"So there are many people from other worlds? It's not just me and the little fox?" Si Mo squinted his eyes and raised his vigilance to the highest level. He had been cultivating in a rather laid - back way recently because he was certain that he was the most powerful in this world and no one could harm him. Could it be that other powerful beings had come to this world? His parents and elder sister were not around. If there was a fight, no one would back him up.
"Are the two of you not enough?!" the King of Hell roared. "I've been the King of Hell for so many years, and it's the first time I've seen a dragon and a fox spirit."
Rong Lan didn't know what to say for a moment. She was almost completely unafraid now. The King of Hell's personality was inexplicably funny. She just couldn't bring herself to be scared.
She took a deep breath and initiated a conversation with the King of Hell. "Your Majesty, considering that we're all from other worlds, could you give us a break and make an exception to let these lonely little ghosts be reincarnated?"
Si Mo turned to look at the little fox. If only her voice hadn't trembled when she said that, it would have been much more effective.
The King of Hell didn't hesitate at all. "No!"
Rong Lan: "..." Was he really so unaccommodating? Her little heart was hurt.
"Are you sure?" Si Mo gathered his qi again, and his golden pupils glistened. "I'm not unable to tear apart the barrier of your Ghost Gate." He just didn't want to waste so much spiritual energy, but it didn't mean he couldn't.
"Wait, wait!" The King of Hell averted his gaze from Si Mo. "Don't be impulsive. We can talk about it!" Although he was an official ghost, he was still just a ghost after all. A dragon was a divine being. Even if it wasn't a local divine being, he couldn't withstand the pressure.
Si Mo turned to look at Rong Lan, gesturing for her to speak. He was in charge of the brute - force deterrence. Negotiation - type things could be left to the little fox. Keeping her occupied would keep her from being scared.
Rong Lan took another deep breath and calmed down. "You can first tell us your requirements."
"I've never encountered such an absurd thing before. I need to think about it."
A minute later, stroking his beard, the King of Hell spoke. "Let each of them do 88 good deeds, and I'll remove the barrier for them. The reason I don't let the ghosts that didn't enter the Ghost Gate immediately after their deaths into the Underworld is mainly because I'm worried that if I make an exception for a few ghosts, more will follow suit."
He reasoned with them. "Think about it. If the wandering ghosts could enter the Underworld whenever they wanted, more and more ghosts would not come to the Underworld immediately after leaving their bodies. Some would be reluctant to part with someone, and some would want revenge. They would all think that since the Ghost Gate is always open, they could play around in the human world and then enter. As a result, there would be more and more ghosts lingering in the human world, and this world would be in chaos. So my requirement of 88 good deeds is not excessive, right?"
Rong Lan thought the King of Hell made a lot of sense. But... "How can ghosts do good deeds? Won't they scare people?" Imagine if someone accidentally fell into the water and a ghost went to rescue them, lifting the struggling person up. The drowning person might not drown but would be scared to death instead.
"That's not my concern. I only care about the final result. As for how to save people, the little ghosts who want to enter the Ghost Gate will figure it out themselves." The King of Hell looked mysterious, as if he wasn't the one who had been terribly frightened not long ago.
Rong Lan twitched her ears. She didn't readily agree on behalf of the little ghosts. Instead, she turned to ask the little ghosts for their opinions. "Do you think it's okay?"
She paused and then continued. "Of course, if you think it's not okay, that's fine too. After all, Si Mo and I took 200,000 from you. We can use force to send you to the Underworld."
The King of Hell: "???"
There was a financial transaction between them? He had just praised the Dragon God for being kind - hearted. He had praised in vain.
Si Mo: "..."
He never said such a thing. Using force would consume too much spiritual energy. It was best not to use it if possible.
The little ghosts huddled together and discussed for a while. Then one of them nodded at Rong Lan. "We think it's okay. It was really our fault that we missed the opportunity when the Ghost Gate was open. We're willing to make up for it. 88 good deeds are nothing. There are so many people in need of help in this world. It shouldn't be difficult."
Rong Lan let out a sigh of relief, and so did the King of Hell.
"Then register your names and birth dates in this notebook. I'll keep an eye on you. When you've completed the tasks, the Ghost Gate will open to welcome you." As the King of Hell spoke, he flipped his palm and produced a notebook.
He used his spiritual energy to float the notebook in front of the little ghosts. Just as Rong Lan was about to say that there was no pen to write with, she saw a little ghost take the notebook, dip his finger in the blood on his body, and then write on the notebook with his finger.
Rong Lan silently averted her gaze. She couldn't bear to see such a strange scene. Her heart started pounding again.
While the little ghosts were writing, the King of Hell wasn't idle either. "When are you two going to leave this world?"
"I don't know." It wasn't that he didn't want to leave now, but his cultivation hadn't fully recovered, so he couldn't leave.
"I don't know either." The little fox, who also hadn't fully recovered her cultivation, sighed.
The King of Hell sighed along with them. "Use your magic in the human world with restraint. Don't cause any overly absurd chain - reactions."
"We're not naughty kids. We know what we're doing." Si Mo rolled his eyes.
The little ghosts wrote their names in the notebook one by one. After the last little ghost finished writing, he held the notebook with both hands and motioned for the King of Hell to take it back.
The King of Hell just waved his hand, and the notebook returned to him. "I'll be leaving now. See you later."
Si Mo casually waved his hand.
Rong Lan obediently said "bye - bye", but in fact, all she hoped for was never to see them again. She never wanted to see the Ghost Gate again. Although the King of Hell wasn't scary - looking and the Ghost Gate was quite magnificent, the evil spirits attached to the pillars of the Ghost Gate were too terrifying.
After the King of Hell and the Ghost Gate completely disappeared in the sky, Rong Lan poked Si Mo's arm. "Is the Ghost Gate in your world like this too?"
Si Mo thought for a moment. "To be honest, I've never seen it." Although he went to the Underworld from time to time, he just dropped a magic formation under his feet to go there. He had never seen what the Ghost Gate in his world looked like.
"Your Majesty Dragon God! Master!" the little ghosts called out.
Si Mo and Rong Lan both turned to look at the little ghosts.
The little ghost bowed to them. "Thank you, Your Majesty Dragon God and Master."
Si Mo's expression remained calm, while Rong Lan smiled and replied to their thanks. "You're welcome."
"Master, can we still take pictures of Mr. Chu Chuan according to the contract in the future?"
Rong Lan twitched the corner of her mouth. It was really amazing how they could make voyeurism sound so innocent. "Don't you not need money anymore? And you'll have to look for opportunities to do good deeds in the future. Where will you find the time to follow Chu Chuan every day?"