“If you’re dealing with a skilled spiritual practitioner who possesses the ability to kill from a distance, they could achieve the same result.
Combined with your previous experience at the Rebirth Academy, it’s very possible that our Jiangdu City really does have some demonic fiend causing trouble!”
Yu Feng’s gaze gradually turned cold.
Compared to those remote, uninhabited S-class eerie dungeons, this sort of case—one that runs rampant within the city itself—is far more likely to spark public panic, and naturally draws greater attention from the government.
That’s precisely why, even though only four people had died, this incident was directly elevated to an A-rank classification.
It’s precisely because the victims seemed random, the locations were scattered, and there were no leads whatsoever.
If the culprit is allowed to keep succeeding, it won’t be long before similar cases crop up again.
By then, the situation would escalate, and the entire city of Jiangdu might very well be shrouded in an atmosphere of terror.
“Besides, at the same time, there are people both inside and outside the city attempting to achieve immortality through Corpse Liberation. If these two things aren’t connected, I doubt even a ghost would believe it!”
The incident at the Rebirth Academy had also been quite a shock and a wake-up call for Yu Feng.
Lu Chen nodded with a frown. “It is indeed suspicious. It’s highly likely that the same person is behind everything! So, my lord, you want me to find the real culprit before the last ‘human fiend’ falls victim.”
“Exactly. You have a special connection with the Netherworld, so use whatever means necessary to root out the true perpetrator for me! Once we’ve locked onto the target, you won’t need to worry about the rest—I, as the city lord, will personally bring them to justice.”
A fierce killing intent ignited in Yu Feng’s eyes.
“No wonder you came to me for this case, my lord. It’s right up my alley. Once I summon the souls of these victims and question them, we’ll have our answer.”
For others, this case might be extremely difficult.
But for Lu Chen, it was practically a done deal.
When a person dies, their soul returns to the Netherworld.
And once they’re in the Netherworld, as far as Lu Chen is concerned, what difference is there from being alive?
Even if it’s a vengeful spirit out for blood.
They’d still leave behind some trace before making their move.
As long as he follows that thread, catching the real culprit would be a breeze.
A flash of light flickered from the King of Hell’s Token in Lu Chen’s palm as he began to summon Fan Rusong and Xie Qingyi.
“Oh, by the way, my lord…” Lu Chen suddenly remembered something. “Since the Netherworld passage is already open, why didn’t you just go directly to the Sun Family Temple in the south of the city and ask the King of Hell yourself?”
Lately, news that the Sun Family Temple allows people to contact their ancestors had already spread.
Wouldn’t it be more convenient to just go ask directly?
“You think I didn’t think of that?” Yu Feng shook his head helplessly. “I sent someone there long ago. But the Netherworld has a rule—only direct relatives may summon their ancestors. So I had a few family members try, and guess how the underworld responded?”
“What did they say?”
“The underworld said they could only reminisce about the past and weren’t allowed to divulge anything else. But that wasn’t even the main issue. The most crucial thing was… the Netherworld had no record of these people at all!”
“No record?”
Lu Chen could understand the first part, but the second part left him stunned. “They’re dead. If they’re not in the Netherworld, where else could they be? And they couldn’t have been reincarnated that quickly.”
As he spoke, two streaks of black light flashed, and Fan Rusong and Xie Qingyi gracefully appeared, bowing in unison. “Greetings, General!”
—General?
Yu Feng’s gaze flickered slightly, but he didn’t say anything more. He simply gestured with his hand. “Go ahead and investigate first. We’ll talk after that.”
Lu Chen nodded and spread out the four files. “Xiao Ru…”
“Yes, General!”
“Help me look up these four souls and see where they are in the Netherworld right now.”
“Yes, General!”
Fan Rusong flipped her palm, and the [Book of Evil] unfurled in midair, its pages flipping rapidly.
But after a moment, her surprised voice came through. “Huh, that’s strange…”
“What’s wrong?” Lu Chen asked.
“Reporting to the General, I couldn’t find any information on these four souls. They haven’t been recorded in the Netherworld.”
“What?!” Lu Chen shot to his feet and turned to Xie Qingyi. “You check too.”
“Yes!”
Xie Qingyi summoned the [Book of Good], but the result was the same—no records found.
“How peculiar. They’re dead, so if they’re not in the Netherworld, where could they be?” Lu Chen’s mind raced. “Could it be… they’re on City God Street?”
Xie Qingyi and Fan Rusong shook their heads simultaneously. “Impossible, General. Even if they were on City God Street, the deceased would still be registered. Without registration, they couldn’t linger there for long. But once registered, they’d be in the Netherworld’s system, and my sister and I would be able to find them.”
“Then what’s going on? They’re definitely dead—I’ve seen the bodies with my own eyes.”
Lu Chen was utterly baffled. Could it be that a few mere “human fiends” could exist beyond the Three Realms and outside the Five Elements?
“Well…”
Xie Qingyi and Fan Rusong exchanged bewildered glances, equally clueless.
But just then, Yu Feng let out a long sigh. “It seems… my guess was right.”
Lu Chen turned to look at him.
Yu Feng’s gaze turned grave. “These people aren’t just dead—they’ve been utterly destroyed, body and soul! That’s why there’s no record of them.”
“Destroyed, body and soul?”
Lu Chen’s expression turned serious.
Fan Rusong and Xie Qingyi exchanged another look, their faces shifting from shock to sternness. “If that’s truly the case, then this is a severe violation of the Netherworld’s laws!!”
“Exactly. If someone truly dares to obliterate souls, that is an extreme crime that enrages the underworld! May I ask, General, what exactly happened?”
Lu Chen quickly gave them a concise summary of the case.
“Corpse Liberation to achieve immortality again?”
The two women’s expressions changed drastically. “It seems there really is a demonic fiend causing trouble in Jiangdu City lately!”
Lu Chen raised his hand, signaling for them to wait.
His mind worked at lightning speed. “In that case, there’s only one way left.”
Yu Feng interjected, “You’re thinking of going to see the City God?”
Lu Chen nodded. “Since their souls have been obliterated, it’s clear that the Netherworld won’t be of much help. The City God has the Day and Night Patrol Deities who constantly watch over the city—surely they should have some leads.”
—Damn!
Lu Chen was exasperated.
He thought this would be a piece of cake.
But once again, things had taken an unexpected turn!
All he could say was that the demon behind this Corpse Liberation method was truly vicious to the extreme.
Not only taking lives.
But not even leaving the souls behind.
This kind of total annihilation approach!
It was utterly devoid of conscience, and enough to enrage both gods and men!
Yu Feng nodded. “That’s exactly the deeper reason I called you here. I actually suspected this from the start—maybe these people had already been obliterated in both body and soul. And if that were the case, what then?… So I also thought of the City God.
I even specifically ordered an official from the city lord’s mansion—someone with a 20% devotion level to the City God—to go and burn incense as an offering.
But after burning incense a full hundred and eighty times, there was never any response.”
Xie Qingyi curled her lip slightly upon hearing this. “City Lord, although the City God records a city’s good and evil deeds, his jurisdiction still primarily concerns matters of the dead. Even if there really is a demonic fiend causing trouble, there will naturally be heavenly punishment and karmic retribution.
It’s hardly surprising that you got no results from such a blunt inquiry.”
“Exactly.” Fan Rusong nodded in agreement.
Yu Feng smiled and nodded. “I understand that reasoning too, which is why I came to your General. The City God and the Netherworld have a superior-subordinate relationship. Given your General’s current prestige, surely the City God would be willing to do him a favor out of respect for the King of Hell, right?”
“Well…”
Fan Rusong and Xie Qingyi looked a bit awkward.
If it weren’t for what had happened earlier on City God Street, it might have been fine.
But now, even his direct superior had been…
That favor… might be a bit hard to come by.
Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then said, “Let’s give it a try first.”
Yu Feng nodded emphatically. “Right! Whether it works or not, we won’t know until we try. But if you’re going to ask, you don’t necessarily have to seek out the Day and Night Patrol Deities. It might be faster and more convenient to directly ask the Four Time-Keeping Officials.”
Lu Chen’s eyes lit up. “Oh, right! That’s a good point. You just reminded me, my lord. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that—my mind’s been a bit slow.”
The so-called Four Time-Keeping Officials are celestial beings in charge of recording and reporting, essentially the couriers of the Heavenly Court.
“Four Time-Keeping” refers to the four units of time: Year, Month, Day, and Hour.
“Officials” are their titles—they handle documentation, recording, and evaluation.
Among them, the [Year Official] is responsible for recording all good and evil deeds that occur within an entire year.
They have the broadest jurisdiction and cover the longest time span.
The [Month Official] records all good and evil deeds that happen within a month.
And so on.
The [Day Official] and [Hour Official] cover their corresponding timeframes.
In other words, from the moment a person opens their eyes, everything they do is recorded by the Four Time-Keeping Officials and reported to the Heavenly Court!
—Weighing merits and demerits.
The saying “There are gods three feet above your head.”
Those gods refer precisely to the Four Time-Keeping Officials!
During Taoist rituals and ceremonies, the memorials and documents written by the officiating master must be delivered to the Heavenly Court by messengers.
The Four Time-Keeping Officials are among the most important “couriers.”
Especially for rituals like “Honoring Heaven and Inviting the Gods.”
The corresponding documents must be accurately delivered to the appropriate deities through the Four Time-Keeping Officials.
Don’t underestimate these few.
Although they aren’t high-ranking officials.
Their status is by no means insignificant.
They’re a classic case of small positions wielding real power.
That’s why, in Taoist scriptures, you often see lines like “Burning incense, we reverently call upon the Three Pure Ones; with cloud chariots, we respectfully welcome the Four Time-Keeping Officials.”
In some cases, they can even be mentioned in the same breath as the Three Pure Ones.
Of course, the Four Time-Keeping Officials are further divided into the [Greater Four] and the [Lesser Four].
The Greater Four are the official deities of the Heavenly Court.
The Year Official is [Li Bing].
The Month Official is [Huang Chengyi].
The Day Official is [Zhou Deng].
The Hour Official is [Liu Hong].
These four are essentially the chiefs.
The Lesser Four, on the other hand, are functional positions.
Embedded within the City God system.
They serve under the local City God.
Since the goal is to find the real culprit.
Clearly, no deity is more suitable for the task than the [Four Time-Keeping Officials].
…
“But my lord, what if I can’t find the real culprit before the last ‘human fiend’ is killed—what then?”
Lu Chen suddenly thought of something and asked in return.
“Is my primary task to catch the mastermind, or is protecting the ‘human fiend’ from death also part of the assessment criteria?”
“Of course catching the culprit is the priority!” Yu Feng naturally understood what he meant and waved his hand dismissively. “As long as you catch the mastermind, even if you’re late and the fifth ‘human fiend’ dies, it’s fine.”
“Alright, as long as you’ve said that!”
Don’t underestimate this point.
Jiangdu City has a population of millions.
The range in which this demonic fiend could strike is just too broad.
Even if the “human fiends” who get their hearts carved out must be those who’ve committed killing deeds.
Not to mention the many sitting in jail.
There’s no guarantee there aren’t any outside the prison…
After all, in this world, “human fiends” are a dime a dozen.
As long as the task doesn’t strictly require protecting the “human fiend,”
That greatly frees up Lu Chen’s time constraints.
“Alright, I’ll leave things in your hands. I’ll wait for your good news!”
“Understood! Farewell, my lord!”
After giving his instructions, Yu Feng returned to the city lord’s mansion.
Lu Chen then instructed Xie Qingyi and Fan Rusong, “You two go back to the Netherworld first and report this matter to the King of Hell. See what His Majesty has to say. I’ll wait for your news.”
“As you command!”
The two women exchanged a glance, then turned into wisps of green smoke and returned to the Netherworld.
Lu Chen was now alone in the office.
He looked at the documents in his hand and recalled the scenes from City God Street…
“It looks like this time, I really can’t avoid dealing with this City God Li!”
