“Chief!!”
Secretary Fan’s voice and footsteps arrived at the doorway almost simultaneously.
But when he saw the scene inside the room, he froze solid, his pupils constricting sharply.
—Underworld enforcers?!
Why were they here?!
At this moment, Lu Chen felt a loud buzz explode inside his head.
“Dead?”
He whipped his head around to look at the bed.
Madam Zheng was still lying motionless, but there was indeed a splash of bright red blood on the bedsheets.
“Madam!!!” Secretary Fan’s gaze swept over as well, and he let out a mournful cry, his legs giving way as he slumped to the floor.
Lu Chen lunged to the bedside in a single stride, his fingers just about to check for breathing—
But Fan Rusong behind him had already spoken in a low, grave voice: “General, she is indeed dead. Her soul has already been taken.”
Lu Chen’s temple veins bulged, and his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.
“Damn it! Damn it!!! Damn that rotten Plague Sovereign Emperor!!!”
In his fury, he threw all caution to the wind and cursed at the top of his lungs.
A flash of light appeared in his hand, and the Kirin Blade and the Climbing Cloud Wood were already in his grasp.
Lu Chen immediately decided to perform the Effigy Communication ritual to confront that treacherous old bastard!
He had promised seven days!
Why had he forcibly taken her life before the time was up?
Just because he was a god, could he act so wantonly, treating human lives like mere weeds?!
And there had been a promise made!
What kind of rotten god was this?!
“General, don’t!” Fan Rusong urgently grabbed his hand that was about to perform the spell. “Calm down—there’s still a chance to turn this around!!”
Her words were like ice water poured over his head.
Lu Chen’s thoughts raced, and he immediately activated his [Purest Water] divine ability.
A cooling sensation flowed through his entire body, forcibly smoothing the raging flames of fury as his reason quickly returned.
He took a deep breath, his eyes sharpening: “You want me to go see Lord Yan?”
Fan Rusong shook her head. “No, it’s too late for Effigy Communication now.”
She turned to Zheng Changguo, who was slumped on the ground looking as if his very soul had departed with his wife: “Lord Zheng, how long has it been since Madam passed?”
Zheng Changguo stared blankly into space, giving no response.
Secretary Fan behind him, fighting back his grief, answered in his place: “About… ten minutes or so. When I went to pick up Mr. Lu, the Chief was still fine…”
“Ten minutes—let’s say twenty minutes. Great King, we have less than an hour to chase down Madam’s soul and bring her back!” Fan Rusong spoke rapidly.
Her words struck like thunder, jolting Zheng Changguo back to life. He staggered to his feet: “This underworld officer, you… you mean my wife’s soul can still return?!”
Lu Chen remained calm: “Tell me exactly what we need to do.”
Fan Rusong explained: “After a mortal passes, their soul is guided by the Black and White Impermanence, but they don’t go straight to the underworld. They must first report and register at the local City God Temple before entering the realm of the dead. This leaves a window of about one hour. As long as we intercept Madam Zheng’s soul before her name is recorded in the ledgers, there’s a chance for her to return to the living!”
Lu Chen’s pupils contracted: “Is it really that simple? Just snatch her back and she can come back to life?”
Xie Qingyi cut in: “General, that wouldn’t work for ordinary people, but with the four of us underworld enforcers joining forces, we might just be able to pull it off!”
“Exactly!” Ox-Head and Horse-Face chimed in together.
Lu Chen suddenly realized something: “But this… it’s going to cost you dearly, isn’t it?”
Fan Rusong nodded, speaking frankly: “It will indeed violate the laws of the underworld, but…”
She looked at the other three enforcers. Their eyes met, and all of them nodded firmly in unison.
Swish—
The four underworld enforcers dropped to one knee in unison, clasping their fists and declaring in a low, resolute voice: “We are willing to go through fire and water for the General, without hesitation!”
Lu Chen’s heart trembled violently. In this moment, he was deeply moved, a warm current surging through his chest.
Though they were underworld enforcers, these four possessed more loyalty and righteousness than many in the mortal world.
His emotions surging, he helped each of them up one by one, his voice ringing with conviction: “Good! I, Lu Chen, will remember this debt of gratitude! As long as I live, I will protect all of you! After this is over, even if I have to kneel before Lord Yan, I will make sure He spares you from punishment!”
“Thank you, General!” Fan Rusong’s eyes reddened slightly. “Time is of the essence, General—we must leave immediately!”
“Let’s go!” Lu Chen turned and strode out. At the door, he glanced back coldly at Zheng Changguo on the floor: “You’d better stay put until I get back! I’m going to snatch Madam Zheng’s soul back. But if you try to kill yourself again, I won’t stop you a second time!”
With that, he ignored both of them and rushed out the door.
“Mr. Lu!!”
Behind him came Zheng Changguo’s heart-wrenching wail, along with the dull thud of his forehead striking the floor: “I beg you! Please, I beg you!!!”
Qianjiang City. The evening lights were just beginning to glow as dusk fell. (PS: When Lu Chen spoke with the Plague Sovereign Emperor earlier, it was around 10 a.m. Fifteen hours earlier brings us to roughly 7 p.m.)
Lu Chen drove, weaving frantically through traffic, constantly overtaking other cars.
“Where to first?”
“The City God Temple! Only through the mortal world’s City God Temple can we enter ‘City God Street’!”
Lu Chen quickly searched for the temple’s location on his map.
Unlike the many privately run shrines, the City God Temple—as a special institution—was typically built and managed by the local government.
This was because the City God’s duties were unique.
He was the guardian deity of a city, the local god of yin-yang justice.
He protected the people, bestowed blessings, and warded off disasters, while also maintaining close ties with the underworld.
Under his command was a complete system including judges, Black and White Impermanence, Day and Night Patrol Gods, underworld soldiers, and ghost generals.
Though appointed by the Heavenly Court, the City God also fell under the jurisdiction of the underworld—one of the few deities spanning both celestial and underworld systems.
Of course, City Gods also had ranks.
As in the previous life, they were divided into: Capital City God, Prefectural City God, Regional City God, and County City God.
He just wasn’t sure how it worked in this world…
While driving, Lu Chen asked: “Xiao Ru, are City Gods also ranked by level?”
Fan Rusong: “Yes, General. The highest is the Capital City God, followed by the Prefectural City God…”
So it was the same.
Though City Gods were under the underworld’s jurisdiction, the highest-ranked Capital City God was on par with the Ten Yama Kings—or even slightly above—and answered directly to the Fengdu Emperor.
The next level, the Prefectural City God, was not far behind the Ten Yama Kings either.
Both were regional lords of their domains.
Strictly speaking, they were only half a step below the Ten Yama Kings.
They were truly major deities in every sense.
“Then what rank is Qianjiang City’s City God? Prefectural or Regional?”
“Prefectural, General. This is the capital of Jiang Province, so the City God here governs all the City Gods in the province.”
Lu Chen sucked in a breath: “If that’s the case, this isn’t going to be simple.”
Snatching Madam Zheng’s soul back from a Prefectural City God was clearly not going to be an easy task.
“Xiao Ru, how should we proceed? Fight our way through? Or go through proper channels?”
Fan Rusong thought for a moment: “General, if we try to go through the proper procedures, I’m afraid… that path is blocked.”
“Got it. Then we fight our way through.”
“Even fighting our way through won’t be easy. The Prefectural City God has a strong army of soldiers and generals—not to mention the judges, even the Day and Night Patrol Gods would give us a hard time.
My idea is this: once we enter City God Street, we first head to the Soul Arrest Department to find Madam Zheng’s soul. Then… you could try to negotiate with the judge on duty. Bribe him with spirit money, get him to turn a blind eye and let us take the soul away.
After all, in a prefecture this size, there are countless new souls every day. One more or one less—as long as we grease the right palms…”
Fan Rusong didn’t finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.
Lu Chen understood immediately: “Got it!”
A flash of light appeared in his hand, and a stack of “Great Silver” manifested. With a casual flick, it transformed into a thick wad of spirit banknotes.
“I was in a hurry when I left, so I didn’t bring much. Here’s one million in spirit money. Xiao Ru, each of you take a hundred thousand. With the remaining six hundred thousand, given the current inflation rate, it should be enough to buy back Madam Zheng’s soul.”
“General, this is… too much!”
“It’s not too much! I told you I wouldn’t short-change you. A mere hundred thousand—take it!”
“Yes, sir! Thank you, General!” The four enforcers accepted the spirit money, deeply grateful.
Fan Rusong continued: “Once the judge gives the nod, we’ll immediately take Madam Zheng’s soul out of City God Street. Then the four of us will perform the Soul-Calming Secret Art to return her soul to her body. That will buy you enough time to perform Effigy Communication and inform Lord Yan, asking Him to personally intervene with the City God.
I imagine the City God will be willing to do Him that favor.
After all, Madam Zheng is a Nine-Lifetime Good Person with immeasurable merit, and her lifespan hasn’t run out yet. Though the Heavenly Way is merciless, it also has compassion.
It should allow this to pass.”
“Good! Let’s do it!” Lu Chen nodded firmly.
About half an hour later, the car arrived at the City God Temple.
As a Prefectural City God Temple, and with Jiang Province being a nationally renowned economic powerhouse—
Though this temple wasn’t as lavish as some private shrines, it was still grand and imposing, with incense smoke rising thick and heavy.
It was already dark by now, but there were still worshippers coming and going before the temple gate, praying for safety.
Lu Chen parked the car.
“General, please go into the temple first and offer some incense. Let yourself absorb a bit of the City God’s aura—it will make things easier later.”
Lu Chen nodded: “What about you four?”
“We can’t enter. We’ll wait for you here, General.”
“Alright!”
Lu Chen walked quickly into the temple, requested a stick of incense, bowed three times respectfully before the City God statue, inserted the incense into the burner, and then turned to leave.
“General, follow us.”
The four enforcers led Lu Chen to a large tree behind the temple.
The tree’s branches were lush and thick, faintly exuding a gloomy, eerie aura.
“This is… a cypress?”
“Yes. Cypress is a tree that connects to the yin realm—it can bridge the worlds of the living and the dead.”
Lu Chen nodded in understanding. Indeed, cypress did have that effect.
It seemed this was the entrance to “City God Street.”
Fan Rusong waved her sleeve, and ripples like water spread across the cypress trunk, with eerie ghostly energy seeping through.
Seeing that the “door” was open, Lu Chen stepped forward to enter.
“General, stop!” Fan Rusong and Xie Qingyi both grabbed him at the same time.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Chen asked, confused.
Fan Rusong chuckled helplessly: “Your yang energy is far too intense. If you walk straight in, at best you’ll lose some of your fortune and lifespan—at worst… it could be fatal!”
“Is it that serious? Then what should I do?” Lu Chen pulled his foot back sheepishly.
Fan Rusong and Xie Qingyi exchanged a glance, and both their cheeks flushed with a barely noticeable blush.
Lu Chen frowned: “What is it?”
Fan Rusong looked a bit flustered, stammering: “For you to enter, you first need to… receive yin energy…”
“Receive yin energy?” Lu Chen was taken aback, then as if realizing something, his pupils contracted: “You don’t mean…”
Xie Qingyi twirled her fingers, speaking softly: “Yes… one of us needs to transfer yin energy to you…”
