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

Chapter 96 Departure from the Ghost City! I'm going to snatch Madam Zheng's soul back!!
"lead!!"

Secretary Fan's voice and footsteps arrived at the door almost simultaneously.

But when he saw the scene inside the room, he froze instantly, his pupils shrinking.

—A ghost messenger?!

How did they get here?!
At that moment, Lu Chen felt a loud "buzz" in his head.

"died?"

He suddenly turned his head to look at the bed.

Madam Zheng remained motionless, yet there was indeed a pool of bright red blood on the bed sheet.

"Madam!!!" Secretary Fan's gaze swept over as well, and he let out a mournful cry. His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

Lu Chen rushed to the window, his finger about to probe the airway.

Fan Rusong, standing behind him, spoke in a deep voice: "General, he is indeed dead. His soul has been taken away."

Lu Chen's temples were bulging with veins, and his fists were clenched so tightly they cracked.

"Damn it! Damn it!!! That damned Plague Emperor!!!"

Enraged, he no longer held back and began to hurl insults.

With a flash of light, the Qilin Blade and Teng Yunmu were already in his hands.

Lu Chen immediately decided to make a statue to communicate with the gods and question that treacherous old man!
The promised seven days!
Why demand a life before the deadline has passed?
Does being a deity give you the right to act so recklessly and treat human life like dirt?!

Moreover, there was a promise made beforehand!
What kind of god is this?!
"General, no!" Fan Rusong hurriedly pressed down on his hand that was casting the spell. "Calm down, there's still a chance!"

These words were like ice water poured over my head.

Lu Chen's mind raced, and he immediately activated the [Pure Water] supernatural power.

A cool sensation flowed through his body, forcefully calming his surging anger, and reason quickly returned.

He took a deep breath, his eyes sharp: "You want me to go find King Yama?"

Fan Rusong shook his head: "No, it's too late to create a divine image now."

She turned to Zheng Changguo, who was slumped on the ground, seemingly lost in thought: "Lord Zheng, how long has it been since Madam passed away?"

Zheng Changguo's eyes were vacant, and he showed no reaction.

Secretary Fan, suppressing his grief, answered on his behalf, "About... ten minutes. When I went to pick up Mr. Lu, he was perfectly fine..."

"Ten or twenty minutes, Your Majesty! We have less than an hour to retrieve the Lady's soul!" Fan Rusong spoke rapidly.

These words struck Zheng Changguo like a thunderbolt, jolting him back to his senses. He staggered to his feet, exclaiming, "You...you mean, my wife's soul can return?!"

Lu Chen remained calm: "Explain exactly how to do it."

Fan Rusong explained, "After a person dies, their soul is guided by the Black and White Impermanence, but it doesn't go directly to the underworld. It must first be registered at the local City God Temple before it can enter the underworld. There is about an hour's gap during this process. As long as we intercept the soul before Madam Zheng's name is entered into the register, we will have a chance to return to the living world!"

Lu Chen's pupils contracted: "That's it? You can revive someone just by taking them back?"

Xie Qingyi replied, "General, ordinary people certainly won't do it, but if we, the four great underworld messengers, work together, we might be able to give it a try!"

"Exactly!" Ox-Head and Horse-Face echoed in unison.

Lu Chen suddenly realized something: "This... will probably come at a high price for you, won't it?"

Fan Rusong nodded and said frankly, "It will indeed violate the laws of the underworld, but..."

She looked at the other three underworld officials, and their eyes met. All four nodded firmly.

"Wow--"

The four underworld messengers knelt on one knee in unison, clasped their fists and shouted: "Your subordinates are willing to serve as generals, and will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Lu Chen's heart trembled violently. At this moment, he was deeply moved and a warm current flowed through his heart.

Although they are underworld officials, these four are more compassionate and righteous than mortals.

Overwhelmed with emotion, he helped the four underworld messengers to their feet one by one, and declared firmly, "Very well! I, Lu Chen, will remember your kindness today! As long as I live, I will protect you all! Afterwards, I will even kneel before King Yama to beg him to spare you from punishment!"

"Thank you, General!" Fan Rusong's eyes were slightly red. "There's no time to lose, General. Let's set off immediately!"

"Go!" Lu Chen turned and left. As he reached the door, he glanced back coldly at Zheng Changguo lying on the ground: "You'd better stay put until I get back! I'll snatch Madam Zheng's soul. But if you want to die, I'll stop you once, but not a second time!"

After saying that, he ignored the two of them and stormed out the door.

"Mr. Lu!!"

Behind him came Zheng Changguo's heart-wrenching cries and the dull thud of his forehead hitting the floor: "Please! Please!!!"

……

In Qianjiang City, the city lights are just coming on and the sky is gradually darkening. (PS: When I communicated with the Plague Emperor earlier, it was around 10 a.m., which, if we go back 15 hours, would be around 7 p.m.)
Lu Chen drove his car, weaving wildly through traffic and constantly overtaking other vehicles.

"Where to go first?"

"The City God Temple! Only by passing through the City God Temple in the mortal world can one enter 'City God Street'!"

Lu Chen quickly searched for the location of the City God Temple on the map.

Unlike many private temples, City God Temples are special entities, usually built and managed by local governments.

This is because the City God has a special duty.

He is the deity who protects a city, and the local god of justice and yin-yang.

They not only protect the territory and its people, bestow blessings and ward off disasters, but also maintain close ties with the underworld.

It has a complete system under its command, including judges, black and white impermanence, day and night wandering gods, and ghost soldiers and ghost generals.

Although they were granted titles by the Heavenly Court, they were also under the jurisdiction of the Underworld, making them one of the few deities who spanned both the Heavenly Court and the Underworld systems.

Of course, there are different ranks of City Gods.

Based on their previous lives, they can be divided into: City God of the Capital, City God of the Prefecture, City God of the State, and City God of the County.

I just don't know where it is here...

Taking advantage of a break in the drive, Lu Chen asked, "Xiao Ru, are there different ranks among the City Gods?"

Fan Rusong: "General, that is indeed the case. The highest-ranking official is the City God of the Capital, followed by the City God of the Prefecture..."

Sure enough.

Although the City Gods are under the jurisdiction of the Underworld, the highest-ranking City God, the Capital City God, holds a position comparable to, or even slightly higher than, the Ten Kings of Hell, and is directly under the jurisdiction of the Fengdu Emperor.

The City God, a rank below the Prefectural City God, is not much less powerful than the Ten Kings of Hell. Both are regional governors.

Strictly speaking, he is only half a body length away from the Ten Kings of Hell.

They are also great deities in the true sense.

"So, which level of city god does the City God of Qianjiang City belong to? Is it a prefectural city god or a state city god?"

"Reporting to the General, this is the City God of the Prefecture. This place is the capital of Jiang Province, so the City God here governs all the City Gods of the province."

Lu Chen took a breath: "If that's the case, things are probably not that simple."

It was clearly no easy task to retrieve Madam Zheng's soul from the hands of a city god.

"Xiaoru, what should we do next? Forcibly seize it? Or can we follow proper procedures?"

Fan Rusong pondered for a moment and said, "General, if we follow the normal procedures, I'm afraid... this path will not be viable."

"Understood, then let's just rob it!"

"It would be difficult to seize it by force. The city god of the prefecture has a strong and well-equipped army. Not to mention the judges, even the day and night patrol gods would be enough to give us a hard time."

My idea is that after entering Chenghuang Street, we should first go to the Soul Collection Office to find Madam Zheng's soul. Then... General, you can try to negotiate with the judge on duty, offering him ghost money as a bribe to make an exception and allow us to take the soul away.

After all, this is a prefecture with many new souls every day. One more or one less is all that matters, as long as the bribes are handled properly..."

Fan Rusong didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

Lu Chen understood immediately: "Understood!"

A flash of light appeared in his hand, and a stack of "big silver" appeared. With a flick of his wrist, it transformed into a thick wad of ghost money.

"I left in a hurry this time and didn't bring much. Here is one million ghost money. Xiaoru, the four of you take 100,000 each. The remaining 600,000 should be enough to buy back Madam Zheng's soul, given the current inflation rate."

"General, this... is too much!"

"Not much! I told you I wouldn't treat you unfairly. Here's a mere 100,000!"

"Yes! Thank you, General!" The four underworld messengers accepted the ghost money with great gratitude.

Fan Rusong continued, "As long as the judge nods, we will immediately take Madam Zheng's soul away from Chenghuang Street. At that time, the four of us will use the soul-soothing secret technique to return the soul to its place. The general will then have enough time to make an image to communicate with the gods, inform Yama, and ask Him to negotiate with the City God."

I imagine the City God would grant me this favor.

After all, Madam Zheng was a virtuous woman who had lived nine lifetimes and had accumulated immeasurable merits. Moreover, her lifespan was not yet over, and even though Heaven is ruthless, it is not without compassion.

They should allow it.

“Okay! Let’s do it this way!” Lu Chen nodded emphatically.

About half an hour later, the vehicle arrived at the City God Temple.

As the site of the City God Temple, Jiangxi Province is also a nationally renowned super-economic powerhouse.

Although this City God Temple is not as luxurious as some private temples, it is still magnificent and has a thriving incense offering.

It was already dark, but worshippers continued to come and go in front of the temple, praying for peace.

Lu Chen parked the car.

"General, please go into the temple to offer incense first, so that you may absorb some of the City God's aura, which will make things easier for you later."

Lu Chen nodded: "And you guys?"

"We cannot go inside, so we will wait here for the general."

"it is good!"

Lu Chen strode into the temple, lit an incense stick, bowed respectfully three times before the statue of the City God, inserted the incense into the burner, and then turned and left.

"General, please come with us."

The four underworld messengers led Lu Chen to a large tree behind the temple.

The tree was covered in lush foliage, exuding a faintly eerie atmosphere.

"This is... a cypress tree?"

"That's right. The cypress tree is a tree that connects the yin and yang realms."

Lu Chen nodded upon hearing this; indeed, cypress trees do have this effect.

It seems that this is the entrance to "Chenghuang Street".

With a flick of his sleeve, Fan Rusong caused ripples to spread across the trunk of the cypress tree, revealing a sinister, ghostly aura.

Seeing that the "door" was open, Lu Chen was about to step inside.

"General, you mustn't!" Fan Rusong and Xie Qingyi hurriedly grabbed him at the same time.

"What's wrong?" Lu Chen asked, puzzled.

Fan Rusong chuckled: "Your yang energy is so intense, if I were to enter directly, at best it would shorten your lifespan, at worst... it would endanger your life!"

"Is it that serious? What should I do?" Lu Chen reluctantly withdrew his foot.

Fan Rusong and Xie Qingyi exchanged a glance, and a faint blush appeared on their cheeks at the same time.

Lu Chen frowned: "What's wrong?"

Fan Rusong looked slightly embarrassed and stammered, "If the general wants to go in, he must first... perform a ritual to ward off evil spirits..."

"Crossing the Yin?" Lu Chen was taken aback, then his pupils contracted as if he had realized something: "It can't be..."

Xie Qingyi twirled her fingers together and whispered, "Yes, we must transfer the Yin energy to the general..."

　Let me explain the plot regarding the Empress.

　　I saw some people say they didn't quite understand it.

　　First: The first time the level of the Heavenly Killing Intent was revealed was when Jun Caishen said: "It has to be you, but Heaven will not allow it."

　　The second clue: Yama sought help from the Plague Envoys, but both Plague Envoys showed hostility. Moreover, Li Qi, the Plague Envoy from the South, explicitly stated that the quota for killing by Heaven was personally selected by the Plague Emperor.

　　The third clue is that after the Plague Emperor placed the bet, during his conversation with the Plague Prince, he first mentioned the Empress. The Plague Prince asked how to explain this to the Empress, and the Plague Emperor replied that he knew what to do.

　　The fourth clue is from the previous chapter: the Plague Emperor revealed that the quota was actually ordered by the Empress, and he was just the one who did the work. At this point, the root of the Heavenly Killing Intent was completely exposed.

　　As for who this "Empress" is, we cannot reveal it based on the current plot. However, you can guess that there are only a few people who can be addressed as "Empress" by the Plague Emperor, one of the Eight Great Gods.

　　I've written half of the second update, but there's a part that doesn't feel quite right, so I'm working on it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)