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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 123: The Bridge of Helplessness
"Let's go, stop overthinking it. We need to focus on the important matters!" Cao Qi Long said, leading me towards the Bridge of Helplessness.
"Wait, pass!" Suddenly, a ghostly soldier stopped us.
The pass, also known as the "Pass," is required everywhere. Each place has a tangible or intangible Land Temple. When a person's lifespan is over, the agents of the Underworld will use the "Soul-Calling Tablet" to summon that person's soul and take it to the Land Temple for verification by the Earth God, who will issue a Pass. Only then can the Underworld officials escort the soul as a ghostly wind to the Ghost Gate.
The Underworld has strict checkpoints; no matter whose Wandering Soul arrives here, they must undergo inspection to see if they possess the ghostly pass known as the "Pass." This is the only pass for reporting to the Underworld, printed on yellow paper measuring three feet long and two feet wide, stating "Issued by Fengdu Emperor Yanluo" and "Worldly People must have this pass to reincarnate in Fengdu Underworld." It is stamped with three large cinnabar seals from Yama, the King of Hell, Ghost Country Kyoto City God, and Fengdu County Zheng Hall. Each checkpoint conducts rigorous inspections, ensuring that no one slips through unnoticed. Only after verification can one pass through multiple barriers.
"Pass?" We were startled. We weren't true Wandering Souls who had died and come to the Underworld; we didn't have a pass issued by the local Land Temple. So when we saw the ghostly soldier demanding our pass, we were momentarily at a loss.
Cao Qi Long grimaced and said to the ghostly soldier, "Brother Yin Chai, we are not Wandering Souls but Paper Craftsmen who specifically soothe souls for your Underworld. We are here for an important matter this time, so we hope Brother Yama Officials will let us through."
However, the ghostly soldier was unmoved by Cao Qi Long's words. He coldly replied, "Living people are not allowed in the Underworld. If you are not Wandering Souls, you should hurry back!"
Hearing this made my heart sink. Crossing the bridge meant entering the Underworld; if we turned back now, wouldn't that be a wasted trip? I stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Brother Yama Officials, as a Yin-Yang Disciple visiting the Underworld for the first time, I didn't know that a pass was required to cross the bridge. I hope Brother Yama Officials can consider my Patriarch's reputation and allow us to pass this once!"
Since being recognized as Paper Craftsmen didn't work with this ghostly soldier, surely being called Yin-Yang Disciples would do? After all, there have been instances of Yin-Yang masters crossing into the Underworld throughout history; these ghostly soldiers couldn't possibly be unaware of that.
However, for some reason, after I finished speaking, this ghostly soldier glared at me with anger: "What does it matter if you're Yin-Yang masters? You don't have a pass; why should I let you through? Get lost! Otherwise, I'll charge you with trespassing in the Underworld and give you a beating with my Demon-Whipping Whip!"
This display of authority truly frightened us both; we feared he might raise his Demon-Whipping Whip and strike us. After all, this was his territory as a ghostly soldier; whether by reason or force, we would be at a disadvantage.
"Junior Brother, what should we do? Are we really going to just turn back?" Cao Qi Long asked me with a distressed expression.
To be honest, I feel quite helpless as well. I can't reason with them, and fighting is out of the question; what should we do?
The two of them stood at the bridgehead, sighing and thinking of various solutions. Charge through? No way, if the Ghost Messenger catches us, we're done for. Flattering them? That won't work either; they don't fall for that. Trying to snatch a Pass from another ghost? That's also not an option; the Underworld emphasizes cause and effect, and engaging in robbery would be a sure way to invite disaster.
Bribing them with money? That might actually work. Isn't there an old saying that goes, "Money can make ghosts push the mill"? The Ghost Messenger officials in the Underworld are quite similar to those in the World of the Living; if you give them some money, they might turn a blind eye or even help you out. There has always been a custom of burning paper money in folk traditions, whether sending off wandering spirits or asking the ghosts for protection. In any case, while it's not said that deities love money, one thing is certain: money is a good thing, whether in the Underworld or the Yin Realm.
Thinking of this made me suddenly feel like crying because I realized I had forgotten to bring Hell Money when I came down!
This was truly my first time in the Underworld; there were so many rules I didn't understand, and I hadn't made sufficient preparations. If I had known it would be this difficult in the Underworld, I would have definitely brought enough Ghost Money before coming down. Whenever any troublesome Yin Chai showed up, I could just throw money at them without saying a word.
However, since this was our first time Crossing the Yin, even if I understood now, it was already too late. There was no way I could go back now to get enough paper money and then return.
I sighed and casually asked Cao Qilong, "Senior Brother, if only we had brought money when we came down. You didn’t bring any money either, did you?"
Cao Qilong patted his clothes and glared with his dead fish eyes, saying, "Who carries around ghost money for no reason? Not only do I not have any money on me, but I don’t even have anything valuable except for a jade pendant given to me by Master."
I nodded and suddenly felt a shock as if I had thought of something. The jade pendant? Right! How could I have forgotten about that?
Seeing me suddenly excited, Cao Qilong asked if I had thought of a solution.
I said, "We have the jade pendant; Master Ma mentioned before he died that our jade pendant is called the Underworld Ghost Seal. It was given by Yama to the Paper Effigy Maker as thanks for calming the Wandering Souls in the Underworld. With it, we can move freely between the Yin and Yang realms; it's like a royal decree from the Underworld!"
"How could I have forgotten about this!" Cao Qilong exclaimed excitedly.
"Honestly, it was your mention of the jade pendant that reminded me of this. Thanks to you," I said as I took out the jade pendant left to me by my Grandfather and walked back to face the Yin Soldiers. The Yin Soldiers were about to get angry and tell us to leave. However, at that moment, when I held up the jade pendant in front of him, he immediately fell silent.
I said, “Yama Officials big brother, can we cross the bridge this time?”
The Yin Soldiers saw the Underworld Ghost Seal and couldn't help but chuckle, then said, “So you really are paper disciples. If you had revealed your identities earlier, we wouldn’t have made things difficult for you. Now you can cross the bridge, Xiao Li, hurry them across!”
Upon hearing this, Cao Qilong and I couldn't help but smile with pride. It seems that having an identity in the Underworld really matters. The higher the status, the easier it is to get things done.
Just then, one of the Yin Soldiers put away his Demon-Whipping Whip and let us pass. However, as soon as we took a step forward, two other Yin Soldiers rushed over, grabbing us and pushing us towards the bridge while shouting, “Hurry up! Does Grandma Mom want to die? Get moving!”
The sudden turn of events left us stunned. We thought to ourselves, we are the successors of paper crafting; how could you treat us like this?
However, when I saw that the two Yin Soldiers were pushing us towards the bridge surface, I was shocked—it was the broken Plank Bridge, the lowest layer of the Bridge of Helplessness!
This scared both me and Cao Qilong half to death. The wooden bridge was narrow and broken; it could hardly be called a bridge. On both sides were steel wires with a few pieces of Board laid on top. Most of the Boards had been washed away by the river, and in some places there was only a single broken Board far apart. Even if we jumped onto that Board, I worried whether it could bear my weight.
Looking down at the bridge, there were huge waves and countless wandering souls hiding beneath it, just waiting for us to cross so they could drag us into the water and take our place to reincarnate.
Now both Cao Qilong and I were dumbfounded. I refused to cross the bridge and said to the Yin Soldiers urging us on, “We are not Wandering Souls, nor are we evil people. Why can’t we cross the Golden Bridge? Why must we go over this wooden bridge meant for evildoers? Isn’t there a mistake?” As I spoke, I took out my jade pendant to show him.
Indeed, the Bridge of Helplessness has five layers: good people cross from above, great evildoers from below, and those who are half good and half evil walk in the middle. I considered myself not a great good person; not being able to cross the Golden Bridge was fine with me. Let us take the stone bridge in the middle instead! But we are not great evildoers; why force us to take the lowest wooden bridge? This is no joke—one misstep could lead to falling into the River of Forgetfulness or being dragged down by wandering souls in the water; it’s truly a matter of life and death.
However, those Yin Soldiers completely ignored our jade pendants. With a cold expression, he said, “What are you shouting about? Either cross the bridge or go back! What kind of bridge to cross is up to me! What qualifications do you have to complain?”
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