We couldn't find a way to refute what the old blind man said. After all, we were all Taoists and naturally understood the implications. Every Taoist should respect their teachers and the Tao. Betraying one's master would be condemned by fellow practitioners.
One hundred and three respects for teachers and the Way
Although my Liu family is a clan-based lineage, we also come from the Zhengyi sect. I remember when I first started learning Taoism, my grandfather told me that once you enter the sect, you cannot betray your master. My Liu family is a lineage of the Zhengyi sect, so naturally we must respect the Zhengyi sect in the future.
In ancient times, if we, the Zhengyi sect, met the Quanzhen sect, we would definitely have a contest. But now times are different. Taoism has declined, and the boundaries between the North and South are no longer so clear. But then again, how many Taoist sects can truly be considered Taoism now?
Of course, we won't be clamoring to fight the old blind man now. Uncle Liu from Hunan released the old blind man, saying, "We'll trust you this once for now. If you do anything improper again, don't blame us for being impolite."
The old blind man wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Next time, I'll keep my curiosity in check."
After dealing with the old blind man, we turned our attention back to the main hall. Yama, the King of Hell, sat there looking fierce and menacing. The judge beside him held the Judge's Pen, also known as the Book of Life and Death. With a stroke of the pen in the Book of Life and Death, Yama could decide who would die.
We went up to get a better look, but suddenly the judge gave us a strange smile. Before we could even react, he turned and ran away, disappearing into the back gate of the palace.
"It's a living person, let's chase after him!" Xiang Fei shouted.
We turned on our headlamps and chased after them in a large group. After passing through the gate, we saw a city in the distance, shrouded in a gray fog.
There was a road leading to the city in front of us, but some dark figures wandered along the roadside like lost ghosts, and not far away we saw a patch of fiery red flowers.
It was as red as fresh blood, so alluring.
"This...this is...the red spider lily?" the old blind man stammered.
"Then isn't the road ahead of us the road to the underworld?"
Legend has it that after death, people travel to the underworld via the Yellow Springs Road, where the other shore flowers grow. After crossing the Yellow Springs Road, one will see the River of Oblivion, with a bridge over it and a platform for looking towards home. There, an old woman named Meng Po resides. A bowl of Meng Po's soup will make the ghost forget everything from his previous life, and then he will go to the underworld to enter the cycle of reincarnation.
We looked at each other, speechless for a moment. This was too bizarre. We thought the Yama's Palace was fake, but now we could even see the Road to the Underworld. Could that city be the underworld?
Stepping onto the road to the underworld is like embarking on a road of no return. "Should I continue?" I asked softly.
"What do you guys think?" Xiang Fei asked as well.
“Let’s go down there. I want to see if it really is the underworld. If it is, then there are immortals in this world,” said Uncle Liu from Hunan, before taking the lead and walking down.
The road to the underworld is desolate, with lonely ghosts wandering. Looking back, yesterday is gone, and helplessness and regret fill our hearts. We carefully walked down to the red spider lilies, which were fiery red, enchanting and beautiful, like human blood. Legend has it that they were formed from an endless sea of blood, and at the end of the spider lilies lies a sea of blood.
Legend has it that the red spider lily is the flower of those ghosts who are unwilling to reincarnate, who have too many attachments in their hearts, and they transform into the red spider lily to wait here for the appearance of the attachments in their hearts.
"The red spider lilies bloom, another hundred years have passed, and I wait alone on the banks of the River of Oblivion."
A cold wind blows, and the red spider lilies sway gently, like a flowing sea of blood, bringing an ominous premonition.
“These red spider lilies should be the datura flowers mentioned in the common saying. They were called the red spider lilies by the ancients. Legend has it that they bloom once every hundred years. We just happened to encounter them now. I wonder if there is any meaning to them?” Xiang Fei said.
"Is this just another cycle?"
"Another cycle?" I asked, puzzled.
The others also looked at Xiang Fei with puzzled expressions.
"I once heard a wise elder say that our world goes through a cycle of one hundred years, which means that every hundred years there is a change, and the world's structure will change, such as turmoil or something."
Hearing Xiang Fei say this, we all understood: "A cycle of a hundred years has come again."
We continued deeper into the area of the red spider lilies. Beyond them lay the River of Oblivion. We wondered, would there really be a Bridge of Helplessness there? Would Meng Po be brewing soup for us? More importantly, would we have to drink Meng Po's soup to cross over?
After leaving the spider lily, a river indeed appeared before us, its waters emitting black smoke, and the entire river seemed still.
There is also a bridge over the river, and the stone tablet at the bridgehead is clearly engraved with three ancient characters: Naihe Bridge.
Naturally, at the head of the Bridge of Helplessness, there is also a Terrace for Looking Homeward. What frightens us is that it seems there really is a person standing in the Terrace for Looking Homeward.
"Could it really be Meng Po?"
At this moment, even we, a group of fearless Onmyoji, began to feel a little scared. From what we saw, it seemed that this really was the underworld, and the underworld was just ahead. Were we really going to the underworld?
"I think we should go back," Li Tianlong said.
“I’m afraid we can’t go back now. Don’t you know that once you enter the Yellow Springs Road, there’s no turning back? We can only keep going. With our Taoist magic, as long as it’s not really the underworld, I don’t think it can hold us back,” Uncle Liu from Hunan said, staring at the Naihe Bridge in front of him. “Let’s go and see. I don’t believe that the underworld is in this place.”
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