Chapter 9: Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva

  But things didn't end as smoothly as King Yanluo and Judge Cui had thought. Not long after, the ox-headed and horse-faced envoys of the underworld brought a shocking message that left the two big shots in the underworld stunned. After several days of research, finally, King Yanluo and Judge Cui couldn't think of any solution. Should they continue to cover it up? Even if they gave them more courage, they wouldn't dare!

  Helpless, the two big men could only go find the true mastermind behind the underworld, also known as the legendary Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

  Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Sanskrit name is Ksitigarbha, according to the Sutra of the Ten Wheels of Ksitigarbha. This bodhisattva was named so because he "remains unmoving like the great earth and his contemplation is as deep and mysterious as a secret treasure". The reason why people are familiar with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is that he once said, "If the hells are not empty, I vow not to become a Buddha!" "I will not enter the hells, who will?"

  In the deepest part of the Hell's Yanluo Temple, there is a mysterious place. This is a place where even the highest ruler of the underworld, King Yanluo, cannot easily set foot. Today, King Yanluo had no choice but to bring Cui Peng with him to this place, to pay his respects to the person who lives here and seek his help.

  This is a simple hut with nothing but a few necessary household items. The furnishings in the hut are simple, but they look clean and elegant. On a tatami mat, under the mist of incense smoke from a sandalwood pillar, sits an emaciated old monk with his eyes closed, wearing a birushana crown and a kasaya robe.

  "I knew you'd come!" Although he had already sensed the arrival of the two, King Tenzin still didn't open his eyes. He did so because he had once said that if it wasn't absolutely necessary, he really didn't want to open his eyes to look at the ugly things in this world.

  "We're here!" The even stranger thing was that Yanluo Wang and Cui Penguan didn't show any signs of surprise. Because they knew, although Dizang Wang Bodhisattva had been sitting in meditation all this time, nothing in the underworld could escape his notice.

  "King Yama, I..." Judge Cui lowered his head and stopped speaking. He knew that nothing that happened in the underworld could be hidden from the great king before him. Indeed, to let Xiao Chen rush into another dangerous and unfamiliar world to face an unknown fate because of the mistakes made by Ox Head and Horse Face was unfair to Xiao Chen.

  But Judge Cui never regretted his actions. Because he knew clearly that if he didn't do so, not only would the Ox-Head and Horse-Face suffer the punishment of being struck by five thunders, but also, in case the heavenly officials intervened, it might implicate many people from the underworld, including King Yanluo himself. This would inevitably cause unrest in the underworld, a price too high to pay. Therefore, the wisest course of action was to apologize to Xiao Chen.

  "Bodhisattva, I know that you are aware of the events surrounding the young man named Xiao Chen. The fact that you sent a ghostly messenger to deliver a physical body to me is proof enough. We thought that this matter had been resolved with Xiao Chen's departure, but it seems that things have not ended there. Your Majesty, King Dizang, we want to know why the physical body you sent through the ghostly messenger looks exactly like Xiao Chen? And why can't Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Hei Bai Wu Chang find the person named Xiao Cheng in the mortal world?" Although King Dizang had largely withdrawn from the affairs of the underworld, and King Yanluo had become the highest authority, almost everyone in the underworld knew that it was thanks to King Dizang's efforts that the vast underworld could stand for thousands of years without falling. The all-knowing and all-powerful King Dizang.

  To put it more directly, King Dizang is a steady anchor in the vast underworld.

  "Alright, Judge Choi and Yanluo Wang, don't be too hard on yourselves, I didn't mean to blame you at all. As for your first question, my answer is that the body originally belonged to Xiao Chen, and I simply returned what was rightfully his. As for the underlying reasons, please forgive me for not being able to disclose them!" King Ksitigarbha dismissed the first question with a simple statement.

  "What?" Yanluo Wang and Cui Judge were greatly shocked. It seemed that things had become even more complicated.

  "As for your second question, I won't answer it yet!" The tone of King Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was still so gentle. "First, I'd like to ask you, why did Ox-Head and Horse-Face bring the soul of that Xiao Chen to the underworld?"

  "That's because these two guys are greedy for the drink, so they got drunk and made a mistake, mistakenly hooking Xiao Chen's soul!" Thinking of this, Yanluo Wang hated it so much that his teeth were clenched. These two bastards, look at what you've done!

  "Your Honor, I've already punished them for this matter. I guarantee they won't dare to do it again in the future." Judge Cui hastily said.

  "Is it true?" King Jizang didn't answer directly, but just smiled faintly.

  "The adult means..." Yan Luo Wang and Cui Judge exchanged a glance. They both saw the confusion in each other's eyes.

  "It's a matter of the heavenly way, I also can't speak too clearly. But I just want to tell you that this time, Ox Head and Horse Face made a mistake in fetching souls, even in the mortal world, they couldn't find someone named Xiao Cheng. All things have their destined connections, everything is predetermined by fate, it's not entirely the fault of Ox Head and Horse Face!"

  "And the young man named Xiao Chen who was sent to another world by you, and the young man named Xiao Cheng who is still in the mortal world but has gone missing. These two are not ordinary people, they have an inexplicable, chaotic, and mysterious relationship between them!"

  "What should we do next, sir?" Yanluo Wang and Cui Panguan were both very intelligent people. The wisest thing for a clever subordinate to do when faced with a question that their leader did not want to answer was to suppress their own curiosity.

  "It's a matter of heavenly principle, and it's not something you can change. All you can do now is sit on the high platform and watch the changes quietly." King Dizang sighed, "Alright, let's just end this matter here. Forget about both Xiao Chen and Xiao Cheng!"

  "Yes!" Yama King and Choi Judge, although they did not know why Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said so. But out of their boundless respect and trust in Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, they still decided to follow the Bodhisattva's instructions.

  "By the way, I'd also like to correct a misconception of yours. The reason we people from the underworld don't send powerful individuals to that world and forcibly bring back those seven souls isn't entirely because we're afraid of losing merit; our biggest concern is actually not wanting to clash with the heavenly realm." Bodhisattva King Ksitigarbha suddenly said.

  "Sir, can you make it clearer?" Yanluo Wang and Cui Judge knew that the matter had already implicated the high heavens, but they also knew very little about the details.

  "You two, you both know that since Pangu's creation of the world, Nüwa's molding of humans from clay has led to the birth of the three realms of heaven, earth, and humanity. Although these three realms are independent of each other, everyone understands that the heavenly realm is far superior to the underworld and human realm. To put it bluntly, the other two realms can't help but look up to the heavenly realm!"

  "Adult, we certainly know this, but what is the connection between these two?" Yan Luo Wang and Cui Judge became even more bewildered. Although the people of the heavenly realm are arrogant and must investigate, their biggest weakness is that they care too much about appearances. In order to show off their perfect side in front of outsiders, they have always claimed to maintain world peace and stability with their greatest ability, and will not allow any evil to spread.

  Why would the heavenly authorities stand idly by and watch those seven souls wreak havoc in that world, to the point of opposing the underworld's dispatch of powerful enforcers to capture those seven thousand-year-old souls?

  "That's because that world was once a place where the Heavenly people sowed their faith, and they invested a great deal of effort there. Unfortunately, they ultimately failed. So they left that world with deep regret. In the eyes of the Heavenly people, that world is a filthy and ugly place, a place destined to be despised and discarded. To express their strong indignation, the Heavenly people call that place the God-Abandoned Continent." The Bodhisattva King Kshitigarbha said slowly.

  "Abandoned Continent of the Gods?"

  "Yes, the Divine Continent. A world of endless war and strife. Although it's a place that the Heavenly Realm people detest and discard, after all, it's also a place where the Heavenly Realm people have set foot before. With the pride of the Heavenly Realm people, even if they don't want something, they won't let the Underworld people touch it either. Do you understand?"

  "I understand!"

  Just as Yanluo Wang and Cui Pangong were visiting King Dizang, in the mortal world, it was a sunny day with gentle breeze. In a scenic spot nestled between mountains and water, there stood a grand public cemetery adorned with cypress trees. Among the countless white tombstones that stretched as far as the eye could see, a group of people were wailing in grief.

  Today is the day of Xiao Chen's funeral. These people were all friends of Xiao Chen when he was alive. Xiao Chen, rest in peace! May you be happy in that world.

  No one noticed that, not far away, under the green pine trees, there was a person wearing a windbreaker and a wind hat, wrapping himself tightly, staring coldly at this place. "Hmph, those fools in the land office think they can catch me, Xiao Cheng? Just a simple disguise and I've fooled those two idiots, Ox Head and Horse Face. But Xiao Chen, you should feel extremely honored to be noticed by me!" A chilling laugh echoed through the air.

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