On the battlefield, Lu Chen narrowed his eyes slightly.
To be honest, this Prefectural City God was incredibly stubborn.
He had tried every trick in the book, one after another.
But the other party simply refused to budge an inch.
Lu Chen wouldn’t deny that he was somewhat in the wrong this time.
But the City God had his principles, and Lu Chen had his as well.
When the conflict became irreconcilable, the only option left was for each to bring out their best.
At that moment, the Yan King paused, then shouted coldly once more: “You are utterly obstinate and unreasonable! Zheng Zhangshi was a nine-life virtuous person, her merits immeasurable. She died wrongfully, and not only do you fail to distinguish right from wrong, but you also neglect your duties as a City God, obsessing only over your own petty responsibilities. Do you not see your error?!”
“Preposterous!” The Prefectural City God’s voice grew even harsher. “I do have a duty to understand the people’s condition, but above the people’s condition stand iron laws and golden rules! Even if Zheng Zhangshi has a grievance, it should be handled by your Ten Courts of the Underworld! If I don’t press the matter, at worst that counts as negligence on my part. But today, you are asking me to disregard the laws of the underworld and allow her to return to the living—that is dereliction of duty! Who will bear that responsibility? Can you, the Yan King, bear it? If the Fengdu Emperor blames me, how am I to answer?!”
“You!”
“What about me?! Unless you hold the Supreme Lord’s decree permitting Zheng Zhangshi to return to the living,
then even if you personally lead your ghost soldiers to raze my City God Street to the ground and kill me, I will never back down!
But do you dare?
Do you dare to lead troops against my City God Street? Can you bear the consequences?
I’ll make this clear today—I am sending Zheng Zhangshi on!
And I will definitely file that complaint against you to the very end!”
The Prefectural City God’s stance was as absolute as it could be.
There was no room for negotiation whatsoever.
He didn’t even give the Yan King the slightest face.
Clearly, despite being a subordinate, he was not afraid of the Yan King.
“You!!” Faced with such an unyielding City God, even the Yan King found it troublesome.
Lu Chen stepped forward again and bowed, about to say that if the Fengdu Emperor held anyone accountable, he would bear it all himself.
After all, the Underworld still needed him to continue with his promotional work.
At worst, he could exchange all his merits this time for Zheng Zhangshi’s return.
Surely the Fengdu Emperor wouldn’t punish him…
with death!
If he stopped seeking merits and just made money from the Underworld currency, that wouldn’t be a bad life either.
But just as he opened his mouth: “Prefectural City God…”
“Shut up!” The Prefectural City God roared. “I don’t want to hear your blabbering! I will remember today’s humiliation well! Don’t get too cocky, boy—you just wait!”
But this time, the ghost domain suddenly erupted with wild yin winds and murderous intent that filled the sky.
The Yan King was thoroughly enraged.
“WHOOSH—”
A pitch-black ghostly hand suddenly reached out from the void, instantly seizing the Prefectural City God by the throat and lifting him clean off his feet!
“You old fool, I’ve given you way too much face. A mere Prefectural City God, putting on such airs! Looks like you’ve gotten used to throwing your weight around in this little ghost realm of yours—you’ve truly lost all sense of proportion?!”
The sheer, genuine killing intent surged outward like a tidal wave, and the Prefectural City God’s divine body began to crack apart inch by inch.
“Lord Yan King, have mercy!”
Seeing the situation turn dire, the surrounding Prefectural and County City Gods all dropped to their knees, pleading for leniency.
“Go ahead, kill me if you dare! Do you have the guts?!” But the Prefectural City God, as if he had something to rely on, still refused to yield.
“Lord Yan King, I’ll take my leave now.”
Having given up all hope of reasoning with the Prefectural City God, Lu Chen turned to leave.
“You brat, how dare you—” the Prefectural City God was still howling.
“ENOUGH!!!!!”
Lu Chen suddenly spun around and pointed at the Prefectural City God: “You call yourself worthy of sitting in this City God’s seat and governing a region in peace?!”
The fury Lu Chen had been suppressing for so long exploded forth, uncontrollable: “You wear official robes and enjoy the incense offerings of the mortal world. You are supposed to be a god of justice who discerns good from evil and redresses wrongs! But what have you actually done?
So many evil spirits in Qianjiang City—you ignored them. So many innocent people suffering—you turned a blind eye. So many villains roaming free—you pretended not to hear.
Yet you insist on cutting off the path to life for this nine-life virtuous soul!
Zheng Zhangshi did good deeds for nine lifetimes. She never harmed a single creature or wronged a single person!
But you? You close your eyes to injustice and obsess only over your ‘assigned duties.’
You keep chanting about heavenly laws and underworld statutes.
This isn’t fulfilling your duty—this is you being a useless, parasitic deity who tramples on good souls, cannot tell right from wrong, and ignores the suffering of the innocent!
You are unworthy of the title ‘City God’ and unworthy of the offerings of the people!”
His words rang out like morning bells and evening drums, striking straight at the soul.
Behind him, Xie Qingyi was completely stunned, muttering: “G-General…”
“Well said! So satisfying!” Fan Rusong, however, found it exhilarating—he had long wanted to curse the City God out, but had never dared to.
As expected of the General!
If he doesn’t even fear the Four Dragon Kings, why would he fear a mere Prefectural City God?
As for the Prefectural City God, the Provincial City Gods, and the County City Gods—they clearly hadn’t expected a mere mortal to dare to rebuke a deity.
For a moment, they all stood frozen in the clouds, utterly at a loss.
Lu Chen snorted coldly, turned to the Yan King, and clasped his fists: “Lord Yan King, I may not have achieved any great feats for the Underworld’s grand cause, but I believe I’ve worked hard without complaint. Today, I dare to exchange all my modest contributions for the return of this nine-life virtuous soul. If the Fengdu Emperor holds anyone accountable, I humbly ask you to convey my plea!”
“Granted!” The Yan King answered without hesitation. “I will personally report this matter to the Fengdu Emperor. Given your achievements, I’m sure the Supreme Lord will be lenient!”
He cast a cold glance at the still-struggling Prefectural City God: “You want to file a complaint against me? Fine—then I’ll file one against you too! By then, I’ll dig up every single thing you’ve done in Qianjiang City all these years and lay it all before the Supreme Lord for judgment!
Let’s see if you’re really as rule-abiding and magnanimous as you pretend to be!
And let’s see whose fist is harder!”
“You!!” This time, the Prefectural City God’s voice was noticeably weaker, more bluster than bite.
“Let’s go.” Lu Chen couldn’t be bothered to look at him again. He turned and walked toward the exit.
Three thousand troops followed in a grand procession.
“Wait!” The Yan King called out to stop them. “You can leave, but these three thousand City God troops—they stay!”
Lu Chen was taken aback: “Lord Yan King, but—”
“Enough! This is non-negotiable!” The Yan King snapped. “Letting you intercept one virtuous soul was already breaking the rules. Now you want to haul away all these troops as well? What, are you trying to crown yourself king and start a rebellion?!”
Lu Chen’s heart tightened: “But these brothers have already followed me against the City God. If I abandon them now, aren’t I throwing them straight into the fire?”
“Yes, yes!”
Hearing that they couldn’t leave, the three thousand troops immediately panicked.
They knew the Prefectural City God’s nature better than anyone!
“Don’t worry, I have my own arrangements.” The Yan King’s voice was steady. “I will station a Judge from the Underworld in Qianjiang’s City God Street to oversee the Prefectural City God. If he dares to take revenge, I will not go easy on him!”
With that, he swept a meaningful glance over the Provincial City Gods:
“After all, anyone can sit in the seat of the Prefectural City God. And those Provincial City Gods behind him are all hoping he falls.”
No sooner had he spoken than the smiles that had just begun to creep onto the faces of a few Provincial City Gods froze. Seeing the Prefectural City God’s icy glare sweep toward them, they quickly bowed: “My Lord, we wouldn’t dare!”
“I’d advise you not to!”
“Wouldn’t dare? Then feel free to test them—let’s see if they dare!” The Yan King snorted. “I think one Judge isn’t enough. I’ll send two, to keep an eye on you day and night and see if you’re truly as clean as you claim!”
Seeing the Yan King put it so bluntly, the three thousand troops felt utterly dejected. They had just thought they were about to enjoy a better life, and now they were back to square one.
At least with the Underworld Judges stationed there, the Prefectural City God wouldn’t dare act recklessly, so their lives were at least safe.
“I’m truly at a loss…” Lu Chen grumbled inwardly. He had thought he was making off with a huge prize, but once again, the cunning Old Yan King had blocked him.
Still, since the Yan King had promised that the Prefectural City God wouldn’t seek revenge later, that was at least some consolation.
“Xiaoqing, Xiaoru, Ox-Head, Horse-Face!”
“Here!”
“Register all the names of these three thousand brothers.”
“Yes, sir!”
The four underworld deputies leaped into action, sweeping them with mystical light and soon producing a complete register.
Holding the register, Lu Chen announced: “Brothers, even though I can’t take you with me, I owe you a debt. In a few days, I’ll have someone deliver a year’s worth of pay to you all, as I just promised.”
He turned to the Yan King: “Lord Yan King, please grant me one more request. Make sure every cent reaches the brothers’ hands and doesn’t get pocketed by someone else.”
“Don’t worry!” The Yan King grinned wickedly. “Isn’t he so proud of his integrity? I truly hope he dares to dip his fingers in!”
“Then I can rest easy.” Lu Chen let out a sigh of relief, then bowed deeply to the three thousand troops: “Brothers, the mountains are high and the waters are long—we’ll meet again! Farewell!”
“GENERAL!!!!”
At that moment, hearing that they would still receive a year’s back pay, the three thousand troops were moved to tears.
They hadn’t really done much.
Yet he had still promised them six months’ wages—meaning each soldier would get a hundred and twenty thousand, and each general at least seven hundred thousand.
At their current pay rates, without spending a single coin, it would take them at least twenty years or more to earn that much!
Such a loyal and generous master—yet they couldn’t follow him!!
The leaders—the Five Paths Generals, the Judges, and the Day and Night Patrolling Gods—were devastated beyond words.
They exchanged glances, then stepped forward as one and shouted in unison: “All troops—attention!”
“Here!”
“Salute the General!”
—”LOYALTY!!!”
The shouts of three thousand men shook the entirety of City God Street.
The Yan King, Xie Bian, Fan Wujiu, and the others all twitched slightly at the corners of their mouths.
Even though Lu Chen hadn’t taken the troops with him, he had clearly taken their hearts.
“That kid…” The Yan King drew in a sharp breath, thinking to himself that he must never let Lu Chen roam freely in the Underworld. With that kind of charm, the whole place would be in chaos!
Lu Chen waved his hand and smiled: “Farewell!”
Then, like a leader, he strode toward the exit.
“GENERAL!!!”
Behind him, the eyes of three thousand troops followed his every step.
“Leaving?!”
But just then, a hideous grin suddenly twisted across the Prefectural City God’s face, his eyes blazing with crimson light.
“BANG!!!!!”
The next instant.
The sound of a gate slamming shut echoed throughout City God Street.
In that moment, the entire ghost domain shook violently.
It felt as if everything might collapse at any second.
“How dare you! You’ve sealed City God Street?!” The Yan King flew into a rage.
The Prefectural City God tore himself free from his restraints, flashed to the rear, and revealed a chilling, gruesome smile.
“The entrance to City God Street is now sealed. Not even you, Yan King—even if the Ghost Emperor himself came—it would take considerable effort to reopen the path to the living world! If I were to open it myself, it would be at least thirty days!”
His gaze locked onto Lu Chen, his laughter growing unhinged:
“Boy, in all my years of dominating the world, I have never suffered such humiliation as I have today. Do you really think I’d let you leave?!”
“Don’t think you’re the only one with a backer—I have one too!”
He looked at the Yan King, completely unafraid, even with a hint of mockery: “Today, I’ll trap you here until you starve! What can your so-called backer possibly do to me?!”
