Whew…

A blast of fetid wind whipped past my face, stinging it with a searing pain.

The terrifying maw tilted its head and swallowed Ah-Dai in one gulp, a wisp of blue smoke dissipating.

I think I'm about to pass out.

Even his tongue was numb with fear.

My whole body was shaking, and I don't even know when the tears started flowing.

The man before him smirked: “How, scared? Hmph…insignificant creature.”

The stench hit my face, a maw the size of a car, looming before me.

The man frowned and turned his head, raising his hand to pat the corner of the giant's mouth: "Go back, this passage can never accommodate such a powerful beast..."

In the blink of an eye, the gaping maw vanished. I even doubted if I was dreaming.

How is this possible? It felt like just a nightmare.

Ke'er Meng's chains are still disappearing a little bit, and A-Di's tokens are also fading away. This isn't a dream.

They were really eaten...

"Why are you crying all the time?" The man looked at me amusedly: "They say there are tens of thousands of little devils like you in the Underworld. Eating one or two, what's there to cry about."

I watched this man with fluctuating moods, too afraid to speak another word.

After the monstrous creature devoured the ghostly old woman, the remaining wisp of her spirit dissipated soon after, vanishing completely.

Has A-da and A-meng disappeared too?

"How did you get so startled?" The man walked up to me, bending down to pick up my jade Ruyi. He turned it over in his hand. "This thing is pretty unique..."

No sooner had he spoken than he suddenly struck the back of my neck with a jade Ruyi.

》》》

If it were possible, I would never have recited the Bao Gao back then.

... won't make Ah Da and Ah Meng, who were patrolling nearby, rush over quickly.

Tens of thousands of ghost attendants in the underworld, how could they possibly compare to Ah Da and Ah Meng?

When I first silently recited the Bao-gao, they were pushed out because they were inexperienced and easily bullied by other ghost messengers. They thought my repeated provocations of Your Majesty the Emperor made me a difficult mistress to serve and nobody wanted to come.

And though they stumbled and bumbled after me, they also picked up a few stray ghosts by chance. They were promoted, given raises, and even got new robes...

Tears had swollen my eyes, making them ache. The pain caused me to groan and open my eyes.

In the pitch-black space, the air was cold and heavy.

Oh...

The sound of a lighter.

A cluster of firelight flared up.

"You can cry even while asleep... Are you made of water? Where does all that tears come from?" A wicked voice chuckled.

"...you, uh...cough cough..." I calmed myself down, took a breath, and asked, "Who are you...what should I call you?"

I will definitely remember your name.

I gritted my teeth inwardly, although the Taishang Xuangmen tabooed hatred and killing, I... really wanted to kill this "person" and avenge Ah Da and Ah Meng.

"What? Seeking revenge?" He looked at me with a ridiculous expression, "You? Humph, unless it's that Bei Tai Emperor beside you last time, I wouldn't dare to provoke... The rest of these ghosts and goblins are just ants."

I don't dare to speak harshly.

My hands were being pressed down by two little monsters, as if they were watching me to make sure I wasn't reciting incantations.

What in the world is this place? It smells dusty. The man is sitting on a broken chair, and there's a half-burned candle and candlestick... Is this an abandoned temple?

"Well, it doesn't matter if I tell you. My given name is Chongmo, bestowed upon me by my esteemed master. Haha, you're the first person I've ever introduced my name to in this mortal realm."

<<<< Onions, chopped onions?! >

I was stunned. Such a name, how did your superior come up with it? It doesn't match your capricious personality at all.

He seemed to feel his pronunciation was a bit off himself, glaring at me and saying, “It’s for Mo!”

"Silent and unmoving... these two words hold a certain sense of Daoist philosophy, yet this person's fluctuating emotions betray a complete lack of Daoist heart."

He reached out with his big hand and pinched my face, saying, “I really don't know why such an ordinary woman like you would repeatedly disrupt the boundaries between us…”

His eyes darkened, and suddenly he reached out to grab the collar of my T-shirt and pull it down—

The half-burnt candle flickered, its flame dancing in a mesmerizing play of light and shadow. Under its unsteady glow, the mark of the mandala on her chest came into clear view.

"...The cursed seal." He frowned, as if in thought: "Could it be because of this cursed seal?"

What on earth does he want to do……

"Woman, have you died?" he asked me in a low voice.

"Consider yourself dead..." I didn't know what this capricious person wanted to do.

"Should I just kill you to see what happens? No, no...that would be a mistake...Could it be because of your arranged marriage?" He muttered to himself.

I couldn't take it anymore, and blurted out, "What do you want? Why are you doing this to me?"

This “man” named Chong Mo narrowed his eyes and scrutinized me carefully: "You, are you bound by some kind of blood pact with the Lord of the Underworld?"

"...I don't understand what you're saying."

He glanced at me disdainfully: "Those so-called engagements are things you mortals concoct. You people of the world, unless you seal it with blood and an interdimensional pact, it counts for nothing."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly seemed to have a realization and patted his head: "That's right, that's right! I heard that in the human world, women have virgin blood. That counts as..."

My face flushed, this...this fellow, how can his common sense be like a primary school student?

“....You can allow the mighty Dharma Form of the Lord of Hades to travel freely between realms without causing the boundaries to collapse. We happen to need such a passage, so you are very useful to us...”

"As you can see, the channels we've managed to open are only passable by creatures of such lowly, pathetic caliber… even the owls I brought from Mount Gouhu can barely squeeze their beaks through… Hmph."

He shrugged discontentedly.

It can only stick its mouth out... That mouth is bigger than a car. How big is its head? How big is its whole body?

"Who are you? What channel are you trying to connect?" I asked in a low voice.

"Hmm? Why did your voice get softer?" he said with a wicked smile. "You're quite interesting, you know. As soon as you hear the word 'help,' you become so submissive. Are you that easily swayed?"

I rolled my eyes at him inwardly. Not only was he moody and unpredictable, but he was also incredibly arrogant and conceited, with a tsundere personality to boot.

He suddenly reached out and clamped down on my cheek with a venomous grip, saying hatefully: "Before, you people from the human world, opened the channel three or four times, raising a disgusting monster made entirely of dead flesh. It devoured all kinds of dismembered corpses, specters and demons, injuring many of our kin…"

"But because that monster stays in the space between two worlds, we can't break through! Only you people of the human world can open the channel. Why?"

"So we used the human marks buried in the mortal world, allowing us scouts to gather intelligence from all corners... Unfortunately, these human marks can only be used once. Opening a channel on a living person will kill them quickly."

"Later we discovered that the Underworld Emperor could freely travel between the two worlds, which was interesting... We investigated extensively and found that you were in a spiritual marriage with the Underworld Emperor and that you possessed a Reincarnation Orb – that thing was an ancient shaman's artifact for crossing realms..."

I gradually caught on, and with much difficulty managed to say: "Wait, wait... you're saying that monster made entirely of dead flesh, devouring scraps and rotting flesh, a creature of ghosts and demons... are you talking about... a Corpse Demon?!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly clamped his hand down on my cheek!

"Ouch!" That hurts! His nails feel like they're digging into my flesh!

My jawbone was almost crushed, the pain made me dizzy!

He gritted out each word in my ear, “Such a fool...deserves to be called a demon? Hmm?”