First encounter with Zhong Kui
Because Gu Lili was using Lord Guan Nan's teleportation system, she was directly teleported to the inner chamber of the Zhong Kui Hall. Yesterday, the judges had an internal dinner, and Lord Zhong Kui was still hungover. All the public relations staff who came to report earlier were kicked out. In the busy life of the underworld, it was rare to steal half a day of leisure.
"Lord Zhong Kui... Zhong Kui..."
"Uh...who are you?"
Zhong Kui, who was still half asleep, was so startled that he jumped out of bed and bounced a long way.
"Fortunately, I've always had the habit of wearing pajamas," Zhong Kui said, clutching his chest.
"Lord Zhong Kui, Lord Guan Nan has sent Lady Meng Po to retrieve the Netherfire and take away an evil spirit, to help..."
"You're granting wishes to the living again, aren't you? You must be the new Meng Po from the Underworld?"
Before Fangfangfang could finish speaking, Zhong Kui guessed her thoughts. After all, a thousand years ago, the previous Meng Po had done something similar, which caused a sensation throughout the entire underworld. Originally, there was a lot of underworld fire, but because one piece was lent out back then, he now has people carefully protecting the last piece of underworld fire. If the torture chamber didn't have this treasure, the evil souls sentenced to extinction could not be completely eliminated.
"I want it, I want it! I only have a tiny bit left. If I run out of this stuff, I'll have to go to the 19th floor and beg that big devil for it. Oh dear, I'm not going."
Zhong Kui waved his hand, as if he both loathed and feared something.
"What's on the 19th floor? Why is it making things so difficult for you?" Gu Lili asked curiously.
"The Ghost King, of course. This ancient Netherworld Ghost Fire is the Ghost King's origin, capable of burning away all living souls in the underworld. Even the gods of the Three Realms would be harmed if they were touched by it. Look, look, the one I sought two thousand years ago was still sprayed by that Ghost King. Luckily, I reacted quickly and only got a little bit scratched. Even so, it was Lord Guan Nan who helped me heal. Although it didn't spread, the wound still hasn't healed."
As Zhong Kui spoke, he showed the wound on his arm. Although it was only the size of a fingernail, it was still bleeding and had not healed.
“That Netherfire…” Gu Lili asked.
"Since Lord Guannan wants me to give him Netherfire, I have no choice but to comply. However, this year's Ghost Festival will require Lady Meng Po to go to the 19th floor to fetch some Netherfire. That old bachelor has been imprisoned for tens of thousands of years. Perhaps he will calm down when he sees a beautiful woman and be willing to give it to her."
Zhong Kui looked Gu Lili up and down carefully, then joked.
Zhong Kui's description of her as a beauty is indeed true. Although Gu Lili is used to being lazy, she is not unattractive. Even though she is still wearing the old clothes she wore when she died, and is delicate and slender with messy hair, it cannot hide her face that is attractive enough to make people's hearts flutter. Her bone structure is three-dimensional, her nose is high and straight, her lips are small and full, and her cheeks are still chubby with baby fat. However, she has a pair of eyes that are full of stories, deep, indifferent, and even somewhat world-weary, which makes her look sweet but unapproachable.
"good."
"Then come with me. The Netherfire is in the innermost room of the torture chamber, where death row inmates are held. Keep an eye on your Meng Po and don't frighten her."
Gu Lili readily agreed, catching Zhong Kui off guard. He had only intended to scare her and have some fun, but he never expected a girl to actually provoke the Ghost King. He didn't know what to say at the moment, so he could only give Fangfang a few instructions and then take her to get the Netherfire.
Eight hundred years ago, a public relations officer kidnapped a death row inmate who was guilty of heinous crimes and should have been executed for personal reasons. Since then, Lord Guannan has set up a barrier here to block teleportation spells. Even the judge can only enter on foot.
Following Zhong Kui's direction, one must pass through a dark and narrow corridor. On both sides of the corridor are individual prison cells, each containing various hideous evil spirits. In Gu Lili's mind, these evil spirits had committed too many sins in their lives, and after death they would surely suffer extreme punishment and would not be able to be reborn.
"If they accumulate enough points, can they also get their sentences reduced?"
Gu Lili, who had already walked out of the corridor, suddenly remembered something, turned back to look at the death row inmates, and then asked Fangfangfang, who was walking forward.
“Yes. At the points calculation point, evil spirits that should have perished may have their sentences reduced and be able to reincarnate in the six realms due to the points being offset,” Fangfangfang replied.
"Is that fair?" Gu Lili asked again.
"This is the law of Heaven. The place of punishment is just ahead. If Lady Meng Po feels scared, just close your eyes and hold onto my arm as we walk."
Fangfangfang turned around and responded to Gu Lili mechanically as always. In her opinion, the new Meng Po was nothing more than a scheming woman who used her beautiful appearance to bewitch Lord Guannan. If the former Meng Po could enjoy those benefits, Gu Lili would not be able to enjoy them today.
"Let's go."
Gu Lili didn't press the matter, her face darkened, and she quickly walked ahead of Fangfangfang.
Zhong Kui, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped and looked up. The sandalwood plaque clearly read "Punishment Ground".
"If you go any further in, you'll see the Netherfire, but do you know how to take it away? This ancient Netherfire is no ordinary thing. In the entire Underworld, only the Heavenly Realm's supreme treasure, the Xuanbing Lingyu Plate, can hold the Netherfire. It's the magical artifact currently used in the torture chamber to store the Netherfire. But I can't lend it to you. First, Heavenly Realm treasures cannot be lent out, and second, it has to be left to hold the remaining Netherfire."
"What did the previous Meng Po use?"
"It seems to be her own magical artifact or a spell. I have never seen such a thing in the underworld for thousands of years. It is a green ball that wraps up the Netherfire and she can take it away by holding it in her hand."
"It is the origin of Meng Po (the goddess of forgetfulness)."
After hearing Zhong Kui's description, Gu Lili remembered this thing; when Meng Po threw it at her, it was a dark green mass.
"I'll give it a try."
As Zhong Kui walked into the inner hall, in the dark room at the very center, a ball of ghostly green fire hung above a jade plate. Gu Lili closed her eyes, explored and activated her inner energy, and silently recited her thoughts. Her source energy emerged from her forehead and rushed straight towards the ghostly fire.
The will-o'-the-wisp, however, fearfully avoided Meng Po's source, darting left and right. Finally, after a series of entanglements, the source, as if having won a battle, proudly wrapped up a piece of will-o'-the-wisp and floated leisurely toward Gu Lili. Gu Lili stretched out her palm, and the source quietly floated on her palm, allowing her to carry it out of the torture chamber.
As they walked back to the cell they had just been in, Benyuan suddenly floated toward the cell on the right. Following the light, Gu Lili and the others saw Benyuan floating in front of an evil spirit. This spirit had a fierce look on its face and a ruthless gaze.
"It seems that the source has chosen him."
Gu Lili smiled indifferently and winked at Fang Fangfang. The other party obviously understood and led the evil spirit towards the exit.
"Thank you very much, Lord Zhong Kui. Now that we have obtained the evil spirit and the Netherfire, we will head back now."
Having completed their mission, Gu Lili exchanged a few polite words and left Zhong Kui's Palace with Fang Fangfang. Freed from the barrier's constraints, Fang Fangfang used teleportation to return the two, carrying the Netherfire and the evil spirits, to the Bridge of Helplessness. 389, who had been maintaining order in the Underworld, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the two finally return and went back to the soup pot to prepare soup for the remaining souls.
"Grandma, your wish will be granted soon, but we need to let the remaining souls drink the soup first. I'll accompany you later."
Gu Lili led No. 93 aside, explained everything, and indicated to No. 389 that they could continue distributing the Meng Po soup.
Number 94 slowly walked up to Gu Lili, but pushed the soup bowl aside.
"What? Number 94, do you also have unfulfilled wishes?"
“No, I have no wish, but after queuing together for so many years and hearing her talk about her longing, I want to see number 93 fulfill her wish. Girl, I'll just stand here and wait for you to come back and tell me about it. Tell me about the joy of number 93 reuniting with her family, tell me if her granddaughter is happy. I want to hear those happy stories.”
Number 94 was a dark-skinned, thin, and withered old man with a head of messy, tangled white hair, wearing a patched and tattered cotton shirt and trousers. On his feet, however, were a pair of plastic slippers, revealing dirty toes and unkempt, mud-covered nails. It was not hard to tell that he was probably a homeless old man who never had enough to eat before he was born.
"Then let's have number 95 come over."
Gu Lili didn't press No. 94 any further. To prevent another similar version of herself from appearing in the later groups, she could only speed up the process of distributing the soup and finish today's task ahead of schedule so that she could have time to take No. 93 to the real world.
"Lady Meng Po, I also want to wait for number 93."
"Lady Meng Po, we also want to..."
The group behind them murmured amongst themselves, as if they had discussed and agreed on a common goal: to cheer on number 93 and share in her joy.
"Alright, I'm not sure how long this trip will take. Since everyone wants to wait for a result, let's wait."
Gu Lili looked at the group and the souls of all living beings and said.
"Number 93, give Fangfangfang your granddaughter's name and date of birth. Let's begin."
Fangfangfang took out her phone, entered the information given by No. 93, and turned on full-screen projection. A huge light screen map stood upright in front of everyone, constantly jumping and flashing, searching for information about No. 93's granddaughter.
Ten years have passed since the old lady passed away. The underworld has kept up with the times and now has a dual system of spiritual power and technology. However, searching for information about a living person in the present world is beyond the jurisdiction of the underworld and is not easy.
"Found her, Lady Meng Po. The child is still in City A. Because she inherited some merit from No. 93, she received a huge sum of money from the demolition of her old house. She bought a new house and still has a lot left over, so she should be doing quite well. However, within my capabilities, I can no longer locate her specific activities in real time. Activating teleportation can only teleport her to her residence. Whether I can meet her or not depends on luck."
“Mother-in-law, I have already spoken with our leader. You can still be reincarnated according to the original plan after you finish this visit. However, regardless of whether you get what you want or not, you must come back when the time comes, understand?”
Number 95 was a little excited and nervously rubbed his fingers together as he said, "Yes, sir, I understand. I will follow the rules."
"Alright, that's enough. 389 stays to maintain order in the Underworld. Fangfangfang, take number 93 with you. Let's begin."
Fangfangfang nodded and led the evil spirit to the gates of hell. Gu Lili frowned slightly and threw the Netherfire onto the evil spirit. No matter how much the evil spirit struggled and cursed, it was to no avail. The Netherfire, as if alive, devoured the evil spirit until it was completely burned away, at which point the Netherfire hovered in the air again. Gu Lili then summoned her primordial energy, enveloped it, and swallowed it into her own consciousness.
While her actions appeared fluid and seamless, Gu Lili's hands were actually trembling the entire time. Although it wasn't killing, the feeling of this first time slaying a soul was truly unpleasant.
Suddenly, a dark cloud and lightning flashed, and the Gates of Hell appeared. Gu Lili stood in front of the door and gently pushed it open. With a creak, the door opened from the inside out.
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