Zombie Life Begins in Hongxi Village

Outside the Marshal's Mansion.

A middle-aged man with a mustache who looked somewhat like Chizuru was standing in the shade of a large tree not far away.

He stared intently at the five-emperor coins hanging under the eaves of the Marshal's Mansion, then turned his head to examine the nails on the wall.

The newcomer was none other than Master Xu, Qian Youcai's junior brother, whose nature was the complete opposite of Qian Youcai's mercenary and money-grubbing personality.

He had a stubborn streak that made him inflexible, and what he couldn't stand the most was his senior brother's willingness to do anything for money.

He recognized it at a glance as the technique of his senior brother Qian Youcai—the Six Ding Six Jia Breath Separation Formation.

The Six Ding Six Jia Breath-Separating Array is generally used to isolate evil spirits and prevent demons from invading a house, but Qian Youcai never used this array for good.

"Hmph, is my senior brother once again aiding and abetting evil?!"

The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.

What kind of place is the Marshal's Mansion? It is the residence of the highest military and political official in Yun County.

Why would a warlord's headquarters need to specifically invite a Taoist priest from Maoshan to set up the Six Ding Six Jia Breath-Separating Array?

There must be something shady hidden in this house.

Master Xu glanced once more at the tightly closed gates of the Marshal's Mansion, then slowly retreated into the depths of the shaded area.

There are too many people around now; it's not the time to take action. We'll investigate further later tonight.

……

Inside the main hall of the Marshal's Mansion, everyone gathered together.

The company and platoon leaders of the Independent Regiment stood in large numbers, crowding half the hall.

Lieutenant Chen stood at the front, his dark circles under his eyes so thick it looked like he'd been punched twice, and his eye bags were practically drooping down to his cheekbones.

Qian Zhenren and Maoshan Jian stood on the left and right sides, Shou Bo stood behind Lin Yi with a hunched back, and Wang Daniu and Ma Dayong guarded the entrance of the hall on the left and right sides respectively.

Lieutenant Chen stepped forward, cleared his throat with two dry coughs, and began his report.

"General, recently a mysterious force has occupied several surrounding counties."

Those people were not uniformly dressed; they wore ordinary people's clothes, were poorly equipped, and some even carried broadswords and spears.

But they were fearless and their fighting ability was ridiculously strong.

Commander Ma of the neighboring county had over a thousand guns, but he was defeated by a hundred or so armed men leading more than four hundred men, and Commander Ma himself was captured alive.

"General," Lieutenant Chen swallowed hard, "they'll come knocking on our door sooner or later. Why don't we strike first?"

He made a cutting gesture, but the movement was weak and lacked any murderous intent.

Lin Yi did not answer immediately.

His gaze swept across the faces of every officer in the hall—

Lieutenant Chen's eyes darted around, several company commanders lowered their heads, and the platoon leaders wished they could bury their heads in their collars.

He saw worry, fear, and anxiety in these people's eyes, but no fighting spirit.

"Sigh—" Lin Yi sighed inwardly.

He had long known what kind of people were under his command.

But when it really came down to it, seeing these seasoned soldiers acting so cowardly, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

These guys are really worthless.

Lin Yi even felt that the gangs in Shanghai that bullied and monopolized the market were more courageous than these soldiers.

Fortunately, the guard company of over a hundred men led by Long Ci was quite capable.

"never mind."

Lin Yi shook her head, her voice not loud, but everyone in the hall could hear her clearly.

"Chinese people should not fight Chinese people; if it is possible to avoid fighting, then it is best to avoid fighting."

Upon hearing this, the shoulders of Lieutenant Chen and several company commanders visibly relaxed.

Lin Yi saw all of this but said nothing.

He already knew what kind of people these were; he was disappointed, but not angry.

Moreover, he really didn't want to be enemies with that army—not only because Chinese people don't fight Chinese people, but also because he knew what that army represented.

"Alright, you can all leave now. I have my own plans for this." Lin Yi waved her hand.

"Yes, Commander."

Lieutenant Chen felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly retreated with the company and platoon leaders.

The hall fell silent.

Lin Yi stood in the center of the hall, looking at the people in front of him, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly—truly, such talents are rare.

Without saying a word, he directly activated the Hades mark between his eyebrows.

Suddenly, a terrifying, prison-like pressure of divine might erupted in the main hall, pressing down on everyone as if it were a tangible force.

It felt as if most of the air had been sucked out of the hall, making each breath extremely difficult.

This oppressive force is not magical power, nor is it malevolent energy, but rather the power of the rules emanating from the deity himself—the power of Hades!

Uncle Shou was the first to kneel down.

As a ghost, he was a hundred times more sensitive to the pressure of Hades than a living person, and the absolute suppression from the divine authority made him tremble all over.

Mao Shanjian's knees buckled and he collapsed to his knees on the blue brick floor with a dull thud, his face filled with horror.

Long Ci and Qian Youcai also knelt down with a thud.

Needless to say, Wang Daniu and Ma Dayong fell to the ground, their foreheads pressed against the cold floor tiles, not daring to breathe.

"God, God!" Mao Shanjian looked up at the blue mark between Lin Yi's eyebrows, his lips trembling violently.

Lin Yi stood solemnly in the center of the hall, the mark between her brows emitting a faint blue light. Her gaze swept across everyone's faces, her voice steady and dignified:

"Since you are all family, I will not hide anything from you."

Indeed, I have accepted Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's request to assume the position of King of the Underworld, ruling over a region of the netherworld and establishing my own independent domain.

The hall was deathly silent.

"Pluto?!"

Everyone knelt on the ground, looking up at Lin Yi, their faces a mixture of shock, awe, disbelief, and barely suppressed elation.

As the saying goes, "When one person attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven."

Lin Yi looked at the people in front of her, her tone unusually tinged with emotion.

"Although you have only been following me for a short time, you are already considered my loyal subjects. You are entitled to share in this glory."

He turned to Uncle Shou: "Uncle Shou."

"This old servant is here." Shoubo knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face with emotion.

"I hereby appoint you as the Chief Secretary of the Underworld Palace, in charge of the general affairs of the Underworld Palace and overseeing its daily operations."

After Lin Yi finished speaking, the Hades mark between her eyebrows emitted a beam of blue light, which struck Shou Bo.

The moment the blue light entered his body, Shou Bo's entire ghostly form trembled violently—

His original ghostly body rapidly transformed under the divine talisman's modification, and a layer of divine radiance emerged from the depths of his body, refining, reshaping, and sublimating his ghostly body.

In just a few moments, Uncle Shou's demeanor had completely changed—

No longer the kind-faced old butler, but a true god of the underworld, exuding a dark and solemn aura of ghostly power.

He naturally mastered abilities such as communicating with the spirit world, absorbing incense offerings, wielding the power of ghosts and gods, and obeying laws, as if these abilities were etched into the depths of his soul.

Lin Yi conjured another Underworld King Token and tossed it to Uncle Shou.

The token is entirely black, with runes bearing the mark of Hades on the back.

"Take this; seeing this order is like seeing me in person."

Shoubo accepted the token with both hands and kowtowed deeply.

"Thank you for your grace, Hades."

Lin Yi turned to Qian Youcai: "Qian Youcai."

"Your subordinate is here!" Qian Youcai's lips trembled with excitement, and his eyes were red.

Heaven have mercy, he, Qian Youcai, never dreamed that one day he could become a god.

His master cultivated Taoism his whole life, but after his death he was just an insignificant minor official in the underworld, without even a rank.

And now, he's about to become a god.

There's no way around it; there are too many Taoist priests in Maoshan, and the supply is too limited. Those with weaker abilities can't even get a minor official position and can only work as temporary workers in the underworld, hoping to accumulate some good karma to be reincarnated into a better life.

He felt that deciding to side with Lin Yi was the best decision he had ever made in his life.

Lin Yi looked at Qian Youcai, who was beaming with excitement, and a smile appeared in the corner of her eye.

Although this old fellow is greedy and mercenary, his skills are indeed quite good, especially his exorcism and Five Thunder Palm techniques, which are among the best in Maoshan Taoist priests.

"You are skilled in exorcising spirits and using the Five Thunder Palm technique, making you best suited to patrol the human world and record good and evil."

"I hereby appoint you as the Day-Roaming God, responsible for patrolling the human world during the day, overseeing good and evil deeds. Are you willing?"

"Yes, I am willing!!"

Qian Youcai hurriedly kowtowed, his forehead hitting the blue brick floor with a thud.

A daytime wandering god! Hahaha, Qian Youcai has truly become a god! The Qian family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke!

Lin Yi also implanted a talisman of the Day Wanderer into Qian Youcai's body.

"You are still a human now, but you will only become a true day-roaming god after you die."

However, after the divine talisman enters the body, some of the basic abilities of the day-roaming deities can be used ahead of time.

Inspecting good and evil, recording merits and demerits—this doesn't have to wait until you die.

Qian Youcai sensed the divine talisman of the Day Wanderer that shimmered with divine light deep within his soul, as well as the divine power contained within the talisman, and was so excited that he wished he could die on the spot.

Mao Shanjian, standing to the side, looked on with envy and anticipation.

Although his name is Maoshan Jian, he is a descendant of the Celestial Master's Mansion of Longhu Mountain.

The Celestial Master's Mansion also has connections in the underworld, and even has a high-ranking patriarch.

But like Maoshan, there are far more monks than porridge. The number of disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion throughout the ages is countless. If they all became gods, the underworld would have been overcrowded long ago.

He never dared to dream of becoming a god, and even finding it difficult to become a minor official in the underworld was a challenge.

But now, just because he followed the right person, he's about to be deified.

Indeed, choice is more important than effort.