"Let's go, next stop, the Netherworld!"
Qiqi reached out, holding Huo Yuwei's hand with her left and Huo Yusen's hand with her right, a bright smile blooming on her lovely face.
"Big brother, Little Nine brother, let's go to the underworld for a visit!"
Even though Huo Yuwei was mentally prepared, his lips still twitched almost imperceptibly when he heard the words "go to the underworld" come out of the mouth of a three-and-a-half-year-old.
He crouched down, looking Qiqi in the eye, his tone more serious and worried than ever before, "Qiqi, the Underworld... isn't an amusement park. It must be very dangerous there. Can you really take us with you? Will we hold you back?"
After a pause, he added, "Also, why do you suddenly want to go to hell? Are you going to find some kind of ghost?"
Qi Qi pursed her lips, making no attempt to hide anything, and said directly, "My junior brother used to be a ghost messenger in the underworld. Every time I opened the gates of hell to send away ghosts, it was always my junior brother who came to guide them. But recently, he hasn't shown up. I asked the ghost messengers who came to guide him, and they were all vague. I suspect that something might have happened to my junior brother, so I want to go to the underworld to check."
The little girl looked up at Huo Yuwei with her big, clear eyes. "Big brother, if you don't want to go, could you talk to Xuanyuan Sword and ask him to come with me? I'll return my junior brother to you after I rescue him."
Huo Yuwei wasn't unwilling; on the contrary, he wouldn't even flinch if the girl asked him to go through fire and water.
He couldn't imagine sending this little one alone to that legendary underworld.
"Big brother isn't unwilling, big brother is just worried that you might be in danger."
Qiqi patted her little chest, "Don't worry, big brother, the underworld is very safe. None of those ghosts dare to mess with me!"
She turned to look at Huo Yusen again, "Where's Brother Xiao Jiu? Is he coming with us?"
Huo Yusen didn't say anything, but silently stepped forward and gently straightened Qiqi's bangs, which had been messed up by the wind.
Those beautiful eyes, which always carried a hint of aloofness, were now filled with undisguised concern; his actions had already revealed his attitude.
He would never let Qiqi go into danger alone!
But looking at Qiqi, his eyes were still full of worry.
For some reason, he felt a vague unease.
It seemed as if something bad would happen if I went to the underworld.
"Relax, relax!" Qiqi stretched out her little arms, one in each hand, and hugged her two older brothers' necks familiarly. In her sweet little voice, she reassured them confidently, "This isn't Qiqi's first time in the Underworld! Uncle Judge, Uncle Ox-Head and Uncle Horse-Face all know Qiqi! And with Little White and Big Cat around, and Brother Huo's Xuanyuan Sword aura protecting us, ordinary ghost messengers wouldn't dare to approach us!"
The white jade bracelet on her wrist flashed with a warm luster at just the right moment, as if in agreement.
Tiger Eagle scratched his head with his wing and interjected in a muffled voice, "Little girl, in the underworld... is there meat to eat?"
He had just heard the promise of "double the snacks and double the meat," and he was very concerned about logistical support.
Qiqi was amused and showed her tiny teeth. "Big cat is so silly. The underworld is full of ghosts, so there's no need to eat there! But when we come back, we'll make sure you eat your fill!"
She released her two brothers and took out three yellow talismans folded into a triangle from her small bag. The talismans were decorated with intricate and mysterious patterns drawn in cinnabar, and faintly emitted an aura of spatial fluctuation.
“These are ‘Yin-Avoiding Talismans’ and ‘Invisibility Talismans’,” Qiqi said, placing the talismans into Huo Yuwei and Huo Yusen’s hands respectively. “Big Brother Huo, Little Brother Jiu, keep these close to your bodies. This way, the Yin energy of the underworld won’t harm your bodies, and ordinary ghosts won’t be able to see us, making it easier for us to walk!”
Huo Yuwei and Huo Yusen carefully put away the talisman as instructed.
The talisman felt slightly warm to the touch, carrying a reassuring power.
Then, Qiqi's little face turned serious, and she quickly formed hand seals in front of her chest while chanting incantations in ancient and obscure syllables.
As she chanted, a small array radiating soft white light slowly appeared, centered on her tiny feet.
The array's patterns are complex, containing the power of the laws governing the connection between Yin and Yang.
"Yin and Yang in order, the road to the Yellow Springs opens—begin!" As Qiqi uttered her last clear syllable, she pointed forward with her little hand.
In an instant, the space in front of everyone seemed to be torn open by an invisible hand, and a chilling but not evil aura emanated from it.
Beyond the entrance, the familiar neighborhood scene was no longer revealed, but rather a hazy, dark road that seemed to stretch on forever.
Red flowers, strange and beautiful, can be faintly seen by the roadside; they are the legendary spider lilies.
"Let's go!" Qiqi tightly grasped Huo Yuwei's fingers with one hand and took Huo Yusen's slightly cool hand with the other. She took a few quick steps and stepped into the dark path without hesitation.
Huo Yuwei and Huo Yusen felt a blur before their eyes, and their surroundings instantly changed.
The familiar city nightscape has vanished, replaced by a perpetual, dim, twilight-like light.
The air became cold and damp, carrying a mixture of earthy and faint floral scents.
The road beneath our feet is rough gravel, and on both sides are bright red spider lilies.
The fog ahead was thick, and visibility was low.
Tiger Eagle followed closely behind. His small body unconsciously grew larger the moment he entered the Road to the Underworld, returning to its original size, and he warily surveyed his surroundings.
This is the Road to the Underworld.
The road is wide, but not empty.
Many translucent, bewildered new souls, guided by ghost messengers, drifted silently forward in long lines.
Occasionally, one can hear soft sobs, a lament for leaving this world.
Because of Qiqi's talismans and magic protection, Huo Yuwei, Huo Yusen, and Hu Ying did not attract the attention of these dead souls and ghost messengers.
They were like bystanders walking in another dimension.
"Qiqi, are you cold?" Huo Yusen immediately sensed the change in the surrounding temperature, lowered his head and asked softly, even wanting to take off his coat to wrap the little one in.
"It's not cold!" Qiqi shook her little head and pointed to the red flowers by the roadside. "Look, Brother Xiao Jiu, those are spider lilies. They are very pretty, but they only bloom on the road to the underworld. They are also called 'dead people's flowers'."
She explained the plants of the underworld in a sweet, childlike voice, and it felt completely natural.
Huo Yuwei clenched his fist, and the Xuanyuan Sword in his hand suddenly became hot, the burning warmth spreading through his veins to his limbs.
A warm current flowed between his and Qiqi's and Huo Yusen's joined hands, dispelling some of the chill.
His sharp gaze swept over the dazed and confused souls and the indistinct ghost messengers, and he was deeply shocked.
This was the first time he had ever seen such a scene.
So this is the underworld!
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