Mengli
Gu Lili swiftly bypassed the two frozen figures and stood in front of them.
"Oh, Lady Meng Po, if you want to show off, you should at least see if you have the ability. You want to start a fight and make Steward Bai give up his position? Hahahaha, that's hilarious."
Seeing this, the skinny PR guy walked up to Gu Lili, looked her up and down, then turned back to chat and laugh with Bai Muyu, completely ignoring her.
Gu Lili's face darkened, and she glared at the two of them with a fierce look.
"Heh, why are you looking at me like that, Meng Po? Do you have the ability to save them? Or are you planning to go to Guan Nan and whine and complain about me?" Bai Muyu sneered and mocked.
"You'll see what I'm capable of once you try."
Gu Lili closed her eyes and tried to summon her primordial essence. Now that the essence had been awakened and transformed into Qinglian, sensing its master's anger and summons, it burst forth from between her brows. A portion of it gradually transformed into a sharp longsword, which Gu Lili gripped tightly in her hand. The rest gradually unfolded, like a soft armor enveloping Gu Lili, causing her entire being to radiate a ghostly green glow.
“This is…” Bai Muyu frowned: “How did you…?”
Before she could even remember what it was, the skinny PR guy had already grabbed the magic weapon and slashed at Gu Lili.
"If that's the case, then you shall die." Gu Lili slowly opened her eyes, and the long sword in her hand instantly burst into flames. Without the slightest hesitation, the owner of the long sword stabbed it into the chest of the skinny PR guy.
"Aa ...
The fireflies on the sword, the moment they pierced the opponent's body, were like firewood studded with sawdust, fiercely burning the skinny monkey's body. Accompanied by the opponent's screams, the flames spread throughout his entire body. In just a moment, the once arrogant and proud Bai family PR man had turned into a handful of Bai family ashes.
"Stop!! Netherworld Fire!!! How can you control Netherworld Fire!!" Bai Muyu shouted.
"Why don't you try it yourself and you'll see why I can do it."
Gu Lili's eyes were filled with eerie green, and she had clearly lost her mind. She swung her long sword and was about to stab Bai Muyu. Seeing that the situation was not good, Bai Muyu quickly made a hand seal to activate the teleportation. However, before the teleportation could start, Gu Lili grabbed her arm and threw her out. She slid for a while and finally crashed heavily onto the stone pier in front of the Naihe Bridge.
"You...you do you know who I am? If you mess with me, you'll never have a good life." Bai Muyu tried to stand up, but her spirit seemed to be severely damaged and completely out of her control. She could only forcefully raise her head and yell at Gu Lili, who was walking towards her.
Gu Lili sneered, gripped her long sword, and walked towards the Bridge of Helplessness. The sword energy carved a deep trench in the ground, and the divine mark between her brows gradually appeared: "Why don't you take a look at who I am first?"
Just as the longsword was about to strike Bai Muyu, a crack appeared in the air, from which several golden runes intertwined and rushed out to bind Gu Lili: "Calm down, Meng Po."
The moment Gu Lili's divine hairpin appeared, it quietly faded away, and the eerie green in her eyes gradually disappeared. Until the Spirit Binding Curse firmly bound her, she finally couldn't hold on any longer and fainted.
When she woke up again, Gu Lili was already lying on the bed in Meng Po's Residence. She didn't know how much time had passed, only that she had summoned her source and was fighting with Bai Muyu.
"389, are you there?" Gu Lili called out tentatively.
“Sir, I’m here, I’m here.” 389 responded and hurriedly ran down from the second floor, kneeling down in front of Gu Lili’s bed.
"Where's Fangfang? Is she alright? How did we get back?"
"We're all alright, sir. Just now... it was quite scary. Lord Guannan came and lifted the immobilization spell, and told us to take you back to Meng Po's Residence."
"What about Bai Muyu?"
"Heh, that green tea bitch was taken back to Guannan Palace by Lord Guannan to heal her injuries. She might have done it on purpose," 389 said sullenly.
"Intentionally what?"
"She deliberately provoked you to hurt her, just to gain Lord Guannan's sympathy. That's how it's always portrayed in TV dramas." 389 pouted, rolled her eyes, and asked with concern, "But sir, are you alright? Lord Guannan said it's normal for you to faint, but I'm still a little worried because Sister Fangfang said that the Netherfire is terrifying... If you keep it inside your body, it might damage your primordial spirit."
"Yes, I also want to return the Netherfire, but I have tried several times and I have been unable to separate the Netherfire from its origin."
"Did you talk to Lord Guan Nan about it? Maybe he has a solution?"
Gu Lili wanted to go see him, but when she thought about how he had taken Bai Muyu away, she said stubbornly, "No, I have another way."
"What about number 302?" Gu Lili asked immediately afterward.
"Because of Bai Muyu's accident, Fangfangfang was sent to take No. 302 to the Special Management Office of the Dead, and she has not returned yet."
Gu Lili nodded: "Yes, I want to sleep a little longer."
There was no reply from the other party. Gu Lili vaguely felt the blanket being tucked in, followed by a series of very light footsteps. Then the room returned to silence, and Gu Lili fell asleep.
………
The next day, the two arrived at the Yellow Springs early in the morning. Gu Lili, as usual, prepared a double dose of Meng Po soup.
"389, I'm still feeling a bit unwell, I want to go back and rest."
"Ah, then you go ahead. I'll serve them soup. If there are any special spirits, I'll make them wait for you until tomorrow."
"Okay, tell Fangfangfang in a bit too, I want to sleep a little longer, and don't call me for dinner tonight."
"Alright...get some rest."
Seeing that the other person was a little worried, Gu Lili raised an eyebrow and added, "I've already adapted to the environment and want to slack off a bit."
Then the other person immediately understood, nodding with a beaming smile.
"They're gone."
Gu Lili waved her hand and walked towards the outside of the Yellow Springs, but after leaving the Yellow Springs, she took the opposite route from Meng Po's residence.
"My lord, where are you going?" Qinglian asked in her divine sense.
Gu Lili didn't rush to reply. Instead, she found a quiet corner to sit down, closed her eyes, hugged her knees, and leaned against the wall as if taking a nap. Then she entered her own spiritual realm.
"My lord, you can now freely enter the spiritual realm! My lord is amazing! Hehe, even spiritual power that has been sealed for thousands of years can be quickly restored and used."
When Qinglian saw Gu Lili suddenly appear in the secret realm, she ran up to greet her. Her light blue gauze dress fluttered in the wind, making her look extremely light and lovely.
"I want to go to the 19th floor and take a look," Gu Lili said, getting straight to the point without responding to the other person's flattery.
“The 19th floor has always been a forbidden area of the underworld. You can only sneak in on the Ghost Festival each time.”
“Ever since you appeared, something there seems to be calling to me. And the Netherfire in the source cannot be separated; I always feel that the reason lies there.”
"Did you remember something? I have returned to you some of the memories and magic that you had stored with me. It's just that you have been gone for too long, and your memories have been scattered into fragments. You are probably still piecing them together."
"Do you have a way to take me to the 19th floor? Zhong Kui said that Guan Nan set up a seal there, so the PR people can't teleport there."
“I can take you there, but those seals in Guannan are child’s play for you. Alas, my lord, your soup is too potent. After this bowl, you really don’t remember anything. However, your mind-reading ability has been restored, and all your magical powers should be recovering as well. I hope your memories will be restored soon. I also want to know why you suddenly left back then, and why you haven’t returned for a thousand years.”
Seeing Qinglian start to feel sentimental again, Gu Lili quickly interrupted her: "Then what kind of magic do I know?"
Qinglian paused for a moment: "Well... as far as I know, there are mind-reading spells, imprisonment spells, barrier spells, and soul-summoning spells... but for now, you can just tell me to do these minor spells. Actually, I'm just your spirit."
"A spirit?"
"Hmm... It's like being a worker in the human world. You are the boss. You give the orders, and I do them because I have long been integrated with your origin over the past few thousand years."
"Alright, Qinglian, take me to the 19th floor."
"Alright, stand firm."
Gu Lili was amused by Qing Lian: "Your dialect... is surprisingly standard."
Just as Qinglian was about to make a hand seal, she put her hand down again: "Hey, more than fifty years ago, there was a pure-blooded ghost from old Beijing who loved to chat with his former Meng Po while waiting in line. He wouldn't drink the soup, but would just sit under the bridge and watch his former Meng Po smile every day, and would always tell her interesting stories from the human world."
"Won't the former Meng Po get annoyed? I remember when I was in line, the former Meng Po seemed to be very hostile."
"It was so annoying. At first, it was incredibly annoying, but that person was a shameless guy. He said his wish was to spend more time with Meng Po, that making soup every day was too hard and boring, and that he wanted to see Meng Po smile. In the end, he begged and pleaded and reached an agreement with the former Meng Po."
"What agreement?"
“Let him stay in the underworld for 30 days. When the time is up, he will drink the soup and be reincarnated.”
"And then what?"
Qinglian: "Later, Meng Po did smile. It was probably around that time that she developed self-awareness. I also find it strange that a wisp of a soul could develop intelligence."
"That old Beijinger didn't want to be reincarnated, but when the higher-ups found out about it, they ordered that he either drink the soup to be reincarnated or be taken to a special place for the treatment of the dead. Helpless, Meng Po tricked the man into drinking the soup and being reincarnated."
"Since then, Meng Po has become melancholy and always wants to go to the human world to see what it's like. But she's imprisoned in the underworld to brew soup, so her resentment has grown stronger and stronger. It wasn't until you appeared that she was able to escape her predicament. I reckon she probably wants to go find that old Beijinger."
Gu Lili recalled the scene of her first meeting with the former Meng Po: "But she drank the soup, so how could she still remember old Beijing?"
"I don't know about that. But logically, you should find her. I feel that your spiritual power and memories are incomplete. Could it be related to the fact that you are missing a wisp of your remnant soul?"
"I don't know either. Let's go to the 19th floor and see if I can remember anything. Let's put the matter of the previous Meng Po aside for now."
"Yes, Lady Meng Po."
Qinglian formed hand seals and closed her eyes, and a fluorescent green light screen spun around and enveloped the two of them.
Unlike Fangfangfang's ordinary teleportation, Qinglian's array was extremely domineering. A strong sense of weightlessness came over her. Gu Lili held her breath and concentrated, her hands slightly clenching. When the two of them stood up again, the light screen gradually dissipated, leaving only a dark and deathly silence around them.
Qinglian raised her hand, and her essence transformed into a searchlight, which hovered beside the two of them, instantly illuminating the dark space. However, apart from the walls, there was nothing around them, no decorations, as if the space was still.
Suddenly, Gu Lili felt a surge of heat in her consciousness. As if summoned, the Netherfire was frantically crashing against the seal within her consciousness. Qinglian, seeing this, made a hand seal to suppress it, but Gu Lili raised her arm and grabbed the other's hand, interrupting the spell.
"Release the Netherfire; the aura here feels very familiar."
"Yes, Lady Meng Po."
Qinglian made a hand seal and gently stroked Gu Lili's forehead. The Netherfire, which had been released from its restraints, shot out in a flash, paused briefly in the air, and then quickly drifted towards the dark alleyway that had appeared out of nowhere in the distance.
"Follow them."
The two followed the ghostly flames into a dark alley. At the end of the alley was a bronze door covered in green rust, with intricate runes engraved on its surface, the origin of which was unknown.
"Qinglian, do you recognize the characters above?"
"All I can see is that it's an ancient rune, seemingly sealing something terrifying. You've never mentioned the 19th floor to me before, so I don't know what's inside. But since the source hasn't stirred, what's inside probably poses no threat to you."
Gu Lili nodded and walked towards the bronze door. The Netherfire was bounced back several times when it tried to break through, and now it seemed to have a mind of its own and flew to the side, just waiting for Gu Lili to break through the door so that she could take it in.
After seeing through Minghuo's attempt to beg for help, Qinglian walked over to it and scolded, "Hmph, now you know how to take advantage of our master. Before, you even wanted to burn our master to death. You scheming fire, you're really wicked."
Whether the Netherfire could hear Qinglian's words or not, it began to flicker.
Gu Lili summoned her source and approached the bronze door. She gently touched the door with her finger, and the runes on the door suddenly trembled and twisted. All the characters left their original positions and gathered towards the center of the bronze door until they were pieced together into a huge Bagua diagram. Then, a gap appeared in the middle, and the bronze door split into two and opened inward.
"This is....."
Countless chains extended from all directions towards the center of the room through the bronze door. A thick, towering bronze pillar slammed directly from the roof to the floor, and the chains intertwined with the pillar, enveloping a naked man.
The man's eyes were closed. He had a handsome but sharp and thin face. His hair was a tangled mess, as if he hadn't taken care of it for a long time. The chains covering his body were covered in bloodstains.
Suddenly, the Netherfire flew rapidly towards the center of the house, seemingly trying to get closer to the man, but was blocked by several chains that appeared out of nowhere. No matter how hard the Netherfire burned, it could not budge the chains at all; instead, the Netherfire dimmed considerably.
"Lady Meng Po, these chains are covered with restrictions and seals, so the Netherfire has no effect on them."
"Hmm, I've heard Zhong Kui say that this ancient Netherworld Fire is incredibly powerful. Even when I was burned by it, it couldn't heal me, yet it's completely powerless against this chain seal?"
Gu Lili suddenly remembered that Zhong Kui had shown her the wound with resentment. Although Guan Nan had given her a spiritual medicine to treat it, it only controlled the wound from spreading, but the burn had not healed for hundreds of years.
Qinglian looked at the man in front of her and said solemnly, "Because I think these chains are used to seal it and its master."
"Its master? Oh! I remember now, the Ghost King? I seem to have heard Zhong Kui mention it, saying that this will-o'-the-wisp is the Ghost King's origin."
"Well, I've never met the Ghost King, but I've heard that it was because of sealing him that the Underworld was built in its current location."
"What wrong did he do that he has to be tied up like this?"
"Is that you?" A deep male voice came from behind. The man who was tied to the bronze pillar slowly opened his eyes, his scarlet eyes staring fiercely at Gu Lili.
"Do you know me?" Gu Lili asked when she saw the other person staring intently at her.
"Heh, I'd recognize you even if you turned to ashes. Three thousand years, you've imprisoned me for three thousand years."
The man's words were filled with murderous intent, and his expression grew increasingly hateful. The seal seemed to tighten considerably in response to the Ghost King's agitation, causing his entire body to bleed from the chains, like a tightly clenched rag.
Gu Lili paused, then turned to look at Qing Lian, who responded with a helpless expression. Clearly, Qing Lian didn't know why the Ghost King hated her so much either. Gu Lili then looked at the dying embers of the Netherfire, beckoned to them, and the little creature, like a child who had suffered a great injustice, obediently went home to cry to its parents.
"You little thing, this is my master." Just as Minghuo was about to crash into Gu Lili's arms, Qinglian picked him up and tossed him a few meters away from Gu Lili, saying, "This guy tried to burn you before, so you'd better be careful."
"You actually nurtured it to intelligence?" the Ghost King exclaimed in surprise.
"Intelligence? You mean it?"
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