Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

Formal case handling is different from simply telling a story. This time, Xi Fangping not only has to explain his own experiences, but also details such as how he made enemies in the past and his life story with his father.

The fact that Yama and the City God accepted bribes is no small matter. Xi Fangping was invited to another place for a detailed discussion. The Ninth Prince invited Juan Shoutian and Yuan Wuxiang to sit down. After the trial results are released, they will go directly to the Underworld to confront Yama.

Through conversation, the Ninth Prince learned that in the other party's place, there were many similar stories and legends, and the classics of the three religions were also very similar. He also heard many familiar names. In terms of folk beliefs and the system of the three religions, the cultural differences between the two sides were actually not that great.

But in this world that is both similar and dissimilar, a kind of innate talent he had never heard of was born, forming a different system of martial arts cultivation.

Moreover, according to the other party, there was no stable dynasty there that could govern the majority of the people. It was basically a collection of autonomous regimes under the three religions that governed a portion of the people, as well as various ethnic groups and scattered forces.

It's unbelievable that such a vast place, with so many extraordinary experts, could have such a fragmented ruling class and never seen a stable, unified dynasty emerge.

Such a rich and turbulent place, it truly is a magical place.

"You two call that place a place of suffering. I wonder where the word 'suffering' comes from?"

"Because it is not a single world, but mainly consists of four realms: suffering, origination, cessation, and the path, as well as various interconnected alternate dimensions."

"Suffering, its cause, its cessation, the path...the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism..."

The Ninth Prince fell into deep thought. Although they were seemingly worlds apart, he found common cultural elements in various details. This feeling was very strange, as if he saw his own place change at a certain point, resulting in a completely new and different future.

This is truly a world within a flower. If it weren't for his status, the Ninth Prince would really like to go there and see for himself.

The two people beside him only saw the Ninth Prince deep in thought, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. They didn't know what he was thinking. If they had known that he still wanted to go to the Bitter Realm, they would have tried to persuade him to leave. Putting aside the Ninth Prince's status, a deity of his level already had the qualifications to break through the world barrier and leave. Whether he could leave or not depended on whether the Heavenly Dao agreed.

That place is off-limits. The Ninth Prince isn't a celestial being; he's a deity. Compared to encountering a special fate in the Bitter Realm, he's more likely to meet the gods in heaven. There are only a handful of named gods in the Bitter Realm, and none of them are easy to deal with. If the Ninth Prince goes there, he'll be walking into the lion's den.

“When we first arrived, a friend told us that people in the East Sea Dragon Palace also have matters to discuss with Yama, the King of Hell. I wonder if this has anything to do with bribery of officials in the underworld.”

"A wrongful case in the underworld has also occurred in the East China Sea?"

Hearing this, the Ninth Prince pulled his wandering thoughts back. The Dragon Palace and Xi Fangping cannot be treated the same. Xi Fangping is just an ordinary citizen with no power or money. He is easy to bully. If the people of the Dragon Palace were treated like this, the Dragon King of the East Sea would have complained to the heavens long ago.

Moreover, it's already embarrassing enough that Xi Fangping's affair has been laughed at by outsiders. What, does the underworld want to be embarrassed twice more?

"The matter of the East Sea is even more complicated. My friend didn't say it explicitly, but it is indeed inextricably linked to the underworld."

"...This underworld really needs a cleanup."

……

"Is there anything inconvenient? Please feel free to tell me."

The Third Prince stood outside the Yama's Palace, never expecting that the other side would actually dare to block his way.

"My dragon clan has suffered the loss of members and the death of divine beasts, and there is still no news of their souls. I've only come to inquire whether they have been safely reincarnated. Is this not even convenient?"

As soon as he entered the underworld, the Third Prince sensed something was wrong. He had good hearing and could hear some gossip. Many people died violently because of those two outsiders, and a large number of souls went to the underworld at the wrong time. He thought the people in the underworld would discuss these things, after all, there were dragon relatives like the Pig Dragon among the victims.

He listened carefully for a while and found that the people talking about the roadside weren't talking about any special ghosts from the underworld, but rather about a living person named Xi Fangping. He said that Xi Fangping had come to the underworld to complain to the City God, but no one knew what happened to him in the end.

Third Prince: What kind of nonsense is this? How can an ordinary living person come to the underworld? And what kind of connection could a mortal have with the City God, and how could he come here to file a complaint against the City God?

Listening to the slightly strange fragments of words, the Third Prince couldn't help but recall what Liu Qingyuan had told him before he went to the Underworld: that the Underworld had become so corrupt that it had "risen to its zenith." Immediately afterward, he was stopped by the ghost messengers, which made the Third Prince even more irritable. He wished he could breathe fire on the spot and burn the ghost messengers blocking his way.

Liu Qingyuan and the others walked at the back of the group. While the Third Prince was putting pressure on the ghost messengers, Ling Ziling began to calculate. In this situation, the most useful thing should be Jian Feidao's Chongming Eye, but the light from his eyes was too obvious and easy to be detected, so she let Ling Ziling do it first.

Before releasing Shou Wanjie, Liu Qingyuan always thought that there was only one group of people causing trouble in the underworld. However, after Shou Wanjie infiltrated the enemy's ranks, he discovered that the East Sea and the capital were two separate groups, and there was some hostility between them.

Regardless of whether it was the two executioners in the East Sea or the two in the capital who used scholars as a tool for their schemes, they both made moves in the underworld, which means there were two groups of people in the underworld as well.

Liu Qingyuan: How many are there? They're like cockroaches, you can't find them all.

"how?"

The suggestion to give the enemy the Ten Thousand Calamities was to let them run away, but it is unknown whether it has been implemented. The boundary between the Yin and Yang worlds is difficult to define and not easy to cross. Whether leaving or entering, it takes time.

People like Liu Qingyuan hitched a ride to the Dragon Palace to find the entrance to the underworld. Although their disguises were unique, they were at least living people, so they probably wouldn't be able to find their way in the underworld.

He didn't know what methods the enemy used to stay in the underworld for so long. He suspected that these people didn't choose to have even more extraordinary combat power, probably because the benefits of their illegal gains were limited, and they might have put more energy into these "crooked paths".

"Found it, but there's only one."

"where?"

"An inn by the roadside."

In the underworld, there's a tavern or inn where ghosts rest. It operates much like the one in the mortal world, but being in an inn means you're not in the King of Hell's palace.

Liu Qingyuan walked to the front, interrupting the Third Prince's reprimand of the ghost messengers at the gate, and pulled him to the back of the line.

"Does the immortal have a hairstyle?"

The Third Prince knew that the other party wouldn't interrupt him for no reason. Ever since they entered the underworld, these three had been walking at the very back. The Third Prince guessed that they had discovered something.

Liu Qingyuan first glanced back at the ghost guards at the gate. Seeing that someone had stopped the argument and pulled the person away to bring peace, the ghost guards were curious and peered out to see who could have pulled the Third Prince away. When Liu Qingyuan turned around, they met eyes, which startled the ghost guards.

Perhaps due to their distinctive appearance, the three ghost generals around them mistook them for members of the Dragon Palace. Even though the three of them wore what appeared to be Taoist decorations, no one thought they were simply Taoist cultivators, because it was rare for living Taoists to enter the underworld, and they were practically never seen.

"Lingling found one, but he's not in the Underworld."

If the two who listened to the advice and ran away, the remaining one must be on the same side as Donghai, tampering with the victims' bodies so that they don't even have the chance to reveal the killer's true identity to their relatives and friends in their dreams.

In this way, that guy was probably very afraid that the Dragon Palace would come knocking on their door, so Liu Qingyuan hoped that the Third Prince would continue to attract attention here while they went to arrest the person.

"...Thank you for your help, immortals."

The Third Prince thought about it and decided that this was feasible. However, the person who did the tampering had to be caught, and the strange attitude of the King of Hell also needed to be investigated. Why was the Dragon Palace being refused entry? Was it because they had a guilty conscience, or was there another reason?

In a certain inn in the underworld, a ghost dressed as a ghost messenger is grabbing a person by the collar and questioning them.

"How did people from the Dragon Palace end up in the underworld? You clearly said you could guarantee that nothing would be discovered!"

The ghost messenger who spoke was named Zhang Huaiyu, one of the soul-collecting messengers of the underworld. It was he who, out of greed, accepted bribes and, along with three other colleagues, specifically contacted illegal travelers from the East Sea. Once the target was killed, Zhang Huaiyu would go and collect the soul.

Because they are soul-reaping messengers, it is their duty to bring the souls of the dead back to the underworld. Therefore, they have a lot of room to manipulate the time and cause of death. As long as they collude with other ghost messengers and say that these people were not good people in life, they can lock them up directly and prevent them from appearing in front of the King of Hell and the judges. Naturally, they will have no room to appeal their grievances.

Xi Fangping's father was also imprisoned in the same way, but he had a premonition and used his last breath to tell the truth. If he hadn't done so, Xi Fangping would never have known that his father would suffer in prison after his death.

This practice of acting first and reporting later is very common among ghost messengers. With so many people dying and so many ghosts being interrogated every day, even if the superiors are the most impartial, it is difficult to conduct a thorough review of every single detail. Therefore, it is exceptionally easy to carry out this practice.

The group from Donghai took advantage of the ease with which the Soul Reapers could be manipulated, which is why they bribed the four Soul Reapers led by Zhang Huaiyu. The four of them cooperated with each other, which is why they were able to keep their scheme a secret.

Zhang Huaiyu had helped them capture so many souls who had died violently, so he naturally knew that the other side had never done anything good. Many of them were even monsters and divine beasts with some reputation. If they hadn't been prepared in advance, they wouldn't have been able to capture guys of this level.

This was extremely dangerous, but the other party offered too much. The salary of a ghost messenger was not much, and most ghost messengers who lived comfortably relied on accepting bribes and taking advantage of the situation. In addition, the two from Donghai were indeed capable, so Zhang Huaiyu and the other three continued to work there, living a very comfortable life.

But today, he saw the Third Prince of the East Sea arrive with his men. What circumstances could possibly lead the Dragon King of the East Sea's men to the underworld? Of course, it could only be those who had come to the East Sea to find the murderer.

These soul-reaping messengers may seem to have a lot of power, but they actually operate in a clandestine manner. The ghost messengers all know this, and few of them are truly clean-handed. They help each other cover for each other, and since they are all connected by blood, no one wants to expose them.

But if someone were to bring this matter up in the open, even if it weren't for the King of Hell, or even just a hint from the judge, they would be helpless and have no choice but to wait for death.

"How would I know? We haven't heard from Donghai in a long time. I wonder what those two guys are up to."

Those being held captive by Zhang Huaiyu were also puzzled. It was inconvenient to transmit messages between the underworld and the living world, but they wanted to deal with the souls of the dead as soon as possible. So they set up a memorial tablet for Zhang Huaiyu. Many times, Zhang Huaiyu would receive the message first and go directly to take the victim's soul away.

This is also why he's anxious. If the two from Donghai have already been arrested, the memorial tablet used for communication must have been found long ago, with names and surnames. Even if he doesn't want to confess, it's useless.

However, this direct communication that bypasses intermediaries creates a major drawback: the information from the three parties is misaligned. The East Sea's bypassing of the intermediary causes the intermediary to be out of touch with the information, and he doesn't even know that his companion has been captured. Zhang Huaiyu can receive the letter the fastest, but he is just a bribed soul-reaping messenger and it's impossible for him to know anything about time travelers.

As a result, their companions in the mortal realm had already been arrested, and the investigation was almost complete, while those in the underworld were still anxiously wondering why there was still no news from the other side.

"Last time they said the East China Sea was no longer safe and they needed to move their base, how long has it been? Why haven't we heard anything about it yet?"

"Because both of them have already been arrested."

"!"

An unfamiliar voice suddenly broke in, and the two looked at the window in surprise. The window, which had been tightly closed, had been opened at some point, and a Taoist priest dressed in plain white was sitting leisurely on the windowsill.

The newcomer had white hair and was dressed in white, holding a whisk. At first glance, he looked somewhat like an old man, but he didn't have the face of one. He was smiling and looking over, and it was unclear how long he had been sitting by the window.

Outside the inn, Jian Feidao and Ling Ziling were waiting downstairs. The Third Prince had sent people to follow them and were questioning the innkeeper. From the second floor, there were loud banging noises. Some ghosts looked up curiously, but because they were being watched, they didn't dare to go up.

"What are you doing up there, senior? Why aren't you done yet?"

Humans can foresee things, and she knew that the other side wouldn't be too strong, at most just a bit strange in their methods. The sound didn't sound like a fight, but rather like someone was throwing things.

Many eyes fell on them. Without the cover of the Dragon Palace army, Ling Ziling and Jian Feidao's special characteristics became immediately apparent. They were neither monsters, nor dead ghosts, nor native to the underworld. Standing in the underworld, they were like two bright flames, impossible to ignore.

When they were following behind the Dragon Palace procession, the onlookers assumed they were all monsters from the East Sea and focused their attention on the Third Prince of the East Sea. Once they were out of the procession, it became clear that he was a living person.

There are living people in the underworld, and they are even two living people who are cultivating Taoism. There are really a lot of strange things happening in the underworld this year.

One ghost lamented, "First, a stubborn boy, as tough as an ox, came to complain to the City God. Then, the Dragon King of the East Sea's men came here. Now, living people are making a big show of themselves in the underworld. Strange things happen every year, but this year there seem to be more than usual."

Soon, an even stranger thing happened. Jian Feidao looked up at the sky and saw a beam of light shining in. The underworld had no concept of sunlight or day and night, and was always gloomy. Many places were pitch black. This beam of light suddenly pierced in, and many ghosts found it dazzling.

Although they were far apart, the Third Prince felt it more deeply. He recognized this kind of radiant light; it was used by celestial beings to clear the way when they traveled. The appearance of this light in the underworld meant that a celestial being had come, and that the being was of high status.

This was something neither the people of the Dragon Palace nor the Underworld had expected. It was already unusual for the Third Prince of the East Sea to come to the Underworld, but what kind of day was it that even the gods in heaven had come to join in the fun?

As the procession gradually came into view, the Third Prince couldn't help but frown. The deity who had come seemed to have a rather extraordinary background.

"They really did end up together."

On the second floor, Liu Qingyuan also looked out the window. Zhang Huaiyu and the other person had already been tied up. The sunset glowed on the horizon, and the procession landed with the ceremonial guards. Now the ghost messengers had no choice but to open the door.