Houtu studied the bridge and boat for a moment, then directly separated an External Body.
This External Body instantly settled upon the bridge and, in the blink of an eye, transformed into a hunched old woman holding a simple, ancient clay bowl.
Her features were indistinct, as though veiled by a thin layer of gauze. Only her deep eyes revealed boundless wisdom and compassion.
Houtu nodded slightly before saying softly, "From this day onward, you shall be Meng Po. These shall be the Bridge of Helplessness and the Ferry Boat!"
Meng Po's voice was low and gentle, as though it had traveled from distant time and space. "Meng Po greets the original body!"
At that, Meng Po paused, smiled kindly at Houtu, and asked, "But, original body, do you not think something is still missing? The Ferry Boat is here, but where is the boatman? Could it be that you intend for me to personally guide the departed souls?"
Hearing this, Houtu immediately came to her senses and murmured, "Indeed, we still lack some people."
With that, her gaze turned toward the depths of the Underworld.
Houtu's eyes swept through every corner of the netherworld, piercing layers of mist as she sensed every trace of aura within the Underworld.
She found that although the Underworld contained many underworld officials and ghost soldiers transformed from departed souls, most of them could only carry out simple tasks. They were utterly incapable of serving as ferrymen.
More importantly, Houtu did not think highly of them.
After all, for a ferryman, strength was secondary. What mattered most was a compassionate heart—one capable of understanding the pain and obsessions of departed souls, guiding them to release their former lives and enter Reincarnation.
Unless her senior brothers and sisters were willing to help.
But she also