Chapter 1 The Beginning

A year ago,

On the walls of the main city of the underworld,

Ying Gou suppressed and annihilated King Jiang of Chu,

Directly accelerating the disintegration of the Ten Kings of Hell system;

Subsequently, a massive upheaval occurred in the underworld. The Nine Attendants, who had been lying dormant for a long time, emerged and took over the order of the entire underworld. The sky of hell, in addition to an extra patch of blood-colored clouds, became especially ferocious and terrifying.

The final madness and sacrifice of the First Generation, the resistance and fall of King Tai Shan,

All of it felt as if it had happened just yesterday.

In fact,

Discounting the time he was unconscious,

It really felt like it had only happened yesterday.

Previously, he learned from Lawyer An that the yin and yang had been separated. Those who died this year, their souls could not enter the cycle of reincarnation in hell, and most of them were reduced to ashes.

This was a massacre without gunpowder,

But it was even crueler and more terrifying.

Even wars in the yang world only destroy you physically,

But here,

You are erased from your soul!

The ruthless attitude displayed by the new underworld from the very beginning was chilling.

Cruel as it was, cold as it was, Zhou Ze always felt that this shouldn't be the whole story.

The Bodhisattva had schemed for so long, the Nine Attendants had waited for so long. If it was just a change of flags on the city walls like the disappearance of the last emperor, why would they bother working so hard?

If it was just that simple, just that little ambition, wouldn't all the previous preparations be like taking off your pants to fart?

Right now,

Zhou Ze had sensed the real impact.

Some kind of order, some kind of rule, seemed to have triggered a chain reaction due to the changes in hell.

If the fall of the City God lineage was because they joined the resistance against the Ten Kings of Hell and suffered suppression from the underworld, which could be seen as having a cause and effect;

Then, in recent years, the “Land Gods,” “Mountain Gods,” and “Great Immortals” that Zhou Ze encountered,

Basically, none of them were doing well or living happily.

Even someone as free as the white fox only dared to open a club in the yang world to barely maintain the lives of herself and her fox descendants;

Someone as strong as the little boy could only hide in the cave, afraid to show his head for fear of being struck by lightning;

Everything showed that there was a kind of rule in this world that was carrying out restraint, or even suppression, or perhaps, it could be said… elimination.

The dishes below Xie Laosan's grave were a smokescreen. His signboard had been buried there for decades, but in the eyes of Lao Zhang, a professional criminal policeman, it looked very new.

A magical power was undergoing transformation and fermentation.

Zhou Ze used the term "becoming a spirit,"

Which accurately described the manifestation of this change.

Xie Laosan wouldn't harm people,

Because he died openly and uprightly,

Without exaggeration, he was a hero, a true man.

Even if such a person were to become a ghost, he would not bring disaster to living beings.

Throughout history, most of the mountain, river, and lake gods, as well as temple gods, their source of incense, their origin of existence, their origin of birth, were actually local "heroic figures."

There were heroes who resisted the Japanese pirates, martyrs who sacrificed themselves to control floods, filial sons and daughters whose filial piety moved the world, masters who taught and educated people, famous doctors who treated diseases and saved people with noble medical ethics…

After these people died, they could often receive spontaneous incense offerings from the local villagers;

They did not belong to the category of "evil spirits,"

After "becoming a spirit," they would also become guardians of the local area, protecting the local peace and prosperity.

Zhou Ze remembered that when he faced the "Green-Clothed Goddess," the Green-Clothed Goddess was already in a miserable state. The temple had been demolished, and the incense had long since withered.

It could be said that at that time, all the temple gods, whether they were officially conferred or considered licentious shrines in the eyes of the officials, were in a state of crumbling and precariousness.

You are broken, I am dead, he is gone;

No one needs to laugh at anyone else, we're all in the same boat.

But now,

Looking at this situation,

Xie Laosan would soon become the river god of this small river or the local Land God.

This was a new beginning, and at the same time, a new change.

As for whether this change was good or bad, and what kind of impact it would have on the overall situation…

Well,

Boss Zhou had never been particularly fond of considering such things as the overall situation.

Returning to Xie Laosan's grave, he didn't bring incense or candles, so he had Lao Zhang stick three cigarettes in the ground as a token gesture, after all, he had destroyed the man's tomb.

But Xie Laosan probably wouldn't be too angry. Anyway, your grave was already badly damaged, so I've basically saved you the demolition fee.

Zhou Ze didn't plan to take advantage of Xie Laosan. He had come here specifically to make a quick buck and collect a batch of underworld money, but now it seemed really inappropriate.

This was someone else's incense, someone else's merit, the prelude to someone else's upcoming transformation into a temple god or Land God. Boss Zhou would naturally not be afraid of him, but there was no need to do such an unprovoked thing as killing the chicken to get the eggs.

However,

Zhou Ze still pointed to the female ghost next to him,

And said:

"You don't need to go anywhere else, just stay here and watch the grave for him."

Seeing that Zhou Ze had finally issued an order to her and didn't plan to destroy her, the female ghost felt relieved, but obviously, she was unwilling to be left here to guard the grave.

She preferred that kind of free and unfettered life,

Seducing those men,

And at the same time,

Absorbing those men's vital essence!

Zhou Ze could naturally understand what the female ghost was thinking and said directly:

"You took his money, and he will probably become the local Land God soon. There has long been karma between you, even if you run away, you can't cut it off.

Instead of waiting for him to take shape and then come to settle the score with you,

You might as well have a better attitude and take the initiative to stay here to apologize.

If you can gain some favor,

It will also be of some benefit to you, and even, there is hope to resolve your current awkward status as a vengeful ghost.

Do you really think that the gates of hell will be permanently closed?

It's been a year,

How much longer do you think you can live freely?"

Those Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, and Great Immortals in myths and stories always have attendants, disciples, and so on, a whole bunch of people. What are they after? Isn't it just that when one person attains enlightenment, all their relatives and friends ascend to heaven?

This is the same principle as local officials using family connections to secure positions for their own people.

Hearing what Zhou Ze said, the female ghost reluctantly nodded.

Before leaving, Zhou Ze took one last look at the collapsed grave, sighed, and told Lao Zhang to drive away.

On the way,

Boss Zhou took out a bottle of mineral water from the car drawer, took a couple of sips, and said helplessly:

"What a wasted trip."

Lao Zhang nodded.

"By the way, Lao Zhang, I need you to do something."

"Boss, go ahead."

"When you have time, make a survey of our Tongcheng area, no, call Lao An along, and check which guys are about to get their permits.

We don't need to be afraid of them, but if we can build a good relationship with them before they hatch, our lives will be easier in the future."

Boss Zhou had always been "unambitious," but the bookstore and Tongcheng, where the bookstore was located, had always been regarded by Zhou Ze as his own territory.

Building relationships with those guys in advance was equivalent to having many more eyes and ears in the Tongcheng area in the future. Why not do it?

Anyway, An Buqi was very clear about this.

"The Mountain Gods, River Gods, and Land Gods are all coming back out, right, Boss?"

Lao Zhang asked at this time.

"More or less, the rules have changed a bit. The ones who were suppressed and forbidden in the past are now starting to reappear."

This reminded Zhou Ze of Zhao Zhongxiang's classic line: This is the season of rejuvenation, and the animals are starting to mate…

"So, is that good or bad?"

"I'm not sure either."

"Will the Kitchen God come back too?"

"Kitchen God?"

"Remember the nursery rhyme from when I was a kid, 'Report good things to heaven, and protect peace in the lower world.' I remember that we used to put paste on the Kitchen God's mouth on that day, but now we don't have that custom anymore, it's been a long, long time."

Hearing this, Zhou Ze's mind suddenly stirred.

He suddenly thought of something,

That is, if the changes in hell, leading to changes in the yin and yang order, with the increase in vengeful ghosts, were only the outer manifestations, then further, the resurgence of beings like the Land Gods, who had been nearly extinct,

Then,

What is the essence and the ultimate direction?

Sitting in the passenger seat, Zhou Ze's gaze began to move upwards continuously,

Moving up to the sky, seeing the moon in the sky.

The ultimate change,

Is it "immortality"?