Zombie Life Begins in Hongxi Village

On the other side, in the suburbs of Guangzhou.

Outside Sishui Village in the north of the city stands a long-abandoned Weituo Temple.

The temple was long since devoid of incense offerings; the statues of gods were either overturned or broken, leaving only a few tattered banners fluttering in the evening breeze.

Qin Bu and Zhao Li arrived outside the Weituo Temple.

Zhao Li, with his sharp eyes, grabbed Qin Bu: "Look!"

The temple door was half-open, and two figures, one large and one small, appeared before them.

The larger one was a man wearing a gray Zhongshan suit, kneeling there.

The small one is about the size of an adult's palm, with long hair reaching its waist; it is clearly an exquisite Japanese doll.

It was Tsuchimikado Ichiro and the demon doll, Gouki.

Qin Bu narrowed his eyes, his grip on the knife tightening slightly.

Zhao Li also took out his revolver and winked at Qin Bu.

Then, Zhao Li kicked open the temple door.

However, the demon doll remained standing in the same spot, and Tsuchimikado Ichiro's body remained in a kneeling position.

Qin Bu frowned, rushed forward, and grabbed Tsuchimikado Ichiro's shoulder, but the man's body went limp and collapsed as if his bones had been removed.

"He's dead," Qin Bu said in a deep voice.

Zhao Li rushed to the ghost doll, and the moment his fingertip touched the doll, the doll suddenly hissed and emitted a wisp of black smoke.

The entire dilapidated temple seemed to have been shaken up by something, and all four walls simultaneously lit up with dense, blood-red runes.

The talismanic light was dazzling, crisscrossing beneath Qin Bu and Zhao Li's feet and converging at the center of the roof.

A barrier instantly enveloped them both.

Zhao Li's expression completely changed: "Damn it, it's a trigger-activated barrier! They knew we were coming!"

The barrier was extremely thick, and countless twisted insect patterns writhed on the dark red light screen, emitting a pungent, sweet smell.

The barrier tightened continuously, as if trying to peel the entire dilapidated temple away from the mortal world.

Zhao Li raised his gun and fired.

Three bullets struck the barrier wall, creating three pale sparks, but not even leaving a crack.

He was about to fire again when Qin Bu stepped forward from behind.

"Get out of the way."

Qin Bu flicked his wrist, raising the ghost-headed saber.

The pitch-black blade energy spread out in all directions as if it were a tangible substance.

He gripped the sword with both hands and slashed down fiercely at the center of the barrier above his head.

"Smash it for me!"

That strike was both swift and fierce, like a black lightning bolt cleaving the sky.

Wherever the blade passed, the air was sucked away, emitting an extremely sharp whistling sound.

The blade energy struck the barrier, and the seemingly indestructible dark red light screen only held for a moment before shattering like a broken mirror, finally exploding into countless specks of light with a "bang".

The force of the blade's energy remained undiminished, actually tearing off the eaves and half a wall of the dilapidated temple.

Qin Bu stormed out, looking around furiously, and cursed, "You son of a bitch, don't let me catch you, or I'll chop you into pieces!"

He then returned to the temple, where Zhao Li was examining the body of Tsuchimikado Ichiro.

"Tsuchimikado Ichiro's soul is also gone. It was taken away alive by someone, probably Gohime Inui who was living inside the doll!"

It seems that the relationship between Tsuchimikado Ichiro and Gouki is not that of an ordinary Onmyoji and shikigami.

Qin Bu sneered: "Nonsense. Now is not the time to guess what their relationship is."

They seemed to know we were coming; this trap was set specifically for us.

This doll, this Yin-Yang magic barrier, every step is meticulously calculated.

There are bad guys in your group!

Upon hearing this, Zhao Li jumped up immediately: "Impossible! There are no traitors in our Underworld!"

Although he spoke with great conviction, he wasn't really confident in his own words.

It's too much of a coincidence; no one would believe there wasn't an inside man.

Qin Bu chuckled: "Hard to say. Your underworld is notoriously corrupt."

Back when Judge Lin of our Investigation Division was alive, he was extorted by your ghost soldiers.

And you, Zhao Li, I've heard you've secretly been selling lifespans.

"Slander! Utter slander!" Zhao Li's face turned red as he gesticulated wildly in rebuttal.

"Old Qin, don't make things up without evidence! I'll report you for defamation to Lin Mingwang!"

Seeing his expression as if his tail had been stepped on, Qin Bu knew that this guy had definitely been involved in the business of reselling lifespans.

He waved his hand: "Don't get excited, we're not from the same system."

Whether you break the rules or not is none of my business. But there's definitely something fishy about what happened today. If we don't investigate thoroughly, we'll just be disappointed again next time.

Zhao Li remained silent.

After a long while, he nodded sullenly, walked to the open space in front of the dilapidated temple, and shouted in a deep voice at the ground, "Earth God, come out."

Before long, a thick fog rose from the nearby tall grass.

A motorcycle engine roared through the thick fog, and a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses and a denim jacket emerged from the fog on a sidecar motorcycle. It was the local land official.

The landowner got out of the car, glanced at the dilapidated temple with its roof blown off, looked at Qin Bu, and bowed, calling him "Master Hei".

He then turned to Zhao Li and asked, "Zhao Li, what do you want with me?"

Zhao Li pointed to the dilapidated temple: "Has anyone been here today?"

"Hold on."

The land closed its eyes, as if examining something.

After a while, he opened his eyes and said, "A man came by, wearing a gray Zhongshan suit and carrying a Japanese ghost doll."

Then the money-grubbing messenger stayed under that pine tree for a while, and later, the rampaging soldiers from the Wenpan Temple also came. Finally, it was you guys.

Zhao Li's eyes darkened, and he asked, "Which direction did that Japanese devil go?"

The land deity raised his hand and pointed east: "They went east, leaving as a ghost and a soul."

Zhao, the official, thanked the land deity.

After the land deity left, he took Qin Bu to the Wenpan Temple in Taiping District.

The judges here do not refer to the four judges of the underworld, but rather to the judges under the City God.

The provincial capital is the seat of the prefectural city god, who, as a powerful regional official, naturally has many judges assisting him in his administration.

The City God sits in the central government office, with civil and military judges, six departments of officials, and below them various patrol officers and military camps.

The civil judge of Taiping District was named Cui Yuzhi, a famous minister during the Southern Song Dynasty. After his death, he was valued by the City God of Lingnan Prefecture and invited to the temple to serve as a civil judge.

When Qin Bu and Zhao Li entered the divine realm, Judge Cui had already prepared tea and was waiting for them.

He wore a blue silk official robe and a black gauze hat, and his face was thin and refined. He looked like an old-fashioned civil official who valued rules and regulations.

Upon seeing Qin Bu enter, he quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "It is an honor to have Black Impermanence grace us with his presence. I, Cui, have not been able to greet you properly. My apologies."

Qin Bu returned the greeting without further ado.

After Zhao Li sat down, he got straight to the point: "Lord Cui, did any cultivators hire the rampaging soldiers from the Wenpan Temple to attack the Weituo Temple outside Sishui Village today?"

"Destroying temples" refers to Taoist priests with spiritual attainment clearing away the licentious worship practices that have been taken over by evil spirits and demons.

These evil spirits and demons often demand heavy offerings or even young boys and girls from ordinary people, and if they refuse, they will bring misfortune to their neighbors.

Therefore, some Taoist priests, such as the Fengdu Fa and the Meishan School, emerged who specialized in eliminating illicit worship.

Summoning the Five Chang/Chang soldiers and horses is one way to attack a temple.

The difference lies in the fact that the Wuchang troops are a legitimate and loyal force, belonging to the category of grassroots deities, and generally only Taoist priests from major sects are qualified to mobilize them.

The Five Witches' Army, on the other hand, consists of some vicious military spirits that have been recruited, and is the most common method used by those who destroy temples in the countryside.

Although these soldiers were of mixed character, they were known for their fierce fighting spirit.

They often do things for the sake of offerings, and they don't feel sorry for dying; they are like mercenaries.

Judge Cui's expression changed slightly.

He summoned a clerk, who glanced through the documents and shook his head, saying, "There is no imperial edict to release troops today. There are also no records of troop movements in the Five Wraths Camp."

He paused, noticing the grave expressions on Zhao Li and Qin Bu's faces, and asked, "Has something happened?"

Zhao Li did not hide anything and repeated the landowner's words in detail, finally saying, "We suspect that some rogue soldiers are tipping off those Japanese devils."

Judge Cui's expression changed drastically.

He abruptly stood up, paced back and forth in the hall a few times, then suddenly stopped and slammed his hand heavily on the table: "Investigate! Investigate immediately!"

The fact that one of his subordinates colluded with the Japanese and betrayed his own people is a huge blow to his reputation!

Furthermore, although he was bound by the laws of the underworld to refrain from interfering in the affairs of the mortal realm during this great calamity in China, he deeply loathed the life of those who were invaded.

He summoned his personal guards, mustered all his elite Wuchang troops, and surrounded the Wuchang Camp.

The five soldiers who had contact with Hao Ji were quickly identified.

After some interrogation, everyone learned that these five soldiers were actually Japanese pirates in life. After their deaths, due to their bravery, they were recruited and incorporated into the Wenpan Temple by a twist of fate.

The reason they secretly helped that Japanese devil was simply because they heard that Toyotomi Hideyoshi's adopted daughter had come here. Thinking of their former master, they became disloyal.

Judge Cui was so angry that his beard stood on end. He pointed at the five arrogant soldiers and cursed them: "You have received the incense offerings of the Central Plains for three hundred years, yet you do not know how to be grateful and instead betray us!"

Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts!

"Guards, take them away and fry them in oil! I wish they would never be reincarnated!"

After saying this, the official in charge of reviewing the corrupt soldiers was summoned, and he was dismissed from his post and banished to the underworld, never to be employed again.

He then drafted another official document and submitted it to the city god of the prefecture, requesting a thorough investigation of the rampant soldiers under the command of various departments.

……

After leaving the Wenpan Temple, Qin Bu remained silent.

In the past six months, the Underworld has been recruiting soldiers and gathering a large number of military souls and wild ghosts that have not yet been screened by the Mirror of Retribution.

Especially with the Ghost Soldiers category, most of those recruited are fierce and brave military spirits, so it's hard to guarantee that similar situations won't occur.

Putting aside others, many of the ghost soldiers under his own command were old ghosts who had not passed the Mirror of Retribution.

When he gets back, he needs to report to Lin Yi and have a thorough investigation conducted.

Just then, Zhao Li suddenly received a series of telegram beeps.

He flipped his hand and took out a piece of paper. As soon as he unfolded the paper, words automatically appeared on it.

After reading it, Zhao Li's expression turned serious: "We've found them. Hao Ji and Tsuchimikado Ichiro are in an abandoned church at No. 83 Wenchuan Road, Huifu District."