Just as the two were whispering to each other, Meng Po, who was on the other side of the Bridge of Helplessness, spoke with a smile.
"Come here, I won't make things difficult for you."
The kindness of the goddess Meng Po instantly made Zhao Youliang and his companion lower their guard.
He rushed forward and knelt down at the feet of the great god with a thud.
"Grandma, we kowtow to you."
When it comes to kowtowing, our big yellow dog is the real expert; it makes a really loud thud.
Seeing this, the goddess Meng Po smiled and waved her hand, helping the two people and the dog to their feet.
At the same time, he reached out and hugged Chang Jie: "Little guy, do you still remember me?"
Upon hearing this, Chang Jie's eyes welled up with tears: "I remember, how could I not remember?"
“When I was just over a month old, my mother-in-law came to give me a blessing.”
Seeing that Chang Jie still recognized her, the goddess Meng Po smiled even more kindly.
"Good, good boy."
As she spoke, she gently stroked Chang Jie's chubby little head, just like an ordinary grandmother lovingly caressing her grandson.
"Your name is Liao Zhiyuan, right?"
Upon hearing this, Liao Zhiyuan quickly bowed again and said, "Thank you for your concern, Great Goddess Meng Po. I am Liao Zhiyuan."
After confirming her identity, Meng Po shook her head helplessly: "After we return from here, tell your father to cultivate diligently."
"Really, how can a direct descendant of the Zhengyi sect not even know the most basic Taoist techniques?"
"That's good, they don't even have many years left to live."
“Tell him frankly that if he doesn’t want to taste the Meng Po soup too early, then he should try harder.”
Liao Zhiyuan was deeply ashamed by Meng Po's words and said he would definitely change the subject.
At this moment, Zhao Youliang was staring blankly at the rattan chair made by Meng Po.
Because this rattan chair is so strange; it's a completely modern product.
Moreover, it's obviously a high-end product that ordinary people simply can't afford.
The combination of such luxury goods and an ancient deity like Meng Po creates an indescribable sense of conflict.
Seemingly anticipating Zhao Youliang's doubts, the goddess Meng Po smiled and offered an explanation.
"This chair was given to me by the young general years ago, and it is indeed more comfortable to sit on than a stone stool."
"Besides, sitting on it always reminds me of the past and old friends, so I've gotten used to it."
"You don't know, although there are always people coming and going here, they don't remember anything after drinking the Meng Po soup, including me."
"Therefore, very few of my old friends remember me, and I cherish each and every one of them deeply..."
At this point, the goddess Meng Po exuded a sense of desolation, as well as an ancient and melancholic feeling of the passage of time.
Seeing that the goddess Meng Po remained silent, Zhao Youliang and the others dared not utter a word.
The big yellow dog, in particular, even sat up straight and put both front paws into its mouth, as if afraid of making a sound that might interrupt the great man's contemplation.
After a moment, Meng Po, having regained her senses, smiled apologetically at Zhao Youliang and the others before asking Chang Jie.
"Little one, did Grandma see you secretly looking at the Three Lives Stone?"
"Thankfully nothing happened. What did you see?"
Here's a special explanation: those who have been to the underworld are absolutely forbidden from peeking at the Three Lives Stone.
Because it records everyone's past, present, and future lives.
The causes of the past life, the effects of this life, the cycle of destiny, the arising and ceasing of causes and conditions, are all deeply engraved on the Three Lives Stone.
For countless years, it has witnessed the joys and sorrows, laughter and tears of all living beings, the debts that should be settled, and the affections that should be repaid...
Before the Stone of Three Lives, all is wiped clean with a single stroke.
So after seeing the Three Lives Stone, it's basically equivalent to going to the police station to voluntarily cancel your household registration and die.
......
When Meng Po asked him that question, Chang Jie's eyes were filled with grievance.
He was already listless, and now he felt even more like he was dying.
"Grandma, I saw a lot of eggs, all of them were eggs, and they were all bad eggs."
Meng Po: "......"
"You're truly a child who grew up in the master's arms; even the Three Lives Stone..."
"Alright, it's getting late, you can continue on your way."
"If you have time in the future, remember to come and visit this old woman often."
How could anyone disobey the Great Goddess Meng Po's command? After kowtowing three more times, they backed away from the area of the Bridge of Helplessness.
At the same time, the voice of the master rang in Zhao Youliang's ears.
"The path you chose is not easy to walk."
"I don't want to see you one day, only to find you're lining up to drink the soup of oblivion..."
With the instructions of the goddess Meng Po, Zhao Youliang and his group entered Fengdu City, the true capital of the dead.
All that could be seen were endless streams of ghosts, dressed in clothes from all sorts of dynasties, creating a vibrant and diverse scene.
Moreover, each of them maintained a ghostly appearance, just like their last moments before death, which frightened Zhao Youliang and Liao Zhiyuan to death upon first sight.
Especially when a little girl who looks like she's hanged herself grabs the two men with her long tongue sticking out, asking them to buy some steamed buns.
Zhao Youliang clearly saw that the girl's tongue was dangling from the steamed bun in the basket.
Besides the various kinds of ghosts who died in different ways, there are also many ghosts who are just like ordinary people.
His face was ashen, and he looked rather cold. He was wearing paper clothes that looked like cardboard.
Zhao Youliang knew that these were the original inhabitants of Fengdu City, that is, born ghosts, or the most primitive ghosts.
After strolling around the Grand View Garden like Granny Liu for a while, Zhao Youliang finally remembered his business.
"Xiao Liao, Brother Zhou was murdered. His soul should be in the City of the Wrongfully Dead, right?"
A wrongful death is not a natural death, but a death caused by suicide, disaster, war, accident, murder, or other reasons, in which the person dies unjustly.
The City of the Wrongfully Dead is where these souls reside in the underworld.
According to the description in the Hellish Book "Jade Calendar Treasure Book", it is a city created in Hell by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva for the ghosts who died from unjust calamities.
Located adjacent to the Bridge of Helplessness and the Bitter Realm of Blood Basin, the city of the unjustly dead is overseen by King Biancheng, the sixth of the Ten Kings of Hell.
Mentioning the name of King Biancheng made Zhao Youliang tremble with fear for a long time.
If I were to go to the City of the Wrongfully Dead, wouldn't it be like throwing a meat bun to a dog—gone and never to return?
Even if you're lucky enough to "turn yourself in," you'll still be tormented in hell for hundreds of years.
But since things have come to this, even if you're afraid, you have to bite the bullet and go for it. Hopefully, you won't run into any old acquaintances...
Just as Zhao Youliang was praying silently, he suddenly saw a group of ghosts surrounding him, pointing at the notice on the wall.
Driven by curiosity, Zhao Youliang and the others also squeezed over to watch.
Just then, one of the more cultured ghosts pointed at the notice and loudly read, "Wanted!"
"Two attendants from King Biancheng have been reincarnated without permission and have not yet returned..."
Furthermore, the wanted poster also features two portraits:
One of them was naturally Zhao Youliang, and the other was...
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