Home/ There’s A Beauty / Chapter 106 (Part 2)
“What on earth is this place? How could there be ghosts here?” Liu Chuanshan’s voice was trembling. He had never believed in ghosts or gods before, but after several incidents, he had no choice but to believe it.
The rest of the people also showed expressions of lingering fear and then all turned to look at Emperor Chun. Before, they had always thought that this person was pretending to be crazy and foolish. It was only now that they realized it was their own poor eyesight and they couldn’t even distinguish such a true god.
To burn tens of thousands of hungry ghosts into ashes with a few talismans—how profound one’s cultivation must be?
“It was my fault for not thinking it through and preparing in advance. You Shu took out twenty yellow talismans from the package and handed them out one by one.
He said, “When I saw that door, I should have realized that this is not an underground palace but the netherworld. It’s easy to enter the netherworld but hard to get out. I am afraid that the door we came through has already closed by now. We probably have no way back and can only move forward. This is a talisman that can dispel evil spirits, but it has a certain time limit. When it burns out, you should come back and get a new one from me.”
This time, no one mocked him anymore and immediately accepted the talisman, keeping it close to their bodies.
Meng Changye stuck the previous communication talisman to his forehead and silently called out, “Puppy?”
“What’s wrong?” You Shu took out the medicinal powder he had prepared earlier, sprinkled it evenly on his wounds, and then took out a sterilized strip of cloth to bandage them.
“It’s nothing, I just wanted to call you.” Meng Changye touched his cheek, feeling relieved in his heart. The hungry ghosts were clearly terrified of You Shu and dared not harm him, which was good. If this place truly was the underworld, he would have to take You Shu out safely, even if it meant piercing through the earth’s core.
The others, seeing the general use the communication talisman, belatedly pulled them out and pressed them to their foreheads, calling out, “Young Master Ji? General? Military Strategist? Old Liu…” Their minds were filled with a jumble of voices, as if all of them were present. It was clear that as long as the talismans were placed on their foreheads simultaneously, communication could be achieved—a truly miraculous method!
Seeing that he couldn’t wake Old Li by pinching him, Liu Wen quickly took out his talisman and stuck it to his forehead, anxiously calling out, “Old Li, wake up!”
The group, who had been playfully calling to each other, finally focused on Old Li. You Shu burned a piece of talisman paper, threw it into a kettle to make talisman water, and fed it to him. This time, no one suspected him of poisoning people. Instead, their eyes shone with anticipation.
Old Li, who was still a bit dazed, immediately woke up after drinking the talisman water. Even the pain from his wounds was halved. With the help of Liu Wen and the others, he slowly sat up.
“Damn it, what exactly was that thing?” He mumbled, retracting his slurred tongue.
Everyone fell silent, unwilling to tell him the truth. Young Master Ji’s extraordinary skills had completely impressed them. Since he said this place was the underworld, it must be true. Living people have entered the underworld, who knows if they would be able to leave alive?
“What’s there to be discouraged about? Roads are made by people. Even if there’s no road, I’ll carve one out myself and ascend to heaven!” Meng Changye tightly held his puppy’s chubby paw and said in a firm tone.
“That’s right, everyone, don’t be discouraged. There might still be a way out.” You Shu tried to wrap his arms around his master’s broad shoulders, but his arms were too short to fully embrace him, so he patted him comfortingly instead. “General, don’t be afraid. I will definitely get you out of here safely. It’s just the underworld, it’s not like I haven’t been here before.”
“You’ve been here before?” Liu Wen seized on the key point.
“This place is not exactly the underworld, but it’s similar. We just need to enter the hall of Lord Yama, find the Gates of the Six Paths, and we can escape through the human realm.” Although his master was no longer the King of Underworld, it didn’t mean You Shu had no way to escape.
He pondered for a moment and added, “Just now, those hungry ghosts loved to pluck people’s tongues, so it seems this underground palace is structured according to the eighteen levels of hell. That means this is the first level of hell, the Tongue-Pulling Hell. Below it are the Hell of Scissors, Hell of Tree of Knives, Hell of Mirrors of Retribution, and so on.”
Liu Wen exclaimed in horror, “You mean we have to pass through all eighteen levels of hell to enter the hall of Lord Yama?”
The eighteen levels of hell—what kind of terrifying place is that! Even ghosts can’t endure it, let alone humans? Everyone was silent for a moment, then all showed expressions of despair.
“What are you afraid of? We’re already here, so just keep going!” Meng Changye pulled the boy up and ordered, “Have you all rested enough? If you have, let’s keep going. I really want to see the eighteen levels of hell!”
“Let’s go, let’s go, what’s there to be afraid of!” Liu Chuanshan immediately followed, but intentionally or unintentionally stuck close to Emperor Chun. This is a true immortal; whether they can leave here alive depends entirely on him. Seeing that the good spot had been taken, the others quickly gave chase.
Facts soon proved that You Shu’s inference was correct. After passing through the flat terrain of the cave, a long and downward-reaching staircase appeared before them. At the bottom of the staircase was another cave, again filled with glowing plants and strangely shaped stalactites.
Several hungry ghosts pounced on them with lightning speed, but as soon as they touched the clothes, they burned into ashes due to exorcism talismans on their bodies. Their claws, black as withered branches, clutched a pair of rusty scissors, waving them fiercely.
“Amitabha! Fortunately, I had Young Master Ji’s protective talisman with me, otherwise they would have cut off my fingers one by one.” Liu Chuanshan clasped his hands together, feeling terrified. He had completely converted from an atheist to a Buddhist, planning to visit a temple as soon as he left the underworld and sincerely copy several scriptures. Of course, he also needed to pester Young Master Ji to take him as a disciple.
The others also dispelled their previous contempt and suspicion, crowding around Young Master Ji, feeling safer walking beside him.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the cave walls, and in an instant, it was crowded with hungry ghosts with big heads, round bellies, and thin limbs, each holding a pair of scissors, opening and closing them with a click.
But fearing the aura of the Ziwei Emperor emanating from someone, they dared not move, all looking for an opportunity. You Shu, understanding the principle of striking first, lit several exorcism talismans, burning them all to ashes, then everyone quickly ran across the ashes, finally escaping from the second level of hell.
The underground palace was bottomless, but after two levels, it has already taken them a full twelve hours. Everyone was tired and hungry, so they hastily ate some dry ration and lay down in the defense formation set up by Young Master Ji, preparing to replenish their energy. They slept for an unknown amount of time before gradually waking up.
Liu Wen always felt as if he had forgotten something. Seeing the general habitually toss aside the person he was holding, he was startled. “Oh no! Young Master Ji has fallen asleep! Who will lead the team? Can we rely on Emperor Chun?”
“Damn it! I completely forgot about that! What use is that coward Emperor Chun?!” Liu Chuanshan cursed angrily.
Meng Changye’s face was ashen. He scooped up the package brought by the puppy and carefully searched through it. But the handwriting on the talismans was too messy, and he didn’t read it clearly yesterday, so he had no idea which ones he had burned or what their functions were. Moreover, the boy didn’t rely on open flame to activate the talismans; a slight flick of his fingertips was enough to ignite them. Who possessed such skill? If he used a tinderbox, would it even work?
One by one, a series of overwhelming problems emerged. Not only was Meng Changye in a very bad mood, but the rest of the group were also in a panic and at a loss.
Unconsciously, Young Master Ji had become the backbone of the team. Following him was like chasing a beam of light, and sooner or later they could escape and ascend to heaven. But if the core in the body were replaced by Emperor Chun, the consequences would be simply unimaginable.
It was only now did they truly believe Young Master Ji’s claim of “one body, two souls”, secretly admiring his extraordinary skills while simultaneously hating Emperor Chun who had taken over his body.
Speaking of the devil, a piercing scream echoed from inside the cave. Without even looking, they knew that it was the dog emperor who had woken up.
“Aaaaaah! What kind of place is this? When did you bring me in? It stinks! It’s so dark! It’s so cold! I want to get out!” Emperor Chun jumped and screamed, and as soon as one of his feet stepped out of the defense formation, a hungry ghost rushed towards him. Fortunately, Meng Changye pulled him in time to prevent him from loosing all ten fingers.
“You better behave yourself!” Meng Changye pulled out a handkerchief, stuffed it into Emperor Chun’s mouth, and then skillfully tied his hands and feet, finally bringing peace to the world.
Seeing the dense swarm of hungry ghosts above him, Emperor Chun was terrified and scurried like a worm to General Huwei’s side, seeking protection.
“Without Young Master Ji, we’d better not casually go down to the third level of hell.” Liu Wen said in a deep voice.
“Yes, the third level is the Hell of Tree of Knives. Who knows, some Asura might appear, capture us, hang us on iron trees, and skin us alive.” Another deputy general said worriedly.
“Let’s knock this bastard out and let Young Master Ji return?” Liu Chuanshan lightly kicked Emperor Chun.
“Knock out? That’s not a good idea. What if we accidentally hurt Young Master Ji,” Old Li quickly objected. He dared not harm a hair on Young Master Ji’s head, not out of respect for the general, but out of genuine reverence.
“He left a way to deal with the situation.” Meng Changye dug out a stack of talismans from the bundle and took the one with the writing “Sleeping Talisman” in large characters. It had detailed instructions in delicate calligraphy: Just stick the talisman to the forehead and peel it off. It can make a person fall asleep and wake up again.
You Shu was worried that Emperor Chun would take control of the body, so he had left this as a backup plan. He had intended to tell his master, but he was so exhausted that he unknowingly fell asleep and completely forgot about it.
Everyone was overjoyed. Meng Changye quickly took out a talisman and stuck it on Emperor Chun’s forehead, and removed it once his eyes were closed. Then everyone waited with burning eyes.
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