Chapter 8: Interrogation by Torture

  In the dark street, a black shadow suddenly appeared, hanging far behind them. Gui Cha was secretly careful in his heart, but Xu Xian seemed to be unaware of it, and continued to admire the night view of Hangzhou.

  The dark shadows grew more and more numerous, but it was impossible to tell from which corner or crevice they emerged, and they followed closer and closer, until at last they were all around.

  Some faces were purple and swollen, some necks were broken and their heads hung down, and some were covered in blood. There were also those who had been ghosts for too long and no longer had human faces. They followed one after another, occasionally letting out a strange cry. The sound of it made people's hearts tremble with fear.

  The ghost officer was shocked and frightened, how did all the vengeful spirits and resentful ghosts in Hangzhou City emerge? He looked up to see Xū Xiān still walking quietly in front of him, his face without any fear, no, he should say that he had never seen any expression. The ghost officer suddenly realized that they were all attracted by the light emitted from Xū Xiān's body, and yang energy was what all ghosts needed. Even if their spiritual consciousness was unclear, their yearning for that light and warmth was instinctual.

  Xu Xian didn't say a word, he just strode forward with large steps. The calm attitude made the ghost guards around him put down their hanging hearts. One person walked forward, and hundreds of ghosts followed in the night tour, this momentum was enough to make him feel a shock. Even his Cheng Huang Lord Zhao Wenhui could only suppress the group of ghosts by relying on his divine position, but he didn't have such prestige.

  In front of the Chenghuang Temple, Xu Xian walked straight in, and the group of ghosts did not dare to enter, lingering outside the temple gate, refusing to leave.

  Zhao Wenhui came forward with a smile all over his face, cupped his hands and said: "Brother Dao indeed has an extraordinary air about him, please take a seat."

  Two people sat down, and soon a waiter brought tea, the fragrance hit their noses, not comparable to ordinary goods. However, Xu Xian didn't appreciate it, and pointed at the group of ghosts outside the door: "City God, you are in charge of auditing yin, isn't this your responsibility? Why aren't you taking care of it?" Xu Xian's words were quite impolite, but Zhao Wenhui wasn't bothered by them. If such people followed worldly etiquette and laws, he would have found that strange!

  "Do you know when evil spirits are most numerous?"

  "But what about during wartime?"

  "It is indeed the case that the divine land has sunk, and the beacon fires have risen in all directions. The aura of resentment and killing intent shoots straight up to the heavens, and even if you were a god with extraordinary abilities, it would be difficult to resolve. But next comes this era of great peace and prosperity."

  "Peace and prosperity?" Xū Xiān suddenly understood, the best times for ordinary people are usually after chaos turns to order, an era of recovery and growth. Often passed down are virtues like "roads don't pick up lost items, nights don't close doors". But when true peace and prosperity arrive, the number of people dying unjustly is countless.

  "There are vengeful spirits who die with great resentment, and I am also helpless against them. There are even some who have achieved spiritual growth and possess extraordinary powers, but they are arrogant and overbearing." Zhao Wenhui wanted to speak but stopped himself, this city god was not as glorious as it seemed on the surface, but the suffering within was hard to express to others.

  "Isn't there an ambush?" Xuxian asked.

  "I'm just a city guard, I don't have the power to command troops, and even if I did, it's like the government in this world - no matter how many soldiers you have, can you really keep out all thieves and bandits?"

  Xu Xian was deep in thought. In the mortal world, there are difficulties of the mortal world; in the underworld, there are also difficulties of the underworld. It won't be easy just because you have some magical powers. Since there are difficulties, there must be something to ask for. Xu Xian said calmly: "You've invited me again and again, surely it's because you have something to ask of me. Last time I received your kindness, but haven't had a chance to repay it yet. Please speak up, I'll do my best to help." Repaying the kindness one has received as soon as possible is what Xu Xian was thinking about now. The reason Xu Xian came here was twofold: first, to see the gods of this world; second, to cut off the cause and effect of that Resurrection Dan.

  Zhou Wen knew that for such people, courtesy was useless. Praising them wouldn't make them happy, and despising them wouldn't make them angry. It's better to speak directly and avoid trouble on both sides. So he simply spoke out his difficulties frankly.

  He was originally a common rich man before his death, but he accumulated virtue and did good deeds throughout his life. After his death, Yan Jun allowed me to be reborn into a wealthy and noble family. He didn't want to fall into the cycle of reincarnation, so after begging for permission, it just so happened that this place lacked a Cheng Huang, so he filled in the vacancy.

  He wasn't cut out for being an official, but he had a sense of responsibility and managed to hold on for over a decade, exhausting himself every day with official duties, feeling like it was more tiring than being alive. The other day, he went to plead with Yan Jun again, wanting to resign from his position as the City God, but Yan Jun scolded him for his repeated requests and sent him back.

  As a result, he spent his whole life doing good deeds but ended up with this outcome. He was so grief-stricken that he cried loudly at the Naihe Bridge. Coincidentally, Judge Cui happened to pass by and gave him an idea, telling him to find someone who could replace him, and then go to Yan Wang's presence to plead on his behalf. However, as the world became more peaceful and prosperous, people with virtues became increasingly scarce. Every province and county needed a City God, where could he find someone to replace him?

  That day, he was deeply pondering, a golden light flashed across the sky, and he had an idea. He invited Xu Xian to take a look. Having been the City God for over a decade, he had some insight. With one glance at Xu Xian's eyes, he knew that he was the right person. After checking the Book of Life and Death, he discovered that Xu Xian had accumulated tens of millions of merits as an ordinary mortal, although recently, for some reason, ten million were deducted. However, taking on this role as City God would be more than sufficient.

  The four ghosts next to him looked distorted, and they couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. They didn't expect that the usually dignified adults would have such thoughts. However, they didn't know that Zhao Wenzhi had been like this when he was alive and met with officials, and in order to do a good job as an official, he had pretended for over ten years. As a result, he changed from being the kind-hearted Zhao Daren who always wore a gentle smile on his face to the stern Cheng Huang Jun he is today. Now that he could finally speak his mind, he spoke without restraint.

  Xu Xian's heart was clear, and he thought for a moment before saying: "I can temporarily take on this role, giving you some time to rest. However, this matter is still a mere rumor in the underworld, and I am also unable to leave the mortal world at present."

  Zhao Wenhui felt disappointed in his heart, but at least there was someone to take the blame, and he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. His four subordinates were all martial artists, not one of them could help him crack the case, and even he himself was just feeling his way through. Three hundred and sixty-five days a year, without even a single holiday, how could it not be called bitter? If there was a beautiful young secretary, maybe it would be slightly better, but the four people around him were all ugly men who could make one lose all motivation to work with just one glance. To persist in working in such a harsh environment for over ten years was truly not easy.

  Zhao Wenhui called out and soon a mountain-like pile of documents was placed on the table. He said apologetically, "These are all the trivial matters I've accumulated over the years, please, younger brother, start dealing with them tonight!"

  Xu Xian picked one out at random and flipped through it before putting it down. "Is there a law of the underworld?"

  Zhao Wenhui slapped his forehead, I was confused. Then a pile of laws were moved out from the warehouse, Xu Xian looked at them one by one. He originally had the ability to remember everything he saw, and now that his yang spirit had escaped, it was even more extraordinary. With just one glance, all sorts of laws became clear in his mind, not a single word missing.

  A wisp of incense, Xu Xian put down the last book of law and raised his head: "It can begin now."

  In the City God Temple, Xu Xian sat unceremoniously on the high platform, with a volume of scriptures placed in front of him. He lowered his head and concentrated on revising it. Below the platform, newly deceased ghosts were brought up, some wailing, others cursing, or begging for mercy. Xu Xian's expression remained unchanged as he judged them one by one according to the Yin Si law in his heart, without a hint of hesitation in his verdicts, and with great dignity.

  What you have done is exactly the kind of thing that city guards and yamen runners handle.

  Zhao Wenhui would normally judge a ghost, sympathizing with those who cried in pain, scolding and beating those who were angry, praising the good ones and reprimanding the bad ones. As for Xu Xian, no matter how people from the underworld behaved, he simply followed the laws of the underworld and wrote down each ghost's verdict with flying brushstrokes, handed them over to the ghostly attendants, and stuck them on the back of each ghost's soul.

  Enough to be sent by another ghost driver, sent to the underworld, or reincarnated in the six paths of reincarnation, or sent to hell for punishment. This is the significance of Cheng Huang's existence. If every ghost is escorted to the underworld for trial, the journey will not be mentioned. How many people die in a day under heaven, where does so much energy come from?

  Four ghosts, one driving a car, one pressing the ghost, one delivering the volume, and one beating, let Xu Xian make a turn. Usually, he can still idle around to see the case, but today he can't even take care of it. Zhao Wenhui wanted to help, but ended up not being able to get involved, so he was happy to be idle. Looking at the documents on the table, one by one, getting shorter and shorter, laughing with his mouth open. After drinking tea for a while, he turned around twice and went to sleep in the back, who knows why ghosts still need to sleep.

  Xu Xian was as fast as a computer in processing the things in front of him, but his absorption of the power of the sun never stopped. Later, the ghosts under the hall only saw one person's shadow in the golden light on the hall, and they were all trembling with fear.

  "Hmph, Grandfather has been roaming the jianghu for decades and never believed in evil. Where did this little demon come from to pretend to be a ghost?" Suddenly, a ghost broke free from Hongmian Ghost's suppression and pounced towards the hall, its movement as swift as a tiger devouring its prey, with a narrow wind preceding it, and was even faster than when it was alive.

  The distance of a few feet was instantly reached, and in an instant, Xian was only a few feet away from Huxian.

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