Zombie Life Begins in Hongxi Village

Uncle Shou strode to the study door: "Master, Judge Zhong Kui from Fengdu Underworld requests an audience, and he brought quite a lot of things with him. It's quite a grand affair."

"Looks like he's finished with his business. Let's go out and take a look."

Lin Yi stood up, straightened her collar, and went to the front door to greet him.

"His Majesty."

When Zhong Kui saw Lin Yi personally come out to greet him, he lifted his red robe and was about to bow when Lin Yi grabbed his arm and helped him up.

"Judge Zhong, you've got quite the entourage," Lin Yi said with a smile, glancing at the long line of porters.

Zhong Kui straightened up, rubbed the back of his head with his large hand, and forced an embarrassed smile onto his bearded face:

"Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness. I have come here for two reasons: first, to thank Your Majesty in person for saving my life; and second, to deliver a dowry to my good-for-nothing sister."

"Da Niu is a good kid, I feel at ease leaving my little sister with him."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and waved his hand behind him. Several little devils hurriedly carried their loads and ran forward, carrying the sandalwood boxes one by one into the hall.

Lin Yi glanced at them; the first few boxes contained Zhong Xiaomei's dowry.

The items included men's and women's robes, ritual implements and jade talismans, gold and silver jewelry from the underworld, and even a large quantity of food containing incense and wishes.

But what really caught Lin Yi's attention were the six large boxes at the very front of the line.

When the little devils carried it earlier, it was noticeably more than twice as heavy as the other loads, and they had a lot of trouble carrying it.

Seemingly noticing Lin Yi's gaze, Zhong Kui strode forward and personally lifted the lid of one of the boxes.

A soft, warm golden light emanated from the box.

The light wasn't dazzling; instead, it was warm and comforting, giving people an indescribable sense of comfort.

The box was filled to the brim with fine gold dust, each grain the size of a sesame seed, pure in color, with a restrained golden luster, and without a trace of impurity.

Merit Sand.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow slightly.

This is not gold in the secular sense, but an energy crystal formed from pure good deeds and blessings; it is a highly concentrated manifestation of virtuous deeds.

Merit Sand has countless uses; it can offset karmic obstacles, consecrate and ward off evil, refine divine magical artifacts... and even repair damaged souls.

"I have no way to repay your life-saving grace. Please accept my three liters and three pecks of merit-gold sand."

Zhong Kui clasped his hands together, bowed deeply, and spoke sincerely.

Lin Yi reached out and grabbed a handful of gold dust. The fine gold particles flowed slowly between her fingers, feeling as warm and smooth as jade.

He released his grip, and the gold dust fell back into the box. He shook his head and said, "Your thank-you gift is quite substantial; it must have emptied your coffers from a thousand years ago."

Zhong Kui grinned, not bothering to hide anything, and rubbed the back of his head with his large hand, saying:

"Hehe, Your Majesty, to be honest, all the gold dust I've refined over the years, apart from some used in my three essential tools—the Zhong Kui Sword, the Judge's Fan, and the Ghost-Swallowing Gourd—is all here."

If it weren't for His Majesty saving me from dire straits, this small amount of merit and gold dust would not be enough to atone for the sins I have committed.

Stealing the Book of Life and Death, burning down the warehouse, killing colleagues—any one of these is enough for me, Old Zhong, to be beheaded.

Compared to His Majesty's life-saving grace, these material possessions are nothing.

He spoke frankly and openly, without hiding anything.

If we've emptied our coffers, so be it; we can always save more later.

Zhong Kui values ​​loyalty and righteousness above all else in his life. He can't even sleep soundly if he doesn't repay the favors he owes others.

"In that case, I'll accept it."

Seeing his sincere expression, Lin Yi stopped refusing and waved her hand to put all six boxes of merit gold sand, along with Zhong Xiaomei's dowry, into her Qiankun Ring.

Seeing that Lin Yi readily accepted the gift, Zhong Kui relaxed his shoulders, let out a long sigh of relief, and his smile became even more genuine than before.

He turned and waved to the back of the line: "Old Liu, come here."

An old man strode forward from the back of the line. He was dressed in a well-fitting long gown, with graying temples and a thin face, but his eyes were unusually bright, and he exuded a cheerful and open-minded spirit.

"His name was Liu Angxing. He was born in the third year of the Xianfeng reign and died in the tenth year of the Republic of China. During his lifetime, he was a famous master chef whose skills were almost like the Tao."

Zhong Kui pointed at the old ghost and introduced him to Lin Yi, "He had been wandering around the ancestral house for twenty years after his death. I ran into him a while ago and brought him back to the underworld."

I heard from Da Niu that you were looking for a cook, so I brought him along.

"This humble citizen, Liu Angxing, greets His Majesty the King of the Underworld."

Old Ghost hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects, but his tone lacked the usual timidity of a ghost facing the King of the Underworld. Instead, it was filled with an indescribable cheerfulness and confidence.

Liu Angxing?

When Lin Yi heard this name, it sounded strangely familiar.

He stared at the old ghost for a moment, and suddenly a thought flashed through his mind—a Sichuan accent, cooking skills that were almost Taoist, could it be him?

"Get up. Are you from Xichuan?"

Liu Angxing straightened up and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, I am from Chengdu, Xichuan."

"I heard you can make dishes that glow?"

Liu Angxing was slightly taken aback, then revealed a gentle and earnest smile:

"Your Majesty, the food itself cannot emit light."

However, dishes made with care can make diners feel the happiness of food, thus creating a visual illusion of ultimate deliciousness for them.

Ultimately, it's not the food that shines, but the hearts of those who eat it that shine.

It's confirmed.

As expected, it was the young master of Chinese cooking—not the hot-blooded teenager from the anime, but an elderly version of Liu Angxing who lived a full life and eventually died peacefully in his old age.

Although he is getting old, his sincerity and love for cooking are exactly the same as those in the anime.

I never imagined that this world even has anime characters.

This Liu Angxing is many times better than ordinary chefs like Sha Zhu, especially since he's from Xichuan.

Lin Yi looked at Zhong Kui and nodded in satisfaction: "I'll take Liu Angxing."

He then turned to Liu Angxing, raised his hand and condensed a purplish-red divine light, which he then injected into Liu's soul.

The moment the divine light entered his soul, Liu Angxing's soul quickly solidified, and a faint divine radiance emerged from the depths of his soul, reshaping and reconstructing his ghostly body.

"I hereby appoint you as the God of the Underworld's Chef, and from now on you will be my personal chef."

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"

Liu Angxing thanked the gods with some excitement, not because of the position of the God of Cookery, but because he could make delicious food again, and even food for ghosts and gods.

Lin Yi casually opened the Gates of Hell, bringing Zhong Kui and his group, along with Liu Angxing, to the Underworld Palace in the Netherworld Minor Dimension.

Lin Yi instructed Shou Bo to summon Wang Daniu and the others.

When Wang Daniu and Zhong Xiaomei were summoned, they had no idea what was going on. It wasn't until they saw Zhong Kui sitting in the guest seat and smiling at them that Wang Daniu realized—his brother-in-law had arrived.

Lin Yi, sitting in the main seat, said, "There's no time like the present. Since everyone is here, why don't we hold the wedding today?"

Ma Dayong followed behind, watching Wang Daniu and Zhong Xiaomei's sweet relationship with longing, his face full of envy.

He quietly tugged at Chu Renmei's sleeve, leaned closer, and whispered, "Amei, look, Da Niu is already married, when will we...?"

Chu Renmei glanced at him shyly, her hair automatically covering her face as she lowered her head.

Lin Yi saw Ma Dayong's little tricks and chuckled to herself.

After obtaining the consent of Zhong Kui and Wang Daniu, he announced on the spot that another couple would be added to the wedding today: Ma Dayong and Chu Renmei would get married together, making it a double celebration.