Peerless Bodyguard of a Stunning Beauty

However, before the three women could finish, Zhao Rong quickly warned them, ”All of you, be careful. Those two walking toward us aren’t animals. They’re the infamous Oxhead and Horseface of Hell.”

Hearing the name ”Oxhead and Horseface” stunned them. Miss Lili recalled the characters from a TV show she had watched as a child. ”I used to think the actors dressed up as Oxhead and Horseface were hilarious,” she said, a shiver running down her spine. ”But now that I’m in Hell and seeing the real thing... I’m terrified, and I have goosebumps all over.”

Yu Lan pulled a flashlight from her pocket and shone it directly on the approaching figures. ”Oxhead and Horseface!” she yelled. ”You henchmen who drag away the dead, don’t you dare come any closer! Zhao Rong has a Ghost-Beating Stick, and he’ll drive you away with it if you try anything!”

Xue Lianmei, bolder still, took out her phone and snapped a twenty-photo burst of the pair. ”When I get back to the mortal realm, I’m sending these pictures to a science magazine to be published,” she declared, beaming with confidence. ”I’ll be the first woman in the world to upload genuine photos of Oxhead and Horseface! I’ll definitely win a Nobel Prize for Discovery for this!” She finished with a triumphant laugh.

But before Xue Lianmei could finish, Oxhead and Horseface were upon them. ”You mortals!” one of them roared. ”You’ve already died and come from the mortal realm to the Netherworld, yet you refuse to accept your fate! How dare you cause trouble here? You injured Black and White Impermanence and still made it this far. We, Oxhead and Horseface, will capture you now and deliver you to King Yanluo for judgment! Afterward, scum like you will be thrown into the cauldron of boiling oil!”

At the mention of the boiling oil, the three women winced, imagining the agony. ”My god,” one whispered, ”that has to be the most painful thing in the world.”

Lili thought of the deep-fried dough sticks she loved to eat and suddenly felt as if her own skin were sizzling. ”Oxhead and Horseface, we’re good people!” she protested. ”We did many good deeds in the mortal realm. Why would you subject us to that?”

”You may have done good deeds in the mortal realm,” one of them sneered at Lili. ”You might have helped people and punished villains. But since arriving in the Netherworld, you’ve done nothing but cause trouble! You refused to drink the Meng Po Soup and forget your past. You forced your way through the gates, defeated Black and White Impermanence, and arrogantly rejected King Yanluo’s judgment! People like you who defy the rules won’t just be boiled in oil. You’ll be sent to climb the Mountain of Knives and plunge into the Sea of Fire! We will torture you until you can never be reincarnated!” With that, the two guardians of Hell roared with laughter.

Watching them, Yu Lan asked, ”Excuse me, Oxhead and Horseface, but the man who entered Hell just before us—our assistant—where is he now? We need to find him.”

Hearing that they wanted to rescue a dead soul, Oxhead and Horseface laughed even harder and glared at Yu Lan. ”We’ll tell you the truth. King Yanluo has already passed judgment on your assistant. That teammate of yours has been sentenced to the cauldron of boiling oil. In fact, we’re heating it up right now. As soon as it’s scalding hot, we’ll toss him in for a good deep-frying.”

A chill ran down Yu Lan’s spine. ”What did he do wrong?” she demanded. ”Why does he deserve to be deep-fried?”

”That assistant of yours may have seemed like a good person,” one of them replied, ”but in the mortal realm, he secretly watched many illicit films. He would fantasize about the scenes, and whenever he saw a beautiful woman, he’d imagine sleeping with her. For these lustful thoughts alone, he deserves judgment and the boiling cauldron. His sins are grave indeed.”

When Xue Lianmei heard that the assistant was being sentenced for mere fantasies, she shot a horrified look at Zhao Rong. ”Brother Zhao Rong, if that’s the crime, then you won’t escape either! You’ll be sentenced to the cauldron for sure! I’ve seen the films on your phone, and I’ve read your diary! You wrote that whenever you see a beautiful woman, you can’t help but think about... things in bed, and scenes from those Island Country movies.”

Zhao Rong sucked in a sharp breath as a hot flush of dread washed over him. ”I can’t believe it,” he said, his voice strained. ”Even though I, Zhao Rong, have done good deeds in the mortal realm, I’d still be sentenced to the cauldron just for having lustful thoughts? That’s terrifying. It seems it’s not enough to just be a good person; you have to be pure of heart, without a single stain on your soul. Only then can you find peace in death.”

Seeing the fear on Zhao Rong’s face, Oxhead and Horseface laughed loudly. ”If you repent right now,” one of them said, ”we’ll just capture you and take you to King Yanluo for judgment. You’ll only be sentenced to the cauldron; we’ll spare you the Mountain of Knives and the Sea of Fire.” With that, they charged toward Zhao Rong and the three women.

As the guardians rushed to grab them, the women shouted a warning, ”You’d better not come any closer! Brother Zhao Rong has a Ghost-Beating Stick! One strike is all it would take to destroy you ghosts!”

Their words gave Oxhead and Horseface a moment’s pause, but their fearlessness quickly returned. ”That may be a Ghost-Beating Stick designed to fight ghosts,” one said with a smirk, ”but we are not ghosts. We’re beasts. Your little stick doesn’t scare us.” With that, they resumed their charge toward Zhao Rong.