Chapter 96: The Underworld in Beijing
Looking at Qing Bai's serious expression, Jiu Nian felt a rare pang of grievance. He thought to himself, if he wanted to ask if the Samsara Platform was damaged, he should have just asked directly. Why change his mind halfway? He wasn't a petty beast... and in his normal form, his original form was indeed a bit... bulky, not to mention he was still in combat mode...
Thinking of this, Jiu Nian couldn't help but feel a little worried. He had been unconscious for decades, and since he woke up, he had been tracking down Lingxi Xuanhe. He really didn't know the current situation of the Samsara Platform.
In the underworld, apart from the Shangjing Yin Jun who, as always, liked to pretend to meet him by chance and say some polite words to invite him to the Shangjing Yinsi, the other Yin Juns had no other expressions of concern and congratulations for his return except for the usual formalities, especially the official expressions. Although he did not belong to any underworld and did not need others to give him orders to act, the underworld has always been busy, and he has been accustomed to holding several positions in addition to fulfilling his duties... But this time, if he had not woken up and investigated the Lingxi clan annihilation incident on his own, he would have been left with nothing to do.
This could certainly be explained as the ghosts in the underworld having a change of heart and giving him a break after tens of millions of years of uninterrupted work, but it could also be understood as... Jiunian paused for thought, and suddenly a strange yet vaguely familiar word emerged in his mind... free-range?
The more I think about it, the more something seems wrong. Could it be that the reincarnation platform... was broken by him?
Thinking of the long horns, fangs and sharp claws on Pang Dayuan's body, he knew his own abilities very well. He was able to be knocked unconscious for more than 20 years, and his memory was often interrupted when he woke up. That power... Jiu Nian felt a little guilty for some reason.
Qing Bai was unaware of the nine years of worry, but he keenly caught that bit of grievance, and the worries in his heart couldn't help but dissipate a little. He just felt funny. This guy is really something. He had the nerve to "care" about Yin Ci who hit her head when she jumped off the reincarnation platform at Princess Yining's mansion in the back alley. As a result, he had the same problem, or even worse. After all, Yin Ci was just a remnant soul with a broken soul at that time, while he was a fully armed beast in combat status.
In this case, it is the Samsara Taiwan that should be wronged.
But who cares?
Qing Bai smiled and asked, "So the reason you're often slow to react is because... your brain is damaged?"
Qing Baihua was still being euphemistic. He was more than a step behind. In the past nine years, whenever he encountered something new, or even something not so new, he would be stunned for a while, and then he would painstakingly pick out the corresponding fragments from his long and messy memory before he could react. This symptom was quite like a sign of Alzheimer's disease.
Jiu Nian really didn't expect that Qing Bai could find such a reason for some of his inappropriate behaviors. He didn't know whether to accept it or not.
Jiu Nian was still hesitant, but Qing Bai took it as a tacit agreement and continued, "So... is it a confusion of memories? Or is there something missing?"
These words clearly contained a tentative tone.
These two questions were the seeds that were planted on the day they met. They have been taking root and sprouting every day, every moment, every minute and every second since then. Nine years have been their nutrients and rain... They have been stored in his heart for too long and have long since grown into towering trees. But when he said them out loud, he still lacked the confidence. Qing Bai himself didn't even know what kind of answer he was expecting.
Qing Bai waited for a long time without any response. When he looked up, he found that Jiu Nian had a serious expression and didn't know what he was thinking about.
Feeling Qing Bai's gaze, Jiu Nian came back to his senses and said, "I want to go back to the underworld."
Qing Bai blinked, not knowing whether this person was really worried about the Samsara Platform or had thought of something.
"I want to go too."
Jiu Nian hesitated. If he had just taken Qing Bai back to the underworld, it wouldn't have been a big deal. After all, he was a telepath, and if nothing unexpected happened, he would have to return to the underworld sooner or later. It would have been nice to have Qing Bai's care and gradually get to know the underworld. But he had just suddenly realized something was wrong with his memory. If his guess was correct, it was probably related to the collision over twenty years ago. His coma wasn't necessarily just a coma. Since he woke up and no one told him, it meant that either the people in the underworld didn't know about it, or... taking Qing Bai with him wouldn't be appropriate.
Nine years had passed since he felt so uncertain. He didn't know if he had truly forgotten something, where to begin his investigation, or whether the underworld was truly observing from the sidelines or merely checking his condition...
Qing Bai was unaware of the waves of worries in Jiu Nian's heart, and only thought that he was worried about his own safety, but he really didn't want to let him leave alone. For some reason, he had an inexplicable strong premonition that when Jiu Nian left, the nine years might not be the same when he came back.
He didn't know whether this change would be good or bad, but whether it was good or bad, he just didn't want to go to an unknown place alone for nine years.
So Qing Bai pretended to be relaxed and suggested, "If you're really worried, you could leave me with Yin Weihuai, the Lord of the Underworld in the capital. I also have some questions I'd like to ask him... For Boss Hong's sake, he shouldn't kick me out of the Underworld."
When Jiu Nian heard Yin Weihuai's name, his eyes suddenly moved, and he had a plan in mind: "...Okay."
Anyway, even if he returned to the underworld, he would have no rules for the time being, and he would probably have to find someone to question in the end. Those who could survive in the underworld, from the Judge Yama to the ghost officials of the God of Death, were all "old foxes" with cunning minds. Not only did they say one thing to one person and another thing to another, but even when talking to real Bodhisattvas, they would always say that they would keep three-tenths and seven-tenths, and the remaining ninety-tenths depended on "intuition".
Because of his special status in the underworld, although they would not harm him, they would not really be open and honest with him about everything.
In this case, why waste time and make a wasted trip? It is better to find another way.
For example, the Lord of Shangjing Yin who was always very "polite" to him... His status was high enough, his tenure was long enough, and he had many favors, which was indeed a good shortcut.
The two hit it off immediately, left a note and disappeared from the farmhouse gate.
…
Qing Bai was a little surprised. It turned out that the road in the underworld overlapped with the road in the world of the living. It was just that people didn't see ghosts and ghosts didn't bother people, so both sides went their own way.
There is always a thin layer of dark fog on the side where the ghosts walk. There is no noise of cars and horses, only the ghost officials of the Impermanence who are hurriedly walking with the ghosts chained up. I don’t know what means Jiu Nian used, no matter whether it is the ghost officials of the Impermanence wearing black and white work clothes or the ghosts under the chains who are either dull and lifeless or crying out for justice, none of the ghosts noticed that there were suddenly two more people on the road. When their eyes occasionally swept over where they were, there was no fluctuation, as if they were just the dark fog that was everywhere on the road and had no great use except to set off the atmosphere.
They arrived at the underworld in Shangjing without any trouble. Jiu Nian took Qing Bai directly through the front hall where ghosts were coming and going and filled with a strong office atmosphere to the back court of the underworld.
Even within the underworld, no one noticed their whereabouts. Qing Bai marveled at Jiu Nian's profound skills, yet he couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious—who was Jiu Nian guarding against after going through so much trouble?
Strictly speaking, this was not Qing Bai's first visit to the underworld where living people were forbidden to enter, but it was the first time he saw with his own eyes what the underworld in Shangjing looked like. After seeing it, he just felt... very familiar, with carved beams and painted rafters, pavilions and towers, a different scene at every step, especially the artificial lake in the same location, which was not exactly the same as the one in Princess Yining's mansion in the last alley of Shangjing, but at least 70% similar. If there was a sun in the underworld, the sunlight would shine on the water, making the water shimmer and sparkle, and it would be 90% similar.
Now the light and shadow are dim, which gives it a different flavor.
Could it be that not only the main transportation routes, but even the buildings in the underworld are built in a one-to-one ratio with those in the world of the living?
Qing Bai looked at him calmly, and silently labeled the Shangjing Yin Jun, whom he had only heard of but never seen, as a "deep brotherly love" in his heart.
Jiu Nian saw Qing Bai's confusion and explained, "The underworld and the human world do correspond, but it's only geographically. The local Yinsi is where the Yin Lords handle official business, communicating with the underworld and issuing orders to the local City God. They also have functions such as detaining evil spirits and serving as transit points in the underworld. There's no set unified style for these offices, and everything changes at the whim of the Yin Lord in office."
Hearing this, Qing Bai couldn't help but nod repeatedly, and was even more certain of the relationship between the two brothers of 'Compassion'... Perhaps Boss Hong also had a hand in this?
Jiu Nian and Qing Bai's unimpeded passage as if they were entering an empty space was ended by a whistle. The two men who were walking along the stone path by the lake looked in the direction of the sound and found a handsome young man in gorgeous clothes leaning against the fence of the pavilion in the middle of the lake in the distance. The young man held a square white porcelain fish food box with a round belly in one hand and shook it at them with the other hand without any scruples, with an exaggerated and enthusiastic smile on his face, as if he was feeding the fish and was so happy when he saw them that he didn't even care whether the fish were full or not.
Qing Bai: "...is this Lord Yin of Shangjing?"
Nine years: "...This is Shangjing Yin Jun."
Seeing that the two were looking at him from afar without moving, Yin Weihuai simply put the white porcelain round-bellied fish food box on the railing, waved his hands together, and his long sleeves fluttered up and down in the wind, like a large moth with bright colors and gorgeous patterns.
This is really... a unique style of painting.
Yin Jun treated his guests so warmly that they couldn't remain indifferent, especially since they came to see Yin Jun in the first place.
Jiu Nian took Qing Bai along the long covered bridge to the pavilion in the middle of the lake. When they got closer, Qing Bai realized that this lake was different from the one in Princess Yining's mansion in Tongwei Lane.
If the lakes in the human world are clear, clean and spiritual, then this lake is dirty and sticky like an abyss. Staring at the slowly spreading ripples on the water surface for a long time will make people suspect that their souls will be sucked in and become part of the filth.
Qing Bai looked at the ink-black lake water below and suddenly thought for no reason. There was a beautiful story about the Brush Washing Pool in ancient times. If the Yin Lord of Shangjing had washed his brush in this lake for thousands of years, this lake could also be called the Brush Washing Lake. Now it can be considered a complete merit and can be directly scooped up to make ink...
After arriving at the pavilion in the middle of the lake, Yin Jun greeted Jiu Nian skillfully: "Master Jiu Nian is really rare..."
Yin Weihuai originally wanted to say "rare guest", but then he remembered that he had seen him several times recently... The current Master Jiunian is no longer the Master Jiunian who used to live his life like a talisman and never went anywhere except to his job.
After working together for a thousand years, they haven't seen each other as often as they have in recent times. Yin Weihuai sighed and changed the subject with ease: "Your Excellency's visit to our company is truly a great honor..."
Jiu Nian paused in the face of the polite words, and suddenly felt that he had miscalculated. He forgot that this Shangjing Yinjun was also a master who had "cultivated" in the underworld for many years. He learned all the tricks below, whether good or bad, before he was appointed as a master in Shangjing Yinsi.
Qing Bai couldn't stand listening to those boring and long-winded greetings over and over again, so he tilted his head and pretended to be attracted by the sound of fish flipping in the water under the pavilion. However, he was so frightened that he almost couldn't hold back his expression... What was flipping in the black ink-like lake water were not fish at all, but fish skeletons with human faces!
Looking again at the white porcelain round-bellied food box placed on the railing, it was not filled with fish food, but round eyeballs with tangled blood vessels.
The rotting, withered skeletons of human faces remained in the lake, like the koi fish huddled together in a park, desperate for a bite of food. They circled the pavilion in the middle of the lake, tirelessly opening their mouths wide towards Yin Weihuai, revealing a mouthful of white, pearly teeth that were clearly human. However, they weren't after a bite, but rather the chance to catch an eyeball or two, to fit into their long-empty sockets...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
