Chapter 191
Chapter 191
Among the Four Great Fiends, Hundun was an exceedingly bizarre existence.
It had eyes but could not see and ears but could not hear. It was a creature without order, one that excelled at creating chaos.
It liked to attach itself to people of wicked character.
Whether Hundun had personally gouged out Yu Nian’s eyes was unclear, but it had undoubtedly been involved.
Back then, I had wanted to give the Buddha Eyes to Yu Nian, but she refused them.
She said she wouldn’t be able to keep them safe.
Now it seemed the Buddha Eyes had been intended as an offering to Hundun all along.
If Gu Die hadn’t appeared midway through their plans and, at the Teahouse Proprietress’s instruction, pawned the Buddha Eyes to the Pawnshop, then by now… they would probably already have been implanted into Hundun’s eye sockets.
Why would a fiend want a pair of Buddha Eyes?
With the Buddha Eyes, it would be able to see, but it still wouldn’t be able to hear. Was it planning to find itself a pair of Buddha ears next?
The Buddha Eyes had remained in the Pawnshop’s refrigerator all this time. Few Dirty Things would dare to break into the Pawnshop rashly.
The other party had tried twice to seize the Buddha Eyes and failed both times. The Tang Family’s crisis had likely been their fallback plan after brute force proved ineffective.
If Tang Xun hadn’t gone to the Hushan Ancient Tomb in search of the Crystal Orchid, the Tang Family would have been forced to negotiate with the other party in order to save Tang Ao.
And the condition they demanded would most likely have been the Buddha Eyes.
Perhaps they had never expected Tang Xun to actually find the Crystal Orchid.
Tang Xun had now drawn the attention of her destined partner, which was somewhat troublesome.
But he was her destined partner, after all. They had been entangled through several lifetimes. There was no way she could avoid him forever.
In one week, I would use the Soul-Guiding Lantern to lead the Souls belonging to Tang Xun into the Netherworld Realm. On the surface, it seemed as though I had been dragged into this for no reason, but in truth, Tang Xun had helped us avert a Calamity.
Whether out of duty or gratitude, I had to make this trip to the Netherworld Realm.
This was also an opportunity for me to enter the Netherworld Realm. At first, the incident in which my Souls had been lured onto Yellow Springs Road left me terrified and uneasy. But after so many days had passed, I instead began to feel that I needed to face the matter head-on.
After all, Liu Junyan couldn’t stay by my side forever. He was someone destined to accomplish great things.
Only by uncovering the truth about my fiancé and resolving the matter properly could I put an end to it once and for all.
After we returned to the Pawnshop, we each took some time to rest and ate a simple lunch. Then the four of us sat down together to discuss our trip to the Netherworld Realm in one week.
Liu Junyan said, “Qingying, Moqiong, the two of you will stay behind and guard the Pawnshop. I’ll accompany Xiao Jiu to the Underworld.”
Li Qingying had no objections. She was already used to remaining behind to watch over the Pawnshop.
Hui Moqiong, however, refused. “Take me with you. I promise I won’t cause trouble, and I can even help out when it matters most.”
“We’ll go and return as quickly as possible. We aren’t planning to stir up any trouble,” Liu Junyan refused sternly. “We’ll also be taking the Soul-Guiding Lantern with us. With both me and the Soul-Guiding Lantern gone from the Pawnshop, we can’t afford to be careless, even with the shrine keeping everything suppressed. Of the Five Blessing Immortals, you’re the only one here who can hold the fort now. If you don’t guard the Pawnshop, who will do it for me?”
The corners of Hui Moqiong’s lips rose involuntarily before he quietly forced them back down.
I still remembered what he had said when he chose to return to the Pawnshop: “I suppose I’ll reluctantly go back and be the boss of the Five Blessing Immortals.”
Being the boss meant being entrusted with important responsibilities.
Liu Junyan certainly knew how to handle him.
Hui Moqiong said, “Fine. Since the Pawnshop needs me so badly, I’ll stay and keep Yingyingzi company. I’m worried she’ll get scared and cry at night.”
Without missing a beat, Li Qingying reached over and gave the tender flesh of his arm a hard pinch. “We’ll see which one of us ends up crying!”
After settling their arrangements, Liu Junyan spoke with me alone for a long time.
“Xiao Jiu, this happened too suddenly. There are far too many things we need to prepare and precautions we need to take. Fortunately, we have a week to get ready. As long as you follow my lead, nothing should go wrong.”
I nodded. “Ah Yan, as long as you’re with me, I have nothing to worry about.”
Liu Junyan smiled and stroked my head before saying, “The Soul-Guiding Lantern is almost full of Merit. That will be a tremendous help when we enter the Netherworld Realm. It’s both a Soul-Guiding Lantern and your weapon. You can draw on either the Merit within it or its Lamp Oil, but either will be consumed rapidly, so know your limits.”
I knew that.
“The only complication left is Fu Wan.”
“Why?”
“Fu Wan’s Souls are still unstable. If our journey through the Netherworld Realm is uneventful, it won’t affect her much. But if anything goes wrong, she may be in danger.”
That was true.
If anything happened, I would inevitably have to use the Merit inside the Hexagonal Palace Lantern, perhaps even its Lamp Oil.
Once too much was consumed, Fu Wan’s Souls would be severely affected.
She had only just managed to coalesce her Souls into a wisp, and an extremely faint one at that. It could easily be scattered.
And if that happened, her only possible fate would be complete annihilation.
I frowned and asked, “Ah Yan, what can I do to help her?”
“Extract her Souls ahead of time,” Liu Junyan said. “Set up a spirit tablet for her this afternoon. I’ll enshrine her so she can receive offerings, and tonight, you can guide her into the tablet. Maotan can help. Once her spiritual form becomes solid enough, she can serve under you as a Spirit Attendant.”
Set up a spirit tablet for Fu Wan and enshrine her to receive offerings?
Judging by her aptitude, Fu Wan did not yet qualify for such treatment.
But Liu Junyan was willing to make an exception for her. This was an incredible stroke of fortune!
Naturally, I was completely willing.
Liu Junyan continued, “Once the Soul-Guiding Lantern is filled to overflowing with Merit, it may change form. I plan to transfer Merit into it tonight. You should familiarize yourself with it beforehand, so you won’t fumble around if you need to use it in the Netherworld Realm.”
Curious, I asked, “Change form? Isn’t it just a lantern? What could it possibly turn into?”
Liu Junyan shook his head. “I’m not sure yet either. You’ll find out tonight.”
“All right.” I wasn’t in a hurry, so I changed the subject. “Aunt Tang’s fated match… Have you figured out who he is? Even a guess would do.”
“He never showed himself or revealed his identity. He seems extremely mysterious,” Liu Junyan said. “But judging from the weapon he used, I do have one rather bold theory.”
His weapon?
I suddenly remembered that when the dark figure fought the Copper Coin Net, he had condensed yin energy into something shaped like a ceremonial court tablet and lashed out with it.
A court tablet?
My eyes flew wide open.
Granny was in the funeral business, and I had grown up immersed in her teachings. I had heard countless legends and stories about the Netherworld Realm from her.
Whenever the Netherworld Realm came up, aside from the Bridge of No Return and Meng Po, no one appeared more often in those stories than the Ten Kings of Hell.
Each of the Ten Kings of Hell had his own duties and his own palace within the Netherworld Realm. They governed different jurisdictions, had different temperaments, and wielded different weapons.
And among the Ten Kings of Hell, there really was one who used a court tablet.
The Seventh King of Hell — the King of Mount Tai.
The King of Mount Tai governed the Great Hell of Heat and Affliction, also known as the Pestle-and-Mill Hell of Minced Flesh. Those in the World of the Living who stole bones from corpses to make medicine or tore people away from their closest loved ones fell under his jurisdiction.
Stealing bones to make medicine meant taking the bones of the dead and using them to produce or compound medicinal remedies.
And among the Ten Kings of Hell, he was the only one whose jurisdiction had anything to do with medicine…