"Am I... dead?" Lian Xi's soul, who was still a little dazed in the City God's Temple just now, said as he looked at the endless darkness.
The man on her left in white clothes responded to her question: "You also saw it at the Chenghuang Temple just now. He died in a fire. Take your road guide and walk through Huangquan Road. When you get to the Gate of Hell, you have to show the road guide to the guard."
Lian Xi thought of the City God he had just seen and the scene before his death.
She was clearly inspecting the product just now, but she suddenly became unaware of the situation. When she woke up, she saw a kind-hearted old man giving her a piece of paper and telling her to take it. Then she was taken by these people, and the scenery around her was like fast forwarding.
Flash past and arrive at the so-called Huangquan Road.
If she hadn't felt so light that she was about to float, she would have suspected that these people were deceiving her. Even if she was in it now, it would be hard not to suspect that this was a dream.
"Let's go." Hei Wuchang on the right woke up the stunned Lian Xi and motioned her to move forward.
A group of people walked for more than ten minutes, and as they walked, Ying began to beat her heart. She didn't know how long the Huangquan Road was and when it would end.
Moreover, there were no reference points in the surroundings. They walked along it as if they were walking in the void. It was said to be the Huangquan Road, but in fact there was no specific road at all. She even wondered if they were making a big circle.
After walking for another twenty minutes, Shi Ying saw a gatehouse in the distance, which should be the gate of hell that Bai Wuchang just said was closed. Shi Ying secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally no longer having to walk.
Standing in front of the ghost gate, Shi Ying looked at the tall gate and sighed. It was indeed the first gate for ghosts to enter the underworld. It was so majestic, especially after walking in the darkness and nothingness for a long time, seeing such a tall building,
Come to think of it, no matter whether you have seen ghosts in the world or not, you will be amazed.
Two tall guards wearing armor and holding spears crossed their spears and shouted: "Who is coming!"
Bai Wuchang, who was leading Lian Xi, came forward, said a few words to the guard on the left, and then motioned to Lian Xi to show him the way.
Lian Xi had never seen such a scene in his life. He looked at the guard with some curiosity and handed over the road guide he had been holding in his hand.
After the guard on the left inspected it, he handed it to the guard on the right. After both sides found no problem, he returned the road guide to Lian Xi and motioned for her to put it away. Then the two guards stood at attention and thrust their spears into the ground. The door opened in response.
The guards looked straight ahead, maintaining a unified posture.
Bai Wuchang, who took the lead, walked forward first when the ghost gate opened. Lian Xi followed Hei Wuchang at the urging of Hei Wuchang, and the team continued to move forward.
Shi Ying was very pleasantly surprised. She thought that everything in the underworld had been modernized, such as the control panel she held, the WeChat group established by her colleagues in the underworld, and the talisman that Uncle An gave her. Although the core remained the same, the form was all the same.
It is a modern form. I did not expect that this ghost gate is so antique. The building is an ancient gate tower, and the gatekeeper is actually dressed in ancient times. His behavior is even more so. He even checked the road.
Seeing the surprise on her face, Xiao Qi said softly from behind: "How is it? Isn't this formal enough?"
Shi Ying nodded vigorously.
Xiaoqi explained with a smile: "I have considered using QR codes as a substitute before, but it was rejected. As you can see, the ancient form is more ritualistic, and the souls will be more willing to believe in the inheritance passed down by the ancestors.
We use this form to deepen the soul’s inner feeling of death and make them more convinced of the fact that they are dead.”
Shi Ying thought for a while and thought about sending a QR code to everyone. The scene of the guards wearing security uniforms holding a QR code scanner to scan the code did not feel very serious, but it showed that the sense of ritual was still very important.
"Is this the same style all the time?" Shi Ying asked.
"No, just this one sense of ceremony is enough. The rest are modern styles. On the one hand, it is for the convenience of work, and on the other hand, it is also to reduce the process. If modern people are given the ancient style, their efficiency will be reduced if they are not used to it.
It has become very low." Wu Jiu replied.
It turns out that this is the case. It is true that each generation has its own hell. It is not a boast to keep pace with the times. You must be the one to advance in the hell. Shi Ying gave the hell an advanced award in his heart, and then he laughed out loud.
"What are you laughing at, sister Ying? We're at Wangxiang Terrace, can you take a look?" Xiao Qi poked Shi Ying's arm.
Only then did Shi Ying realize that the team had reached the next check-in point, Wangxiang Terrace. She looked up and saw no high platform anywhere.
The black and white Wuchang in front had already led Lian Xi up the steps and entered the room. Xiao Qi came over and pulled Shi Ying's arm and whispered: "Come on, let's take a look quietly."
Shi Ying was pulled up the steps for no apparent reason, and Xiao Qi pressed her head and squatted down for no apparent reason. He himself gently pushed the door open a small crack, gesturing for Shi Ying to look inside.
Shi Ying looked over curiously. Inside was a curved mirror that was larger than the mirror she placed in the lobby of Building 23 in the copy of Happy Community. It almost surrounded half of the room.
Xi stood in the middle, Lian Xi stood still obediently, and the mirror slowly emerged.
First, there was a scene of the rescue of a factory that caught fire. At this time, the rescue was coming to an end. The firefighters put out the fire and were moving the bodies out one by one. The camera gave a close-up of Lian Xi's body. She was not burned, but there was a little gray on her head and face.
The clothes and left arm were stained and blackened by the smoke.
She didn't recognize it was herself at first, but when she realized it later, she couldn't help but burst into tears. She looked at the colleagues lying on the ground outside, some of whom she could recognize, and some who had been burned.
Without showing her face, she covered her mouth and cried loudly. Although she already knew the fact that they were dead, she still found it difficult to accept such a scene.
The scene changed to a girl eating breakfast in the cafeteria. She might be Lian Xi's child. She didn't know that her mother had been killed in the fire. The news had been on the hot search list, but she hadn't seen it yet.
Lian Xi gradually calmed down, but still looked at the side of the girl's eating face with tears in her eyes. There was a difference between life and death, how could she let go of this matter so easily.
The next scene cut to a young man on the subway during the morning rush hour. He was scrolling through his mobile phone. He had obviously seen the news about the fire. His expression suddenly changed. He quickly changed his hands and started making calls with his right hand, but no one answered.
His eyes were red, but he was still comforting himself: "Aunt Lian is definitely not on the night shift. She hasn't gotten up yet. It's not the night shift, it's not the night shift..."
He called her Aunt Lian, which must be a related relationship, Shi Ying guessed, but she still wondered, didn't Lian Xi have any relatives of the same age? Based on the close relationship, the daughters should be sisters and brothers after they are over, right?
