Damn it!
Why is it that every time I make a shady deal…
These deities always have to say something about how kind-hearted they are…
At this rate, my reputation as a good and virtuous person is going to be completely set in stone.
Lu Chen was overjoyed. He immediately clasped his hands and bowed. “Thank you, Your Majesty! I’ve often read in books that among the Ten Kings of the Underworld, you are the most just, rewarding good and punishing evil, and the most compassionate! After meeting you today, it’s clear the books didn’t lie. I’m truly enlightened!”
King Yan smiled. “Kid, stop flattering me. I want a promise from you. If you agree, then what you’re asking for just might come true!”
“Please, Your Majesty, tell me what it is!”
“You mentioned that the Sun family is willing to build me a temple and gild my statue. So let me ask you—starting from today, will I be able to receive ten thousand sticks of incense every day?”
“T-Ten thousand? Ten thousand sticks of incense a day?”
Lu Chen’s pupils shrank, and his face changed dramatically.
Ten thousand people worshipping him every day?
What kind of ridiculous joke is that?
You’re the King of Hell, man—not the God of Wealth!
What normal, sane person would worship you, the living King of Hell, every single day?
“So? If you agree, then I… naturally won’t let you down.”
The tone of the King of Hell was practically tempting Lu Chen.
Wow, he had to admit—
An employee under intense workplace pressure is way more cunning than some laid-back, Zen-style worker.
Lu Chen had thought that building a temple and gilding the statue would be enough to hook him.
But then the King suddenly pulled a fast one, catching him completely off guard.
“Maybe I could hire some fake worshippers?”
A thought popped into Lu Chen’s mind.
He could have Sun Qingcang find ten thousand people every day, or just hire someone to burn ten thousand sticks of incense daily.
“Kid, I advise you not to get any tricky ideas. Don’t think I don’t know about your mortal tricks of hiring fake worshippers. Let me tell you, for people like that who end up in hell, my methods are usually…”
The ghostly figure struck a few poses.
Lu Chen gasped, immediately understanding the implication.
He hadn’t expected that while mortals looked down on the underworld strategically, the underworld was actually keeping up with the times!
They even knew about hiring fakes.
“Well, looks like that path is a dead end.”
Lu Chen scratched his head anxiously. After a moment of thought, he said, “To be honest, Your Majesty, ten thousand sticks of incense a day is really difficult for me. I know you’re compassionate, just, and hate evil, but most mortals are ignorant and afraid of the gods of the underworld. Getting them to come and burn incense every day… I’m afraid that’s a huge challenge.”
As he spoke, Lu Chen’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly realized something.
He had a feeling that the old King of Hell wasn’t asking for all that incense just for himself.
“Could it be… that he wants to open up the mortal market for the underworld, paving the way for its dark deities to take their places among the divine?”
Wow, if that succeeded—
That would be an epic project that would shake the three realms!
Then, when the underworld’s three-thousand-year term ends, this old King of Hell wouldn’t just be qualified to become one of the Five Ghost Emperors—he could even aspire to be the Fengdu Emperor himself!
Thinking of this, Lu Chen took a quiet breath.
“And here I thought I was audacious. Turns out you’ve got the audacity to wrap up the whole sky!”
But ambition was a good thing.
Lu Chen had actually been worried that this old King of Hell might be a by-the-book, rule-following ghost.
Hearing this, the King’s attitude softened a bit. “Then you tell me—how many do you think is appropriate? I want to hear your thoughts.”
Lu Chen said, “Well… um… I…”
The King snapped, “Stop with the ‘wells’ and ‘ums’—spit it out!”
Lu Chen took a deep breath. “What do you think about this number?”
He held up both hands.
The King asked, “A thousand?”
Lu Chen shook his head.
The King asked, “A hundred?”
Lu Chen shook his head again.
The King said, “Don’t tell me you mean ten sticks of incense a day?”
Lu Chen grinned. “Your Majesty is brilliant! But not exactly ten a day—it’s a minimum of ten, with no upper limit!”
Whoosh!
A chilling wind howled!
The temperature around them instantly dropped to freezing.
Lu Chen could even hear the creepy sound of teeth grinding.
“Kid, you really have some nerve. I said ten thousand sticks, and you’ve lowered it to ten a day. What good is a gilded temple then? If the other Kings of Hell found out, they’d laugh at me to death! Give me your name right now. I’d very much like to meet all eighteen generations of your ancestors and see where they are in the underworld!”
Lu Chen: “…”
Oh, come on…
If you want to talk, just talk—why drag my ancestors into it?
He quickly bowed again. “Your Majesty, please calm down! Please calm down! But with all due respect, gaining worshippers isn’t something that happens overnight. I don’t want to lie to you. Even among the gods in heaven, some are popular and some are ignored. And for us dark deities of the underworld, we’re at a natural disadvantage. There’s no way we can get such a huge amount of incense in a short time. I… I just can’t do it!”
“Fine. If ten thousand is too many, how about five thousand?”
“Is there even a difference, Your Majesty?”
“Three thousand?”
“I can’t do it!”
“One thousand!”
“Too hard, too hard, too hard!”
“Then forget it. You can’t do this, you can’t do that. Just ten sticks—are you feeding a ghost?”
Lu Chen: “Uh…”
Well… technically, yes, he was feeding a ghost…
“You’re wasting my time. Come back when you’ve figured it out!”
With that, the King of Hell turned to head back to the underworld.
“Wait!!”
“Hmm? What else!?”
Lu Chen was getting desperate now. He thought to himself, No way! I can’t let him go back like this!
Opportunities like this don’t come twice!
I have to seal the deal now!
He glanced behind him and saw that the black mist had sealed off the area, creating a separate space where he couldn’t see anything from the outside world.
Gritting his teeth, he bowed again. “Your Majesty, I have an unusual request. Although I can’t get mortal worshippers to offer you incense in a short time, I do have another way for you to gain merit! I’d like to invite you into my home and worship you every day! Then, by leading by example, more people will learn about you and the underworld. I believe that once they understand you, they’ll willingly worship you. Word will spread—one tells ten, ten tells a hundred, a hundred tells a thousand! Ten thousand sticks of incense will surely be within reach!”
This was the last idea Lu Chen could come up with.
Now that he understood what the King of Hell really wanted,
he’d just go along with it.
So what if the King wanted to break into a blue ocean market?
Fine, he’d help him out!
To be honest, Lu Chen didn’t really care.
The Qingfeng Temple had a King of Hell hall too, and he used to burn incense there every day.
But now things were different.
He was worried his parents and little sister would find it awkward.
After all, who wants to invite the King of Hell into their home?
It’s just… unsettling.
But now that things had come this far, Lu Chen had no choice but to throw out this last bait.
Still, he was a bit worried that the old King of Hell, with his huge demands, wouldn’t agree easily.
“Come on, Fortune Coin, don’t fail me now! That one-hundred-percent success rate—work your magic!”
Lu Chen ranted internally.
Maybe his ranting worked.
Or maybe the Fortune Coin finally kicked in with its divine effect!
The King of Hell’s hall fell silent for a long time.
The chilling wind stopped, and the wailing of ghosts faded away.
Then, after a while, the King’s voice echoed softly, “Kid, you really want to invite me into your home and worship me there?”
Lu Chen put on a loyal face. “Absolutely sincere, Your Majesty!”
The King’s tone was doubtful. “You… don’t find me unlucky?”
Lu Chen chuckled. “Why would I? Your Majesty, you’re not the God of Bad Luck. What’s unlucky about you? Besides, you’re a King of Hell, a high and mighty position. My respect for you is like an endless, surging river! If you don’t mind, I would sincerely like to take you as my adoptive father!”
With Lord Wealth God as a precedent,
Lu Chen was feeling brave now!
Since Lord Wealth God had agreed to become his sworn brother,
then it wasn’t too much for him, the sworn brother of Lord Wealth God, to take the King of Hell as his adoptive father, right?
Either way, it was up to the King to decide.
Lu Chen wouldn’t lose a single hair.
When it comes to doing things, being a little bold is better than anything else!
Clearly, the King of Hell hadn’t expected that, in the middle of their conversation, this mortal kid would suddenly want to take him as an adoptive father.
After a moment of surprise, he suddenly chuckled. The ghostly figure slowly raised a finger and pointed at Lu Chen. “You sly kid, all sweet talk. Not only are you after my Book of Life and Death, but now you want me too?”
Lu Chen grinned. “Your Majesty, I swear every word comes from the heart.”
The King snorted with a laugh. “We’ll talk about that later. If you really want to become my adoptive son as a mere mortal, then show me some real results instead of just running your mouth.”
He paused and changed tack. “But since you’re so filial… fine. Give me that person’s name. I’ll check the records first!”
Lu Chen’s pupils dilated.
Did that mean… he agreed?!
