Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 499 A Gift for the King of Hell—Meow?

Fa Xiu quickly averted her gaze, but the ghost princess became even more interested. She leaned down from upstairs, pressed her upper body against the car window, and seductively said:
"Won't you come in and hear the secret I've kept hidden for a hundred years?" she said, lightly loosening her robe to reveal a blood-red plum blossom mark on her collarbone. "This mark is left for a destined person..."

"Do not look at what is improper, do not listen to what is improper." Faxiu quickly closed her eyes and chanted the incantation.

Fortunately, the next moment, Qiang Liang cleaved the ghost princess in two with a single axe stroke, spitting out, "Damn it, you're blind! You dare to pick up passengers in a government vehicle!"

"Amitabha Buddha," Faxiu couldn't help but chant the Buddha's name.

"Little Master, don't regret it. I'll take you to find someone better when I have time," Qiang Liang comforted him.

"That's not what I meant!" Fa Xiu blushed instantly, wishing she could disappear into the ground, and muttered under her breath, "That's really not what I meant..."

~~
The ghost ox cart left the bustling city and traveled along the straight avenue to the gates of the magnificent Ghost King's Palace.

Qiang Liang then led them off the vehicle and onto foot, passing through the Netherworld Archway shrouded in a gray-purple miasma, where they came to the magnificent Yama Palace, towering majestically at the highest point of Fengdu City. Ninety-nine soul-suppressing lamps hung from the upturned eaves, their shimmering blue light bathing the entire hall in a solemn and dignified atmosphere.

In the plaza before the palace, thirty-six pillars of black iron pierce the ground, their shafts bound with ancient bronze chains, and the inscribed mantras for rebirth gleaming with a cold, eerie light. That is the entrance to the underworld…

Outside the hall, on both sides, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, clad in heavy black iron armor, their steel forks gleaming coldly, led their elite ghost army, standing in solemn ranks, guarding the King of Hell and his ministers within the hall.

Qiang Liang escorted the people to the palace gate, but they were no longer qualified to enter. A judge wearing a black gauze hat, with a stern expression and holding a vermilion pen, came out and led the group into the palace.

The hall was filled with a chilling atmosphere, and the palace lanterns emitted green ghostly flames that made the faces of the ghost king and his ministers appear ferocious.

The Ghost King sat regally on the Netherworld Throne with nine dragons coiled around it, with civil and military judges and underworld officials in black court robes standing on his left and right.

He was dressed in a dark court robe embroidered with gold dragon patterns. He wore a twelve-tassel crown, with twelve strings of jade beads hanging down like a curtain, shrouding his cold and majestic face in a hazy light and shadow.

The will-o'-the-wisps within the hall cast countless afterimages around Him, and His oppressive aura spread as if it were tangible. Each of His breaths carried a soul-shaking power, making it clear to all that He was the end of all living beings!

"What do you seek by trespassing into the netherworld? Do not try to play tricks on me." A deep voice came from the throne, each word striking like a heavy hammer, seizing the initiative from the very first word.

"Yes." Chen Lingzhi responded, presenting a tortoise shell with both hands, and said in a deep voice, "Reporting to the Ghost King, this is the one who introduced me here to borrow His Majesty's Soul-Returning Lamp."

With a wave of his hand, the tortoise shell flew into His hand. After examining the cracks on the tortoise shell, He slowly nodded and said, "So that's how it is."

He pointed to the oil lamp on the imperial desk in front of him. "This is what you wanted."

"Please have mercy, Your Majesty," Chen Lingzhi said respectfully.

"I can lend it to you, but the most important thing for me in governing the underworld is fairness. You must hand over what I want."

“No problem.” Chen Lingzhi nodded and said, “Please, Ghost King, release the restriction, and I will have someone bring it in right away.”

"Alright." The Ghost King nodded, flicked his finger, and the black curtain that covered the sky broke open, allowing sunlight to shine through instantly. The people of the Ghost Kingdom felt very uncomfortable and rushed into their houses to hide. In an instant, not a single ghost could be seen on the street.

Chen Lingzhi silently recited a few words. A moment later, a dragon roared through the gap and flew into the Ghost Kingdom, landing directly on the square in front of the Ghost King's Palace.

On the back of the dragon sat Xiao Yuhuan, who looked like an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl, holding a box wrapped in red cloth in her arms. As soon as Xiao Yuhuan's feet touched the ground, the dragon transformed into a handsome and elegant middle-aged man, none other than the long-lost Tian Liangzi.

The two entered the hall and handed the box to Chen Lingzhi.

Chen Lingzhi then unveiled the red cloth in front of everyone, revealing a cat cage inside.

Even more bizarrely, the cage contained a civet cat.

The tabby cat scratched and bit in the cage, swearing horribly!

"What are you doing with my cat?" Ayao was furious upon seeing this. "Did the Ghost King attack Peach Blossom Spring just to find my cat?"

The judges of the underworld chuckled inwardly, and one of them cursed, "How dare you! How dare you mock the King like this! Do you think you can escape death just because you've come to the underworld?"

To everyone's surprise, the Ghost King was overjoyed and waved his hand, saying, "All of you, go out and let me be alone with this cat for a while."

"Uh..." The judges of the underworld froze instantly. Ayao was also dumbfounded, unable to understand why the Ghost King was so fond of his cat.

"Your Majesty, what about the lamp?" Chen Lingzhi asked hurriedly.

"Take it, take it." The Ghost King stared at the tabby cat without blinking, and with a wave of his hand, the Soul-Returning Lamp flew into her hand.

Chen Lingzhi was overjoyed and quickly led his men out. The judges of the underworld simply vanished on the spot, no longer bothering His Majesty.

~~
"Senior, what exactly happened?!" As soon as they arrived outside the hall, A Yao hurriedly asked Tian Liangzi.

"I don't know either." Tianliangzi shrugged. "I just came to see someone off. I thought you asked her to bring the tabby cat."

Ayao looked at Xiao Yuhuan with an unfriendly expression. Xiao Yuhuan shrugged and said, "I don't understand either. Lingzhi told me to do it. I don't know what's going on."

"What exactly are you up to?" Ayao was even more annoyed with Chen Lingzhi.

Chen Lingzhi, however, shook the brass oil lamp in his hand and said unhurriedly, "How can we get the lamp if we don't do this? How can we save A-Yuan if we can't get the lamp?"

"..." Ayao immediately lost her arrogance and whispered, "Then hurry up and save people."

Sacrificing Wenli for Ayuan is worth it.

Chen Lingzhi pretended not to be in a hurry, just to keep A Yao in check, but in reality, she was just as impatient. She quickly took the yarrow stalk from her wrist, twisted it into a wick, and carefully inserted it into the oil lamp hole.

"While this Resurrection Lamp is indeed a treasure, its oil is even more precious—made from the essence of Pangu, something even the ten witches couldn't refine," Chen Lingzhi said softly as he operated the lamp.

"This is the very essence of Pangu that Emperor Fuxi, after overcoming countless hardships, found and refined into a million pearls and jades, using his supreme power to create the oil for the resurrection lamp. Because it shares the same origin as the divine fire, both being transformed from Pangu, it can reignite the divine fire for A Yuan and restore his life!"

Once the yarrow stalk was completely soaked in lamp oil, she said to Tianliangzi, "Senior, please use the Dragon Pearl to light the stalk!"

Only then did Tianliangzi realize that his mission was not merely to deliver a package, but also to fulfill a serious responsibility. He nodded solemnly, opened his mouth, and spat out a dragon pearl wreathed in flames, igniting the lamp wick!
(End of this chapter)