Chapter 371: Meng Po Has No Soup
The Bridge of Helplessness before them was constructed from massive black stones, giving it a profound sense of age.
Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing walked side-by-side on the Bridge of Helplessness, and he couldn't shake a strange, almost comical feeling in his heart.
Whether it was the Yellow Springs Road they'd traversed earlier or this Bridge of Helplessness now, in the mortal realm, these were symbols of permanent parting and death, sites around which countless tragic and desolate tales were spun. Yet, here he and Xu Meijing were, showing not the slightest hint of sorrowful farewell, but rather treating the place like a tourist attraction.
A moment later, Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing had walked some distance across the Bridge of Helplessness, and the eerie stone pavilion grew closer and closer.
“Will there be Meng Po in the stone pavilion? Will there be Meng Po's Soup? ” Yang Haoran asked, looking at Xu Meijing beside him with a smile.
“Meng Po is here, but there's no Meng Po's Soup like mortals describe,” Xu Meijing said with a smile.
“Oh? ” Yang Haoran's interest was piqued by Xu Meijing's words, and a curious expression appeared on his face.
“Don't ask too many questions. You'll only make our colleagues laugh at you. You'll know once we reach the pavilion. ”
Yang Haoran had intended to ask a few more questions, but with Xu Meijing's retort, he dutifully swallowed the words that had reached his lips.
After walking a while longer, the two arrived at the stone pavilion on the Bridge of Helplessness, and Yang Haoran finally saw clearly what was inside.
Inside the stone pavilion sat a woman. She appeared very young and beautiful, dressed in a thin gown, holding a smoking pipe in her hand. At times, she would take a puff with a look of enjoyment; at other times, she would gaze listlessly at the River of Oblivion flowing beneath the Bridge of Helplessness; and sometimes, she would smile broadly at the passing Underworld Officials.
Passing Underworld Officials had to cross through the stone pavilion to reach the other end of the Bridge of Helplessness, making the woman's pavilion an unavoidable path.
The woman did not obstruct the passing Underworld Officials, letting them cross through the pavilion. Sometimes she would glance at them, but more often than not, she wouldn't even spare them a look.
However, her not looking at these passing Underworld Officials did not mean that they dared to ignore her presence. Every Underworld Official who passed by would instinctively bow to the woman, regardless of whether she noticed them or not.
“Remember to bow in a moment,” Xu Meijing quietly reminded Yang Haoran. The two then followed the Underworld Official in front of them into the stone pavilion.
Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing's arrival did not draw the woman's attention. In her eyes, both were merely ordinary Underworld Officials, as commonplace as could be, so she naturally felt no interest in them.
The two bowed slightly, performing their respects to the woman, then continued walking out of the stone pavilion. Even after they had exited, the woman did not spare them a glance, instead listlessly smoking her pipe and watching the struggling ghostly entities in the River of Oblivion below.
“The woman just now was the Meng Po I mentioned. Only this Meng Po has no soup. Is she different from the Meng Po you imagined? ”
After exiting the stone pavilion, Xu Meijing quietly explained beside Yang Haoran.
Yang Haoran nodded, then responded, “She's certainly different from what I imagined. What surprised me even more is how high Meng Po's status is within the Underworld Office. ”
“Her status is actually just one rank above ours, but the difference in power for that single rank is truly immense, like a gap of a hundred thousand miles,” Xu Meijing whispered.
Hearing this, Yang Haoran's expression subtly changed as he whispered, “You mean, she's a Guardian? ”
“That's right, she is indeed a Guardian, an existence on the same level as Luo Yao,” Xu Meijing nodded, answering softly.
Yang Haoran had initially thought that Meng Po was merely an Emissary of Death, albeit one whose power far surpassed ordinary Emissaries, perhaps even a grand master who had opened both her Heaven and Earth Souls, thus earning her elevated status within the Underworld, towering above other Emissaries of Death.
However, Xu Meijing's words utterly astonished him, for he truly had not expected that Meng Po was, in fact, a Guardian.
Above an Emissary of Death was a Guardian. Though only one rank separated the two, that single rank was as vast and insurmountable as an ocean.
For a Night Watcher to become an Emissary of Death was fraught with immense difficulty and required an abundance of luck.
And for an Emissary of Death to become a Guardian? That would be a thousand, or even ten thousand, times more difficult on top of that.
To become a Guardian, successfully opening both the Heaven and Earth Souls was the bare minimum. Not to mention the difficulty of opening the Earth Soul, even if one succeeded in opening both, the chances of becoming a Guardian were still incredibly slim.
Because not only were the number of Guardians fixed and quite small, but the competition was also intensely fierce. To call it one in ten thousand would be an understatement, which clearly demonstrated how difficult it was to become a Guardian.
It was precisely because he knew all this that Yang Haoran was so utterly surprised by Meng Po's identity as a Guardian.
As for Luo Yao, whom Xu Meijing mentioned, he wasn't the Captain Luo of the Spirit Police. He was the Black-Clothed Man who had promoted Yang Haoran from Night Watcher to Emissary of Death.
Luo Yao was a Guardian, and Meng Po was an existence on the same level as Luo Yao.
“Now you understand why every Underworld Official passing through the stone pavilion must bow to her, don't you? ” Xu Meijing asked, seeing Yang Haoran's surprised expression.
Yang Haoran said nothing, merely nodding.
Seeing Yang Haoran's silence, Xu Meijing didn't press the matter further. Saying too much might be overheard by passing Underworld Officials, or even worse, by Meng Po inside the pavilion. Who knew if beings like Meng Po possessed special abilities like supernatural hearing?
Neither of them spoke another word, simply walking towards the end of the Bridge of Helplessness. Yang Haoran was lost in thought, his mind occupied by unknown matters, while Xu Meijing's brows were slightly furrowed, her expression rather displeased.
Only after descending the Bridge of Helplessness did Yang Haoran notice that Xu Meijing's expression seemed off. He then asked, “What's wrong? You don't look well. ”
Xu Meijing's brows remained slightly furrowed as she spoke with a hint of displeasure, “All my life, I've hated bowing to anyone. One day, I will make everyone bow to me, rather than me bowing to them. ”
Yang Haoran had thought something major had happened, but he never expected Xu Meijing's upset expression was merely because she had bowed to Meng Po earlier.
“A true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall,” Yang Haoran chuckled.
Xu Meijing shot Yang Haoran a glare and replied, “I'm not a man. But even if I were, I probably wouldn't be able to accept bowing to others. ”
“We've just gotten off the Bridge of Helplessness; keep your voice down,” Yang Haoran said with a helpless chuckle, reminding Xu Meijing.
Xu Meijing also realized that what she had just said was inappropriate, so she stopped arguing with Yang Haoran. After a cold snort, she strode towards the Underworld's city gates, her hands tucked into her pockets.
Yang Haoran shook his head with a smile and quickly strode to catch up with Xu Meijing.
Comments