Nan Chan

The other shore flowers are paved on Huangquan Road, and the stone slabs wind among the lush red waves.The sky here is dark and foggy, and you can hear the "crash" of the chains of ghost messengers rushing back from various places in Zhongdu.Countless souls of the dead in shackles wandered along the road, crying softly, lingering in their ears like a patter of wet rain.Watchtowers are built among the flowers, and a ghost will be guarded every ten steps. The chains are heavily drawn into a net, so that the dead souls who walk this road have nowhere to escape.

Jing Lin's face was as thin as paper, and he had no breath at all.He held the stick in one hand and the chain in the other, locking Cang Ji and mixing in with his soul.Cang Ji wore a mask on his face, and walked slowly, looking around while moving, looking around to his heart's content.

"This place is well chosen." Cang Ji slightly bent his upper body, and said in Jinglin's ear, "After coming down, it was deep into a ravine, and on both sides were the thousand-year-old rocks that supported the Zhongdu world, and only Huahai could go back and forth smoothly all the way. Ordinary people come down, and I’m afraid they won’t be able to go up again.”

"Life and death have ended before the checkpoint. Ordinary people are already dead when they come here. If you walk half an hour further, you will be at Lijinkou." Jing Lin bumped him back with his elbow, "Your yang energy is leaking out. gone."

Cang Ji pushed the mask and asked: "Why do left and right dead souls have to wear masks to cover them? If you catch the wrong person, wouldn't you not be able to detect it?"

"There are detailed records in the life book, and the ghost guards must first verify the body before picking someone up." Jinglin said, "In the past, I didn't wear a mask, but the previous King of Hades was eaten by people. The new one is afraid of meeting someone who describes it as miserable. The ghost will pass out, so I ask the ghost messenger to present the mask when the ghost is drawn."

Cang Ji said: "It's a joke all over the world that the king of Hades is afraid of ghosts. How did he become the king of Hades?"

"Because he loves to eat, he was originally closed under the wall of the Underworld. When he woke up, he was so hungry that he could not stand the hunger. He smelled the smoke from the ghost fire in Lijin, so he swallowed thousands of dead souls in the Underworld in one go, and even ate half of the Palace of Hades." Jing Lin Then he remembered something, turned his head and warned Cang Ji earnestly, "Eat carefully."

Cang Ji asked strangely: "But isn't it the dragon that can swallow everything in the world? He can do it anyway."

"He just swallowed the belly." Jing Lin said, "After finding something edible, he spit out the dead soul and Hades together."

Poor old Hades has been diligent and conscientious. Since the separation of the underworld, he has been working as a ghost messenger and worked hard all the way. After nearly a thousand years of errands, he was finally promoted to the Nine Heavens Realm and was able to serve as the king of Hades.Unexpectedly, after not doing it for hundreds of years, he was swallowed into the stomach without thinking, and vomited out again covered in saliva.No one in the Nine Heavens Realm is willing to condescend to honor him, and once he comes and goes, he punishes this swallowing and vomiting monster to sit in Huangquan and become the new King of Hades.

Cang Ji touched his Adam's apple and thought: "He can swallow [-] dead souls from Lijin in one breath, what is this person's original body? He has such a big appetite."

Jing Lin said: "He was very fierce in his original body, and Lijin specially built a stone statue of his original body to warn future generations. You will be afraid of him when you see him."

Cang Ji asked: "Worse than me?"

Jing Lin nodded, and Cang Ji became more and more curious.The two of them walked along the long line of dead souls for a while, hearing the sound of the rushing water, Cang Ji finally saw the whole picture of Lijin Ferry.

The waves of the sea of ​​flowers on the other side swayed, and one side of the city was seen entrenched in the mist and red light.The river runs through the whole city, boats, trains and horses, and lanterns of various colors are hung complicatedly, covering the heads of thousands of dead souls, like a vast galaxy.Small pearl and jade curtains are hung in the pavilions near the river, and the pipa can be heard clanking with the water.The souls of the dead in the market are surging like a tide, and the small boat that can transport the souls to the Hall of Hades is very narrow.However, tens of thousands of dead souls have been accumulated here. According to this speed, it will not be able to finish calling for 500 years.

Cang Ji turned his eyes, and saw a stone sculpture standing tall in the city.The stone-carved forelegs hang down from the chest, and the claws are polished and shiny.With his hind legs bent, his chest raised and his head raised, he looked into the distance with the attitude of a ferocious beast. He must be the original King of Hades that Jinglin was talking about.

Cang Ji couldn't help feeling ashamed of himself under the influence of his figure.He pressed his chest against Jinglin, bowed his head and gritted his teeth.

"It's just a weasel?!"

Cang Ji was deceived by Jing Lin once, and he didn't want to believe his casual words any more. He just held this man tightly in his palm and walked side by side with him.

"There are so many people here." Cang Ji raised his hand to push up the mask, "There is no scent to draw, how can we find Qian Yu?"

"Qian Yu wants to find Zuo Qingzhou, so he can only stay at the ferry." Jing Lin lightly tugged at his hands, leading Cang Ji forward.

There was a long line of ghosts at the ferry, and the ghost messenger who called the roll had a dry throat and stepped back to scoop up a bowl of water to drink.Sitting down, he smelled the rich smell of meat. He turned his head and saw two people sitting on a stall not far away. One of them opened the oil paper, and the stewed meat oil was spread on the table, which attracted the ghosts of half the street to grimace. , just afraid that one of them would dress up as a ghost and dare not go forward to ask for it.

The ghost messenger was aroused by the smell, and he was on duty at the ferry these days, and he hadn't been to the ferry for a long time.Immediately, he took out a few copper beads from his sleeve, got up and went behind the two men.

"Did you just come back from above? It smells like stewed beef from Wanfuzhai in Kyoto!" He hesitated.

Jing Lin paused with chopsticks, and said: "A plate of beef is worth a few dollars. If you don't mind, brother, just sit down and eat together."

The ghost messenger repeatedly agreed, lifted his robe and sat down.Cang Ji handed him a pair of chopsticks, and he took advantage of the opportunity to look at the two of them, and said, "Thank you! Did you just ask for a job because of my brother's face?"

"Yes." Jing Lin said, "The first trip, many accidents, it is not easy to bring people back."

The ghost guard buried his head in the food, laughed a few times, and said: "Brother, you are the only one who is on the job. I don't know that there are hundreds of jobs in the underworld, but it's better to attract the soul."

"Oh?" Jing Lin asked humbly, "How do you say this? I'm envious when I see you roll your name at the ferry, so you don't have to be tired of running around."

"Although Yinhun is constantly coming and going, he is less restrained. What is there to envy about the roll call? You can't get through a few people all day, and you have to listen to the endless complaints of Lijin Wanhun." The ghost messenger sighed and said, "If the Nine Heavens Realm neglects to greet you, Lord Yan will become more and more lazy. Look at this Lijin, if things go on like this, disaster will surely arise."

"What is Lord Yan busy with?" Cang Ji said, playing with his chopsticks, "I died late, and I want to be reincarnated early."

"Huh." Guicha laughed, "You are still in a hurry to reincarnate, you have to know that once you cross the Wangchuan River, you won't remember this life, and you have to forget any important people."

"I met a cruel person in this life." Cang Ji pinched Jing Lin's fingertips, "It's best to forget."

Jing Lin didn't change his expression, he just asked: "Does Lord Yan ignore the case?"

"Brother, you just came back, so I don't know. In the past few days, Lord Yan's good news is coming, and he is about to marry a fox. He spends all day drinking and lusting, so he has no time to deal with the case."

Cang Ji and Jing Lin looked at each other, and said in unison: "Fox?"

"That's right." The ghost messenger said, "it's just a white fox with a broken tail. The white fox was wandering around the ferry, looking for someone, and was recruited into the palace by the King of Hades after he found out, but was confused by his appearance and made a big fuss. I want to marry someone. But the white fox is a male, so he would rather die than follow."

"Did Hades lose his mind and go crazy?" Cang Ji said, "This fox already has someone!"

"Whether he has anyone or not, he entered the palace of the king of hell, unless the king of hell speaks, how can he escape?" The ghost servant put his chopsticks together, got up and made a bow, and said with a smile, "Thank you brother for your hospitality! I will work here at the ferry. If you have anything to do in the future, you can come to me. My humble name is Fengchun."

After finishing speaking, the ghost messenger turned around and left, Jing Lin took another look at him, and saw that he had an extraordinary demeanor, and he was not like an ordinary ghost messenger.

"Where is the Palace of the King of Hell?" Cang Ji was already impatient, and got up to leave, "Don't lose Qian Yu."

"The Palace of the King of Hades is separated by a heavy moat, and you can only get there by crossing the Wangchuan River and the Mishan Mountain." Jing Lin signaled him to be calm and said, "Since he wants to marry, he must follow the etiquette. The next day, it will be counted if we are taken back by the ferry of Hades. We just wait in Lijin for the sedan chair to be delivered."

Cangji and Jinglin rested in Lijin, where there was neither sun nor moon, after about two days of effort, they finally saw lanterns and festoons at the ferry, and red silk hanging high in the city.

Cang Ji looked out of the window and asked, "Why are all the ghosts in the city crying?"

"Touching the scene creates emotion, touching the eye and hurting the heart." Jinglin said, "They stayed here for a long time, and the old dreams of the past are vivid in their eyes, and they can't forget and can't go back."

"In this life, unsatisfactory things account for the majority." Cang Ji said, "Is there anything worth crying about?"

"Although there are nine out of ten unsatisfactory things, there is still one thing that is full of joy. For this one, I am willing to suffer."

Cang Ji said: "It's too bitter, and I can't even taste the sweetness."

While the two of them were talking, Cang Ji suddenly saw more than a dozen ghost messengers carrying red sedan chairs flying across the sky and stepping on chains, crossing the river of forgetfulness.He suddenly cheered up and pulled Jing Lin.

"coming!"

The ghost messengers shouted and got off the sedan chair, and the ferry was startled with dust.Seeing that the sedan chair was decorated with a circle of lanterns, the doors and windows were all nailed to death, the inside was pitch black, and Qian Yu's figure could not be seen clearly.As soon as the ghost messengers got off the sedan chair, they retreated in unison.A gigantic ox suddenly rose from the ground, and the chain on the ox's back fell heavily, and it dragged the sedan chair forward.Immediately afterwards, the river dough released a flock of bared-toothed birds, surrounding the sedan chair like a black cloud, not allowing others to get closer.A person sits straddling the sedan chair, wearing a bamboo hat on his head, holding a grass branch in his mouth, whipping a cow.

Jing Lin said: "That is the King of Yama barking."

"It's him." Cang Ji supported himself, and saw that the face under the bark hat was red and white, "It looks younger than me."

"He is [-] years old." Jing Lin said, "It seems that he attaches great importance to Qian Yu, and he even refuses to let others take this part of the journey."

"It's a pity that he came late." Cang Ji said, "Qian Yu has someone in his heart, so there is no place for him."

Jing Lin turned her head and said, "You know Qian Yu so well?"

"Yeah, I see that he is cute and docile, very cute." Cang Ji hugged his shoulders, "Besides, he is already a husband, and I have to ask him for advice on many things."

Jing Lin didn't make a sound, and heard that Bai Luo had stepped on the crossbar and stood up.He supported the sedan chair with one hand, raised the bamboo hat with the other, and said in a loud voice, "Grandpa, I want to get married tomorrow! All the ghosts from Lijin will come to eat wine, and there will be a hundred thousand tables at the banquet. Everyone who comes from all directions is a guest! All of you are welcome!" You have to drink! Let me have a good time!"

The birds chirped together, the giant ox pawed its hooves, and circled the city of Lijin three times before giving up.At the end, Wu Luo threw his whip and got off the sedan chair, and leaned against the window and said to Qian Yu: "Dear boy, after tonight, you and I will be husband and wife, and the things I promised you a few days ago will not be counted! There's no reason to keep me out, right?"

Qian Yu punched heavily on the window panel, and said coldly: "I have a husband!"

"Isn't he dead?" Barking Luo spat out the grass, "It is clearly written in the life book that he is a short-lived ghost. Don't worry, I can live for thousands of years and grow old with you. I have more time than ordinary people. .”

"Let me out!" Qian Yu looked at him through the gap and said over and over again, "I have a husband."

He kicked the sedan chair with his hands behind his back, and said, "Am I not as good-looking as he is? Am I not as tall as him? I can give you everything he can give you. Don't say a few pieces of paper, a few lines of poetry, I can give you even this half of the underworld. Darling, why bother to suffer for hundreds of years and transfer all this affection to me, won't you be much happier?"

"You don't understand love in this world at all." Qian Yu leaned her head against the window and turned her face away, "...I don't want anything else, I just want Zuo Lang!"

But Wu Luo tilted his head and said to him: "You are so beautiful, compared to the Nine Heavens, only Dong Jun and Lin Song Jun can overwhelm you. I cherish your color, and I really want to be with you. Why don't you want it?" ?”

Qian Yu knew that he didn't understand at all, so she just said: "If you really cherish good looks, why don't you marry Dong Jun?"

"Although Dongjun's skin is beautiful, his real appearance is fierce. Besides, he was born as a blood sea demon. I feel flustered when I am with him. However." Barking Luo laughed, "Hundreds of years ago, Lord Linsong once dangled in the clouds. I heard from Fan that the side face shames all spirits in the world, and even the goddess of Shengle has to retreat. After Lord Linsong became the king god, Shengyue, who was once the most popular in the world, no longer sees people. To tell you the truth, Linsong Before Mr. Song died, I made up my mind to marry him."

Cang Ji could listen to it before, but when he heard this sentence, the window wood under his hands cracked with a "bang".