"Hey, where did this little brat come from? Who taught him to yell like a shrew? Could it be your dead master?"
"Who's the shrew? You're the shrew! You're the deadbeat! You shrewish deadbeat!"
The little golden dragon-man had been sleeping for a long time, during which he merged the lotus with himself. Who knew that this guy would wake him up, which made him furious.
"Hehe, you guessed right, I am the dead ghost. If your master doesn't get up soon, you two will both become dead ghosts!"
"Waaaaah... Waaaaah... Waaaaah..." The little dragon sat on the table and started crying loudly, his voice extremely unpleasant.
Wei Jiao was awakened by this crying.
She stared blankly ahead, not understanding what was happening in front of her.
"Hey, snap out of it! Who are you? Do you see the old couple who used to live here? Do you know where they went?" The underworld messenger waved his hands in front of Wei Jiao's eyes, trying to pull her back to reality.
Wei Jiao's eyes were still glazed over, but tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.
The underworld messenger was extremely annoyed by the incessant crying of the two, one big and one small. Although it had been a messenger for so long and was used to all kinds of crying, it didn't mean it was used to it.
Is it really that annoying?
It circled around the room, then looked at the weeping Wei Jiao and said, "Could you be Uncle's daughter, Wei Jiao? Then your father and mother...?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Jiao's eyes finally focused, and he looked at the underworld official in front of him with a hint of hatred.
"Ahhh, don't misunderstand! The previous underworld official tried to capture their souls, but failed. Since I took over, I haven't forced them. I've heard about your situation from them, and they haven't caused any harm to the mortal realm. So I just come once a year as a formality, essentially to report back to the underworld."
He quickly distanced himself from the situation and comforted them, saying, "Don't be sad. They held on to their last breath, waiting for you to come back. Now that their wish has been fulfilled, they must have left without regrets. Although their souls have been scattered and they cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation, but..."
"What did you say!"
Wei Jiao stood up, grabbed the underworld official by the collar, and held him up to his face, saying, "What do you mean by 'soul scattered' and 'unable to enter reincarnation'? Explain yourself clearly."
"Beautiful lady, please use your words, not your hands."
Pulling Wei Jiao's hand away, the underworld official smoothed his collar and said, "You know it yourself, so I don't need to say more. If you were punished and demoted to a mortal, you would have returned to the underworld long ago, since mortals have a limited lifespan. But you've been holding on to your last breath here for over a hundred years. I really admire you. There's an idiom in the human world called 'the last years of life,' but you're not even as old as that. At least a candle has a wick and some oil, but you have nothing. You don't even have your physical body anymore."
Seeing that Wei Jiao was about to cry again, the underworld official quickly said, "Hey, beautiful lady, don't cry. Actually, if you were in our line of work, you would know that life is impermanent, with too many births, old age, sickness, and death, joys and sorrows. Besides, all things in the world come from nothingness and eventually return to nothingness. Everyone is the same."
These words were cruel and heartless, but Wei Jiao still couldn't accept them.
After a long while, she finally calmed down a bit and asked:
"Is there anything else I can do for them?"
The underworld official shook his head and said, "Their souls and spiritual energy have already dispersed into this world. Perhaps loving this world more is the same as loving them."
Wei Jiao lowered his head and remained silent.
What are your plans for the future?
Wei Jiao shook his head
"Why don't you come with me to the underworld? Someone like you, all alone and without any ties, is perfect for being a messenger in the underworld." The underworld official's pale face showed a hint of excitement.
Wei Jiao looked at it suspiciously, his eyes filled with distrust.
"What kind of look is that? I'm a well-known model worker and moral exemplar in the underworld, okay?"
The underworld official pulled Wei Jiao to sit down and continued, "You may not know much about the underworld, but in reality, the conditions aren't much different from the human world. If you compare the human world to the canopy of a large tree, then the underworld is the shade beneath it. Fallen leaves all have a place to go. The underworld is vast, not just containing the Netherworld Palace. Some demons and a small number of other races live in various corners of the underworld. If you go to the underworld, you can become an underworld official like me, or you can find a place to live. There are too many rules in the human world, and there are often Taoist priests and cultivators who have to exorcise demons and monsters. I also know some of your situation. I doubt the aquatic creatures in the human world would tolerate you. I've said all this for your own good. How do you feel?"
"Not good," Wei Jiao thought to himself. He felt that the current situation was a bit strange. Being suddenly invited to be a ghost messenger was too abnormal.
"I don't even know your name?"
"The underworld messengers have drunk Meng Po's special soup of forgetfulness, so I have no memory of anything from before. My boss named me Qingye (Azure Night)."
It continued, "We underworld messengers have all forgotten our past lives, so our names are all given to us by our leader. But our leader isn't very educated; he just picks them randomly. You'll understand once you get there."
Wei Jiao said, "I remember hearing before that there is a divine artifact in the underworld called the Soul-Gathering Pearl, which is a precious pearl that was born in the underworld when the three realms were first created, and was later inlaid on the King of the Underworld's staff. Is that true?"
"This, this..." Qingye hesitated, wondering whether to speak.
"Is it inconvenient to talk about it?"
"No, the treasure did exist, but it has been lost."
How could it have been lost?
"This involves some secrets of the underworld, which are not to be told to outsiders." Qingye was a little embarrassed.
Seeing his expression, Wei Jiao didn't press further, but simply said, "I've heard that this Soul-Gathering Pearl has the ability to reshape the soul. Is that true?"
Qingye knew her intention the moment she heard her ask the question.
He sighed and said, "There is such a legend, but it has been missing for too long. Putting aside whether it can be found, how to control the artifact to reshape the soul is also a problem. I advise you to give up. People are born, grow old, get sick and die. After drinking the Meng Po soup, who will remember whom in the next life? Why are you so persistent?"
Wei Jiao shook his head: "My parents suffered because of me, so I should do my best to find a way. Also, Shuoyuan and that girl are related to me, so I should make amends in some way."
Hearing her say this, Qingye stopped trying to persuade her and simply said, "The Xuanling Disc cannot leave the Underworld, so if you want to find it, you can only go to the Underworld. Shuoyuan and that woman have already been reincarnated into the human world. If you want to make amends, you must first find them. This also requires entering the Underworld to search for their records. However, their fate and destiny are predetermined, so you must act with caution."
"Okay, I understand. Then I'll trouble you to make the introduction."
"We do have special advisor positions available; you can apply. However, you must work in the Underworld for a certain period. Oh, and what's that little thing you're holding? Are you going to keep it with you all the time?"
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