At night, when the clock struck twelve at midnight, Niannian sat up straight from her bed. She used a talisman to open a passage to the underworld.
Stepping into the passage, a cold and eerie aura assailed her.
As usual, Niannian set foot on the Yellow Spring Road towards the City of Fengdu. But when she passed by the Village of Wandering Ghosts, a ghost suddenly rushed forward and grabbed her.
Niannian instinctively tried to fling the ghost away, but her small, fleshy claw suddenly stopped when she saw the ghost's face clearly.
"Who are you? Why do I feel like I know you so well?"
Niannian blinked her eyes and looked at the ghost in front of her.
The ghost's soul was solid, and it wore a gentle smile. Unlike the other ghosts in the Village of Evil Ghosts, who were missing limbs, this one was a complete soul.
The man didn't look very old, but the aura emanating from his soul was extremely powerful.
It was obvious that he was an extraordinary ghost.
The young man pinched Niannian's chubby cheeks. He bent down, bringing his face closer, and looked at her carefully. With a smile on his face, he said, "You've grown so big. I didn't expect you to be so cute when you were a kid. I thought you always had a cold face."
"What? Let go quickly wu..."
Niannian felt that her saliva was about to flow out. She stared at the strange young man in front of her and raised her hand to hit his chest.
She was fast, but the young man was even faster.
With a flash, he dodged easily.
It was the first time Niannian had encountered a ghost that could dodge her attack so effortlessly.
For a moment, she was a bit dazed.
"Do you want to go to the Village of Evil Ghosts with me? You've probably never been there before. I can show you around."
The young man distanced himself from Niannian and stood not far away, asking with a beaming smile.
Hearing his question, the little dumpling really started to think about it seriously.
Should she agree?
She was a bit eager to go, but she came to the underworld today to do something her third senior brother had told her to do.
She had been to every place in the underworld, but she had never been inside the Village of Evil Ghosts.
She was really curious!
After hesitating for a long time between going and not going, Niannian finally couldn't resist her curiosity.
She was bold because of her skills. She wasn't afraid of the evil ghosts in the Village of Evil Ghosts, and she could sense that this soul in front of her meant no harm to her.
She had the whole night anyway. It should be okay to delay for just a little while.
"Okay!"
Seeing Niannian nodding in agreement, the young man was stunned for a moment, then covered his mouth and chuckled. No one knew what was so funny.
Anyway, the little dumpling was quite confused.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing. I just think you look really cute now. You're much easier to deceive than before. Come on. I'll take you to visit the Village of Evil Ghosts."
The young man didn't get close to Niannian again. Instead, he kept a proper distance and led the way in front.
When the evil ghosts around saw Niannian, their eyes lit up involuntarily. Their eyes were almost glowing green with desire. But when they saw the young man, fear clearly showed on their faces.
Seeing the little dumpling following the young man closely, those eager evil ghosts suppressed their desires and backed off.
"There's not much to see in the Village of Evil Ghosts. There's only an inn that's worth visiting. Besides providing accommodation for these evil ghosts and offering some incense candles, it also sells various organs that can replenish their souls. Generally, wealthy ghosts will stay in that inn for a night when passing by the Village of Evil Ghosts."
The young man was like a tour guide, floating in front and explaining diligently.
"Why are you still here? Your soul is complete. You can move on."
The little dumpling looked around. She really felt that there was nothing interesting around. The inside of the Village of Evil Ghosts was a vast expanse of yellow sand. It looked extremely shabby and dilapidated. It wasn't a nice scenic spot at all.
In comparison, the big brother in front of her was more interesting.
"I'm waiting for someone. I'm also reluctant to let go of my past memories. Instead of being reborn and forgetting everything, becoming a brand - new person, I prefer myself now. Staying in this Village of Evil Ghosts, the ghost messengers won't come to persuade me to be reborn. I feel quite good being free here."
There was a hint of melancholy in the young man's voice. Although he still looked relaxed, one could hear his sorrow.
"Are you waiting for someone in the Village of Evil Ghosts?"
Niannian tilted her head curiously.
There was a ghost on the Naihe Bridge. It was said that it had been waiting for its lover for thousands of years and never left.
It could have been reborn long ago, but it stubbornly refused to drink the Mengpo Soup and didn't want to enter the Well of Reincarnation.
She thought that waiting for someone should be done on the Naihe Bridge.
"Yes."
The young man nodded slightly and suddenly stopped. He pointed to a shapeless house made of old wood in front and said, "We're here. This is the inn in the Village of Evil Ghosts."
The young man pushed open the door, and a noisy sound came out.
The little dumpling curiously peeked inside and saw a bunch of ghosts missing arms and legs, gathering in twos and threes.
When the young man stepped into the inn, the noisy ghosts immediately fell silent.
He floated on as if no one else was around until he reached the counter. Then he waved and motioned for the little dumpling to come over.
Niannian took three steps in two and hopped to the counter. Seeing a stool in front of her, she jumped on it.
"Did you open this inn?"
Behind the counter were the phantoms of various organs. Presumably, these were the organs the young man had mentioned that were sold to these evil ghosts.
"You're really smart. I did open it. Why did you come to the underworld?"
"Yes. I'm going to ask Brother Xiaohei and Brother Xiaobai about the Holy Cult."
Niannian was really honest. She said everything without reservation, even when facing a stranger.
Hearing this, the young man frowned slightly, slowly exhaled a puff of turbid air, and said helplessly, "You were quite smart before. How come you've become so silly now?"
"You always talk about the past. Did we know each other in the past?"
Niannian had lost count of how many times she had heard the young man talk about the past.
But she was absolutely sure that she had never seen this person before, neither in the underworld nor in the human world.
"Yes, but the person I knew was your previous life, not this one. By the way, why are you inquiring about the Holy Cult?"
Hearing that it was about her previous life, the little dumpling didn't care that much.
She had no interest in tracing her past life. She cared more about the present.
"Well, they want to harm me, so I'm going to expose them all!"
The young man lowered his eyelids. The shadow fell on his face, making it hard to see his expression.
After a long time, he suddenly picked up a bottle from under the counter and pushed it in front of Niannian.
"I got this with great difficulty. It can help you remember some things. If you ever want to use it one day, go ahead. Maybe it can help you find some clues about the Holy Cult. Well, the inn is about to close. Go back, little guest."