Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Thousands of years ago.
Thousands of years ago, when there was no such special existence as the "Extradition Place" in the underworld, the area where the Naihe Bridge passed was crowded with souls with obsessions.
The recently deceased You Yunyi passed through other souls and was brought to Meng Po by the ghost with a confused look on his face.
Meng Po took in You Yunyi's appearance and teased, "Young Master, you are so handsome. Hmm... How rare, dying young and having no attachments at all. But death is the end of all, and having no attachments is a blessing. Please drink, young master."
You Yunyi responded with a gentle smile, without saying much, took the soup handed to him by Meng Po, drank it all, and then returned the bowl to Meng Po.
Meng Po looked at him.
He stood there, looking at Meng Po, then at the back of the ghost messenger who had brought him here and was already walking away. Then he hesitated a little: "I'll go across this bridge next. Can I leave now?"
Meng Po: "...My soup didn't work?"
You Yunyi racked his brains, then said seriously, "I still remember what happened before I died. It shouldn't have worked, right? Will this soup work immediately after I drink it?"
"Of course, it works immediately after you drink it. Then, you'll unconsciously walk across the Naihe Bridge, and all your past joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness will be shed into the River of Oblivion. When you reach the other side of the bridge, you'll be completely different from who you were in this life... How could it not work?... Come on, drink another bowl and try it."
Meng Po served another bowl.
You Yunyi was a bit perplexed. He had been frail and sickly for years before his death, and was used to eating and drinking less. Meng Po's soup was a full bowl, and he had been a bit hesitant to drink the first bowl, but he was worried that drinking less would affect the effect, so he drank it all in one gulp without saying a word. Now...
You Yunyi held out Meng Po soup and asked, "Can't I just cross the bridge directly?"
Meng Po shook her head: "My soup is not effective, you can't walk up! If you don't believe me, try it?"
You Yunyi didn't want to drink another bowl of soup, so he tried it seriously, and as expected, he was stopped at the bridgehead by an invisible barrier.
Meng Po: "Well, you can't get through, right?"
You Yunyi smiled at her apologetically: "It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that I really can't drink anymore, so I hope that maybe I don't have to drink anymore."
Meng Po was a little surprised: "Didn't you only drink one bowl? You can't drink the second bowl? Although you are thin, you are at least an adult, right? How can you have such a small appetite? No wonder you died young. You can't live without food."
"I'm naturally weak, and I get sick easily when I eat too much." You Yunyi briefly explained, "But now that I've arrived in the underworld, I don't think I need to worry about feeling sick. I'll drink this second bowl."
You Yunyi gritted his teeth and finished the second bowl of Mengpo soup.
Meng Po stared at him and found that it was still ineffective.
"That's weird, did I make the soup wrong?" Meng Po wondered. She took out a bowl, drank some, and tasted it. "It's okay... Try another bowl."
You Yunyi put down the empty bowl and took a step back: "I... Lady Mengpo, I really can't drink anymore. Can you let me rest for a while?"
If Meng Po had seen such a gentle and handsome young man in the past, she would have definitely teased him a few more times, after all, it was really boring to stay by the Naihe Bridge all day.
But the current situation was special. Her Mengpo soup had no effect. This made Mengpo lose interest in finding other pleasures. She just stared at You Yunyi: "Isn't your belly too small...Okay, you take a break. I can try making another pot of soup."
You Yunyi walked to the side and stood aside so as not to block other souls who wanted to drink the soup.
During this period, he looked around and found that some souls were said to have obsessions that had not been eliminated and needed to be resolved before they could drink the soup. Some souls had no obsessions, and after drinking the soup, just as Meng Po had just said to him, they would walk onto the Naihe Bridge like wandering souls.
Moreover, the ghosts who crossed the Naihe Bridge drank the same pot of soup that Meng Po had given him just now, but it seemed that even after drinking two bowls, it didn't work for him...
"Hey, brother, what's your obsession?" A ghost nearby asked curiously because he saw that You Yunyi was a stranger.
You Yunyi shook his head. "I don't have any obsessions. I just drank Meng Po soup and it didn't work. I'll try again later. What about you, brother?"
Brother Ghost was puzzled. "Really? This is the first time I've heard of such a rare thing. My obsession is that I didn't make it to high school. I studied hard for twenty years, but died on the way to Beijing for the exam. I encountered bandits. Not only did they rob me of my belongings, they also killed me."
"I don't know where their knives came from; they were all rusted and bent, so I couldn't even die a clean death. Sigh... But I don't really care about those bandits. Lady Mengpo also said that I was too stubborn and told me to dissolve it myself. She said that after crossing the Naihe Bridge, there are still many souls waiting to be reincarnated, so it doesn't make much difference if we wait here."
Brother Ghost said as he looked at You Yunyi and said, "Brother, you look like an educated man, right? How did you die? You were even younger than me."
You Yunyi politely replied, "I've read a bit, but I don't have the same ambition to graduate from high school as you do. I've been weak since childhood, and the fact that I've reached this age is a blessing from God and the loving care of my family. I had a sudden heart attack while sleeping, and when I woke up I ended up here. It's a blessing in disguise."
"That's right. He died without much pain. It's much better than having his neck cut by a rusty knife." Brother Ghost shook his head.
You Yunyi had nothing better to do, so he continued chatting with him. "Brother, you've studied hard for twenty years, and it's only natural for you to still be thinking about the imperial examination before you die. But since it's impossible in this lifetime, why bother thinking about it so much that you can't move forward?"
The smile on Brother Ghost's face faded, and he shook his head bitterly: "Alas, I know it too, but I just can't let it go."
"But if you had crossed the Naihe Bridge earlier and reincarnated as a human, wouldn't you have been able to take the imperial examination again in the next life earlier? During the time you have wasted here, perhaps ten years have passed in the human world, and you have taken the imperial examination several times." You Yunyi said casually.
But for some reason, Brother Ghost was stunned. Then, he bowed to You Yunyi as if he had suddenly realized something, and then strode to Meng Po: "Lady Meng Po, I think my obsession has been resolved!"
Meng Po remembered this ghost, who was obsessed with scientific research until his death. He always wandered in front of the Naihe Bridge, so she was familiar with him. So when she first heard him, she thought the ghost was talking nonsense, but when she looked carefully, she found that he was serious.
While serving soup to the scientific research ghost, Meng Po looked at You Yunyi. She heard what You Yunyi and the scientific research ghost had just said, but... in fact, the ghosts understood many truths, but after becoming ghosts, they still looked like human beings at first glance, but in fact, many words could not enter their hearts.
What You Yunyi just said was able to enter the ghost's mind. It can be seen that although this young man who died young was weak, he had extraordinary "telekinesis".
If that’s the case…Meng Po seemed to be thinking about something.
After she finished with the ghosts in front of her, Meng Po waved to You Yunyi and said, "Come, a new pot is ready. Try it again."
You Yunyi sighed lightly and walked forward to drink.
Still no effect.
Meng Po took back the bowl. "It seems that because your constitution is too weak, your soul is also weak after death. However, the 'telepathic power' in your words is too strong, and you are too affected by the energy of the underworld. Therefore, Meng Po soup does not treat you as the person in the world of the living, so it has no effect... This matter is a bit troublesome."
You Yunyi didn't understand the meaning of "telekinesis", but he understood that drinking Meng Po soup was useless.
"Hasn't there been a situation like mine before?" You Yunyi asked.
Meng Po recalled: "Anyway, I don't have any impression... Hey, have you seen His Majesty the King of Hell? There is a special soul here!"
Meng Po said the following words while looking at the ghost messenger passing by.
The ghost shook his head: "Shall I go and ask for you?"
Meng Po: "Okay, thank you."
The ghost messenger quickly inquired and came back, saying, "The King of Hell has gone to the mortal realm and said he won't be back for some time, but the exact time is unknown."
Meng Po was at her wit's end after hearing this, so she said to You Yunyi, "Just wander around for a bit. You'll have to wait for His Majesty the King of Hell to come back and make the final decision. I have no other options. If that doesn't work, come to me more often every day and drink a few bowls of soup. Maybe one day it will suddenly work."
You Yunyi: "...Okay, thank you, Master Mengpo."
You Yunyi was not greedy for food, and Mengpo soup was just not bad to drink, not a delicacy or fine wine, so he declined the offer. In the following days, he did not waste Mengpo soup, but just wandered around in the underworld where he could go.
Occasionally, I would meet a ghost that I liked and chat with it for a while.
Half a month later, You Yunyi discovered that he seemed to understand what Meng Po meant by "telekinesis" - after he finished talking with other ghosts, those ghosts who had been obsessed with something for a long time actually listened to him, and many of them were able to eliminate their obsession on the spot and drink Meng Po soup.
Even if he was just saying the same "truths" that other ghosts had said, it seemed that the effect was better when it came from his mouth.
Three months passed in a blink of an eye. Not only did You Yunyi discover this, but other ghosts also spread the word that they had discovered the specialness of this young man. Many of them were so tired of waiting that they went to chat with You Yunyi.
It was okay if there were only a few ghosts, so he could just treat it as a pastime to relieve boredom. But when there were too many ghosts, You Yunyi felt a little tired and deliberately avoided them.
That day he was hiding in the reed-like grass beside the Forgetful River. At this moment, a small boat suddenly slid slowly across the surface of the Forgetful River and stopped nearby.
A man in a complicated robe was holding the boat pole. Seeing You Yunyi by the river, he was stunned for a moment: "Aren't you afraid of this water?"
Although You Yunyi didn't stay in the underworld for long, three months was not a short time. He knew that other ghosts didn't dare to approach the Forgetful River. They would be frightened if they got close, but You Yunyi wouldn't - that's why he stayed here to hide away. There were too many ghosts in other places, and it was inevitable that he would run into them and have no peace.
"I'm special." You Yunyi said to the young man in a long robe who didn't look like a boatman.
The young man in the long robe smiled and said, "Really? What's your special method? Tell me about it."
As long as the other party didn't tell him about his obsession - the other party didn't look like an ordinary ghost in the underworld, but probably an official, who would definitely not pull him to complain - You Yunyi was still willing to chat with people.
"Meng Po soup has no effect on me, but I have a silver tongue that can make stubborn ghosts cry." You Yunyi said casually, and it seemed like nonsense.
The young man in long robes on the bamboo boat was slightly startled when he heard this: "Really?"
You Yunyi's eyes curved into a smile. "Judging from your reaction to the people in the underworld a while ago, my abilities seem quite impressive. But unfortunately, no matter how impressive they are, they're useless. I can't even cross the Naihe Bridge, and I don't know how long I'll have to stay here. This life is so boring."
The young man in the long robe put down the pole and walked ashore: "What if Meng Po didn't tell you?"
"She said we have to wait for the King of Hell to come back and make a decision, but the King of Hell has gone to the world of the living and we don't know when he will return." You Yunyi said helplessly.
The young man in the long robe coughed lightly upon hearing this. "I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that I am the King of Hell. What's your name?"
You Yunyi was stunned: "I... You Yunyi."
The King of Hell is back, and he seems quite easy to talk to. Although his appearance is somewhat different from what Meng Po and other underworld officials described as "ghostly and majestic", You Yunyi feels more optimistic.
——The result was that he was too optimistic too early.
The King of Hell personally took him across the Naihe Bridge, and when he reached the other side of the bridge, he discovered that he still remembered things about his previous life clearly. In this case, he definitely could not be allowed to reincarnate, so he had to stay.
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