CH 149.2

King Yama’s palace, Incense Hall

The ghost messengers’ jaws dropped as they stared at the image in the water mirror, they looked at the water mirror, and then at Dijia.

One spoke up, “King…King Yama…you…do you want to marry him?”

The other ghost messenger knocked the idiot on the head and said with displeasure, “Look carefully, these paper figurines are shikigami of the living, how could King Yama do things so shabbily when getting married!”

“Who are you looking down on? This is because a living person is impersonating King Yama and marrying in his name, tarnishing King Yama’s reputation.”

The other ghost messenger came to a realization, “So that’s why King Yama asked us to come over, does King Yama want us to secretly follow this young man and then investigate the fake impersonator? King Yama is worthy of being King Yama, he is far-sighted and far-seeing!”

Dijia just gave him a faint look and said, “No, I called you to protect Bai Lixin. I don’t care about the fake King Yama but if anything happens to Bai Lixin, come to me with your head.”

Ghost messengers: “……”

Help! It’s hard to help King Yama save his dignity when he himself says no.

Dijia: “I’m going to take a trip to the eighteenth level of hell; protect him during this time until I return.”

With that, the man gave the young man in the water mirror another fond glance and turned to leave.

After Dijia left, the ghost messengers looked at each other in disbelief.

After a while, one of the ghost messengers slowly spoke, “Speaking of which, where is Master Tuanzi?”

“It seems that he left.”

“…… Uh, he left? Is he okay?”

“…… Probably, he can’t die, can he?”

Their minds coincidentally conjured an image of a round doll face, and one of them spoke with worry: “Why did he leave? Where did he go?”

“I heard that he had a fight with King Yama and said he wanted to look for his father.”

“…… In a way, Master Tuanzi is awesome. It’s the first time I’ve seen a ghost who goes around recognizing his father.”

“Now that you’ve said it, I guess he fell on his brain when he died, so he’s a bit silly. We might as well take him with us when we come across him, after all, we should take care of mentally handicapped children.”

——————

Somewhere in the sea of blood-red Manzhushahua flowers, a certain area suddenly swayed a little.

The next second, a round head poked out of the sea of flowers and sneezed loudly in grievance.

He rubbed his nose and retreated into the sea of flowers, his bright red gown instantly blending in with the Manzhushahua.

He had just taken a step when he suddenly stopped, his big, watery eyes staring ahead vigilantly.

Manzhushahua grew next to Naihe Bridge, which is why they were also known as the flowers of the underworld.

After crossing the sea of flowers and the Naihe Bridge, he would enter the territory of the living souls and finally meet his Papa.

He was just about to cross the sea of flowers and go to the other side of the shore, when he suddenly saw figures not far away.

The little dumpling poked his head out of the flowers secretly. The figures were dark, both wearing huge black cloaks with wide hoods covering their faces.

He saw the men exchange the something, then heard one speak.

“The payment is almost complete, just a little bit more and your wish will be granted. I have done so much for you, so you should not forget our agreement.”

“Thank you, of course I won’t forget. Don’t worry, I’ll help you when the time comes without him noticing. When do I make my move?”

“A little more, and we’ll catch Dijia off guard! We’ll join forces, and by then, I’ll have the underworld, or even the world of the living, in my pocket.”

“Hahaha, I just want Dijia dead!”

“Hahaha, yes, he must die!”

The voices were all very familiar, and the little dumpling’s eyes went wide, a tiny, fat hand covering his mouth to keep it from making a sound.

‘It was him?

He’s going to hurt Father; Father is in danger! I have to tell Father!’

The hooded men glanced toward Manzhushahua at the same time.

“It’s almost time; I’ll go first.”

“I have to hurry back too, I’ll contact you with a code.”

The little dumpling shrank his whole body into the Manzhushahua, cold sweat seeping out of his back and forehead uncontrollably, wetting his clothes in just a few moments.

It was only when the men left at the same time that the little dumpling sighed in relief.

He did not leave in a hurry but stayed there for a while.

It was only when he confirmed that the men had gone that he turned in a panic and stumbled wildly through the Manzhushahua.

Just as he was about to run out of the Manzhushahua, a cold, sinister voice suddenly came from above his head, “Heh, where are you going in such a hurry, Master Tuanzi?”

The little dumpling stumbled and almost fell headlong into the mud.

His feet wobbled on the ground for a moment before he managed to stand and raise his head with a frightened expression, and then his pupils suddenly shrank.

Above his head were two black figures floating in the air. Their eyes, hidden in hoods, looked down at him, as if he were looking at a dead man.

In a panic, he grabbed a random handful of stardust from his arms and threw it toward the men.

The stardust flew into the air and turned into several jade tiles. One of the men laughed loudly, grasping the jade tiles in his hand as he did so, “A scatterbrain attacking people is so special. Hitting people with money? I like it.”

The little dumpling’s eyes grew even more frightened, and his feet trembled as he struggled to run forward, but he had barely taken a step when his collar was picked up and suspended in mid-air.

“Why did you run when you saw me, Master Tuanzi? It makes me sad.”

Another man spoke worriedly, “What’s with all this nonsense? He’s heard it all, just kill him.”

When the little dumpling heard these words, his face turned red, and he glared at the man, “My Father is so powerful, even ten of you are no match for my Father! My Father won’t be killed by you, he’ll definitely defeat you all!”

One of them laughed briskly and knocked the little dumpling unconscious as the other looked on disapprovingly and said, “It’s a pity to kill him.”

“Every ghost messenger has a longevity lamp in the palace Hall, so the moment a ghost messenger dies, the image of his death will be passed on. We’ll be exposed if we kill this kid, and the plans we’ve been working on for so long will be ruined.”

“I have a better way than killing him.”

“What is it?”

“Borrow a knife to kill him. Someone is coming over, so let’s leave here first.”

The men in black quickly disappeared into thin air.

Not long after they left, another group of men in black cloaks appeared, and after watching the Manzhushahua for a while, one of them spoke up, “Lao Er, what abnormalities have you found?”

*Lao Er- Second brother

The ghost messenger called Lao Er answered, “Come and look here, big brother.”

The older brother walked over in time to see his brother cupping a jade tile in his hand, “Why is this in the Manzhushahua?”

There was also a trail of messy footsteps in the manzhushahua, and Lao Er said: “Look at these, they kind of look like Master Tuanzi’s footprints.”

He looked up at the other side of the river, “Could it be that Master Tuanzi crossed the Naihe Bridge from here and entered the world of living souls?”

“I heard that he had a fallout with King Yama and left, should we tell King Yama about this?”

The other ghost messenger pursed his lips: “To tell you the truth, I am worried that Master Tuanzi has been taken away. Look at these footprints, they look messy and fresh, yet they suddenly disappeared here. Let’s investigate more and see if there are any other discoveries.”

Lao Er: “Okay.”

——————–

Late at night, it was already dark outside the paper-tying shop.

The lights were still on in the paper tying-shop.

Li Niang folded her hands and huddled in the corner, staring at the large red figure in front of her.

The young man in the large red wedding dress was calmly seated at the coffee table, his starry eyes appearing lazy and misty in the dim light.

He was beautiful, but not in the feminine and delicate way that women are beautiful, he was beautiful in a unique way a man would be.

One would be enchanted by his appearance at first glance.

Surrounded by eerie paper figurines, paper money, and the like, the young man slowly poured himself a cup of tea and drank it quietly, looking very relaxed and comfortable.

He didn’t look like he was getting married, but was a young master who had gone out to a teahouse to listen to a ditty.

Li Niang secretly gulped and spoke in a low voice: “I have a question.”

Bai Lixin: “What question?”

Li Niang: “My contract is for six months, what if you suddenly die within the six months?”

Bai Lixin’s hand holding the teacup slightly paused, and he looked at Li Niang with suspicion: “Yes, what should I do? It’s my first time, and you have the experience; why don’t you tell me.”

The corners of Li Niang’s mouth suddenly hooked up, the light above her head outlined her face in the shadows, and the suddenly enlarged smile became more and more bizarre: “Generally speaking, if you die, the contract automatically counts it as null and void. The paper tying shop will have no owner, and whoever appears in the paper tying shop at that time will become the owner by default.”

“Hee hee hee,” Li Niang covered her mouth and laughed, “Master, I’m quite worried about the safety of the money. Why don’t you first take out the incense you owe me? In case you die, I’ll give you a funeral and bury you with a pile of paper figurines, countless pieces of paper money, gold ingots, and so on.”

“I have no virtues except my honesty and faithfulness, and I will do what I say.”

“You’re not going to be lucky on this trip, so leave yourself a backup plan; at least you’ll have a way out when you get to the underworld.”

Bai Lixin slowly drank the tea in his hand and said, “You’re very kind.”

Li Niang’s eyes lit up, and Bai Lixin continued to speak, “If you really have nothing better to do, pray for my safe return. Because if I’m going to die, I will definitely pull you along with me the moment before I die.”

Li Niang: “……”

‘Fuck! Shameless!’

Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door of the shop.

Li Niang’s body trembled as she looked at the door, “They came even when my paper-tying shop is hard to find! They are not so simple, so you should be careful.”

Bai Lixin patiently corrected Li Niang, “It’s my paper-tying shop, not yours.”

Li Niang: “……”

I will kill him the moment I’m free!

“Knock, knock, the most auspicious time has come; King Yama is going to marry his pretty wife tonight; may the delicate lady answer; can we carry you to the palanquin.” A singing voice came from outside, Bai Lixin casually picked up the veil at his side, put it on, and spoke indifferently: “Yes.”

The next second, the door of the shop suddenly burst open from the outside, and a cold wind suddenly blew in, blowing the paper money on the shelves all over the room. At first glance, it looked more like a ghostly night attack.

Li Niang shrank back in the corner, hiding her body on the inside of the shelves, only a pair of eyes showing.

The red-clad paper figurine from earlier had now transformed into a human form. But his face was pale, and his eyes didn’t blink. There was no expression on his face, which looked very creepy.

Having already had the experience of carrying a heavy bride yesterday, the paper man was quite skillful this time.

Within a few minutes, Bai Lixin had already been sent into the palanquin, and the procession set off.

Li Niang peeked out from the doorway, the men seemed to have the wind at their feet, running fast and steady, and in a few breaths, they had disappeared at the end of the thick white mist.

The cheerful sound of the suona also faded away, and it was only then that Li Niang took a deep breath and closed the door.

——————-