Return to the Yellow Springs
In the void, two beams of light, one golden and one green, returned to the spiritual consciousness of Ksitigarbha and Gu Lili.
The Nine Difficulties of Gui Water surrounded Gu Lili, its cold blades covered in a chilling light, seemingly carrying millennia of rage and occasionally emitting a buzzing sound.
Gu Lili's eyes flickered with uncertainty. She looked at Dizang, then at herself in the mirror, and said in a deep voice, "So who am I? Mengli's vessel?"
Ksitigarbha was taken aback: "No, you are Mengli. Meng Po's essence was refined from your soul, and now it has been returned to your body."
"Heh, return it?" Gu Lili walked behind Dizang, then suddenly turned around, a murderous aura rising in her eyes: "Since you killed me, what's the point of returning it? Return my soul, and it will be as if you never harmed me?"
"You have the mouth of a Buddha but the heart of a snake! You dare to rule this world!" All the resentment accumulated over a thousand years burst forth at this moment, and Gu Lili roared.
“Mengli…” Ksitigarbha lowered his eyes and said in a low voice, “Because of what you did, the Heavenly Dao was backfired, and many immortals perished one after another. This is also why you did not see many legendary immortals in the Underworld.”
"What do you mean? I'm already dead, how could the evil star possibly affect you?"
"The God of Fate was wrong. There are indeed malevolent stars, but because of your appearance, they defined Guan Nan's fate as a love tribulation, thinking that killing you would stop this calamity, but..."
"But what?"
"The Guishui Nine Difficulties Slash is the magic weapon of the Creator God. It was already used by the Creator God to fight in all directions when the world was created. It is absolutely impossible for it to be controlled by someone else."
Gu Lili was stunned, her anger gradually subsiding: "You mean me? No, Mengli..."
"Hmm," Ksitigarbha nodded slightly, his eyes unfocused. "You are the Ancestral God, you are Mengli, and you are also Gu Lili."
"During the great war between gods and demons, everyone thought that the ancestral god had perished. It wasn't until the cataclysm of destruction came that this void realm, which allows us to see cause and effect, suddenly appeared, and the immortals were able to deduce the truth."
"In the final battle between gods and demons, the demon god sacrificed himself to bring down the cataclysmic calamity, while the ancestral god chose to be reborn time and time again, bearing the damage brought by the cataclysmic calamity for all living beings."
Ksitigarbha bowed his head humbly and respectfully as he spoke: "However, the ancestral god's hatred is still hard to quell, and he will no longer bestow divine blessings. The only way to delay the cataclysmic calamity is for the immortals to sacrifice themselves one by one."
“My master, the Immortal Venerable of Wuliang Mountain, has also sacrificed himself. However, before his original spirit was annihilated, he left behind a wisp of his consciousness. I think you have already seen him.”
"Never seen it before." Gu Lili shook her head in confusion.
"A white robe..."
"Ah, the one who keeps asking me in my dreams if I still hate him??" Gu Lili exclaimed. Every time she was unconscious or injured, such a person would appear in her consciousness.
"It should be."
“He doesn’t explain the cause and effect, how am I supposed to know? What’s the point of just asking me if I hate him?” Gu Lili clicked her tongue. “I don’t care about any past life, I’m Gu Lili now. You’ve said a whole bunch of things, you’re making me feel emo. I was getting a little into the role, like I was playing a murder mystery game.”
Ksitigarbha raised his eyes, his gaze flickering, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Suddenly, points of light appeared around them, and the void gradually dissipated.
"Then what should I do? What should I do? Sacrifice myself?" Gu Lili shrugged: "I don't care if I die, anyway, I'm not really alive now."
"Back then, to save you, Gui Shui Jiu Nan Zhan cut your spirit into twelve pieces. Although you are the main body now, to restore the power of the Ancestral God, you need to find the other eleven fragments..."
"???" Gu Lili turned to look at the Gui Shui Jiu Nan Zhan hanging in mid-air: "You really have no manners, dismembering a body is one thing, but dividing it into twelve pieces..."
As if it understood, Gui Shui Jiu Nan Zhan withdrew its sword energy and cold gleam, then obediently stood against the wall.
"Where should we look?" Gu Lili turned her head and asked again.
“Each time you reincarnate, those fragments will follow you or exist beside you. Now that you have awakened, Gui Shui Jiu Nan Zhan will help you find the fragments.”
Gu Lili suddenly lowered her head, her expression dark and unreadable.
In the blink of an eye, the void had dissipated, and before them lay the small kitchen of Guannan Palace. The traces of the previous fight were still there, and Bai Chen and another female escort had been taken away.
"Let's go, Guan Nan is coming back..." Dizang stepped over the wooden planks that had just been shattered by the sword energy and walked downstairs.
Gu Lili was startled: "Huh? What does his return have to do with me? I'm going back to the Yellow Springs."
Ksitigarbha stopped and turned to Gu Lili, who was still pacing in the same spot: "What? Don't you want to see him?"
"No, no. I have to go back to the underworld. He, I, we..."
"As you awaken, his memories will also be restored!" Ksitigarbha smiled mysteriously.
Gu Lili felt that the person in front of her was just like a bystander in the real world, as if waiting for some good show to unfold.
"You... I've already said what I have to say, I'm going back to the Yellow Springs." After saying that, without waiting for Ksitigarbha to say anything more, he made a hand seal and went to the Yellow Springs.
At the Bridge of Helplessness, in front of Meng Po's stall, 389, dressed in a zombie costume and wearing sky-high heels, skillfully maintained order.
“Aunt Wang, please wait a little longer. You’ve heard that our superiors are juggling multiple roles right now.” 389 said, raising his hand and bending one finger as he spoke: “They have to help the souls of the dead fulfill their dreams, make soup, and even find love, right? Otherwise, after being beasts of burden in this underworld for ten thousand years, the soup they make will be too full of resentment and won’t taste good.”
“Yes, girl, I’m not trying to urge Lady Meng Po, I’m just so fed up with standing here all this time…” Granny Wang glanced behind her and added, “With so many dead people, I wish I could have a mahjong table made from them.”
"Huh????" 389 was taken aback, then jumped up as if he had comprehended some profound secret: "When our master comes back, I'll request a ghost service!"
"Can you do it, Fangfang?" 389 raised his arm and nudged Fangfang, who was still standing to the side with a cold face, with his elbow.
"If the adults agree, then it will be fine," Fangfangfang said in a deep voice.
"Then, sister, I want to eat cake."
"PR sir, is it alright if I want to take a selfie in the underworld as a souvenir?"
"I want to eat hot pot. I've been queuing for three years. I'm so hungry for it."
Upon hearing that 389 was going to apply for the ghost service, longing voices rang out from the line behind Aunt Wang.
"This... I need to apply, but first we have to wait for our master to come back, our master..." 389 said, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over the Yellow Springs Gate, only to see a familiar figure leaning against the wall, looking at her as if she were a fool.
"My lord!!! Lady Meng Po!!"
Gu Lili's journey took almost a month. After many inquiries by 389 and Fangfangfang, they finally heard about the Meng Po's out-of-control rampage at Guannan Temple.
No matter what they did, they couldn't find out where Gu Lili was. Even Gu Ergou, who had been sent to Zhong Kui to learn from him, took leave and rushed back to Huangquan to help inquire about the situation.
"Where...where did you go, waaaaah..." 389 sobbed as she ran toward Gu Lili, and only after getting closer did she carefully examine her body: "Let me see, are you hurt anywhere? I...I'm going to fight that brat."
Fangfangfang also came over. Although she didn't express her emotions as openly as 389, there was still worry in her eyes.
"Hey, I'm fine. Did you guys hear about the pirated news? I got beaten to a pulp by that PR person, didn't you hear?" Gu Lili raised her hand and put her arm around 389's shoulder, laughing.
"I've heard about it, but you're a newcomer to the underworld; how could you possibly defeat those with real power..."
"Don't worry, I'm back perfectly fine, aren't I? But you... me dating? What do you mean, dating?"
"Pfft," Gu Lili's question made 389 laugh. Even Fangfangfang, who was standing next to her, was trying hard to suppress her smile.
"We've all heard about your affair with Lord Guannan. Although I think you're the best person in the world, Lord Guannan, with his exceptional talent and virtue... you really hit the jackpot!!"
Gu Lili was speechless, but too lazy to explain further. She frowned and quickly changed the subject: "I heard you guys talking about something, what are you applying for?"
389 raised an eyebrow: "The souls have some simple wishes. Could we expand our services in the Underworld a bit more? For example... mahjong tables, hot pot and skewers tables, milk tea and cake tables, and arcade games tables, etc..."
"No way, I don't have that kind of privilege. This isn't my decision." Gu Lili shrugged. There was no precedent for this before, and the higher-ups probably wouldn't agree.
"Talk to your husband..."
"???"
"Lord Guan Nan, I heard you two are living together in Guan Nan Palace. Shouldn't you just call me husband now?"
"!!!" Who spread this gossip? But it's true. Gu Lili, who has never been in a relationship, just wanted to end the conversation as soon as possible: "I'll apply and see later. If they don't approve it, there's nothing I can do."
Knowing 389 as she did, Gu Lili was sure this idiot wouldn't end the conversation so easily. So she quickly walked to the soup pot, channeled a drop of Meng Po's essence into it, and said in a serious tone, "Let's make the soup first, we'll talk about the rest later."
"Okay!"
"Time for soup, Aunt Wang."
In that instant, Gu Lili felt that 389 was more suitable for the job of Meng Po than she was. With her patience in guiding the souls of the dead and her unwavering enthusiasm for her work, she was truly a one-in-a-million exceptional person.
Aunt Wang said goodbye to 389 with reluctance. The two even made a promise to be mother and daughter, sisters, or even mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in their next life.
389 nodded repeatedly, but Granny Wang forgot that after drinking the bowl of Meng Po soup that glowed with light, she would forget everything from her previous life.
389 also forgot that she signed a contract to not enter the cycle of reincarnation and to live in the underworld forever.
"Lady Meng Po!"
Gu Lili glanced to the side and saw a chubby, white little dumpling looking at her obediently beside her.
"Huh? Kid, why don't you have a name tag on your head? Aren't you a ghost?"
"I am Gu... Er Gou," the little dumpling said slowly.
"Huh?"
This little bundle of joy in front of me would easily have millions of followers on a short video platform, but why did I give him such an inappropriate name?
"Ah, it's... Little Gu. You're all grown up now, so we can change how we address you. If you still want to take my surname, I can think of another name for you, or pick one you like?" Gu Lili said, leaning down to the little dumpling.
"No, Lady Meng Po, I like the name you gave me. It's true what you said, the uglier the name, the easier it is to raise a child. Lord Zhong Kui said that I was able to cultivate my true form entirely thanks to your blessings. Er Gou is willing and likes this name."
The little dumpling looks soft and cute, but speaks with a strong and clear voice. Although it still has a babyish tone, its eyes have the determination of an adult.
"Lady Meng Po, now that you have returned safely, I must go back to Lord Zhong Kui to report. Lord Zhong Kui said that it was only because of you that he would not have made an exception and let me come to the Yellow Springs if it were anyone else."
Gu Lili smiled and nodded, watching Gu Ergou leave.
But suddenly he felt a burning gaze on his side.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
