Inside the City God Street.
The four underworld agents carried Lu Chen, transforming into four gusts of yin wind as they raced swiftly toward the prefectural City God’s palace.
The palace was highly conspicuous, situated at the very center of the entire street. Its grand halls soared magnificently, exuding an imposing and majestic presence that could be felt even from a distance.
“In essence, the City God Street is nothing more than a more advanced form of ghost domain—capable of forming a small, self-sustaining society in its own right.”
As they flew, Lu Chen pondered to himself.
Compared to the monotony, stagnation, and fragility of the Rebirth Academy he had visited before,
the City God Street could almost be described as “brimming with vitality.”
The divine ability Lu Chen was currently cultivating—[Black Fiend Shade]—
was merely the embryonic form of a ghost domain.
“If I can eventually cultivate a more advanced ghost domain, perhaps I could create one similar to the City God Street someday.”
In front of him, Fan Rusong heard Lu Chen muttering to himself, but she shook her head: “General, it’s not as simple as you think.”
“Oh?”
“To cultivate a ghost domain of this caliber—a Yin spirit domain like the City God Street—relying on the domain alone is far from sufficient. Magical power and a divine station are both indispensable. Especially the divine station—without it, it’s like a person without a soul, destined to be nothing but a lifeless object, doomed to futility.”
“Divine station… so you’re saying I must bear the authority of a divine office, possess a divine nature, in order to cultivate such a domain?”
“Exactly!”
“I see.” Then he was out of luck—unless he could ascend to immortality someday.
Otherwise, where would he even seek a divine station?
“My lord, the City God Hall is just ahead. We’ll need to descend here so as not to alert the City God.”
Fan Rusong gave a timely reminder.
The four underworld agents immediately lowered their yin winds and landed silently.
In the distance, atop the long white marble steps leading to the City God Hall, a pair of Black and White Impermanences were escorting a soul, slowly making their way up toward the heights of the palace.
That soul was surrounded by a pure radiance of gold and white, making her exceptionally conspicuous.
The moment they made out the figures of that pair of Impermanences, Fan Rusong and Xie Qingyi froze for a moment, then their faces lit up with surprise and joy.
“Father!!”
“Father?” Lu Chen’s eyesight wasn’t as keen as theirs. From such a distance, he could only make out blurry silhouettes: “You’re saying that those two Impermanences are your fathers—Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu?”
“There’s no mistake! That is indeed our father!” both women exclaimed in unison, their voices filled with excitement.
The Ox-Head and Horse-Face behind them also perked up: “So it’s Lord Seventh and Lord Eighth personally escorting the soul! This makes things much easier!”
“General, there’s no time to lose—let’s hurry over!”
“Let’s go!”
…
At the top of the steps.
The White Impermanence had a kindly expression tinged with a hint of a smile. He was tall and gaunt, with a deathly pale face, a long tongue protruding from his mouth, and an official’s hat inscribed with the words “Wealth Upon Meeting.”
This was Xie Bi’an.
The Black Impermanence, by contrast, had a fierce countenance. He was broad and stocky, with a dark complexion, and his hat bore the words “Peace Under Heaven.”
This was Fan Wujiu.
As the leaders of all Impermanences in the underworld, these two Yin Marshals rarely took the field in person to arrest souls anymore.
But today’s soul was no ordinary one, worthy of their personal attention.
“I say, Eighth Brother, has my niece Fan been coming home to visit much lately?” the two Yin Marshals chatted idly as they escorted the soul.
“Ah, Seventh Brother, don’t even mention it—daughters grow up and leave their fathers behind,” Fan Wujiu sighed. “Ever since Lord Yanluo assigned her to follow that Valiant and Upright General of Virtue, she’s been coming home less and less. These past few days, I haven’t even caught a glimpse of her. I wonder what she’s been so busy with. I imagine your Xie niece is much the same, yes?”
Xie Bi’an gave a wry smile: “Tell me about it. But Qingyi’s temperament is rather flighty, not as steady as Rusong. I’m always worried she might not suit the general’s tastes, or that she’ll stir up some kind of trouble.”
Fan Wujiu waved his hand: “Seventh Brother worries too much. Niece Qingyi has a likable personality—being a bit lively is actually a good thing. I’m the one who’s concerned about my Song’er. She’s always wearing that cold expression, and I’m afraid she might offend the general.”
Xie Bi’an shook his head and patted Fan Wujiu on the shoulder: “Well, enough of that. Our daughters are grown now. Let them be. As long as they don’t cause any major disasters, that’s fine—or else we brothers will inevitably be dragged into it.”
Turning to the soul beside them, who was silently weeping, he said gently, “Madam, please walk a little faster. The City God is waiting for you up in the hall. We’ve already delayed quite a bit.”
Upon hearing this, the soul’s tears fell like beads from a broken string, and she collapsed to her knees: “My lords, I beg you—please show mercy and let me go back! If I die, my husband… he won’t go on living! Please, I beg you, let me return!”
Seeing her kowtow ceaselessly, Xie Bi’an lightly flicked his sleeve, and a gentle force lifted Madam Zheng back to her feet.
He shook his head and sighed: “Madam, matters of this world are already set. Why cling so stubbornly? You are a nine-life virtuous person, with immeasurable merit. Even if you enter the underworld, we shall treat you with all due courtesy. If you have regrets in this life, you may seek fulfillment in the next.”
“Yes, please hurry along. The sooner you meet the City God, the sooner we can return to the underworld to complete our assignment.”
Even the fierce-looking Fan Wujiu spoke quite courteously to this nine-life virtuous person.
Madam Zheng felt as though her heart had died. Knowing that pleading was useless, she could only weep silently and continue forward.
Just as the group was about to move on—
a small hand suddenly reached out from behind and grabbed Xie Bi’an’s sleeve.
Almost by instinct, Xie Bi’an twisted his hand back and seized the intruder’s wrist.
“Ow ow ow! That hurts! Dad, it’s me!”
Xie Bi’an froze. Turning around, he saw his daughter Xie Qingyi grimacing in pain: “Qingyi? What are you doing here?”
“Xiao Song? You’re here too!?” Fan Wujiu also spotted Fan Rusong, who had arrived right behind, along with the group of people accompanying her.
“Dad!”
Both Yin Marshals’ gazes instantly fell upon the dashing young man being surrounded by the group.
Their hearts tightened at once, and they immediately bowed in salute: “Your subordinates pay their respects to the Valiant and Upright General of Virtue!”
It was Lu Chen’s first time seeing these two renowned Yin Marshals in person—and they looked exactly as described…
“Please, no formalities. Rise, both of you.”
“General, why have you come to the City God Street? This is the boundary between Yin and Yang—the living are not permitted to enter!” Xie Bi’an said, casting a stern glance at Xie Qingyi beside him. Fan Wujiu also shot a glare at Fan Rusong.
Anyone with half a brain could tell that these two girls were behind this.
Lu Chen didn’t beat around the bush. He pointed directly at Madam Zheng beside them: “To be honest with you both, I came here for her.”
Madam Zheng froze, looking at Lu Chen through tearful eyes: “For me? You are…?”
Lu Chen waved at her, signaling her to stay calm.
Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu exchanged glances: “General, you don’t mean to… take this soul back by force, do you?”
“Er… ‘by force’ sounds a bit harsh. Would it be better if I said ‘request’?”
“Is there a difference?”
Lu Chen: “…”
“Well… no, not really.”
“Qingyi! What is the meaning of this? How dare you violate the laws of the underworld to intercept a soul!” Xie Bi’an’s tone turned serious.
Xie Qingyi was about to speak, but Fan Rusong stepped in first: “Uncle Xie, Father, let me explain.”
Her lips moved, but no ordinary sound came out. Yet within a few breaths, both Yin Marshals’ faces registered shock.
“What? This matter also involves Lord Yanluo and the Plague Emperor of the [Plague Ministry]?”
“That can’t be right. A proper Star Lord—how could he go back on his word so dishonorably?”
The two Yin Marshals were deeply shaken. The ramifications behind this matter were far greater than they had imagined.
“Father, that’s the truth. If the situation weren’t so exceptional, would we have risked coming to the City God Street to intercept a soul? Please, let the general take Madam Zheng’s soul with him!” Xie Qingyi pleaded.
“Preposterous!” Xie Bi’an scolded in a low voice. “I was just telling your Eighth Uncle that I hoped you two wouldn’t cause any trouble—and now you’ve gone and created a mess of this magnitude.”
After admonishing his daughter, Xie Bi’an turned to Lu Chen and bowed respectfully: “General, my daughter is young and foolish. I beg your forgiveness. But the order of Yin and Yang is fixed, and life and death are fate. Now that Madam Zheng’s soul has already returned to the underworld, I implore you not to take such a perilous course. Even if I were to hand this soul over to you, the City God Street is heavily guarded—there’s no way any of you would escape.”
Xie Qingyi wanted to argue, but Lu Chen raised a hand to stop her.
He stepped forward and gave Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu a solemn, deep bow.
“General, you mustn’t!” The two Marshals were taken aback and quickly stepped aside, not daring to accept such a gesture.
“Seventh Lord, Eighth Lord, time is short, so I’ll keep this brief.” Lu Chen straightened up, his gaze sincere and resolute. “Madam Zheng is a nine-life virtuous person, with immeasurable merit. To die such an unjust, wrongful death today is truly heartbreaking. I have been honored by Lord Yanluo’s regard and bestowed the title of ‘Valiant and Upright General of Virtue.’ If I were to stand by and do nothing in the face of such injustice, how could I ever live up to the name ‘Upright Virtue’? Would that not betray Lord Yanluo’s trust?”
“This…”
“Secondly, you need not worry about repercussions. After this is over, I will personally report everything to Lord Yanluo. All responsibility will be mine alone—I will not implicate Qingyi or Rusong in the slightest. I ask only that you grant me leniency and allow me to take Madam Zheng’s soul back to the land of the living, so that I may uncover the truth and set this injustice right. After all…”
Lu Chen paused, then shifted his tone: “At present, the underworld is striving to expand its incense-based faith in the mortal realm. If we seize this opportunity to showcase the virtues of our underworld, it would certainly become a fine tale to tell. It would be a welcome addition to our cause—beneficial in every way to our grand endeavor. And for the two of you, it would also be a meritorious deed.”
Upon hearing these words, Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu’s expressions changed.
They were naturally aware of the underworld’s recent movements.
They also understood more clearly than anyone the status and weight this Valiant General now carried within the underworld.
These final words, without exaggeration, weighed upon them like a mountain.
For a moment, the two Marshals’ faces shifted through several shades of emotion, countless thoughts racing through their minds.
They also saw Lu Chen’s earnest words and resolute attitude.
They knew that if they refused, he would most likely resort to taking the soul by force—right here and now.
In that flash of an instant, Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu exchanged a look and reached their decision.
Xie Bi’an turned to Fan Wujiu: “Eighth Brother, what do you think?”
Fan Wujiu nodded firmly: “I leave it entirely to Seventh Brother’s judgment.”
All eyes turned back to Xie Bi’an.
After a moment’s thought, Xie Bi’an let out a sigh: “Eighth Brother, if we do this, it looks like we won’t be able to set foot in Jiang Province again.”
Fan Wujiu grunted: “So be it. There are plenty of other places in this country—we don’t need this one.”
Lu Chen’s heart leaped with joy: “Then you two are… agreeing to this?”
