Chapter 1 The Beginning

Lu Pingzhi forced his eyes open again. His face, like old elm bark, seemed even more wrinkled now. An ordinary person aged to this extent would have died long ago, but he was still holding on.

Slowly, he spoke:

"Mount Tai has crumbled, the Nether Sea has dried up."

The implication was,

are you using the sword of the previous dynasty,

to execute the officials of the current one?

This posturing seemed impressive, but it was disingenuous.

The master of the Nether Sea had almost become a legend,

and the lineage of the Lord of Mount Tai had long collapsed. The last Lord disappeared without a trace a thousand years ago.

The reputation was great,

but it was all just past glory.

"So?"

Lawyer An rubbed his wrist and chuckled,

"At least it's better than you, this lingering wretch, right? I bet you're holed up here, prolonging your life with fragments of souls?"

Lu Pingzhi nodded, not denying it, admitting it frankly.

He acknowledged his weakness and his current predicament, without blushing or becoming hysterical.

And,

asked:

"How?"

This was a rhetorical question, meaning, what do you plan to do to me?

Very arrogant, very presumptuous, as if he didn't take the two people in front of him seriously at all.

If you didn't look at the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva behind the beaded curtain,

then,

the Ten Kings of Hell were almost the public center of power in the entire underworld.

Lu Pingzhi, who had once served there, indeed had the confidence to say "How."

"Well, there's nothing we can do. Sorry, but this boss of mine is extremely intolerant of evil. He doesn't do anything else all day, just thinking about serving the country and the people, ensuring peace in this area.

You,

can only be sent on your way."

Lawyer An shrugged. Actually, from the moment he started listing those official titles, it meant that things couldn't end well today.

First, this old bastard had the audacity to hide in Tong City. If he continued to devour remnant souls like this, the performance of the entire Tong City ghost patrol would be affected.

Second, he wasn't just targeting the dead, but also the living.

Of course, there was also a third reason: Lawyer An noticed that the old man's "refined" act with the chamber pot had disgusted his boss.

"Heh."

Lu Pingzhi smiled disdainfully,

"I was hoping to negotiate. It's too slow for me to go out and collect on my own using puppets. I was thinking of having you two work for me, but you're so uncooperative."

"Tsk tsk."

Lawyer An shook his head,

"Are you really addicted to playing the fox exploiting the tiger's might?"

Indeed, quite a few ghost patrols in the mortal realm had joined various underworld forces, but everyone knew that you had to sell yourself for a good price.

"You, a mere clerk, are thinking of subduing us?"

"If I alone am not enough, then I'll bring the entire Ninth Hall."

Lu Pingzhi opened his mouth,

and in an instant,

beams of light were spewed out from his mouth.

The originally empty and dilapidated house suddenly felt full.

One by one, underworld officials dressed in ancient robes and wearing lun jin (a type of headwear) stood around, all with their eyes closed, as if they were asleep, like snakes hibernating.

At this moment,

even Lawyer An's eyelids twitched.

This display,

was a bit terrifying.

Damn it,

weren't you a fugitive who snuck up here to escape?

What the hell is this?

Is the welfare in hell so bad that civil servants are collectively going into business?

"If my weight isn't enough, what about adding them? Is it enough?"

It was as if the buyers and sellers were haggling over a price.

Lawyer An approached an official and waved his hand. The official was a soul form, so he couldn't be touched, but the faint official aura was undeniable.

These things were real, but for some reason, they were extremely weak, so they had all fallen into slumber.

"What exactly happened in Hell?"

Lawyer An frowned. He had been in contact with the underworld, but the scene before him made him realize that he still knew too little.

Or rather, some things weren't that those underworld forces who contacted him deliberately didn't tell him, but that they didn't know themselves.

"Humans have three souls and seven spirits. We need one of those spirits to replenish ourselves. How to do it without being noticed by the underworld, how to collect them, I think you are more skilled than I am.

Help me, help us,

and later,

when everyone here awakens,

together,

we'll promise you an amazing future!

The ghost patrols of the mortal realm,

can be abandoned,

the Ninth Hall of the underworld,

will guarantee you two a position in the Land of the Dead!"

An underworld position couldn't compare to an inspector, and it was even less comparable to a judge.

But that was the Ninth Hall, the Ninth Hall of the Ten Kings of Hell. Being an underworld official there was equivalent to being the director of an important department in the capital, the hidden power and status were self-evident.

Lawyer An took a deep breath,

and then exhaled heavily.

Damn it,

he had to admit,

he was tempted!

If he could get a position in the Land of the Dead and go back,

although it wouldn't be as glorious as he dreamed, it would be like having a big tree to lean on. Even if he wasn't as glamorous and free as when he was an inspector, no one would dare to provoke him.

Moreover,

the display that the old man had put on directly, the momentum of his introduction,

was equivalent to using negotiation skills to the extreme.

But,

but,

but,

so what if it's the Ninth Hall?

I have a golden, shining thigh standing next to me!

Lawyer An looked at Zhou Ze standing beside him,

wait,

something's not right,

why are the boss's eyes shining?

Oh crap,

no way!

Indeed,

Boss Zhou was tempted.

When the soul shadows of these officials appeared,

he began to get excited.

But it wasn't because of the promise of a future,

nor was it for a meteoric rise to power,

this excitement,

came from the depths of his heart.

Zhou Ze gritted his teeth,

forcefully suppressing his emotions.

He knew,

that after seeing these soul shadows,

the one inside him,

was hungry!

But Boss Zhou couldn't release Ying Gou at this time to let him feast.

Such a large quantity,

if Ying Gou devoured it all,

then he would be finished.

A hungry and weak Ying Gou was the best Ying Gou for Zhou Ze.

Boss Zhou had even sent messages to the three ghost patrols in other cities, asking them to investigate the Buddhist relics in Xuzhou, and to steal the relics if possible.

That way, in the future, if Ying Gou devoured a little and recovered a little, he could directly brace himself and stand in front of the relics, taking the blast.

Artificially adjusting the balance.

Lawyer An misunderstood, thinking that his boss was tempted. If you're tempted, what's the point of me playing along?

He immediately shouted:

"Do you think I haven't seen the world?

Let you promise?

Let you promise?

You don't stay in your nice Ninth Hall,

what are you doing running here like a bunch of stray dogs?

Something must have happened in the underworld, don't even think about using us as pawns!"

Lu Pingzhi smacked his lips,

and looked with some regret at Zhou Ze, who was still restraining his excitement and impulse.

Clearly, there was an idiot here who was tempted,

but unfortunately, there was also someone who understood the situation.

Alas,

he couldn't fool them.

Of course, if Lu Pingzhi knew where Boss Zhou's excitement came from, he probably wouldn't be so regretful.

"There's no point in talking further. Since that's the case, let's see them out."

Lu Pingzhi raised his withered hand,

and in an instant,

all the official shadows around him flew back into his body. At the same time, a faint blue light covered him, like a turtle shell.

The woman walked out of the light screen,

and bowed:

"Please, the two of you."

"Hehe."

Lawyer An suddenly found this old man very interesting, very interesting indeed.

Immediately,

Lawyer An's bony hand reached out,

and the woman was grabbed directly into his arms.

The feel was good, better than silicone. This woman must be made of special materials.

"If you like her, take her and play with her,"

the old man said.

"Play with your mom!"

Lawyer An's bony hand directly smeared the woman's neck. The woman's skin immediately cracked, and then began to wrinkle. Her whole body withered at a visible speed, like a flower.

Was this human skin?

No,

it was pigskin!

Made of pigskin, and here he was thinking her skin felt so smooth.

Lawyer An's bony hand didn't stop, and directly grabbed at the light screen in front of him!

"Buzz!"

The light screen began to tremble,

but Lawyer An's bony hand couldn't move an inch.

The old man lowered his eyelids, a disdainful smile on his lips.

He couldn't break through his turtle shell!

Lawyer An subconsciously turned his head to look at his boss,

Boss,

are you still daydreaming?

Zhou Ze was indeed standing there motionless,

as if he was watching a show.

This guy named Lu Pingzhi hadn't said he was leaving, nor had he said he was giving up. Of course, it was impossible for him to give up, otherwise he wouldn't be able to survive.

Therefore,

his existence,

was naturally opposed to Zhou Ze's position.

Boss Zhou couldn't allow a guy who would harm the living and his business in Tong City.

An attack,

was necessary.

It was like before a gang fight,

they first talked reason, then talked about relationships, pulling out connections from both the black and white sides.

If they couldn't come to an agreement,

then they'd send out their underlings to fight!

However,

Zhou Ze still didn't move,

continuing to stand there.

No matter how Lawyer An gestured,

Zhou Ze seemed to have completely ignored it.

"Let... me... out..."

"No way!"

"Let... me... out..."

"Dream on!"

"I... want... to... out..."

"No chance!"

"Talk... talk..."

"No talk."

Boss Zhou wouldn't do something like letting the tiger return to the mountain.

He was very clear-headed on this matter.

"I... need..."

"You're begging me? You're begging me? Come on, beg me!

Show me some cuteness, act spoiled,

and maybe I'll suddenly soften and release the seal to let you out to eat?"

Over there,

silence.

But after a while,

"Lord... ghost patrol license... how to use... I... tell... you..."

"What's the use?"

Zhou Ze asked.

"You... beg... me... ah..."

"..." Zhou Ze.