Chapter 5: The Yellow Spring Road (Middle) Collect and recommend, leave a comment!

  Yesterday, someone kept rewarding me~~it feels really cool！！ Is it possible to describe it with just one word? The new book list also rushed to over 70! I'm greedy, dead greedy! Can you help me make more efforts? Thank you for leaving a comment, reward, recommendation, and collection, brothers! Xiao He is grateful!

  I tread lightly, inching my way towards the source of the sound. Suddenly, a blaze of flames shoots up into the sky. Immediately following, a series of shrill screams erupt from all directions. I feel countless vengeful spirits rushing towards the fire from all sides. I hold my breath, not daring to make even the slightest sound. I have no idea what kind of trial I am about to face.

  The words of the ghostly face still echoed clearly in my mind, a warning that I wouldn't die but could become an idiot. Subconsciously, I patted the copper mirror and amulet hanging on my chest. Hopefully, it was just a test and not a fatal accident.

  I crept forward stealthily, hiding behind a bush, and saw something that I would never forget in my life. It was as if it were a 3D movie, with the ground on the vast forest floor suddenly opening up into a massive deep pit, from which red light burst forth. But it didn't reach all the way to the sky; instead, it transformed into a magnificent canopy. The ground on the west side of the pit's entrance was slowly swelling, as if the earth were being torn apart. Then, countless dark troops filled the space, their faces stern, proud, sacred, solemn, and cold...

  They occupied the surroundings of the cave, and many, many dark spirits wandered around the cave, making mournful cries.

  The ground was slowly being pushed apart, and what appeared bit by bit was... a roof????

  No, it seems like some kind of big door top, a very strange thing.

  What's even stranger is that when the thing appears, the surroundings become even more silent. Even the floating and disorderly spirits tense up. Only the silent earth in front of me keeps bulging up slowly, as if it were a slow-motion shot.

  Time seems to have passed very slowly, yes! It's just an illusion that it has passed very slowly! Although there were only a few breaths of time, a huge gate appeared in front of me, but I could clearly and carefully remember every detail that arose. Each delicate pattern on the doorpost, more is the withered dragon coiled around the pillar, the ferocious skull has an oppressive feeling that makes people feel afraid, yet can't feel any evil at all.

  What is ghost language? It's because ghosts speak a language that people don't understand. Once a ghost speaks human language, it's either to seek revenge or has a divine mission. There won't be a third possibility. If you ever hear a ghost speaking human language, don't worry, it's not there to take your life away. It's actually there to bring you good fortune. The latter is almost impossible, as those who do good deeds don't seek fame. Only vengeful ghosts will say something like "Return my life to me." Of course, this doesn't include the lingering sounds of thoughts, which ordinary people can also hear. For example, in a certain university dormitory, it's said that on the second floor corridor, you can always hear voices saying "I don't want to take exams, I don't want to take exams" at midnight. In reality, it's just the lingering thought of the poor guy who jumped to his death in the bathroom at the end of the corridor. It belongs to a harmless category.

  However, one of these two is called absolutely no third kind. It will be broken here!

  Because.

  What I see is no longer a scene, this scene is called judgment!

  I recall seeing a similar description somewhere, saying that every time the underworld holds a grand trial, they invite some people from the world of the living to observe. These people are either great philanthropists or those who have committed heinous crimes but still have unfinished business in the world of the living, or officials responsible for upholding the law. In short, these people represent a portion of humanity. As for how they are selected, it is impossible for mortals to know. Those who are chosen may remember the true nature of this experience after dawn breaks, or perhaps think it was just a nightmare.

  Such a scene, I'm lucky to have seen. Unfortunately, the book doesn't mention whether ordinary people can mistakenly enter and be lucky enough to see it. Just as I was thinking wildly, looking at that big door slowly appearing, several grayish-white lights emerged from the ground hole, transforming into human figures like the five ghosts before.

  One of them was extremely ugly, with a circle of whiskers and glasses as big as bronze bells, looking like an evil cartoon lion head. His ferocious face, his dark complexion, his left hand holding a thick black leather book, the other hand holding a brush as thick as a thumb, wearing a crimson long gown, very much like the champion's gown in feudal society. Behind him stood two people, one dressed in white and the other in black. The two of them had tongues that were three feet long, almost dragging on the ground, blood red.

  The next moment, I heard the leader of those ugly men shouting loudly: "Today, the gate of the underworld is open, and all the wronged ghosts and lonely souls are coming to determine their current life and previous lives on the Three Lives Stone."

  When I heard this yell, I shook with fear and almost rolled out from behind the bushes. You see, my position was on a small slope, that ugly guy's voice was too loud, it was deafening!

  This one cry, let me respond to a person. It's because of the appearance, voice, and dress. And now this performance, combined with my familiarity with a certain part of history, I am extremely sure who the person I saw is!

  Zhong Kui, the "Holy Lord Who Grants Blessings and Guards the House" in traditional Chinese culture.

  There are ancient books that record him as a person from the terminal south mountain of Chang'an in the early Tang Dynasty, born with a leopard head and ring eyes, an iron face and curly whiskers, with a strange appearance; however, he is a talented and knowledgeable person, usually upright and straightforward, not being deceitful or sycophantic, treating people with integrity, and having a clear conscience.

  Later, in the imperial examination, he was originally a talented person who should have been the top scorer, but because the emperor saw his ugliness and did not choose him, and also insulted him with words. In anger, Zhong Kui hit his head against the pillar of the great hall and died. After death, he was posthumously granted the title of "Bestowed Blessings and Sacred Lord" by the emperor, while in Taoism, he was established as one of the judges of the underworld institution. He is in charge of judging the Three Lives Stone. In the underworld, it can be said that he holds a position where one person is above all others.

  Such a majestic master, from ancient times to the present, has always adhered to the concept of strict law enforcement and impartiality. So, that loud shout just now instantly silenced the surrounding ghosts and demons, except for the surrounding ghostly flames, there was no other sound.

  I huddled my body and hid behind a bush, secretly watching through the gaps in the bushes.

  The large gate beside the cave had already risen completely, and the words on it were faintly visible in front of me. But I didn't dare to confirm until Zhong Kui said: "The Gate of Hell is open, walking on the Yellow Spring Road, standing by the Three Lives Stone, cutting off the previous life." Then Zhong Kui shouted again, shouting: "All the attendants, why haven't you come quickly?"

  Time stood still, and the heavens changed color. Dark clouds billowed, yet there was not a single flash of lightning or rumble of thunder.

  Several extremely long, yellowish-brown light fabrics popped out of the ground, winding and curving in all directions. The large gate was closed, and a huge stone with uneven colors appeared at the entrance. Its surface was smooth as a mirror, and if it weren't for its irregular shape, it would be hard to tell whether it was a stone or a giant metal block that had been electroplated. All the light fabrics connected to the front of the stone like the starting point of a road. I thought to myself, "Could this be the Three Lives Stone?" I became more and more afraid to make any sudden movements, wondering what kind of concept this was. The more real it seemed, the more I couldn't tell whether this was the second trial or just an unlucky coincidence. Be careful, be careful, I kept repeating in my heart.

  Before long, the ghosts that were originally standing behind the ghost soldiers involuntarily, as if on their own initiative, threw themselves into those light fabrics, and then countless ghost fires flew in from a distance along the light path.