Chapter Twenty-One: The Ghost Soldier Kneels Down

  "Chui Ming, suicide is not shameful. German philosopher Schopenhauer once said - being able to die in a timely manner is the greatest blessing that nature bestows upon humans. Your suicide has great value, so you should be proud!" The ancestors' eyes are filled with praise.

  Listening to the ancestors' words, I feel more and more unpalatable. It seems that for so many years of promotion, about the knowledge of death, the ancestors are undoubtedly professional-grade dead scholars.

  "Thinking back to those years, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River, Xiang Yu killed himself at Wujiang, Boyi and Shuqi refused to eat the grain of Zhou, Lü Buwei drank poison to kill himself, and there was also the famous assassin Wanting from the Spring and Autumn period, Wen Tianxiang who would rather die than bend... My ancestor went on and on, I quickly stopped him saying:"

  It seems that this suicidal world is indeed a place where famous people emerge one after another.

  "Awesome, I'm too proud of death!" I'm clearly a single hair, how can I be heavier than Mount Tai?

  I quickly changed the subject: "Let's not talk about that leap of faith, let's mainly talk about my brave mission!"

  It's so embarrassing that my ancestors always bring it up, completely ignoring my feelings. Thinking of myself as the only suicide among generations of the Cui family, although it can't be said to be infamous for eternity, but I'm definitely nailed on the shame pillar of the Cui family. To erase this humiliation and climb down from the shame pillar, the only ladder is: to lift the curse of Wan Huan.

  "Good, good young man, worthy of being the descendant of the first judge of the underworld! You have backbone and guts! Knowing that there are tigers on the mountain, you still dare to head towards the tiger's lair! I only care about the outcome, not the process!" The ancestors faced the gusts of yin wind, gazing out at the River of Woe, pointing out the Ghost Mountains and Rivers.

  "Although this road to breaking the curse is 99.9% dead and 0.1% alive, insurance can't even be bought, but I, your ancestor, will definitely cover you, within my ability range, I'll cover you, within the scope of the law, I'll cover you, within the bounds of reason and ethics, I'll cover you... Cover you! Listen! Kid, you're not fighting alone! You're not fighting alone!" But somehow, I feel like my ancestor's words and frantic expression seem familiar, yet this is clearly a pep talk, so why do I get more and more terrified the more I listen?

  At this time, some ghosts who had crossed the bridge came to the platform one after another to look around. I and my ancestors held each other, supported each other, carried each other on our backs, lifted each other up, and put each other down, constantly changing postures, exhausted in body and mind.

  However, the only benefit is to communicate with these dead ghosts, opening their mouths without the need for soul-reading techniques. According to the ancestors' words, at Naihe Bridge, people who have just died still have a wisp of yang energy and thoughts. The purity of the ghost is not high. Soul-reading techniques are aimed at yin-yang ghosts and resentful ghosts who linger in the mortal world and do not return to the underworld.

  But that eerie, ghostly appearance, the explosive breath, the nosebleed-like snot, it can silence me and I'd rather not speak, often holding my breath for a long time, I feel like my lungs are swelling.

  Looking at the long queue on the bridge, I quickly gestured to my ancestors to change places and talk again! The workload of this voluntary labor is really huge, and being tired like two dogs is just a drop in the bucket.

  Following ancestors, treading the Yellow Spring Road, moving steps in front of the Three-Life Stone.

  The poem says: "Cause and effect determine life and death, the three-life stone in front of the previous life's fate, what can be done at Naihe Bridge, what can be done in front of the three-life stone." This should be the most romantic spot in the dark underworld, representing the past, present, and future.

  The large stone in front of me doesn't seem to be anything special, probably about two or three meters high. The dark-colored stone surface feels smooth as a mirror, like a black ice block that is cool and refreshing, exuding a sense of clarity.

  On both sides of the stone body, there is a palm print. Driven by curiosity, I put my left hand on the stone print, and as a result, the stone surface flashed instantly, and a dynamic picture appeared on the smooth stone surface.

  On the screen: A baby is crying loudly, holding a pacifier in his hand, with tears and snot all over his face. Then a tall and handsome man hands the baby to another man, saying: "This is my child, let's call him Zhuo Fan!" As soon as I heard the name Zhuo Fan, my whole body tensed up. The scene then quickly unfolds the growth process of the baby, and as the baby grows up, I realize that the child in the picture must be me!

  It's as if I've seen a minimalist postmodern documentary film that left me stunned.

  One by one, they opened up the dusty memories I had sealed away, and verified all sorts of things my father had told me. Until now, the reflection in the stone has disappeared from me.

  The stone body was first covered with dense snowflakes, and then a few words appeared: Internal Archives, Not Open to the Public, Strictly Forbidden to Browse, Violators Will Die. This is too ruthless!

  "Child, your future is a mystery, even the Three Lives Stone cannot see it clearly. Besides, the past is already known and doesn't need to be seen, why bother looking at the future!" The ancestor said mysteriously.

  Just when I was about to give up, I found a line of small words at the bottom: Comment: A cigarette butt, quite a failure.

  Looking at the words above, I have an urge to smash that stone. Can't the tone be more subtle?

  Ancestors said in an instant, "The past does not represent the future, your fate will undergo a subversive change with your choices, I believe that your evaluation will eventually change", I nodded and shook my head!

  Everyone knows that when it's time to summarize, it's also time to end. Since you're not dead yet, why look for death?

  I'd rather never see the Three Lives Stone's evaluation of my life, even if I'm a little curious, I still want to live forever! I silently recite, "Children's words are innocent, ghosts and gods don't blame, those who fight on the battlefield, all arrayed in front..."

  Just as I was muttering to myself, possibly because it was time for dinner or past the legal working hours, Mozart's "Requiem" began to echo through the space.

  I looked at the famous ghost guard holding a stick for detecting good and evil ghosts standing on the Naihe Bridge, and Ox Head Horse Face also walked towards us. Meng Po took out her makeup mirror to touch up her makeup, and I don't know if her expression of baring her teeth was because she was scared by her own frown lines! The ghosts lined up on the bridge also took out the dry rations burned by their relatives and started gnawing on them.

  No kidding, these cow eyes and horse eyes are quite large, and using Soul Reading Technique is still pretty effective, it's just that the distance is a bit far, and the sound is too small.

  "Hey, Mu, you think there are too many bad people in the world now. In just one morning, Meng Po only ladled out 4 bowls of soup, but we threw thousands of ghosts into the Blood River Pool and our boots were all worn out. The workload is so different from Meng Po's, yet our treatment is the same, with the same salary coefficient. This is Mao's principle of distribution based on labor! Isn't that right, brother?" As he spoke, the cow head used the stick on his shoulder to tap his own body, as if massaging himself, and let out a sigh with an expression that was extremely charming.

  On the side, Ma Mian pulled out a handful of quick-dried hay-like stuff from his pocket and put it in his mouth, chewing while saying: "Hmph, hmph, hmph. That's right, that's right. I'm so f**king tired!!! Brother, eat some grass and take a break. This job is really not for humans! No, this job isn't even suitable for us animals!"

  This singing and harmonizing formation really has a bit of an "Hummer 2" effect.

  "Others envy me as a ghost official, I laugh at others who can't see through it!" As I listened, I felt that this horse really had some literary talent! The feeling of speaking fluently, I determined that this horse was the most eloquent horse in the entire horse world.

  Because the distance was quite far, and with these two shaking their heads and swaying as they walked, what they said afterwards couldn't be heard clearly. However, seeing this cow and horse wearing official robes smiling and chatting made one feel a chill run down their spine!

  Ancestor looked at me smiling and said: "It's okay, we're all family." Looking at these two who were busy complaining and had no time to watch the road, ancestor

  "Hey...hey...hey, you two come over," Seeing me and Zuzong emerging from behind the San Sheng Stone, the Ox-Headed Horse-Faced guard was startled, and with a flick of his wrist, he nearly swung his club to strike us. Luckily, the Horse-Faced one had sharp eyes and quickly pulled him back.

  The horse's face suddenly changed, and with a smile on his face, he said:

  "Hey, hey! Lord Cui, what are you doing here? Hey! Aren't you on a secret inspection or something?!" Ma Lian pulled out the grass from his mouth and stuffed it back into his pocket, his face full of horse-like smiles as he trotted over.

  The ox head also "moo, moo", just like, just like.

  I followed the three of them with a "cock-eyed" expression, and no matter how I looked at it, I seemed like a mentally retarded teenager.

  "Looks like you're not satisfied with the wage distribution system, huh? Why didn't you bring it up at the Ghost Citizens' Congress on April 4th? Whispering behind people's backs isn't a good thing. Luckily I'm the one who heard it, if someone else did, you two would probably be heading straight to the kitchen to get cooked!"

  The grandeur of the judge who controls life and death is beyond words.

  Looking at the tense expression on the ox-headed and horse-faced man, I almost burst out laughing again, my body trembling with suppressed laughter. This is what they call "surprise"! I just hope I don't laugh so hard that I hurt myself internally!

  "Hey, Brother Cui! We can't be serious about this, can we? As frontline workers in the underworld, our working hours are long, pay is low, benefits are meager, and we don't get any holidays. It's all because our leaders want to help us grow quickly in this harsh environment and become pillars of the underworld as soon as possible. How can we not understand their good intentions?"

  It's no wonder this horse has such a long mouth, it's really not in vain!

  "Big brother, let's just say we both farted. Last time Donkey Mouth couldn't hold it in because his mouth was too big and he complained a couple of times during the Ghost Festival. Yan Wang gave him a good scolding, took away his official treatment, and sent him to the front lines to catch wild ghosts. What a miserable fate!"

  The acting skills of this cow head and horse face are simply bursting with excitement, tears come easily, they're all good actors.

  "You say let the donkey chase the ghost, that speed... Alas! With four short legs, ga-deng-ga-deng, not a single wild ghost under 80 years old can be caught. It's almost exhausting to become a mule, and the task is not completed. This is not every month being assessed, salary is not guaranteed, and there are astronomical fines owed. I estimate that even after retirement, it will not be paid off. Thinking about it makes me feel lonely and desolate."

  Ancestor looked at me: "I've been busy with official duties and always forget to clean my ears, this earwax has blocked the ear canal, I really didn't hear clearly. But my descendant Cui Ming is still young, he must have heard it!"

  The ancestor looked at the two men for a moment, and suddenly a leadership style emerged. With piercing eyes and hands clasped behind his back, he gave off an aura of majesty without even trying. What's more, in the ancestor's hand was a teacup that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, instantly completing the standard equipment for a leader on an outing.

  Those four big eyeballs stared straight at me, making me feel a chill run down my spine. Could it be that they want to silence me?

  As a result, this ox-headed horse-faced man directly knelt down in front of me.

  No wonder these two famous nobles actually knelt down in front of me on their own turf!