Fengdu Ghost City in Chongqing, Sichuan, is a symbol of the underworld. Here, Liaoyang Palace, built halfway up a mountain by Zhu Chun, the Ming Dynasty King Xian of Shu and the eleventh son of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, served as his temporary residence in Fengdu during his time in Sichuan. In front of the palace stand three parallel, interconnected stone arch bridges. The bridge decks are narrow, only about four feet wide, flanked by carved stone railings. Originally named "Tongxian Bridge," these bridges served as a decorative, awe-inspiring structure before the palace. Beneath the bridges lies a stone pool filled with clear water. After Fengdu became known as the "Ghost City," to align with the myth of the underworld, Tongxian Bridge was renamed "Naihe Bridge," and the pool beneath the bridges was misrepresented as "Xuehe Pond," a reference to the bloody hell.
The blood river under the bridge is full of insects and snakes. Only those who have been kind and good in their lives can walk across the bridge smoothly, while those who have done evil in their lives will be knocked off the bridge to feed the insects and snakes.
In the old days, many devout men and women who visited Fengdu to worship the gods would burn incense and paper, and make donations of money and other gifts before the Naihe Bridge to express their piety and pray for the gods' blessing to cross the bridge after death. To attract money, the monks and nuns of the temple would smear tung oil on the bluestone bridge during temple fairs. This made it difficult for pilgrims, especially the elderly and women with bound feet, to cross the bridge, often causing them to fall. Fearfully, they would offer money to ward off evil spirits. This added to the mystique of the Naihe Bridge and the Blood River Pond.
The masters of Naihe Bridge and the Blood River Pond were none other than General Xuehe and Madam Chitou. However, General Xuehe had now become a prison ghost, and Madam Chitou was nowhere to be found, which was a pity.
As I was savoring the story of General Xuehe and Madam Chitou, Su Xiaoniu had already finished chatting with General Xuehe when she said, "When I have time, I'll go find the Ghost Emperor and have you reinstated. Now, we're going to the Eighteen Levels of Hell. Xuehe, you take us down first."
General Xuehe nodded. He waved his sandbag-sized fist and slammed it down on the ground. The ground split in two, cracking to the sides, revealing a deep abyss. I knew this was the passage to the next level of hell, exactly like the levels above.
"This is my prison token. Miss, please take it. The prison ghosts in the lower levels will know what to do when they see my prison token. - But I can't guarantee that every prison ghost will give me face, but this is the best I can do to help." General Xuehe handed a black token to Su Xiaoniu.
Su Xiaoniu took the token and said with a smile, "You've done enough. You'll have to endure this injustice in the Iron Tree Hell for a while. One day I will return to the underworld and restore you to your original position!"
General Xuehe promised solemnly: "Okay, I understand. Miss, be careful on your journey!"
We said goodbye to General Xuehe and jumped into the abyss, heading for the fourth level of hell. During this time, Su Xiaoniu tossed the prison token to me and asked me to keep it. I clutched it in my arms and curiously asked her why General Xuehe, like the golden-haired old man, liked to call you "Miss."
Su Xiaoniu stroked her dark hair, the fragrance filling her nostrils. She said, "Because I was the only daughter of the stock market tycoon Su Changqin, I traveled across the Yangtze River and the Northern Saibei, and through the West and the Far East. I was extremely powerful and wealthy. The old man with golden hair was my father's steward when I was young. At that time, I had no idea why this old man would condescend to be my housekeeper. I only know that every day after that, he kept clinging to me, calling me "Miss", and said that he understood the principles of yin and yang and could teach me all kinds of magical things. However, I didn't care and thought he was kidding me, because I was indeed only about three or four years old at the time..."
"Until one day, several years later, I went on a trip with my good friend Mei Mingyou and a group of classmates. But an accident happened, and Mei Mingyou was eaten by a corpse Buddha. You should have heard about this incident, right? Since then, my temperament has become very unstable, and I vowed to learn the way of yin and yang! But I didn't want my father to know, so I asked the golden-haired old man to ask for a long vacation for my father. Then he came to school and took me away... The golden-haired old man took me to the Ghost Alliance, and from then on, my life completely changed."
Su Xiaoniu finished speaking calmly, but I was shocked. The person who brought Su Xiaoniu into the Ghost Alliance was actually the golden-haired old man! The golden-haired old man had appeared since she was a child and had always been sticking to Su Xiaoniu until Mei Mingyou was eaten by the Corpse Buddha. After Su Xiaoniu's temperament changed drastically, the golden-haired old man immediately brought Su Xiaoniu into the Ghost Alliance. What was so unusual about this?
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