Chapter 1 No Hesitation

Without much hesitation, Zhou Ze walked into the other woman's room. The furnishings inside were the same as his own.

The woman took out some tea leaves from her bag, brewed a cup, and handed it to Zhou Ze.

The door wasn't closed.

Yingying didn't come in, but she stood at the door of their own room. It wasn't to monitor anything, but purely so she could rush in if something happened.

When it came to protecting her master,

Yingying had maxed out that skill.

Zhou Ze sat on the sofa, crossed his legs, and didn't touch the tea on the coffee table.

Walking in was already a small risk. Zhou Ze had no interest in drinking her tea just to show good manners.

"Let me introduce myself. My surname is Mu."

Zhou Ze narrowed his eyes.

He felt a little helpless and had a headache.

This trip to Lijiang,

Why did he get tangled up with the Mu clan?

Pulling out the radish brought out the mud, an endless entanglement?

"The Mu Royal Court ruled here for several dynasties. Although its power in the yang world has become a distant memory after liberation, it still leads the dark side in the other world."

Zhou Ze raised his hand, interrupting her with some amusement.

"So, your Mu Royal Court has taken over the local ghost official industry?"

This phenomenon was common in ancient times because, due to transportation and communication limitations, only a few officials, such as the county magistrate and deputy magistrate, were directly appointed by the imperial court. The numerous lower officials were actually locals. The officials came and went, but they remained, often leading to local clans effectively controlling the real power.

Many county magistrates who were well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics found that their words carried less weight than those of the local clans.

Even in modern times, this situation is not uncommon, especially in places where personal connections are important.

It's possible that most people in a department or unit are related.

Although Zhou Ze had no expectations for the increasingly corrupt underworld, he found it hard to believe that the Mu Royal Court, a former local chieftain, could have extended its reach so far.

"It's not that the local ghost officials and constables are all members of the Mu family, but for hundreds of years, the Mu Royal Court has personally appointed and venerated the local ghost officials and constables, even bestowing upon them the surname 'Mu'.

Over time, this tradition has been preserved and passed down.

My name is Mu Die.

I am a local Lijiang ghost official.

Nice to meet you."

Zhou Ze said with a playful tone, "So, the female ghost official who was silenced was because she didn't have the surname Mu?"

"This kind of phenomenon exists everywhere, doesn't it?"

Mu Die didn't care.

Every circle naturally has its own rules. The unfortunate female ghost official who was silenced could only blame her bad luck for ending up in a workplace with such rampant nepotism.

"What's the purpose of you coming to me? I don't think it's to avenge Mu Chengen, is it?"

Boss Zhou was hoping she would nod directly.

That way, he could just get rid of her and be done with it.

Back in Xuzhou, he had almost swept clean the local ghost officials. There was no reason for him to be more cowardly now that he was a constable.

After experiencing many things, Zhou Ze increasingly understood Tie Hanhan's behavior in hell. Problems that could be solved with fists were often the most satisfying and straightforward.

"Mu Chengen plotted against you, and you judged him. That's only natural. Although we share the same surname, we're not exactly close. Over the years, we've simply kept to ourselves.

Besides,

Mu Chengen betrayed us long ago."

"You have an organization?"

Mu Die nodded. "The reason why generations of Lijiang ghost officials are bestowed the surname Mu and enjoy the Mu Royal Court's sacrifices is twofold: first, to protect the region and maintain peace, preventing the local people from being harmed by wandering souls; and second, to guard a dragon's lair here in Lijiang."

"Dragon's lair?"

Zhou Ze rubbed his temples, feeling a little embarrassed.

He really didn't think there was a dragon's lair in Lijiang. It wasn't that he had any prejudice against this beautiful place, but the reason why the Mu Royal Court was able to survive for hundreds of years was simple: every time a central dynasty was about to change, the current Mu king was able to assess the situation and become a guide for the new dynasty.

Whether it was the Mongols, the Ming army, or later the Qing army, the Mu king would take the initiative to welcome them, offering supplies and his "loyalty," joyfully greeting the royal army!

If there was a "dragon's lair" here, the Mu Royal Court would have raised a rebellion and shaken the country.

Mu Die seemed to have guessed Zhou Ze's thoughts. She wasn't angry. She knew that the Shuiyou people (as the locals called themselves) had always had a sense of superiority.

This sense of superiority might come from their cultural heritage, and even after death, when they became ghost officials, they retained all their memories, so it wouldn't change.

"The dragon's lair is actually a ghost cave that once wreaked havoc in the surrounding area, not only in present-day Lijiang, but even in half of Yunnan.

Later, three enlightened monks came here and sealed the demon cave. One of the monks even passed away here. After that, the matter of the demon cave gradually became unknown.

And we, the generations of Lijiang ghost officials, are responsible for helping the Mu Royal Court suppress and maintain the seal of that ghost cave.

The Mu Royal Court legitimizes us, and the underworld defaults to our responsibilities. Our merit points and merits will be added accordingly. It's a bit like the temple gods in the yang world."

"Get to the point."

Zhou Ze reminded her.

He had always been uninterested in local folk performances during his travels, so naturally he had no interest in the history of the local ghost officials.

"The embarrassing thing is that Mu Chengen, who was just sanctioned by you, is the only one among our generation of Lijiang ghost officials who can approach the seal of the ghost cave.

And recently,

Because you triggered the movement of tens of thousands of military souls at the border,

It stimulated the ghost cave,

Causing the ghost cave to show signs of instability,

So..."

"Ah, I'm tired."

Zhou Ze stood up.

He hadn't touched the tea, and after getting up, he zipped up his jacket and walked towards the door.

"My plane ticket is for tomorrow. Goodbye."

Mu Die was stunned, seemingly not expecting Zhou Ze to react this way. She immediately said:

"Sir, if the ghost cave has problems, the impact and damage will be terrible. The local..."

"You'd better check out before I finish my shower and prepare to rest. Otherwise, I'll be very angry. Also, don't try to be a pervert next time."

Zhou Ze warned without turning his head.

Then,

He walked straight back to his own room across the hall and had Yingying close the door.

............

"Boss, didn't you like that woman?"

Yingying asked while lathering up her boss.

Zhou Ze sat on a stool, closed his eyes, and enjoyed Yingying's bubble bath service while shaking his head.

"Beautiful women are always trouble."

He was a ghost official from Tongcheng, which wasn't ten thousand miles away from Yunnan, but it was still pretty far.

Acting on behalf of heaven and taking the salvation of the world as his own responsibility had never been Boss Zhou's creed.

Zhou Ze wasn't sure whether the ghost cave was really so troublesome, or even whether the ghost cave really existed.

But one thing was certain: although the underworld was teetering on the brink, it could still maintain basic operations. Although his application had gone through the back door, he had also let Feng Si'er come here with the name of "official business."

So, even if something happened in Lijiang, the underworld could just send someone else.

As for what would happen if he didn't take action in time and something bad happened,

Heh,

What's it got to do with me?

Yingying started spraying water to rinse Zhou Ze's body,

She said with some regret,

"What a pity, she's a ghost official."

"What's the pity?"

Zhou Ze couldn't help but find it funny.

This girl was still thinking about those things.

"Boss, do you have a prejudice against ghost officials?

Um, yes, boss, you used to be a surgeon, so you must have one."

"How do you figure?"

"Many men care about whether a woman has had plastic surgery, right? A ghost official is the most thorough form of plastic surgery in the world, isn't it?"

Except for the soul being the original,

The whole body,

Has been replaced with a new one.

Hearing Yingying's words,

Zhou Ze was facing the mirror in the shower room.

He looked at himself in the mirror,

This face,

That he had grown familiar with over the past two years.

Yeah,

His original appearance,

Seemed to have become a little blurry.

Yingying didn't notice Zhou Ze's abnormality and continued to mutter to herself:

"But thinking about it, would the children born from two ghost officials be any different?

But having children is still related to this body, right? Probably..."

"Yingying, the water's a little cold."

"Oh, sorry boss, I'll adjust it right away."

Seeing that Yingying was trending towards the topic of "who exactly cheated on whom,"

Zhou Ze immediately changed the subject.

After taking a shower,

Zhou Ze had Yingying check outside,

After confirming that Mu Die had left,

Zhou Ze finally laid down on the bed with peace of mind.

Sleep, sleep,

Go home tomorrow.

Yingying obediently lay down next to Zhou Ze,

Accompanying Zhou Ze to sleep.

Although there was a small interlude with Mu Die today,

It was still a rare day of relaxation and enjoyment, with a sense of satisfaction after ending a date with a beautiful girl.

Boss Zhou fell into a sweet dream.

What he didn't know was,

As he fell asleep,

Mu Die squatted in a small courtyard, silently burning paper money, her brow full of worry.

An old woman rode a Yunnan horse into a large canyon, her face serious.

And on the hillside in front of the canyon,

A middle-aged man dressed in beggar's clothes was walking forward step by step.

The man was unremarkable,

Perhaps the only thing that could attract attention,

Were the dense boils on his head.

The dark clouds in the sky,

Were getting thicker and thicker,

The rainy season in Lijiang had passed,

But the heavy rain,

Seemed to be coming again...