“Mr. Lu, what happened to you?”
Just then, Sun Yourong, who had heard the commotion outside the hall, rushed in quickly.
Seeing the pool of blood on the ground, her face immediately turned pale. “This is prayer backlash?!”
Lu Chen nodded and swallowed the bloody taste in his mouth.
“How is that possible? This was only your first prayer. How could you already suffer backlash?”
Sun Yourong couldn’t believe it.
She knew that prayer backlash usually only happened after someone had already failed to receive a response multiple times but kept insisting, eventually angering the deity.
Take Tan Kun from before, for example.
Or, if the wish being prayed for was too greedy or excessive, causing the deity to become indignant — that could also trigger backlash.
But Lu Chen didn’t fit either of those situations.
This was his very first time praying to Lei Zu. Why would he suffer backlash?
The chances of this happening were actually ten times lower than the chances of a successful first prayer!
“I don’t know either. Maybe I just don’t have a connection with Lei Zu.”
As he spoke, Lu Chen didn’t hesitate to snap the remaining incense sticks in half and toss them into a nearby trash bin.
“I’ll go test my Servitude Level instead.”
Since he was already here, Lu Chen figured he might as well test his Servitude Level with Old King Yama and see if he could break forty percent as well.
But Sun Yourong shook her head and said bluntly, “No need to test. You can’t.”
“Can’t? What do you mean?”
“The temple system doesn’t even have a module for these underworld deities like the netherworld gods. How are you supposed to test?”
Lu Chen: “…”
“Come on, sister. Isn’t that a bit biased of you? You didn’t even install the module?”
“Before you came, which respectable person would go worship King Yama? Since no one worshipped him, why would we install that module? It’s expensive — more expensive than building an entire main hall.”
Sun Yourong looked helpless.
“Sigh, alright. Well, you’d better get one ready from now on, otherwise it’ll be a real hassle.”
“Yeah, my father has already arranged for it. It’ll still take a few more days, though.”
“Do other temples not have it either?”
“No. At least not in the entire Jiang Province.”
“If Jiang Province doesn’t have it, then other provinces definitely won’t either.”
As one of the top developed provinces in the country, Jiang Province set the highest standards for everything nationwide.
“Alright then. I’ll head back first. There’s nothing else for me to do here anyway.”
“Aren’t you going to take a look?”
“Well… alright, I suppose.”
Lu Chen followed Sun Yourong to the King Yama Hall at the Sun Family Temple.
Compared to the rundown place at the Zhao Family Temple, the King Yama Hall here was freshly renovated.
Though still quite simple, it at least looked much better.
“After you called yesterday, my father arranged for ten workers overnight. They worked overtime to fix it up a bit. It’s still not great, but at least it’s presentable. Just a temporary solution.”
Lu Chen grunted in acknowledgment.
Who would have thought that the usually deserted King Yama Hall would today be bustling with long lines of visitors?
“Son, your father never dreamed he’d get to see you while still alive. I’ll come visit you often from now on!”
Inside the hall, the sound of worshippers weeping as they reunited with their departed loved ones could be heard constantly.
It was enough to bring anyone to tears.
Lu Chen lingered for a while, then prepared to head back.
The seed had now been planted. Just how big a tree it would grow into — well, time would tell.
However, Lu Chen had also reached an agreement with King Yama.
Benevolent souls could be summoned.
But evil souls or malevolent ghosts — absolutely no summoning allowed. That would only bring disaster upon the living.
That was the principle and the bottom line.
“Alright, I’m off. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“At least stay for a meal.”
“No thanks. I’ve got things to do. Next time.”
Lu Chen was eager to get back and have a proper chat with his sworn brother.
“Alright then. I’ll have a car take you.”
“That works too…”
——-
On the way back, Lu Chen mentally reviewed what he wanted to discuss with Lord Jun of Wealth.
If the underworld currency business could gain the full support of this deity of commerce, then from now on, he truly wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore.
Never mind that this was a world where martial prowess reigned supreme.
As long as economic activity existed, the importance of money could never be replaced — no matter the era.
Otherwise, why would so many people worship Zhao Gongming?
Just as Lu Chen was lost in thought, a line of text suddenly caught his eye.
— Xinghai Servitude Watch.
“Stop the car!”
The luxury car screeched to a halt.
“What’s wrong, Mr. Lu?” the driver asked, turning his head.
“Drive me to that store over there.”
Lu Chen pointed.
The driver immediately turned the car toward it.
Earlier, Li Ruoyi had been able to test her Servitude Level without going to a temple counter.
Lu Chen had really wanted that feature. Now that he had money, getting one for himself was a no-brainer.
The car stopped in front of the store. Lu Chen got out and walked straight in.
“Hello, welcome to the Xinghai Servitude Watch Direct Distribution Center.”
A sales assistant immediately came up to him with a bright smile.
Lu Chen got straight to the point. “Which watch here has the most complete features? I need one with a module for the netherworld deities.”
“Netherworld deities?”
Sure enough, the staff member hesitated. “One moment, sir. Manager, there’s a gentleman here. Could you assist him?”
Soon, the manager came over.
Lu Chen repeated his requirements.
After listening, the manager nodded eagerly. “If that’s the case, then it seems only our Xinghai high-end ‘All-Deities’ series can meet your needs, sir. If you don’t have high requirements for the maximum Servitude Level, the entry-level model will do. It’s only 780,000.”
“What’s the maximum Servitude Level for the entry-level model?”
“45%.”
“Too low.” Lu Chen frowned.
“Too low?” Both the manager and the assistant were taken aback.
45% was considered low?
Who was this young man?
“What’s the highest?”
“70% — that’s our flagship model in the All-Deities series.”
“Now that’s more like it. How much?”
“Two million. But we’re currently running a promotion, so the minimum discount is 20% off.”
“So that’s 1.6 million?”
The price really wasn’t cheap.
After all, Li Ruoyi’s watch had cost just over 60,000. For 1.6 million, you could buy a whole stack of those.
But this had become a necessity for Lu Chen.
To do a good job, you need the right tools.
Buy it!
Lu Chen pulled out his card. “I’ll take one.”
“Huh? You’re actually buying it?!”
Lu Chen: “…”
“If I’m not buying it, why would I come to your store?”
The manager quickly waved his hands. “That’s not what I meant, sir. But this flagship model is currently out of stock in-store. You’d need to pre-order it. It’ll take about seven days.”
“Then I’ll pre-order it. I’m not in that much of a hurry anyway.”
Lu Chen paid a deposit of 300,000 without hesitation, took the receipt, and left the store escorted by all the staff members.
Watching the car’s taillights disappear into the distance, the manager looked at the receipt in his hand with a face full of question marks.
“The delivery address is Cloud Summit Manor? Who exactly is this young man? Anyone who can afford the All-Deities flagship is either rich or powerful. But there doesn’t seem to be a prominent Lu family in Jiangdu City, does there?”
“Yeah, Manager. Judging by how freely he spends money, even some of the newly wealthy families — let alone the average ones — probably don’t throw money around like that.”
“Could it be… that Jiangdu is about to see another new wealthy family emerge?” The manager’s expression turned serious.
…
“Brother, that’s roughly how things went.”
At the Lu household.
After returning home, Lu Chen immediately invited Lord Jun of Wealth and recounted — almost word for word — what had happened the day before.
The statue was silent. After a long pause, a deep breath echoed from it.
“No wonder I sensed a stench from the underworld… So that’s it.”
“My virtuous brother, you’ve truly done something that leaves me utterly astonished. How did you ever come up with the idea of connecting the underworld to the mortal world in this way?”
Lu Chen smiled at this.
What a wonderful thing information asymmetry was~
It was really just like a paper screen — thin and easily pierced.
Before you thought of it, it seemed impossible.
But once you did, it was nothing special.
“Brother, I was just speaking from the perspective of an ordinary person, expressing my own needs.”
“My virtuous brother, if this succeeds, it will be a deed of immeasurable merit!”
“You flatter me, brother. But about the underworld currency matter…?”
“Rest assured. I’ve told you before — as long as it’s righteous wealth, commercial wealth, I guarantee your fortune will flow smoothly.”
“Thank you, brother!”
Though he had expected it, receiving the definite promise still made Lu Chen breathe a quiet sigh of relief.
“My virtuous brother, I do have a question for you.”
“Please, speak freely, brother.”
“You’re so driven to amass wealth… why, exactly?”
Lu Chen smiled faintly. “Brother, have you forgotten? I want to build you a temple and gild your statue! Without becoming one of the newly wealthy, I wouldn’t even qualify to build a temple. But to rise to that status, both money and military merit are essential — you can’t lack either!”
“My virtuous brother, you… truly mean that?”
Lord Jun of Wealth had thought Lu Chen’s earlier words were just casual talk. His own show of excitement before had been nothing more than polite courtesy.
Who would have thought…
“Brother, a real man’s word is like a nail driven into a board. If I make a promise, I intend to keep it.”
Lu Chen’s gaze was resolute as iron. “The Lu Family Temple — I’m absolutely determined to build it!”
