Ghost Immortal

On the way back to the mortuary from Hejia Village, Qiusheng walked very fast, almost running.

He had changed out of his crimson robe and back into his Taoist robe, and the red marks on his face from the banana leaf scratches still remained, like a kiss mark.

Bearing this shameful mark, he didn't want to stay outside for even a moment longer.

Li Feng followed behind, carrying a shoulder pole with a bamboo basket hanging from each end. The baskets were neatly stacked with the first batch of finished ghost money.

The ghost money was wrapped tightly in oiled paper, and then wrapped in two layers of waterproof tarpaulin. It was so heavy that it weighed at least a hundred pounds.

But with his Qi Refining Level 3 cultivation, carrying this amount of weight was no different from carrying two baskets of cotton.

Qiulan walked at the very back, clutching the ghost-catching bag given to her by He Xiangu and several packets of newly made talismans, chuckling to herself as she went.

She was waiting outside the door while Qiu Sheng was changing clothes, and listened to the whole story of Qiu Sheng's romantic encounter with the banana spirit, laughing until her stomach hurt.

"Senior brother, slow down!"

Li Feng shouted from behind, "The carrying pole is hurting my shoulders, and you didn't even offer to help me switch hands."

"Don't even try!" Qiu Sheng didn't turn around, but instead quickened his pace.

"A Qi Refining cultivator carrying over a hundred pounds and complaining of shoulder pain? You're kidding me! You just want me to go back and let my master see me like this!"

The red marks on his face weren't deep, but their location was too tricky.

It was right on my left cheek, as if a woman had gently scratched it with her fingernail.

If Master Si Mei saw this, he would definitely ask what happened.

If Qiulan adds fuel to the fire and imitates him, he will never be able to hold his head up in the mortuary for the rest of his life.

Li Feng didn't chase after him. He carried the shoulder pole slowly, pondering the matter of the batch of ghost money as he walked.

He Xiangu said that the first batch was 300 million, and the remaining 700 million would take another ten days or so to complete.

After collecting one billion ghost money, it must be burned within a time limit stipulated by the underworld; otherwise, it will not be accepted.

The White Impermanence has already agreed to extend the time, but these kinds of underworld deities can change their minds faster than flipping through a book; who knows if they might suddenly change their minds?

When the three returned to the mortuary, it was already dark.

The gates of the mortuary were wide open, and several lanterns were lit in the courtyard, making it much brighter than usual.

A low, muffled voice came from the hall, but it was hard to hear clearly.

The tone of the voice was strange, like chanting scriptures or singing opera, with the melody drawn out for a long time.

"Who is Master talking to?"

Qiu Sheng stopped and looked curiously toward the hall.

Li Feng heard it too.

He opened his five senses to perceive the atmosphere in the hall and discovered that in addition to the spiritual energy fluctuations of the Four-Eyebrowed Taoist, there were two extremely cold and gloomy auras.

He recognized the aura; it was the Black and White Impermanence he had encountered at the entrance of the mortuary on the night of the Ghost Festival.

Li Feng put his finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet.

"Shh, keep your voice down, the underworld messengers are here, a few days earlier than the appointed time."

Qiu Sheng's face immediately fell.

His fear of Bai Wuchang was ingrained in his very bones.

I still vividly remember being scolded by Bai Wuchang (White Impermanence) last time.

The sight of his pale face with bulging bluish-black veins gave him nightmares for several nights.

"Don't be afraid, we're here to collect money, not to interrogate you." Li Feng patted his shoulder, picked up his carrying pole, and stepped into the yard.

A black cloth curtain hung at the entrance of the hall, with talismans for communicating with spirits embroidered in silver thread on it.

This was temporarily hung up to block the yang energy of the living, so that the underworld officials could feel more at ease in the hall.

A faint green light shone through the gaps in the curtain; it was the ghostly flame that the underworld officials carried.

The voice of the Taoist priest with four eyebrows came from behind the curtain: "Come in since you're here, and bring in the ghost money as well."

Li Feng lifted the curtain and stepped into the hall, where he was immediately greeted by a bone-chilling cold.

Despite the sweltering heat of late July, the temperature in the hall felt as low as the depths of winter, with breath condensing into white mist.

The altar in the main hall was moved to the wall, freeing up a large open space.

A thick layer of yellow paper was spread on the open ground. On the yellow paper, a three-foot square circle was drawn with cinnabar. Inside the circle, there were densely packed runes for the salvation of the dead.

This is a special altar for burning paper money for the dead. It ensures that the burned paper money is delivered accurately to the underworld's accounting office and is not intercepted by passing wandering ghosts.

On either side of the altar stood a grim reaper.

Bai Wuchang stands on the left, still dressed in a white robe, with a pointed white hat on his head bearing the four characters "一见生财" (meaning "May you make money at first sight").

This isn't official business; did they just change their hats?

His pale face looked particularly sinister in the glow of the will-o'-the-wisps.

A signature stiff smile played on his lips, and he held a soul-snatching rope in his hand.

The other end of the soul-snatching rope extended out from outside the curtain, and the faint sound of iron chains dragging on the ground could be heard coming from the courtyard.

The procession of ghosts behind him stopped in the courtyard, but was hidden by a black curtain.

Black Impermanence stood on the right, dressed in a black robe with the words "Peace Under Heaven" written on his black hat. His face was as black as ink, and his expression was even more stiff than White Impermanence's.

He was holding a thick booklet in his hands, which Bai Wuchang had taken out and flipped through during the Ghost Festival.

The cover of the booklet had several large characters written in negative space, which Li Feng could barely make out after squinting and looking closely.

"The Yin State Account Book of Qingyan City".

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows stood in front of the altar, holding three lit incense sticks as a guide, and bowed to the Black and White Impermanence.

He had changed into a brand new Taoist robe, and his hair had been combed again and tied into a neat Taoist bun, clearly showing that he attached great importance to this handover.

"You two esteemed guests have graced us with your presence. I am deeply sorry for not welcoming you properly."

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows placed the guiding incense sticks into the incense burner in front of the altar.

The cigarette smoke rose and condensed into three straight columns in the air.

The White Impermanence waved his hand, his pale fingers resembling bones.

"No need, no need. I'm here to collect debts, not to reminisce. Have you gathered the ten billion ghost money yet?"

"The first batch of 300 million has been retrieved, and the remaining 700 million is still being produced. We will definitely be able to pay it all off by the end of the month."

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows waved to Li Feng.

"Li Feng, quickly bring over the ghost money."

Li Feng and Qiu Sheng carried the bamboo basket to the altar, uncovered the oilcloth, revealing neatly arranged paper money inside.

These ghost money were all given by He Xiangu and her disciples.

Each piece is handmade, using specially made yellow paper as the base, on which neatly written talismans for the deceased are inscribed, and the talismans are stamped with the seal of the Heavenly Master of the Maoshan School at the end.

The edges of the ghost money were outlined with gold powder, and the yin energy it emitted was ten times stronger than that of ordinary paper money.

The White Impermanence bent down, picked up a piece of ghost money from the bamboo basket, and examined it closely.

He ran his fingers over the runes on the surface of the joss paper, then lightly scraped the gold powder outline with his fingernail, sniffed it, and nodded in satisfaction.

"He Xiangu's skills are indeed well-deserved."

The White Impermanence put the ghost money back into the bamboo basket, and the stiff smile on his face gained a hint of sincerity.

"The runes are neatly written and have sufficient spiritual power. One of them is equivalent to ten ordinary ghost money notes. Three hundred million ghost money notes, based on this condition, can be converted into five hundred million notes."

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows beamed with joy and quickly cupped his hands, saying, "Thank you for your kind words, sir."

"It's not flattery, it's the truth."

White Impermanence turned around and made a gesture to Black Impermanence.

"Third brother, put it in the books."

Black Impermanence opened the ledger in his hand and made a few strokes on the book with a black brush.

"Qingyan City Mortuary should pay 1.2 billion in ghost money this year. 200 million has been paid, leaving 1 billion outstanding."

Black Impermanence's voice was deep and hoarse, as if it came from the depths of the earth.

"We have received the first batch of 300 million ghost money, which is of excellent quality and is worth 500 million. We still owe 500 million, which must be paid in full by July 30th."

After he finished speaking, he raised his head and looked at the Four-Eyebrowed Taoist with his dark, inky eyes: "Four-Eyebrowed Taoist, there are only nine days left. Are you confident about the remaining five hundred million?"

Master Si Mei nodded hurriedly: "Junior Sister He is working day and night and will finish it within seven days. She will definitely not miss the deadline, sir."

The White Impermanence chimed in from the side, "Just paying the ghost money isn't enough. Of the thirty-four ghosts that escaped, how many have you found?"

Thirty-two.

Master Si Mei took out the jade slip left by Lei Jian from his sleeve and handed it over with both hands.

"This is a receipt personally signed by Senior Brother Lei Jian. All thirty-two ghosts have been returned to the Underworld. Please take a look, Your Excellency."

Bai Wuchang took the jade slip, ran his fingertip across its surface, and read the information sealed within.

After a moment, his expression softened, and he returned the jade slip to the Four-Eyebrowed Taoist.

"Lei Jian is reliable. All thirty-two ghosts have returned to their places, and the procedures are complete. As for the remaining two that drifted to the Southern Frontier, Lei Jian has already sent a letter of assistance to the Southern Frontier branch. I am also aware of this matter."

Bai Wuchang switched the soul-snatching rope to his other hand, his tone becoming more relaxed.

"So, the ghost-running business is mostly settled. As long as the remaining 500 million ghost money is paid on time, we'll call it even."

Master Four Eyebrows breathed a sigh of relief and bowed deeply to the ground: "Thank you both for your magnanimity. I am deeply grateful."

"Don't thank me yet." Bai Wuchang raised his hand to stop him from bowing, and the smile on his face turned back to its meaningful look.

"Besides collecting debts, I have something else to tell you today."

He winked at Black Impermanence.

Black Impermanence understood, closed the ledger, and took out a small black cloth bag from his sleeve.

The bag was only the size of a palm, and the opening was tied with a red rope with three copper coins attached to it.

He placed the cloth bag on the altar and pushed it in front of the Taoist priest with four eyebrows.

"What is this?"

Master Si Mei looked at the cloth bag but didn't reach out to touch it.

"You'll know once you open it and take a look," White Impermanence said, gesturing with his lips.

Master Si Mei hesitated for a moment, then reached out to untie the red rope and open the bag.

The cloth bag contained a small pinch of grayish-white powder. The powder was extremely fine and light. As soon as the bag was opened, a few grains floated up, glowing with a faint phosphorescence in the light of the will-o'-the-wisp.

"Ashes?"

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows frowned.

The smile on Bai Wuchang's face faded slightly.

"These are Manager Wang's ashes!"

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows seemed mysterious yet impressive.

Bai Wuchang continued, "You've been investigating those people who died under mysterious circumstances: Zhao Laosan the water seller, Manager Wang the silk shopkeeper, Li Chaofeng the pawnshop owner, and two other people. You all think they were killed by Gu Zhenren's Gu worms, right?"

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows nodded, his expression solemn.

"Wrong." Bai Wuchang stretched out a pale finger and gently shook it.

"When I looked through the Book of Life and Death of these people in the Underworld, I found that their affairs had little to do with Gu Zhenren."

"It doesn't matter much?" The four-browed Taoist priest was surprised.

"But there were clearly traces of Gu worms on Manager Wang's body, and also on Li Chaofeng's body..."

"The Gu worms were added later," Bai Wuchang interrupted him.

"To be precise, Gu Zhenren put the Gu worms into the corpses after these people died. He was using these corpses to raise Gu worms, not to kill people with Gu worms."

This information caught everyone present off guard.