nightmare
Gu Lili, sitting on the stone pier, said nothing more, but turned to look at the River of Oblivion in the distance. The river water was sparkling with fluorescent light, sometimes flowing swiftly, and sometimes still in a stagnant pool. The souls that crossed the river had long since lost their delusions from their previous lives, and were now like walking corpses heading towards their predetermined path in the next life.
"Then I'll go and ask Lord Guan Nan for instructions first, Lady Meng Po," Fang Fangfang said, glancing at her watch.
Upon hearing the name, Gu Lili recalled how she had drunkenly grabbed someone's hand and wouldn't let go last night. She quickly stood up and shook her head: "No need, I'll just send him a message."
Fangfangfang reminded, "You almost got into trouble last time during the dream-making session. Lord Guannan instructed us to report it."
"Just listen to me, I'll be careful."
"Yes, Lady Meng Po."
Seeing that Fangfangfang had no intention of activating the teleportation, Gu Lili had no choice but to bite the bullet and take out her phone: "Lord Guannan, I'm going to take the lost souls to Nightmare Brother to create a dream now. Report complete." Then she put the phone on silent and quickly put it back in her pocket.
"Alright, let's go."
Fangfangfang activated the teleportation, and a swirling black mist dissipated, leaving the surroundings still pitch black. Looking around, she saw no living beings or buildings, as if she were in a void.
"Fang Fangfang from the Underworld Reincarnation Office has brought my Lady Meng Po to accompany the departed souls to create dreams. We trouble the underworld officials to lead the way."
As soon as she finished speaking, a huge QR code appeared out of thin air in front of them. Fangfangfang took out her phone and scanned the QR code, then looked down and operated the phone for a while. Then, a voice announced from not far away, "Ghost letter received 500 yuan."
Suddenly, a huge skull castle appeared before them. Its empty eyes were flashing with lights, and a huge mouth full of fangs seemed to be opening wide, its nasal bones appearing somewhat deformed from the strain.
"Huh? This..." Gu Lili exclaimed in surprise, but given the terrifying environment, it was best to say as little as possible.
Fangfangfang pointed to the skull's large mouth, indicating that the group should go in through there.
Who is coming to their death?
Suddenly, a zombie dressed in Qing Dynasty official robes with a livid face jumped out from the entrance gate. The zombie was about 2 meters tall, staring at the group with its withered eyes. When it spoke, its fangs bared like a ferocious beast, accompanied by a stench of decay.
Fangfangfang calmly replied, "The Lady Meng Po, who oversees reincarnation, has brought the departed souls to create dreams."
The zombie frowned, looked her up and down repeatedly, and slowly said, "Oh? Lady Meng Po?"
Fangfangfang thought to herself that the zombies must not know that Meng Po had changed hands, so she took a step forward and explained, "The former Meng Po has completed her merits and has been reincarnated in the Six Paths. This is our newly appointed Meng Po."
"Hey, you idiot, I just told you yesterday, and you've already forgotten?"
Suddenly, a puppet doll appeared on the other side of the turnstile, mocking the zombie and then turning to look at Gu Lili with a half-smile, making her feel uneasy.
"Oh... I remember now... Lady Meng Po, please... please come this way." Upon hearing the puppet doll's words, the zombie seemed to suddenly remember something, put on a gentle face, and even retracted its fangs.
"Let's go," Fangfangfang said.
"Lady Meng Po, the paths inside the castle are too dark and difficult to navigate. Let me carry a lantern for you and guide you, making things easier."
The group passed through the turnstile one by one, and the zombie PR person followed. As they entered the castle, Gu Lili glanced at him warily, only to see him quickly pull out a small lamp in the corridor. The lamp wasn't very bright, but it gave the girls a sense of security in the dark and damp castle.
Some dim lights shone in the corridor, through which you could see that the walls were decorated with various bones, including huge animal bones, classic human skulls, and some very strange bones that did not resemble any known creature on Earth.
Seeing how oppressive and terrifying the corridor was, Gu Lili poked Fangfangfang with her finger: "Sister Fangfang, is creating a nightmare the same process as creating a sweet dream? Nightmares are so expensive, shouldn't they be more luxurious?"
Fangfangfang remained calm and stared straight ahead, only moving her lips to answer: "The experience of nightmares is more realistic for both parties, and the type of nightmare can be selected by the deceased. If you have enough points, this is actually a very cost-effective service for deceased souls with obsessions."
Upon hearing this, Number 178, who had remained silent the whole way, gradually relaxed his brow and finally spoke up again: "Can I choose the type of nightmare? Pierced by a thousand arrows? Boiled in oil? Revenge by evil spirits?"
Fangfangfang replied, "Anything is fine. Customization is also possible. We can create all kinds of terrifying dreams according to the dreamer's wishes, but in order to prevent too much psychological harm to the living, we can only realize one type of nightmare."
Gu Lili frowned: "Hey, you know what, money really does work everywhere."
Fangfangfang was startled. She glanced at the zombie PR person leading the way, then turned back and let out a long sigh: "Lady Meng Po..."
Gu Lili interrupted Fangfangfang, extending her arm to make an OK sign: "I know, I understand. When you're on someone else's turf, you have to be careful with your words and actions, right? I understand, I completely understand."
The zombie leading the way stopped and fumbled to turn on the wall lamp in the corridor. Only then did the group realize that they were facing a dilapidated wooden door, with newly opened Chinese red lanterns hanging on the walls on both sides of the door.
Gu Lili thought to herself, "Broken wooden door, red lantern, jumping zombie. Isn't this the classic Chinese ghost movie trio?" She had been terrified of these things since she was a child; she was afraid of all those ghost stories and ghost movies.
Gu Lili turned her head and said as she walked back, "This is too scary, I can't, I'm afraid of ghosts... I... I... I think I'll go wait for you at Sweet Dream Baby's place."
Helpless, Fangfangfang slipped to Gu Lili's side and whispered, "Lady Meng Po...we are already ghosts."
"Huh? Is that right? Yes? I am?" Gu Lili came to her senses and, thinking about her current identity, turned around and met 178's surprised gaze. She could only give him an awkward smile.
The zombie PR clenched her fists and knocked on the door three times in a row, then said to Gu Lili, "Lady Meng Po, please come in."
Gu Lili slowly pushed the wooden door, the rusty hinges creaking as a gust of cold wind blew in, making her shiver.
Before Gu Lili could go any further, a strong, muscular arm reached out from inside the door and braced against the door frame, the cuff of the short-sleeved T-shirt on the upper arm almost bursting open.
"Oh, this must be Meng Po, the newest woman from the underworld. She's quite a beauty."
The owner of the arm peeked out with a smile. His burly figure blocked the way like a wall. Beneath his short, slightly curly brown hair were a pair of narrowed, triangular eyes. What was clearly a frivolous remark from a playboy sounded terrifying coming from his mouth.
"Brother Nightmare, I am Meng Po. I've brought the souls of the underworld to create dreams. When shall we begin? Can the formalities be completed now?"
Gu Lili planned to finish quickly; the environment in the nightmare room was suffocating her, and she probably wouldn't take on the nightmare-creating job again.
Nightmare Brother looked No. 178 up and down and said with emotion, "Oh? 2 million points. This distinguished guest must have accumulated a lot of good deeds in his ancestors. Otherwise, looking at your young age, even the greatest merit would not be enough to accumulate so many points."
"Then what kind of dream can I have? I hate him, I want to..." 178 paused, trying to continue, but couldn't bring himself to say the vicious curse.
"Do you want to curse him, scare him to death, or make him live with unease for the rest of his life?" Gu Lili asked.
"I don't know, Lady Meng Po." Number 178 lowered his head. His blood and tears had been sealed by Gu Lili's Meng Po essence in the Yellow Springs. Now, no matter how sad he was, he could only sob and choke.
"Come with me. The frames on this wall contain the nightmares of past dream weavers. Take a look and see if there's anything you like." Seeing that No. 178 wouldn't speak, Nightmare Brother had no choice but to lead the group to the side to look at the samples, hoping that No. 178 might find a style he liked.
Gu Lili pulled No. 178 up to look at the picture frame. The first picture was of someone being thrown into a pot of boiling oil. The pot was full of firewood and the fire was burning fiercely. Several ghost messengers dressed in ancient costumes were dragging a living person into the pot of oil. The living person, who was being held captive, was in pain and was struggling to lift up only a set of brittle bones. The ghost messengers stretched out their fingers and flicked the bones, which instantly turned into dust.
The second image depicts bone removal. A living person with the character for "evil" written on their forehead is bound like a dumpling and placed on a chopping board. A ghostly messenger calmly sharpens a cleaver beside them, the blade striking the whetstone with a series of harsh, metallic scrapes. Only when the living person is so terrified that they wet themselves, does the ghostly messenger slowly rise and, with extreme slowness, slice away each piece of flesh, until the person becomes a human-scorpion, their mind and body utterly destroyed.
Gu Lili moved forward a little. The third picture was... "Ah... I can't look at this... Fangfangfang, come quick, come here."
Fangfangfang, who had been waiting nearby, hurried forward. She saw Gu Lili with her head down, covering her eyes, her other hand pointing to a framed picture on the wall. The picture flashed back repeatedly: a living person kneeling on the ground, screaming and gouging out their own eyes. In front of the living person was a round well, from which emerged a sticky head covered in wet hair. The head's features were obscured, but an unusual tongue emerged from the wet hair and slowly crawled towards the living person…
"Next one, next one, I can't look at this one," Gu Lili said, covering her eyes.
"The third painting contains a powerful curse that will cause a direct mental attack on your soul. What you fear most is what you will see." Nightmare Brother couldn't help but smile as he looked at Gu Lili's frightened expression. The scar next to his right eye became even more prominent as he smiled, revealing the wrinkles at the corner of his eye.
Gu Lili watched a similar movie when she was a child, which became her nightmare from childhood to adulthood. Sometimes she would be frightened awake at night, and her grandmother would always gently pat her back and tell her not to be afraid, that her grandmother was there for her.
"This is the fourth one, Lady Meng Po." Fangfangfang helped the trembling Gu Lili walk unsteadily toward the fourth picture frame.
Gu Lili slowly opened her eyes and looked through her fingers. The fourth painting depicted a ruin, with withered vegetation consisting only of intertwined vines. The living person in the painting was struggling to crawl under the scorching sun, his soul tormented by despair and loneliness. The whole world was devoid of life, a silent wasteland.
The fifth picture… Gu Lili looked up and saw the entire wall covered with framed pictures, like a series of movies playing on a loop. But she had no patience to look at them anymore. She felt annoyed and depressed; looking at them like this felt like experiencing those nightmares herself.
“Number 178, you can choose one yourself. I’ll wait for you over there.” Gu Lili raised her hand to look at her watch, and continued, “But you should hurry, I have some things to do at Guannan Hall.”
Gu Lili remembered what Guan Nan had told her to frequently visit Guan Nan's Palace to repair the cracks in her divine consciousness. She wasn't an obedient person, at least not in the underworld. However, those who understood her would know that the reason she wanted to rush there as soon as possible was Guan Nan's small kitchen.
"Okay, Lady Meng Po, I will do it as soon as possible." After replying to Meng Po, No. 178 turned around and looked at each mural carefully.
"Brother Nightmare, will we have to go through the dream corridor to create dreams later?" Gu Lili asked.
"Of course, whether it's a nightmare or a sweet dream, you have to enter through the dream corridor."
“That dream-eating beast… ugh…” Recalling the sticky, foul-smelling black water from last time, Gu Lili’s stomach churned, and she dry-heaved before she could finish her sentence.
"Don't worry, last time you encountered danger in the Dream Corridor, Lord Guan Nan lost his temper, which scared us Dream Bureau supervisors so much that we repaired the defense system overnight and upgraded it with more triggering mechanisms. The same thing won't happen again."
"Does Brother know the origin of the black water and the Dream-Eating Beast? After I took over, I gradually gained control over Meng Po's essence, but when the black water enveloped me, the essence seemed to be out of control and completely isolated from me," Gu Lili said in surprise.
Upon hearing Gu Lili's question, Nightmare Brother's smile vanished abruptly. After a few seconds of pause, he said, "Both the Dream Eater and the Black Water come from the ancient times, from the beginning of the world. The predecessor of the Dream Bureau started with the discovery of the Dream Eater..."
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