Chapter 1668: Chapter 1669: If It Were You, I Would Definitely Drink Grandma Meng Soup
"No." Grandma Meng shook her head slightly.
"Then what should we do? Because now we can’t find the way back."
Hearing you say this, Du Yanan and Wei Yingyue simultaneously turned to look back. At this moment, they discovered that the vast expanse of Red Spider Lilies had already withered, turning into a sea of dead and silent flowers. The bare flower stems made Du Yanan and Wei Yingyue instantly feel wrapped in a bad emotion.
The Netherworld Road they came from had disappeared, leaving no trace.
Grandma Meng was not angry because you took the Grandma Meng Soup from Du Yanan’s hand. She still regarded you with a kind expression, and gently smiled, saying, "There is another path, but I’m afraid it’s not easy to take."
You pointed towards another small path extending from the trunk of the banyan tree and asked, "Grandma, is it that path?"
"Yes." Grandma Meng nodded.
"Grandma, how is this path different from the one we came on? Will there be danger?"
Grandma Meng smiled slightly but didn’t speak any further. She slowly retreated, standing back in her original position, no longer paying attention to the six of you before her.
Du Yanan looked at you and asked, "What should we do now? Should we just force our way across the River of Oblivion Bridge?"
You turned your head to look at the River of Oblivion Bridge.
From your perspective, the River of Oblivion Bridge was just an ordinary-looking stone arch bridge, with a stone tablet at the bridgehead inscribed with a few lines:
"Alas, on the Bridge of Helplessness,
Right and wrong do not cross the River of Oblivion.
Before the Stone of Three Lives, there is no right or wrong,
By the Terrace of Looking Homeward, you will see Grandma Meng."
The color of the River of Oblivion under the bridge was gorgeous and colorful. At first, you didn’t notice it, but now that you looked carefully, you discovered that at intervals, the river would transform into a captivating color, seemingly representing many beautiful things in the human world.
It was very wide, so wide that standing on this side of the bridge, you couldn’t see the scenery on the other side.
To be honest, you weren’t hopeful about crossing the River of Oblivion, as it is said that without drinking Grandma Meng Soup, one couldn’t hope to cross the Bridge of Helplessness. The "helpless" means powerless, even if you were mighty and powerful in life, once you reached this River of Oblivion Bridge, all those past events had nothing to do with the present. Alas, you now have to drink this bowl of Grandma Meng Soup, forgetting everything and moving on to the next life.
At this moment, Liang Xinyue, who had been inactive, communicated a series of sign language with Wei Yingyue. Wei Yingyue frowned slightly and said to everyone, "Xiao Xiao said she had read a mythology storybook before, which mentioned the Bridge of Helplessness and Grandma Meng. If you don’t drink Grandma Meng Soup, Grandma Meng won’t stop you from crossing the Bridge of Helplessness. However, at that time, the bridge, originally only a few steps long, would become very wide, so wide that no matter how much energy you spend, you couldn’t cross it completely. In the end, you could only jump into the River of Oblivion from the side of the bridge, enduring the pain of countless lifetimes."
"There are not many girls who still read ancient mythology stories today." You smiled at Liang Xinyue and said to everyone, "Actually, this Grandma Meng Soup is Forget River Water. According to legend, by the Stone of Three Lives next to the Bridge of Helplessness, there are some who refuse to erase their memories, unwilling to forget their loved ones. Without drinking Grandma Meng Soup, they must jump into the River of Oblivion, suffer through a millennium of torment, then enter reincarnation. During these thousand years, they repeatedly see their loved ones crossing the Bridge of Helplessness, yet cannot meet them. Gradually, they forget what they were waiting for, what they longed for, and then, they forget everything. Mindlessly, they spend a thousand years, waiting for reincarnation."
Hearing this, Wei Yingyue fell silent, seemingly lost in thought. She immediately raised her head and spoke to Du Yanan with determination in her voice, "We absolutely will not cross this Bridge of Helplessness!"
"So what should we do now? Do we really have to take that small path?"
Xu Mingjie asked, prompting everyone to look towards the small path, only to find that the path had changed.
Originally, the small path was merely a stony trail by the River of Oblivion, but now, it extended a hundred meters, with mountains rising abruptly ahead. The path became winding and twisting, and beyond a hundred meters, they saw a world shrouded in black mist, with the ominous possibility of entering the mountains looming.
In the mountains, within this Netherworld, everyone could guess there would be something waiting for them.
"What do we do?"
Xu Mingjie and Deng Fang looked at you, faintly transferring their focus onto you, even though Du Yanan was a criminal police officer, dealing only with ordinary criminals. But now what they were facing was something unknown and terrifying, making you seem like a more reliable option.
"What else can we do but continue moving forward? No matter what is in the mountains, we have six people here. As long as we take care of each other, we can surely make it through."
With this, you shrugged helplessly and took the lead towards the stony path.
"Let’s go. I think what’s going to happen next is going to be the most thrilling part of this journey!"
Du Yanan, the standard tough woman, was originally the one who suggested entering the Ghost House, and although the events unfolding were far beyond her understanding, she felt that having such a journey once in a lifetime was worth it.
Deng Fang and Xu Mingjie exchanged a glance, Xu Mingjie grasped Deng Fang’s hands and said with a smile, "Fang, if everything before us is real, then for you, I’d rather not drink this Grandma Meng Soup. Would you be willing to go on this adventure with me?"
Deng Fang nodded firmly, her eyes glistening with tears. In this world of dead silence, hearing such words of love made her feel that her life was worthwhile.
"So touching." Du Yanan chuckled lightly, holding Liang Xinyue’s hand, and followed you.
You turned your head at this moment and said to Du Yanan with a smile, "Lao Du, if it were you, I’d definitely drink Grandma Meng Soup."
"Go to hell!"
Du Yanan kicked at you fiercely, and you dodged swiftly like a monkey, your playful laughter echoing in the murky heavens and earth.
Seeing this, Wei Yingyue couldn’t help but shake her head slightly. She was now absolutely convinced that you had no relation to Li Jiu or Li Tian. However, compared to that cowardly boy from before, you seemed like a different person. On second thought, it made sense—people do grow up.
Thinking this, Wei Yingyue quickened her pace to catch up with the group.
Meanwhile, Grandma Meng, who had always been standing at the tea stall next to the Stone of Three Lives, watched the backs of the people leaving. She shook her head slightly, her smile tinged with a trace of bitterness.
The stony path stretched on, and when you looked up, no longer were the ancient banyan tree’s branches and leaves above you.
It had taken more than ten minutes just to walk out of the banyan tree’s canopy, illustrating the enormous scale of the ancient banyan.