Zombie Life Begins in Hongxi Village

Four days later, in front of the Mirror of Retribution.

Ten enormous oil cauldrons were lined up in a row on the open ground in front of the Mirror of Retribution.

The flames beneath the pot slithered like snakes, their eerie blue tongues licking the bottom and turning the iron pot a deep red.

The oil fryer was filled with screams of agony as hundreds of ghostly soldiers, their skin torn and mangled, struggled and sank within.

Some were blown to pieces, but they were still desperately struggling upwards with their broken arms.

Some were no longer human-shaped, just dark lumps rolling in the oil.

Outside the oil cauldron, there were more than 500 ghost soldiers, bound hand and foot by ghost messengers, queuing up.

These are all Japanese pirates uncovered during this sweep.

Judge Shi Jian, who was tasked with punishing evil, guessed the emperor's intentions and sentenced all these Japanese pirates who had committed numerous atrocities in their lifetimes to the death penalty.

Just then, Lin Yi led a group of civil and military officials from the underworld to the Mirror of Retribution.

The four judges stood on the left and right. Master Huaguang was dressed in the divine robe of the judge of the underworld. Shi Jian's clothes fluttered in the wind. Uncle Jiu had a calm expression. Long Ci held a document in his hands.

Long Ci returned to his post two months ago after Xiao Yu successfully became pregnant. Now, all four judges of the Underworld are in place.

Behind them followed a group of Yin generals, including Ox-Head and Horse-Face, Black and White Impermanence, and Day Wanderer.

Further behind were the chief clerks, merit officers, and officials of various departments, a vast and imposing sight that made the surrounding space feel heavy.

When the Japanese pirates saw Lin Yi arrive, they clung to him like a lifeline, desperately kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Some shouted "Your Majesty, spare my life!" while others swore that they had long considered themselves Chinese ghosts and that the thing they hated most in their lives was the mundane life.

But once a ghost is subjected to extreme punishment and its soul is destroyed, it completely returns to nothingness, and no trace of it will remain in the world.

To save their lives, these Japanese pirates abandoned all dignity, racked their brains to fabricate stories, and did everything in their power to try and gain a chance at survival.

"So noisy!" Lin Yi was annoyed by the noise and frowned slightly.

The escorting ghost guards, seeing Lin Yi's displeasure, immediately changed color.

They raised their whips and lashed out at the Japanese pirates.

They beat them until they cried out for their parents and rolled on the ground in agony.

Some of the men, driven to desperation, even started swearing in Japanese.

"Damn it, they dare to speak gibberish!"

This really stirred up a hornet's nest. The ghost messengers became even angrier, whipping the animals harder and lashing them mercilessly, one blow after another.

They were also harboring a grudge.

If these scoundrels hadn't infiltrated the underworld, why would they have needed to go to the Mirror of Retribution to expose their past lives?

Although only the four judges saw it, there are some things that they ultimately do not want others to know.

They dared not blame the righteous official, so they vented all their anger on these Japanese pirates.

When the supervising officer, Daheitian, saw Lin Yi from afar, he strode over, knelt on one knee, and said in a deep voice, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

This task should have been performed by the White Bone Bodhisattva, the Commandant of Punishments, but the White Bone Bodhisattva went to the mortal realm to secretly protect the Great Roc's clone and was temporarily unable to leave.

Mahakala and the White Bone Bodhisattva were originally husband and wife, both born as evil people in three lifetimes.

Although they have long lost their memories of their past lives, in terms of their iron will and ruthlessness, perhaps only Yang Feiyun in the entire Linming Underworld can rival them.

The couple, one in charge of prison and the other in charge of punishment, complemented each other perfectly.

Lin Yi waved her hand, her tone indifferent: "We just came to take a look, you don't need to worry about me."

Daheitian responded and returned to the oil cauldron to oversee the execution.

He clasped his hands together and chanted a string of obscure and difficult-to-understand incantations. The will-o'-the-wisps in the oil pot immediately burned even brighter, and the wailing sounds from inside the pot rose a notch.

The Japanese pirates were churning in the oil, their movements becoming smaller and smaller, and some of them had completely turned into a layer of charred residue floating on the surface of the oil.

Lin Yi stood in front of the Mirror of Retribution, coldly observing everything without a ripple in her heart.

These people committed atrocities along the southeastern coast during their lives, burning, killing, and looting. Even after death, they did not enter the cycle of reincarnation and caused cholera in the Central Plains. They deserved to die.

Among the other ghost soldiers, many had killed ordinary people in their previous lives.

But in the end, they were just executors who followed orders, and most importantly—they were ultimately Chinese.

Lin Yi was willing to give them a chance as long as they did not violate the laws of the underworld again.

But this tolerance is not suitable for everyday life.

Just then, the ghost guard guarding the elevator rushed over and reported:

"Your Majesty, Lord Zhong Kui, the Western Ghost Emperor of Fengdu Underworld, requests permission to use the elevator."

"Okay, let him in." Lin Yi nodded.

The elevator in the Underworld has been installed for so long, but Zhong Kui is still the first ghost or deity to come from another Underworld by taking the elevator.

Before long, the elevator ghost led a person in with great strides.

The man was dressed in a crimson imperial robe, wearing a crown with dangling pearls, with a leopard-like head and piercing eyes, a bushy beard like a halberd, and a pair of dark leather boots. With each step he took, he exuded an aura of imposing authority.

It was none other than the newly appointed Western Ghost Emperor, Zhong Kui.

Lin Yi laughed heartily: "Emperor Zhong is here."

Zhong Kui glanced at the direction of the oil cauldron, his thick eyebrows twitched slightly, then he strode up to Lin Yi, bowed and said, "Zhong Kui greets Your Majesty."

"We're all acquaintances, no need for formalities, please rise." Lin Yi raised her hand to help him up.

Upon seeing this, Hua Guang, Shi Jian, Lin Fengjiao, Long Ci, and other civil and military officials of the underworld stepped forward to greet Zhong Kui.

The Zhong Kui of today is not what it used to be.

The position of the Western Ghost Emperor is half a rank higher than that of the Four Judges, making him a very important figure in the Fengdu Underworld.

From the crowd, a ghost in a green robe stepped forward quickly, bowed respectfully to Zhong Kui, and addressed him as "Master Zhong".

This person was none other than the chief clerk under the Leopard Tail of the Fengdu Underworld, whom Zhong Kui had sent to Linming Underworld to teach Zhu Jinchun.

When Zhong Kui saw him, he simply nodded slightly and did not say anything more.

On the other side, Zhong Xiaomei and Ma Dayong also came over.

Zhong Xiaomei has been married for several months now. Her hair is styled in a married woman's bun, and the girlish arrogance has faded from her eyes, replaced by gentleness and tranquility. She softly calls out, "Brother."

Ma Dayong also clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, his voice booming: "Brother-in-law."

Zhong Kui nodded, looking at his younger sister and brother-in-law with a touch of brotherly gentleness in his eyes.

He looked Zhong Xiaomei up and down and saw that she looked very healthy and had a calm and collected demeanor, which meant that she had been doing well in the Linming Underworld. He was pleased with himself.

He turned to Lin Yi and asked, "Your Majesty, what is the purpose of setting up such a large entourage here?"

"These are all Japanese pirates."

Lin Yi stood with his hands behind his back and briefly recounted the whole story of how Qin Bu encountered rampant Japanese pirates in Guangzhou, who then informed Hao Ji, and how he ordered a thorough investigation of the underworld's ghost soldiers.

"Fried perfectly!" Zhong Kui clapped his hands loudly after hearing this, his voice booming, "These filthy things should have been dealt with like this long ago!"

I will also conduct the same investigation in the Fengdu underworld, but if any Japanese spies infiltrate, I will teach them a lesson about the might of the Fengdu gods!

Lin Yi said, "You'd better investigate this carefully."

Zhong Kui nodded solemnly.

Immediately, he took out a sandalwood box from his sleeve and presented it to Lin Yi with both hands: "Your Majesty, these are the rings you asked me to make, a total of one hundred and eight, all of which are now complete."

Lin Yi took the wooden box, opened it, and saw rows of rings neatly arranged inside. On the surface of the rings was a tiny image of the Gates of Hell, and next to it were two small seal characters: Lin Ming.

The rings come in four colors: nine jade rings, warm and translucent; eleven gold rings, dazzling and eye-catching; twenty-four silver rings, with a subtle and understated luster; and sixty-four bronze rings, simple and dignified.

Each ring emanated a faint, ghostly light, clearly indicating that they were all high-quality magical artifacts, and contained azure spirit stones capable of bearing spatial power.

Only ancient deities like Zhong Kui, who have lived for thousands of years, can produce Qingling Stone.

This was the token ring that Lin Yi had entrusted Zhong Kui to prepare for his people, and he also wanted to place a "return to town" portal on it.

He had previously asked Acheng to commission a batch of bronze rings from ordinary craftsmen.

However, those ordinary items were far too fragile to withstand the divine power of ghosts and gods, and would soon be eroded and decayed by the divine power.

Lin Yi simply entrusted the matter to Zhong Kui, asking him to help forge a batch of genuine magical artifact rings.

Zhong Kui readily agreed without hesitation, and even took charge of the task himself.

Although he is famous for slaying demons and monsters, few people know that he is actually a top-ranked weapon-refining master in the Netherworld.

The three legendary artifacts in his hands—the Demon-Slaying Sword, the Demon-Swallowing Gourd, and the Zhong Kui Fan—were all crafted by his own hands.

Lin Yi picked up a jade ring, examined it in her hand for a moment, and nodded: "Excellent craftsmanship, thank you for your hard work."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Kui smiled sincerely and said earnestly, "Being able to share His Majesty's burdens fills me with joy; I have no sense of hardship whatsoever."

This is not just a polite remark.

If Lin Yi hadn't intervened to save them, he and his sister would have been dead long ago.

Later, thanks to Lin Yi's recommendation, he was promoted from judge to Western Ghost Emperor.

Zhong Kui will always remember this kindness that saved his life.

Lin Yi had lost all interest in watching the execution. He closed the wooden box, put it into his storage ring, and smiled:

"It's a rare treat for you to come all this way, don't rush off. I've asked Liu Angxing to prepare a delicious meal, let's have a good drink together."

Upon hearing that there was wine to drink, Zhong Kui's eyes, as big as copper bells, immediately lit up, and he repeatedly cheered.

Lin Yi stepped forward and grabbed Zhong Kui's arm. The two walked side by side, with civil and military officials lined up on both sides behind them, heading towards the Underworld Palace in a large procession.

On this day, a grand banquet was held in the Hades Palace.

Liu Angxing personally took charge of the cooking, and all the dishes he made were glowing.

Zhong Kui was fond of wine, and with the delicious food, he drank until his face was flushed. It wasn't until late at night that he drunkenly took the elevator back to Fengdu Underworld.

After seeing Zhong Kui off, Lin Yi set up "space-time portals" on all 108 rings, opened up mustard seed spaces of varying sizes within them, and then distributed them one by one.

The four judges, Hua Guang, Shi Jian, Lin Fengjiao, and Long Ci, each received a jade ring, the inner space of which was ten thousand cubic meters.

Ma Dayong, Wang Daniu, Qin Bu, Yu Canhua, Qian Kai, Zhu Jinchun, Mao Shanjian, Shou Bo, and others received gold rings, each containing a thousand cubic meters of space.

Master Ikkyu and Ji Quji obtained the silver ring, which contained a space of over a hundred cubic meters.

The assistants, including Simu, Xu Zhenren, Zhong Xiaomei, and Chu Renmei, received bronze rings, each containing ten cubic meters of material, more than enough to store their personal magical artifacts and official documents.

The gods, having received the rings, were naturally extremely grateful and returned to their respective places without further mention.

……

The next day, in Renjia Town, at the mortuary.

In the early morning, the thin mist had not yet dissipated.

As usual, Wencai picked up three incense sticks, lit them, inserted them into the incense burner, and respectfully bowed three times.

Wencai was unaware that the ancestral statue in the mortuary had lost its spiritual power since he was expelled from the sect.

He has lost all his spiritual power; how could he possibly distinguish between spiritual light and non-spiritual light?

All he knew was that burning three incense sticks every morning and evening, rain or shine, was a rule his master had taught him.

Wencai is much more composed now than he was a few months ago.

He took the silver dollars that his uncle had given him and went from house to house to give to the families who had been harmed by ghosts because of his troubles.

With little money left, he returned to his old profession, performing funeral rites for people in the surrounding villages and towns.

Although his cultivation was ruined, he had studied Taoism properly and still knew some folk rituals and common methods of exorcising evil spirits.

He performed the rituals of clearing the way, scattering paper money, burying the dead, lighting eternal lamps, and breaking through hell with remarkable skill.

He can also use some folk remedies to resolve simple issues such as encountering bad luck, clashes, frights, or being attacked by strangers.

If all else fails, there's still the talisman Uncle Nine left behind before he left.

He used them sparingly, keeping those talismans as if they were his lifeblood. Only when he encountered a tough opponent who had come back to life or was haunted would he be willing to take out one or two talismans.

Over time, Wencai made a name for himself and became a well-known figure in the neighborhood, known as Mr. Namo.

It was only at this moment that he realized how precious it was to be able to become an apprentice of Uncle Nine.

The true Maoshan Taoist practices, including drawing talismans, chanting incantations, setting up altars, and arranging formations, are all invaluable skills.

The monks outside, who only know a few folk arts, dare to set up altars and perform rituals. If they are not careful, they will die at the hands of vengeful ghosts.

He at least still had the foundation left by his Ninth Uncle, which made him far superior to those who had entered the profession halfway through.

But as the talismans left by Uncle Nine were used up one by one, Wencai's life became increasingly difficult.

He could deal with ordinary little devils using willow branches, salt, and cinnabar.

Using willow branches to ward off ghosts, salt to dispel evil, and cinnabar to suppress malevolent spirits are the most basic methods used in their line of work.

But if he encountered someone even slightly fierce, he would have no choice but to flee in panic, clutching incense, candles, and paper money.

Mr. Namo, this job is tough. In this world where ghosts truly exist, countless colleagues have perished at their hands.

If he hadn't been quick-witted, he probably would have confessed long ago.

But Wencai didn't know that his ability to survive the evil spirits time and time again wasn't entirely due to his cleverness.

Ghosts hold grudges. If you interfere in the karma of others, you will easily suffer relentless revenge from them, which cannot be resolved by simply running away.

The talisman that Uncle Jiu drew on the gate of the mortuary was his true life-saving charm.

Uncle Nine eventually softened his heart.

He said he would no longer care about this apprentice, but after learning that Wencai had been behaving honestly, giving away money and doing good deeds, he couldn't help but draw a peace charm on the door of the mortuary.

With this talisman, the mortuary is the safest place within a hundred miles.

After offering incense, Wencai picked up his vegetable basket and prepared to go out to buy groceries.

He had just stepped out of the mortuary gate when a familiar voice, chilling to the bone, suddenly rang out behind him.

"Wencai, it's been a long time."