Chapter 1: The Gate of Life and Death "The Eighteenth Tribulation, What Everyone Faces...
"Would you like a bowl of Mengpo soup?"
Meng Po scooped up a bowl of Meng Po soup in just five seconds and expertly handed it to the person standing in front of the stall. She had been doing this job for thousands of years, and it had long become muscle memory.
Ying Bu Ran looked at the soup handed to him, shook his head, took it and put it on the table next to him: "Sorry, I don't need this."
Oh? Another one who refuses to drink? Contact the ghost officer to take him away... Wait?
"Huh? Don't you want to drink? The one on you is... So that's it, it's her." Meng Po was just about to contact Hei Wuchang when she felt the aura of the Ghost King on the woman in front of her.
So they were the Ghost King's men. Meng Po handed the soup to the little ghost, told her to continue with her previous work, and motioned Ying Bu Ran to follow her to the side to explain in detail.
Ying Bu Ran breathed a sigh of relief, calmly put away the dagger given to her by the Ghost King, followed Meng Po to the side, and just stood there quietly.
Meng Po had been waiting for the young soul to speak, but for a long time, he just stood there like a wooden man. Rubbing his brows, he spoke: "In that case, you should be heading to the Gate of Life and Death instead of the Gate of Rebirth, right? Do you know what you will face?"
Ying Bu Ran nodded slightly. The Ghost King had made it very clear earlier: "I know, I know very well."
Finally no longer wooden, Meng Po nodded slightly relieved and continued, "Although I know your purpose, I still want to advise you that it will be easier to go to the Gate of Life and Death after drinking the soup."
"For thousands of years, I've never seen anyone successfully emerge alive from the Gate of Life and Death. And now that we've arrived in this underworld, wouldn't it be the same to be reborn and seek revenge?"
Meng Po advised in this way as usual. She had persuaded many people before. After all, that path was really not something that ordinary people could bear.
The ghost king also knew what she had done, but he always acquiesced, so she did not report it to the higher authorities.
To put it bluntly, it just gives these people another choice.
Ying Bu Ran shook her head firmly. She didn't want to do that. "It's different. The me in the next life will no longer be the me I am now. I will avenge the hatred of this life in this life."
Why did she wait for the elusive next life? If she didn't reincarnate as a human in the next life, would she give up on revenge?
She doesn't believe in the afterlife, she only believes in the present and herself.
After Ying Bu Ran finished speaking, she fell silent again, only looking at Meng Po stubbornly. Even if she didn't show her the way, she wouldn't drink the soup. At worst, she would go find it herself.
Meng Po raised an eyebrow in surprise when she heard this. "You're quite insightful. Okay, I won't try to persuade you any further. But I still want to remind you that if you enter the Gate of Life and Death with your memories, you will receive double the punishment and pain. Are you truly prepared?"
"Well, I'm ready." Ying Bu Ran nodded and looked towards Mengpo Bridge.
After crossing the bridge, the path to the two gates should be there. I wonder if there are any road signs. If Meng Po doesn't tell me, how should she find it?
After drinking the soup, these souls should all be heading to the afterlife, right? If that's the case, wouldn't she just take a deserted path?
When Meng Po saw that she responded, she stopped talking and just stared at the bridge, as if thinking about something. After thinking for a while, she guessed what she was thinking and the corners of her mouth twitched.
Much more stubborn than she thought.
"Cross this bridge and keep going. At the end of the road, turn right to the Gate of Rebirth and turn left to the Gate of Life and Death." Meng Po said, waved her hand, and returned to her stall to continue her previous repetitive work.
Ying Bu Ran's eyes lit up for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. After passing by Meng Po, he said softly, "Well, thank you very much."
Meng Po seemed not to hear her, but after Ying Bu Ran walked past, the corners of her mouth rose slightly.
Hopefully, this little girl will succeed. Selfishly, she hopes their plan will succeed.
After crossing Mengpo Bridge, Ying Bu Ran should be mixed in the soul team.
Unlike those souls who became confused after drinking the soup, and only knew to follow the guidance of the ghost messenger without knowing the situation, she knew her goal clearly and was also secretly observing her surroundings.
I didn't see anything pointing in the direction, and there was fog all around. I might get lost in it if I left for a while.
Is it any wonder I'm not worried?
Soon, she followed the group to the fork in the road. To her surprise, there was actually a sign there.
Meng Po did not lie to her and indeed went left.
Ignoring the ghost messenger's surprised gaze, Ying Bu Ran directly took the path to the left. The souls behind her quickly filled the gap left by her departure, and the path to the afterlife became complete again.
Here, she was the only one on the road back to this life, without even a ghost to lead the way.
Fortunately, there was no fog on this road and we arrived safely.
The Gate of Life and Death was closed, and the ghost guarding it was in a sweet dream. Ying Bu Ran fumbled for a moment, realizing that the door could only be opened by the gatekeeper, and without hesitation, he rang the bell nearby to wake the ghost.
Startled by the sudden ringing of the bell, the gatekeeper sprang to his feet, subconsciously standing up and saluting, only to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw it was a strange soul.
Fortunately, it’s not someone from above coming to inspect.
Ying Bu Ran was also startled by this reaction, and then she felt the gatekeeper's scrutiny. Before she could react, the gatekeeper spoke: "Another one? How dare someone with a half-hearted soul come here?"
Ying Bu Ran was silent for a while, not knowing how to respond, so he simply said straight to the point: "Please open the door."
After thinking about it for a while and feeling that this wasn't a good idea, she added, "Thank you."
Gatekeeper: “…”
Does she need to be praised for being so polite?
"Ahem, once you step through this door, your life and death are at your own risk. Don't blame me for not reminding you." The gatekeeper coughed twice to hide his embarrassment and spoke seriously while observing Ying Bu Ran's reaction.
Ying Bu Ran nodded, then seemed to think of something and asked with some doubt: "You seem to be very opposed to anyone entering the Gate of Life and Death?"
The gatekeeper spread his hands and said, "After all, reincarnation is against the will of heaven."
"Has anyone ever succeeded?" Ying Bu Ran asked as if he didn't hear the question.
The gatekeeper was silent again, then asked, "If I say no, will you go back?"
Ying Bu Ran really thought about it seriously, then shook his head: "No."
"Someone has succeeded, but that was a thousand years ago - are you still going in?" The gatekeeper twitched his lips, waved his hand to open the door, and tilted his head towards the door.
"...in." Caught off guard by the gatekeeper's sudden move, Ying Bu Ran quickly reacted and rushed straight towards the Gate of Life and Death.
To be reborn from the dead, one must go through eighteen levels of tribulation. Starting from one door, one must endure the tribulation of that level and pass through the next door to be considered to have passed this level.
Broken fingers, stabbed, burned, freezing, crushed, shattered… layer upon layer, she felt her soul shattered and pieced together again, the pain lingering in her consciousness, never dissipating, over and over again…
Countless times she felt like she was about to collapse, but a subtle warmth would piece her soul together again, protecting her from dissipating or completely disintegrating.
This is the soul power of another person. She removed a small piece of her own soul to protect her own soul.
"Ghost King... Zhao Qingxun..." Ying Bu Ran collapsed on the ground, no longer having the strength to stand up again. Her soul couldn't help but tremble uncontrollably, and the pain made her numb and even lost her perception for a while.
She opened her clenched hands, and a faint symbol flickered in the palm of her hand. This was the protection Zhao Qingxun gave her, protecting her all the way here.
"Can I really still trust you?" Ying Bu Ran murmured, looking at his palm.
Even though she knew that this Ghost King was not the same person who betrayed her, it was hard for her to completely believe her when she looked at that face.
To be exact, she no longer dared to trust anyone.
The result of believing is being deceived and sent to the altar by the person you once loved.
Ying Bu Ran came to his senses, clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and forced himself to stand up again.
Now is not the time to think about this. There is one last thing...
If she could cross the last two doors, she would be able to take revenge herself.
She even had to move to cover the last short distance. She didn't know how long she walked just a few meters.
Ying Bu Ran took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
Behind it was not a sea of fire and swords, but a person, a very familiar person.
It was herself, still wearing the clothes she had worn when she was with that man.
"Congratulations on reaching the last level." "Ying Bu Ran" turned around and looked at the surprised person expressionlessly, his voice calm and without any emotion.
"The eighteenth level of tribulation is different for everyone, but without exception, it's all about what you and everyone else fear the most." Ying Bu Ran slowly walked up to the motionless Ying Bu Ran, reached out a hand, and touched her between the eyebrows. "Next, face the nightmares of your past."
…
Ying Bu Ran hid behind the broken wall. Even though his throat was sore from running and his mouth was full of the taste of rust, he still didn't dare to breathe heavily. He covered his mouth and tried hard to suppress his cough.
Just a quarter of an hour ago, she was begging and looking for food when the sky suddenly darkened. Ghost-like creatures appeared and wandered around, as if looking for something.
She was driven out of the place where people lived and was not allowed to hide there. She could only try to find a place to hide in the wilderness.
After running for an unknown distance, Ying Bu Ran finally found a place to rest for a while.
But before she could rest for a moment, the ghosts came again.
She no longer had the strength to run and could only pray in her heart that these things would not discover her.
"Human smell? Is there a human smell here?"
"Found it! Hiding here!"
run!
Without hesitation, Ying Bu Ran, legs like lead, began to run for her life. The moment she left her spot, the net enveloped her from top to bottom.
Just a little bit more, run, keep running, don't stop.
She desperately tried to escape, but she hadn't eaten in so long, and coupled with the previous escape, Ying Bu Ran was already exhausted. After running a few steps, her ankles were tied by chains and she fell to the ground.
She was about to be caught... What would happen to her? Would she be eaten alive? Ying Bu Ran instinctively shielded herself with her arms, closing her eyes the moment the ghosts charged.
The expected pain did not come, but there was a sound like a sharp blade cutting through the air.
Ying Bu Ran opened her eyes and saw a man in white clothes and holding a long sword standing with his back to her, protecting her, killing the ghost and cutting the chains.
For some reason, when she saw the man's back, she felt a stabbing pain in her chest.
This shouldn't be the case. She obviously hasn't seen this person before...
"You are safe now, leave the rest to me."
The author has something to say:
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New article is opening!
This article is purely XP-oriented. If you can't accept the qiang|zhi plot or like pure love, it's best to avoid it (move your eyes)
Some of the settings are based on the underworld, but more of them are made up by the author.
If you want to see the sequel, please click on the collection, thank you very much [花]
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