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

Chapter 81 I—Want—To—Worship—the—God of—Plague!
"You brat, who are you calling godfather?!"

The King of Hell spat out a sound.

However, the voice trailed off, then suddenly turned icy cold: "Who wants to touch you? Who dares to touch you! Quickly tell me, your father... no, tell this great king!"

Lu Chen felt a surge of joy, but his face remained pained.

"Godfather, I have recently encountered a difficult problem that can only be solved by your help!"

"Hurry up and say it!"

Seeing that the time was right, Lu Chen recounted Madam Zheng's ordeal in detail, even omitting parts of his conversation with his brother.

"A murderous intent from the heavens?!"

The King of Hell's voice immediately lowered by three degrees, "You brat, of all people to mess with, you had to provoke this one!"

"Godfather, it's too late to say all this now. I've accepted the mission and met the person. There's no time to back out."

After a moment of silence, Yama sighed, "Fine, let me see for myself first."

"See?"

The next instant, a black light shot out from the phantom of Yama, circled around Lu Chen twice, and then suddenly withdrew.

The King of Hell smacked his lips and said, "So that's how it is... Looking at these lesions, they are indeed the work of the Plague Department."

"As expected, it's the Plague Department..."

Actually, between the "pimple area" and the "plague area", Lu Chen already preferred the latter.

"Hmph, this time your brother in the Heavenly Court has some insight. He knows that this matter is beyond his control, so he specially sent you to find me."

King Yama chuckled smugly: "Speaking of which, you call him elder brother and me godfather, according to seniority..."

Lu Chen coughed lightly to interrupt: "Your Majesty, be careful what you say, for Heaven has ears."

Yama:"……"

"Ahem, enough of that, let's get back to the point. Boy, if it's in my opinion, I agree with the God of Wealth; you shouldn't interfere in this matter. The karmic consequences of such a murderous intent are too heavy; why wade into this mess?"

“Your Majesty, saving a life is an immeasurable act of merit. If Lady Zheng's lifespan had already ended, I would not force her. But to die so unjustly, to let such a kind person end up like this, is unacceptable both morally and logically. Moreover, the Underworld has always rewarded the good and punished the evil, and Your Majesty's wisdom is witnessed by all three realms. As the mighty and virtuous General of the Underworld, I must be both mighty and virtuous; how can I sit idly by?”

"What a sharp-tongued brat!" King Yama laughed and scolded. "Fine, let me see what this Madam Zheng's background is. What is her name?"

"Zhang Hui".

Lu Chen remembered the information in the document.

In an instant, the phantom of the Book of Life and Death appeared before the phantom of Yama, with the sound of pages turning incessantly.

Sudden stop.

"So that's how it is..." King Yama suddenly realized, "According to the Book of Life and Death, Madam Zheng's lifespan was far from over. She was sixty-one years old this year and should have lived for another forty years. She did good deeds and accumulated virtues throughout her life, and was a virtuous person who was one in a million. Wait, she was actually a virtuous person for nine lifetimes! No wonder she was blessed with great fortune and immeasurable merit! It is truly... lamentable that such a person was killed by Heaven."

"She's a saint who's been virtuous for nine lifetimes?" Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat. "Your Majesty, if we don't save her, it's absolutely outrageous!"

"No rush, allow me to consider..."

The phantom of Yama froze for a moment before swaying again.

"This matter is difficult to handle..."

Lu Chen's lips twitched.

"How about I guarantee another ten thousand pilgrims from the underworld?"

At this rate, let alone ten thousand, one hundred thousand, or even one million is only a matter of time.

Little did he know that the King of Hell had foreseen his prediction.

"The number of pilgrims to the Underworld is growing rapidly, and it's only a matter of time before it reaches ten thousand."

"That old fox!" Lu Chen cursed inwardly, then revealed his trump card: "One million ghost coins!"

"Hmm~ That's interesting."

"five million!"

"Not bad."

"Ten million!!!"

"You silly child! Talking about money between us makes things awkward. Alright, alright, let's just leave it at that, let's make some plans~"

"..."

But Yama's expression hardened, and he said in a deep voice, "The one who tied the knot must untie it. We must find the deity of the Plague Department to resolve this calamity, otherwise seeking help from all the gods will be in vain. Coincidentally, I do have some connections with the deities of the Plague Department, and your brother is right about that."

At this point, Yama suddenly snorted coldly: "Just thinking about this makes me angry. They are high and mighty, living a carefree life, while my Underworld and the Plague Department and Smallpox Department, though both righteous gods, suffer much criticism and are treated very differently! Whenever I think about this, it makes me truly indignant!"

"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. Let's sort out the matter at hand first."

"What's the rush? At worst, I'll personally go to the Plague Department and see if I can find a way to turn things around."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen's eyes lit up, and he immediately bowed and said, "Your son thanks you in advance, Godfather! May I ask which Plague God you are looking for? Could it be... the Plague Emperor?"

“You brat, stop talking nonsense! The Plague Emperor is a supreme being, how could I possibly be worthy of his name! The ones who have a close personal relationship with me are a few of his plague-spreading messengers.”

"Uh……"

My old Yama has completely lost his prestige.

Only then did the plague messenger arrive.

At least his elder brother, the God of Wealth, is someone who can directly seek out the Water Deity Star Lord.

But upon closer reflection, it makes sense.

According to the Heavenly Court's ranking system, Yama is only a fourth-rank official, while the Plague Emperor, despite his bad reputation, is a powerful third-rank deity, on par with the Water Deity Star Lord, and commands a department, making him half a rank higher than the God of Wealth.

"In that case, Your Majesty, I implore you to make this trip for me, it's truly urgent!"

"Don't rush me, I have some instructions to give you."

"Your Majesty, please speak." "Since you are seeking a favor from them, you must make offerings to the deities of the Plague Department. Therefore, you must consider what you can offer. Secondly, even if I go, I have less than a 20% chance of success. The deities of the Plague Department and the Smallpox Department are different from the other six departments; their personalities are quite eccentric. They might be all smiles and gentle breezes one second, and thunder and lightning the next. Furthermore, unlike the other six departments, they don't really need incense offerings. Of course, if you have the ability to make their incense burn as brightly as the other six departments' main deities, then disregard what I said."

Therefore, you must be careful and not make things up.

Otherwise, if the deity of the Plague Department becomes displeased, your life might not be spared.

"Understood!" Lu Chen nodded solemnly. "I wonder which plague god I should worship?"

"Wait for my message. If there is a reply, I will send it to you through the Yama's Decree!"

"Yes! Respectfully seeing off Godfather!"

"You brat, you're always so quick to call me 'godfather' when you need a favor!"

With a cold snort, the phantom of Yama gradually dissipated, and the surroundings returned to normal.

Lu Chen breathed a long sigh of relief.

Now the "God of the Cold Stove" is truly welded to himself.

They've all started worshipping the God of Plague.

What else is there to say?
What else can I say?!

Not knowing when the King of Hell would send his letter, Lu Chen simply straightened his clothes, pushed open the door, and walked into the living room.

"Out!"

When Zheng Changguo and the others saw Lu Chen appear, they immediately surrounded him.

Yu Feng rushed forward: "How is it?"

Zheng Changguo and Secretary Fan looked at each other intently, their eyes filled with anticipation.

Lu Chen smiled and said, "We've made some progress, but we still need to wait for news."

"Waiting for news? Whose news? Who did you call?"

"I'm not making a phone call, I'm waiting for news from the King of Hell."

"Yama?!"

The three of them gasped in shock.

Yu Feng suddenly realized: "You brought the statue of Yama (the King of Hell) with you?"

"Yes...it's correct!"

"No wonder you lingered indoors for so long... What instructions does the King of Hell have?"

"Let me wait for news." Lu Chen didn't reveal much. "However, if it succeeds, the next step is to worship another deity!"

"Whom do you worship?!"

Lu Chen spoke each word clearly and forcefully: "I—want—to—worship—the—god of plague!"

Wow! !

Like a bolt from the blue!
The three men, including Yu Feng, were stunned by the instant chop.

"You...you really want to worship the god of plague?!"

Yu Feng and Secretary Fan's mouths were so wide open that they could almost fit an egg.

"The one who tied the knot must untie it. Since this is a divinely ordained killing intent from the Plague Department, who else should we worship but the Plague God? Besides, haven't you worshipped everyone you can? What good has it done? So..."

Lu Chen said firmly, "I'll worship the gods you worship! I'll also worship the gods you don't worship! It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat!"

As soon as these words came out.

Zheng Changguo and the other two were deeply shocked and speechless.

"This is bizarre! This kid is truly bizarre!"

Yu Feng stared intently at Lu Chen, his heart filled with turmoil.

……

Heavenly Court, Nine Dragon Palace.

【Plague Department】The Daoist Temple of the Great Emperor of Plague.

Although it is located in the heavenly court, there is no magnificent or resplendent appearance here.

The walls were built of black iron, and the pillars of ebony.

The beams and pillars are carved with patterns of snakes and plague, and poisonous miasma hangs like silk around the eaves.

The low tolling of the plague bell replaced the celestial music; plague beasts lay prostrate before the steps, their ghostly eyes gleaming.

It was completely different from the auspicious atmosphere of the Heavenly Court.

Suddenly, a figure flashed, and the King of Hell appeared before the hall.

"Who dares to trespass into the Nine Dragons Palace!"

The temple's guardian attendants immediately blocked their way with their halberds.

Upon seeing that it was Yama, the King of Hell, he immediately sheathed his halberd and bowed.
"It was Yama, the King of the Underworld, who has come to pay his respects. I have been impolite."

"It's alright. Is Lord Zhou, the Plague Envoy from the East, here?"

"Your Majesty, Lord Zhou is out. Lord Zhu, the Plague Envoy of the West, is in the palace."

"You may seek Him."

Yama, the King of Hell, flashed again and arrived before the Western Plague Envoy's Hall, laughing heartily as he pushed open the door and entered:

"Brother Zhu!"

Inside the hall, the immortal in black robes turned around. His long hair flowed over his shoulders, his eyes were dark red, and his demeanor was stern yet contained a smile.
"It turns out that King Yama has arrived, and I was unable to greet him from afar. Please forgive me."

(End of this chapter)