Chapter Thirteen: The Dark Prison of the Underworld

  "This is too terrifying, it scared me to death, look at this crappy situation!", I struggled to get up, while shaking my pants in the wind and looking around for an exit. The scene of that living hell, with blood all over the place, was really shocking and almost made my liver and gallbladder burst!

  As a refined and elegant person, I couldn't bear the intense violence on screen, and I cursed silently in my heart. Although I've seen some things in life, what's happening before my eyes still shocks me to the point of being out of breath, with my brain lacking oxygen and my heart skipping a beat.

  I stared fixedly at the spot where the blood python had jumped into the water, afraid that it would suddenly emerge and tell me it was just joking with me earlier, but now it's going to eat me, and then swallow me in one gulp! At this moment, I clearly couldn't think like a normal person anymore.

  It's been a few minutes, and as the space gradually quieted down, it seemed that the blood python didn't intend to mess with me again. "Could it be that this thing has also fallen for my handsome appearance and can't bear to hurt me? I must think of a way to leave quickly, what if this thing remembers it can't have me and wants to destroy me?" My trembling legs barely supported me as I stood up, walking in a manner similar to a severely calcium-deficient cerebral palsy child.

  I raised my eyes and saw a bluestone bridge spanning the river, "Could it be that the exit is on the other side of the bridge? Should I cross the bridge? But if I cross the bridge, will the thing under the bridge suddenly jump up and bite me?" I pondered my situation, afraid that if I wasn't careful, I would end up dead.

  After some thought, I don't seem to be alive now either!

  Is it dead or alive? This is really a very philosophical question!

  "Whatever, death is better than being trapped here!" At this moment, I should be on the north side of the bridge. When I made up my mind to cross the bridge, I half-crawled and half-ran towards the bridgehead, afraid that some monster would suddenly appear if I wasn't careful. It was a heart-pounding, thrilling step-by-step battle with myself!

  As I approached the bridgehead, I saw a white jade stone tablet standing not far in front of me. The style was similar to the tombstone outside the Cui family villa. "This stele won't be sponsored by the Cui family, will it?" I thought to myself. As a family that has dealings with the underworld, I believe the Cui family has this ability and financial resources!

  "It's better to have a landmark, maybe it's written where the escape route is!" I walked a few steps forward, hoping to find an evacuation map or something. But on it was only written in cinnabar "Yu Ming Nai He" four words, "Nai He, Nai He" I muttered to myself, this name seems familiar, after using my limited remaining brain cells to think, suddenly went soft!

  What does this thunderous name mean? Even a toddler who has just weaned would know!

  Suddenly, I remembered that this was the must-pass place for ghosts to reincarnate after going through the 18 levels of hell. I looked back and saw that the poem "Chang Hen Ge" was carved on it. My heart skipped a beat, and I had a bad premonition. I wanted to run away, but I didn't know which direction to go. It seemed like there was no other way except for this bridge in front of me. The world in front of me was hazy, as if it was shrouded in a thin misty maze.

  I wept and cursed, "Why is the Underworld so long and hateful? What's going on here? What's all this nonsense?" Overwhelming grief made me unable to express my complaints, I was too shocked, my mind was in chaos and I couldn't see the world in front of me clearly.

  I slapped myself twice, trying to wake up and regain some of my lost intelligence! As a result, I slapped myself too hard and fell to the ground. I struggled to get up and continued to sob, saying: "Have I arrived at the underworld? Didn't they say I was an official in the underworld? Didn't I die without dying? How did I end up here?" With a belly full of resentment and nowhere to vent it, I used to be alone with nothing, but now I have a family, money, and a mansion. I haven't even had two good days yet, and I'm already dead - who can I reason with?!

  Heavens, can't you just stop teasing me like this? Look, I'm all bald now!!!!!

  I wiped away two tears, woke up with three snorts of snot, felt the softness and warmth of my body, completely without any feeling of being a stiff corpse. I then looked around in all directions, but really couldn't figure out what situation I was currently in, how did I end up in the underworld? What state am I in now? Am I here on vacation or living here permanently? Is this life or death? Is it a dream or reality?

  Why does this stupid question keep popping up and bothering me? And why can't I think of an answer to a question that seems so easy to answer, no matter how hard I rack my brains? This is just too damn frustrating! Is this the rhythm of bullying honest people?!

  Forget it, do what you can and leave the rest to fate! I gritted my teeth and inched forward with a worm-like movement, probably if that leech saw me now, it wouldn't even dare to bite me, thinking I'm some kind of relative or something.

  Of course, there's a reason for this. Firstly, it's the aftermath of my earlier incontinence: my crotch is still wet and it's a bit embarrassing. Secondly, I'm afraid of being discovered by something like that blood python and losing my life! TV shows are all about hiding in plain sight; now that I think about it, watching more TV dramas can be quite educational!

  As I was approaching the Qing Shi Bridge with a wandering attitude, I suddenly discovered that at the bridgehead of the Nai He Bridge not far in front, an old woman-like figure had appeared out of nowhere, setting up a large pot. It was clear that she hadn't been there before! Was I seeing things? I rubbed my eyes hard, trying to confirm that I wasn't hallucinating, but unexpectedly, I accidentally activated the mind-reading technique. Who would have thought that in this dark and gloomy place, someone would be reading minds? I looked up at the old woman with a mixture of embarrassment and fear, worried that she might think I was lusting after her beauty, my eyes gleaming with an otherworldly blue light! Then, taking in my handsome appearance, she would fall to her knees, surrendering herself to me, and become my devoted follower...

  The old woman held a large plastic spoon, and beside her was a big pot with a simmering thick soup. The aroma wafted through the air, making me feel like I couldn't help but rush forward to take a bite. It's as if a smoker who hadn't had a cigarette for half a year saw a long cigarette butt on the ground!

  But what's even stranger is that the pot was floating steadily in mid-air without any support, making me deeply suspect that this piece of furniture also has the principle of magnetic levitation trains. Has the technology in the underworld already advanced to such an extent?

  The pot has no fire or wood, but white smoke is rising from it, and the thick soup is boiling over, filling the air with fragrance. No matter how you look at it, this old woman's appearance looks much better than that half-dead ghost and blood python in the Naihe River earlier. I don't have that kind of stark visual fear either. This scene has piqued my curiosity, so to get a clearer view, I took another step forward, advancing about half a centimeter. Suddenly, people's shadows began to appear on the bridge, and soon they were shoulder-to-shoulder, as if they had emerged out of thin air.

  I slowly moved forward, always with my butt up, in preparation for any unexpected situation where I would need to turn around and run wildly. In the blink of an eye, the bridge was suddenly crowded with people, and as I looked around, I saw that the crowd stretched from the beginning of the bridge all the way to the end, which was so far away it was invisible. My current tactic was to blend in with the crowd on the bridge, run across the bridge, but when I took a closer look, I discovered that everyone on the bridge had a pale face, no expression, and their eyes were completely white, just like Xu Bo, without any pupils!!! "These are all ghosts!!" I almost shouted out loud!

  This string of shocks almost made me faint, I could almost hear the sound of my gallbladder bursting and my heart breaking.

  Don't these people all blind? Or is it that I didn't see clearly because of the refraction of light, in short, giving a gloomy and terrifying feeling. They were lined up in an orderly manner, slowly crossing the bridge, without any noise or commotion. I wish when Chinese people line up, they could have this effect, how great would that be!

  I committed the common mistake of liberal arts students, going off topic. At this time, I should have been afraid, but I adjusted my emotions and encouraged the goosebumps on my body to reveal their sharp edges and show their heads. And indeed, after my encouragement, the goosebumps all over my body emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, quite magnificent. No mistake, I was extremely scared! For one second, I felt that being scared was a very glorious thing.

  At this moment, I took a few deep breaths and began to analyze the situation in front of me: This place should be the legendary underworld without a doubt! Naihe Bridge, Meng Po's soup, Huangquan Road... Thinking of this, I was both shocked and afraid, hating and sorrowful. A mouthful of stagnant air almost suffocated me, making me faint. How could someone as handsome and elegant as myself, with such a noble family mission on my back, just die like that? When I wanted to die, I wasn't allowed to; when I didn't want to die, I suddenly fell asleep and died?

  Before this, I seemed to have done nothing but sleep. I tried hard to recall what happened before that. After analysis and research, I came up with a very terrifying explanation: I slept to death! I actually slept to death!!!

  I thought it wasn't the underworld, but rather my own dream of wandering into some kind of haunted house. The small spark of hope in my heart was instantly extinguished by reality. My nostrils were filled with a strong smell of urine!

  A strong chill rose from the soles of my feet to my forehead, and I had a strong desire to escape, but looking around, I couldn't tell where to escape because behind me was a vast expanse of nothingness, and everything seemed to suggest that this was a path that could only be moved forward, not backward.

  As soon as I thought of myself being in hell at this moment, I suddenly felt indignant and tried to recall my past experiences. It seemed that I hadn't done anything wrong, no stealing, no robbery, didn't know how to gamble or smoke, so why did I end up in hell? This is a miscarriage of justice! How could I, a ghost official, be wrongly imprisoned in hell? Just thinking about it makes me want to curse.

  At this moment, the Meng Po standing at the bridgehead seemed to be smiling at me with a gentle smile. "Is she winking at me?" I looked around and it seemed that there was no other living thing besides me. Being winked at should be a pleasant thing, but why do I have a feeling of prostatitis now? My lower abdomen feels bloated, wanting to urinate?

  Looking at this face, although the age is indeed not small, but when young, it must have been a beautiful woman. These five senses are absolutely qualified, but I don't have an Oedipus complex! My mind is full of Zhou Mo and has no interest in sex! As a cold wind blows by, I suddenly realize something - the strong stench that just filled my nostrils seems to have faded a lot.

  I shifted my gaze, curiously following the direction of the strongest fragrance, and indeed in the Naihe water, I found that on the blood bones that were just struggling in the water, many large flowers like lotus bowls suddenly bloomed at this moment. Are these flowers nourished by the blood, flesh, and skeletal remains?

  The flower bloomed very large but had no leaves, its color was a bright white, similar to a chrysanthemum but much larger, emitting waves of faint fragrance. Along with the murky river water and rolling dry bones, it formed a striking contrast, making it even more eerie and enchanting. That scent was the most alluring I've ever smelled in my lifetime. "Higanbana" - that was my first reaction, although it didn't quite match the legend, but it shouldn't be wrong either, what other flower would bloom on this river of death? Perhaps it's precisely because of the nourishment from this bloody mountain of corpses that such a strange and beautiful sight appears. I couldn't help but want to pick some, but suddenly remembered the ancient warning "don't pick wildflowers by the roadside", and immediately lost interest, thinking survival was more important.

  I sorted out my thoughts, Yin Ming Nai He, Shi Hai Xue Jiao, Lao Fu Fen Tang, I'm not surprised that I should have slept to death directly! But strangely, why didn't anyone notice me when I died? Where is the organization? Did I fall behind? "Where is the Hell Customer Service? I want to complain!" I involuntarily shouted out loud!