Chapter 334: The Long Road of Life

What is the name of this project?

At the staff member’s cue, the atmosphere instantly quieted down.

To be honest, although the tourists had already gathered in front of the Second Entertainment City, the two dark city gates and a few sedan chairs offered no clue to the theme.

“Dear tourists, our project is called ‘The Long Road of Life.’ Each session is limited to 100 passengers who will ride our Mingsha sedan chairs into the Entertainment City. Only after one group finishes can the next board! And here’s a friendly reminder:”

“Anyone with cerebrovascular or heart conditions—or who is easily frightened—should not force this experience.”

After a brief moment,

the staff member began the official introduction.

“Only a hundred people at a time. The Long Road of Life? A trap for the faint-hearted? Sounds exciting, right?”

At these words, many tourists grew even more confused.

It seemed as though the staff had explained the project, yet no useful information was really conveyed.

“Actually, you can consider it like a roller coaster.”

Noticing their confusion, the staff quickly added,

“A roller coaster? Seriously! What did you expect? Just call it an indoor roller coaster. Why dress it up with a fancy name like ‘The Long Road of Life’?”

“Other attractions in the Long Kingdom have indoor coasters too! These rides are slow, designed to let you experience various scenes. The only difference here is that in Mingsha City, you ride in a sedan chair.”

“So what are we waiting for? Open up reservations now!”

“Exactly! I’ve ridden some of Asia’s most thrilling coasters—let alone an indoor one.”

Upon hearing the explanations,

the scene instantly erupted into chaos, as if a long-hidden package had suddenly been revealed to be just an ordinary item.

Especially the self-media reporters couldn’t hide their disappointment! They had expected something like ‘Dreaming of the Past’ and had been waiting here since 6 AM. Seeing nearly 200 staff at the gate of the Second Entertainment City only reinforced their expectations.

With 200 staff guarding the entrance, it had to be a major project!

However, the outcome was far from what anyone expected.

“Please open the Mingsha City app and click on the Entertainment section to make your reservation on site.”

Noticing the tourists’ reactions,

the staff merely smiled slightly without further explanation and proceeded with the process.

“Let’s go! We’re already here,” someone exclaimed.

Minutes slipped by.

At nine in the morning,

the first group boarded the specially-made sedan chairs at Mingsha City.

The sedan chairs had one perk: unlike coasters in other attractions, there were no seatbelts. Once the door closed, passengers had no way to reopen it and could only see the outside through side windows.

One minute, two minutes—about twenty minutes had passed.

Just as the second group began to grow impatient, movement finally emerged at the exit of the Second Entertainment City.

A line of sedan chairs slowly rolled out of the gate, circled around, and then returned to the entrance.

Clack!

Once the chairs came to a halt, all the doors automatically swung open.

But after a short while, no passengers emerged.

“What’s going on?”

Seeing this, the once bustling scene fell silent, especially among the second group waiting to board.

Yet, it seemed Mingsha City’s staff had anticipated this. Over a hundred of them quickly surrounded the sedan chairs, checking on everyone’s well-being. Only after a minute did the first group slowly disembark with assistance.

To the surprise of onlookers, even with staff support, many passengers collapsed as soon as they got off. One bald, tattooed man even clung to a staffer, repeatedly crying, “Mom, I’m scared,” sobbing uncontrollably.

“Hmm? What’s happening?”

This scene pushed the waiting tourists’ curiosity to its limit—they were desperate to know what inside could make the ‘big guy’ speak like that.

“I’m gonna go check out what’s inside!”

Snap back to reality.

The second group, ticket in hand, slowly boarded the sedan chairs and entered the Second Entertainment City.

In no time, another ten minutes passed.

Only once the first group had calmed did the others gather around.

“So, what’s it like in there, big guy? How did you all end up like this?”

A young woman, about twenty years old, looked at the man whose legs had steadied and asked.

“Isn’t it just an indoor roller coaster?”

Someone else chimed in.

“Indoor roller coaster? Do you really believe everything Mingsha City tells you?”

Taking a deep breath,

and steadying himself, the man glared sharply at a Mingsha City staffer chatting in the distance.

Had he known how it was inside, he would have written his will before stepping in.

“Isn’t it? I thought it’d be just like Dino Park’s ‘Seven Dwarfs Mine Train’—a ride through a mine created with dazzling light effects, complete with actors playing parts.”

“Ha! ‘Seven Dwarfs Mine Train’? Please, it doesn’t even compare!”

Hearing the woman compare it to the ride, the man took a swig.

“Big guy, what exactly is inside? Tell us—does Mingsha City’s indoor coaster go fast, or is there some other twist?”

Noticing this,

another tourist asked,

“Fast? If Mingsha City’s coaster were fast, we wouldn’t be in this state. Besides, it’s far more terrifying than those spinning, high-altitude roller coasters!”

The man swallowed hard.

“So what’s the reason then?”

“It’s all about the scenes! The name ‘The Long Road of Life’ fits perfectly.”

“Scenes?”

“Exactly! At first, you enter and see an ancient thatched cottage with a newborn crying inside.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad, does it?”

Many tourists looked even more puzzled.

That kind of scene hardly qualifies as an experience!

“Not bad? You ride along, and the baby slowly grows up, attends a private school, takes the imperial exam, passes, marries, and has children—seventy years in the blink of an eye. Honestly, as our sedan chair moved along, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of nostalgia.”

The man glanced at the tourist who had just spoken.

“But then, as the old man, stricken with illness, slowly closed his eyes, everything changed!”

“Changed? What do you mean?”

“Guess what I saw?”

“What?”

“I saw the chain-wielding guardians from folk ghost stories—the Black and White Impermanence.”

“Black and White Impermanence?”

“Yeah! With just a light wave of their summoning banner, a ghostly figure appeared on the old man before following the guardians past our sedan chair. I was nearly paralyzed with fear.”

At that point,

the man, still trembling, looked back toward the entrance.

“That realistic?”

The crowd fell silent.

“Not just realistic—our sedan chair kept moving, trailing right behind the Black and White Impermanence, until we reached a stone gate shrouded in yellow mist bearing the words ‘Ghost Gate’!”

“Ghost Gate?”

“Exactly! After passing the Ghost Gate, you quickly enter the Road to the Underworld.”

Along the Road to the Underworld, we encountered countless wandering souls. That by itself was nothing, but Mingsha City went into lengthy detail about the scene.

They claimed these spirits were those whose time on Earth hadn’t expired—they couldn’t ascend, reincarnate, or reach the netherworld, forced instead to wander the Road until their time was up, when they’d report to King Yan.

Hearing this, I was instantly terrified!

The man took a deep breath.

“This…”

“And that’s not all. Along both sides of the Road, brilliant red lotuses stretched out like a carpet of blood—terrifying indeed!”

“Then what happened?”

At that moment,

the surrounding tourists swallowed nervously.

“Then, our sedan chair followed this floral path until we encountered a river!”

The man continued,

“The River of Forgetfulness?”

“Yes! Across the River of Forgetfulness stands the Naihe Bridge. Beyond it lies the Wang Xiang Platform, where an old lady sells Meng Po Soup, and by the river sits a stone known as the Three Lives Stone.”

“And then?”

“Afterwards, we saw that old man drink the Meng Po Soup on Naihe Bridge, then be led into King Yan’s court!”

“What? The sedan chair went in too?”

“Yeah! Shortly after, we encountered the Lord of Fengdu, the Five Ghost Emperors, and the Ten Courts of King Yan. The old man received his judgment there and then, under the guidance of Ox-Head and Horse-Face, was taken on a tour through the eighteen levels of Hell!”

The man wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

He confessed that when he saw the scenes inside the eighteen levels of Hell and the old man repaying his karmic debts, he shut his eyes in fright, too terrified to witness the torment.

“This…”

“According to the explanation, every soul must atone for their karmic debts in Hell’s eighteen levels before moving on.”

“And then?”

“After emerging from Hell’s eighteenth level, the sedan chair was escorted by ghost agents to the Reincarnation House, entering the Cycle of Rebirth! Then the old man leaped through a passage, and the scene shifted back to that original thatched cottage where a baby was born.”

After recounting that, the man let out a long sigh.

That ride truly taught him a lesson about the long journey of life.

“Sounds quite something—didn’t you record it on your phone? Mingsha City’s staff did remind us that while the Second Entertainment City allows photos, you must keep your phone safe.”

A young woman couldn’t help but rub her hands together.

“Feeling it? Ha! Young man, you’ll know what it’s like once you get in! And if you’re filming on your phone, just don’t end up wetting your pants from shock. There’s no changing room outside the Second Entertainment City,” she teased.

With that,

the man visibly relaxed and immediately got up.

“Where are you going? Are you venturing alone?”

Noticing this, another tourist asked,

“Where to? I’m off to Biyou Palace to burn some incense! Otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep tonight,”

the man said without looking back.

“Uh…”