Now?
Tang Nian nodded: "Tell me, did you come here because of Song Shiyan?"
Upon hearing Tang Nian's question, Lou Mu did not hide anything and told Tang Nian about his experience.
Upon hearing this, Tang Nian frowned immediately.
Why did Song Shiyan send you away?
Lou Mu couldn't explain it either.
"Fine, I'll go to Nanyu City again after I return from the underworld."
Since Chu Roujia might still be in Nanyu City, even if Lou Mu didn't run into her, she would still go back to look for her.
“Okay, then I’ll go to Nanyu City and wait for you.” Lou Mu made his plan without hesitation.
But as soon as the two stepped out of the pharmacy, they remembered that Ming Huan had not yet returned, and he might get anxious if he didn't see them when he came back.
Thinking it over, Tang Nian left a note for Ming Huan before leaving with Lou Mu.
The note instructed Ming Huan to come to Nanyu City to find him after seeing it.
Then, a black door appeared behind Tang Nian, with a ferocious beast head on top of it, and the inside of the door was completely dark.
This is the Gate of Hell.
"Then I'm leaving. Take care." Tang Nian turned her head away from Lou Mu.
Before Lou Mu could speak, she rushed into the Gate of Hell as if fleeing.
Inside the gates of hell, a group of evil spirits were being escorted into the underworld by ghost messengers.
The group of evil spirits thought that a living person had mistakenly entered the gates of hell. Instantly, their true nature was revealed. They bared their teeth and claws and approached Tang Nian, sniffing and sucking here and there.
"How come a living person has appeared?"
"Hehehe...smells so good!"
"This soul smells so delicious..."
...
Just as a demon opened its mouth towards Tang Nian, Tang Nian raised her hand and waved it, sending the demon flying.
The evil spirits, who were tied to the soul-snatching rope with him, were also sent flying away together.
The demons' ranks instantly descended into chaos.
The ghost messenger walking beside the evil spirit tugged hard on the soul-snatching rope and shouted irritably, "Quiet down, all of you! Line up!"
As he spoke, he stared at Tang Nian with a wary expression.
Before he could speak, a commotion arose at the front of the demon procession, and then a demon dressed in white and wearing a tall hat appeared in front of the demon and the man.
Xie Bi'an bowed to Tang Nian: "Miss Tang, this way please."
Tang Nian followed Xie Bi'an and walked out of the group amidst the shocked gazes of the evil spirits.
Only after passing through the long passage can one reach the true underworld.
The underworld, the other side of the netherworld, is often described in human records as a gloomy, greenish-brown world.
Here, a chill permeates the air, and a heavy haze blankets the entire sky, sending a shiver down one's spine.
Ghostly figures loomed, creating an eerie and terrifying atmosphere.
But the real underworld is not like that.
The red spider lilies bloom on both banks of the River of Oblivion, moving undisturbed by any wind.
On the Bridge of Helplessness, the ghostly figures lined up in an orderly fashion. On the opposite bank stood a young girl, holding a long ladle in her hand, scooping milky white soup from a pot.
She is the legendary Meng Po.
Tang Nian quickly walked to Meng Po's side, leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Sister Meng, do you know why Master called me over?"
Compared to Xie Bi'an, who was loyal to Yama and always had a stern face, Tang Nian thought it would be more reliable to ask Meng Po, who loved gossip, for information.
"Does Nian Nian know that Fairy Jingyun is not in the Underworld?" Meng Po stopped what she was doing and leaned close to Tang Nian's ear to ask.
Fairy Jingyun is Tang Nian's master.
Tang Nian nodded: "I think I've guessed it."
"Fairy Maiden Jingyun probably knows what the young prince did, that he had a big argument with King Yama and ran away."
Meng Po winked at Tang Nian, then lowered her head and continued ladling soup.
Tang Nian, feeling uneasy, continued to follow Xie Bi'an to the Hall of the King of Hell.
The Yama Palace is built of black bricks, which gleam under the eerie green lantern light, and the dense runes carved on the bricks can be faintly seen in the reflection.
Tang Nian took a deep breath and, without asking anyone to inform her, went straight to push open the door.
The main hall was completely empty, except for a table in the very center, where a man sat, tapping his fingers lightly on the surface, seemingly lost in thought.
As soon as Tang Nian entered the room, the door behind her slowly closed.
"Are you aware of the soul infection?" Yama asked without looking up.
Since the King of Hell had already asked the question, it proved that there was already evidence, so Tang Nian did not deny it: "I know."
"So you and your junior brother kept it from me?" Yama picked up the gavel from the table and slammed it down.
Tang Nian didn't speak, standing ramrod straight, just quietly watching Yama.
"Has the matter been resolved?"
"You saw infected souls in the underworld?" Tang Nian asked in return.
In fact, Tang Nian didn't know how to explain it either.
After encountering it once in the imperial city, they encountered a large-scale soul infection in Nanyu City.
However, the infection there has been resolved by Minghuan, but the mastermind behind it has not been found.
Later, she asked the young prince, who told her that no infected ghosts had been found entering the underworld recently.
"I'm not sure if this has solved the problem. I've purified all the infected souls I could find, but I haven't found the mastermind behind it. I haven't encountered them again in the past month."
King Yama sighed deeply and took out a crumpled piece of paper from under the memorial: "Take a look at this."
Tang Nian took the letter with some skepticism and quickly read it.
She suddenly looked up, her hands gripping the letter tightly, her eyes filled with shock.
"How could Master be trapped on Mount Kunlun?"
The letter was written by an immortal elder from Kunlun Mountain. It means that Fairy Jingyun used soul infection to commit evil deeds and ordered Yama to thoroughly investigate the underworld and find out the truth.
She didn't understand. Her master was Fairy Jingyun, an immortal from Kunlun, and now the wife of the King of Hell in the underworld. What purpose would she have in doing something like infecting souls?
This is a conspiracy targeting the underworld and Fairy Jingyun.
“Your master went to attend the Kunlun Grand Feast, which is held once every hundred years, but suddenly this news came back. I went to look for her, but Kunlun is heavily guarded, and even I couldn’t get in.”
Not everyone can ascend Kunlun. Apart from immortals, only humans or demons permitted by the gods can find the true location of Kunlun.
As a terrestrial immortal, Yama should have been able to enter Kunlun, but he encountered obstacles at every turn.
It's clear that Yama has put in a lot of effort to get into Kunlun.
When Yama talked about this, he seemed quite dejected: "Anyone with eyes can see at a glance that this is just an excuse, but I have to give an explanation."
"Didn't Master tell the young prince?"
“Telling him is useless.” Yama turned his head away, clearly not wanting to hear the little prince’s name.
Tang Nian's intuition told her that this might be related to the little prince's cessation of growth.
"Did my master summon me here specifically to ask me to do something?"
"Once you've accumulated enough merit, you'll go to Kunlun. I need you to accumulate enough merit as soon as possible, find out what happened in Kunlun, and go there to save your master." Yama was never polite to Tang Nian and stated his purpose directly.
Tang Nian felt the burden on her shoulders grow even heavier: "Yes, Master."
Even if the King of Hell doesn't say anything, as long as she knows about it, she won't just stand by and watch.
"Remember, this matter must not be mentioned to anyone."
As he spoke, he put two fingers together and made a hand gesture in the air, and the longsword lying on the bookshelf behind him made a "humming" sound.
Then, it flew to Tang Nian's side.
Tang Nian hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand and grasped the longsword.
"This is a gift your master wanted to give you, and now I will give it to you."
Tang Nian knelt down on one knee and raised the sword above her head.
"Disciple thanks Master."
As soon as she finished speaking, the sword she had been carrying on her back suddenly flew up and landed in Yama's hand.
"Leave this sword in the underworld. Alright, you can go now."
With a wave of his hand, Yama, the King of Hell, created a gate to the underworld behind Tang Nian.
Tang Nian sheathed her sword, carried it behind her back, bowed to Yama, and walked into the gates of hell without looking back.
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