Chapter 405
The King of Hell's Personal Expedition
Tomorrow we'll sing "Exploring Yinshan"!
When the news came from Yama's mouth, the courtiers in the hall immediately stirred up a commotion and became noisy, with various ghosts and gods reacting in different ways.
But almost all the ghosts and spirits showed a look of panic on their faces.
They had all experienced the chaos of the Yin Mountain incident back then and knew how terrifying that play was. Back then, Yu Zhensheng transformed into Yama, the King of Hell, and killed seventeen ghosts and gods, causing the entire underworld to tremble.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, Yama, the King of Hell, emerged from seclusion, reclaimed the authority of the underworld, and completely crippled this audacious sorcerer.
Even so, he managed to escape with his life.
Of course, some people say that Yu Zhensheng's escape was also due to the secret help of some ghosts and gods in the underworld.
Regardless, since then, they have become increasingly wary of ghost performers, and thus intentionally increase the difficulty of the Ghost Festival plays every year, hoping to slowly boil the frog in water and make the profession of ghost performer disappear.
"If you don't kill the snake, it will cause trouble later."
Yama's voice remained majestic and deep, revealing no emotion, as if it rose from the clouds and echoed in the empty hall.
Beneath the nine-tasseled imperial crown, his eyes were half-closed, as if a divine glint flashed across them.
"What do you all think we should do?"
The newly appointed judge of the Investigation Division was personally promoted by King Yama. With a flash of his eyes, he immediately stepped forward and said loudly, "That Yu Zhensheng is so ungrateful and disregards the laws of the underworld. His crimes are unforgivable. We should send troops to kill him on the spot!"
"In that case...you go?"
The newly appointed judge trembled, his mouth quivering for a long time, unable to utter a single good word.
Everyone knows that Yu Zhensheng is a vicious person. Now that he has recovered his cultivation, he is extremely difficult to deal with. Looking at the entire underworld, apart from Yama and the King of Yin, who dares to say that they can definitely take down that vicious person?
He did not want to become the third judge to die in office, following Judge Lu and Judge Nian.
Not only Him, but also those ghosts and gods who had just been clamoring to kill Yu Zhensheng were now silent, all bowing their heads, afraid of being chosen by Yama.
Until someone stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, you say that Yu Zhensheng will sing 'Exploring Yin Mountain,' is there any evidence to support this?"
The speaker was Wei Zheng, also known as Wei Pan. He had a loud voice, stood ramrod straight, held a tablet in his hand, and had bright, piercing eyes.
"There is no empirical evidence yet."
"Without concrete evidence, how can we implicate people today for crimes that have not yet been committed?"
Judge Wei paused for a moment, then spoke in a booming voice.
"I am willing to serve as an envoy to personally explore the mortal realm. No troops are needed; I will act as the vanguard for Your Majesty. If I die, Yama can punish me; if I live, the truth will be revealed!"
These upright and awe-inspiring words resounded throughout the palace, inspiring secret admiration in the hearts of many spirits and deities.
Both being judges, the newly appointed Judge Li and Judge Wei are far inferior in terms of courage.
Yama's eyes flickered slightly, and he did not respond immediately. Instead, he looked at Meng Po and said calmly, "Meng Po and Yu Zhensheng have a past relationship. What do you think we should do?"
Meng Po, who had been silent and seemingly invisible, suddenly became enigmatic upon hearing this and sighed softly.
"Your Majesty, I only know how to make soup, and I know nothing else. By the way, the Awakening Soup is still missing a few key ingredients. I wish to go out for a few days to find the medicine. I hope Your Majesty will grant me permission."
Yama nodded and uttered a single word.
"allow."
Finally, He looked at Judge Wei and said, "The Yinshan Palace has been repaired, but the Yinshan Ghost King has been making some strange moves recently. Judge Wei, since you have such courage, I will send you to Yinshan again."
Judge Wei frowned, about to say something, but was interrupted by King Yama.
"Yu Zhensheng's matter is nothing more than a minor ailment. Since I am prepared, I will not let him run rampant. On the other hand, the Yinshan Ghost King has a vast army under his command and is close to the underworld. I need Judge Wei to prioritize the overall situation and take the lead for me."
"……promise."
After leaving, Wei Pan and Meng Po exchanged a glance, both seeing the solemnity in each other's eyes.
In a secluded spot, after Meng Po cast her spell and formed an array, she asked telepathically, "That person... really wants to sing 'Exploring Yin Mountain' again?"
Wei remained silent.
Meng Po tightened her grip on her cane and said in a low voice, "Go and inform Yu Zhensheng immediately. Do not sing 'Exploring Yin Mountain,' no, escape immediately. Escape as far as possible, preferably leave Da Xuan, and never come back!" Wei Pan remained silent.
"Can't you see that your journey to the Yinshan Palace is fraught with danger? The King of Yin and his companion will undoubtedly protect you secretly. The reason Yama has sent you all out is for only one purpose—"
"A personal expedition!"
Judge Wei's voice was cold and crisp as he said, "King Yama is going to personally lead an expedition to the mortal realm, so he needs to transfer out all the people he doesn't trust, and let Judge Li temporarily take charge and set up a grand formation, just in case."
Meng Po gave him a deep look and said, "Since you already knew, why did you still agree?"
Wei Pan took a deep breath, his gaze firm and resolute.
"Because of exploring Yin Mountain, we must sing!"
……
The 15th day of the seventh lunar month is the Ghost Festival (Zhongyuan Festival).
As the talisman bird flew in from outside the window, Zhou Sheng stretched out a hand and commanded it to land, then removed the paper strip tied to its leg.
After reading it, he placed the note in the brazier and burned it to ashes. His gaze was deep, and a slow smile appeared on his lips.
The stage and props are all ready; now, all that's left is to begin.
However, before that, he specially invited everyone from the Zhou Family Troupe and cooked them a special meal.
Special talisman paper is cut into strips, briefly dipped in boiling water, and then scooped out to become steaming hot noodles with a wonderful aroma.
A bottle of fine wine was painted on the wall, its opening facing down. When the cork was pulled out, the sweet and clear wine flowed out, as if it were inexhaustible.
There are also rice cakes made of jade, tofu made from the blood of five kinds of animals, and sweet water brewed from the morning mist...
These all come from a miscellaneous book called "The Record of Banquets for Ghosts" in the Louguan Taoist classics. The book records many of the delicacies that ghosts love to eat, and provides detailed recipes.
There are no great supernatural powers involved; it is simply a casual record made by a senior member of the Louguan Dao during his travels in the underworld, with some minor modifications.
But to ghosts, these are all extremely tempting delicacies.
The Zhou family troupe enjoyed the meal immensely; the adults drank alcohol, and the children drank sweet drinks, all exclaiming how delicious it was.
During the meal, Yunniang enjoyed herself immensely and even recounted the embarrassing incident from her first encounter with Xiaowu.
"He was nine years old that year, just entering Juxianlou. He was shy and timid. In the middle of summer, his shoes had a hole in them, and his dirty toes were showing. I felt sorry for him, so I offered to mend his shoes. Guess what happened?"
Yunniang sipped her wine, her face slightly flushed, and laughed as she linked arms with Xiaowu: "He actually ignored me and ran away in a flash. I was so embarrassed that I got angry with him and decided never to talk to him again. But who knew he would come back this afternoon with a pair of clean shoes."
"It turns out he thought his feet smelled bad and was afraid of bothering me, so he took the shoes home and washed them several times. When he brought the shoes back to me, his face was as red as a monkey's bottom..."
Xiao Wu looked embarrassed, but his gaze toward his wife grew even more tender.
Zhou Sheng smiled as he watched this scene, continuing to pour them wine until almost everyone was drunk and passed out on the ground. Even the child actors collapsed, not because they were drugged, but because the spiritual energy contained in the food made them drowsy.
Upon waking, everyone will receive some blessings.
Yao Tai Feng looked at him and sighed softly.
"Are you really not taking them with you? They've been preparing for this Yin Mountain expedition the whole time, and not one of them is afraid."
Zhou Sheng quietly drank his wine, watching the deepening night outside the window, listening to the murmurs in everyone's dreams, a resolute look on his face.
"I don't want them to become the next Zhao family troupe."
"Let the Zhou family's path end here."
clang!
His ears twitched, as if he heard a gong being sounded somewhere.
"Exploring Yin Mountain, the show begins."
...(End of this chapter)