PD -Chapter 135 Deeper Underground

The face that peeked out from one of the windows of the pavilion on the Naihe Bridge belonged to a delicate and adorable young girl.

When she saw us, she froze slightly before pulling her head back inside. A moment later, she stepped out of the pavilion and stood in the middle of the Naihe Bridge.

Only then did I realize that she was a lovely young woman in a flowing dress, her hair tied up in twin buns.

“Little Sister Meng Po, it’s been a long time,” Shentu said with a smile as she stepped forward.

I was stunned once again.

This cute girl before me was actually the legendary Meng Po—the one responsible for making departed souls drink Meng Po Soup and erasing their memories before reincarnation.

She was nothing like the image I had imagined: a hunched old crone with a face like a withered skeleton.

“Big Sister Shentu, have you brought your little lover back with you?” Meng Po lifted her skirt slightly and slowly walked to the end of the bridge, smiling at Shentu.

“He looks quite handsome,” she continued, her gaze shifting to me as she examined me from head to toe. “Though… he still seems to be among the living.”

She tilted her head thoughtfully.

“How about I make him drink my soup? He can forget his past life and stay here in Youdu with you forever.”

As she spoke, the cute-looking Meng Po actually rubbed her hands together excitedly.

The way she looked at me was exactly how a researcher might look at a laboratory rat.

“Uh… Sister Meng Po, was it?” I laughed awkwardly. “I’m not this big sister’s lover. As for your soup… there’s plenty of time in the future. I’m sure I’ll have a chance to drink it eventually, so there’s no rush.”

Shentu snorted and cut in.

“Do you even know how old she is? And you’re calling her ‘little sister’? You really don’t know your place.”

“I rather like hearing it,” Meng Po replied with a grin.

“Big brother has such a sweet tongue. If you haven’t fallen for Sister Shentu, why not stay here and spend the rest of your life with me? We can brew soup together.”

She clasped her hands behind her back and swayed slightly.

“When the time comes, I’ll ask Lord Yama to grant you an official position. Then you’d never have to suffer through reincarnation again. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

The two of them left me completely speechless.

We had come here to cause trouble, not to flirt and arrange a matchmaking session.

Just as I was about to say something, Shentu’s smile gradually faded. Her expression turned serious as she looked at Meng Po.

“Little sister, will I have to do it myself, or will you be sensible about this?”

“Ah…” Meng Po rubbed her forehead. “I know what you’re trying to do, Sister. But there’s nothing worth making a fuss over here. Besides, we’ve been friends for so long. I truly don’t want to fight you.”

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

Though Meng Po looked cute, the moment she became serious, a chilling aura of killing intent spread from her body.

The two faced each other in silence for a while.

Then Meng Po sighed.

The oppressive aura disappeared at once.

“I really can’t do anything about you, Sister.”

With a flick of her sleeve, the pavilion at the far end of the Naihe Bridge suddenly collapsed.

Boom!

The falling structure crashed onto the bridge, smashing the railings before its ruins came to rest in the middle of the span.

Several strange screams emerged from the wreckage.

A few bizarre figures scrambled out.

Squinting, I saw that they were ugly and grotesque creatures. Some of them even had arms shaped like giant soup ladles.

“Stop staring. Those are Meng Po’s Soup Servants. They’re responsible for brewing the soup,” Shentu quietly explained, noticing my confusion.

“Oh no!”

“Where is Lady Meng Po?!”

“Lady Meng Po!”

The Soup Servants crawled out of the rubble in a panic, shrieking with harsh, grating voices.

“Hurry and inform Lord Yama! Tell him evil ghosts smashed my soup tower and fled deeper into Youdu!”

Meng Po waved her sleeve, sending the rubble crushing one of the servants flying away before turning to the others and shouting in feigned panic.

“Y-Yes, Lady Meng Po!”

The servants hurriedly bowed and immediately ran off into the distance.

“Thank you, little sister.”

Shentu cupped her hands in gratitude before signaling for me to continue onward.

I nodded and followed her across the Naihe Bridge.

Behind us, Meng Po’s voice drifted softly through the air.

“Beyond the Six Bridges lies the Nether Village.

Greed, obsession, and delusion abound.

In this world of impermanence,

Better to lose oneself in a cup of soup.”

Her voice was not loud.

It sounded like a murmur, yet also like a song.

Every word entered my ears with perfect clarity.

After finishing the verse, she crouched there for a while before continuing:

“Sister, you simply want too much. If one day you finally understand, come back and brew soup with me.”

Shentu suddenly paused.

But she did not turn around.

She merely answered with a quiet “Alright.”

Then she resumed walking, accelerating deeper into Youdu.

I glanced back at the young girl standing alone upon the bridge before turning into a blur and catching up to Shentu.

“Are you and Meng Po close?” I couldn’t help asking.

“Among all the officials of the underworld, there are very few women. After all these years, she’s one of the rare people I can still talk to.”

Shentu never looked back as she continued moving forward at high speed.

Following behind her, I couldn’t tell what expression she wore.

After a long silence, I cautiously asked:

“Why did you want to join forces with Lucifer back then and do something so extreme? Wasn’t being one of the Ghost Emperors already enough power?”

Shentu’s body trembled.

She suddenly turned around and shot me a glare.

Her eyes were filled with gloom and darkness.

That single look sent a chill down my spine.

I immediately realized I had touched a sore spot and decided not to press further, lowering my head and continuing after her.

“If you lived as long as I have,” Shentu suddenly said quietly, “many things would no longer appear as simple as you imagine.”

I truly couldn’t understand what these ancient monsters—beings who had existed for centuries or even millennia without aging or dying—spent their time thinking about.

Then again, an ordinary human life was already exhausting enough.

If someone gave me the choice to become immortal like them, I suspected I would hesitate.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I continued following Shentu deeper into Youdu.

The report from those Soup Servants seemed to have already alerted the underworld authorities.

Not long after we passed a small palace, we spotted a squad of Yin soldiers ahead.

They were searching the area, clearly looking for us.

“Follow me,” Shentu whispered.

She led me off the eaves of a nearby palace, circled around the soldiers, and slipped through an inconspicuous stone doorway not far away.

To my surprise, there was an elevator-like lifting device inside.

As Shentu infused it with her spiritual power, the platform shuddered twice.

Then it began descending rapidly, carrying us deep underground.