Then, connecting it to the deeply bound relationship between spirit users and deities.
Lu Chen faintly sensed something unusual.
But the clues were tangled like hemp, never taking shape, and for a moment he could not grasp the key.
“General, what are you thinking about?”
Lu Chen came back to his senses and shook his head. “Nothing. I just heard this piece of history for the first time and was a little curious.”
He paused, then said, “Earlier, when the True Lord saw my surprise, he also looked astonished. I was still wondering, with the True Lord’s illustrious reputation, who does not know of him? Now that I think about it, I was the one who first fell into the ‘trap of knowledge.'”
“The trap of knowledge? What does that mean?” Xie and Fan looked at each other.
Lu Chen was stunned, realized he had said too much, and quickly waved his hand with a smile. “Nothing, just a casual remark. Forget it, let’s not think about this for now. Let me ponder a bit more and see if there are other ways to crack the case.”
He sat back down on the sofa and sank into thought.
Since the path of the Four Time Merit Officers was already blocked, it seemed only three paths remained:
First, hope that City God Li had a breakthrough and quickly found a clue;
Second, rely on himself to organize the known information and give it to Yu Feng, letting him search through the vast sea of people for suspects;
Third, see whether there were other deities with similar duties, who could watch over the human world and perceive worldly affairs, that could be worshiped.
“But to watch over all aspects of the human world, one also needs to know mundane matters like the back of one’s hand…”
Lu Chen frowned tightly. “It really does seem to be the Four Time Merit Officers. Unless… I invite a great deity and have great divine power descend!”
Just as he was thinking hard without result, his thoughts sinking into fog—
Wait!!
—Family immortal?!
—A family immortal who watches over the common people…?!
Boom!!!
Deep in his mind, it was as if a thunderclap exploded!
Lu Chen suddenly widened his eyes, his pupils contracting sharply, and his whole body sprang up from the sofa as if electrified!
“Holy crap! This brain of mine, how could I have forgotten Him!”
Lu Chen smacked his forehead hard, producing a crisp sound.
“General, what happened to you?! Who did you think of?”
Xie and Fan were startled by his sudden movement and asked in unison.
Lu Chen’s face had completely cleared of gloom, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun, suddenly enlightened!
“East—Kitchen—Director—of—Destiny—and—Fortune—Kitchen—God!”
“East Kitchen Director of Destiny? Who is that…?”
“You two do not even know this?” Lu Chen was so surprised he laughed. “The Kitchen God!”
The two women still looked blank.
However, after a moment of confusion, Fan Rusong suddenly widened her beautiful eyes. “The Kitchen God? I remember now! My dad seems to have mentioned Him to me, saying that this one, like the True Lord, was also once a family immortal. It is said He lives by the stove and governs the human world’s [management of food]!”
Lu Chen explained with a smile, “More than just food. He also protects a family’s peace and records merits and faults. Every year, at fixed times, like the Four Time Merit Officers, He records each household’s situation into a register and reports it directly to the Jade Emperor.”
“He also has such a divine duty? Then does that not mean…!?”
Xie and Fan immediately understood, joy rising to their brows.
“That’s right! Since I cannot worship the Four Time Merit Officers, then I will just worship the Kitchen God! There may still be a turning point in this matter!”
The flame in Lu Chen’s heart was instantly ignited.
Actually, there was one more thing he could not easily reveal.
Unlike the Four Time Merit Officers and other heavenly officials, who were so proud and impervious to persuasion,
this Kitchen God could be won over with “benefits.”
After all, this was a “folk deity” permanently stationed in the human world.
In folk legends, the Kitchen God had long had the “bad habit” of tattling.
So, to make Him say more good things and complain less before the Jade Emperor,
people often used malt sugar to smear His mouth, showing a little filial piety and hoping He would avoid the important and dwell on the trivial when reporting.
And sure enough, this trick worked quite well.
Later, the Kitchen God repeatedly spoke well of the human world, which actually aroused the Jade Emperor’s suspicion, so He sent General Tiger Might down to inspect.
General Tiger Might discovered that the truth differed, so he drew marks on the walls of those households, planning to report to the Jade Emperor before carrying out punishment.
When the Kitchen God learned of this, He hurriedly notified those marked households to wipe the marks away quickly.
This is the origin of the folk custom of “sweeping the dust.”
Of course, the above is all legend.
Still, from this one can see that the Kitchen God was very human and warmhearted, which was also why ordinary people loved and supported Him.
“I need to hurry and find out whether Jiangdu City has any statue of the Kitchen God!”
Because of the torment of making statues,
Lu Chen still hoped to find a ready-made one.
He immediately took out his phone and dialed Sun Yourong’s number.
“Du… du…” After two rings, the call connected.
“Hello, what is it?”
“Sister Sun, does your Sun family temple have a statue of the Kitchen God?”
“Who?”
“East Kitchen Director of Destiny and Fortune Kitchen God.”
From the other party’s tone, Lu Chen could tell she was clearly not familiar with Him.
South of the city, Sun family villa.
Sun Yourong held the phone, her brows slightly furrowed. “East Kitchen Director of Destiny and Fortune Kitchen God? Which deity is this again?”
She looked at Sun Dechang, who was peeling an orange nearby. “Grandpa, have you heard of Him?”
Sun Dechang swallowed a segment of orange and shook his head. “No impression.”
“I have not heard of Him,” Sun Yourong repeated.
“Wait!” Sun Dechang suddenly stopped moving and raised his hand. “You mean… the Kitchen God? Is that Xiao Chen on the phone?”
“Yes!”
“Ask him, is it the Kitchen God?”
“That’s right, it is Him! You know Him too!?” Sun Yourong quickly nodded.
“Oh, you child, I told you to read more books and you would not listen. Now you know what ‘you only regret having read too little when the book is needed’ means, huh?”
Sun Dechang could not help laughing. “You do not know the Kitchen God, but I do! This deity has no small background!
Legend says that back then, every household had to worship Him. The incense offerings were so abundant that they were probably even greater than those of the God of Wealth!
If not for the imperial court later banning private worship of deities, and under the general trend He gradually declined,
otherwise, who in this world would not know the Kitchen God?!”
“So that is how it is… Then which temple in Jiangdu City worships the Kitchen God? Our family definitely does not.”
“Right, our family mainly worships combat-type deities. The Kitchen God belongs to the civil-duty system. I estimate the Zhao family or the Wu family in the east of the city might have Him—those two families’ temples mainly feature civil-duty deities.”
As he spoke, Sun Dechang took out his phone. “Tell Xiao Chen to wait a bit. I will call and ask.”
“All right! Wait a moment, Lu Chen.”
“Du… du…” After two rings, the call connected.
“Old Wu, what are you busy with? I want to ask you something. Does your Wu family temple worship the Kitchen God?”
“It is not that I want to worship Him, it is that kid Lu Chen—your son went to the city lord’s mansion for a meeting yesterday, so he must have seen him.”
“Yes, yes, he is a good friend of my Rongrong. The two get along very well, hahaha…”
Beside him, Sun Yourong blushed all the way to her neck. “Grandpa~!”
Sun Dechang made a “shh” gesture, signaling her to be quiet.
“You say you do? Great! Got it! Thanks, let’s have a meal sometime!”
After hanging up, Sun Dechang smiled. “Yes, the Wu family has one.”
Sun Yourong nodded and said into the phone, “Did you hear that? The Wu family temple in the east of the city.”
On the other end of the line.
Lu Chen nodded. “Okay, Sister Sun. Thank Grandpa Sun for me!”
After hanging up, Lu Chen instructed, “You two go back first. I will call you if anything comes up.”
“Yes, General!” The two women turned into green smoke and returned to the underworld.
Lu Chen did not delay any longer. He rushed out the door and headed straight for the Wu family in the east of the city.
“President Lu, are you going home?” Outside the office, Zeng Rou, who had just returned, could not help asking when she saw him leaving in a hurry.
“Yes, I am going out to take care of something, and I will go home along the way. I will leave this place to you. I am counting on you!”
Lu Chen threw down those words and had already rushed downstairs.
“Counting on me?” Zeng Rou was stunned, then burst out laughing. “Thank you for your appreciation, President Lu!”
…
Meanwhile, inside the Sun family villa.
After the call, Sun Yourong was clearly restless. She suddenly stood up and said, “Grandpa, I am going out for a bit.”
“To find Xiao Chen?”
“Yes… right. I want to see what he is up to this time.”
As soon as she heard that Lu Chen was going to worship another obscure deity, Sun Yourong could not restrain her curiosity.
What task had Yu Feng actually given him?
“All right, then I will go with you.” Sun Dechang also stood up as he spoke.
“You are going too?”
“What, not welcome? Afraid Grandpa will get in the way of you two?”
“Grandpa! What are you saying…” Sun Yourong blushed again.
Sun Dechang laughed heartily. “If Xiao Chen has no time to come, then I will go myself! He is my lifesaver, how could I not meet him once? Grandpa will go with you.”
Hearing him say that, Sun Yourong could not refuse again. “All right, then let’s go.”
…
Jiangdu, inside City God Street.
At this moment, what Lu Chen did not expect was that his every move was being projected into an image by the City God Seal.
In the empty hall.
City God Li stood with his hands behind his back, his aura as deep as an abyss and as imposing as a mountain.
His vast divine sense spread out.
The movements throughout the entire city were all within his grasp.
Suddenly, two black lights flashed, and the Day Wandering God and Night Wandering God, who had been out on official business and had been summoned back, were already kneeling in the hall.
“My lord!”
City God Li acted as if he had not heard, only raising his hand and lightly waving.
A portrait drifted before the Day Wandering God and Night Wandering God, with a line of address attached below.
“Tonight at the hour of Zi, go to this place and wait. Bring this person back.”
The Day Wandering God and Night Wandering God took the portrait and looked. On it was a middle-aged man with a sharp mouth, monkey-like cheeks, and a goatee. At first glance, he made one feel disgusted.
“My lord, may I ask what this person has done? Is it related to the recent serial corpse-liberation murder cases in Jiangdu City?” the Night Wandering God asked instinctively.
“Oh? Who told you?” City God Li’s voice was slightly cold. “Sanniang?”
The Day Wandering God and Night Wandering God trembled and said in a shaky voice, “Yes!”
The air in the hall suddenly froze, then faded again.
“Fine. Since She mentioned it, it saves this official from wasting more words.”
City God Li slowly turned around.
“My lord! You…!!”
However, when the Day Wandering God and Night Wandering God saw City God Li’s front, they were immediately frightened out of their wits.
At this moment, City God Li’s face seemed to have aged by several hundred years, covered in wrinkles like a dried-up corpse. Where was there any trace of his former majestic bearing?
“My lord, could it be that you used the City God’s secret art to find this fellow?” The Day Wandering God looked at the portrait and suddenly understood.
The City God protects the people of a city. If faced with such difficult-to-investigate cases, he can use the City God’s secret art to travel through time and space and trace back to the day the case occurred.
But this art greatly drains divine power. Each use costs several years of divine lifespan, and his appearance ages. It takes several days to recover.
“For the safety of the people of this city, even if this official exhausts divine power and damages my lifespan, what is there to speak of? You two go quickly and muster the troops. This matter must be handled properly!”
“Yes, my lord!!”
The Day Wandering God and Night Wandering God responded with emotion and hurriedly withdrew.
Outside the hall, in the corridor.
Hu Sanniang gazed into the distance as two black lights streaked toward the horizon, her expression solemn.
Suddenly, a breeze stirred behind her, and her expression changed drastically.
She only heard City God Li’s voice drift over faintly: “From now on, whatever this official instructs, you do. Do not add unnecessary flourishes or make decisions on your own!”
“My lord, calm your anger! Sanniang knows she was wrong!” Hu Sanniang hurriedly knelt down, her whole body trembling.
“If there is a next time, severe punishment will not be spared.”
City God Li gave a cold snort, and his figure had already flashed back into the hall.
Hu Sanniang repeatedly said yes, and only after kneeling for a long time did she dare to rise. She wiped her forehead and found it was already covered in cold sweat.
…
East of the city, at the entrance of the Wu family temple.
Lu Chen parked the car and walked quickly toward the temple gate, but unexpectedly saw Sun Yourong already looking around at the entrance.
Beside her stood an old man with white hair and a youthful face, whose features bore some resemblance to hers.
“Lu Chen!” Sun Yourong spotted him and quickly waved.
Lu Chen jogged forward. “Sister Sun, this… must be Grandpa Sun, right?”
Sun Dechang looked Lu Chen up and down, his eyes shining brightly. “Good lad, truly a fine young man!”
