"Who are you? Why am I here?"
Inside the King of Hell's Palace.
Meng Po looked at the nervous captain opposite her. Estimating that the other party didn't recognize her, she spoke:
"I am the Meng Po who took office this year. Did Lord Yama ask you to wait for me here?"
The newly appointed female captain showed a strange expression, "Meng Po? King of Hell? Then do you also have Meng Po soup?"
Meng Po looked at the newly appointed captain's every word and deed, feeling a strange sensation in her heart, "Who are you? Where did you come from?"
"My surname is Yang, and my family runs a grocery store."
"..."
"What about you? Why did you bring me here?"
"..."
Meng Po no longer looked at the captain but went to the entrance of the King of Hell's Palace and asked the gatekeeping ghost.
"Where is Lord Yama?"
The gatekeeping ghost cupped his hands and replied, "Lord Yama is not in the palace. He just said that after you arrived, you should take the ghost official inside away."
"As for why, he said you would know when you recovered your memory."
"..."
Meng Po thought, "This is not good. I must have done something at the annual meeting."
Thinking of the extra money in her purse...
Could it be that she got drunk and forced the female captain inside to buy and sell?
And used Meng Po soup to make a move??
Meng Po pondered, "Is it too late for me to pretend to have amnesia now?"
However, upon thinking of Lord Yama's strength, she chickened out.
e=(´o｀*))) Alas
It's not easy to earn money...
She sat cross-legged in the palace and began to refine the wine in her body, trying to find the cause and effect from her memory.
However, as the memories of the three-day annual meeting gradually returned, Meng Po's expression became more and more strange.
After a while, she opened her eyes and looked at the bewildered female captain not far away.
This one should be the newly appointed captain who drank the pot of black soup she brewed at the annual meeting.
So...
The problem arises.
Meng Po scratched her head, uncharacteristically troubled.
Judging by Lord Yama's intention, he should be letting her clean up this mess herself.
However, she didn't know what kind of ghost soup she had brewed at that time.
What should she do?
...
...
Meanwhile, Jiang Lin had just returned to the Eighteenth Palace. As he was about to enter, he paused again.
He took two steps back, looked at the Eighteenth Palace, which was decorated with lanterns, new couplets, and two potted plants, and couldn't help but glance at the plaque above the entrance.
It was indeed the Eighteenth Palace.
At this moment, the two gatekeeping ghosts also noticed Jiang Lin's return and stepped forward, cupping their hands:
"Sir, Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year."
Jiang Lin responded, looked at the changes in the Eighteenth Palace, "This is..."
The gatekeeping ghost on the right explained, "Sir, this is the New Year's goods received by the Eighteenth Palace. In addition, there are some food and supplies. We decorated it in our spare time."
Jiang Lin nodded. He remembered.
Some time before the New Year, the gatekeeping ghosts had mentioned receiving New Year's goods and asked if he wanted to decorate.
His reply was 'yes'.
He hadn't seen these lanterns before he left, so they must have been put up during the three days he attended the annual meeting.
"Sir, during the three days you were away, many adults sent New Year's gifts to congratulate you on becoming the captain."
The gatekeeping ghost on the left said, handing over a list with both hands.
"We have temporarily placed those New Year's gifts in the palace. Please check them, sir."
Jiang Lin took the list and scanned it. It recorded the identities of hundreds of gift-givers and the times of delivery.
He immediately saw two familiar names.
One was the New Year's goods sent by the Xu Shu Zi family, which arrived on the second day of the annual meeting. He knew about this.
Another was a New Year's gift from the King of Hell's Palace, sent on the third day of the annual meeting.
The rest were from various captains in the underworld.
He put away the list and was about to walk into the palace when he suddenly thought of something.
He turned around, secretly transformed two red envelopes with ghost energy, filled them with冥币 (underworld currency), and then made them fly to the two gatekeeping ghosts.
"Thank you for your hard work. You two take turns these two days, go home and have a good New Year."
At this moment, Jiang Lin suddenly realized that he was no longer a ghost living alone in a leaky hut.
These ghosts worked for him, and it was the New Year. He should give them some good luck.
"Thank you, sir! We wish you a promotion and success!"
"Thank you, sir! We wish you a smile and good luck!"
The two gatekeeping ghosts took the red envelopes, their faces beaming with joy, and the words of good wishes poured out like beans.
For them, it was not a problem if there were no red envelopes, as this was what they should do.
But who would dislike money?
Moreover, the sir giving red envelopes was also an affirmation of their work.
Just the sir's consideration for them, allowing them to go home and have a good New Year, was enough to make them happy for a while.
They were assigned to the Eighteenth Palace, meaning they were ghosts working specifically for the Eighteenth Palace.
Whether they could have leave depended on the arrangement of the Palace Lord.
Compared to ghost officials with more power and higher ranks, they were just ordinary working ghosts with cultivation.
However, having such a job was already much better than most working ghosts.
...
"Heh heh, my wife was asking me yesterday if I could take leave to go home for the New Year."
The gatekeeping ghost on the right, Niu Xiaoguo, said happily, touching the red envelope.
It was as if he had already thought about what he would do when he got home.
Xu Duo Bao, who was guarding the left side of the Eighteenth Palace, almost dropped his red envelope when he heard this.
He looked up, his face full of confusion and shock, "When did you get a wife?!"
"Heh heh heh... recently."
The right side, Niu Xiaoguo, touched his nose and chuckled, "Remember last time I told you about someone secretly sending me osmanthus cake?"
Xu Duo Bao was silent for a moment, then managed to squeeze out a few words:
"Be careful when finding a wife, lest you be drained. Wasn't there a rumor a while ago about a ghost being tricked into having their intestines and stomach secretly removed?"
Niu Xiaoguo's smile froze, "Don't scare me, it's the New Year..."
Xu Duo Bao said sternly, "So you should be more cautious. Choosing a wife cannot be arbitrary. Otherwise, why are there so many single dogs?"
"Isn't it because they can't catch up?" Niu Xiaoguo blurted out.
Xu Duo Bao suddenly felt a stab in his heart, "..."
"But I think what you said makes some sense," Niu Xiaoguo thought for a moment, "I'll observe more."
Xu Duo Bao looked ahead, "I don't listen, I don't listen. Showing affection leads to a quick death."
Happy to be single, always happy to be single.
Isn't it nice to have a big meal with a red envelope during the New Year?
...
Inside the Eighteenth Palace.
Jiang Lin did not pay attention to the conversation of the gatekeeping ghosts.
He glanced at the New Year's gifts in the palace but did not check them immediately. Instead, he went straight back to his seat and casually picked up a book titled "Innate Cultivation Starting from an Egg" to cover his face.
He sat with his body leaning back.
The palace was silent.
After a while, he let out a long sigh.
...