“Aunt Wang, please don’t get upset.” Lu Chen steadied her and spoke gently, “Don’t worry, I promise I’ll take care of this for you!”
“Really? Oh, thank you so much, Xiao Chen!” Aunt Wang wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and hurriedly pulled a wad of cash from her pocket. “Here’s ten thousand yuan. Take it for now, and if it’s not enough, Aunt Wang will figure something out later.”
Lu Chen chuckled. “Aunt Wang, what are you doing? We’re neighbors in the same community. How could I possibly take your money? Besides, money from the living world can’t be spent down below anyway.”
He paused for a moment, then asked, “By the way, what’s Uncle Wang’s full name?”
“Wang Shufa! ‘Shu’ as in ‘tree,’ and ‘Fa’ as in ‘to prosper’!”
Lu Chen nodded. “Got it. I’ll remember that. Well, I should head up now—my parents are waiting for me.”
“Of course, of course. Take your time.”
Lu Chen made his way through the crowd and walked straight into the building entrance, the murmurs of the neighbors drifting faintly behind him.
“That Xiao Chen is really such a fine young man.”
“Yeah, it’s rare these days to find young people who are so warm-hearted and capable.”
“Rare? Try nonexistent!”
Hearing this, Lu Chen took a deep breath as he walked, thinking to himself: Things are escalating faster than I expected… It looks like the time has come to push underworld currency and funerary items onto the market.
He planned to ask his father how many families in the neighborhood were in a situation like Aunt Wang’s.
Pushing open the front door, the sound of stir-frying came from the kitchen, and the air was filled with the aroma of home-cooked food.
Glancing at the time, it was around six in the evening.
This is… the taste of home.
“I’m back!”
“Son?” Lu Jianming heard the commotion and poked his head out from the kitchen. “Why didn’t you say you were coming back?”
“The boy’s back?” His mother also put down her spatula and asked with concern, “Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet.” Lu Chen set down his backpack.
“Then go wash your hands and eat! You really should have called ahead.”
“Brother!” His younger sister, Lu Wan, heard the noise and came running out of the inner room, arms wide open as she leaped toward him.
Lu Chen scooped her up and gently tapped her nose. “Was Wanwan good while big brother was away?”
“Wanwan was super good!”
His mother passed by with a dish and couldn’t help but laugh. “Good? She’s been a little troublemaker.”
“Hmph! Mom’s lying!” Lu Wan pouted.
Lu Chen smiled and pinched her cheek. “Alright, let’s go wash up and eat.”
The dinner table was laden with a feast—fish, meat, shrimp, trotters, seasonal vegetables, and a plate of fresh fruit beside them.
Thinking back, they used to have only two vegetable dishes per meal, and his parents would often down a bowl of rice with just a single chopstickful of greens.
Nowadays, their meals were even more lavish than during the New Year.
“Dad, I ran into Aunt Wang downstairs just now.” Lu Chen mentioned casually.
Lu Jianming paused mid-reach with his chopsticks, an understanding look on his face. “She came to see me yesterday too. I told her you were out and to wait until you got back. So… what do you plan to do?”
“Are there many families in our neighborhood in her situation?”
“Plenty!” His mother cut in. “Zhang Bo, Aunt Li, Uncle Ge—they’ve all run into the same problem. At least twenty or thirty households have come to discuss it with your father.”
“Haven’t they tried praying to Lord Yan?”
“They have, but strangely, none of them got any response.”
Lu Chen understood perfectly. It seemed Lord Yan still remembered their agreement and had deliberately ignored those prayers.
He already had a plan in mind. “Dad, how about this: after you finish eating, go around to each household and compile a list. I need to know which ancestors we’re dealing with. We’ll solve the immediate problem first, and then we can talk about the next steps.”
“Alright, I’ll go right now!” Lu Jianming immediately set down his bowl and chopsticks and stood up.
“Hey, you can go after you finish eating!”
“What’s there to eat? I’m the neighborhood manager—how can I not take this seriously?” Lu Jianming hurried out the door in a flurry.
Lu Chen snorted with laughter. “Dad really takes his responsibility seriously.”
“Responsibility? He just loves being in charge.” His mother hit the nail on the head.
“By the way, Mom, has the incense offering for Lord Yan been going strong these past couple days?”
“Very strong! Ever since our community made that big offering, word spread. And with the Sun Clan Temple subtly guiding people, Lord Yan is probably the most popular deity there now. Your father said at least a thousand to two thousand people came to burn incense yesterday, and it’ll likely keep growing.”
“A thousand to two thousand a day?” Lu Chen calculated silently.
The three-thousand mark he’d agreed upon with Lord Yan—at this rate, they might even hit it today.
A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Time to squeeze a few more gold coins out of Old Lord Yan.
Before long, his father returned with a list.
“All the names are here. Make sure you get this done soon, son.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you—the head neighborhood manager—lose face.”
“You little rascal…” Lu Jianming couldn’t hide his smug grin. With a son like that, how could he not have the wind and rain at his command in this neighborhood?
“Mom, I’m heading to Yun Ding Villa tonight.”
“Go ahead. Your father and I have already packed everything for you. That house really is something.”
“You two should come along too.”
“You go first. We’ll come stay a few days when we have time.”
“Alright… fine.”
After packing his bags, grabbing the deity statues and spirit tablets, Lu Chen hailed a cab and headed straight for Yun Ding Villa.
Ten minutes later, he stood in front of his own villa.
Impressive!
Nothing but impressive, through and through!
A standalone Western-style house with a spacious courtyard—the Sun family’s gift was indeed generous.
The interior decor was tasteful and refined—not flashy or gaudy, but exuding class in every detail.
Lu Chen set down his luggage, took a tour of the entire place, and then got down to business.
First, he installed the spirit tablets on the shrine, lit a stick of incense for each, and bowed twice to complete the house-warming ritual.
After that, Lu Chen strolled back to the living room with his hands behind his back. The Yanluo Seal on the back of his hand glowed with a faint light.
Two streaks of black whirlwind swept past, and Xie Qingyi and Fan Rusong materialized from the glow.
“General!” Both bowed in salute.
Lu Chen sat down on the sofa and gestured for them to rise.
“General, where is this place? It’s so grand!” Little Qing was full of curiosity about the villa, bouncing around and looking at everything.
In contrast, Little Ru was much more composed. She gave the place a brief glance, then stood respectfully at attention, awaiting instructions.
“Xiao Ru.”
“Yes, General.”
“Go and bring those two people from earlier—no, now I should say those two ghosts—and have them brought here.”
“At once!” Fan Rusong flicked her sleeve and vanished in a puff of green smoke.
Lu Chen then noticed that Little Qing was staring longingly at the table full of snacks and fruits, her eyes practically glued to them.
Though underworld messengers could interact with souls, they were powerless against objects of the living world—especially food, which they couldn’t enjoy at all.
Lu Chen walked over with a smile. “Want to eat some?”
Xie Qingyi immediately nodded like a pecking chicken. “Daddy said the little snacks in the human world are delicious! I had some once when I was little, but I never got to taste them again after that…”
“Your father really doted on you then. Even Lord Yan can’t enjoy earthly incense offerings, so for him to get you a bag of snacks—that must not have been easy.”
“Yeah.” Xie Qingyi nodded vigorously. “Daddy loved me the most.”
Lu Chen smiled, pulled a piece of yellow paper from his pocket—he always kept some on hand now, just in case—and took out his cinnabar brush to draw a [Resurrection Talisman].
This spell could strip the vitality from a living object and convert it into something usable in the underworld.
Different strokes for different folks.
While he didn’t know thunder magic or bean-soldier techniques, when it came to ritual talismans and ceremonial arts, that was his strong suit.
The talisman ignited with a faint green glow, enveloping the entire table of snacks.
Lu Chen gestured. “You can eat them now.”
Little Qing reached out hesitantly and touched a grape—and actually managed to pinch it!
Delighted, she plucked one and popped it into her mouth.
“So? Good?”
“Wow! It’s so delicious! General! I’ve never tasted anything this amazing!”
Little Qing was so excited she danced around.
“If you like them, eat as much as you want. When you run out, I’ll buy you more.”
“Wahhh… General, you’re so wonderful!” Xie Qingyi’s eyes reddened with emotion. She spread her arms wide, the curve of her chest fully on display, and asked, “Would you… like a hug?”
Lu Chen: “Uh… sure, why not. Let’s go with a hug.”
Little Qing gleefully threw herself into his arms.
Oho ho ho… Not gonna lie, this actually feels pretty nice!
Just then, several streaks of black light flashed.
Fan Rusong, along with Ox-Head and Horse-Face, appeared, escorting the bound spirits of Master Lingshui and his wife.
Seeing the scene before them, all the ghosts froze.
Fan Rusong: “…”
Ox-Head and Horse-Face: “…”
Even the Lingshui couple was dumbfounded.
Xie Qingyi let out a startled yelp, her face turning crimson as she scurried away to the side.
Lu Chen cleared his throat twice to mask the awkwardness.
The ghosts finally snapped out of it.
Ox-Head immediately looked around, feigning nonchalance. “This is a nice house—much fancier than our place.”
Horse-Face chimed in, “Of course. This is the General’s residence.”
Fan Rusong glanced at Xie Qingyi, then hid a smile behind her sleeve.
Lu Chen picked up two grapes and walked over to the bound, ashen-faced Lingshui couple.
“Go on, then. Tell me—what’s the real story behind the Thousand Demon Visualization?”
He held up a grape and fed it to Fan Rusong.
Fan Rusong blinked in surprise, then caught on. She leaned down, opened her dainty mouth, and accepted the grape. After chewing slowly, her eyes sparkled. “Delicious!”
“Sister, come over here—there’s a bunch more!” Xie Qingyi whispered, waving her over.
“I don’t know! I don’t know anything!” Master Lingshui shook his head stubbornly, still defiant even in death.
Lu Chen sneered. “I think you’re not quite clear on your situation. Ox-Head, Horse-Face!”
“Here, General!”
“Torture them! One hundred lashes each!”
“Orders received!”
Ox-Head and Horse-Face produced two whips that glowed with an eerie light.
“Crack!” The whips snapped together, the sound cutting through the air.
The Lingshui couple trembled violently, their spectral forms quaking.
“SWISH!!”
The whips came down, sending the two ghosts rolling on the ground in agony.
Ox-Head and Horse-Face’s whips were specially designed to subdue ghosts; each lash brought excruciating pain.
Before they’d even reached twenty lashes, Master Lingshui was howling for mercy: “I’ll talk! I’ll talk! General, please have mercy!”
Lu Chen ignored them until Ox-Head and Horse-Face had each delivered ten more strikes. Only then did he raise his hand to call a halt.
By now, Master Lingshui’s soul was flickering and unstable. In a hoarse, sobbing voice, he practically wailed:
“Your humble servant knows little of the Thousand Demon Visualization… only that it allows one to directly communicate with the gods by visualizing the divine beings of the heavens. Even if backlash occurs, at worst it damages part of the spirit or causes one’s cultivation to regress. But it should never cross the line and turn someone into a soulless, mindless fool—nor should it cause death!”
“What did you say?!”
At these words, Lu Chen’s previously cold gaze widened in sheer disbelief.
He crushed the other grape in his hand, its flesh dissolving into green smoke.
“You’re telling me that this Thousand Demon Visualization can directly connect with the gods of the heavens?!!”
