Chapter 444: A Deep Fate and an Awesome Wife

Rat Patrolman, Lu Dao and Xu Shan were observing the paper bridge from a close distance. When they heard Shang Lu’s reminder, they all looked in the direction of his finger.

Soon a stone was found next to the paper bridge.

The stone was not big, only a little smaller than a winter melon. The blood river was calm in other places, but here it was full of blood waves, which kept hitting the stone, as if they wanted to break it and drag it into the blood river.

Seeing this scene, Zishu Xunshou, Lu Dao and Xu Shan all raised their eyebrows. They all realized that this stone was incompatible with this place, and even in opposition to it.

“This is a stone tablet.”

After Xu Shan took a closer look, he suddenly remembered something: “Come to think of it, although this place is called the Underworld Ruins, we have been here for so long, but this is the first time we have encountered a monument, right?”

It is said that places like the underworld and ghost areas have the most of tombs and tombstones.

But when everyone thought about it carefully, it seemed to be just as Supervisor Xu said. They did not encounter any graves or tombstones on the road before.

Of course, it could also be due to the influence of the blood mist, which obscured everyone’s vision and prevented them from seeing it.

However, after they stepped onto the “dead end” and the blood mist dissipated, they did not see these things.

This stone tablet beside the bridge is the first one.

Lu Dao noticed something strange on the stone tablet: “This tablet is obviously newly erected, and the style is completely different from the ones in the underworld. It is not a tombstone, but a memorial tablet.”

The Rat Patrol sniffed, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and called out to everyone: “There is witchcraft on the stele. Let’s go and take a look.”

The seven people quickly arrived in front of the stone tablet, but did not get too close.

Because the smelly blood in the blood river was constantly rolling up and hitting the stone tablet.

If you get too close, you might get affected.

According to the seven people’s previous observations and judgments, the blood was filled with strong death energy and resentment. Once contaminated, the body would be corroded immediately, the soul would be polluted in an instant, and the cultivation level would unsurprisingly be damaged and declined.

These blood waves really do possess a certain “wisdom” just as the seven people guessed.

After “smelling” the presence of a living person approaching, they became more violent and turbulent.

The rotten corpses and wronged souls in the blood wave also emerged one after another, stretching out their arms, threatening or luring, trying to drag and trick everyone into the blood river.

Fortunately, the seven people kept a sufficient distance, so even though the blood wave was surging, it did not cover them.

They can use their eyesight or witchcraft to see the details on the stone tablet.

A powerful witchcraft aura permeated the stone tablet, protecting it from being destroyed by the blood waves and from being eroded by the negative energy and curses in this place.

The seven people saw clearly that the black yin energy and the bloody curse were constantly attacking the stone tablet, but they were all blocked by this powerful witchcraft energy.

With the protection of witchcraft, although the stone tablet has been attacked all the time, it is in good condition, with only a little erosion and corrosion on the edges.

The words on the stele, which were outlined with fingers, are intact and there are three lines in total.

The first line reads: Cross the bridge with the ritual of “breaking hell and crossing the Naihe Bridge”.

The second line reads: If you hear someone calling you on the bridge, you must shout “It’s not me.” At the same time, look down at your feet, quicken your pace, and never look up.

The content of the third line is equally strange: once the incense and candles on both sides of the bridge are extinguished, they need to be relit immediately without any delay.

After reading the words on the stone tablet, Shang Lu couldn’t help but secretly marvel: “Is this the ‘strategy’ left by someone who crossed the bridge before? I just don’t know if this ‘strategy’ is credible?”

Zishu Xunshou, Lu Dao, Xu Shan and others were obviously also having a headache.

“Is this the experience left by our ‘predecessors’, or is this a scam in the underworld?”

The dangerous place is full of various traps, including those that deceive people by leaving “rules” and “experiences”.

Once you follow these false “rules” and “experiences”, you will fall into the trap, die suddenly, and become part of the dangerous place.

Therefore, after reading the words on the stone tablet, Zishu Xunshou not only did not show any joy, but frowned instead.

Even though this stone tablet seemed out of place here and was even constantly being eroded by waves of blood, he couldn’t guarantee whether all this was a deliberate “performance” to deceive them.

Lu Dao and Xu Shan’s reactions were different. They were delighted and said excitedly:
“It’s not a hoax. These are the words left by our Supervisor. There is also this witch spirit. Although it has been disturbed and eroded by the Yin energy here, it is still filled with the Supervisor’s aura.”

“The font is definitely the Supervisor’s. There are also secret codes left between the lines… No matter how treacherous this evil place is, it’s impossible for it to imitate the witchcraft, fonts, and secret codes, right?”

The more Xu Shan spoke, the less confident he became.

After he finished speaking, he, Lu Dao and Zishu Patrolman all looked at each other.

The three of them realized that given the cunning and treacherous nature of the evil land, it was possible that it could be imitated.

The Rat Patrol subconsciously wanted to pull out his hair.

He reached his hand up to his head, but gave up the idea and told Shang Lu and the others, “Look around to see if there is another stone tablet.”

Shang Lu and his two companions and Gongshu Ling’s Wu Jia all crossed their hands and received the order, then began searching nearby.

The Rat Patrol was also not idle. Although he did not pull out his hair to turn into a witch rat, he was performing witchcraft together with Lu Dao and Xu Shan to scan the surroundings.

Soon, they really found the second stone tablet.

This stone tablet is closer to the paper bridge.

Because it was too close to the paper bridge, it was obscured by the paper fluttering from the bridge. If you didn’t look carefully, it would be difficult to find it.

In appearance, the two stone tablets are almost identical.

The font and witchcraft style above are exactly the same.

The stone tablet at the bridge head was also eroded by the Yin energy and destroyed by the blood waves. It was also protected by the witch energy and was not damaged.

The only difference is the content on the stone tablet.

There are also three lines of words written on this stone tablet. The content of the first line is exactly the same as the one on the stone tablet beside the bridge.

But starting from the second line, the content is different.

The second line on the stone tablet reads: Do not look back on the bridge, and do not respond to the call from behind you. Any voice coming from behind you may be lying to you.

The last line of words reads: Once the candle on the bridge is extinguished, hold your breath and stand still. After ten breaths, the candle must be relit and you can continue to cross the bridge. During this time, no matter what you see or hear, you must not move without permission.

“This……”

After comparing the contents listed on the two stone tablets, the seven people suddenly felt a headache.

The contents of these two stone tablets are, if not completely opposite, quite different.

Which one should I believe? Which reminder should I follow?
After a careful comparison, Lu Dao and Xu Shan said dejectedly, “The witch spirit is the same, the font is the same, and even the codes between the lines are the same. Except for the content, everything else is the same. We can’t tell which stone tablet was left by the Supervisor and which one was left by this evil place. Maybe there is something wrong with both stone tablets!”

“Ah?” Lu Yang and Bai Lingxu were stunned when they heard this.

“What should we do? Find another way to cross the river?”

“I’m afraid there is no other way. If you want to cross the blood river, you have to walk across this paper bridge.”

While the Rat Patrolman was speaking, his hands moved rapidly, forming one witch seal after another.

Under his urging, the witchcraft energy turned into magic and fell on the two stone tablets.

Seeing Zishu patrolling and casting spells to examine the stele, everyone held their breath and kept silent, for fear of disturbing him.

After a moment, the Rat Patrolman, who had shown off his skills, frowned and shook his head.

“No, I have cast several spells, but I still cannot tell which of the two stone tablets is real and which is fake… There is only one way to deal with it now.”

“What method?” Lu Dao and Xu Shan asked hurriedly.

Lu Yang and Bai Lingxu also looked at Zishu Xunshou in a hurry, waiting for him to come up with a solution.

What surprised Shang Lu was that he could actually sense an anxious emotion on Gongshu Ling’s witch armor.

Will the emotions of the manipulator be projected onto the witch armor?

Shang Lu was secretly amazed, and at the same time he heard the Rat Patrolman ask, “Who among you has better luck and opportunity?”

Then he felt five pairs of eyes looking at him.

Seeing that Lu Dao and the others had such a consistent reaction, Zishu Patrol also turned his attention to Shang Lu.

“Is his luck good?”

“In reply to what the patrol officer said, Shang Lu’s luck and fortune are well-known in our Witch Academy. You may not know that a year ago, he was just a small constable in the county government, and he was seriously injured and lost all his cultivation…”

Lu Yang spoke quickly and told Zishu Patrol about Shang Lu’s situation, including Shang Lu’s discovery of the Yunhua Mountain secret realm and his assistance to Feng Boyuan in killing Qiu Haishan in the secret realm, to prove that Shang Lu’s opportunity was good.

However, after listening to Lu Yang’s words, Zishu Patrol did not make a decision in a hurry. Instead, he glanced at Bai Lingxu and Gongshu Ling’s Wu Jia. Seeing that the two nodded in unison, he turned his gaze to Lu Dao and Xu Shan.

Lu Dao said: “Shang Lu has a great affinity. This is indeed a well-known and indisputable fact in our Witch Academy.”

Although Xu Shan didn’t say anything, he nodded in agreement.

After the Rat Patrol said “hmm”, he suddenly asked Shang Lu: “So, you are still a commoner?”

“Yes.” Shang Lu replied with his hands crossed. He didn’t understand why Zishu Xunshu asked about his background, but since Zishu Xunshu didn’t tell him, he didn’t dare to ask.

After Shang Lu answered, the Rat Patrolman did not continue the topic, but said, “Since everyone says you have great luck, it’s up to you to choose. Which stone tablet should we listen to? Or should we listen to neither?”

“what?”

Not only Shang Lu was stunned, Lu Yang was also surprised. However, Bai Lingxu and Gongshu Ling’s Wu Jia, one seemed to be thinking about something, and the other nodded slightly in agreement.

Lu Dao and Xu Shan said in unison: “Yes, it should be Shang Lu who should choose.”

If Shang Lu didn’t know Lu Dao’s character well, he would have suspected that the three of them were looking for him to take the blame… But that shouldn’t be the case. If they made the wrong choice, everyone would die. What’s the point of taking the blame?
Shang Lu said with a bitter face: “Master Xunshu, my two uncles, even you can’t tell the authenticity of these two stone tablets, how can I tell it apart?”

The Rat Patrolman shook his head and said, “I didn’t ask you to make the decision. I asked you to choose based on your feelings.”

Lu Dao gave an explanation: “Based on the experience gained from exploring secret realms in the past, chance is often more important than cultivation and skills! Many times, people with high cultivation cannot find the right direction even after exhausting all means, but people with high chance can get good results just by following their feelings.”

There is nothing wrong with this. After all, this is a world of cultivating immortals. People with good luck are like cheats. They can turn misfortune into good fortune and have everything go smoothly.

But the problem is that others are unaware of this, but Shang Lu is very clear about his own situation.

He doesn’t have any great opportunity.

He was able to rise from the ashes, fight back all the way, and even escape death and turn danger into safety many times, not because of how good his luck was, but because he had a good wife.

If he really had great luck, he wouldn’t have failed every time he tried to bet.

Now the Rat Patrol asked him to choose according to his feelings and gamble his life or death on luck, he really didn’t dare to agree.

Shang Lu opened his mouth to refuse: “Master Xunshu, my two uncles, I…”

Just as he said this, he heard Sanniang’s voice beside him: “Choose the stone tablet at the bridge head. It has the breath of living people on it, while the other stone tablet has only the breath of death.”

Although Shang Lu was very puzzled as to why Zishu Xunshou, Lu Dao and Xu Shan had used all kinds of magic but failed to discover the difference between the two stone tablets?

But he trusted Sanniang’s words unconditionally.

Shang Lu immediately swallowed the words of refusal that were on the tip of his tongue, raised his hand and pointed to the stone tablet at the bridge head: “Follow the advice on this stone tablet.”

Shang Lu originally thought that Zishu Xunshu, Lu Dao, and Xu Shan would ask him the reason, but the three of them did not do so. They just immediately ordered everyone:

“Quickly memorize the three suggestions on the stone tablet and keep them in mind. When you walk onto the paper bridge, you must strictly follow them and make no mistakes, otherwise your life will be in danger!”

After a moment of silence, Shang Lu finally understood that since he had chosen based on his intuition, he really didn’t need a reason.

“My Third Mother is really amazing! Several people with such high cultivation bases put on a show but gained nothing. My Third Mother could tell who was real and who was fake at a glance…”

Shang Lu was secretly proud of himself, and at the same time couldn’t help thinking: “Although I don’t have a deep opportunity, I have Sanniang… or rather, Sanniang is my greatest opportunity in this world!”

Others didn’t know what he was thinking, they just thought he was memorizing the three suggestions on the stone tablet.

The Rat Patrol quickly memorized it and asked, “Who among you knows the secret ritual of ‘breaking the hell and crossing the Naihe Bridge’?”

Shang Lu shook his head. How long had he been in the Witch Academy? He hadn’t even finished the basic courses of Nuo Witch and Military Witch, so how could he have the time to learn other things?

Lu Yang and Bai Lingxu also shook their heads. They were not interested in the rituals for liberating the souls of the dead. It was not time for them to leave the Witch Academy and work as witches in local places, so naturally they had not learned this knowledge.

Gongshu Ling’s Wujia didn’t move or say anything. It obviously didn’t know how to do it. Wujia performed a ritual. The scene was weird just thinking about it… It was not much different from a robot twisting its waist.

Fortunately, Lu Dao stood up and said he could.

The Rat Patrol immediately asked him to lead everyone to perform the ritual, and asked him what ritual instruments and objects were needed.

“The paper bridge is already there, all we need is incense, candles, and paper money…”

When Lu Dao said this, he suddenly became troubled.

Incense, candles, and paper money are common outside, but they are not easy to find in this ghostly place. There are some on the paper bridge, but he dare not take them without permission, and those candles look strange, not like they can be used for rituals.

At the same time, Lu Dao didn’t think that anyone among the people present would bring incense, candles, paper money…

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard someone say, “I have it.”

“Huh?” Lu Dao looked surprised.

(End of this chapter)