Chapter 109 Netherworld 1 Making a Fortune
Xu Xing looked at the ghost in front of him, who was eating without even looking up, with a complicated expression. From the few words he managed to utter between wolfing down his food, he learned that the other person was named Su Jing, who had come to the Naihe Bridge to watch the excitement and happened to run into Xu Xing and Shen Du, who had been teleported to the Ghost Realm.
Xu Xing was quite surprised that the ghost clan had descendants. It turned out that this "ghost" was not the same as the ghosts that people thought humans became after death.
No one knows how he smelled the food in his backpack, and somehow it turned into a situation where Xu Xing and Shen Du were watching Su Jing eat.
"Waaah! It's so delicious! It's so delicious!"
The ghost realm naturally has food, but this is a barren land. Even if fresh fruits and vegetables can be grown, the ghosts cannot taste them. But today, he actually tasted the wonderful flavor of food for the first time in his life!
Su Jing thought with emotion: This must be the fresh, fragrant, spicy and numbing flavor that Master Xu described!
If it weren't for the fact that ghosts don't have tears, Su Jing would already be weeping bitterly. He licked the empty bowl, wiped his mouth, and looked at Xu Xing with hesitant eyes, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
His skin was a pale, stiff white, as if it had never seen the sun. His exposed cheeks and the backs of his hands had dark green markings. Around his neck was a necklace made of copper coins and broken teeth-like ornaments, which made a crisp clinking sound from time to time with his movements.
He should have had a gloomy appearance that kept strangers at bay, but Su Jingsheng had a pair of innocent big eyes that made people feel no fear when they looked at him.
Seeing that he still looked like he hadn't had enough, Xu Xing wisely handed him another pot of boiled fish.
“Su…” Xu Xing thought for a moment, then felt that it was not appropriate to ask for fellow Daoist Su Jing. Su Jing clearly looked like a pampered young master, so he tentatively asked, “Young Master Su, I wonder what kind of excitement is there to see on the Bridge of Helplessness?”
Su Jing took a moment to look up from the basin, which was bigger than his face, and gestured with his lips in a certain direction. "These past few days, there have been quite a few new souls whose causes of death are unknown. Father sent the Underworld Guards to investigate, and I sneaked over here."
Father?
Xu Xing and Shen Du exchanged a glance. Although they had been inexplicably teleported to the Netherworld, their luck seemed to be not too bad. They had actually encountered a ghost of extraordinary status in the Netherworld, and he seemed quite easy to get information out of him.
"Young Master Su, please eat slowly. I have plenty more here."
Xu Xing smiled even more gently, not only "generously" taking out fresh meat buns, roasted rabbit legs and other food he had stocked in his backpack, but also bringing out two jars of plum wine he had brewed last time.
Su Jing had just taken a sip of wine when his eyes lit up. "This! Could this be the legendary wine?!"
Xu Xing finally realized something was wrong. Although he didn't know what the Ghost Realm was like, it couldn't be so barren that it didn't even have spirit wine, could it?
Shen Du transmitted his voice: "I've heard that the spirits that people turn into after death cannot taste anything, and perhaps the ghost race is the same."
As for why this demon could taste the flavor of the food Xu Xing prepared...
Chen Du lowered his eyes. His junior sister was always different from ordinary people, both in terms of the alchemical artifacts she used and the dishes she made.
"How much food do you have left? Especially this wine, I'll take it all! My father will definitely praise me greatly when he finds out about this!"
Su Jing's pale face flushed red. He hiccuped, his eyes glazed over, and tugged at Xu Xing's sleeve before tilting his head and slamming it heavily onto the table.
"Young Master Su?"
"No way, he got drunk after just a couple of sips of fruit wine?" Xu Xing secretly regretted giving him the wine; she hadn't even finished gathering her information yet!
Xu Xing was about to wake Su Jing when she felt a chill all over her body, as if something had enveloped them. She looked down and saw that Su Jing was shrouded in a tangible black shadow, which quickly disappeared.
Shen Du had already drawn his longsword and swung it in a certain direction, but the sword light disappeared without a trace as if it had entered another space.
Before losing consciousness, Xu Xing thought to himself, "I really shouldn't have judged people by their appearance. I'm really in trouble now..."
The Prince of Youdu's Palace.
King You frowned as he looked at his subordinates' report on the sudden congestion at the Naihe Bridge. Recently, new souls of the four races of demons, monsters, beastmen, and humans had died for unknown reasons. Could it be that a great war was about to break out?
However, the demons who reside in the outside world did not detect any unusual signs. Strange...
"Father! Father!"
Suddenly, Su Jing's loud shouts came from outside, getting closer and closer, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared outside the door.
King You put down the document, waved his sleeve to open the barrier, and looked at his excited youngest son. He pressed his temples helplessly, "What is it now?"
Su Jing remained silent and, without saying a word, stuffed the meat bun he had left over into his father's mouth.
King You slammed his hand on the table, his eyes widening as he was about to reprimand someone when he realized the taste in his mouth was off. He subconsciously chewed it, then chewed it again.
"..."
After eating half a steamed bun, King You immediately grabbed his son's hand and asked anxiously, "Where did this steamed bun come from?!"
Su Jing smiled smugly, "Isn't it delicious? This is the first time in my life I've ever eaten anything flavorful! She even gave me boiled fish, and it was spicy!"
That brat, all he knows is eating!
King You looked at him with exasperation, "Didn't you notice that the Netherworld power within your body is slowly increasing?"
This food is not only delicious, but it is also beneficial to the demons!
"Huh?" Su Jing scratched his face blankly; he really hadn't noticed.
However, it was quite delicious. Not only Su Jing, but even King You had never tasted the food.
After smacking his lips twice and savoring the moment, King You finally asked, "Where is the person who gave you the gift?"
"Oh, I accidentally passed out just now, and they were taken away by the Underworld Guards. They should be in Purgatory now."
Su Jing suddenly shouted, finally realizing that if he didn't go to save the person, he might never be able to eat such a delicious meal again.
That's hell!
"Master, Master, wake up..."
When Xu Xing was awakened by Yin Xue, he found himself trapped in a lava cage, and his senior brother was not by his side.
"Senior brother?"
Xu Xing tentatively tried to communicate telepathically, and quickly received a reply from his senior brother: "I'm here, where are you?"
"There's lava everywhere here, it looks like..."
Xu Xing's voice trailed off as she saw several gray figures throw a few ghostly spirits into a towering, enormous cauldron of fire. A flash of sparks appeared at the cauldron's mouth, and the ghostly spirits were instantly refined, emitting a terrifying hissing sound.
Xu Xing swallowed hard and muttered, "No way..."
If she were thrown in there, she would probably disintegrate even faster than these ghosts.
"I'll be right there!"
Worried about Xu Xing's situation, Shen Du disregarded everything else and pinned the guarding ghost to the spot with his sword, demanding to know the location of the lava cage.
"Report! A human has caused chaos in Purgatory!"
When King You and Su Jing arrived at Purgatory, they saw the Purgatory Guards surrounding two cultivators, a man and a woman, who were clearly still alive.
Xu Xing was about to escape with the help of Nan Ye's abilities from her senior brother when she saw the gray shadows that had attacked them earlier reappear. She knew something was wrong, but then the shadows suddenly dispersed.
King You waved his hand sternly, "Stop! This is my honored guest!"
Oh dear! It's all a misunderstanding!
Su Jing jogged forward and gave Xu Xing an awkward smile. "The Underworld Guards thought I had food poisoning, which is why they locked you up."
After he sobered up, he was so busy showing the treasure to his father that he almost forgot about them.
"..."
Guests have arrived at the Prince You's residence! This is a once-in-a-millennium event!
After racking their brains to come up with a way to entertain guests, several underworld guards washed some moldy teacups and poured in water that had just been scooped up from the River Styx. Finally, they set up a table of "tea" in front of Xu Xing and Shen Du in a proper manner.
Looking at the dark green liquid in the glass, Xu Xing silently looked away.
"It's been many years since any living person has entered the underworld; it's truly a rare occurrence."
King You sat at the head of the table, looking Xu Xing and Shen Du up and down. His attitude was quite gentle. "Young friend, I wonder where the food you gave my son earlier came from?"
Xu Xing couldn't figure out what they were up to, and since he couldn't escape anyway, he simply said, "I did it."
"Great! That's wonderful!"
King You slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair, trying to make his eyes appear less eager. "To be honest, we in the Netherworld need someone like you!"
Where have I heard this before?
Xu Xing was unwittingly treated as an honored guest by King You, and under the persuasion of King You and Su Jing, he agreed to make a batch of food and wine to sell to them.
That night, Xu Xing tossed and turned on his bed, then suddenly sat up. "Something's not right!"
Shen Du, who was meditating, opened her eyes, thinking that she had discovered that King You actually had other plans, and asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong?"
Xu Xing touched the top-grade nanmu wood beneath him, which was said to be the most suitable material for making coffins, and pondered deeply, "The price was too low."
This Prince You's mansion looks even richer than Shui Yunxian's!
To avoid Yu Jingzi, Xu Xing and Shen Du temporarily stayed at the Youwang Mansion. She spent her days wandering around Youdu with Su Jing, taking the opportunity to learn a lot of little-known information about the ghost realm.
The souls of the four races of demons, monsters, beasts, and humans all enter the Netherworld after death and are governed by the Netherworld Capital. Those burdened by karma and burdened with sins must be punished to cleanse their sins before they can enter the Reincarnation Platform and be reborn.
Many spirits are unwilling to reincarnate and can continue to live in the underworld. These remaining spirits are what most people think of as "ghosts".
But the true ghosts of the underworld are not spirits; they are neither born nor die, only perish.
Aside from having paler skin, the appearance of the demons is not much different from that of ordinary people, but Shen Du guessed correctly that these demons cannot taste anything at all.
Not only food, but also the elixirs taken by the other four races were useless to them.
Upon hearing Su Jing mention elixirs, Xu Xing immediately had an idea. Her dishes were all made using the [Cooking] skill. If the dishes were effective against the Ghost Clan, then what about elixirs?
"Come on, open your mouth."
Su Jing turned around and obediently opened her mouth. Xu Xing quickly flicked a elixir into her mouth. "Try it, is it good?"
"..."
Su Jing's face immediately scrunched up like a bitter gourd, "Bitter..."
After realizing what he had just tasted, he suddenly opened his eyes wide in amazement, "Ah! So this is what bitterness tastes like? I want more!"
Xu Xing sighed inwardly, thinking how pathetic it was that even bitterness was something they liked.
However, this also means that a big business opportunity is coming your way!
Compared to cooking, making pills is much faster and more convenient; she can quickly refine a large batch!
Xu Xing fed him a third-tier Spirit Gathering Pill, so Su Jing quickly noticed that the Netherworld Power within his body had increased. He belatedly looked at Xu Xing, his big eyes flashing with disbelief.
"Could it be..."
Xu Xing smiled and gently shushed, raising his index finger. "Looks like we have another business deal to discuss."
After King You learned of this, Xu Xing successfully sold all the Spirit Gathering Pills he had stockpiled in his backpack, even selling the most ordinary first-tier Spirit Gathering Pills for a high price of twenty mid-grade spirit stones per bottle.
King You was so moved that he wanted to hold Xu Xing's hand... but he couldn't. He had to suppress his excitement and said to Xu Xing, "From now on, Fairy Xu will be an honored guest of Youdu. This is the Youming Token. From now on, no matter where you are, you can enter the Youming at any time."
He also generously gifted Xu Xing several kinds of fire seeds that only the Netherworld possessed, making the deal a success for both the seller and the buyer.
Xu Xing lay contentedly in the pile of spirit stones, then turned to look at Chen Du, "Senior Brother, why don't we hold off on leaving for now?"
Shen Du looked down at her and said, "There is no spiritual energy in the Ghost Realm. We can only rely on pills to maintain our cultivation. This will be detrimental to our health in the long run."
Xu Xing was just saying that she couldn't contact the outside world in the Ghost Realm and didn't even know if her master had returned. She couldn't stay in the Ghost Realm forever.
However, the feeling of making money was so wonderful that she almost forgot about Yu Jingzi's threat.
Having received his father's order to treat Xu Xing well, Su Jing happily continued to take Xu Xing shopping.
Shen Du followed the two at a distance that was neither too close nor too far. He knew that although he could not see, there were always underworld guards watching him from all sides.
The technique of the Underworld Guardian, which allowed him to hide in the darkness and become a shadow, was indeed exquisite. He observed it for a long time and quietly learned a few moves, which unexpectedly improved his own concealment skills considerably.
Because of Xu Xing's relationship with him, King You treated him quite well. Shen Du took out an item from Feng Zhun and asked King You to investigate it.
As expected, it was learned that Feng Zhun had never appeared in the Netherworld, and the only explanation was that he was truly not dead.
Xu Xing began to have the thought that she didn't want to leave this place, and Shen Du naturally understood her thoughts.
Once they leave, countless mysteries and enemies await them. Their time in the ghost realm is a rare period of leisure for the two of them...
Youdu has many markets, just as bustling as the outside world, and even has quite a few restaurants.
Many spirits often buy food and wine to entertain themselves, even though they can't taste the food, it's a way for them to remember the past.
"Look, that's the biggest restaurant in Youdu. The dishes there look amazing!"
Su Jing, with a candied hawthorn skewer Xu Xing had made for him dangling from his mouth, gestured with his chin toward a grand four-story restaurant.
Upon seeing Su Jing, the restaurant manager greeted him warmly, "What would the little prince like to order today?"
"Today, I, Xiao Wang, would like to invite distinguished guests!"
Su Jing waved his hand and said generously, "Bring one of everything!"
Suddenly, a gray shadow appeared behind him, extending a gray mist-like hand to present the shopkeeper with many "Nether Stones." These stones have similar effects to spirit stones and only exist in the Netherworld.
Even though he had witnessed it twice, Xu Xing was still startled by the way these underworld guards appeared so stealthily.
Soon, the innkeeper personally brought out one fancy dish after another.
"Little Prince, look, this is the newly developed 'Fire Dance Dragon'!"
This is a plate of bright red, unidentified sticky substance arranged in a curved, long strip.
"This is the song of the ocean!"
This is a dish of blue, fish-scale-shaped food.
"A timely snowfall promises a bountiful harvest!"
A clump of white, still wriggling, gelatinous substance.
"..."
Looking at the colorful dishes on the table, Xu Xing couldn't help but cast a sympathetic glance at Su Jing. It turned out that these dishes were really only for looking at and not for eating.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Su Jing said proudly.
"……nice."
"So, can we start eating now?" Su Jing grinned at her suggestively.
Having earned a large sum of spirit stones from the Youwang Mansion, Xu Xing generously brought out a top-level banquet that he had prepared using his [Cooking] skill.
The room was instantly filled with fragrance. The innkeeper, who had left the private room, sniffed and immediately began to search for the source of the aroma.
The other ghosts in the restaurant also started asking what new dishes the restaurant had come up with that made them able to smell the aroma.
Finally, all the ghosts gathered outside the private room, greedily sucking in the tempting aroma through the cracks. They were anxious but dared not go in.
Of course, with the guards of the Underworld, they couldn't get in at all. They could only wait anxiously for the little prince to come out, hoping that he could at least give them a few scraps of food!
"Why don't you try these dishes? They're all the restaurant's signature dishes." Su Jing, unaware that the private room was already surrounded by ghosts, didn't forget to push the "good-looking" dishes towards Xu Xing while engrossed in eating.
Xu Xing forced a smile, suppressing the churning in her stomach. "No need, I'm not hungry."
A faint smile appeared in Shen Du's eyes as he subtly cast a spell on Xu Xing, replacing the strangely shaped food with a table full of spirit stones.
Xu Xing felt much better and quietly squeezed Chen Du's hand.
"We often hear newly deceased ghosts scolding us ghosts who come to the restaurant to order food for being pretentious!"
The spirits, at least, had tasted the flavors of food in their previous lives, while the ghosts had never experienced the joys and sorrows of life. Some spirits even considered themselves superior to the ghosts. Of course, in the end, they were all dealt with by the ghosts and learned who the real boss of the underworld was.
Su Jing and Xu Xing complained, "You don't know, some of the new souls are really annoying. They probably weren't well-liked in life either."
"Why bother with them?" Xu Xing smiled. "We've only been here once, so let's just be happy."
It's already pitiful that they can't taste it, but it's good enough if they can at least see it.
Su Jing chuckled, "That's what Master Xu said too."
"Master Xu?"
Xu Xing suddenly had a strange feeling, and she subconsciously asked a question.
"Yes, Father said he is stubborn and unwilling to let go of his obsession with reincarnation, so he can only stay in the Yellow Springs forever."
Su Jing, his mouth greasy with food, mumbled, "But he's a very nice person, unlike other ghosts. I sometimes go to talk to him and listen to him talk about things in the human world."
"He was a doctor when he was alive. He knew a lot. My father asked him to teach me to read."
Xu Xing's heart was pounding faster and faster. She could hear her own anxious voice trembling, "What's his name?"
Su Jing wiped his mouth. "Hmm, let me think... it seems so..."
"Xu Zhen?"
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Author's Note: Thank you to Sleep a Little Longer, Sweet-Eating Rabbit, 44201549, Happy Meow, Jade, Zhiyi, Dream Seeker, and Ice Cream Black Tea for the nutrient solution! =3= [Hugs]
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