Niu Niu cried and threw herself into Ruan Bei's arms, hugging his neck tightly and refusing to let go: "Waaah, don't go! I want my brother! I want my mommy! Niu Niu won't go..."
Ruan Bei felt a lump in her throat and almost burst into tears.
He's been raising his little girl for two years, and her new dress is only half-finished; she hasn't even worn it yet.
He's already quite skilled at braiding hair, and he recently learned a new style that he's planning to try on for Niu Niu tomorrow.
And then there's Niu Niu's mother; she doesn't know he saw the ghost messenger yet. Niu Niu hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to her mother the last time they met…
Before Niu Niu could cry again, Ruan Bei softened and took the little girl to plead with the ghost messenger: "Brother, you see, I haven't even told her mother yet. Could you tell me when you can come next time and take her away?"
The ghost messenger absorbed the Yin energy talisman that Ruan Bei had given him, turning it into ashes. Ruan Bei quickly took out all the remaining talismans from his ring and offered them as tribute.
The ghost messenger chuckled twice, picked up one card and put it in his hand, then stuffed the rest into his sleeve, disappearing without a trace.
"It's fate that we met. My surname is He, and yours is—"
“Brother He!” Ruan Bei quickly said, “My surname is Ruan and my given name is Bei. You can call me Xiao Ruan or Xiao Bei, either is fine.”
"Xiao Ruan, let me tell you the truth. If you really care about this little girl, you should let her come with me sooner. I'm not afraid to tell you, the longer a ghost stays in the mortal world after missing the opportunity to return to the underworld, the more its blessings will be worn away."
The mortal world should not be a world where ghosts exist, especially in the Dharma-ending Age, when the path of ghost cultivation is almost extinct in the mortal world.
Ruan Bei's face was pale. He Guicha glanced at the little girl who was secretly glaring at him and grinned: "The little girl died young, at the hands of her own blood relatives. It was a violent death. She was possessed by resentment. It's a pity that you trained her well and she didn't become a vengeful ghost."
“Niu Niu is very well-behaved…” Ruan Bei explained weakly, “She has never done anything bad, nor has she ever hurt any ordinary people.”
"Hey, that's up to the King of Hell to decide. You should listen to me and send her to the underworld as soon as possible so she can be reincarnated. If we have to wait until next year, then it'll be next year. I don't know what's wrong with the Yellow Springs Road, it's blocked. We can't usually get out, so we can only take advantage of the time when the gates of hell are wide open to go out for a stroll."
"The road to the underworld is blocked?" This was the first time Ruan Bei had heard of this news. "What about all the ghosts who die normally..."
"Them? They came out on a different path than us."
Ruan Bei was confused. Was there more than one road to the underworld? Come to think of it, with so many ghosts, it would be so crowded to walk on one road.
"Have you thought it through? Do you want me to take her away today, or wait until next year?"
He slapped his forehead: "Let me make this clear first, I'm keeping an eye on this girl..."
"What's wrong?" Ruan Beixin sensed something was amiss.
"The kinship in the next life won't be very good..." He Guichai mumbled.
The little ghost missed her chance to be reincarnated. Her parents in her next life already had their own children, and she was entangled with her mother in this life too much, which affected her kinship in the next life.
Ruan Bei covered Niu Niu's ears in vain, feeling extremely sad: "Is there any way to fix this?"
"Yes!" He Guichai, having been cooped up in the underworld for too long, quite enjoyed chatting with Ruan Bei: "But you can't, and neither can I."
"Then who can do it?" Ruan Bei pressed.
"Lord Yama!" He Guicha said with a grin, "We can't even see him, so don't even think about it."
Ruan Bei hung his head dejectedly, and He Guicha ignored him, his eyes constantly glancing at the paper money carried by passersby.
"Please wait a moment." Ruan Bei rallied his spirits. He still had someone to ask for his help. Pudding was still undecided, and there was his Uncle Ran, who was still unsure if he had been reincarnated. Now was not the time to be down.
"Can you eat the barbecue?" Ruan Bei had a lot to say and wanted to ask him for a favor, so it wasn't right for him to just sit on the street all the time.
"Try it, try it, hehe..." He Guicha rubbed his hands together: "Well, I have a few brothers..."
“Let’s go together. You can call them over.” Ruan Bei didn’t dare lead the ghost messengers to the barbecue stall. He thought for a moment, “I have a friend too. Can he come along as well?”
Worried that He Guicha would be unhappy, Ruan Bei added, "Those Yin Qi talismans were drawn by him. I have some more at home."
"Call them on, call them on!" He Guicha immediately agreed. The Yin Qi talisman was of good quality, and it was easy for him to inhale.
Ruan Bei called Qin Gu, but couldn't say much over the phone. He vaguely said that he had encountered a ghost messenger and asked him to bring all the yin-energy talismans from his home to meet him at Binjiang Garden.
There were two empty houses there, already renovated, which Qin's father gave to him and Qin Gu.
He Guicha also contacted his brothers using special methods, and Ruan Bei ordered a bunch of barbecue, crayfish, and other random takeout.
Half an hour later, the two people, the two ghosts, and the five ghost messengers gathered together.
The five ghost messengers were enjoying their meal around the table. Qin Gu had brought not only Yin Qi talismans but also a lot of paper money and incense. As a result, the ghost messengers ate snacks, took a few puffs of incense, and carried Yin Qi talismans in their pockets, being served very well.
Ruan Bei whispered to Qin Gu about his experience of meeting the ghost messengers. Qin Gu nodded. He had used an eye-opening talisman when he came. Although he had never seen them before, these were indeed ghost messengers, and they were very different from ordinary ghosts.
Now that the ghost messengers were comfortable, it was easier for Ruan Bei to ask them questions and make requests.
"This dog? Take it with you, it's a piece of cake!" A ghost messenger surnamed Dong wiped the grease from his mouth and took full responsibility.
“This dog is very fortunate; it will be reborn as a human in its next life,” said Li Guichai, who was less talkative.
This is great news! Ruan Bei happily stroked Pudding's head. Pudding barked softly twice. Niu Niu whispered, "Pudding doesn't want to leave either. It wants to wait for Sister Le Yuan."
"Silly dog." Qin Gu stroked the dog's head: "She can't see you, you can't be with her. Go reincarnate as soon as possible so she can rest in peace."
“Pudding isn’t stupid,” Ruan Bei muttered, holding Pudding.
When Pudding was alive, Yueyuan couldn't see it. Even after Pudding died and Yueyuan's eyesight improved, she still couldn't see it.
Pudding rubbed against Ruan Bei's leg, whimpering softly. Ruan Bei rubbed the dog's head and said, "Pudding, Niu Niu is leaving. Can you go with her and protect her for me? I'll keep an eye on Le Yuan and make sure no one bullies her."
“Brother…” Niu Niu tugged at Ruan Bei’s sleeve and wiped away her tears.
Ruan Bei held one in each arm, unwilling to let go of either of them.
The ghost messengers, having witnessed countless partings and deaths, considered this a minor incident, not affecting their eating and drinking. They even had the mood to comment: "Young man, you lack experience."
After he calmed down, one of the ghost messengers spoke up: "You mean that guy surnamed Ran? I actually know someone like him."
"How come I didn't know?" He Guicha took a sip of wine and smacked his lips as he asked.
"You? You just slack off all day, what do you know?"
"Hey, what are you saying? I—"
Seeing that the two good brothers were about to fight, the other ghost messengers quickly intervened, saying, "That's enough, we're eating, don't overturn the table."
He Guicha stopped angrily, while Wang Guicha said smugly, "You're just eating and drinking for free, Xiao Ruan. Let me tell you, your uncle hasn't been reincarnated yet. He's waiting for his wife and is still guarding the Bridge of Helplessness."
"How do you know?" Dong Guicha asked.
"Hehe, he's rich. I saw him giving money to Meng Po. It's rare to see such a rich ghost. He even gave me some."
Ruan Bei: "..."
Qin Gu: "..."
Is your underworld really this corrupt? And what about Uncle Ran? Does he still have the power to use money in the underworld?
"Don't misunderstand!" He Guicha explained, "We don't just take money from everyone. These days, reincarnation slots are scarce, and the underworld is crammed with so many lingering ghosts. Those who are guilty have been sent to prison, so we have to maintain order in the underworld. Taking a little money from them, can that be called bribery?"
"No." Ruan Bei obediently shook his head: "That's a security management fee."
I'm not afraid of taking money; at worst, I'll just burn some more for Ran Shu.
"Hey, that's it... security management fee!" The ghost officers muttered as they memorized the term, which sounded much more official than their protection fees.
"Is it alright for my Uncle Ran to stay there?" Ruan Bei asked.
Now the ghost messengers find him quite agreeable and answer any questions he may have: "It's nothing, it's not his turn to be reincarnated yet. Besides, there are so many people queuing to be reincarnated, it's hard to cut in line, but it's very easy to move to the back of the queue."
Moreover, that ghost was quite adept at navigating the underworld, knowing how to smooth things over with everyone, and thus lived a comfortable life.
"From now on, Uncle Ran, my sister, and Pudding will also need your help to take care of them..."
"Of course, of course." The ghost messengers felt that the person with the ability to see ghosts was extremely sensible and also knew what was good for them.
They weren't all just gluttons and thieves; He Guichai took the initiative, untying a chain from his wrist.
Ruan Bei watched as he pulled and swung the chain, which was as thick as a chopstick, suddenly became as thick as a wrist, with a length of several meters.
He tugged at one end of the chain, pulling off a small section the length of his knuckle, and then looked at the other ghost messengers.
The other ghost messengers followed his actions, each breaking off a piece. Li the ghost messenger then pinched these broken chains together and made them into a single chain.
The chain, now a thin strand, rested on Ruan Bei's fingers, its coolness penetrating.
“No ghost can escape these chains,” said Li the Ghost Messenger.
Ruan Bei accepted the gift with delight: "Thank you so much, Brother Ghost Messenger!"
"I... I have another question to ask." The next time they meet will be next year, and Ruan Bei wished she could ask about everything she didn't understand.
The focus is on the Ghost King. Leaving aside the White Bone Ghost King for now, the Underworld Ghost King is nowhere to be seen, seemingly about to cause trouble.
"A Ghost King? There's actually a Ghost King in this mortal world?" The ghost messengers were all surprised.
Qin Gu knew more and told the ghost messengers the general situation. The ghost messengers told them that most of the ghosts who could become ghost kings had already embarked on the path of ghost cultivation and would eventually have to enter the underworld.
If one has not borne sins, one can continue to cultivate in the underworld in the future, and it is not impossible to become a ghost immortal.
If one's sins are grave, then one must first go to the eighteen levels of hell to receive the punishment due, and then we can talk about other things.
Ruan Bei and Qin Gu exchanged a glance, both agreeing that judging from his methods, the Yinming Ghost King was likely the latter, which explained why he was hiding.
"What should we do if a ghost king causes trouble?" Qin Gu asked.
He Guicha scratched his head. This was indeed their responsibility, but they couldn't come easily.
The ghost messengers discussed it and decided that this matter needed to be reported, as the Ghost King's mischief was no small matter.
Finally, he gave Ruan Bei a stack of papers and told him that if there was an emergency, he should write it down on the papers and burn it for them so that they would receive it.
Ruan Bei nodded repeatedly, understanding perfectly. It meant calling for help when you couldn't win a fight; he knew exactly what that meant.
After that, they asked him a bunch of other questions. The ghost messengers told him everything they could. Finally, as it got closer and closer to midnight, the gates of hell were about to close, and the ghost messengers had to go back.
Ruan Bei held Niu Niu and Pudding tightly all night, but now he had no choice but to let go.
Niu Niu cried so hard she couldn't breathe. Ruan Bei finally couldn't hold back her tears and they started falling too. Qin Gu was anxious but couldn't comfort her.
Finally, He Guicha couldn't bear to watch any longer and secretly said to Ruan Bei, "Don't cry. At worst, I'll keep an eye out for where the little girl went. You can go and check on her yourself later."
Niu Niu didn't quite understand the meaning of reincarnation. She only knew that she would see her brother again in the future. She stopped sobbing and said, "Brother, big brother, Niu Niu is leaving now. I will miss you."
Pudding whimpered a few times and nuzzled against Ruan Bei's hand. Ruan Bei stroked Pudding, his voice filled with undisguised sadness: "Niu Niu, Pudding, you must listen to the ghost messenger, support each other, and don't be afraid to spend money, your brother has money..."
"Let's go, it's time." He Guicha pulled Niu Niu, and Dong Guicha pulled Pudding.
Niu Niu stretched out her arm to pull Ruan Bei: "Brother, tell Mom I love her. Niu Niu is leaving. Brother, don't forget me, remember to come see me..."
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