Zombie Life Begins in Hongxi Village

boom!

After venting his anger, Zhong Kui walked up to Lin Yi and knelt down straight down.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving my life! If Your Majesty had not pointed it out, Zhong Kui would still be in the dark, being used as a tool without even realizing it."

"If Your Majesty ever needs my assistance again, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

This kneeling was completely different from the polite bow we had exchanged earlier; it carried a heartfelt gratitude.

"Judge Zhong, what are you doing? Please get up quickly!" A smile flashed in Lin Yi's eyes as she hurriedly stepped forward to help Zhong Kui up.

After Zhong Kui stood up, he said with a serious expression, "Your Majesty, I agree to this marriage. The Cui family is not worthy to be related to me by marriage!"

He then took Zhong Xiaomei's hand and strode over to Wang Daniu.

He placed his sister's hand firmly on Wang Daniu's large hand.

"I'm entrusting my sister to you. Take good care of her."

"Don't worry, brother-in-law, I will definitely not let her suffer any injustice!" Wang Daniu patted his chest loudly.

"I hope you keep your word." Zhong Kui gave him a deep look.

Lin Yi spoke up at the opportune moment: "Da Niu, I've found you a wife. If you don't treat her well, you'll regret your boasting."

After saying that, he raised his hand and cast a Soul-Hooking Envoy talisman into Zhong Xiaomei's forehead, making her Wang Daniu's deputy, just like Chu Renmei.

Zhong Kui was stunned. Was the position of Deputy Soul Reaper, a righteous god, really given to his little sister so hastily?

Could the rumors be true, that Lin Yiming is a regional ruler not under the jurisdiction of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?

At this moment, he gained a new and profound understanding of Lin Yi's terrifying strength and transcendent authority.

At the same time, she realized what a great opportunity it was for her younger sister to marry Wang Daniu.

"Thank you, Your Majesty..." Zhong Kui was about to bow again, but Lin Yi waved her hand, and a gentle force supported his knees, so he could no longer bow.

"We're all family here, Judge Zhong, you're being too formal," Lin Yi said with a smile, her tone carrying an undeniable sense of closeness.

Zhong Kui was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

He was a carefree person by nature, and since Lin Yi had said so, he no longer bothered with those formalities.

"In that case, I, Old Zhong, will not stand on ceremony with Your Majesty."

Zhong Kui's tone was noticeably more relaxed than before, and his gaze towards Lin Yi held a genuine sense of closeness and casualness.

He recalled those scheming plots, and the fire in his heart flared up again. He could no longer stay still and bowed to Lin Yi.

"Your Majesty, I have important matters to attend to, so I will not stay any longer."

Lin Yi naturally understood his feelings.

He nodded and said, "Go ahead, Miss Zhong is safe with me."

Zhong Kui nodded slightly, raised his hand and tore open the void in front of him, revealing a dark and deep passage between Yin and Yang, the Gate of Hell. He couldn't wait to return to Fengdu Underworld.

"Brother, be careful." Zhong Xiaomei looked at his departing figure, feeling a little worried.

Zhong Kui paused for a moment, then waved his hand in front of his ear without turning around.

Then he strode into the gates of hell, leaving only a faint, ghostly aura lingering in the temple.

"Don't worry, Zhong Kui is the number one expert in the Fengdu Underworld besides the Fengdu Emperor. He will be fine."

Lin Yi smiled as she looked at Zhong Xiaomei's worried expression.

This is the truth; Zhong Kui's fame wasn't built on boasting, but on hard work.

The ones who should truly feel fear and unease now are those behind the scenes who secretly plotted against him.

Moreover, Judge Lu of the Investigation Division was also plotted against. Once Zhong Kui and Judge Lu join forces, a tremendous upheaval will inevitably erupt within the Fengdu Underworld.

At this time, the Great Emperor of Fengdu was not in the underworld. Although the Five Ghost Emperors were nominally half a rank higher than the judges, this half rank was relative to ordinary judges.

Giants like the Four Judges, who command tens of thousands of ghosts and gods, can completely disregard the Five Ghost Emperors.

After Zhong Kui left, the temple was quiet for a moment.

Zhong Jiu took a deep breath and strode up to Lin Yi.

Without saying a word, Zhong Jiu lifted the hem of his Taoist robe, knelt down with a thud, and kowtowed heavily nine times on the blue brick floor.

"Zhong Jiu, the 53rd generation successor of the Fengdu lineage, pays respects to His Majesty the King of the Underworld!"

His female apprentice, Yuan Qiongdan, was somewhat at a loss, but seeing that her master had knelt down, she quickly followed suit and kowtowed nine times, imitating her master's actions.

"Goodness, you know how to seize an opportunity." Wang Daniu couldn't help but look on with a nostalgic expression when he saw Zhong Jiu's performance.

Back then, he and Ma Dayong were able to become underworld generals because they seized the opportunity, and now they have both won the hearts of beauties—he married Zhong Xiaomei, and Ma Dayong married Chu Renmei.

As one of the people who had followed Lin Yi the longest, his intuition told him that Zhong Jiu might be about to rise to prominence.

Sure enough, Lin Yi spoke the next second:

"Zhong Jiu, I have observed that you possess solid cultivation and extraordinary courage. I wish to recruit you as a Night Patrol God of the Underworld, responsible for patrolling the human world at night and monitoring good and evil deeds."

Are you willing?

"Your Majesty, I am willing to serve you with the utmost loyalty!" Zhong Jiu kowtowed again with a thud, without the slightest hesitation.

Of course he'd want to! As a disciple of the Fengdu lineage, he dreamed of joining the underworld system. Just like the Shandong people's obsession with passing the civil service exam.

"Very well, I hereby appoint you as the Night Patrol God. You will be responsible for patrolling the human world at night and monitoring good and evil deeds."

After Lin Yi finished speaking, she raised her palm and aimed it at the top of Zhong Jiu's head.

Before Zhong Jiu could react, a palm strike sent Zhong Jiu's body exploding into a cloud of blood mist.

Yuan Qiongdan was so frightened that she almost screamed, but Wang Daniu quickly pressed down on her shoulder and gestured with his eyes for her not to be afraid.

Lin Yi opened his mouth and inhaled, and the cloud of blood mist transformed into a thin thread of blood, flowing entirely into his mouth.

He closed his eyes, savoring the memories and skills contained within Zhong Jiu's blood—

The complete ritual for opening the gates of hell, including Fengdu talismans, soul-guiding techniques, and the Yu Steps, as well as a set of unique hand seals from the Fengdu lineage called the "Fengdu Suppressing Evil Technique."

These skills would be considered top-tier inheritances for ordinary Taoists, but for Lin Yi they were merely icing on the cake.

What truly interested him was the unique ability of the Fengdu lineage to communicate with the spirits and deities of the underworld…

He pulled himself out of his thoughts, and a dark blue Night Wanderer's Talisman condensed at his fingertips, which he then cast into Zhong Jiu's soul.

The moment the talisman entered his soul, Zhong Jiu's soul began to undergo a dramatic transformation—

The translucent soul quickly solidified under the transformation of the divine talisman, and divine radiance spread outward from the inside, refining and reshaping his soul.

A divine seal appeared between his brows, and his body was surrounded by the unique dark divine radiance of the Night Wanderer, which contrasted sharply with the golden sunlight of the Day Wanderer, Qian Youcai.

"Zhong Jiu thanks Your Majesty for your kindness!"

After completing his transformation, Zhong Jiu knelt on one knee, his voice steady and powerful. His entire demeanor had transformed from that of a Taoist priest in the mortal realm into that of a true god of the underworld.

He could clearly feel the various abilities bestowed upon him by the divine talisman—night walking, soul searching, good and evil judgment, and the Yin Wind Step. These abilities were like instincts etched into his bones; he didn't need to learn them, his body would have them on its own.

"Get up. You'll have to fill in the framework of the Night Wanderer yourself; you'll have to gather your own subordinate spirits."

Lin Yi waved her hand, "The staffing is allocated at one-tenth. Hong Kong Island has limited resources and can't support too many idle people."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After Zhong Jiu got up, he suddenly pulled Yuan Qiongdan, who was standing to the side, and placed one hand on her crown. With a gentle pull, he drew her soul out of her body.

Yuan Qiongdan's physical body collapsed to the ground, but her soul remained standing, staring blankly at her master.

"Your Majesty, I would like to appoint my disciple Yuan Qiongdan as my deputy," Zhong Jiu said, bowing slightly, his tone carrying a hint of cautious anticipation.

Lin Yi gave him a deep look, then looked at Yuan Qiongdan.

The girl was about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a round face, big eyes, and fair skin, and she looked somewhat like Sister Pomegranate.

"Granted." Lin Yi's lips curled up slightly as he raised his hand and cast a divine talisman for the Deputy Envoy, officially bestowing the title upon Yuan Qiongdan.

After dealing with the matter of Zhong Jiu and his disciples, Lin Yi did not linger at the temple.

He told Wang Daniu to take Zhong Xiaomei and the others back to the Netherworld Small Dimension to settle down, while he himself teleported back to the Kowloon Pond Villa.

After returning home, Lin Yi waited for the Blue Teardrop storyline reward.

However, instead of receiving the reward, they received follow-up news.

The next morning, Wang Daniu hurriedly came out of the Netherworld Minor Dimension.

He told Lin Yi that after bidding farewell to Lin Yi, Zhong Kui stormed into the Cui clan in the underworld that very day.

He personally beheaded Cui Shan, the son of Cui Yu, the patriarch of the Cui clan and judge of the underworld, along with 128 accomplices involved in the crime of murdering a judge of the underworld.

Even Li Shimin, the Western Ghost Emperor who came to mediate the fight, was severely injured and had his arm cut off by Zhong Kui on the grounds of harboring a criminal. Zhong Kui even "thoughtfully" had the severely injured Li Shimin carried to the gate of his elder brother, the Prince of Yinxi's residence.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi exclaimed, "Wow!"

Isn't the Hidden King Li Jiancheng?

Zhong Kui ordered someone to send the seriously injured Li Shimin to Li Jiancheng. Wasn't that disgusting him?

When Li Jiancheng saw his younger brother, whose arm had been chopped off, being carried to his doorstep, he probably would have burst out laughing on the spot.

It seems that the mastermind behind this scheme against Zhong Kui and Lu Pan is none other than the Western Ghost Emperor Li Shimin and Judge Cui.

Meanwhile, Judge Lu was not idle either.

He accused the Western Ghost Emperor Li Shimin of repeatedly and privately instructing members of the Li clan to reincarnate, which seriously violated the laws of the underworld, and thus went beyond his authority to accuse Li Shimin of escaping to the level of Ksitigarbha.

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva also deeply abhorred this behavior and immediately rendered a judgment:

Li Shimin was stripped of his divine position as the Western Ghost Emperor and cast into the cycle of reincarnation to be reborn.

As an accomplice, Judge Cui Yu of the Underworld was guilty of knowingly breaking the law, and his crime was punished even more severely. He was also sent to the cycle of reincarnation.

Cui Yu's deputy, Wei Zheng, was promoted to the new Judge of the Underworld...

Two days later, Lin Yi finally received the story reward for "Zhong Kui Marries His Sister" in her study. The blue teardrop information stream arrived as promised.

"Complete the storyline of 'Zhong Kui Marries His Sister'."

The schemes of the Li royal family in Fengdu Underworld were thwarted. Lu Pan survived, Zhong Kui survived, Zhong Xiaomei survived, and the Land God survived. The structure of Fengdu Underworld changed, and the Western Ghost Emperor Li Shimin's divided soul was used to persuade Li Shimin to disappear.

The plot disruption level is S+.