We bear people have power

Those who have read "Journey to the West" probably know that Kui Mulang is a celestial star who descended to the mortal realm without permission for love. Therefore, after the Great Sage Equaling Heaven complained to the Jade Emperor, he was captured and brought back to heaven.

He was fine in the mortal realm; unless someone deliberately sought him out, no one knew his background. Kui Mulang had initially held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that if he went and returned quickly, he might be able to evade surveillance.

But his arrival in the underworld as a living person immediately attracted the attention of the powerful beings of the underworld.

The first to discover it was naturally Di Ting.

This divine beast, endowed with the supernatural ability to gossip, constantly monitors everything in the underworld, and thus discovered Kui Mulang's arrival as soon as it appeared. Di Ting, noticing Kui Mulang's coming and going, initially paid no attention, simply reporting the matter to King Yama as usual.

Yama, the King of Hell, naturally wouldn't pay attention to the sudden visit of a star deity. Although it was a bit strange, it was insignificant compared to the myriad affairs of the underworld.

Therefore, Yama only told Judge Cui about this matter and asked him to inquire about the situation when he had time, and whether the Heavenly Court had any official business that required help from the local authorities.

Kui Mulang appeared in the underworld but didn't cause any trouble for the time being. However, Guan Bo encountered some obstacles.

Two green lights appeared on the road to the underworld. Guan Bo was like Robinson Crusoe, who had been adrift for many years. He rushed over to anything that looked like human habitation.

The giant panda ran wildly down the road to the underworld, eager to catch up with the two green flames in the wind.

Some readers might ask, since you were in a hurry, why not use a wind-generating device? It's not that Guan Bo forgot, but rather that there seem to be special restrictions on the road to the underworld. Not only can you not use a wind-generating device, you can't even jump up on the spot.

No matter how you run, at any given moment, you must have at least one foot on the ground. Of course, you can also walk upside down on your hands.

In short, a certain part of the body must come into contact with the quicksand on the road to the underworld.

Therefore, in order to catch up with the two distant green flames, Guan Bo had no choice but to reveal his true form and run in his mountain-like size, which was at least faster than in his human form.

They chased after him until Guan Bo was exhausted, and only then did they manage to get within a hundred feet of him.

At this moment, he finally saw the appearance of the green flames clearly; they were actually two green lanterns.

The green lantern was held in the hands of two strangely shaped ghost messengers, followed by several ragged, shackled ghosts.

One of them had a head as big as a bucket, but a very short body; from behind, it looked like a chibi character from an anime. The other was skin and bones, with a blood-red tongue dragging beside it; although its face was unclear, its back view was already quite eerie.

The two ghost messengers walked unhurriedly on the road to the underworld. Judging from their posture, Guan Bo's first reaction was that they were the kind of people who were idle in society.

He strutted around with his nose in the air, not holding the lantern properly in his hand, but tucked it under his arm, and just walked forward casually.

If anything displeased him, he would tug at the chains in his hands, causing the ghosts behind him to scream in agony. These chains were connected to a pair of iron hooks on the ghosts' collarbones, and even the slightest force would cause excruciating pain.

Guan Bo felt sorry for these ghosts, but he didn't do anything rash like "shouting out for justice".

Based on previous encounters with the Black and White Impermanence, it seems that the ghost messengers collect souls according to the records in the Book of Life and Death.

When good people suffer, help them to be freed early; when bad people reach the end of their lifespan, lock them up and take them to hell to be punished.

This is a world where immortals and Buddhas exist. Unlike ignorant mortals, ghost messengers come into contact with the six realms of reincarnation every day. How could they not know about retribution?

If they commit evil, they will likely face retribution much faster than ordinary people.

Of course, this doesn't mean there were absolutely no instances of favoritism or abuse of power, but in the absence of conclusive evidence, Guan Bo is still willing to believe that the underworld officials can handle matters impartially.

"Hey, you two ghost messengers, please wait!" Guan Bo shouted from behind.

The two ghost messengers turned around, but didn't stop. The scene of them turning around gave Guan Bo a chill, because their bodies didn't move, but their heads turned half a circle as if they had no necks, staring blankly at Guan Bo.

Moreover, the big-headed ghost had a red face, two sharp teeth protruding from its lower lip that almost poked into its own nostrils, and a pair of tiny green eyes that were almost invisible if not for the green light emanating from them.

The long-tongued demon had a pair of blood-red eyes, a horribly pale face, and a skeletal, bony face with a long tongue, but that didn't seem to affect his speech.

The long-tongued demon shouted at Guan Bo, "Who dares to linger on the road to the Yellow Springs? Aren't they afraid of falling directly into hell?"

There was no way to respond to that. Guan Bo knew that once he heard about this godforsaken place, he would be plunged into quicksand. What he didn't expect was that the quicksand led directly to hell.

However, despite saying that, the two ghost messengers still slowed down their pace. Originally, they were walking forward on quicksand, but now the quicksand was up to their ankles.

Guan Bo took three steps at a time and finally caught up, then asked, "Brother ghost messengers, I'd like to ask how much longer it will take to reach the Bridge of Helplessness?"

"What's wrong? In a hurry to be reincarnated?" the big-headed ghost asked.

Guan Bo: "..."

Okay, this isn't meant to be an insult. What else would people go to the Bridge of Helplessness if not to be reincarnated?

Guan Bo suppressed the ache in his testicles and asked the two ghost messengers, "There's a misunderstanding. I'm not here to be reincarnated. I'm originally a demon from the mortal realm, and I've come to see the Black and White Impermanence for some business. However, this is my first time in the underworld, and I don't know the way. Could you two please show me the way?"

"Oh, another one from the mortal realm." The long-tongued ghost's tongue wriggled a few times, and like a long worm, it rolled out a token from its bosom and handed it to Guan Bo, saying, "Anyone who comes to the underworld to visit relatives and friends must carry this visitor's token, otherwise they will be considered as wandering ghosts who have entered the underworld and will all be arrested."

Guan Bo really didn't want to accept it; it was licked by a tongue, how unhygienic! But it was so impolite, so he reluctantly took it anyway.

Before he could even see the material clearly, the long-tongued ghost said to Guan Bo, "I am honored to receive three thousand underworld coins."

Guan Bo: 0_0?

They're charging money for this? Is this some kind of forced sale? These underworld officials are just like those shady merchants at tourist attractions.

"What, you don't want to pay?" the big-headed ghost shouted.

Judging from his appearance, he probably wanted to make an angry glare, but unfortunately his eyes were too small. His beady eyes ended up looking like soybeans, and he just looked ugly and cute, without any threat whatsoever.

Guan Bo spread his hands and said to the two ghost messengers, "It's not that I don't want to give, it's that I don't have any. Where would a mortal demon like me get ghost money?"

The long-tongued ghost stretched his tongue into his robes again, pulled out a small abacus, and said, "No problem, no problem, mortal gold and silver are fine too, but I'll charge a 3% interest rate on the exchange. If all else fails, spirit stones, magic treasures, talismans, divine beasts, and all sorts of miscellaneous goods can be used as a discount."

The abacus rattled and clicked, demonstrating the salesperson's considerable skill.

Guan Bo was hesitating about whether to renege on his debt when he suddenly felt grounded.

This time, it was truly real, because we had arrived at the Bridge of Helplessness.