nashuaworldcup Chapter 325
Chapter 325
He quickly covered his mouth and looked around in a panic. He saw that although his colleagues had not let out such an undignified sound as he had, they were all keeping their heads slightly lowered while rolling their eyes upward to sneak peeks at the air. Their lips were pressed tightly together, their faces were drained of color, and their legs were trembling.He felt slightly relieved. Everyone was terrified, so surely no one had noticed his rather quiet yelp just now!
Seeing his fourth son again, Emperor Mingxi was also quite frightened, looking down at the ministers who were all rolling their eyes upward to stare at the air.
Had he not known the reason, Emperor Mingxi would have absolutely thought these people had collectively taken some sort of eye-rolling, leg-twitching poison.
As for the fact that some of the colleagues next to them could not see the images in the grand hall and only saw their neighbors rolling their eyes as if they were about to drop dead at any moment...
Emperor Mingxi closed his eyes. He did not know how much longer this matter could be kept a secret. However, it had been almost a year since they started hearing these inner thoughts, and they had discussed it many times. Aside from the rule that they must not harbor any malice toward the Junior Preceptor, they had tested various other patterns multiple times, and none of them worked.
Emperor Mingxi sighed. They just did not have the luck to hear the Immortal Lord's inner thoughts. Who could be blamed for that?
Yue Fuguang thought to herself: The system is restricted by its level and does not allow for a full broadcast of inner thoughts. How could I let you all know that?
She would never do something that exposed her own shortcomings!
Yue Fuguang was also watching the incredibly realistic images in the air. She was in no mood to pick a fight and turned a blind eye to the bizarre behavior of the people below.
The Home-Viewing Terrace stood tall in the middle of a desolate and gloomy wilderness. In front of him was a curved water mirror, and at this moment, the scene displayed within it was precisely the court of the Great Yan dynasty.
The flying eaves of the grand hall, the vermilion pillars coiled with dragons, the smoke curling upward from the bronze censers, Emperor Mingxi sitting steadily on the dragon throne upon the vermilion steps, and the Great Yan ministers below, each with their heads bowed.
"Little Zhu, why am I not in this picture?"
[He is but a ghost, naturally unworthy of seeing you, an Immortal Lord. The water mirror of the Home-Viewing Terrace also lacks the power to manifest your image, Master.]
Xie Zhiyan looked up, and his reflection in the water mirror in front of Xie Zhiwei also looked up. His eyes met Xie Zhiwei's on the Home-Viewing Terrace.
Separated by space, life, and death, the two brothers exchanged a glance before looking away.
Concubine Xin was the indirect murderer responsible for Xie Zhiyan's death. He was not completely without resentment toward this younger brother who, despite not yet having the chance to commit evil, was undisputedly a pawn of Nanyue.
Just as the ministers saw themselves in the water mirror and were so terrified they did not know what to do, ripples appeared across the image.
Xie Zhiwei seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, drawing him gently yet irresistibly down from the high terrace and plunging him into the deeper, darker heart of the underworld, the Field of Oblivion.
The sorrowful wails of the Home-Viewing Terrace quickly blurred behind him, replaced by a boundless, hazy gray wilderness.
No grass or trees grew on the ground. There were only pale shadows resembling withered reeds, swaying slightly even without any wind, emitting a rustling sound like the murmurs of countless people whispering and then forgetting.
The intense grief on the faces of the wandering souls walking here gradually turned into sluggishness and bewilderment. Xie Zhiwei was no exception.
Watching the increasingly eerie scenes in the projection, the crowd silently huddled together.
Yue Fuguang cast an envious glance and could not help but talk to the system to ease her fear.
"Little Zhu, I remember that at the end of the wilderness, it should be the River of Forgetfulness, right?"
[Master, it is indeed time for the Sanzu River. Look, is there not a river right there?]
Everyone looked over in unison. A large river appeared at the end of the wilderness. The river water was neither clear nor murky, but rather a tranquil, dark gold color, as if molten bronze and evening mist had been blended together.
The water flowed slowly, yet it seemed bottomless.
The riverbanks were lined with bright red spider lilies that had no visible beginning or end. These blooming, fiery flowers were the only vibrant scenery in this world.
Further ahead, they saw the only bridge over the river. On the bridge stood a stone tablet inscribed with the name Naihe.
"Little Zhu, does Meng Po's soup still taste the same?"
[Master, it will not change for eight hundred years. However, once her daughter Sanqi takes over the position of Meng Po, perhaps the taste will change.]
Soon, the crowd followed Xie Zhiwei past the Ridge of Vicious Dogs, the Mountain of Golden Roosters, and the Silent Forest, arriving at a magnificent, formidable complex of massive palaces that could not be measured by the standards of the living world.
He appeared abruptly beneath a dark red sky.
The palaces were neither wood nor stone; the material resembled black jade and dark iron, gleaming with a cold, hard luster.
The flying eaves and brackets were like the sharp claws of monsters, reaching into the stagnant, gloomy clouds.
In front of the hall was the boundlessly wide Mirror of Retribution Terrace. The high-hanging mirror was not for looking back at one's homeland, but to illuminate a soul's lifelong sins, revealing every tiny detail so that nothing could hide.
Below the mirror terrace were long, seemingly endless steps.
Each step seemed heavier than the last.
Countless souls were climbing upward silently and with great difficulty. On both sides stood tall, faceless ghost wardens holding various oddly shaped weapons and chains.
Their expressions were solemn, their gazes like lightning, looking down to scan every passing soul. Suddenly, as if sensing something, they raised their eyes and looked over.
This glance met the widened, terrified eyes of the Great Yan sovereign and his ministers.
Yue Fuguang was also startled by the sudden stare. She swallowed hard, trying to steady her voice as she said, "We have finally reached the Palace of Yama. Little Zhu, where is Lord Yama?"
As her words fell, the colossal palace doors, like the mouth of an abyss, slowly opened.
Inside was deep and dark. One could only faintly make out the outlines of ten massive desks, as well as an unknown, flickering area deeper within.
As a judge whose face was indistinct but who was vaguely dressed as a scholar slowly opened the Book of Life and Death, an invisible, chilling aura of death swept over them.
[Master, based on Xie Zhiwei's actions in this life, a minor character like him does not require Lord Yama to appear.]
"Xie Zhiwei, according to the records in the Book of Life and Death, your mortal lifespan has not yet ended. Why have you come here?"
The judge's voice was cold as he held the Book of Life and Death and flipped through a few more pages.
"Why is your evil karma reduced by so much? Killing brothers and harming sisters, indiscriminately slaughtering ministers and commoners, carrying the lives of tens of thousands on your back, nearly causing a precarious dynasty to overturn..."
Sentence by sentence, the judge listed the crimes Xie Zhiwei was supposed to commit but had not had the chance to because of his premature death.
"A heaven-ordained, unforgivable villain actually died before he even had the chance to cause chaos. How truly interesting!"
Even while saying it was interesting, the judge's hands did not stop as he wrote and drew in the Book of Life and Death.
"Go line up for reincarnation!" With a grand wave of the judge's sleeve, a powerful gust of wind struck, sweeping Xie Zhiwei out of the hall in the blink of an eye.
The projection of the grand hall disappeared along with him. Emperor Mingxi and his ministers, having seen the legendary Palace of Yama, the judge, and the Book of Life and Death they cared about most, were unable to snap out of their daze for quite some time.
They all looked dumbfounded, seemingly lost in disappointment, filled with fear yet harboring a hidden sense of anticipation... especially since everyone's heart was itching to know whether they were among the ministers that the judge mentioned Xie Zhiwei would indiscriminately slaughter.
Furthermore, what were their merits recorded in the Book of Life and Death... and how much mortal lifespan did they have left?
If someone destined to die early had their fate changed and defied the heavens due to the Junior Preceptor's appearance, did that mean their own lifespans had changed as well?!