Chapter 5: Trespassing the Ghost Gate Pass

The Yellow Spring Road stretches endlessly, and yin winds blow in gusts.

Each step covers ten thousand li; from now on there is no return.

In the original text, the Fengdu Ghost Gate Pass is merely mentioned in passing, focusing on how Ling Xiao persuaded Yama to bring Mei Ruoxue's soul out of the underworld.

So when Shi Ran saw the Ghost Gate Pass, she felt utterly shocked; amid the howling yin wind, a bronze giant gate loomed, its rings were taoties gripping bones, the lintel bore the three characters 'Ghost Gate Pass' scorched into karmic fire, with black snakes formed from resentful souls wriggling between the strokes, sending a chill down one's spine.

The three great ghost kings each looked fearsome, holding instruments of punishment as they inspected the travel permits of passing souls; meanwhile, some minor ghosts patrolled, escorting souls into the Ghost Gate Pass.

"If you're afraid..." Ling Xiao turned and saw Shi Ran's excited face; he frowned, a sudden uneasy premonition welled up—had Qi Chengshuang come up with a bad idea?

"Huh? Master, what did you say?" Shi Ran turned to ask, facing the Ghost Gate Pass! The real Ghost Gate Pass! She had thought she could only see it on TV or in games; she never imagined she would one day enter the book and even make it alive to the Ghost Gate Pass!

Alive and not yet dead—she'd already managed to survive several chapters? What exciting news!

Ling Xiao didn't understand what she was excited about, nor did he want to; he mechanically took out a pill, saying, "This pill can seal a living person's aura, so the ghost kings can't detect..."

Shi Ran swallowed the pill in one gulp; it was a bit big, so she straightened her neck to swallow it. Looking up, she saw Ling Xiao's complex gaze, and she scratched her head apologetically: "Master, Senior Sister's soul is waiting for us—should we hurry in?"

Ling Xiao choked; he had wanted to explain the side effects and duration of the Consolidating Spirit Pill, but Shi Ran's words made him worry about Mei Ruoxue anyway—since Shi Ran stayed by his side, nothing should happen.

Besides, he really... didn't want to say more.

Thus Ling Xiao merely nodded, also took the Consolidating Spirit Pill, gestured for Shi Ran to follow behind, handed a fake travel permit to a minor ghost, and mingled into the souls' procession, walking side by side on the Yellow Spring Road.

As they walked on, the miasma thickened; between the two peaks, azure mist hid the stars. Fortunately, red spider lilies bloomed in vast swaths along both sides of the road, blood‑bright and splendid, guiding the souls forward—but when the yin wind blew, the fragrance scattered, and the souls recalled their past lives, regretting their former choices; for a moment, Shi Ran was surrounded by wailing ghosts and howling wolves.

Shi Ran's head ached from the noise; just as she was about to say a few words, a voice suddenly echoed in her mind: "Speak carefully! Hold your breath!"

Shi Ran jumped. "Master?" She looked at the steady‑striding master ahead, quickly closed her mouth, and asked in her mind: "Master, how are you in my head? Will we have to communicate like this from now on?"

Ahead, Ling Xiao slammed his eyes shut; he was now quite certain—Qi Chengshuang! His senior disciple had definitely come up with a bad idea.

"I'm not in your head!" Ling Xiao exclaimed to the heavens; he must have been addled by Mei Ruoxue's poison, otherwise why would he agree to let his second disciple bring Shi Ran along to guard him?

"Guard him?!" Now every word mocks his decision from yesterday.

"The talisman I gave you earlier is called the Secret Sound Talisman!! Only those who possess a talisman can communicate; how is your talisman skill so poor?"

"Oh no! Oh no! I was so careless!" Shi Ran regretted, but in the original text Ling Xiao came to the underworld alone—how could she know what he gave her? She had thought it was some useful ghost‑warding talisman.

Shi Ran was about to explain, but looking up she saw they had arrived before the Three Great Ghost Kings; Ling Xiao, apparently angry, strode past without a glance, not realizing Shi Ran was already eight zhang behind him.

Shi Ran didn't not want to chase, but she was stopped—a blue‑fanged ghost king barred her way, extending a withered ghostly hand toward her and giving her an ambiguous ghostly wink.

What is this for? Shi Ran wondered, "Do they want a travel permit?" But travel permits are given by minor ghosts, right? It shouldn't be that, and no ghost had asked Ling Xiao for a permit; she wanted to ask, but at that moment Ling Xiao had already entered the Ghost Gate Pass unimpeded.

By now a distance lay between them; Shi Ran clenched her fists, "Watch! Watch! Relying on anyone is no match for relying on oneself!"

Shi Ran hesitated a moment; the other two ghost kings noticed something amiss and approached her and the blue‑faced ghost.

Thinking quickly, Shi Ran placed her hand on the ghost king, forcing a harmless smile, imagining herself irresistibly charming: "Hello! Hello! Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you!"

Three Great Ghost Kings:?

Other souls:?

Shi Ran:? It seems… I misunderstood!

Shi Ran yanked her hand back, seized the moment while the ghosts were stunned, slipped through a gap and rushed inside: "Sorry, I have urgent business—excuse me!"

The Three Great Ghost Kings reacted: "Quick! Quick! Catch that female ghost! She trespassed the Ghost Gate Pass—catch her quickly!"

The minor ghosts echoed the call, and as the ghost kings all rushed toward Shi Ran.

Shi Ran looked back, tears welling but none falling; she had entered the Ghost Gate Pass only to find Ling Xiao's trace gone, making her want to cry even more.

"Brahma! Brahma!" Shi Ran had to run while calling for external aid: "What do we do? What do we do?"

Brahma was dozing in Shi Ran's sea of consciousness; hearing the summons, he had to come forth, still yawning—when he opened his dragon eyes, he almost slipped from her shoulder.

"Ahhhh! What on earth happened? Why are so many ghosts chasing you?!"

"Long story short!" Shi Ran ran heedless of direction, startling countless souls; passing a tofu stall, she gritted her teeth, hurled tofu as a weapon, smashing the leading few minor ghosts.

"Now I've lost Master, what should I do? Which way to run?" The underworld actually had a bean vendor! Shi Ran felt delighted, snatched the vendor's beans, and threw them all over the ground.

"Ah! This way!!" Brahma, anxious, leapt onto Shi Ran's head, grabbed her hair bun and pulled left, automatically ignoring her first sentence.

Shi Ran winced in pain, forced to follow Brahma's directions back and forth; fortunately, after wrecking a few stalls, the human‑dragon duo finally outran the ghost officials, and only upon stopping did they notice there were no souls around.

"Phew! That scared the living daylights out of me!" Brahma patted his chest, still uneasy: "I've always feared ghosts most—you really, why do you keep attracting these ghosts?!"

Shi Ran was out of breath, her words fragmented: "I... I don't know... the way, I just held hands... and those... those ghosts... exploded!"

The human and dragon, unable to figure it out, simply gave up looking; scanning left and right, they found no souls around, only lush grass and distant mountains veiled in mist—not like the ghost city of Fengdu, but rather....

Brahma suddenly slapped his dragon's head: "Could this be Shady Mountain?"