Chapter 80

"Look over there! Daddy!" Alvina excitedly patted Joseph's arm, and Joseph quickly made her sit back down to prevent her from falling. Seeing Joseph subconsciously protect Alvina stirred warmth inside Melissa. It seems that Second Young Master Clarkson is not always cold and heartless. Several lanterns were floating on the lake surface, and the melodious sounds of folk music could be heard from afar. People began to let go of their fear, their nerves gradually calming down as they basked in the stunning scenery. "Ah!" A woman got frightened and jumped up from her seat, her hand accidentally hitting Melissa's back. The reason for the sudden fright was that their boat got close to a large coffin in the middle of the lake. All of a sudden, the corpse within seemed to sit bolt upright. People screamed in shock, including Melissa. However, it wasn't the ghastly scene that scared her. Instead, it was the couple behind her who kept startling her with their reactions. One person scares another, frightening them to death! Without thinking, Melissa placed her hand on the back of Joseph's hand. When she realized what she had done, her cheeks turned a shade of crimson. In the darkness, no one could see her, which was a small comfort at least; her action was utterly embarrassing! When Joseph felt Melissa's hand on his, he surprisingly didn't shake it off immediately. Melissa, therefore, retracted her hand back to her lap. "Scared?" Joseph teased, whispering into Melissa's ear. "No, someone just hit me." Melissa hurriedly explained. The blush on her cheeks slowly faded. "So, let me get this straight. Someone hits you, and you hit me? How does that make sense?" Joseph asked, going with the flow. Seeing Melissa's embarrassment was amusing, he couldn't resist teasing her more. "There's no sense in it. Perhaps it's your karma!" Melissa casually responded. She had never lost when it came to verbal battles. Joseph sometimes found Melissa's words puzzling, and he defended his own character by saying. "I have a clear conscience, I owe no one anything—so where does the retribution come from?" "I have no idea, maybe you owed me something in your past life!" Melissa didn't want to keep discussing, she turned her head to check out the surrounding decorations with Alvin. Melissa carefully reevaluated her own words, feeling that something was not quite right. When the boat reached the shore, Melissa first helped Alvin and Alvina to disembark, then returned to assist her grandmother. The final stretch of the journey was even more frightening with all the red lights interwoven around, adding a layer of psychological pressure. Inside the cavern, the speakers were playing the sound of harsh sizzling, the place looked like it was supposed to be the King of Hell's mansion. "Melissa, is that man sitting over there the King of Hell?" Grandma Julia asked while holding Melissa's hand, the elderly lady appeared quite calm and was enjoying the beauty of the cave. "Yes, grandma." Melissa gently nodded her head and said "These are all real people acting it out, including the Black and White Imps, and Ox-Head and Horse-Face, they're all real people!" Melissa's attention was fully on the costumes of these characters, they were lining up one by one in front of the gate of Ghost Gate. The King of Hell was holding the Book of Life and Death, he seriously said in a solemn voice. "Bring everyone up here." Among all the people, Ox-Head and Horse-Face picked the timid couple first. The woman screamed and hid behind her husband's coat, even pulling it off in the process. The companions let out giggles here and there, the woman was either screaming or hiding behind her husband with her eyes shut. Even though the husband was scared, he was desperately overcoming his fear and leading his wife forward. They were indeed truly in love! "What are your names?" The King of Hell asked in a low voice. The husband stated his name and also told them his wife's name. The King of Hell flipped through the Book of Life and Death, shook his head and said. "Your earthly life is not over yet. Black and White Imps, bring them back to the mortal world. Ox-Head and Horse-Face, bring up the next one!" Seeing Ox-Head and Horse-Face about to grab Alvin and Alvina, Melissa was just about to tell them not to be afraid, but they were hopping and jumping towards the King of Hell fearlessly. Before Yama could even speak, Alvin introduced himself, saying "My name is Austin Alvin, and her name is Austin Alvina. I was born a few minutes before her, so I'm her older brother." "Yep, I'm the younger sister," Alvina also chimed in; with curiosity, she looked at Yama and asked. "Grandpa, why is your beard so long, and what kind of creature exactly are you?" Yama chuckled, his voice significantly gentler. "Little girl, I'm not a ghost, I'm the leader of the little ghosts." "Oh, then Mommy always calls me and my brother little ghosts, so you're our leader then!" Alvina’s eyes sparkled, and she excitedly stared at Yama, wanting to touch his big beard. Yama let out a hearty laugh, flipping through the life and death ledger in his hand theatrically, deciding to tease these two little darlings. "Alvin, Alvina, your names are not in my ledger, it seems you can't leave here after all." Yama said, stroking his beard and shaking his head, all while trying to suppress his laughter. Melissa felt this old man portraying Yama was annoying, fussing over children for no reason instead of just doing his job properly. As she was about to speak up for Alvin and Alvina. Alvin was the one who spoke first. "Grandpa Yama, could you please check again? It might be your eyes playing tricks on you, perhaps you just didn't see our names?" Said Alvin, scratching his head with a puzzled look on his face. "Big brother, I think it might be because Grandpa Yama's beard is so long, it's covering up our names. Let's go and part his beard to have a look!" Alvin and Alvina helped each other ascend the stone steps, they then lifted the beard of Yama. Accidentally, they pulled off Yama's fake beard. "Hahaha, this Yama is fake, Mom, Dad, Great-grandma and Aunt Sarah, let's go!" Alvin waved at everyone, a victorious smile on his handsome little face. Alvin and Alvina believed that they saved everyone, they were overjoyed, cheered, and pulled their family up and together, they happily walked out of the Ghost Gate. Before Joseph and Melissa left, Yama took the opportunity to say to them. "Your kids are very smart, they will be something when they grow up!" Melissa wasn't sure whether Yama was complimenting or complaining, she just smiled awkwardly and stepped out of the Ghost Gate. Joseph nodded politely to Yama and then followed out. After walking for such a long time, Grandma Julia was quite tired. Joseph had an inn in the ancient town and arranged accommodations for everyone. They rested at the inn in the afternoon, waiting for the night show in the city that never sleeps. At seven in the evening, the alleyways of the ancient city began to bustle. The lights went up, and the small vendors started their enthusiastic sales pitch. Because Grandma Julia had been sleeping ever since they returned to the inn, Aunt Sarah, not daring to disturb her, chose to stay behind with Grandma Julia instead of attending the song and dance show in the city that never sleeps. "Wow! Mommy, look at all those colorful lanterns over there, I want one!" Alvina didn't walk far into the ancient city before spotting something interesting every ten steps she took and then wanting to claim it.