Jiang Wanyou was escorted by Tianbing Tianji to the entrance of the underworld.
In the underworld, the atmosphere was heavy with gloom, and the walls flickered with eerie blue flames, as if countless vengeful spirits were writhing in agony.
On either side of the road were terrifying ghost statues with hideous faces, emitting chilling vibes.
The guards of the underworld watched as Tianbing Tianji escorted a mortal woman, exchanging whispers and displaying great curiosity.
"Hey, what's going on here? How come the celestial soldiers and generals have brought a mortal woman to our underworld?"
"Who knows, maybe she committed some serious crime."
…
At this moment, a bold guard of the underworld stepped forward, saluted the celestial soldiers, and respectfully asked, "Your Majesties, may we know what crime this mortal woman has committed that would require your personal escort?"
The leader of the celestial soldiers furrowed his brow, speaking in a low tone, "This woman is Jiang Wanyou. She has violated the heavenly code, and has been ordered by His Majesty, the Heavenly Emperor, to be dealt with by the underworld."
The guards of the underworld exchanged glances, wondering how a mortal could possibly commit a violation of heavenly laws.
Offenders of the heavenly laws are usually immortals from the celestial realm, aren't they?
Although it felt strange in his heart, he dared not ask any more questions.
"So it is."
The guard who had asked the question nodded slightly, then loudly addressed the nearby underworld soldiers, "You two, take her to be judged by the recorder."
The two celestial soldiers quickly returned to the celestial palace.
Jiang Wanyou, on the other hand, was escorted by underworld soldiers to the Department of Judgment.
She was filled with fear, not understanding why she had ended up in such a situation. She had been happily together with her husband, eagerly waiting for him to extract the Yuji meridian from her.
From then on, she had ascended to the heavens, transforming from a mortal to an immortal. She would live happily ever after with her husband, enjoying the endless love and freedom of the celestial realm.
But these lovely visions were shattered in just a short while. Now, she was trapped in this dreadful and eerie underworld.
And her husband's cold and indifferent attitude filled her with deep despair.
She quickly arrived at the Department of Judgment.
At this moment, Jiang Wanyou's physical body and soul were still together, as she had been directly brought from the mortal world.
The ghost bailiff at the door looked at her, furrowing his brow slightly.
In accordance with the rules of the underworld, when a mortal comes to be punished, their soul must be extracted from their body, and their body is returned to the mortal realm for natural decomposition or other predetermined fate.
The ghost bailiff swung his soul-catching whip, striking out with a single blow.
Jiang Wanyou felt a sharp pain come over her, her soul trembling, and then it was promptly separated from her body.
The lifeless body without a soul stood there, immobile, like a puppet.
The ghost bailiff ordered other ghost bailiffs to return Jiang Wanyou's body to the mortal realm, while he himself escorted Jiang Wanyou's soul into the Department of Judgment.
Inside the Department of Judgment, the recorder sat behind a massive desk. His face was stern, his eyes conveying authority and justice.
Jiang Wanyou was brought before the recorder, and she immediately knelt down, her knees giving way. Her soul was faintly trembling.
The recorder looked at Jiang Wanyou, his voice deep and authoritative: "Jiang Wanyou, do you know your crime?"
Jiang Wanyou wept uncontrollably, her words choked with sobs, "Recorder Sir, I don't know what crime I've committed, or why I've been brought to such a dire fate."
She just wanted to be with her husband for a long time and become a divine maiden. She had no intention of causing any harm, was it wrong to hope for that?
She didn't think it was wrong.
The recorder furrowed his brow slightly, speaking in a solemn tone, "You lured and seduced the divine King Chu Yuan, and you even schemed to extract the meridian of Yu Ji, disrupting the order of heaven and earth. This is a grave offense. The Heavenly Emperor has decreed that you be punished as a courtesan for ten lifetimes and never allowed into the register of immortals."
Jiang Wanyou shook her head despairingly, tears falling like beads from a broken string: "Recorder Sir, I did not lure or seduce my husband. It was his own decision to extract the Yu Ji meridian, and it has nothing to do with me."
Chu Yuan, since you are without compassion, do not blame me for being without principle.
At this moment, Jiang Wanyou only wants to clear her name, regardless of Chu Yuan's life or death.
Since Chu Yuan is a divine king, he won't be in any trouble.
The recorder looked at Jiang Wanyou, who was still insisting, his expression growing even more stern, "The evidence is clear. You cannot deny it. When Chu Yuan, the divine king, came to the mortal realm for reincarnation, he was seduced by you and committed a great mistake. You cannot escape responsibility for this."
Jiang Wanyou's heart raced with panic, yet she still refused to admit her guilt, "Recorder Sir, please enlighten me. I truly did not commit any wrongdoing."
The recorder sneered coldly, "It's too late now. It serves no purpose to say anything more. Bring her to the Department of Reincarnation. Have her drink the Mengpo soup, and begin her punishment immediately."
Two ghost bailiffs stepped forward, leading the soul of Jiang Wanyou to the Department of Reincarnation.
On the way, Jiang Wanyou's despairing and agonizing cries could be heard everywhere.
However, her voice was so weak in the eerie underworld and no one paid any attention to it.
Jiang Wanyou was escorted by the ghost bailiffs to the Department of Reincarnation, where mysterious radiant light shone, and the enormous wheel of reincarnation exuded an ancient and profound aura.
Mengpo stood by the mysterious large pot, surrounded by wisps of smoke, and the strange fragrance filled the air.
There were many ghosts waiting in line for reincarnation, expressionless, with dazed expressions.
Jiang Wanyou stood at the back of the queue of ghosts.
After the ghost in front of her drank the Mengpo soup, its figure disappeared into the lower reincarnation pool.
Clearly, it was about to be reincarnated.
Soon, it was her turn.
Mengpo looked at Jiang Wanyou and held a bowl of Mengpo soup in front of her, slowly saying, "Drink this bowl of Mengpo soup and forget about all your past lives. May you rest in peace in the cycle of reincarnation."
Jiang Wanyou looked at the murky soup, her heart filled with resentment and fear.
She didn't want to forget about her past with her husband, even if he was unkind; she didn't want to forget.
She didn't want to accept this harsh punishment.
But with the pressure from the ghost bailiffs, she had no choice.
Jiang Wanyou took the bowl of Mengpo soup in trembling hands, tears streaming down her cheeks again.
Jiang Wanyou closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and drank the Mengpo soup in one gulp.
As soon as she finished the Mengpo soup, suddenly a ghost behind her pushed her from the side.
Jiang Wanyou lost her balance with a stumble and fell into the reincarnation pool.
The little ghosts next to her immediately panicked and screamed in alarm, "What do we do? That's the animal realm!"
Mengpo was also startled and her face turned ashen: "This is a disaster! What should we do?"
Mengpo anxiously looked towards the reincarnation pool, where Jiang Wanyou's figure was quickly sinking and disappearing into the water.
There was chaos in the underworld, and the ghost bailiffs looked at each other in confusion, unsure of how to deal with this sudden situation.
At this moment, Jiang Wanyou had already been reborn and was unaware that she had fallen into the realm of animals.
After a moment of chaos in the underworld, the recorder finally spoke, "As it stands now, quickly investigate where Jiang Wanyou has been reborn and record it. If there are any changes in the future, we will make decisions then."
The ghost bailiffs quickly moved to investigate Jiang Wanyou's trace in the animal realm.
Jiang Wanyou opened her eyes and found herself in a dim and damp place.
She struggled to see around her, but her vision was blurred.
Gradually, she felt that her body had become extremely heavy and clumsy, with short and coarse limbs, and rough skin.
She let out a strange grunting sound, but she didn't know what she was.
Jiang Wanyou lived in confusion among the pigs, with no memory of her past life.
She only knew that when hungry, she would compete for food, and when tired, she would find a corner to lie down.
Life in the pigsty was monotonous and hard. She lived among other pigs, constantly smelling bad.
Every day, the owner would feed them rough food at fixed times.
Jiang Wanyou and her companions would all rush up, fighting each other fiercely for that bit of food.
She felt that she shouldn't behave like this, often appearing somewhat dull, not as active as the other pigs in competing for food.
Sometimes she even couldn't get any food, which led her to not grow as robust as the other pigs.
One day, the couple of the farmer stood outside the pigsty.
The wife looked at the pigs in the pigsty, her gaze instantly falling on the smaller Jiang Wanyou. She frowned and spoke to her husband beside her, "Look at that little pink pig, it's always lethargic. When all the other pigs are fighting for food, it just lies there motionless."
The husband leaned over to take a look and shook his head, saying, "This pig is really lazy. It's not gaining any weight; we'll lose money if we can't sell it for a good price."
After saying that, the husband picked up a nearby stick and walked into the pigsty, coming to Jiang Wanyou's side and hitting its butt with force, shouting angrily, "You lazy pig, why don't you get up to eat? All you do is sleep."
Jiang Wanyou was startled by the blow and got up groaning, her eyes filled with confusion and puzzlement.
It didn't understand why it was being treated this way, but it could only helplessly walk towards the trough and fight with the other pigs for the food that made it want to vomit.
In the celestial court, there were billowing clouds and enchanting music.
The grand palace exuded a divine radiance, showcasing the imposing and solemnity of the celestial realm.
In the Heavenly Palace, the Emperor of Heaven was busy with state affairs.
A heavenly soldier rushed in to report, "Your Majesty, there is news from the underworld. Jiang Wanyou has accidentally fallen into the animal realm."
The heavenly emperor's eyes widened slightly upon hearing this, and his expression grew strange.
Previously, out of consideration for Chu Yuan, he had imposed a light punishment on Jiang Wanyou.
Now that she has fallen into the animal realm herself, it's unclear whether it's deserved or if someone is playing tricks on her.
Regardless of whether someone was deliberately interfering or not, his actions were in line with his intentions.
For a mortal woman to try to cling to a divine king and even manipulate him to harm a celestial maiden—falling into the animal realm is barely a light punishment.
However, he is worried that Chu Yuan will cause trouble if he finds out.
The heavenly emperor pondered for a moment, and then decisively ordered, "This matter must be kept secret from Chu Yuan the divine king. No information may leak out. Anyone who defies this order will be severely punished."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The reporting heavenly soldier respectfully answered.
Afterwards, he acted quickly, tightly sealing off all information to ensure that Chu Yuan the divine king would not discover Jiang Wanyou's whereabouts.
Of course, if Chu Yuan the divine king calculates it himself, then there's nothing they can do about it.
They can only try their best to keep the news from Chu Yuan the divine king.
