Starting from the folklore forum, making up town objects

Chapter 412 The Underworld Faction of the Three Mountains Garrison
"I wonder what brings you here today, Crow Walker?"

Chu Xiu leaned back in his chair, looking at the crow that was bigger than a human head not far in front of him, and asked.

The Raven Prophet tilted his head.

Looking at Chu Xiu, who seemed somewhat different, he said, "Let's make a deal with the Bureau of Investigation."

"Oh? What deal?"

Chu Xiu leaned forward, interlaced his fingers, and placed his hands on the table, asking a question.

“A peachwood tree that is over thirty years old and survived for more than a year after being struck by lightning.”

Chu Xiu was taken aback.

Not because of 'Thor'?

But what would the underworld do by striking the peach wood with lightning?
"If it were just a piece of peach wood struck by lightning, the Bureau of Investigation would have several in its collection, but a piece of peach wood struck by lightning that is over thirty years old and has survived for more than a year after being struck by lightning..."

Chu Xiu shook his head.

"we do not have."

"However, if the underworld needs it, we can send people to search for it, but the timing is uncertain."

Upon hearing this, the Crow Prophet nodded.

"Yes, if you find it, you can call me to conduct the transaction."

After the Raven Prophet finished speaking, he prepared to leave, but unexpectedly Chu Xiu spoke up.

"Crow, slow down. As the old saying goes, even an emperor doesn't lack hungry soldiers. Even if the underworld doesn't give a deposit in advance, shouldn't they at least say what the bargaining chips are for?"

After Chu Xiu finished speaking, he stared at the Crow Prophet.

In the past, he would never have said such a thing to the Raven Prophet. After all, their statuses were not equal, and the Bureau of Investigation relied heavily on the Underworld. Even if the Underworld asked for it, the Bureau of Investigation would give it to them.

But now that Thor has appeared, the underworld is no longer unique, so sometimes we don't need to be timid anymore.

"Naturally, it would be a transaction involving talismans, or perhaps the Bureau of Investigation has something else in mind?"

The crow knew first.

Upon hearing this, an idea suddenly popped into Chu Xiu's mind.

If you ask the Underworld about other forces, how would the Underworld answer?
He wanted to ask, but he held back.

He was afraid that asking questions would alert the enemy.

If the underworld were to resort to underhanded tactics, the progress made by the Bureau of Investigation and Thor would likely be greatly hampered.

After thinking for a moment, Chu Xiu said, "Regarding the trade goods, we'll discuss it with the Underworld after the Bureau of Investigation finds the lightning-struck peach wood that meets the criteria. What does Crow Walker think?"

"can."

After speaking, the Raven Prophet transformed back into a raven feather and landed on the conference room table.

Chu Xiu's eyes flickered as he looked at the raven feather.

……

After ending the conversation with the Bureau of Public Opinion, Chen Xin looked away.

However, he felt a little strange.

This time, he seemed to sense something different from Chu Xiu, but he didn't know, and didn't care to know, exactly where it came from.

He shook his head and ignored it.

Chen Xin returned to the Sanshan base and posted a mission there to "find the lightning-struck peach wood," with rewards divided into several tiers.

First tier: Find and hand over the lightning-struck peach wood that meets the requirements, and you will be rewarded with 10,000 Yin Virtue (reward chance 0/1).

The second tier rewards 1,000 merit points upon receiving information about qualified lightning-struck peach wood, which has been verified. (Number of rewards: 0/10)

The third tier requires information on wild peach trees or peach forests that are over thirty years old. Once the submitted information is confirmed to be accurate, a reward of 500 merit points will be given. (Reward opportunities: 0/10)

The fourth tier consists of information on lightning-struck peach trees that are less than 30 years old but survived a lightning strike. Once the information is verified, a reward of 500 merit points will be given. (Reward opportunities: 0/10)

Chen Xin only released the first tier because he wanted to see if he could find a bargain.

But in reality, Chen Xin knew that the only things he could actually obtain from the underworld officials were the latter two tiers.

Fortunately, the number of underworld officials has now been expanded, and the number of underworld officials stationed in the Three Mountains has reached the full strength of 108. With more people, there are more channels for information.

Chen Xin had heard a saying that "you only need to go through six people to get to know anyone you want to know," because once the topology of the network of relationships extends outwards, it becomes incredibly vast.

So if the 108 underworld messengers really want to accumulate merit, they might actually find something.

At this time, among the 108 underworld messengers in Sanshan Village, only 28 had obtained the underworld messenger order, while the remaining 80 newcomers were still in the novice stage.

However, Chen Xin no longer needed to worry about any information or details about the underworld.

The veteran underworld officials naturally mentor the newcomers, and they enjoy doing so immensely.

Even those underworld officials like Bai Xue, who weren't invited by other underworld officials, learned about the underworld while being recruited by them.

Speaking of which, after the expansion of the Yin and Yang officials stationed in the Three Mountains, factions have already emerged!

After some investigation, Chen Xin found that they were roughly divided into four factions.

The first faction was led by Ji Mo and Bai Yongnian, and consisted of 25 people. Most of them were from Ji Mo and Bai Yongnian's families, and the rest were their friends.

Ye Chang and Nan Yuke are also considered members of this faction because they previously teamed up with Ji Mo and Bai Yongnian.

The second faction is composed of lone wolves like Wang Zhibo, Li Gongyang, and Bai Xue, with approximately sixteen members.

This faction is comprised of diverse individuals, with most members having little interaction with each other, though a small number form pairs.

For example, Wang Zhibo and Wang Xiang from Chen Xin's hometown!
Wang Zhibo was recruited into the underworld's messenger team by Chen Xin, and after that, Chen Xin didn't pay much attention to Wang Zhibo.

As for Wang Xiang, he was brought in by Wang Zhibo during this mission to guide people to the underworld.

The reason why Wang Zhibo brought Wang Xiang in is actually related to Chen Xin.

When Wang Xiang's sister was haunted by the evil spirits of Zushan, it was Chen Xin who called Wang Zhibo to resolve the issue.

After that, Wang Xiang continued to use the pretense of repaying a debt of gratitude to get close to Wang Zhibo.

Of course, repaying a debt of gratitude was genuine, but so was getting close to Wang Zhibo in order to learn about the fortune teller's abilities.

Chen Xin never expected that Wang Xiang, this fat guy, would actually succeed in chasing his idol, becoming Wang Zhibo's apprentice and being dragged into the underworld by Wang Zhibo.

In fact, if it weren't for that night of a hundred ghosts that pulled the evil spirits out of Wang Zhibo's body, making it impossible for him to continue acting as a fortune teller...

It seems that Wang Xiang has been led down the path of becoming a fortune teller.

Besides Wang Zhibo and his partner, there is another pair that is quite special: Li Gongyang and Ding Xiuyuan!

Since what happened to Yin Hui's family, Li Gongyang has become even more withdrawn.

The reason he guides someone into the underworld is not because he wants the title of 'underworld guide,' but because... he is paying off a debt!
Ding Xiuyuan was none other than one of the two members of the Bureau of Investigation who had gone to Yin Hui's house with Li Gongyang to handle matters!

The two men had given Li Gongyang a day to create the Soul Sealing Altar, and in return, Li Gongyang owed them a favor.

And that favor was used here.

Another person originally wanted to join the Underworld, but Li Gongyang refused.

After using their personal connections, they managed to secure a spot in the underworld.

Of course, Ding Xiuyuan's entry into the underworld as a ghost messenger did not mean he left the Bureau of Public Opinion Investigation.

To be honest, joining the underworld as a ghost messenger was an order from the Bureau of Investigation. But Ding Xiuyuan did not object to this order.

Because he joined the Underworld, his status as a specialist was directly promoted from team leader to star specialist!
There's no other reason than that Ding Xiuyuan was the first person to become a messenger of the underworld through this method!

Although Chen Xin didn't say anything about it, he still made some changes.

He restrained the underworld officials, preventing them from revealing the method of making the talisman to anyone outside the underworld. As for how he restrained them...
Naturally, the task was to have the underworld messengers walk through the 'Mirror of Inquiry' and plant instructions in their hearts that could not be revealed.

Of course, the 'Mirror of Inquiry' is just a collection of ghosts and monsters. If those underworld messengers break through to the level of the seventh version of the Strengthening Exercise and have strength comparable to the Blood Calamity, Chen Xin cannot be sure whether this ability will still be stable.

But for now, it's enough.

Therefore, it's impossible for the poll to use Ding Xiuyuan to get free items from the underworld.

The third faction consists of chosen ones like Yun Longtian.

Although there are only four, apart from Yun Longtian, the remaining three are all from the Bureau of Investigation.

Their nicknames for the "Night Talk Folk Customs Forum" are "Sword Pointing to the Thousand Autumns", "Spiritual Food", and "Li Jiong".

The Bureau of Public Opinion Survey did not hide these things, just as Ding Xiuyuan, a member of the Bureau of Public Opinion Survey, joined the Underworld.

However, although the chosen ones can enter the underworld's territory, Chen Xin did not set up a way for them to obtain Yin Virtue Points like ordinary underworld officials.

Yin Virtue Points are the currency used to exchange for items, permissions, and other items in the Underworld. Without Yin Virtue Points, they cannot do anything in the Underworld.

There is only one way for a person destined to gain merit points: answer questions on the forum and have them adopted by Chen Xin and compiled into a talisman.

To become a chosen one means that at least one of their protective charms has been adopted.

The talisman, when given by Chen Xin, grants one thousand merit points.

It's not a one-time payment of 1,000, but a monthly payment of 1,000.

If you don't use it, you can accumulate merit, up to a maximum of 12,000 merits per year.

Among them, Yunlongtian was the richest.

A full four thousand merits every month!

With these 'salaries', Yunlongtian could directly bring more than ten members of his family into the underworld!

As for the last faction, it is naturally the largest faction in the underworld, the anti-trafficking faction, which has a total of sixty-three members!
Chen Xin grouped them into a faction simply because they all came from the anti-trafficking office.

However, the anti-trafficking faction is now divided into four parts.

The first part is about the leader, Shen Zhihong.

Shen Zhihong no longer participates in the fight against human trafficking; he spends most of his time at the Three Mountains of the Underworld.

Taking advantage of the 'underworld guidance mission', he guided two of his old friends to become underworld officials.

Interestingly, when people like Ji Mo and Bai Yongnian send their younger family members to participate in the Underworld assessment missions, the failure rate is 50%.

However, both of the old men that Shen Zhihong guided completed the assessment task.

Chen Xin had personally observed the process of the two old men participating in the mission, and could only say that they were very reliable!

Of course, besides stability, Shen Zhihong also deserves credit.

However, Shen Zhihong's contribution was not in providing assistance to the town, but in sharing his experience and making the two old men familiar with the existence of ghosts.

Therefore, Shen Zhihong, who had stopped taking action much, directly led his two old partners to find three vengeful ghosts and kill them.

Throughout this process, Shen Zhihong did not use any items that exceeded the level of Yin-Yang Immortals.

In this way, he not only demonstrated the power of the Yin-Yang level to suppress evil spirits to the two old men, but also tested their courage.

After that, the two were no longer frightened by ghosts when they participated in the assessment, and made full use of the talisman.

In reality, as long as you possess a Yin-Yang level talisman, passing the assessment mission is that simple.

However, most people are frightened by the various ghosts and monsters during the mission, and then panic and fail to exert their actual strength, resulting in failure of the assessment. In severe cases, they may even die.

It's a pity, but it was unavoidable.

After all, among the underworld officials being assessed, apart from the two old men invited by Shen Zhihong, there was no one else over fifty years old.

Most newly recruited spirit messengers are between 20 and 35 years old.

At this age, one doesn't have much life experience to draw upon.

These two old men were naturally included in Shen Zhihong's team.

Besides the three old men, Shen Zhihong, the anti-trafficking faction also has three other parts, each led by a different person.

They are Kong Yi, Xu Lai, and Su Yongliang.

These three were among the earliest people to follow Shen Zhihong.

Kong Yi is the father of the disfigured and legless child that Shen Zhihong first found. He is a person who hates evil, especially human traffickers.

Therefore, the people under him were quite radical.

Xu Lai is Zhao Hong's husband. Zhao Hong is the woman who followed Shen Zhihong, found her child imprisoned in the cellar, and then died suddenly.

Later, after Shen Zhihong used the Tusu wine to cure Xu Lai and Zhao Hong's daughter Xu Xiaomeng, Xu Lai resolutely followed Shen Zhihong.

He is a man of strong character and a staunch supporter of the Underworld and Shen Zhihong. He has twenty-four underworld officials under his command, the same number as Kong Yi.

The last one is Su Yongliang.

The child has also been found with Shen Zhihong's help, and it is considered to be the best outcome among all abducted children, as the child's adoptive parents treat him as their own son.

Su Yongliang often said, "Good people should be rewarded."

Although he never said the second half of the sentence, everyone could see it in Su Yongliang's behavior.

There were only nine people under Su Yongliang's command. Although the number was small, they were all people who shared Su Yongliang's ideals.

Chen Xin even felt that Su Yongliang and his ten companions were the most suitable group to act as judges of good and evil.

The above describes the four major factions residing in the Three Mountains of the Underworld.

It's not complicated, but it's not simple either.

So far, however, since their goals are both sinister, there has been no conflict between them; at most, they are fighting their own battles.

As for whether there will be situations like in online games where guilds 'book out' monsters, preventing others from killing them.

Chen Xin felt that it was unlikely to happen.

If they really have that ability, Chen Xin can set up a separate base for them and let them establish a 'guild'.

After reviewing the situation at the Sanshan base, Chen Xin took another look at the situation at the Zhouzhuang Ancient Town base.

Chen Xin has issued underworld orders to all the wise ghosts in Zhouzhuang and led them to the Zhouzhuang Ancient Town. He also has Jiuri teach them about the underworld from time to time to prepare them for their future duties.

Xu Zhiheng, the only daytime envoy of the underworld, was full of enthusiasm for this.

After he collects all the paper ghosts outside, Chen Xin will return the notebook to him and let him continue to 'create' the intelligent ghosts.

After finding no problems with the underworld's residence, Chen Xin continued with the matters related to the Gates of Hell.

However, to his surprise, it only took one day.

Someone then submitted a task to 'find peach wood struck by lightning'.

……

(End of this chapter)