Chapter 258 I'm going to Fengdu with Old Zhang too! (Meng Po VS Senior Brother)
Upon hearing this, Zhang Qingyuan's eyes instantly lit up like two small lanterns, and without any hesitation, he nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice.
"I'm willing! I'm willing to go!"
His voice rose slightly with excitement, drawing sidelong glances from the guests at the next table.
He immediately realized his lapse in composure and quickly lowered his voice, but the excitement on his face was impossible to hide:
"It is an immense honor to be able to go to Fengdu to observe and learn! I will certainly do my best to offer any suggestions!"
Just then, the waiters began to serve the dishes.
Exquisite local specialties filled the table with their fragrant aromas and enticing colors.
Lin Yanxin panicked when she saw that Zhang Qingyuan was about to be taken to Fengdu, and that she would be left alone in the empty Xujing Temple.
Taking advantage of the waiter's pause in serving the food, before he even had a chance to pick up his chopsticks, he protested to Shen Yuepo:
"Little Moon! This arrangement is unreasonable! You've gotten rid of Old Zhang, who's going to look after the Taoist temple? Such a big Xujing Temple can't just be empty!"
Shen Yuepo glanced at him, slowly picked up a piece of stir-fried river shrimp with her chopsticks, and said indifferently:
“Senior brother, Fellow Daoist Zhang came to the Taoist temple to help out, not to sell himself into the service of Xujing Temple. The daily maintenance of the Taoist temple is our duty.”
"I...you..." Lin Yanxin was speechless for a moment.
Feng Jin seemed completely detached from the whole affair, ignoring their argument.
He picked up a small soup bowl, carefully skimmed off the oil from the rich, milky-white ham and chicken soup in the center, filled the bowl to the brim, and placed it beside Shen Yuepo.
Meng Guichen took in the whole scene. Under the table, she nudged Shen Tu's toes with her toes.
Shen Tu received the signal and reacted extremely quickly.
He immediately picked up the soup bowl in front of him and, imitating Feng Jin, ladled out a bowl of soup with slightly exaggerated but sufficiently attentive movements.
Then she pushed it in front of Meng Guichen and said in a loud voice, "Guichen, have a bowl of soup too, to warm yourself up!"
His tone and expression were exactly like those of a loving and considerate boyfriend.
Lin Yanxin: "..."
He watched as Meng Guichen readily accepted Shen Tu's attentiveness, even returning Shen Tu's charming smile with his profile. He felt a tightness in his throat and a suffocating tightness in his chest.
All the words he had just prepared to refute Shen Yuepo were instantly stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.
The once fragrant chicken soup now smelled sour and astringent.
An eerie silence fell over the dining table for a moment, broken only by the soft clinking of dishes.
After a long pause, Lin Yanxin seemed to have finally found her voice, though it sounded somewhat hoarse and carried a hint of desperation:
"No way!" He put down his chopsticks and said seriously, "I'm going to Fengdu with Old Zhang too!"
He quickly made excuses for himself, his eyes darting around: "I... my soul is still damaged and hasn't fully recovered. If I stay behind at the Taoist temple alone and something goes wrong, wouldn't that just cause you trouble?"
"Besides, it's such a joyous occasion as your wedding. As your senior brother, how could I not go and help with the arrangements? It's only right and proper that I go!"
As he spoke, he turned to Zhang Qingyuan beside him, "Old Zhang, don't you think so? If we're together, we can look after each other, right?"
Zhang Qingyuan was holding a crab meat lion's head meatball when he heard this and paused for a moment.
He glanced at Lin Yanxin, who had a "I'm very reliable" look on her face, and then at Meng Guichen, who had a half-smile on his face across from him.
A vague "I understand" expression appeared on his honest face, and he nodded:
"Ah...yes, Fellow Daoist Lin is right. We should look out for each other, look out for each other..."
“Then let’s all go.” Shen Yuepo made the final decision, a smile playing in his eyes.
Lin Yanxin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt somewhat aggrieved.
He could only channel his grief and anger into his appetite, viciously scooping up the plate of what looked like the most expensive dish—crab roe and rice—and devouring it.
Meng Guichen elegantly scooped up the soup served by Shen Tu, took a sip, and winked at Shen Tu.
Shen Tu responded with a raised eyebrow, as if the mission was accomplished, his red hair seemingly swaying triumphantly under the light.
After the group had eaten and drunk their fill, they left the restaurant.
Feng Jin simply raised his hand and made a sweeping motion in the air at the quiet street corner.
A ghostly passage opened silently, emanating a chilling aura that subtly mingled with the cold winter air of the human world.
"Let's go." Feng Jin took Chen Yuepo's hand and stepped in first.
Zhang Qingyuan took a deep breath and followed closely behind with a pilgrimage-like feeling. Lin Yanxin pursed her lips, but also quickly followed.
Meng Guichen and Shen Tu exchanged a glance, the latter shrugged, and the two of them stepped in one after the other.
Once the passage closes, the spatial transformation happens in an instant.
When they stepped out again, they were standing in the outer plaza of the underworld.
In stark contrast to the desolate and chilly winter night I had arrived in, the sky above Fengdu was an eternal, deep darkness, but not a pure darkness.
Above the sky, the dark blue River Styx flows, slowly rotating like a living thing, enveloping the entire underworld.
In the distance, the majestic, sprawling palaces appeared and disappeared under the starlight, their eaves soaring upwards, a masterpiece of nature, incomparable to any other building on earth.
In the square, the ghost messengers and underworld officials, who had already sensed the Emperor's return, quickly stood respectfully to the sides with their hands at their sides.
This was Zhang Qingyuan's first time entering the Netherworld, and the scene before him completely exceeded all his imagination and the ancient records he had read.
He felt his breath catch in his throat, his heart pounding, and he instinctively followed Shen Yuepo half a step behind, his eyes wide open, observing every detail with almost greedy intent.
"It's...it's unbelievable..." he murmured excitedly, his voice trembling slightly. "The 'Tales of the Underworld' and the 'Map of Fengdu' are not even a fraction of what I've seen with my own eyes! The Dao is naturally formed, and its laws are self-evident..."
He was so shocked that his hands and feet became stiff and uncoordinated when he walked, and he almost moved his hands and feet together.
In contrast, Lin Yanxin showed no appreciation whatsoever.
From the moment he stepped out of the passage, his attention was completely focused on the two people beside him…
No, they were two ghosts, pinned down.
Meng Guichen naturally turned slightly to the side, raised his hand and pointed to a palace at the far end of the square that was particularly conspicuous under the starlight. He was saying something to Shen Tu beside him, with a slight smile on his lips.
Shen Tu tilted his head, looking like he was listening attentively.
The fiery red hair, illuminated by the ghostly blue starlight, did not appear out of place at all; rather, it possessed a strange harmony.
He nodded in agreement from time to time, a smile playing on his lips.
The two stood very close, their postures familiar, making them particularly conspicuous against the solemn backdrop.
Feng Jin seemed somewhat impatient with the group of followers behind him, each with their own agendas. He didn't even turn his head, only speaking indifferently:
"Shen Tu, I'm leaving these two people to you."
Without waiting for a response, she took Shen Yuepo's hand, and the two of them disappeared from the spot in an instant, their figures rippled slightly like water.
Only the ghosts, bowing respectfully in the square, and the two people staring at each other in bewilderment remained.
Shen Tu, who had been called out, coughed lightly, instantly adopting the airs of the Eastern Ghost Emperor, and turned to Zhang Qingyuan and Lin Yanxin, speaking politely:
"You two are from the Empress's family and have come from afar. There are several quiet and elegant guest houses near my temple, with complete facilities and quite unique scenery. How about staying there for the time being?"
"It's not too far from the imperial palace, and it's convenient to travel to and from it."
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