I became Superman

Chapter 218 Ghost Soldiers

Zhang Da brought Wang Liulang to the City God Temple.

Wang Liulang knelt down and bowed respectfully before the City God, who exuded divine power.

Zhou Ming smiled and said, "No need for formalities. You are a loyal and righteous man who would rather suffer calamity yourself than let an innocent person take your place. This one thought alone is enough to reach the ears of the heavens."

"Now I have two choices: you can choose to escape your tribulation immediately and go to line up for reincarnation, or you can choose to stay in the City God Temple as a spirit and protect the peace of this area."

Wang Liulang said, "I am willing to follow the City God."

Zhou Ming nodded in satisfaction and said, "Very good. From today onwards, you will be the Black Impermanence of the City God Temple in Shangning County."

"Our temple is short-staffed right now, so even though you're Black Impermanence, you'll also have to take on the role of White Impermanence."

Although it's called a part-time job, these two Yin spirits actually have the same duties and always act at the same time. Wang Liulang is simply doing the work of two people.

However, compared to Wang Liulang, the Black Impermanence, the previous Horse-Face was in a much worse state.

Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and Black and White Impermanence, have different roles.

Black and White Impermanence are responsible for capturing the souls of the dead, while Ox-Head and Horse-Face are responsible for escorting the ghosts that have been judged by the City God to the City God Temple prison or to Mount Tai.

A while ago, there were no Black and White Impermanence or Ox-Head at the temple, so Horse-Face had to take on all of these duties.

Now, the company can finally unload a heavy burden.

As Zhou Ming issued the appointment letter, Wang Liulang's figure changed drastically. A tall black hat appeared on his head, with four large white characters written on it: "I've come to catch you." In his hand appeared a soul-locking iron chain and a white mourning stick.

The mourning staff was originally the magical weapon of Bai Wuchang (White Impermanence), but since he now also serves as Bai Wuchang, it naturally appears in his hands.

As soon as Wang Liulang took office, Zhou Ming handed over his official duties.

He ordered Judge Zhang Da to issue receipts for each person in the county who was to die that day. Zhou Ming then stamped these receipts with the City God's golden seal, turning them into soul-calling slips, which were then given to Wang Liulang to collect the souls.

Shangning County has a population of over 100,000, and the average number of deaths per day is over a dozen.

Black Impermanence was busy going to various places to capture ghosts. When he returned in the middle of the night, he was accompanied by nine ghosts.

Zhou Ming examined each ghost one by one, then judged them according to their merits and demerits recorded in the Book of Life and Death, before asking, "Why were three ghosts not summoned?"

Black Impermanence said with shame, "I am slow on my feet. There were three ghosts, and by the time I arrived, they had already disappeared."

Judge Zhang Da laughed and said, "You can't blame him for that. Nowadays, our temple isn't very popular, the divine authority is weakened, and the underworld officials are less effective at carrying out their duties."

Official duties, as before, can now be accomplished effortlessly the moment a thought arises.

Zhou Ming said, "That's true, but we can't just let them become wandering ghosts."

"Black Impermanence, you and the Night Wanderer shall go to the ordinary lands. If there are any wandering ghosts or spirits within the territory, capture them immediately and bring them back to be punished."

The Night Wanderer and Black Impermanence immediately obeyed the order and went out.

Zhou Ming then wrote the judgment petitions for the previous ghosts in the temple and handed them to Ma Mian, instructing him to escort those ghosts to the underworld and submit the petitions to the Ten Kings of Hell for verification.

Horse-faced also accepted the order and went out.

Black Impermanence and Night Wanderer captured several more ghosts. At dawn, Horse-Face suddenly returned in a sorry state.

"My lord, something terrible has happened!"

Horse-faced shouted.

Zhou Ming asked, "What happened?"

Horse-face said, "I was escorting those ghosts to the underworld. We had just left the City God Temple and were about to enter the boundary between Yin and Yang when General Fan and his underworld soldiers suddenly rushed out and snatched the ghosts I was escorting. I managed to escape by fighting desperately."

After Horse-Face finished speaking, the expressions of the several underworld officials in the temple all turned solemn.

Even the Black Impermanence, who had just arrived, was somewhat terrified, which shows that General Fan has a great reputation here.

Zhou Ming asked in confusion, "Who is this General Fan?"

Judge Zhang Da said, "To the north of Shangning County is Lingxiu Prefecture. Between Lingxiu Prefecture and Shangning County is Zhenshan Mountain. General Fan is a vengeful ghost lingering in the mountain."

"General Fan was a general under Li Cunren, who competed with Emperor Taizu in the early years of the dynasty. After Li Cunren was defeated and killed, General Fan retreated to Zhenshan to resist the government army. Emperor Taizu set fire to the mountain, burning him and his eight hundred rebel soldiers to death."

"These rebel soldiers thus transformed into ghostly soldiers in the mountains."

"Although General Fan died, his resentment did not dissipate. He was determined to gather 100,000 ghost soldiers and go down to the underworld to seek revenge against Emperor Taizu. So in recent years, he has often gone down the mountain to capture ghosts and bring them back to the mountain to become his ghost soldiers."

"General Fan is fierce and powerful. In addition, Zhenshan is located between Lingxiu Prefecture and Chongning Prefecture. The city gods of the two places are passing the buck and are unwilling to easily anger him. So they have let him linger until now, and he has become too big to be turned away from."

"Unless the Taishan Prefecture or the Fengdu Sect seriously annihilates him, no one can do anything about him."

After saying that, he shook his head helplessly, and the other underworld officials also showed fear on their faces.

Zhou Ming laughed and said, "It seems you've suffered quite a bit at his hands."

Judge Lu Sheng said with a wry smile, "My lord, you are unaware of the truth. General Fan is extremely arrogant, treating us as if we were nothing, and openly kidnapped..."

The previous City God had complained about the plundering of spirits, and General Fan overheard it.

"General Fan was furious and sent out all his ghost soldiers. For a whole month, dark clouds lingered over Shangning County. Day and night, the people could see large groups of ghost soldiers appearing in the county."

"In the end, the former City God had no choice but to accept his bad luck and personally prepared generous gifts to apologize to General Fan at Zhenshan."

"Only then did General Fan recall the ghost soldiers. From then on, the City God Temple of Shangning County dared not interfere in General Fan's affairs again."

The City God, a dignified figure, actually has to apologize to a vengeful ghost; that General Fan is truly arrogant.

Zhou Ming recalled how the City God had been so eager to hand over the golden seal to him before rushing off to the underworld for his release.

Being a low-ranking priest is really tough.

When people talk about gods, they think of emperors and celestial beings, those gods who are suddenly powerful and carefree. But the lives of the lower-level gods are not so wonderful.

Zhou Ming said, "General Fan has his reasons for lingering in Zhenshan for so long. Let's try diplomacy first, then force."

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"Lu Sheng, take my document to see General Fan and ask him to return the abducted souls. I am willing to forgive him for what he did."

"If the captured souls are not returned, when the heavenly army arrives, they will all be reduced to dust."

What, you want me to go?

Lu Sheng felt numb all over.

The other underworld officials were also in a panic.

Do they still remember the terror of the ghostly soldiers passing through? For a whole month, they didn't even dare to leave the City God Temple, fearing that they would be captured by the ghostly soldiers and brought before General Fan to be humiliated.

The previous City God had only uttered a few complaints, yet he had provoked General Fan to such a great rage.

Now this old man is openly threatening General Fan; who knows what crazy thing he'll do next.

Zhang Da advised, "Sir, please think it over. General Fan's supernatural powers are far beyond what that demon from Jin Guang Temple can match. If he goes berserk, the entire Shangning County will suffer again."

Zhou Ming said, "We are righteous gods of Heaven, and it is our duty to capture evil spirits. But now we are making peace with evil spirits. What kind of behavior is this? You don't need to say anything more. Just follow my orders."

All the underworld messengers were inwardly groaning in despair.

Those who are intelligent and upright will become gods after death.

My master is indeed upright, but he doesn't seem to be very smart.

Is General Fan someone we can easily provoke?

This time, Shangning County will probably not escape this calamity.

Despite their complaints, the underworld officials could not disobey the City God's orders.

Lu Sheng immediately accepted the City God's decree and reluctantly headed towards Zhenshan.

Two hundred miles passed in a flash.

When Lu Sheng arrived at Zhenshan, it was already dark at dusk.

The entire town is shrouded in thick black fog all year round. Even during the day, there is no sunlight, and at night it becomes even more eerie and terrifying.

In this vast forest, not a single bird chirp or insect hum could be heard; only the mournful wailing of ghosts could be heard from somewhere.

Lu Sheng arrived at the foot of the town's mountain. Black mist surged, and a blue-faced ghost general appeared, his eyes emitting an eerie green light. He sized up Lu Sheng and said, "Who goes there, daring to trespass on the town's mountain?"

Lu Sheng dared not presume, and cupped his hands, saying, "I am Lu Sheng, the Martial Judge of the City God Temple in Shangning County, and I have come to see the General on the orders of the City God."

The blue-faced ghost general asked, "What business do you have with the General?"

Lu Sheng forced a smile and said, "A group of ghosts we were escorting to the underworld were intercepted by the Great General. Lord City God, please ask the Great General..."

The soldiers released those restless spirits.

The blue-faced ghost general chuckled sinisterly and said, "What a joke! Do you think we'd release someone our Great General kidnapped? Your City God must have a death wish to ask the Great General to release them."

"Guards, take this reckless fool to the General for punishment."

As they spoke, dark clouds surged around them, and ranks of ghostly soldiers appeared.

Lu Sheng was shocked and hurriedly turned to flee into the distance, only to find that the surrounding world was sealed off, and he was unable to use the shrinking earth technique.

The incense offerings in Shangning County were meager, and the underworld officials were already weak.

General Fan's ghost soldiers were all elite warriors. When a group of ghost soldiers rushed over, Lu Sheng was powerless to resist and was immediately bound tightly with iron chains.

The ghost soldiers escorted Lu Sheng up the mountain and brought him before General Fan.

Although Lu Sheng had long known that General Fan was formidable, this was the first time he had ever met General Fan in person.

This was an incredibly tall, red-haired demon, dressed in gleaming armor. Sitting there, he didn't resemble a demon, but rather a guardian deity.

The blue-faced ghost relayed Lu Sheng's purpose to General Fan.

General Fan was indeed furious, and said, "The City God of Shangning County!"

"Last time, he came to apologize in person, and his manners were very respectful, so I decided to let him off the hook. This time, he actually dared to come and provoke me again."

"I'll personally lead the troops and capture this city god to guard the mountain."

Lu Sheng hurriedly said, "General, please calm down. The City God of Shangning County has been replaced. The new lord is unaware of your power, General, and thus offended you. Please do not take it to heart."

General Fan said, "So the City God of Shangning County has changed. No wonder he's so bold."

"However, I don't care what your reasons are. Since you have offended me, you will have to pay the price."

"Men, come with me to Shangning County. I'm going to tear down the City God Temple and show them all what I'm capable of!"

He then got up and walked outside the cave.

The blue-faced ghost general escorted Lu Sheng and followed behind General Fan.

As General Fan sent out his divine thoughts, the dark clouds covering the mountain surged and drifted into the sky. Countless ghostly soldiers appeared and disappeared within the dark clouds, exuding a terrifying and chilling aura.

Lu Sheng felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing this.

General Fan's power is even greater than before.

If these ghostly soldiers were to descend upon Shangning County, even without any physical presence, their sheer aura of malevolence would be enough to transform the entire county into a ghost realm.

All the people of Shangning County will also be transformed into ghosts in the ghost realm.

The City God has really gotten himself into big trouble this time.

Even if he wasn't killed by General Fan, he would still inevitably be punished by the Taishan Prefecture and thrown into the deepest hell.

And these underworld messengers will also suffer misfortune.

Lu Sheng was filled with resentment and bitterness as General Fan escorted him to Shangning County.

Where General Fan passed by, dark clouds covered the sky and cast deep shadows on the ground.

All living beings shrouded in the shadows felt the temperature plummet, as if the sweltering heat of August had abruptly turned into the dead of winter.

They looked up at the sky in terror, only to see countless grotesque figures looming within the dark clouds, accompanied by mournful wails that sent chills down their spines.

General Fan rode on a cloud and saw his massive army of ghosts within the dark clouds, as well as the trembling faces of the people on the ground before him. A surge of heroic spirit welled up within him.

When the Great Yan Emperor drove him to Zhenshan, he burned him and eight hundred soldiers to death. The soldiers wailed in the fire for three days.

From then on, General Fan was filled with deep resentment and was determined to break into the underworld, capture the ghost of the Great Yan Emperor, and avenge the burning torment.

Now, two hundred years later, he has finally forged 100,000 Yin soldiers, and is qualified to venture into the Netherworld.

This trip to Shangning County to destroy the City God Temple was just a small test of his abilities. Afterwards, he would cross the boundary between Yin and Yang from the City God Temple and enter the Netherworld, making ghosts and gods tremble with fear.

General Fan was marching forward with great confidence when he suddenly saw a figure coming towards him.

The man was dressed in a bright red python robe, wearing pink-soled court boots and a seven-tassel official hat, which was the attire of the City God.

It seems this is the newly appointed City God of Shangning County.

General Fan shouted sternly, "So you're the City God of Shangning County?"

"I was just about to settle accounts with you, and you've walked right into my trap. You're smart enough to know what's coming of it and come to apologize on your own."

Zhou Ming glanced at the dark clouds below and saw countless ghostly soldiers wailing at him.

This is the natural reaction of a vengeful ghost to the gods of the underworld.

Zhou Mingdao said, "General Fan, you have abducted spirits, obstructed the law enforcement of the underworld, and disrupted the order of Yin and Yang. Do you know your crime?"

General Fan was taken aback, then flew into a rage.

He had assumed that the new City God was afraid of his army's approach and had come to apologize and quell the conflict. He never expected that this hothead would come to interrogate him.

How dare this lowly City God question General Fan? If this lowly City God isn't severely punished, wouldn't he lose all face in the future?

Normally, when he descends to the underworld, even the ghost kings under the Fengdu Emperor dare not be arrogant towards him, let alone question him.