back to my granddaughter's house. Can I wait until the very last moment?"

This was the first time Gu Lili had ever heard that ghosts could cry. From the moment she arrived in this world, the old woman's tears had never stopped. If this continued, even if she were to be reincarnated, she would probably have an eye disease in her next life.

"Let's go back to the house."

Gu Lili responded to No. 93 before Fangfangfang could. She then reached out and wiped away No. 93's tears. Surprisingly, the old lady stopped crying.

"Is there any way to arrange a meeting between them? Could the former Meng Po (the goddess of forgetfulness) have done that?"

"The previous Meng Po allowed the soul of the dead to possess a living person, but this changed the fate of that innocent person and caused irreversible consequences. The previous Meng Po spent a lot of points and energy to try to undo the damage, but still failed to correct that person's karma. With this lesson learned, Lady Meng Po, please do not continue to act willfully."

Fangfangfang cautiously answered Gu Lili's question, avoiding the question posed by number 93.

"Then what if we make her show herself?"

“That would likely frighten her granddaughter. Even if she isn’t frightened, the presence of yin energy on a living person would damage her luck, and all the good deeds she accumulated in this life would be wasted.”

Looking at No. 93, who was still gazing intently at the wall full of photos, Gu Lili turned around and walked out of the room. She sat on the sofa in the living room and pondered. What if her grandmother was in front of the photo wall? What if she were that granddaughter?

At this moment, she could better understand the words in the book: "Is there a way to have it all...?"

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening broke the silence inside the house. It was the granddaughter of No. 93 who had returned. At this time, the sky was hazy, and the sunset outside the window was gradually fading. There were only three hours left before she had to go back.

"Who are you."

With the sound of a light being switched on, a soft yet alert female voice called out to Gu Lili.

"Oh? You can see me?"

Fangfangfang and No. 93 also rushed over upon hearing the commotion, explaining everything to the newcomer. No. 93 kept calling out his granddaughter's name, trying to make the other party lower their guard, but it seemed that Yiyi could only see Gu Lili.

"How did you get in? I'm calling the police."

"No. I don't know why you can see me, but I was asked by your grandmother to bring her to see you one last time. In three hours, I will take her to be reborn."

Knowing that time was of the essence, Gu Lili didn't go into too much detail and went straight to the point about her purpose.

Fangfangfang was also completely bewildered. It was unheard of for a stranger without any spiritual power to see ghost messengers. But then she thought about it and realized that it might be because she had been exposed to too much spiritual energy from children.

“Girl, please tell her these things, I think she will believe you.”

Number 93 floated to Gu Lili's side and gently whispered in her ear the interesting stories that only she and her granddaughter knew. Gu Lili then relayed them to her. Looking towards the door, the person there was already in tears.

"It's been 10 years. Your granddaughter has missed you for 10 years."

Yiyi seemed to have all her strength drained away, and slumped down on the white wall in front of the door, leaving a long white stain on her dark T-shirt.

"Grandma is here, Yiyi, look, Grandma is here."

Number 93 rushed over to help his granddaughter up, but only managed to grab air.

The scene before her eyes resonated deeply with Gu Lili. Memories and thoughts intertwined, and tears streamed down her cheeks. From between her eyebrows, the essence of Meng Po slowly drifted out, eventually reaching No. 93 and gently unfolding to envelop her until she was completely enveloped by the essence. No. 93's true form then appeared within that ethereal green.

"grandmother!!!!"

“My child, I am a good child. You have been all alone all these years, growing up all by yourself. How much suffering have you endured?”

This scene of souls reunited and embracing in tears was so moving that even the usually aloof and indifferent Fangfangfang couldn't help but turn her head away and burst into tears.

Yiyi pulled No. 93 to sit on the bed in the bedroom, pointing to the photos on the wall and telling the story behind each photo and the joy those stories brought her. It seemed that she was using these stories to tell her grandmother that she was living the life she longed for.

She then took out a thick photo album and several stacks of envelopes, showing them to her grandmother one by one. Inside were thank-you letters from children who had found new homes. Some of the children had even been admitted to key national universities, while others had been sent abroad by their parents for further studies. In the letters, they said they would bring back the best technology to help their country and use the money they earned to help more children who couldn't afford to go to school, just like Sister Yiyi.

Number 93 remained silent, simply watching her granddaughter laugh and laugh. She didn't want to say anything; she just wanted to listen—to hear her granddaughter's happiness, to hear that her granddaughter was living the life she longed for, unburdened by worldly constraints, not needing to get married and have children, simply happy. As long as her granddaughter was happy, that was enough for her.

"Lady Meng Po, it's time for us to go."

"Okay, go call number 93. I'll go clean up the mess."

Fangfangfang pulled No. 93 aside, while Gu Lili recalled the Meng Po essence that was wrapping No. 93, and then gently touched Yiyi's forehead with her finger, putting her to sleep. When she wakes up tomorrow morning, she will only think that she fell asleep while flipping through the photo album and had a long dream.

"Let's go back to the Yellow Springs."

"Do I need to use points to go back?" Gu Lili asked.

“No need to go back. There’s a punctuation mark on the way back, so I can teleport directly,” Fangfangfang replied while casting a spell.

A cloud of black mist rose up, and after a teleportation, the group returned to the Bridge of Helplessness.