"Young lady, if you still have anything you care about, why not leave your name here?" Meng Po opened the booklet in her hand. The first half was densely filled with names and dates.
This was proof that souls had lived one life.
She wondered if her parents had left their names here.
"Can I take a look?"
With Meng Po's permission, Di Yao flipped through from the back to the front.
Her parents had been gone for three years, but the first page of this booklet was dated half a year ago.
Though she had mentally prepared herself, Di Yao couldn't help but feel disappointed. She picked up a pen and carefully wrote her name.
After drinking Meng Po Soup and entering reincarnation, there would be no more Di Yao in the world. At least she could leave something here.
As she finished the last stroke, Di Yao downed the Meng Po Soup in one go, the ink on the paper still wet.
Seeing her drink so hastily that she choked, Meng Po went behind her and gently patted her back.
Meng Po Soup needed time to take effect. During that time, Di Yao's entire mouth was filled with different flavors.
Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy.
These flavors mixed together, making her whole body uncomfortable.
Seeing Di Yao's wrinkled face, Meng Po slowly said, "It's my fault for not explaining earlier. This soup is made from eight medicinal ingredients. It's best to drink it in four sips, each sip one flavor."
The four flavors corresponded to different types of memories from the previous life. After drinking, everything from the previous life would be completely forgotten.
"Cough... Granny, can I have some water?" Di Yao's eyes were red from the choking, and her mouth was still filled with a stinging spiciness.
Meng Po hesitated for a moment but still ladled her a bowl of clear water.
Once she had recovered enough, Di Yao wiped her mouth with her sleeve and walked toward Naihe Bridge.
The river that Naihe Bridge spanned was called Wangchuan, the same river that had the horrifying white bones she had seen earlier.
Her red embroidered shoes slowly stepped onto Naihe Bridge, leaving a trail of golden footprints wherever they passed.
Meng Po stood under the bridge, watching the receding young red figure, and couldn't help shaking her head.
"Another good girl let down by a man."
Suddenly, Di Yao heard the clamor of ghosts from Wangchuan River under the bridge. She couldn't understand what they were saying, only that it was noisy, so she covered her ears and quickened her pace.
Just as she reached the highest point of the bridge, thick clouds suddenly appeared in front of her. After a moment, a chill, mixed with the clouds, surged rapidly toward Di Yao. Before she could react, she was pushed back by a strong force, stumbling backward.
When the surrounding mist had all cleared, Di Yao opened her eyes and found herself back under Naihe Bridge.
"What's going on?"
As soon as Meng Po looked up and saw the red figure reappear in her vision, she put down the jar and leaned forward to ask, "Young lady, have you encountered any trouble?"
Di Yao was still dazed. She walked along the river for a while and saw that the other end of Naihe Bridge was pitch black but had no strange mist.
She lifted her skirt and ran back onto the bridge, then watched as endless white mist emerged from the infinite darkness. The mist shifted and rolled, pushing her back under Naihe Bridge again.
This time, Meng Po saw clearly and timely grabbed Di Yao, who was unwilling to give up and wanted to try again.
"Young lady, calm down. Charging through blindly is useless."
Di Yao grabbed Meng Po's hand, her eyes full of helplessness: "Granny Meng..."
"I guess it must be that your lifespan hasn't ended yet." Meng Po's voice was unhurried, and Di Yao couldn't help but settle down.
"Lifespan not ended? What happens then?"
Before Meng Po could reply, a high-pitched male voice came from not far away: "Who hasn't died their allotted lifespan?"
Di Yao looked toward the sound. Three men were walking this way.
None of them had marks on their foreheads, so they must be officials working in the Underworld. The two on the sides wore blue robes and had stern expressions. The leading man appeared more handsome and younger than the other two, and his whole aura was priceless—he wore a red robe, held a scroll, and had a golden brush tucked at his waist. His attire stood out starkly against the lifeless surroundings.
Suddenly, Di Yao felt dizzy. She couldn't stand steady and instinctively grabbed Meng Po's arm.
Then she felt her thoughts becoming chaotic. Scenes flashed through her mind like a lantern show. Di Yao could feel her memories gradually fading, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't recall a bit.
Meng Po Soup had taken effect. She forgot everything from her previous life, even her name.
Meng Po touched Di Yao's sweaty forehead and repeated Di Yao's name.
Di Yao struggled to open her eyes, asking in her heart, "So my name is Di Yao?"
What she saw was an entirely unfamiliar environment. She saw herself wearing a festive but strange wedding gown, touched her hairstyle and cheeks... Everything was unfamiliar.
Seeing this, Meng Po explained quietly that it was because she had drunk Meng Po Soup, and briefly told her the cause and sequence of events.
Di Yao didn't fully understand but tried hard to comprehend and adapt.
Her name was Di Yao. She was dead in the mortal world. She was in the Underworld, had drunk Meng Po Soup and wanted to reincarnate, but unexpectedly, because her lifespan hadn't ended, she was blocked under Naihe Bridge.
The three men stopped in front of Meng Po, speaking with respect: "Meng Po."
Meng Po obviously knew them. She greeted the leading man in the red robe: "Judge Cui."
Under the King of Hell, there were three departments: the Department of Reincarnation, the Department of Judgment, and the Department of Underworld.
The man in red before Di Yao was Judge Cui Jue, who governed the Yinlv Division.
Cui Jue's gaze swept over Di Yao, and he spoke in a clear, refined voice: "Is it this young lady whose lifespan hasn't ended?"
Di Yao knew that the Underworld's order was different from the mortal world, and these men before her were powerful officials. Besides, she had forgotten everything before, so she didn't dare to speak easily.
Seeing Di Yao silent, Cui Jue looked at Meng Po, who then explained the whole story clearly.
And Di Yao also learned about herself as if listening to a story. It felt strange and unsettling.
Cui Jue asked Di Yao's name, then took out the scroll in his hand, pulled out the Soul-Hooking Brush from his waist, and wrote Di Yao's name on the scroll.
Di Yao didn't know what he was doing, but she saw three large characters on the scroll: Book of Life and Death.
The Book of Life and Death should be the thing that governs life and death spans.
Curious about what was written in her own Book of Life and Death, she stood on tiptoe and leaned in to look.
Before she could see anything, Cui Jue rolled up the scroll.
"Your lifespan has indeed not ended. Those whose lifespan hasn't ended cannot ascend Naihe Bridge. I have checked for you, young lady. Your record shows that you still have over thirty years of lifespan left, and in this life, you still have a thousand taels of gold to earn. Moreover, the food record shows you still have three hundred dan of grain to consume."
As Di Yao listened to the series of numbers, her heart grew heavier: "So I need to wait here in the Underworld for over thirty years?"
Seeing Di Yao's almond eyes wide with surprise, Cui Jue gave a low laugh and then explained, "Not necessarily. If you can obtain the food and money recorded in the food and wealth book, you can enter reincarnation earlier."
That meant she had to eat three hundred dan of grain and earn a thousand taels of gold in the Underworld!
Di Yao's empty mind became even more confused: "Isn't there any other way?"
The official to Cui Jue's right was about to say something but was cut off by Cui Jue: "No."
Di Yao calculated in her mind. After a moment, she calmly accepted this harsh reality—where there's life, there's hope. Even if she had to eat six or seven meals a day, she could leave a few days earlier. That was better than staying in this gloomy Underworld for thirty years, right?
Cui Jue happened to be going to the Wrongful Death City on business, so he took Di Yao along to arrange accommodation for her.
Those who die before their time and are "not accepted by the ghost register" all live in the Wrongful Death City at the southernmost part of Fengdu.
The residences in the city were automatically assigned based on the burial location of the deceased. Only souls who died without a burial place were assigned accommodation by the Underworld.
Cui Jue brought Di Yao to the entrance of a small courtyard in the Wrongful Death City and then left. On the fence in front of the courtyard hung a brand new wooden plaque, on which two names were engraved.
Di Yao, Wei Xunzhou.
"Wei... Xunzhou," Di Yao murmured.
Just as she was bending over, curiously tracing the other more unfamiliar name on the plaque by the warm candlelight on the roadside, a shadow fell over the plaque, enveloping her completely.