Gods of the Nation: You worship the God of Longevity, I worship the King of Hell!

Chapter 29: Spirit Capture and Command: A True Immortal Emerges from the Tent Building!

In just a few minutes, all the tenement buildings on the east side of Nanshan Community were blown up!

Lights came on one after another in every house, and hurried footsteps came from all directions, all rushing towards the same place.

"Hurry up!"

How could you do such a thing!

"Isn't this dragging down the whole neighborhood? That kid from the Lu family has absolutely no sense of public responsibility!"

Complaints and discussions rose and fell, eventually converging on the floor where Lu Chen's home was located.

The stairs were packed with people, and the room was even more crowded—a small space of fifty or sixty square meters, yet it was crammed with twenty or thirty people.

There are at least a hundred people inside and out!
In the living room, Mr. and Mrs. Lu looked embarrassed. Mrs. Lu would glare at Mr. Lu from time to time, blaming him for making such a big fuss.

Lu Wan was frightened by the scene and timidly hid behind her brother.

Lu Chen gently patted his sister's head, but a smile that no one could fathom was playing on his lips.

"You're still laughing!" Uncle Er couldn't help but scold, "You've already invited the King of Hell home, and you're still laughing!"

As one of the three senior men in charge of the Nanshan residential community, he is quite respected in the tenement building.

Whenever someone has a problem, they ask these three old men to mediate.

At this moment, the three old men sat upright on the living room sofa, their faces increasingly grim.

If something like this happens in our neighborhood, wouldn't people laugh their heads off if word got out?
In severe cases, the entire neighborhood may be ostracized by those around them, who may perceive the area as unclean.

"Tell me! Where did you get these two statues from?" An old man raised his cane and slammed it heavily on the ground, his face stern.

Lu Chen remained calm and composed: "Uncle, where do you think we can get one from? Of course, from the temple."

"A temple? Through legitimate channels?"

"if not?"

"Heh, Xiao Chen, don't think we old folks are senile," an old man sneered. "Everyone here knows how much it costs to invite a god from a temple. Where did you get so much money?"

"Exactly! One is the God of Wealth, and the other is the King of Hell. At market prices, just one would cost between 600,000 and 800,000! You've invited two at once and claim it's through legitimate channels? Who are you trying to fool!"

"Eight hundred thousand isn't enough! Someone like Jun Caishen, I think it should start at least at one million! Xiao Chen, it's not that Uncle Zhou looks down on your family, but if your family were really that rich, they would have moved out to live in a mansion long ago, instead of squeezing into this shabby tenement building with us?"

The neighbors started talking amongst themselves.

Just as Lu's mother was about to speak, Lu Chen stopped her with a look.

Lu Jianming looked at his son and wife with a puzzled expression.

Yeah, where would they get so much money?
Wasn't it only 15,000 yesterday?
The old man continued with a stern face: "Xiao Chen, I've always thought you were a sensible and good child. I assure you, this matter will only be resolved within our community. We old men always side with our own people, regardless of right or wrong. Even if you made a mistake, we'll definitely protect you if we can. No matter where you got this idol from, you must return this King of Hell!"

He paused, then looked around: "We absolutely will not allow such a malevolent spirit to return to our Nanshan community. This is for the good of the entire community. Because everyone living here is suffering, their luck is already bad, and if you bring him back, won't that just make everyone even more unlucky and miserable?"

"That's right! I feel a chill running through my body just standing in your house, and it makes me feel uncomfortable all over!"

"This kind of evil spirit is too taboo; how can we invite it into our home?"

"No wonder I felt something was off when I got home tonight. It turns out it was your family who caused this trouble. Xiao Chen, don't you think about yourself? Think about us too! What if someone in the neighborhood suffers a misfortune? Maybe it's because of this evil spirit!"

The neighbors became increasingly agitated and began to criticize.

An old man tapped the ground with his cane again, and the crowd quieted down.

The second and third uncles spoke one after the other.

Second Uncle: "Xiao Chen, did you understand what I said? We don't care where these statues came from, and we won't report them to the police. Of course, I'm also letting you know, anyone who dares to report it to the police privately and gets caught will face the consequences!"

The old man pushed up his glasses: "That's right. A neighborhood should be filled with love and mutual help; we should never stab each other in the back. Xiao Chen, take the statue back. If you insist on keeping it, well... what was that God of Wealth again?"

"You are the God of Wealth," Lu Chen reminded him.

"Yes, you can keep this God of Wealth, whom I've hardly heard of. But that Yama statue must be returned, no questions asked!"

The three elderly men and the neighbors all nodded emphatically. Seeing that everyone had finished speaking, Lu Chen stepped forward.

He did not immediately refute, but first bowed deeply to the three old men:
"Uncle, Uncle, Uncle, Uncle, thank you for your care. To be honest, I was quite touched by your saying 'help your relatives, not those in the right.' Over the years, although our Nanshan community has been a bit poor, with these three uncles in charge, everyone has been quite harmonious."

The three old men's expressions softened slightly, but they still maintained their sternness: "Alright, Xiao Chen, this is all our duty. Just give everyone a straight answer: when are you going to send this devil back? Can't you do it tomorrow?"

Lu Chen shook his head: "I'm sorry, sir, these two statues are indeed from the temple. As for where the money came from, I won't lie to you, it was obtained from the God of Wealth!"

"Xiao Chen, why are you so stubborn!" someone couldn't help but interject. "Your family couldn't even afford meat a few days ago, and your dad said he'd been eating vegetarian food for almost a month! Now you're telling us you have millions to buy a statue of a deity? Is your Lord of Wealth more powerful than Zhao the God of Wealth? Even if Zhao the God of Wealth were to bestow blessings, he couldn't possibly give so many at once!"

"that is!"

"Alright, shut up! Let him talk!" Uncle Er waved his hand again to stop the crowd's discussion.

Lu Chen paused for a moment, then continued, "As for the King of Hell, I just reached an agreement with Him that I will help the Underworld collect more incense offerings in the human world in the future. So it's even more impossible for me to send Him back, and it's simply impossible for me to send Him back."

"What did you say? You made a deal with the King of Hell?" The third uncle looked on in astonishment, turning to look at Lu Jianming. "Jianming, why don't you... take Xiaochen to the hospital tomorrow? If you don't have the money, we'll chip in. Listen to what he's saying! You're just a young punk, you have no power or influence, why would the King of Hell make a deal with you?"

"Yes, it's getting more and more outrageous!"

"I can testify, my son didn't lie!" Lu's mother finally couldn't hold back any longer and stood up. "Just before you arrived, my son was talking to the King of Hell. I was in the inner room at the time!"

“I’ll also testify for my brother!” Lu Wan timidly raised her little hand.

However, what he got in return was a collective burst of laughter from everyone.

You really don't believe me?

"Of course not!"

"Alright, since none of you believe me, I'll demonstrate it myself."

Lu Chen had been eager to try for a long time.

Talk is cheap; practice makes perfect!

He looked at the old man and said seriously, "Sir, what I am about to say may be a bit offensive, please forgive me."

An old man frowned slightly, puzzled.

Lu Chen took a deep breath and said, "If I remember correctly, Aunt Qiu has been gone for about half a year now..."

"You brat! Why are you bringing this up!" Upon hearing this topic, the second and third uncles stood up abruptly as if they had been electrocuted, their faces changing drastically.

They all immediately looked nervously at the old man.

The old man's surname was Qiu. The "Aunt Qiu" that Lu Chen mentioned was his most beloved youngest daughter, who passed away from illness six months ago.

It is said that the old man almost gave away all his wealth to save his daughter, spending every day in the temple praying for her life to continue. But in the end, he still couldn't avert the tragedy.

The greatest pain in life is for a parent to outlive their child.

From then on, the whole neighborhood noticed that the old man had become taciturn and his smile was no longer seen.

Everyone knew that "Aunt Qiu" had become a taboo topic, and no one dared to mention his daughter in front of the old man.

But now...

Immediately, everyone was furious, blaming Lu Chen for bringing up such a sensitive topic.

The old man's face, unsurprisingly, was extremely ugly, so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.

Lu Chen did not back down and looked him straight in the eye: "Uncle, if I said I could let you see Aunt Qiu one more time, would you like to see her?"

These words were like a thunderbolt, leaving everyone stunned on the spot.

The old man's pupils began to dilate, his mouth involuntarily agape, and he stood up shakily: "What...what did you say?!"

Lu Chen said firmly, "Right now, right here, I have a way to let you see Aunt Qiu!"

(End of this chapter)