Chapter 19: The Ghost Town of Fengdu
"We are living souls, and if we are brought to Hades, we will know it in the book of life and death. So after entering, we have to find a way to avoid the onicha and go directly to the Lechuan River. Mu Ningjiu said in a low voice. Shang Jin nodded, then took out a few bright yellow pieces of paper from his arms and stuffed them into her hands:
"You have these immobilization charms in your hand, and if there are ordinary imps in your way, you can use them to delay time."
"Okay, be careful." Mu Ningjiu put away the charm and slowly pushed open the wooden door.
"Squeak" with a deep sound in the ear, as if coming from the depths of the underworld, hitting the vast space around it, bounced back and produced a circle of echoes.
In the sky, the dark clouds are shrouded, and it seems that you can never see through the clouds, which is so eerie that it is suffocating. In front of the two of them, there was an ancient road with no end in sight, winding like a snake, extending to the sky cut by lightning, and through the faint glow of the dark lamp floating in the air, the vast and silent Hades Hall hanging above the gray void could be faintly seen.
The two looked at each other and walked hand in hand to the nameless archway in front of the ancient road. In the thick fog and the silent air, the faint yellow oil lamps in front of the shops next to the street shimmered faintly, but they still did not illuminate the road ahead.
After a few steps, they felt that something was wrong: there should be only one road to the Hades Palace, why is there no one on the street, bah, not a single ghost? Could it be that they came at the wrong time? Still is...... Mu Ningjiu frowned, and Yu Guang caught a glimpse of a few big characters written on the door of a shop next to him:
Know-it-all shop. Whether you are a living soul or a dead soul, anyone who has a problem can come here. Remuneration: Varies from person to person, negotiable.
She paused, tugged at Shang Jin's sleeve, and said:
"Wait."
After the two approached, Shang Jin softly read out the next line of extremely small golden words:
"This shop is not under the jurisdiction of any underworld, so you don't have to worry. Only five people are allowed to do so every day, and the business hours are when the small window on the door is lit. ”
Mu Ningjiu stretched out his hand and knocked on the small window that was covered by a wooden board, sighed and said:
"It seems that we are not here at the right time......" Shang Jin raised his eyebrows in surprise:
"What is the origin of the owner of this shop? Even Hades can't control him? Mu Ningjiu shook his head, patted him on the shoulder and said:
"Since it's not open, there's no way out, let's find another way." As soon as they turned around, the door opened with a "click", and a crisp and pleasant female voice sounded in their ears:
"Since you are here, why don't you come to the house and tell me your story?" Shang Jin paused, turned his head to look at the dim candlelight shining through the door, pinched Mu Ningjiu's palm, and said secretly:
"This place is no better than the human world, many ghosts are cunning and treacherous, deliberately deceiving the soul of the living soul to replenish the time left in the underworld, we ......" Mu Ningjiu's eyes flashed hesitation, and he heard the woman in the room sigh softly:
"You human beings, you are very vigilant, I want to help so kindly, but you misinterpret it like this, it's really sad...... That's it, I originally wanted to tell you how to circumvent Xiao Yan's censorship. Now, there are just two more souls that have been eaten by wild ghosts. ”
Seeing that the door was about to close, Mu Ningjiu ran back, pushed open the door, and said with a smile:
"When I first arrived, I really had an obsession and couldn't take it lightly, so please ...... Forgiveness of sins. ”
Behind the beaded curtain as thin as light gauze, the woman of about twenty-seven or eighteen giggled as if she had heard some joke, like a silver bell:
"People are really interesting, I don't know how long it's been a while since I've met someone as interesting as you, I want to ...... Let you stay with me. Shang Jin's expression changed, and she subconsciously grabbed Mu Ningjiu's wrist, and the woman said happily:
"I'm just joking, you little lover is still serious, so nervous about you...... Interesting, funny tight. Talking to a girl who didn't know if she was a person or a ghost in the underworld, Mu Ningjiu was also a little hairy in her heart, but she could only laugh dryly, and quickly changed the topic:
"You just said that there is a way to avoid the final censorship of Hades, right?"
"That's right. I have two hanging cards made of yellow spring water, flowers on the other side, and three life stones, and you only need to tie them to your wrists, and the bull head and horse face and other ghosts will not see you. Mu Ningjiu's eyes widened in shock:
"I didn't expect you to have such treasures here?" The woman raised her neck and said with a little pride:
"That's nature! And that's not all. Those lonely souls and wild ghosts who cannot be reincarnated in the Lechuan River, who have been watching their lovers on the bridge drink Meng Po soup for thousands of years, but they can't be seen, but they don't know that this tag can fulfill their wishes. But ......," she sighed,
"This is not a place to accumulate good deeds and cultivate Buddhas, and only one in a thousand can get a listing."
Shang Jin raised his eyebrows and thought secretly: Are they so lucky?
The woman seemed to see through his thoughts, and replied:
"You are living souls, and the time and passage to come to the ghost city of Fengdu are naturally different from ordinary ghosts. And my small shop, usually have to wait for the gong at the intersection to sound before opening, today I saw that you two are destined, and made an exception to advance the time. Hearing this, Shang Jin bowed deeply and said:
"Thank you for your help, we came here, and we didn't bring anything special with us, if you see something, take it, just don't dislike it." The woman's gaze went back and forth between the two, and she spoke:
"Tell me the purpose of your trip, then. If there is anything to hide or deceive, then don't blame me......" Her voice suddenly turned cold, and she said in a gloomy voice:
"I've filled my stomach with you as a snack." Mu Ningjiu's eyes trembled, she took a deep breath, and told the woman about the two of them coming to the underworld to get the soul fire. After listening to this, the woman nodded:
"I see. But you should also know that this soul fire is a trick of Pangu in ancient times, and the living soul will fall into a ghost if it touches it, and the soul will be destroyed in ashes, have you found a container to load? Mu Ningjiu took off a pure black hanging chain from his neck, and a small boxy hanging from it said:
"This is the Soul Gathering Box, a treasure handed down from ancient times of our clan, it is said to be able to carry all souls, I don't know ......"
"Soul Gathering Box...... "The woman muttered, and then hooked her lips and smiled:
"You have come prepared. However, I also have to warn that the soul fire is the only light source on the bridge, and even if you borrow some of it, it will be difficult for him not to find out...... But who knows? After all, the death that happened unexpectedly in the underworld was not even recorded in the book of life and death. Suddenly, the red bead curtain was blown by the wind, and two blue and white hanging cards flew out and were grabbed by the two of them.
Mu Ningjiu's heart was relieved to get what she wanted, and she became a lot lighter:
"I wonder what you want?" The woman's fingers unconsciously tapped on the tabletop, and her voice seemed to have a sense of precipitation of memories in her crisp voice:
"One of you and mine...... The old man, born with three points of resemblance, I wonder if I can turn my back and let me take a look? "Look...... What the? Mu Ningjiu was suspicious, but he didn't ask more, and turned around as he said. A gust of wind blew, and only a "snap" was heard, like the sound of something being broken. Shang Jin frowned, feeling that something was not quite right.
On the ground, the gray yin qi wrapped around the two of them, Mu Ningjiu was shocked, and listened to the woman behind the bead curtain say:
"Since I have a fate, I will do a favor and cast a spell on the weapons of the two of you, and then you can use them to slay the Yin Spirit. Hope you can get what you want, go ahead. The confusion in Mu Ningjiu's heart was even greater, and he looked at Shang Jin, pushed open the door and walked out.
The door closed with a click. At the same time, there was a crisp sound at the corner of the street, as if some valve had been opened, and in the distance there were faint mournful and sad cries, angry scolding, and crazy laughter, all kinds of sounds mixed together, filling the entire Fengdu.
A large number of tall, short, fat and thin ghosts dressed in various costumes suddenly poured into the ghost town. They swarmed up, and the door of the omniscient shop was instantly crowded with people, and the scene was very chaotic for a while. Mu Ningjiu stood next to him, and suddenly felt that it was really right for the two of them to come out a moment earlier.
"Line up! Line up one by one!! A cold voice sounded, and the black and white impermanence with shackles and handcuffs in their hands walked to the back of the crowd with a team of Yin soldiers. The aura exuding from their bodies forced the ghosts to drop their heads, and their bodies involuntarily gave way and lined up in a regular line.
The woman's voice came from outside the door:
"There are only four places left for today, and the people I have hand-picked are destined, please come in." Seeing this, Shang Jin wondered:
"Looking at the small print on the door, I thought this woman had something to do with Hades, but I didn't expect black and white impermanence to help manage order." Mu Ningjiu seemed to think of something, and muttered:
"Did she call Hades 'Xiao Yan' just now? I always feel that her relationship with Hades is not ordinary. Shang Jin nodded sympathetically:
"And if they knew that the woman had a tag, they wouldn't have been able to help them like that."
After a stick of incense, the small window on the wooden door darkened, and all the ghosts screamed, black and white impermanence took out the iron chain in their hands, and black impermanence said coldly, with a strong sense of oppression:
"Okay, let's go to Huangquan Road, don't wander around the city, if you miss the time, don't blame my subordinates for being ruthless." When the ghosts heard this, they lifted their clothes one by one, pulled their legs and ran.
Bai Wuchang patted Hei Wuchang and smiled:
"Just know how to scare some new kids! In this underworld, who doesn't know that you are a good old man with a cold face and a warm heart? Hei Wuchang glared at him, snorted coldly, and caught a glimpse of a young monk who was slowly grinding at the end, and poked his back with an iron hairpin:
"Hurry up! The next group of ghosts are still rushing to be reincarnated! Don't be delayed by your kid! ”