At the Naihe Bridge by the Soul - Returning Cliff, a line of ghosts was waiting to be reincarnated. Some of them were laughing, some crying, and most were expressionless, waiting to drink their bowls of Mengpo's soup and step onto the path of reincarnation.
Next to this line of ghosts waiting for reincarnation, there was another group of people. They didn't seem to be here for reincarnation; instead, they looked like they were here to watch the fun. They were just one step away from holding melon seeds in their hands.
"Alas, here comes another group. Look at that little kid. So young and already gone. It's so pitiful."
"You're right. I heard it was congenital heart disease. He didn't make it."
"Oh dear, the kid's parents must be heart - broken."
...
A group of ghosts chattered around. These were the ones who had done good deeds in their previous lives and chose not to be reincarnated. They were content to stay in the City of the Dead as ghosts.
Zhao Zhao pulled Su Yuan along. The two living beings, or to be more precise, two living demons, were quite eye - catching. Before long, the focus of the discussion fell on them.
But Zhao Zhao clearly didn't have the time to care about this, and Su Yuan was even less likely to. Irrelevant people never had much presence in his world.
The two of them weaved through the group of ghosts. Zhao Zhao searched one by one based on the face in the photo she remembered, but after a long time, she found nothing.
"It's strange. Why isn't she here? Could she have gone back to the City of the Dead?"
Su Yuan just followed behind Zhao Zhao, watching silently. He wanted to help several times but managed to hold back.
This was Zhao Zhao's first case. He wanted to see how far she could go on her own. After all, this was an important step in her growth.
This caring old demon had really put a lot of effort into Zhao Zhao's education.
He was afraid that the little girl wouldn't get enough exercise, but also worried that the process would be too difficult and dampen her confidence.
If Zhao Zhao took the initiative to ask for help, he wasn't sure if he could hold back. What should he do then? Su Yuan fretted to himself.
However, Zhao Zhao clearly didn't even think about asking for help. She had already started giving sweet smiles and politely asking the ghosts for information.
It had to be said that although the little tree demon lacked experience in this kind of thing, she was very self - reliant.
The dragon felt a mix of worry and relief.
"Excuse me, granny. Do you know a young ghost named He Chu? She should be a ghost aunt." Zhao Zhao had observed for a long time and found that this ghost granny could respond to anyone's words. She must know a lot of information!
The ghost granny looked at this living little girl who suddenly appeared here, her eyes rolling.
"Ah Chu? Everyone knows her."
"Great!" Zhao Zhao excitedly made a victory sign. "Do you know where she is now? I want to ask her something."
As soon as she said this, all the surrounding ghosts looked over, sizing Zhao Zhao up and down with different expressions.
It was rare for a living person to come to the underworld to look for a ghost. Moreover, this little girl's aura was clearly extraordinary, not to mention the man behind her who exuded a faint aura of oppression.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Zhao noticed their strange looks and touched her ear. "Is there something inconvenient?"
"Hey, it's nothing." The ghost granny waved her hand with a smile. "Ah Chu and her husband have been waiting here for someone every day. They wait from when Mengpo starts work until she gets off. If they don't find the person, they'll smile happily and come back nervously the next day. When you ask them who they're waiting for, they never say."
Waiting for someone... Waiting for whom? Zhao Zhao thought she might know.
"But we haven't seen this couple for several days. We don't know where they've gone. Maybe they finally found the person they were waiting for one day, so they went back to the City of the Dead and didn't come back. After all, they don't seem like the type who like to join in the fun." A middle - aged male ghost took over the ghost granny's words and continued.
"Nonsense!" The ghost granny angrily slapped the male ghost when she heard his words. "I come here every day, and I haven't seen her find anyone. She must not have found the person!"
"Ouch, why are you being so unreasonable, old woman? Just talk. Why did you hit me?"
"The old woman is hitting you..."
The ghost granny and the middle - aged male ghost were arguing noisily. The surrounding ghosts were watching the show, but Zhao Zhao had no interest in it. She silently walked out of the group of ghosts.
"What's wrong?" Su Yuan noticed her expression and asked with concern.
Zhao Zhao shook her head. "It's nothing. I feel that something bad has happened."
Her words were rather cryptic, but Su Yuan wasn't in a hurry. He patiently waited.
"Su Yuan, Su Yuan. Let's go to the City of the Dead. Let's go to He Chu's place."
The ghosts who lived in the underworld were all managed by the underworld. Their residences were also assigned. When Zhao Zhao had asked the Yin officials to check He Chu's information before, she had seen He Chu's residence in the City of the Dead.
"Okay." Su Yuan naturally agreed to everything and went to the City of the Dead with Zhao Zhao.
Passing through the bustling and prosperous City of the Dead, Zhao Zhao found He Chu's residence.
The door of He Chu and her husband's house wasn't locked properly. Zhao Zhao just gave it a gentle push, and it opened. Inside, it was empty. There was dust on the tables and chairs, indicating that no one had lived there for a long time.
He Chu and her husband hadn't been to the Naihe Bridge for a long time, nor had they returned here.
So where on earth had they gone?
A terrible thought popped into Zhao Zhao's mind. She suddenly rummaged through the small cloth bag she carried with her and took out a communication talisman, then connected with Song Yao.
"Zhao Zhao? What's wrong?" Song Yao's voice came from the talisman paper.
Zhao Zhao asked, "Cousin, is that paternity test you mentioned done? Is Yu Chu the child of Old Master Chen?"
Song Yao on the other end was both amused and helpless by Zhao Zhao's question. "You've only been in the underworld for a short time. How could it be done so quickly? I just got the hair of Yu Chu and that old man and just sent it for testing."
"Oh, okay."
"What's wrong? Did you find something?"
"I—"
"Wait a minute," just as Zhao Zhao was about to speak, Song Yao received a call. It was an urgent communication from the Xuanmen. Song Yao had no choice but to interrupt Zhao Zhao's words and answer the call.
Zhao Zhao felt a sense of foreboding. She always felt that this call wasn't going to bring good news.
Sure enough, the next second, Song Yao told her in a solemn voice, "Zhao Zhao, Chen Jin is dead."
"What?!" Zhao Zhao couldn't believe it. Although Chen Jin's life was in danger, there were medicine cultivators in the Xuanmen specifically keeping him alive. There was no way he could die so quickly...
"From what Father said, there seems to be something fishy. The situation is urgent. I have to go back to the Xuanmen and take a look."
"Wait, cousin. Take Yu Chu with you." Zhao Zhao was worried about Yu Chu being alone.
Song Yao understood what she meant. "Don't worry. I know."
"Okay."
After ending the communication, Zhao Zhao destroyed the talisman paper and stared blankly into the air.
"Don't be anxious or flustered. You're doing very well. You've handled every step perfectly." Su Yuan was afraid that she couldn't handle this situation for a while, so he comforted her softly.
Zhao Zhao shook her head and said, "I'm not anxious. Su Yuan, I'm just thinking if Chen Jin's death has anything to do with Yu Chu."
Su Yuan was stunned. He didn't expect the little girl to be calmly analyzing. A smile curved his lips, and he praised her by stroking her head. "Zhao Zhao has really grown up. You're growing up so fast."
The sudden praise made the little girl blush shyly. Zhao Zhao held her face and asked, "Am I a bit amazing?"
Su Yuan nodded. "Yes, very amazing."
Zhao Zhao was happy and looked at Su Yuan shyly.
Just when Su Yuan thought the little girl was going to say something even more difficult to handle and was still calculating how to respond, Zhao Zhao blurted out, "Since I'm so amazing, I should be able to go to the eighteenth level of hell, right? I want to go and ask Song Changming something!"
"..." What else could Su Yuan say? Of course, he had to agree to her.
Then Zhao Zhao said, "Can I ask you not to listen?"
Su Yuan stared blankly. "Why can't I listen?"
Zhao Zhao said, "I've grown up. I can solve some things on my own. I want to be more independent."
Su Yuan, feeling as if he'd been stabbed in the heart, thought: Sometimes, growing up too fast isn't a good thing.