Whoosh.
Somewhere within the Underworldās Eighteen Hells.
There was an inexplicable fluctuation. The prison guards of the underworld sensed it, then instinctively turned to investigate, but to their surpriseā¦.
When they saw who had arrived, they couldnāt help but bow. āEmperor.ā
Great Sacred Emperor Equaling Heavens!
Most likely, no one suspected that Great Sacred Emperor Equaling Heavens had gone into seclusion within the Underworldās Eighteen Hells.
He turned to the guards and nodded slightly, then pointed at one of them. āTell Meng Xiang to come find me.ā
With that, he disappeared in a puff of green smoke.
The surrounding guards were still immersed in the shock of seeing the Emperor. As prison guards in the Eighteen Hells, their rank actually wasnāt all that high.
They typically worked with the ten Asura Kings. Now they got to see the Emperor? Thereās no need to even discuss how exciting this was for them.
It was just a pity that they havenāt managed to exchange more than a few sentences.
āIām shocked; to think weād manage to see the elusive and mysterious Emperor.ā
āBut why did he come to our Eighteen Hells in the first place? Not even Ksitigarbha comes here.ā
āThe Emperorās reasoning is beyond our understanding. Right, didnāt he just command someone to go look for Meng Xiang? Hurry up and go. We mustnāt delay the Emperorās business,ā said one of the ghostly prison guards.
Off to the side, another guard finished the task at hand then turned to the others. āBrothers, leave it to me.ā
The guard faded into the Eighteen Hells, then vanished completely.
The others stared at the place he disappeared, jealous despite themselves. āLucky bastard.ā
The way they saw it, running an errand for the Emperor was an incomparable honor.
On the Bridge Henai.
Meng Xiang wore plain, extremely old-fashioned robes. She wore a flower in her hair as she sat in a chair on the bridge, her little legs swaying back and forth.
Her badge still marked her a probationary āMeng Poā, but to tell the truth, she was somewhat sick of her job.
She faced a constant stream of people who longed for the mortal world. As someone whoād never left the Underworld, this made her extremely curious about mortality.
Furthermore, her pretty appearance didnāt suit the role.
The character āPoā in āMeng Poā meant granny. As the name implied, she was supposed to be...
An old granny!!!
Yet she was young and beautiful. To tell the truth, it wasnāt at all unusual for the newly-dead to think theyād gone to heaven after seeing her.
āHow dull.ā Meng Xiang sat on the bridge, head in her hands, and stared at the bridgeās other end. She was intensely curious. What the world out there like?
Whoosh.
Suddenly, the hideous prison guard appeared right in front of her.
āWah!ā Meng Xiang called out in surprise, almost falling to the ground. After a while, she got herself back under control.
She looked at the guard. āWho are you?ā
āYou are Miss Meng Xiang?ā
In the underworld, a prison guardās rank was even lower than a probationary Meng Poās so it was only natural that heād address her politely.
Meng Xiang blinked her glossy eyes. āThatās right. What do you want?ā Her reply was someone fierce.
At his job in the Eighteen Hells, the guard always had to maintain his terrifying appearance when he addressed the prisoners. Now, though, he forced himself to smile.
āItās like this: Iām a prison guard from the Eighteen Hells. The Emperor appeared there just now. He sent me to tell you heās waiting for you at the palace.ā
āThe Emperor is looking for me?ā Meng Xiang reached up and rubbed her nose.
āThatās right, thatās what he said,ā replied the guard.
āDonāt think you can trick me just because I havenāt studied much,ā she said. āGiven the Emperorās status, why would he ask for me by name? Furthermore, even if he did want to talk to me, why would he go to the Eighteen Hells and ask you to deliver the message?ā
āI donāt know either,ā said the guard with an apologetic smile. āYouād better go see for yourself.ā
She looked the guard over a few times. He wouldnāt dare use the Emperorās name to deceive her, would he?
After thinking it over, she nodded. āAlright then, Iāll go take a look. But if I go, there will be no one to watch Bridge Henai. How about you look after it for a while?ā
āBut Iā¦.ā
āGreat! Itās settled, then.ā Meng Xiang had him sit in her former spot, leaving no room for arguments. Then she turned to leave, but before sheād gone more than a few steps, she turned back around. āBut I really have to tell you - youāve got a hideous smile.ā
She disappeared from the cloud-covered bridge with a laugh. The guard couldnāt help but smile bitterly.
Suddenly, a timidly fatty appeared. He shrunk back, then approached carefully. āYouāre Mengā¦..ā
He had crossed most of the bridge and had almost reached the guardās location. Then he saw his terrifyingly ferocious face.
āMommy! I donāt want to die, I donāt want to dieā¦..ā
āHm?ā At first, acting as Meng Po seemed new and interesting. Then, just as he sat down, someone approached. It was kind of exciting!
However, the fattyās response displeased him!
āGet your ass over here!ā He reached out and pulled the man closer, then grabbed a ladle and scooped up some of the soup from the cauldron to his side.
āDrink!ā
Gulp, gulp.
As he forced the liquid down the manās throat, the man gradually stopped struggling. Finally, he was completely obedientā¦.
āThatās that. Go on in.ā
The fat man walked obediently into the underworld, leaving the guard with a strong sense of accomplishment.
Coincidentally, just then, a thin man walked byā¦...
āYou lived a pretty long time!ā The guard called out to him, then beckoned him over, his brows twisted into a sinister frown. āCome on and drink your soup!ā
āWhat the-?!ā
āWant to run? Get back here!ā
The deadās nightmares had all come true⦠At least, for now.
Naturally, Meng Xiang had no way of knowing their plight. She skipped happily to the Emperorās residence, then stood before the gate.
She stared at it curiously. Sheād been in the Underworld for so long, yet this was her first time here.
āCome in.ā
āEe?ā Meng Xiang was briefly stunned. Then she smiled. āThe Emperor really is impressive!ā
Sheād only just reached the gates, yet heād already sensed her. He had to be really strong to do that!
āOnce Iām inside, Iāve got to discuss my job situation with the Emperor. I donāt want to be a probationary Meng Po anymore. Iāve been at this job for so long with and Iām still not a regular worker. Even people who started after me have already been promoted! Also, Iāve been working here for so long but Iāve yet to ask for a vacation. If I ask, I bet heāll let me take a few days off.ā
As she thought of this, her face brimmed over with glee. Sheād heard so many stories about the mortal world during her time on Bridge Henai and was extremely curious about that exciting new world.
Creak.
She pushed open the gates to the imperial residence. Inside, she saw nothing but dazzling white light.
Thump.
Her heart throbbed violently as the light engulfed her!
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