The ding-dong sound of task completion notifications rang in 18888’s ears, sweeter than any celestial music priced at two hundred thousand in the mall.
Without pausing to check, the next scene was more elaborate. Even though Host and System were only maintaining dream illusions for a dozen or so people, they still needed to stay sharp.
After all, there were plenty of clever minds among them.
The illusion continued.
Following Ox-Head and Horse-Face forward, a vast mist enveloped their surroundings. The group felt anxious and uneasy, yet no one dared to speak up.
Perhaps as they gradually adapted, each person could slowly make out glimpses through the fog.
Fleeting dark shadows, carnivorous plants that preyed on humans, not to mention scattered flesh, blood, and white bones everywhere.
In short, the timid grew more despairing with every step. Wang Fu stepped over a white bone and quietly reached out to pluck a leaf from a large, mouth-like flower ahead.
The leaf was serrated and sharp. A light brush against it drew blood instantly. Wang Fu pursed her lips and tucked the leaf into her sleeve, glancing toward the Emperor—Li Yue was trying to pluck a hair from Horse-Face’s hoof.
The timid burly man’s face turned deathly pale, clearly frightened.
Some were like Wang Fu, others like the burly man.
Suddenly, Ox-Head rumbled, “Human Emperor, look—” pointing toward a faintly visible, majestic silhouette of a complex of buildings.
As they drew closer, the mist gradually dissipated, and the scenery before them suddenly became clear. The palace structures that had appeared grand from afar now lay in ruins, nothing but broken walls and rubble!
Horse-Face remarked meaningfully, “That was the Underworld Dynasty of a dynasty before the Jin Dynasty.”
“The Qi Dynasty.”
Li Yue’s lips moved slightly, but inwardly, his heart was in turmoil.
Great Jin had replaced the Qi Dynasty’s rule, and the two could be said to share an irreconcilable hatred.
Of course, the Qi Dynasty harbored more resentment, as the Li family were the victors.
Horse-Face continued:
“I still remember when the human world changed dynasties, this place collapsed outright. Even though the Qi Dynasty’s Underworld rulers and ministers desperately tried to save it, it was all in vain.
In the first few years, some still held on, but slowly, they all reincarnated.”
Li Yue prided himself on remaining unshaken even if Mount Tai crumbled, but now his heart was in disarray. He couldn’t help but ask about the related matters.
The two deities explained that during the Qi Dynasty’s rule, the people were unsettled. Throughout the entire dynasty, there were no wise rulers or virtuous ministers, resulting in insufficient accumulated virtue, which led to such a tragic outcome.
Moreover, the Qi Dynasty had failed to forge any powerful alliances in the Underworld over the years.
Once the rulers and ministers lost the human world’s national fortune, they couldn’t even become ghost cultivators, ending up in such a state.
“With a failed precedent right before their eyes, will the entire Great Jin become more obedient to Host?”
18888 asked.
“Mhm.”
Ling Xiao replied casually.
Has Host’s target of psychological manipulation expanded from individuals to an entire dynasty? The System grew even more impressed, followed by a sense of shared pride.
Host has been quite good to me!
As they moved farther away from the previous dynasty’s Underworld Dynasty, the group fell into silence.
Knowing that the Underworld Dynasty was no longer foolproof, an inexplicable emotion stirred within them. Li Yue, in particular, silently pondered what he should do.
At that moment, Ling Xiao’s figure materialized…
Wang Fu couldn’t help but glance back once more. This experience was too magnificent, more dazzling than her entire twenty-two years of life!
If one remained an ordinary mortal, they would spend their entire life mired in worldly affairs!
………………
Not long after, they completely emerged from the mist-covered area, and before everyone’s eyes appeared a roaring, ceaselessly flowing river—vast and mighty, each wave accompanied by a thunderous force.
Amid the surging currents, struggling human figures could be seen, countless at a single glance!
“Ah, are those people drowning?” The still-nameless burly man clenched his sleeves, asking nervously.
How could so many people drown all at once? Besides, they were now in the underworld—how could there be so many “people”?
Wang Fu first chuckled softly, then thought to herself that this man was rather kind-hearted.
Sure enough, Horse-Face explained, “This is the River Lethe. Souls with too deep attachments cannot cross it and can only wash away their obsessions in the river until they forget.”
“No wonder it’s called the River Lethe,” Wang Fu murmured. As a woman, her concerns were always somewhat different. “Why don’t these souls want to forget?”
Hearing her bold question, the Emperor took a rare, careful look at Wang Fu.
Horse-Face actually seemed momentarily dazed on his horse-like face. “Who knows? Humans are the most contradictory beings in the Three Realms. Though their lives span barely a hundred years, they possess obsessions far deeper than anything we could have in thousands of years.”
“There are undefeated generals who refuse to forget their sovereigns even in death, those bound by grudges and hatred, mothers who cannot forget their children, and most of all—love and affection.”
Ox-Head scratched his head and added in a simple, honest tone, “Yeah, my brother and I used to guard the River Lethe. We watched over this river of souls every day, each one burdened with deep obsessions.”
“Thankfully, we were reassigned,” Ox-Head snorted two puffs of white air from his nose, looking quite pleased.
Horse-Face shot him a glare and pointed ahead, saying to the group, “It’s still a long way to the next place. Let me tell you some stories.”
“Within the River Lethe…”
The stories were poignant and moving—tales of unwillingness to let go, of couples making vows, of longing to see a loved one just one more time, all speaking to the sorrows of humanity.
For a moment, everyone was captivated. Li Yue was an Emperor rich in emotion.
Thinking of his Empress and beloved consorts, each deeply devoted to him, he resolved to remind them to forget what needed to be forgotten and not torment themselves!
The story that left the deepest impression on Wang Fu was one about a wealthy young lady who defied her parents for love and married a poor man, digging for wild vegetables for eighteen years.
Believing her love could move heaven and earth, she ended up dying just eighteen days after the poor man became prosperous, making way for his new wife.
The female ghost drifted in the River Lethe for a long time, unable to understand, waiting for the poor man to descend so she could ask him.
Hah, Wang Fu sneered. She dared to marry five times, which proved she wasn’t someone bound by any damn rule of lifelong fidelity.
Faced with such a fool, Wang Fu could only say she deserved it.
Dead and still asking questions—ask, ask, ask, ask your head off!
………………
As they walked and talked, gradually, a few scattered bright red flowers appeared along the roadside, red as spilled blood, with slender and elegant petals. Strangely, there were no leaves in sight.
The flowers grew more numerous, gradually spreading into a sea of blossoms.
Seeing everyone’s curiosity, before they could ask, Horse-Face plucked one of the flowers and said, “These are red spider lilies, also known as manjusaka.” They grow most abundantly along the banks of the River Lethe.”
He sighed as he spoke. “These flowers can only survive near the River Lethe. You should put them down…”
Heh heh, everyone looked somewhat embarrassed, pulling flowers from their robes, sleeves, and even waistbands, tossing them aside.
The burly man looked at his Majesty with admiration—His Majesty expressionlessly tossed out flowers from various places, at least five of them!
Truly worthy of being His Majesty, the burly man thought with shame. He had only hidden one, and that was only after seeing others do it that he realized.
“This flower actually has quite a story behind it. It was planted by Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva. When the flowers bloom, the leaves are unseen; when the leaves flourish, the flowers are absent—it embodies the solitary beauty of Buddhism.”
Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva—excellent, another familiar name. The Emperor firmly noted this name in his little notebook.
After walking for an unknown length of time, a bridge finally appeared ahead, spanning across the River Lethe!
On the bridge stood an old woman, hunched over, stirring the soup in a large pot with a big ladle, one scoop after another.