The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

A hazy mist enveloped the sky and earth, obscuring the sun, moon, and stars, and silencing the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning.

This is the boundary between the underworld and the mortal world.

Deep within the fog, a mountain stands tall, not high, yet layered and majestic, with sparse, warm light filtering through the mist.

At the foot of the mountain stands a stone tablet with only two characters on it.

Head of society.

Beyond the stone tablet lies a long staircase paved with unidentified black stones, stretching all the way to the mountaintop. Every ten steps along the staircase stands a lamp, its soft, warm light illuminating the figures moving about.

A humble courtyard was built halfway up the mountain, but it was unusually lively compared to other places, with people coming and going from time to time.

Above the courtyard gate hangs a plaque with neat and simple characters.

Gouyuan Division.

The courtyard was crammed with long tables, each with an oil lamp burning on it. Several underworld officials sat around the tables, which were piled high with documents of all kinds, forming small mountains. A round-faced underworld official yawned, reached into the pile of documents, pulled one out, unfolded it, and glanced at it.

"A loving couple, who have done good deeds all their lives, are now past forty but have no children. They pray for a son."

He stared at the paper, his eyes flickering with light.

"Not seeking evil, without moral failings, and from an upright family. Approved. Transferred to the Department of Descendants." He casually tossed the yellow paper under his body and then pulled out another one.

"A merchant in the mortal world gave away all his wealth to help the people. Now he is suffering from a long-term illness. He does not cling to life, but only prays that his pain will be relieved and that medicine will work its magic."

"Approved. Forward to the Pharmaceutical Department."

He drew another card, his brow furrowing.

"Wishing others financial loss, disaster, or early death? Hmph, rejected. Go to the Department of Retribution."

"Requests to break up other people's marriages or steal someone's spouse are rejected and handed over to the Adultery Department."

"A malevolent spirit, a vengeful ghost, praying for revenge and demanding death. Tsk, hand it over to the Ghostly Affairs Division and the Death-Taking Division."

"Approved...rejected...approved...transfer...transfer..."

He worked quickly, finally finishing the stack in front of him. He leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

But before he could even finish exhaling, a desk full of documents appeared before him.

The round-faced underworld official, expressionless, suddenly slammed his hand on the table: "This job is impossible! I'm going to see the Chief Justice!"

The thin-faced underworld official leaned over and said, "Alright, this is the fifth time you've said it this month. Can you hurry up and do it? Stop just talking the talk."

His gaze slid downwards: "Is your rejection basket overflowing?"

"Ha, it's not just full, I feel like I can't fit it all in. There are people asking for bad luck, asking for windfall gains, and some simply asking if they have enough good karma, or if prices are high in the underworld. I don't know what people in the mortal world are thinking."

The round-faced underworld official replied, then waved his hand, sending all the papers from the basket flying into the lamp beside him. Some of them turned into wisps of smoke and disappeared, while others were absorbed into the firelight and vanished without a trace.

The thin-faced underworld official clicked his tongue: "This is no job for a human being. When I applied to join this company, they didn't say there would be this much work."

He shook his head, gestured under his desk with his lip, and gave a knowing smile: "You're still too young. This isn't how you do it. Look at my basket, I've only just laid the bottom. What's the rush? Take your time, take your time."

The round-faced underworld official sighed, then pulled another card from the table and looked at it.

"Wow, there's even someone who marries a ghost."

Upon hearing this, the thin-faced underworld official quickly put down his work and asked, "Is this in accordance with the rules?"

"Yes, it was handled by someone who knows what they're doing. Apart from the woman's unclear cause of death, most of the circumstances have been explained clearly. She wasn't a vengeful spirit, and the man also had good karma, so there shouldn't be any problems. Transfer it to the Certification and Licensing Division and let them investigate further."

The thin-faced underworld official looked indignant: "How can there be no problem? There's a huge problem. Why do people from the mortal world keep marrying ghosts instead of people from the mortal world? I died young, and after becoming a ghost, I've been squatting in this wretched place every day. If you count my age, I'm already over seventy, but I'm still not married."

The round-faced underworld official ignored him and continued reading, then suddenly looked surprised and asked, "Huh?"

"Hey, I told you there was a problem, didn't I?" The thin-faced underling chuckled, wanting to say something more, but seeing his colleague's serious expression, he also abandoned his playful mood, moved closer to the round-faced man, and followed his gaze to the yellow paper.

The yellow paper was covered with neat, small characters written in even ink.

"What's wrong? The handwriting is fine, what's the problem?"

The round-faced underworld official didn't speak, but simply tapped the bottom line of small print.

Location: Taoyuan County.

"Tao County?" The thin-faced underworld official looked again, confirming he wasn't mistaken. "Tao County again?"

"Oh dear, I was laughing yesterday. Those places like the Inquiry Division, the Certificate Division, and the Petition Division have been on duty every day lately, interrogating those ghosts until they're cursing. It's one thing if this involves them, but how does it relate to our Sheshou Mountain?"

The round-faced underworld official frowned slightly: "When I went to see the official yesterday, he mentioned that those spirits were not ordinary wandering ghosts, but involved the earth god."

"Hey, when did you go to see the official?" The thin-faced underworld officer stared at his colleague suspiciously, as if he were meeting him for the first time, before counting on his fingers, "Tsk tsk, so in that case, many of our departments here will have to get moving too. Goodness, such a grand display."

"Not only that, those ghosts mentioned some details, and people in Haoli believe that those demons are also involved in this matter. Now even the adults in Mount Tai have been alarmed."

"Ah, there's also the matter of those people?" The thin-faced underworld official was taken aback and was about to snatch the yellow paper. "Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and send this to the magistrate for review."

The round-faced underworld official slapped his hand away: "What's your hurry? Marriage between a human and a ghost is a normal procedure. Just follow the rules and file a lawsuit."

"However, we still need to draft a new document explaining the situation and send it to the Expedited Reporting Division."

The thin-faced underworld official was taken aback: "They're going in person?"

The round-faced underworld official continued writing without looking up: "It's not that they want it, they've already gone."

……

Inside the Xu family courtyard, the old man in plain clothes watched as the Yin Tie turned to ashes in the firelight. After waiting for a while and seeing no reaction, he let out a long sigh.

"alright."

As soon as the old man in plain clothes finished speaking, Xu Sheng and E Niang exchanged a glance and stood up to bow.

"Thank you for your kindness, sir."

The old man in plain clothes waved his hand, but before he could speak, a commotion suddenly came from outside the door.

"Hey, is anyone home, Madam Xu? Is Madam Xu here?"

The courtyard gate was pushed open, and a woman dressed in red and green with a plump waist barged in, followed by two porters carrying trunks.

Her gaze swept over the group, passing over E Niang and the old man in plain clothes, lingering on Xu Sheng for a few moments, and finally landing on Xu's mother, a smile spreading across her face.

"Madam Xu, this is wonderful news!"

Mrs. Xu was taken aback, then stood up to greet her: "Aunt Liu? What brings you here?"

Matchmaker Liu laughed and said, "What else could I be here for? Of course, I'm here to arrange a marriage for Young Master Xu!"