This is so dishonest!

Chapter 338 Xuan Qing's Schemes Are Deep, Empress Hou Tu [Bonus Chapter 8]

"Wait a minute!"

Before the gates of hell, two enormous ghosts appeared, standing tall in the void.

"What brings you here, fellow Daoist?" Shen Tu, holding a golden halberd, looked at the newcomer with a majestic and imposing air.

"This is a sacred place, not to be trespassed. Please state your purpose, fellow Daoist, and allow us to inform them!" Yu Lei held a long whip in one hand and stroked the head of the golden-eyed white tiger with the other.

Houtu saw the golden-eyed white tiger squatting in front of the Gate of Hell, and a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.

Which unlucky Great Luo is this?
They've actually been captured and sent to guard the gates of the underworld!

"Please inform the Underworld Emperor that the 'Storyteller Immortal' has come to visit!" Houtu thought it over and decided to try to get Dijiang and the others out by appealing to their friendship with the immortals.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment."

Shen Tu turned and entered the underworld.

A moment later, Shen Tu returned with the judges of the Yin Law Division and a team of ghost messengers.

"This immortal, His Majesty requests your presence!" The judge of the Underworld Law Division had silver hair and silver eyes, wore a plain white robe, and had a handsome appearance. He held a jade tablet in his hand and wore a pair of silver boots. He rode on clouds and mist, surrounded by auspicious light.

Houtu stepped forward and carefully examined the judge. Suddenly, a look of joy flashed in her bright eyes: "Qingqing?"

“Immortal, you’ve mistaken me for a ghost. I am a judge from the Underworld’s Law Enforcement Division.” The woman said sternly, her expression serious and meticulous.

"Qingqing, the judge of the Underworld?" Houtu asked with a smile in her eyes.

"Cui Yu".

The young woman made up a name on the spot.

"Alright, Fellow Daoist Cui, please lead the way." Houtu felt relieved to encounter an acquaintance—no, a familiar ghost—in the underworld.

"Please!" The young woman pretended not to know Houtu and adopted a businesslike attitude.

The guiding spirits, holding up divine banners and canopies, escorted the two goddesses into the underworld.

Before long, they saw countless layers of colorful clouds floating by, and thousands of red mists appearing faintly.

A magnificent ghost city appeared before Houtu's eyes.

"Fengdu Ghost City?"

Houtu entered the Ghost City, stepped onto the Street of the Dead, and went straight to the front of the Fengdu Palace.

Towering pavilions reached for the azure sky, while elegant corridors connected the precious courtyards. Incense from beast-shaped censers wafted over the imperial robes, and crimson lanterns illuminated the palace. To the left, a fierce bull's head swung; to the lower right, a rugged Roman face. Golden plaques were used to welcome the dead and send off ghosts, while white silk ribbons were hung to summon spirits.

The young woman led Houtu past rows of ghosts and gods, straight to the center of the main hall.

"Your Majesty, the storyteller has arrived." The young woman handed over the decree and returned to her rank.

The ten Yama Kings stood on either side, all looking at Houtu with curiosity.

Houtu looked around carefully, her eyes fixed on the front.

She gazed at the imposing figure on the throne, cupped her hands, and said, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist of Fengdu!"

"What brings Fellow Daoist Wupan to the Netherworld?" Xuanqing asked.

Houtu stated clearly at the outset: "I have come to the underworld to find a few wandering souls and send them back to the world of the living."

"Oh? What kind of ghost is it? Why has it returned to life?"

Xuanqing said, "Fellow Daoist, you should know that there are no wrongly summoned souls in my Underworld."

Houtu hurriedly said, "It is not the fault of the underworld. It is because several fellow Daoists of the Witch God Organization have accidentally gotten lost and somehow wandered into the Netherworld. We earnestly hope that fellow Daoists will be lenient and allow them to return to the world of the living."

"Lost?" Xuanqing looked at Houtu with a smile.

Houtu nodded: "We're lost!"

Even seasoned anglers get lost sometimes.

Isn't it normal for several supreme beings to get lost?
"Fellow Daoist, please tell me, which fellow Daoists got lost and wandered into my Netherworld?" Xuan Qing asked again.

Houtu said: "The first is Dijiang, the second is Xizi, the third is Qiangliang, and the fourth is Shebishi."

Upon hearing this, Xuan Qing nodded slightly, and then looked at Nü Qing beside him.

Are these four fellow Daoists registered?

"Registered!"

Houtu was overjoyed.

“However—” the young woman changed the subject.

Houtu pressed further: "But what?"

The young woman opened the Ghost Law and said, "These four fellow Daoists have too much karma and heavy burdens. According to the law, they should drink Meng Po soup and be unable to reincarnate. They should be sent to the Stone Mill Hell, the Mirror of Retribution Hell, the Mountain of Knives Hell, and the Sea of ​​Fire Hell to be punished respectively."

"Unable to reincarnate?"

Houtu grasped the key words and breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that he didn't enter the cycle of reincarnation, it's good that he didn't enter the cycle of reincarnation."

Once they've entered the cycle of reincarnation, it will be very difficult to bring them back.

Not to mention cultivating back to his current level.

"Since you haven't entered the cycle of reincarnation, I wonder if Fellow Daoist Fengdu could make an exception?" Houtu asked again.

Xuanqing neither agreed nor disagreed, only saying, "The Netherworld has its own order."

“All spirits that enter my netherworld must be judged for their merits and demerits, and rewarded or punished according to the law, without any error.”

"I accept the punishment, of course I accept the punishment!" Houtu waved her hand and took out more than ten spiritual treasures, each of which was a primordial item.

"This is the fine I'm paying on behalf of my four fellow Daoists. I wonder if it can atone for their crimes?" Houtu took out so many spiritual treasures in one go, without changing her expression or feeling any heartache.

Anyway, these are all some of the relics of the twelve witch gods during their lifetimes, not things they took from their own private coffers.

However, the ghosts and immortals were unaware of this and simply thought that Hou Tu was incredibly wealthy.

They directly pulled out more than a dozen innate spiritual treasures to test us, the ghosts and gods of the underworld?

Which devil can't withstand this kind of test?

Xuan Qing shook his head: "To be honest, fellow Daoist, there is no precedent in our Underworld for paying fines to atone for crimes."

"Isn't this already the case?"

Houtu smiled and said, "As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning. I've made a start, so it won't be difficult to pay off my crimes with fines in the future!"

Xuanqing remained silent.

Seeing that he did not directly refuse, Houtu immediately felt that there was a chance, so she continued, "I have great respect for the underworld and do not want to disrupt the order here."

"Whatever the four fellow Daoists have done, they should be punished according to the law."

"We only hope that you will reconsider the sentencing, considering our Witch God's upright attitude."

Xuan Qing pondered for a moment and said, "Since you've put it that way, fellow Daoist, would you like to consider participating in one of our Underworld's trials?"

"Assessment, what assessment?"

Xuanqing's sudden turn of events caught Houtu off guard.

"It's nothing, just a recruitment assessment within our underworld."

Xuanqing said, "Those who pass the test can obtain the Ghost Register and come to the Underworld to take up a post."

"Does this have anything to do with what we're talking about right now?" Houtu asked, puzzled.

Xuanqing smiled but remained silent.

At this moment, Guang Chengzi stepped forward and said, "Fellow Daoist Wupan, you may not know this, but in our Underworld, there is no precedent for paying fines to atone for sins. However, we have lenient policies and relatively good welfare benefits for our own people."

"If you can pass our recruitment assessment, then you will be considered one of our own from the Underworld. Do you understand what I mean?"

After hearing this, Houtu blinked her big eyes.

Can you do this?

Houtu glanced at Nüqing, the judge of the Yin Law Division.

The young woman looked down at her nose, then at her mouth, then at her heart, appearing lost in thought.

Houtu transmitted a message to her.

She pretended not to hear it.

What does the matter of the Azure Cloud Goddess have to do with me, the Judge of the Underworld?

Don't get involved.

Houtu had no choice but to give up.

Taking a job in the underworld was something she hadn't considered yet.

However, judging from the current situation, if they don't participate in this assessment, then Boss Dijiang and the others won't be able to get it back.

If they can't retrieve it, the "Pangu" heart cannot be completed.

The Ancestral Witch Project is destined to fail.

This will also affect the opportunity to inherit the true lineage of Pangu, as well as the matter of exploiting the Chaos God.

"If I were to join the Netherworld, would I need to come here in my true form?" Houtu asked.

Guang Chengzi said, "Our Netherworld adheres to the principle of efficiency above all else. If you can still ensure the smooth completion of the work even without my true self, then it is acceptable for you to even manifest your Dao body here."

"Is that so?" Houtu looked at Nüqing.

The young woman nodded almost imperceptibly.

Houtu then smiled and said, "Then I will participate in the recruitment assessment in the Underworld."

“A wise choice.” Xuan Qing nodded slightly, his face obscured by twelve jeweled crowns, making his expression unreadable.

"Please, Fellow Daoist Wupan, accompany King Pingdeng on this journey."

Guang Chengzi took another step forward.

"Would it be possible for Judge Cui Yu of the Underworld Law Division to accompany me and explain the details of the assessment?" Houtu pointed to Nüqing.

"can."

As soon as the word was uttered, the scene inside the Fengdu Hall changed abruptly.

Houtu found herself in a plaza, surrounded by swarms of creatures from different worlds and races.

"The exam is coming up soon, I'm so nervous, so nervous!"

"Calm down, calm down. This is your third time fighting, what are you nervous about?"

"It's precisely because of World War III that I'm so nervous!"

Beside Houtu, several beings were discussing the assessment.

"Sigh, the underworld's assessment is too difficult. I feel like I still have no hope this time."

"That's normal. The welfare benefits in the underworld are no less than those of the Demonic Sect, and may even be better. It's inevitable that the assessment will be difficult."

"If I fail this test, I'll have no choice but to die first and embark on the path of ghost cultivation."

"Ghosts, gods, and immortals value living in the face of death, which requires immense courage. I support you!"

Houtu listened to everyone's discussion and turned to look at the young woman beside her: "Qingqing, what's going on with this recruitment assessment?"

“My name is Cui Yu,” the young woman emphasized.

"Okay, Qingqing." Houtu smiled broadly.

The young woman replied expressionlessly, "The recruitment assessment in the Underworld is open to countless beings across the myriad realms who are destined to succeed. As long as one passes the assessment, one can obtain the corresponding position based on the evaluation of the Underworld's will."

"The specific assessment content varies from person to person and from time to time. It is best not to cheat."

The young woman succinctly explained the relevant matters concerning the assessment.

"That's it?" Houtu blinked.

"Gone."

The young woman nodded. "I have no idea what kind of assessment you'll encounter."

"If you want to know what's going on, go and experience it for yourself."

Moments later, light descended upon the square.

Numerous living beings disappeared one after another.

~~~~~
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty? Why are you asleep?"

When Houtu awoke, she found herself in a grand hall.

She looked around. "Why does this environment look so much like the underworld?"

"Your Majesty, are you talking in your sleep? Isn't this the Netherworld? Of course it looks like it!"

Beside Houtu stood a judge in red robes and a judge in black robes.

"Your Majesty, these are the official documents that need to be processed recently." The judge in red took out a stack of jade slips.

Houtu casually took out a scroll.

"A Heavenly Court social event?"

Houtu glanced at it curiously: "The Old Man of the Moon wants to cooperate with Meng Po to develop a potion of forgetfulness to redeem wrong love—love that was once, but has been forgotten."

When Houtu saw the official document, she naturally associated it with the positions of Yue Lao and Meng Po.

She immediately issued her reply: "Rejected!"

"How can the affairs of the matchmaker be managed by ghosts and gods? What kind of logic is this misguided love? Why did you even try to match us up in the first place? It only adds to your troubles."

"The God of Love must live up to every red thread he has tied, so that there will be no love in the world that needs redemption."

"May all lovers in the world finally get married."

After Houtu finished writing the approval, she continued reading the next scroll of jade slips.

"As housing prices in Cloud City in the human realm soared, a cultivator from the Ghost Path, unable to afford a house despite years of hard work, finally gave up on himself, becoming indifferent to life and death, and chose to hang himself at the entrance of a high-end residential area, contributing to stabilizing housing prices!"

"In the end, this cultivator faced death and was reborn, transforming into a ghost immortal. Now he applies to serve in my underworld. Please grant me your permission, Your Majesty."

Houtu shook her head upon seeing this.

She waved her hand and wrote down the verdict.

"A genius!"

Upon seeing this, the judge in black and the judge in red exchanged a glance, wanting to laugh but daring not to.

"Let's continue!"

Hou Tu was full of energy.

These volumes of documents posed no challenge for her; she handled them with ease.

~~~~~
Not long after, Houtu passed the recruitment test in the underworld.

She received a divine tablet with nine large characters written on it.

"Following the example of Heaven and the Earth Goddess!"

Houtu's eyes widened immediately.

"Is this...is this correct?" Houtu's heart was in turmoil.

She never gave her real name from beginning to end.

Was this divine card used intentionally, or was it just an accident?

Also, this nine-character honorific title doesn't seem like a simple position, does it?
"What exactly does this position entail?" Houtu asked Xuanqing, who had suddenly appeared.

"It's nothing major," Xuan Qing said with a smile. "It's just some things related to reincarnation, but the Great Reincarnation System of the Netherworld hasn't been completed yet, so you're currently unemployed."

"Really?"

Xuan Qing replied sincerely, "Of course it's true."

Houtu looked at the divine tablet in her hand, then at Xuanqing: "So, I can just leave now?"

“Of course, we in the Underworld have a flexible work system. If you don’t have work, you can just leave and take a vacation,” Xuan Qing said.

"What about the other four fellow Daoists?" Houtu asked tentatively.

"Fellow Daoist, you can go to the Bridge of Helplessness to find Meng Po and ask her to retrieve your wandering soul," Xuan Qing instructed.

"It's that simple?"

"It's that simple."

Houtu, with some doubt, carried the divine tablet to the Bridge of Helplessness.

"Would you like some soup, fellow Daoist?"

Meng Wuyou smiled and said, "Congratulations on passing our Netherworld recruitment assessment and obtaining a new position."

"Because of your outstanding performance, you can enjoy a benefit unique to the Underworld."

"What kind of benefits?" Houtu asked.

Wuyou said, "The privilege of free Meng Po soup for life."

"Is this... a privilege?" Houtu raised an eyebrow.

"Of course!"

Meng Wuyou smiled and said, "For ordinary dead souls, Meng Po soup can only be drunk once in their lifetime."

"Fellow Daoist can drink unlimited amounts, isn't that a privilege?"

Houtu couldn't help but complain: "After drinking this stuff, who would want to keep drinking it?"

"Who knows?" Wuyou smiled mysteriously.

"That"

Houtu hesitated for a moment and then said, "Then I'll have one. Three parts sugar, with ice, please."

Worry-free: "."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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