Chapter 47: On Underworld Merit (Seeking votes, seeking follow-up reading)

"Doing good and accumulating virtue for a lifetime, just to be reborn in the Central Plains in the next life and be an ordinary commoner?" Xiao Yu's mouth twitched.

Even though she knew that the "barbarians" of this world had immense reverence and longing for the Central Plains, she was still shocked by the value of "Central Plains citizenship."

The longing of migrants for a US green card was not as great as the admiration of foreign people in this world for the Central Plains.

"Hey, Yu'er, don't deviate from the point. Father is just using folk common sense as an example."

"In the Western countries, the main purpose of the common people doing good and accumulating virtue is to be reborn in the Central Plains after death."

"The common people are ignorant and think that everything in the Central Plains is good."

"Being a commoner in the Central Plains seems to be happier than being a monarch in a foreign land."

"But we powerful people know very well that there are poor people and suffering everywhere."

"It can only be said that the Central Plains is similar to the legendary Western Pure Land, belonging to the most essential place in the world."

After a pause, Guan Huchen added, "Do you understand what Father means? When it involves underworld merit, reputation can instead become a burden."

Xiao Yu shook her head and said very honestly, "Yu'er doesn't understand; reputation comes from good deeds, and since they are good deeds, being monitored by ghosts and gods will only continuously accumulate underworld merit."

"Even if I don't count on being reborn in the Central Plains in the future, having underworld merit is a good thing, so how can it become a burden?"

"Can you guarantee that you will do good whenever you encounter it?" Guan Huchen asked.

Xiao Yu frowned and said, "Yu'er just acts according to her nature; if I encounter it, and my mood isn't too bad, and it doesn't take much effort, I do it. If it's really too difficult, then I don't do it. Is it a mistake not to do it?"

"Not doing it is a mistake; it's not just a mistake, it's a great sin!" Guan Huchen said in a deep voice.

"What kind of logic is this? Do good people deserve to be morally kidnapped?" Xiao Yu said.

Guan Huchen shook his head and said, "This is not kidnapping. If a minister has a reputation for loyalty, but one day encounters a major national event, and the monarch sees that he has no loyal actions, will the monarch only remember his past loyalty, ignore today's inaction, and continue to treat him as a great loyal minister?"

"The ghosts and judges of the Underworld are not servants serving the people of the world."

"Their attitude toward mortals in the world is even more condescending than that of a monarch toward a minister."

Speaking of this, he sighed with deep feeling, lowered his voice, and said, "The night before last, you also saw Lord Song; he is just a tiny messenger in the Western Shu realm, and Father is a dignified Great Shu Cavalry Commandant."

"When Father faces him, every word must call him 'Lord,' and the attitude is as humble as a filial son or grandson."

"If there is an opportunity to see the King of Shu in Luodu, you can see how he respects Father."

Xiao Yu was stunned; Guan Huchen's words were very realistic and true.

She had previously really had the idea of treating the ghosts and gods of the Underworld as "executors of the laws of heaven and earth."

Heaven and earth are selfless, and the Great Dao is impartial.

Therefore, the executors of the rules of heaven and earth must also follow the rules and be able to achieve absolute fairness and justice.

But "Journey to the West" directly described the story of Emperor Taizong of Tang's trip to hell.

The Underworld is not necessarily filthy, but it is a long way from being "impartial and selfless."

The Underworld fully cooperated with Buddhism to set a trap and manipulated the King of Tang in various ways; can this be called "impartial and selfless"?

Judge Cui quietly changed the lifespan for the King of Tang, and it was done easily.

The matter of the judge changing lifespans happened many times later.

In fact, Xiao Yu had absolutely no need to refer to the plot of "Journey to the West" at this time.

Because the Guan Guan Huchen family had a Guan Chenghuang Guan Laozu who loved his family and clan.

Guan Laozu Guan was a ready-made example.

Guan Huchen's account of the secrets of the Underworld must be very consistent with reality, and perhaps even the earnest teachings of Guan Laozu Guan to him.

Seeing her thoughtful look, Guan Huchen nodded secretly and continued, "If you really want to talk about kidnapping, what kidnaps 'good people' is not morality, but reputation."

"You have a reputation for 'great kindness'."

"In order to supervise you, the ghosts and gods spend time and effort, but you don't live up to your reputation; how can the ghosts and gods not be angry?"

"What happens if the ghosts and gods are angry?" Xiao Yu asked.

Guan Huchen said, "What else can happen? They will mostly record a heavy debt and settle the final account after death. Of course, there are many ghosts and gods in the Underworld, and their habits are different; perhaps there are strict ones who will order ghost messengers to summon your soul over to scold or whip you."

"They might even directly cross out your little life in the Book of Life and Death."

"But as for the effect of the ghosts and gods' supervision..."

"Heh, just look at how many people in this world are cheating for fame, and you will understand."

"Father telling you this is just to remind you that accumulating underworld merit is also a form of cultivation; its difficulty is no less than immortal cultivation, requiring perseverance and great determination."

Xiao Yu looked at him with a strange expression.

With such brilliant and profound insights into the Underworld, why haven't you been greatly warned, turned over a new leaf, and become a great good person?

"If Yu'er stays in Western Shu, with the protection of the Guan Laozu, can I slightly cheat for fame and steal a little reputation?"

Guan Huchen glared and shouted, "Are you having a brain cramp again? What kind of talk is that!"

Xiao Yu quickly lowered her eyebrows and eyes, put on a well-behaved look, and said, "Yu'er was wrong; Yu'er just admires the Guan Laozu and longs for the ancestor's care."

Guan Huchen stared at her for a while longer before nodding and saying, "The Guan Laozu is kind and approachable, and takes the best care of obedient descendants. But you won't stay in Western Shu for long."

"Once you enter the Southern Central Plains, the ancestor's protection will not reach you."

Xiao Yu said, "Yu'er understands; Yu'er is the same as Foster Father, I won't cultivate underworld merit."

Guan Huchen's expression stiffened slightly.

This cheap daughter is indeed having a brain cramp.

"No, Father is educating you; pitying the white bones by the roadside is your spontaneous nature, and it is best to persist in it for a long time, rather than always acting as you please."

"It's like a father seeing his children have a talent for calligraphy and encouraging them to take calligraphy seriously and walk this path well, instead of fishing for three days and drying nets for two, wasting their talent in vain."

Xiao Yu frowned and said, "But Yu'er can't persist; it's too hard to be a good person."

Guan Huchen said, "Father is only asking you to persist in pitying the bones by the roadside, not to be a perfect good person."

"If you could really have great virtue in all aspects, you wouldn't be accumulating underworld merit; you would be a saint descended to the world."

Xiao Yu asked in surprise, "Foster Father, do you mean that according to the Underworld system, if a person persists in burying bones by the roadside, but kills, commits arson, and disobeys their parents, they still have underworld merit?"

Guan Huchen shook his head and said, "You still don't understand the 'reputation' I emphasized earlier."

"You buried the bones exposed in the wilderness today; they only spread this matter, and won't compile another one to praise you for respecting the old and pitying the young."

"You don't have a reputation for respecting the old and pitying the young, so why would the ghosts and gods specifically examine you on 'respecting the old and pitying the young'?"

"The Underworld confirms that your reputation for burying bones exposed in the wilderness is true and will record underworld merit for you."

"If you have flaws in virtue in other matters, when you enter the Underworld after death, they will still deduct underworld merit."

"But how could someone who truly pities bones exposed by the roadside not pity and respect the living?"

Xiao Yu still felt that Guan Huchen's words were illogical.

"Since you still have to deduct underworld merit for flaws in virtue in other aspects, what is the point of desperately persisting in one thing?"

Guan Huchen was a little impatient, "If you hadn't taken the initiative to bury the remains by the roadside today, why would Father make you persist in doing this for no reason?"

"You have this nature, so Father will teach you how to develop this nature."

"The key to developing talent is persistence."

"Let's use calligraphy talent as an example again."

"Someone has a talent for calligraphy, and his father helps him become a calligraphy master."

"Someone is useless except for calligraphy; he might be favored by noble people because of his calligraphy and obtain high official positions and noble titles."

"At worst, he can also write letters for others in front of the temple to support his family."

Xiao Yu said, "Foster Father's words are reasonable, but Yu'er doesn't count on walking the path of 'underworld merit'."

No matter how Guan Huchen reasoned, he couldn't avoid a prerequisite: entering the Underworld after death and waiting for the judgment of reincarnation.

Only those who count on having a good rebirth in the next life need to listen carefully to Guan Huchen's golden words.

She wants to cultivate immortality, jump out of the Five Elements, and trample life and death reincarnation under her feet!

Guan Huchen glared again, "Do you know what kind of people in the world have the worst reputation and are the most impossible to associate with?"

"Those who don't care about retribution after death!"

"When a person doesn't even fear ghosts and gods and doesn't care about the merits of the Underworld, will they fear the laws formulated by the living, or care about the authority of parents and monarchs?"

Xiao Yu said with a bitter face, "Yu'er doesn't mean that. Yu'er certainly fears ghosts and gods and also wants great merit."

"When I was still a barbarian in Shaqiu, Yu'er worshipped heaven and earth and offered sacrifices to the Three Pure Ones, the Jade Emperor, and the Buddha."

"It's just that Yu'er feels humble and unworthy of being on the 'Merit List'."

"Father certainly knows that Yu'er is a good child; Father hopes that you will show your 'goodness' to others, do you understand?" Guan Huchen said.

"Understand."

—No matter what your essence is, you must always do a good job of your appearance at all times, so that neither people nor ghosts can find fault.

Xiao Yu felt a bit of sincere gratitude toward Guan Huchen in her heart.

If it weren't for his patient guidance today, she might have made many unnecessary mistakes in the future and wasted her "talent" in vain.

Well, her gratitude toward Guan Huchen was still too faint.

She should be extremely grateful.

When she truly integrates into this world where people, gods, ghosts, and immortals live together, and when she witnesses many real cases related to underworld merit, she will only regret not being able to travel through time, return from the future to today, and kowtow to Guan Huchen a few times.

Everything Guan Huchen said was golden words, and they were knowledge points that ordinary people could hardly come into contact with in a lifetime.

Well, Guan Huchen passed on all the teachings of Guan Laozu Guan to him to Xiao Yu.

Guan Laozu Guan was the Guan Chenghuang of the Prefecture.

Affairs related to the reputation and merit of the Underworld in the human world were his duty.

That night, Xiao Yu didn't sleep peacefully.

Perhaps she was too tired during the day, and there were no conditions for boiling warm spirit soup while camping in the wilderness, so her soul had signs of instability again.

However, this time her soul didn't leave her body.

Xiao Yu knew she had the symptom of soul departure, so her spirit could remain somewhat clear and wouldn't run around like the first time.

She was surrounded by a gray darkness, and a voice came faintly from afar.

"I, Duan Yuhan of Guangning Prefecture, together with my little son Duan Guisheng, pay respects and thank Miss Yu for her kindness in saving us!"

"Miss Yu made my broken body complete and also allowed my old father and me to be free from the suffering of wind, sun, rain, and snow from now on; Gui Sheng will remember this in his heart and will never forget it for all eternity."

The voice was very far away, blurry, and intermittent, but it kept repeating, and she could barely hear it clearly.

Xiao Yu realized something in her heart, but didn't respond at all.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but those two voices disappeared... and she didn't know how much more time had passed, but Xiao Yu again faintly produced a strange induction—a bit like the feeling when she picked up the large bone yesterday evening.

"Eh, Duan Laoshu, Brother Gui Sheng, you are out to feast again."

That voice seemed to be speaking to her.

Then she heard "herself" say: "Brother Wang Er, my father and I also heard the calls; Li Shan's family in Geda Tun is holding a feast tonight, so we came over to beg for a hot meal."

It was Gui Sheng speaking!

Brother Wang Er said: "There were families offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods in the past two days, why didn't Brother Gui Sheng come? And Duan Laoshu, didn't you say he had a headache and couldn't walk?"

Gui Sheng said happily: "We met Miss Guan Yu again today!"

Brother Wang Er's voice was filled with terror, and he shouted: "Heavens, how did you meet that evil star again? What kind of evil did you father and son commit in your previous life!"

"Miss Yu is a good person! She helped me find my right leg, look, I can run and jump now. Also, my father's headache was cured by her. Before leaving, the great good person Yu also helped us father and son build a stone house."

"That stone house is a bit cold, but it can shield from wind and rain, and it's extremely sturdy!"

After Gui Sheng finished speaking, Old Man Duan also echoed repeatedly, saying: "Miss Yu is the great benefactor of our father and son, she is really a good person!"

These were not all that Xiao Yu heard; later, the Duan father and son went to feast with Brother Wang Er, and there were sporadic words that entered her ears... strictly speaking, it was that she heard a part of what Gui Sheng heard.

Could it still be because of the "saber aura" of the "Tiger Roar Saber" remaining on Gui Sheng?

Xiao Yu lasted until the fifth watch in a daze.

At the fifth watch, the sound of iron and steel from the collision of scabbards and armor already came from outside the tent. ===== CHAPTER 48 =====

At the hour of the fifth watch, the sound of blades and armor clashing could already be heard from outside the tent.