Secular world: My destiny has no taboos

Chapter 546: Soul-Stealing

"My lords, if our newly established stronghold is destroyed, will the Lord be displeased?" Zhong Kui's voice echoed through the communication talisman.

Upon hearing this, the underworld officials inside the stronghold turned cold and chuckled: "Xushui City is the first stronghold of our underworld in our expansion towards Liangzhou. It is of utmost importance. If it is destroyed, not only will Lord Fu be unhappy, but we underworld officials stationed here will also be held responsible."

"They really don't take our underworld seriously!"

"That's right. Wars are frequent on the ground. If it weren't for our Underworld gathering the souls and letting them reincarnate and enter the cycle of reincarnation, this mortal world would probably be overrun with evil spirits, and there would be no place for people to live in peace. Not only are they not grateful to us, but they even dared to destroy our Underworld stronghold. They are really audacious. Do they think that our Underworld is powerless?"

……

The voices of the underworld messengers reached Zhong Kui's ears through the communication talisman.

Those who can become underworld officials today must have been at least at the Open Mansion Realm in their previous lives. With the addition of judges and prefects, and the protection of the underworld's incense offerings, their overall strength is in no way inferior to those of the hidden sects.

It can be said that the underworld has unknowingly acquired some of the strength and foundation of the former underworld.

Upon hearing Zhong Kui's words that someone was planning to destroy their newly established stronghold in Xushui City, the two of them could no longer tolerate it. They immediately prepared to muster their ghostly soldiers to teach those arrogant living people a lesson.

In fact, even without Zhong Kui saying it, they had already noticed that the stronghold temple above their heads was shaking, and some underworld officials had already sent people up to check.

This time, after discussing it in pairs, the underworld officials decided to lead their underworld soldiers directly to attack.

Zhong Kui then deactivated the communication talisman and looked at the people who were engaged in a chaotic battle inside the temple.

He wasn't very tall, so when he stood up, he didn't attract much attention.

He felt the constant vibrations beneath his feet, and the entire temple creaked and groaned. He took a deep breath, and his mind involuntarily recalled the scene when his lord made his entrance.

So Zhong Kui also squinted his eyes, his gaze slowly turning cold, and he stomped his right foot hard on the ground, unleashing the Earth-Shaking Technique from the underworld's magic manual.

In an instant, a powerful wave of energy rose from beneath Zhong Kui's feet, drawing upon the power of the earth and causing it to vibrate at a high frequency.

When using the Earthshaking spell, Zhong Kui carefully avoided the foundation of the temple, resulting in a strange sight.

That is, the earth is vibrating at a high frequency, but the temple has become calm and peaceful.

"Boom!"

The fight inside the temple was abruptly interrupted by the sudden commotion.

Ma San Niang swung her long whip, deflecting a sword thrust from a supervising officer, and gracefully somersaulted in the air before landing on a broken rock nearby.

She turned around in shock to look at Zhong Kui, whose right foot was on the ground and whose hands were forming a hand seal.

"Little brother, you..."

The previously chaotic scene fell silent. In this eerie atmosphere, Zhong Kui took two steps forward expressionlessly, his tone cold.

"This place already belongs to someone else. If you want to fight, you can go outside to fight."

Upon hearing this, everyone—from the supervising soldiers and deserters to the traveling merchant caravan—frowned.

Ma San Niang hurriedly tried to smooth things over, glaring at Zhong Kui and saying, "Brother, you may have some skills, but the situation is dire right now, and this is not the time for you to be arrogant."

Zhong Kui coldly glanced at everyone present, showing no emotion whatsoever for Ma San Niang speaking up for him.

His behavior made him seem like a child who didn't listen to his elders.

The supervising general, Xue Ping, sneered and grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth. "You brat who speaks such nonsense, you say this place belongs to someone? Is it the abandoned statue at your feet or your own destiny?"

“In our Liangzhou, everything on this land belongs to our King Liang. Who do you think you are, daring to talk to us about ownership?”

"After I've dealt with them, I'll find some time to deal with you."

Nie Yuan, a member of the traveling merchant caravan, frowned as he stared at Zhong Kui. He didn't speak, but turned his head to look at Ma San Niang with a questioning look in his eyes.

It's as if it's saying, "Is this the child you wanted us to bring?"

They wouldn't dare take in such a troublemaker.

Seeing this, Ma San Niang was also very embarrassed. She didn't understand where Zhong Kui got the confidence to say such things. He was truly a newborn calf who was not afraid of tigers.

At this moment, her feelings of pity for Zhong Kui immediately diminished, and she felt that he was just an immature child.

However, Zhong Kui didn't care at all and continued to do things his own way.

“I’ll say it one last time: this place already belongs to someone else, and the statues will be re-erected soon. Your fighting in this temple is a disrespect to me.”

Zhong Kui frowned, his body radiating a murderous aura.

He had vanquished countless evil spirits along his journey, and had long lost his childlike innocence, becoming cold and ruthless in his words and actions.

Xue Ping, carrying a large sword, stepped over the crowd who had stopped what they were doing because of his words, and came to stand in front of Zhong Kui, looking down at him.

No one spoke up to stop them, and even Ma San Niang watched the scene with some regret.

"So what if I offend you? You're so young, and you've only learned a few surgical techniques. You think you're so great? Let Grandpa teach you a lesson!"

Xue Ping looked at Zhong Kui, who was not even as tall as his chest, and raised his hand to slap him.

He had sent troops to investigate the vicinity before he arrived, and confirmed that no one else was there. Even if the other party had a powerful protector behind them, it would be too late to make a move.

But before his large hand could land, two sinister voices suddenly rang in his ears from the left and right.

"If you refute him, you are refusing to save face for us."

"The Lord says that anyone who challenges the dignity of the Underworld shall..."

"Soul Snatcher!"

"Soul Stealing!"

In an instant, everyone in the temple felt their vision suddenly darken, a cold wind blew by, and several bonfires swayed violently, their originally orange-yellow flames turning from yellow to green, a truly terrifying sight.

"It's an evil spirit!"

People kept letting out cries of fear.

When they looked around, they saw a dense darkness engulfing them.

Unbeknownst to them, strange figures suddenly appeared around them.

These figures seemed to have been born in the darkness; in the interplay of light and shadow, only their pale chins could be seen.

"Evil?"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

The Soul Reaper, dressed in a long white robe, laughed heartily for a while before his smile gradually faded. He tilted his head, staring intently at Xue Ping, the supervising general beside him, and solemnly spoke.

"Don't treat us like those kinds of people. We have a legitimate profession, and we are semi-publicly employed."

The Soul-Stealing Envoy, dressed in black and wearing a black hat, also bent down and tilted his head to look at Xue Ping.

His voice was much deeper than the Soul Reaper's, and his face was much more serious.

"You're the one who wanted to destroy my underworld stronghold?"

The Soul-Hooking and Spirit-Snatching Envoys were the leaders of the Underworld's invasion of Liangzhou, equivalent to captains among the Underworld officials. In their previous lives, they had also reached the level of summoning gods.

Now, with the blessing of the incense and divine power of the underworld, his strength has not decreased but increased. The two envoys each placed a hand on Xue Ping's shoulder, tilting their heads to look at him. The dense yin energy and imposing aura poured out, almost suffocating Xue Ping.

Xue Ping never imagined that the young man in front of him was telling the truth, that this place was indeed the territory of some powerful force.
The underworld... I feel like I've heard that word somewhere before.

Xue Ping swallowed hard and forced a smile.

"I am the deputy commander of the Liang King's army. I was unaware that this is your territory. Please forgive me if I have offended you."

The Soul-Stealing Envoy looked at Zhong Kui and bowed slightly under the surprised gazes of the crowd: "Greetings, Yin-Yang Official."

Zhong Kui also bowed in greeting, his expression neither humble nor arrogant: "Greetings, Soul-Stealing Envoy."

After exchanging greetings, the two smiled at each other without prior arrangement.

The Soul-Stealing Envoy asked, "Are you saying these people want to destroy my stronghold?"

The Soul-Stealing Envoy pointed to the surroundings.

Zhong Kui said calmly, "That's right, it's them."

He then looked at the traveling caravan, his gaze lingering on Ma San Niang for a moment.

"They don't count; they're just innocent businessmen who were unintentionally dragged into this."

The Soul Reaper glanced at Ma San Niang and the others, his deep gaze making their hair stand on end, as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

Ma San Niang clenched her fists, feeling the cold air emanating from the two underworld officials standing beside her, which made her shiver involuntarily.

She tilted her head slightly to look at Zhong Kui, and felt as if her worldview had been unknowingly shaken.

What did she just hear?
The powerful envoy who single-handedly suppressed Xue Ping actually addressed the child she called her younger brother as the Yin-Yang Official!
Moreover, judging from the way they greeted each other, they seemed to be on equal footing.

"The Underworld...the Yin-Yang Official!" Ma San Niang secretly memorized this name in her heart.

She never imagined that a child who looked to be eight or nine years old would have such an extraordinary background.

Fortunately, her previous actions had created a positive relationship between the two parties, which allowed the other party to distance themselves from the situation.

Unlike the astonishment of those present, Nie Yuan, the leader of the traveling caravan, was filled with shock.

Because he knew the origins of the underworld.

It was precisely because he knew this that he couldn't help but freeze in place.

"The underworld... has been born!" A wave of shock surged through Nie Yuan's heart.

At this moment, the two soul-reaping envoys slowly entered the traveling merchants' caravan.

Who is the leader of this group?

In an instant, all the traveling merchants turned their attention to Nie Yuan.

Nie Yuan took a deep breath, stepped forward with a serious expression, and greeted the two envoys, saying, "Greetings, envoys!"

"So you're the leader!" the Soul Reaper said calmly. "I'll give you ten breaths to leave here with your people and belongings."

Without hesitation, Nie Yuan first bowed to the two Soul Reapers, and then bowed to Zhong Kui from a distance.

Seeing that they could leave, the other traveling merchants packed their belongings without hesitation and quickly left the temple.

The young man who had previously mocked Zhong Kui looked grim and was the first to finish cleaning up and step out of the temple.

He vowed never to set foot in that temple again; the feeling of being slapped in the face was truly embarrassing.

Even after leaving the temple, he could still hear his companions whispering about him behind him.

Ma San Niang sighed and left, turning back every few steps.

After the traveling caravan left, the temple suddenly felt much more spacious.

Without wasting words, the two Soul-Snatching Envoys took out a page resembling the Book of Life and Death and spread it out in their hands.

"Xue Ping, a native of Jicheng in Liangzhou, was in his late thirties or early forties. At that time, he led troops to massacre 163 people in Xiangjia Village and robbed countless amounts of property from the villagers..."

The Soul Reaper read out the identity information of everyone in the supervising army.

"Tsk tsk, not bad, not a single bad person was wrongly accused."

His gaze swept over everyone present. Whether they were supervising soldiers or deserters, their hands were stained with the blood of innocent people, and Xue Ping was the most heinous of them all.

Despite being a military commander, he committed the crime of massacring an entire village. Not only were Zhong Kui and the underworld officials shocked, but even the soldiers under his command looked at their general in disbelief.

This involves the lives of 163 people in the entire village!
At most, they might accidentally kill the homeowner while breaking into people's homes to rape women and rob them, or indirectly cause the deaths of people, but they never did anything like massacring an entire village.

Ironically, such a person became an officer supervising combat operations.

Xue Ping's face turned pale and then red, his eyes revealing the anger of having his secret exposed.

He leaped up suddenly, drew the sword from his waist, and planned to take advantage of the crowd's momentary lapse in concentration to break out. But before he could escape the temple, he found that his body had become inexplicably light, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.

When he looked back, he found that his body was still standing in the same spot, maintaining the posture of leaping out.

"Hehehe, the underworld messengers are here to take your soul, and the dead are here to claim your life. Xue Ping, debts in this world will be repaid in the underworld. Your lifespan is over. Come with us to the underworld."

The sound drifted with the wind, and chains emerged from the darkness, binding Xue Ping's body. No matter how much he resisted, he could not break free of the chains.

Xue Ping, on the verge of collapse, shouted, "I am a man of the King of Liang! No matter what your power is, you have overstepped your bounds. The King of Liang will not let you get away with this!"

The Soul Reaper smiled indifferently, grabbed one end of the chain, and released a dense yin energy that pierced Xue Ping's body like needles.

"Enough with the nonsense. If you have something to say, go talk to the judges!"

The deserters standing nearby and the supervising soldiers beneath them were trembling with fear at the sight.

The Soul Reaper chuckled and said, "No need to rush, it will be your turn soon."

After a series of clanging sounds of chains, the temple gradually quieted down, and the eerie green campfire turned orange-yellow again.

As the two soul-reaping messengers were leaving, they clasped their hands in a fist salute to Zhong Kui.

"In the coming days, we will trouble you, sir, to take over the affairs of the base in the mortal realm and have someone build the statue of the Lord of the Underworld. We will cooperate fully."

Zhong Kui nodded: "I came here today on a mission to help you complete the work in Xushui City."

As the group of underworld messengers departed, the darkness within the temple dissipated, and the original scene was restored.

Outside the temple, snow fell heavily. Zhong Kui sat in front of the campfire, his tense nerves relaxing.

"I never expected that my first time working with colleagues would feel like this!"

"I have to say, it's really great."

Zhong Kui thought to himself, and then a smile appeared on his small face.

"According to the two messengers who steal souls and spirits, not only will the Underworld launch a major operation in Liangzhou, but the Northern Underworld Army from Luozhou will also be gathering here. I wonder if we will be able to meet the Lord of the Underworld then!"

(End of this chapter)