Chapter 6: Abducted on Shady Slope Mountain

Shady Slope Mountain is the necessary path to the Eighteen Levels of Hell; it is said that this place is desolate and gloomy, filled with lonely souls and wild ghosts.

But in reality this place is indeed desolate; even lonely souls and wild ghosts are not attracted, and in the farthest reaches the forest shadows are layered, not even a ghostly silhouette can be seen.

Shi Ran and Fan Tian finally had a chance to catch their breath; Shi Ran sat on a tree stump, Fan Tian lay coiled in her hair bun, and said, "I merely took a nap—how did you end up running to the underworld?"

Shi Ran sighed, thinking, "Do you think I wanted this?" She only wanted to live a few more chapters, yet she was forcibly dragged down here! "Of course it's to save my senior sister and retrieve her soul!"

Fan Tian spread his dragon claws: "I can't help you; in this underworld a divine dragon soul guards it, ordering our dragon clan not to set foot here for thousands of years!"

Fan Tian lamented, "Back then, if I had descended into the underworld and stormed the Hall of Reincarnation, I wouldn't have lost news of her… So here, I truly am unable to help."

Having said that, Fan Tian flicked his dragon tail and forcibly entered Shi Ran's sea of consciousness, no matter how she called, he wouldn't come out!

Now I understand—she said Fan Tian could do anything, heaven or earth, yet he lost his beloved; it turns even dragons have rules to obey!

Shi Ran could only give up; for now, the plan is to first find her Master and then talk…

"Wuu wuu wuu…" The gloomy crying grew nearer and nearer.

Shi Ran turned a deaf ear, stood up and wanted to leave; her Master must have headed straight for the Yan Luo Hall, direction…

"Wuu wuu wuu… My life is so bitter…"

Can't listen! Must not listen! Here are only lonely souls and wild ghosts! Don't meddle in trivial matters! Shi Ran strode forward without a word, hurrying to find her Master—it's urgent!

"Wuu wuu wuu! Miss, the old lady's life is so bitter!"

Suddenly before Shi Ran appeared a pair of floating red embroidered shoes; ghostly wails echoed in her ears: "Miss, help me, help the old lady! Wuu wuu wuu!"

There's no escaping this! Shi Ran lifted her head, looked unfavorably at the ghostly old lady before her, and said, "Please make way!"

The ghostly old lady held a red kerchief over her slightly plump face, her narrow eyes scanning Shi Ran up and down, a flash of sharpness in her gaze: "Miss, don't rush! Straight ahead is the Eighteen Levels of Hell—terrifying enough to have tongues ripped out and plunged into oil cauldrons; it's no place for a young, beautiful ghost like you!"

"Old lady, I have a way: you needn't go to the Eighteen Levels of Hell, and it would ease my urgent need—it helps both of us; why not hear me out?"

Ghost merchant!!! I never thought there would be human traffickers in the mortal world, and even the ghost city isn't peaceful—there are actually ghost traffickers!?

Shi Ran couldn't be bothered to argue with her; she wasn't limited to that one road, so she smiled, waved her hand, and turned to walk the opposite way.

"Hey hey! You little miss! Why won't you listen to advice!" The ghostly old lady followed Shi Ran, saying, "On Shady Slope Mountain the only exit is the Eighteen Levels of Hell; you think there are no lonely souls and wild ghosts here because they enter easily but can't leave—they've all gone down to the Eighteen Levels of Hell."

Shi Ran ignored her, rushing straight toward the direction she had come from, but found she couldn't get out no matter what; no matter how long she walked or how many steps she counted, she always ended up back at this tree stump, locking eyes with the ghostly old lady.

She seemed to be stuck in place! Upon the fifth encounter with that ghostly old lady, Shi Ran gave up struggling and said, "Old lady, tell me—how do I get out?"

She realized this was a genuine ghost wall; if she didn't want to go down to the Eighteen Levels of Hell, her only recourse was to ask the ghostly old lady before her.

The ghostly old lady, however, put on airs: "Oh, you finally remember me!" She circled Shi Ran once, commenting, "Not bad—looks aside, you naturally can't compare to that one from yesterday, but your figure is much better—where it should be big it's big, where small it's small, especially that bosom—tsk tsk tsk, towering high, stirring imagination."

The ghostly old lady was extremely pleased; she had originally messed up her task, come to Shady Slope Mountain to try her luck, and hadn't expected to actually encounter a top-notch specimen—now she could finally report back, saying, "But I really take a liking to your complexion; I won't hold those earlier things against you."

Shi Ran forced out a smile: "Just now I was blind to Mount Tai; old lady, just tell me how to go, and once I'm out… ah! No, once I send a dream to my relatives above and burn some paper money to honor you!"

The ghostly old lady covered her mouth with her handkerchief, letting out a heh-heh laugh from her throat: "That bit of money, I don't care for it; there's only one method—namely you. As long as you willingly sit in the bridal sedan of our Netherworld Bone Lord, you'll naturally exit Shady Slope Mountain."

What what what what? What Netherworld Bone Lord? What bridal sedan? She's just here to save a soul—why does she have to get married here?! No way! Absolutely not!

Shi Ran fled in terror, turning to run, but a piece of wedding silk suddenly covered her head! Heaven and earth spun, lightning flashed—she blinked, and the next scene found her seated in the wedding sedan.

The wedding sedan swayed gently; Shi Ran's heart was all aflutter. She lifted a corner of the bridal canopy and saw four thin, tall bamboo-pole ghosts lifting the sedan—what a strain!

"Don't be nervous!" the ghostly old lady floated beside the bridal canopy, saying, "Although you are the 218th concubine of the Netherworld Bone Lord, your appearance and figure are top-notch; the Netherworld Bone Lord will surely favor you!"

Two hundred eighteen!

Even if Shi Ran were braver, her hairs stood on end at this moment: "Um, old lady, I was wrong—I really can't marry; I, I, I still have a lover, we vowed to live and die together—how could I marry another, not another ghost? Please let me go!"

Shi Ran had meant to act pitiful, but who would have thought the ghostly old lady would fly into a rage upon hearing this: "How come you two are both like that? The one before said she privately pledged lifelong devotion to her junior brother and refused to marry, and now you're doing the same! I tell you, once you board the Netherworld Bone Lord's bridal sedan there's no way to get off—give up that notion! Be an obedient second‑hundred‑and‑eighteenth consort of our Netherworld Bone Lord!"

"Otherwise, you'll end up just like the one before!"

Having said that, the ghostly old lady lowered the bridal curtain and scolded the four bamboo‑pole ghosts: "You lot have no incense offerings to eat, can't even lift a bridal sedan—if the Netherworld Bone Lord fails to wed today, I'll tie you all up and burn you as firewood!"

The four bamboo‑pole ghosts wailed, "Old lady, this bride is really heavy; we've already exerted all our strength, but the bridal sedan just won't budge!"

While Shi Ran's heart and mind were at war, she stuck out her tongue: "How could it not be heavy? I'm not even a ghost!"

The ghostly old lady snapped, "Nonsense! Could a figure like that be heavy? You're just being lazy—hurry up; if this doesn't work, the Netherworld Bone Lord will not only bind you, but I'll hardly be spared either…"

"Shi Ran!"

Shi Ran was listening to the ghostly old lady and the four sedan‑bearers argue, hoping to glean more information, when suddenly her Master's voice appeared in her mind.

Shi Ran bit her lip; she had never felt her Master's voice so pleasing to the ear, like a mountain spring trickling, like moonlight through pine trees faintly swaying.

"Shi Ran!" Her spring‑and‑pine voice spoke again, tinged with slight impatience.

"Here here here! Master, I'm here!" Shi Ran hastily replied in her mind, "Master, you finally appeared—wu wu wu!"