I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

……

"What kind of monster has ever served as a city god?"

The shadow of the white hedgehog said:

"My sister taught me that I oversee three local shrines. Today, either the dead couple is arguing, the woman says the man's grave is too close to someone else's, and the man says the woman keeps peeping at young men swimming in the river, or someone's weasel stole a chicken..."

"Hiss hiss hiss..."

The serpentine smoke slowly opened, its voice eerie, like a sound rising from the bottom of a well:

"You seem to have it easy. Here, besides sending off new ghosts every day, there are also river drifters causing trouble every day, either pulling passersby into the water or crying out for justice."

A few days ago, a water ghost was squatting at the bottom of the river where someone drowned. I asked the underworld officials to bring it back for a trial—they told me that the water ghost must find a substitute to be reincarnated.

I asked who told it, and it said that's what they say in novels... So, what should I do to stop its hissing?

"Oh my mother."

The lame fox clicked his tongue in disapproval, his tail slowly drooping: "Look, look, look! Which of the three of us looks like we'd be good officials?"

"That's why we've come to see you today."

The hedgehog's shadow suddenly stopped laughing, paused for a moment, and said, "The City God is not only responsible for judging cases. Now that the underworld has been newly established, the laws have not yet been perfected."

If there's no place for us beasts in the new law, what will we do then?

The old fox was taken aback: "As for legal matters, well, we don't know how to legislate."

The snake hissed, "Even if it can't stand upright, it has to get involved."

The old fox's expression became even more bewildered: "Interfere? Who are you going to get involved with? We've only just taken office, we don't know anyone, what does amending the law have to do with us?"

"Are you crazy? The City God is also under the jurisdiction of the Underworld."

Hedgehog cursed, "The underworld is going to amend its laws, and nobody knows how the new laws will be written. What if some wicked person adds a line like 'Demons cannot become gods' to the underworld laws? The three of us will be kicked out of the City God Temple tomorrow."

"This, this won't do, this won't do!"

Upon hearing the words "Get out," the old fox immediately started spinning in circles on all threes:

"No, no, that won't do! I just settled down here, and besides, it's not easy for us monsters to cultivate. Humans are born with intelligence, but we have to cultivate for decades or even hundreds of years before we can even speak human language."

"Now that we've finally managed to hold our heads high, if the law comes along and suppresses us, won't we have to go back to the mountains and live like animals again!"

In his desperation, even the Fox City God stopped stuttering.

"Human players don't seem to have received any news about the legislation yet."

The hedgehog's shadow floated on the incense burner: "So we have to make our move now."

If all those who practice the Dharma are human, can they think for us? Don't dream. Humans only see themselves as human; the rest are either beasts or monsters.

"Have you forgotten how your ancestor Daji was portrayed in the book?"

—Since ancient times, the demons in tales of the strange and supernatural have never had a good ending.

The old fox fell silent, lowered its head, and let its two ears droop limply against its head, like a large eggplant that had been hit by frost.

"Hiss... I know you were taken care of before, but not everyone is good."

The snake slowly added:

"Don't you know how humans see us? Before we became sentient, they skinned us alive and tore us apart."

"Once we become spirits, we become the demons they fear. We've gained intelligence, and they're afraid of us. If we were to truly try to uphold the laws, they would probably obstruct us at every turn."

"Coco, but..."

The fox-like city god was persuaded. With drooping eyelids, he said in a low voice, "But who can we turn to? I can't even write properly, let alone revise, revise the laws."

"You're so stupid!" The hedgehog spun around anxiously. "Have you forgotten? Before us, there was a great demon senior."

"A great, great demon?"

The old fox thought for a while: "You mean... that rat spirit who specifically sends people into dungeons?"

"That's it." The hedgehog's smoke-like shape swayed, as if nodding.

The old fox immediately sat back down:

"I...I've heard of it. Is it the copy of 'Huang Laotai's Birthday'?"

I heard that the entry conditions for that instance are very strange. You can become a player by making a wish in the online live stream, which is broadcast once every fourteen days.

There's a rat in the live stream that can speak human language and even send people into dungeons—isn't that a powerful demon?!

"right."

The hedgehog snorted, "That's called skill. We've only just passed the exam to become City Gods, and we can barely speak human language."

Not only can they evade the Special Investigations Bureau's surveillance and freely access the internet, but they can also turn people into players, controlling a resource-rich instance. What is a great demon? That's a true great demon.

"With a dungeon, you'll have resources for cultivation."

The illusory image of the giant serpent flicked its tongue:

"News can be kept from humans, but not from the eyes of animals. A while ago, one of my kind swallowed a rat, and that rat, in order to survive, revealed some information:"

That powerful demon frequently appears near Jiangcheng.

"Jiangcheng?"

The old fox tilted its head, curled its tail around, as if deep in thought. After a long, long time, it suddenly remembered something and shuddered. "Isn't Fengdu in Jiangcheng? That rat... could it be connected to the underworld?"

The incense ash in the incense burner trembled slightly, as if a breeze had blown by.

"That would be even better!"

The hedgehog said happily, "His skills are greater than all of ours combined."

If anyone is qualified to amend the law and speak for us demons, I can't think of anyone else besides him.

"Hiss... But would they even even look at us? We don't even have human form."

The snake coiled halfway around the incense ash, resembling a plump tire.

"I dare not disturb it rashly—but if it does nothing, who will speak up for us furry beasts?"

Upon hearing this, the fox frowned and squatted back down on the prayer mat. Behind him, the little foxes craned their necks, curiously watching the two shadows of incense ash.

"Then, what do you want me to do?" the old fox asked.

The hedgehog had a good plan: "Let's first keep the monsters in our respective territories in check and prevent any major trouble, and then send our little ones to gather information."

If it's confirmed that the laws of the underworld permit demons to participate, then the three of us will work together to find a way to see that senior and persuade him to come out of seclusion.

"Fengdu," the hedgehog said, shaking its head as if it had a lot of insight.

"These two days are the Ghost Festival. If something happens here, I'm afraid the whole country will be thrown into chaos. The great demon senior has been going to Jiangcheng frequently, so he can't have built his nest there. Something big must have happened."

Tomorrow is the Ghost Festival.

The giant snake hissed and exhaled a very thin stream of smoke:

"I don't know if the gates of hell are open. At a time like this, if something happens anywhere, it will definitely cause chaos. Since we are outnumbered, it's best to wait and see."

"During the Ghost Festival, there are many people burning paper money, and many wandering ghosts on the streets."

The Fox City God noticed that the three demons had drifted off-topic, so he abruptly brought the conversation back on track:

"What do we do after we find the great demon?"

"Of course, we need to contact all the monsters we can."

The hedgehog glared at it with exasperation:

"See if you have any monsters under your command who can read and write, and send them over to the great demons and the underworld to register them."

If we really can't find any, then as a last resort, we can try to recommend a few people who are friendly to yokai to work on the law. In short, we can't have a law-enforcing group without a single yokai, understand?

"It's best not to make a fuss, and not let 'people' find out."

The snake added in a low voice, "If humans knew we were also vying for this position, they would probably try to trip us up in countless ways."

The three city gods immediately fell silent.

Humans have occupied the top of the food chain for many years. Now that spiritual energy has been revived, would they be willing to let outcasts take the lead?

No one knows.

For a moment, only the soft sound of candlelight licking the wick could be heard in the temple.

The little foxes looked around, not knowing what the adults were talking about, but they felt that the atmosphere had suddenly changed.

A bold little yellow fox tried to climb onto the old fox's lap, but the old fox rolled it aside with its tail. It squeaked twice, and when no one paid attention to it, it rolled back into its group of companions and started biting its own tail.

After a long while, the hedgehog finally sighed:

"...It's so hard to be a human. Before, I only had to worry about finding food and avoiding predators. Now I have to outsmart people too—"

Although that's what they said, the three animal city gods knew perfectly well what was going on:

They absolutely do not want to go back to the past, to those ignorant, muddled days of eating and sleeping all day long, without knowing the meaning of "living".