American comic book red Superman

"The group looking for the underworld hasn't arrived yet. No rush. Let's have some tea to refresh ourselves first. We'll talk about it after Director Zhang gathers everyone. Young man, don't be too impetuous."

Pei Xushan poured hot water from the kettle and began to make tea on his own.

Upon seeing this, Luo Wei was taken aback for a moment, then lightly flicked his cloak, sat down in a chair, took the teacup, and said, "This pot of water was cold before."

"Really? But it was hot when I picked it up."

Pei Xushan stroked his beard and began to drink his tea.

"Are you a superhuman too?"

Luo Wei was absolutely certain that the water in the kettle was cold when he came in, but it boiled instantly when Pei Xushan poured it in.

"No."

Pei Xushan shook his head and said, "Where in the world are there so many superhumans? Those chosen by God are one in ten thousand."

"But it's not only superhumans in the world who can boil water instantly, but you won't tell me."

It doesn't matter.

Luo Wei guessed that the old man in front of him must have some kind of peculiar ability, the kind of extraordinary person Hua Xin mentioned. DC has never lacked people who like to pretend to be supernatural, but it doesn't matter. He came for the underworld, and those who can keep an eye on this place are bound to have some tricks up their sleeves.

Has anyone told you that you have an exceptional talent for cultivation?

Pei Xushan put down his teacup and asked in a deep voice.

"Exceptionally gifted? Some people think that word doesn't do me justice."

Luo Wei took a sip of tea, his gaze falling on the words "Conserve Thoughts and Guard the One" beside him, followed by a series of texts about Taoism. "You're a Taoist?"

"That's it."

Pei Xushan continued pouring water, only to find the kettle empty. He shook it and refilled it with hot water. "Would you like more tea?"

"no need."

Luo Wei covered the rim of his teacup and his gaze fell on the kettle.

There is a saying in Taoism: "Everything is created by the mind, and water is born from my heart."

Pei Xushan put down the teapot and, noticing Luo Wei's gaze, said something that made the boy opposite him pause for a moment.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door. It was Zhang Si leading his men. "Master Pei, everyone is here."

[Thanks to "EtherealSoul" for the 600-point donation!]

[Thanks to "刃途", "书友111030193340855", "夜曲f小调", "风灵氺元", "Zemo", "书友1476108658436804608", "草茻居士", "遇见青花", "读书十万吾成魔", "Lisi", "不快乐的人分享唯存的快乐", "懒懒的小野猫", "御魂发发", "迷糊花", "若水光", "创始元灵", "瑞庆大来", "御风逍遥x", "帅气的阿东", "永夜炵", and "寒玉帝" for their monthly votes! Thank you all for your support!]

Chapter 40: The Panda That Speaks a Dialect

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door; it was Zhang Si, the crocodile man, arriving with his men.

"Master Pei, everyone has been called."

Upon hearing the sound, Luo Wei turned his head to look outside the door. Behind the crocodile man Zhang Si were seven strangely shaped "monsters" with scales and armor plates on their bodies. Some looked like crocodiles, while others looked like turtles. Except for the last one, the others did not look like humans.

Upon seeing the group, Luo Wei inexplicably recalled the story of the four kung fu turtles and Master Rat, except that Pei Xushan seemed to be a normal person.

"Well, now that everyone's here, I won't waste any more time. Let me briefly explain tonight's mission."

Pei Xushan nodded, but did not invite Zhang Si, the crocodile man, to sit down. He just glanced at him.

The crocodile-man Zhang Si and his companions stood, none of them sat down, and some stood outside the door without coming in, probably because they found the smell on their bodies too unpleasant.

"Superman, how much do you know about the underworld?"

Pei Xushan asked.

"The underworld is where Yama, the King of Hell, and the Black and White Impermanence reside. Legend has it that after a person dies, their soul is taken down to the underworld for judgment. There are countless spirits in that place."

Luo Wei spoke calmly. He didn't know much about the underworld in DC. Most of his knowledge came from descriptions in his previous life's mythology, since this was a new world.

"That's just a legend or myth. But the underworld does exist, only the real underworld is different from what people imagine. Black and White Impermanence and Yama are just ancient people's fantasies. So far, no one can confirm whether they exist."

As Pei Xushan spoke, he noticed Luo Wei's strange expression as he looked him up and down. He couldn't help but smile and said, "Don't look at me like that. I'm half a Taoist, but I'm also a modern person. As far as I know, the underworld is another dimension. This doesn't diminish the mystery of the underworld, because it does indeed shelter countless souls. As for what else is in the underworld, you'll only know once you go in."

"Go in?"

Luo Wei's expression remained calm, but his question was sharp: "Didn't you want to stop those people from going in and absorbing the power of the underworld?"

"Ah, that's right. Perhaps it will be an opportunity to broaden my horizons."

Pei Xushan chuckled and didn't continue with that question. He said, "The group that's looking for the underworld is the White Triad from Hong Kong. In ancient times, they would have been a gang of bandits who burned, killed, and robbed. In modern society, they pretend to be polite on the surface, but they are actually parasites. The White Triad wants to obtain the power contained in the underworld in order to get rid of their mortal enemy and strengthen their power."

“I have heard of the White Triads, Master Pei. Stop beating around the bush. You brought me here to stop the White Triads, so let’s not waste our time here.”

As Luo Wei stood up, his red cloak swaying behind him, the others outside the door, including the crocodile-man Zhang Si, quickly moved aside to make way for him.

"At the foot of Kunshan Mountain, by the Shizi River, they will gather there. However, opening the gates to the underworld requires a door knocker. They will first go up the mountain to find the door knocker, and we must snatch it from them."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Pei Xushan stopped being mysterious and continued, "The door knocker isn't actually on the mountain. The mountain is just the entrance; it's hidden in other places, just like the underworld."

Inside the room.

"Okay, I'll go wait for you at the foot of Kunshan first."

Luo Wei nodded, turned to leave, but before he left, he suddenly turned back and asked, "Master Pei, you're not from Sichuan or Chongqing, are you?"

"No, what's wrong?"

Pei Xushan was puzzled.

But Luo Wei at the door had already flown away, stirring up a cloud of dust and a raging wind, leaving everyone looking up at his back.

"Master Pei, are we going to the underworld? Didn't you say that as long as we get the door knocker, we can stop the White Triads?"

Zhang Si, the crocodile man, hadn't said a word from beginning to end, but now he couldn't hold back any longer and looked at Pei Xushan, asking the question that had been bothering him.

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. Don't forget who took you in and fed you when you were despised by countless people."

Master Pei glanced at him coldly, then stood up and opened his palm, revealing a pale blue jade necklace that emitted a faint blue light, as if water were flowing through it. He held the jade tightly in his hand, and then put it around his neck.

He then said to Zhang Si and his group, "Don't just stand there, hurry up and get to Kunshan, don't let the Triads beat us to it."

"Yes."

At the foot of Kunshan Mountain, there are two strange rivers that flow down from different directions and meet at the foot of the mountain to form a cross. Perhaps the mountainous terrain on all sides created this landscape.

"A dark and windy night."

Lowe landed on a tree, not far below the Cross River, the sound of its babbling water particularly pleasant. There was not a soul in sight in the surrounding woods, and if you listened carefully, there was no one speaking for miles around. It seemed the White Triads had not arrived yet.

Before this, Luo Wei had also tried to use his super vision to find the door knocker and the location of the gate to the underworld, but to no avail. Kunshan seemed to be nothing special except for its towering height.

It seems that, just as Pei Xushan said, the underworld and the door knocker are hidden in other dimensions, and cannot be seen with the naked eye.

It should be said that, as of now, Lowe has not been able to see or hear the sights and sounds of other dimensions or other universes.

rustling

Suddenly, a strange noise came from the bushes below. Looking down, I saw something darting around in the bushes, breaking branches and leaves, and collapsing one bush after another.

"Damn it, who told me there was bamboo around here? Why haven't I seen any? I've been fooled again. I can't even smell the bamboo."

Is someone talking?

Luo Wei was surprised. He was absolutely certain that there was no human habitation in the nearby woods. How could someone be talking in the bushes, and speaking with a Sichuan-Chongqing accent? Were they locals?

He saw something black and white tumbling through the bushes. He hesitated for a moment, then jumped down from the tree trunk and landed at the end of the bushes, waiting for the thing inside to rush out on its own.

With a loud "bang," a black and white ball of fluff emerged from the bushes, crashing through a tree branch and rolling out like a ball, still cursing, "Damn it, there's no bamboo at all!"

The next second, the black and white dumpling was suddenly stepped on and couldn't move an inch.

"A panda that can speak a dialect?"

Luo Wei was surprised to recognize that the creature he was stepping on was a national treasure, a panda, which was about a meter long. When it was cursing, you could actually see the angry expression on its face, which was somewhat like a Pikachu.

"Day, you"

Knowing it's a national treasure, why step on it? Can you afford to pay for the damage? And call me a "meat-eating beast," not a panda—it's too stupid and lacks any real intimidation.

The panda at his feet wasn't afraid of people. It rolled backward, turned over, and stood up, wobbling. Its pair of shiny black eyes looked at Luo Wei in the moonlight and said, "Oh, you're a cosplayer."

"Holy crap, it really is a panda?"

At first, Luo Wei thought it was a person dressed in a leather suit, but after scanning the area, he realized that the person standing in front of him was a real panda, not a mutant like Crocodile Man Zhang Si. Its body structure was that of a panda!

I came across pandas during my trip to Sichuan and Chongqing. Tomorrow I'll ask the people in Sichuan and Chongqing if it's true that every family keeps one. And this thing in front of me can even talk, speaking in the Sichuan and Chongqing dialect.

"I forgot, pandas can't talk."

The chubby panda covered its mouth with its hand, realizing it had said the wrong thing, but then felt it had made it look bad, so it changed its words and said, "Making a fuss over nothing, you must be from out of town. You've never even seen a panda before, you're really ignorant."

"I've never seen a talking panda before. I wonder how much more money it would fetch, but it's definitely worth much more than a non-talking one."

A wicked smile curled at the corners of Luo Wei's mouth.

"Buying and selling national treasures is illegal. I'm going to the police station to report you."

The panda's face showed fear, and for a moment it really looked like a creature that had stepped out of an anime. Its expressions were very rich and comical. As it spoke, it turned around and ran away.

"Shh! Someone is coming!"

Luo Wei originally wanted to study the talking panda, but when he heard whispers in the distance, he didn't care about anything else. He immediately reached out, picked up the chubby panda, and flew up into the tree to hide behind the dense branches.

"You're finished, you're finished, let me go! I've studied law, you dare to catch a Class I protected animal? If you get caught, you'll be sentenced to eight or nine years and won't be getting out!"

The panda panicked. This man was incredibly strong, far stronger than any hunter it had encountered before. It struggled to break free, flailing its limbs, but to no avail. Finally, it begged for mercy, saying, "Brother, I was wrong, I was wrong, please let me go."

"Keep your voice down, or I'll strangle you."

Luo Wei replied, tossing the panda onto the tree trunk, and said coldly, "If you keep making noise, I'll turn you into a leather sofa."

"No, no, panda skin isn't good quality. We need grizzly bear skin. I know there are a few grizzly bears on the other side of the mountain, you..."

The panda was still babbling on and on when it saw Luo Wei's cold gaze sweep over it, and it immediately shrank back and dared not speak.

"People from the Self-Strengthening Department?"

Seeing that the panda was silent, Luo Wei looked several hundred meters away and saw several familiar figures. They appeared at some point, and they were Qing She and Hua Xin, along with several unfamiliar faces.

[PS: There will be another chapter later]