Chapter 248

Different from what the world described in supernatural legends, the entrance to hell was not a ghost head with a blue face with its teeth stuck far out*, nor a gate surrounded by thistles, thorns and a river of blood, nor was there any ghost servants or rakshasas* guarding tier upon tier. It was actually a volcanic crater.

When they climbed up the towering Mount Luofeng, the summit was a boundless plain made of volcanic ash and crisscrossing lava where the ghostly aura was dense, and not even a blade of grass grew here. Finally, that lava joined together to form a stream, wrapping with stinking blood, broken limbs, and dense resentment. Flowing down the high Mount Luofeng and into the Wangchuan River, letting every ghost who fell into the Wangchuan River quickly lose their strength, memories, making it difficult for them to escape again.

In the center of the plain, there was a huge crater parallel to the ground. Looking from the sky, it looked like a deep hole piercing through the earth’s core, with golden red hot lava tumbling inside, as if it could melt everything in the world into ashes.

At this moment, a group of Yin servants were taking some ghosts to be thrown into hell after the trial and walking slowly towards the entrance of hell. When they arrived at the edge of the crater, like ants on the edge of a small saucepan, they jumped down one following the other.

The two of them were watching from the sky. Xie Bi An felt a little terrified. Last time, when he and Zhong Kui came to hell to patrol, Zhong Kui had the Heaven Master's token, and could freely pass through hell. Whether going in or out, or doing activities in hell, he would never be in danger, but today is not like the old days. They are going to the real Shura field, and if the token in their hands does not work, they will plunge directly into the magma, not even leaving a chunk of bone.

Xie Bi An said: "If you want to go to hell, you have to go from here. The Yin servant needs to have both a Yanluo’s token and the official document in his hand. The authorization token is used to pass through the boundary, and the official document is used to send and retrieve people. Otherwise, we won’t reach the real hell and will jump into the magma pool directly." He paused and said, "Similarly, without official documents and authority tokens, what's inside can't come out. All of hell is wrapped in magma." The reason why they can't use King Qinguang’s Yanluo token is because official documents can be forged, but the token can't. If they fail, they will implicate King Qinguang, so they can only take the risk by using Cui Jue's authorization token. If Jiang Qu Lian did a screening on Cui Jue's authority token, or the guards of hell checked it, they may be exposed.

After waiting for a long time, Xie Bi An didn't get a response. He turned his face to look at Fan Wu She, but he saw that Fan Wu She's face was pale. His eyes were staring straight at the entrance to hell, his pupils were bulging, his eye muscles* were tense, his face was covered with a thin layer of sweat, his fists were cackling from clenching them, and the black death aura was surrounding his side. That was the fear and wariness when he encountered a deadly threat.

Xie Bi An felt his heart tightened. This man had been in and out of this place as a prisoner, and served a hundred years sentence, so he truly understood the horrors of hell.

Xie Bi An didn't make any more noise, but just looked at Fan Wu She silently. He knew that Fan Wu She was struggling with his own fear and the fear induced by his inner demons.

After a long time, the black death aura gradually receded. Fan Wu She's eyes gradually regained their clarity. He took a deep breath, but his face was still covered with haze. He said in a deep voice, "Let's go."

"You ..."

"I'm fine. No matter what, there's no way I'm going to let you go in by yourself."

"Did you hear what I said just now? If Official Lord Cui’s token doesn't work, we'll just jump directly into the lava."

"No." Fan Wu She took out the Shanhe Sheji Map, "If we really can't get through the boundary, I'll change the landscape and won't put you in danger."

Xie Bi An was a little relieved. He realized that no matter how much he resisted Fan Wu She, no matter how many dangerous tribulations he encountered, which were actually brought on by this person, he never doubted that this person had the ability to save them from danger.

The two of them arrived at the entrance of hell. The hot air from the underground lava kept rising, scorching their hair and skin. They looked at each other. Fan Wu She held Xie Bi An’s hand, and Xie Bi An held the Judge’s token.

They leaped down.

The fall did not last long. In the blink of an eye, they appeared in a large cave, surrounded by a rock wall made from piled-up volcanic rocks. Both of their feet landed on the ground.

The coarse, honeycomb-shaped rock walls were embedded with soul lamps one by one, emitting a blood-red light. The rock wall extended upward, and the top could not be seen. In front of them was an arched door. This is the real entrance to hell.

The guards at the entrance and the Yin servants who were lining up to enter discovered them at the same time. The two of them were wearing Yin servants’ clothes and ghost masks, and they kept holding their breath, hiding the breath of the living, so the Yin servants and guards did not notice anything unusual.

Xie Bi An waved the official document deceptively, lowered his voice and said, "Retrieving someone."

"Which hall?" The guards asked.

"King Qinguang's Hall."

The guard reached out his hand to get the official document.

The official document was a real official document, only the name on it was fake. Naturally, the guard had no way to know, so he let them in.

Through the gate, there was a sago palm in front of them. The trunk was riveted by various mechanism bearings, and the branches extended out in the shape of opened umbrellas. There were 18 branches in total. Under each branch, there was a huge skeleton skull. Those skeleton skulls carry the Yin servants up and down, relying fully on a group of ragged clothed ghosts on the top of the sago palm exerting all their strength to push the mechanism.

The two walked into a skeleton skull. A little ghost was lying on it, peeking its head in from where the eye’s position was and looked at them.

"Eighteenth floor." Xie Bi An said.

The little ghost disappeared, and soon the big skeleton skull carried them down slowly.

The raging heatwave was accompanied by miserable screams that entered the eardrums at the same time. As the big skeleton skull descended, they were "passing by" each level of hell. Although they could not see anything through the stone walls, those unceasing, rising and falling, incomparably shrilling cries were probably more penetrating than the sharpest sword in the world, going through the depths of the human soul and making people feel the chill from the inside out.

When Xie Bi An came here for the first time, he thought if those who did evil came to see the consequences of karma, there would be fewer evil people in the world. Unfortunately, those people didn’t believe it, or even if they did, they couldn’t resist the corrosion of desire.

The descent was not very long, but they seemed to have gone through a long ordeal. That howling sound was like a dull knife grinding flesh, so ear-piercing that it made people feel pins and needles. If they kept listening like this, it would be able to drive a person crazy.

The further they descend, the higher the temperature. They had already been sweating like rain, even their skin was steaming with pain.

Finally, the big skeleton skull reached the bottom and they landed. They came to the 18th level of hell ---- the infernal hell.

Xie Bi An walked out. He turned around, but he saw Fan Wu She still standing in the skeleton skull, not even knowing when he retreated to the far corner. His face was frighteningly malicious, like a fierce beast forced into a desperate situation, ready to pounce and fight for his life.

Xie Bi An’s heart suddenly ached. He sighed to himself and walked to Fan Wu She's side: "We're here."

Fan Wu She stared at Xie Bi An. The black blood vessels crawled into his eyes again. His evil tendencies rose suddenly and sharply with the spiritual pressure, and he was full of vigilance and hostility to everything around him.

Xie Bi An knew that the skeleton skull vehicle was going up soon, so he couldn't delay here, and he still needed Fan Wu She to help him save Lan Chui Han. He simply took Fan Wu She's hand in his.

Fan Wu She’s body shook. The twisting black death aura in the eyes instantly faded. He looked at Xie Bi An blankly and helplessly.

"Don't be afraid." Xie Bi An opened his mouth and swallowed the second half of his sentence back into his stomach.

Fan Wu She's eyes gradually regained clarity, and then tinged with a hint of joy. He entwined his fingers around Xie Bi An's hand, as if he was afraid that he would regret it: "Big brother ..."

"Let's go." Xie Bi An pulled Fan Wu She out, and then let go of his hand.

Fan Wu She clenched his fist tightly, wanting to keep the residual warmth belonging to big brother between his fingers and palm.

SQC’s note: (she meant the chapters) These 2 days are a bit short, because the later content is too difficult to write, and it's better not to interrupt the important plot. Let's put it to the next chapter.

 

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PS: Today marks the anniversary of WCJ yayyy!! Time for me to take a rest, byeee

 

blue face with its teeth stuck far out*[青面獠牙 ]---ferocious-looking/terrifying in appearance

rakshasas*[罗刹]---a type of demon. Also known as “man-eaters”

eye muscles*[轮匝]---or specifically 眼轮匝肌--- orbicularis oculi muscle, I used a layman term here called eye muscles xD

 

Edited on 21 June 21 (Emzie)

 

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