Chapter 1 The City God Opens His Eyes

The City God statue opened its eyes.

Suddenly,

an invisible qi wall directly enveloped the entire City God Temple.

At its peak, a City God could protect an entire city, and even be in charge of ensuring favorable weather conditions; it was an undisputed regional overlord beneath the hierarchy of the Netherworld.

Although times had changed and it was no longer what it once was, enveloping its own Daoist temple was not a problem.

The many pilgrims in the City God Temple all became muddled for a time, as if they had dozed off.

Many people have had similar experiences in their daily lives, where they seem to have dozed off without realizing it, and a long time has passed in an instant.

Of course, most of the time it's because they actually took a nap, but a small part of it is purely passive, like the many pilgrims in the City God Temple at this time.

After this matter is over, most pilgrims will not notice anything. A few more sensitive ones may just think that they were spacing out for a bit longer than usual, and will not suspect anything else.

The old Daoist and Gou Xin and the others had just walked to the door,

when they saw a yellow纹路 (wénlù, pattern) appearing on the threshold,

a thin line,

separating the front and back.

Forcibly breaking through would be directly confronting the host.

Xiao Hei took a step forward, intending to directly break the restriction. No matter what was happening inside, the most appropriate choice was to remove themselves from the situation first.

But Gou Xin reached out and grabbed Xiao Hei's shoulder,

signaling him not to do so.

Originally, coming to Tong City was just a transfer. Even coming to the bookstore before was just to look around, until he saw the bookstore owner, that he developed a "love for talent."

But the entire trip to Tong City was a little too uneventful. Being someone who can't stand being idle, he was naturally very happy to have something to watch at this time.

Many people are afraid of watching the excitement because they are afraid of being affected. Just like when Boss Zhou was in the Hell Palace a while ago, many ghosts were forced to stay within the palace's range to watch the excitement and were blasted into渣滓 (zhāzǐ, dregs).

But Gou Xin is different.

When he watches the excitement,

he is basically not affected,

and he often picks up benefits.

Picking up a seriously injured old man,

picking up a ring or something left behind after people finish fighting,

A person with good fortune,

has a different kind of confidence.

Gou Xin sat down on the steps.

Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai behind him also sat down together. It seemed that they believed in the man in front of them, otherwise they would not have followed him all this time.

With their level, they might not be able to truly match the Inspector, but they were much stronger than ordinary constables. The reason why they were willing to follow Gou Xin was also because Gou Xin used one thing after another to prove that he was indeed a chosen one.

Following him, there is meat to eat, so naturally they follow him desperately;

After eating meat for a long time, they naturally become dogs.

The old Daoist was a little flustered, but at this time he represented the face of the bookstore, so naturally he couldn't be too out of sorts. Especially since the old Daoist himself knew very well that if something went wrong here, with his abilities, not to mention settling it, it would be difficult to even escape unscathed. It was better to stay by Gou Xin and the others' side. If the sky fell, there would be a high ground to hold it up first, wouldn't there?

With this thought,

the old Daoist also sat down next to Gou Xin.

Inside the main hall,

a repressive atmosphere was revealed,

a yellow figure appeared in front of the statue.

He seemed to be searching,

also like he was hunting,

for the figure of the woman who liked to wear white clothes.

For the past six months, she had been constantly harassing him,

and had already swallowed more than 70% of him.

He struggled to resist,

but ultimately found it difficult to restrain.

This time, by some inexplicable coincidence, he was finally able to correct his "master" status, so he naturally didn't want to miss the opportunity to completely solve the white-clothed woman!

In the past,

the City God lineage, because of their remembrance of the Lord of Mount Tai and their refusal to be governed by the Netherworld, led to a split between the two. Under the suppression of the Netherworld, the City God lineage almost collapsed, but he had always lived cautiously and carefully. Even back then, he didn't stick his neck out.

Just like how there are poor people and rich people in every place, within a circle, there are bound to be men who rush to the front, and there will inevitably be those who are greedy for life and afraid of death.

Fortunately, the Netherworld did not kill them all after resolving the City God lineage, but only erased the City God's position in the Netherworld system, and they entered a mode of peaceful coexistence.

The few remaining City Gods, as long as they didn't stick their heads out and didn't jump around too happily, would basically be fine.

"Madam White, why don't you dare to come out now?

Come out,

you come out for me!

Madam White, you bitch!"

Searching and searching,

searching for a long time,

but the woman,

couldn't be found.

The City God knew,

that the woman,

was still inside his body!

When he clearly had the advantage, the woman chose to hibernate, completely merging into his body, making it impossible for him to act!

Unless,

he was willing to commit suicide!

But if he was willing to commit suicide,

why bother苟活 (gǒuhuó, to eke out a meager existence) until today?

For a time, the City God was extremely angry. He knew that once he missed this opportunity, the end that awaited him would be complete吞并 (tūnbìng, annexation) by that detestable woman!

He raised his head,

suddenly a sinister look appeared between his brows,

his figure flashed,

and he directly appeared at the location of the doorway.

At this time,

the only people in the City God Temple who still had clear eyes,

were all sitting on the steps at the door.

Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai immediately stood up,

standing in front of Gou Xin,

their hands forming seals!

"Filthy trash of the Netherworld!"

The City God's voice carried an extremely strong怨念 (yuànniàn, resentment)!

Thinking back to the glory days of the City God lineage, if it weren't for the appearance of the Netherworld, why would he have fallen into such a situation now?

People are like this;

and any existence tainted with humanity will slowly become like this.

If the person sitting here was a judge or another bigwig from the Netherworld,

he might not even dare to show himself. If he did, he would probably be kneeling on the ground, wagging his tail and begging for mercy.

But since he was facing the ghost messengers of the Netherworld, the lowest-level existences, naturally,

"national feud and family hatred,"

could be brought out to talk about.

Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai's faces were tense,

and the old Daoist was even more frightened, moving closer to Gou Xin,

secretly calculating whether the boss could sense what was happening and come to their rescue. But even if the boss knew, it might not be a matter of moments for him to arrive. They could only rely on the guy in front of them to hold on for now.

But Gou Xin's expression was indifferent, as if he didn't take the crisis in front of him to heart at all.

The old Daoist felt greatly relieved and couldn't help but reach out and touch his skinny chest, saying:

"Can you beat him?"

"Can't beat him."

"Um, brother, then do you have a plan?"

Gou Xin shook his head,

and said very sincerely: "No plan."

"This..."

Gou Xin smiled,

and said:

"It's okay, the plan will come to us."

Gou Xin continued to smile.

But at this moment,

the enraged City God in front of him suddenly changed his expression,

and the originally bright yellow figure also trembled,

In Gou Xin's pocket,

an ancient wooden牌 (pái, tablet) flew out,

hovering in front of the yellow figure.

The anger on the City God's face slowly began to dissipate,

and he even sighed,

a look of慈爱 (cí'ài, loving kindness) actually appearing on his face,

and said:

"Your ancestors were City God worshippers?"

City God worshippers have different names in different places. They are a bit like temple stewards, people who serve the City God in various City God temples.

They are considered family members of the City God, his own people.

To put it inappropriately, it's a bit like a bondservant in the Qing Dynasty.

If you sincerely serve for a long time,

your body, or even the things on your body, will naturally be沾染 (zhānrǎn, tainted) with some special aura.

And the City God could sense from this wooden牌 (pái, tablet),

that this was the aura that could only be left behind after at least three generations of serving the City God!

This was a genuine member of his own family.

Gou Xin also showed a look of唏嘘 (xīxū, sighing),

stood up,

and bowed to the City God,

saying:

"That is indeed the case."

The City God's face showed a loving expression.

He had actually seen the three people's拜服 (bàifú, bowing) to him before, and he had thought it was just假惺惺 (jiǎxīngxīng, hypocritical), but it turned out they were not forgetting their old master.

Alas,

for a time,

in the City God's eyes,

Gou Xin was a typical example of someone who was in Cao Ying but his heart was in Han. (idiom: outwardly compliant but secretly disloyal)

It was just a pity,

that after missing this opportunity to get rid of that Madam White,

his days would be numbered.

Thinking that he had lived so cautiously and carefully until now, but had come to this end, the City God felt a little regret. If he had known this, he would have been better off resisting with his other colleagues back then, and dying with the Netherworld, so he could have at least had a free and happy end.

Gou Xin's expression was calm.

In fact,

that wooden牌 (pái, tablet),

was something he was forced to buy by a tour guide when he was traveling in the snow mountains last year.

Of course,

he couldn't say this at this time.

Having good fortune is good,

but if you are a moron, no matter how good your fortune is, it won't be enough to save you.

The City God felt a little悵然 (chàngrán, melancholy) and唏嘘 (xīxū, sighing) in his heart.

When he looked at Gou Xin again,

he felt that no matter how he looked at him, he was pleasing to the eye.

Now that he was about to die,

he began to think about the things after his death.

Some things, some traditions,

would be cut off, which was really a pity.

With this thought,

his gaze became even more kind.

Gou Xin was still calm.

He had experienced similar things too many times,

so he had become indifferent,

or even numb.

Anyway,

the next thing would be nothing more than a scene of giving him benefits and leaving him with a legacy.

Oh dear, oh dear,

how sickening,

but he still had to pretend to be surprised and grateful to accept it.

How annoying!

At this time,

the old Daoist next to him saw that the yellow and dignified figure in front of him seemed to be hitting it off with the guest from the bookstore next to him, and the old Daoist was a little jealous.

This was still the City God of Tong City,

and if he was going to give benefits,

he should give them to his own boss!

His own boss was a proper ghost messenger of Tong City, so the fertile water shouldn't flow into other people's fields! (idiom: benefits should not go to outsiders)

The old Daoist's thoughts were very simple and pure. Since he was Boss Zhou's employee, he naturally had to fight for some benefits for his own boss.

Immediately, with a smile and a flattering attitude, he bowed to the City God,

saying:

"City God, my boss has always admired you very much. He often tells us that Tong City has always had good weather because of your kindness, and he always teaches us not to forget恩 (ēn, kindness) and to remember your protection.

Oh, right, my boss is a ghost messenger in Tong City."

The City God didn't pay any attention to the old Daoist at all.

He didn't take an ordinary ghost messenger to heart at all.

Eh,

the old Daoist saw that the City God didn't seem to feel anything,

and became a little anxious.

He couldn't let all the benefits go to an outsider, what was that all about? Fortunately, the old Daoist didn't have any other skills, but he was good at making connections.

If he pulled out all his distant relatives, he could always find some kind of relationship, right?

The old Daoist immediately continued:

"That, this ghost messenger is a good buddy that our boss just met!

They hit it off right away, that's why I brought them to the City God Temple, they are friends who share blessings and difficulties!"

The implication was,

that his boss had a good relationship with the person you valued,

so how about sharing the benefits?

The City God was still unmoved.

He was thinking about what to leave for Gou Xin that would be appropriate,

and he completely ignored the old Daoist's words.

The old Daoist became anxious, rolled his eyes, and immediately continued:

"Oh, do you know Madam White?

She used to be a temple god too, you should have met her, right?

She's also in our bookstore now,

her relationship with our boss is the same as this one's relationship with our boss,

they're really tight!"

The City God's expression changed instantly.

Even Gou Xin, who was peacefully waiting for benefits, was stunned for a moment.

The next moment,

the City God's hair stood on end in anger,

an angry aura raged out,

his eyes bloodshot as he pointed at Gou Xin standing in front of him.

Because of the way the old Daoist described it,

it caused the City God's thinking to go in another direction.

In his opinion,

Gou Xin was Madam White's man!

The better his impression of Gou Xin was before, the deeper his resentment was now!

The City God roared directly:

"Good, good, good!

You traitor,

you traitor!

I will risk everything today to destroy you!"

"..." Gou Xin.

"..." The old Daoist.