My Years in the Folklore World

Chapter 728 Misfortune Comes
Early the next morning.

Jiang Xinghuo came back to the store after breakfast. Before he could sit down to catch his breath, his cell phone rang and a new message popped up in the game.

"You woke up in a lounge on Xiankong Island."

"Another absurd and beautiful day has arrived in the secular world. The warm sunshine shines on the island, as if giving it a layer of golden light, making it even more beautiful."

"But you didn't wake up from your dream by yourself. You were awakened by the noise coming from outside. There was a lot of hustle and bustle outside. Did you choose to listen through the wall to see what was going on, or did you turn a deaf ear and continue to sleep?"

The game gives two options: continue to sleep or listen to what is happening outside.

Jiang Xinghuo took a look and decided to listen without hesitation.

"You unfold your Bagua ears and the power of controlling the wind, and the sounds outside immediately reach your ears. It sounds like someone has died in his own residence, and this person's identity is not ordinary. Several island owners of Xiankong Island have already rushed over, and the people on the island have also followed suit, wanting to go over and find out what happened. What do you plan to do now?"

"Will you choose to join the people outside to join in the fun, or will you choose to stay in the lounge honestly to avoid endless trouble for yourself in the future?"

This time, there are still two options, but Jiang Xinghuo thought about it and decided that since there was a new task at hand, he couldn't miss it. He had to go out and take a look to see what happened so that he could decide what to do next.

"You pushed open the door of the lounge and followed the onlookers to the depths of Xiankong Island. Only then did you realize that something was wrong, because this was actually the residence of several island owners. Could it be that the person who met with an accident last night was one of the five island owners?"

This discovery shocked Jiang Xinghuo. Could it be true that as the game text said, the Five Rats of Xiankong Island encountered an accident last night?
Shouldn't it?

Jiang Xinghuo quickly clicked on the screen to continue scrolling down the text.

"Walk to the front of the crowd and find a broken boulder not far away. The four island owners of Xiankong Island are all here, except for the third island owner, Sandshrew. The other four island owners look sad. Do you want to go over and ask what's going on?"

When Jiang Xinghuo saw this, he had a general idea in his mind. He knew that the sandrat had probably met with an accident, so he controlled the character to move forward and continue to find out the situation.

"You came to the Rat and asked what happened. The Rat sighed and told you the past experience."

"Last night, after the banquet, the island masters returned to their respective residences to rest. Although the five island masters were like brothers, they still had to keep a proper distance from each other, so they lived in different places on the island and secretly formed a five-element formation."

"But when they woke up this morning, the Sky-Drilling Rat discovered that the Five Elements Formation had suddenly become ineffective for some reason. The core of the Five Elements Formation is the life fire of the five brothers. Unless the life fire is extinguished, the Five Elements Formation will not become ineffective."

"The Sky Rat was startled and immediately went to look for the other four brothers. It turned out that the other three were all safe, but the third brother, the Sandshrew, was missing. Finally, they found the huge rock you just saw behind the Sandshrew's residence."

"That huge rock may look ordinary, but it is actually the unique skill of the mole rat. It can instantly transform the surrounding bricks, stones and soil into an extremely hard rock, trapping itself inside it to resist attacks from outside. The hardness of this rock is comparable to that of diamond. Not to mention ordinary knives and axes, even thunderbolts can hardly destroy this rock. Only a unique method can shatter this rock."

"But apart from the Sandshrew, only the four of them knew this method. No one else would know how to crack it. So the Sandshrew blasted the boulder into pieces, and found the Sandshrew's body inside."

"Look in the direction of the mole's finger, and you will find the mole's body on the flat ground not far away."

"But when you walked over and took a closer look, you found that something was not right. Not only was the sandrat not hurt at all, but even its expression did not change at all. It looked like it had fallen into a deep sleep, peaceful and calm, with no sign of anything unusual."

"You triggered it, Coroner Autopsy Grand View."

"You used this gift's unique insight to discover the real cause of the sandrat's death. Although its appearance looked normal, its heart had broken into dozens of petals, like a withered lotus, taking the sandrat's life."

"Do you want to tell them about your discovery so that they can know the truth? Given the friendship between the Five Rats of Xiankong Island, even if they have doubts in their hearts, they will never destroy the body of the Sandshrew. They can only look for the murderer in this muddled way, or think that the Sandshrew died of infatuation, because they didn't hear any sound last night. With the Sandshrew's cultivation and hard training, even if it encounters an enemy with a cultivation far higher than its own, it will not use its ultimate moves without making any sound."

Jiang Xinghuo pondered for a moment and decided to tell the truth. This was obviously a chain task, and if he wasn't careful, the task of finding the murderer would fall on him.

"You found the other four island masters and told them what you saw. When they heard what you said, they were also shocked. Jinmaoshu even drew out his Heart Eye Soul Sword and cut open the chest of the sandrat. The other island masters wanted to talk but hesitated, but did not stop you. After all, what you said was related to who the murderer was. If it was really as you said, they already knew who the real murderer was."

"The Golden Rat went over and cut open the Sandshrew's chest. When it saw the shape of Third Brother's heart, it was immediately furious and ran away with red eyes. The Sky Rat knew something was wrong and immediately jumped up and chased after it. It struck the Golden Rat on the neck with a palm knife and knocked it unconscious. The Earth Rat and the River Rat walked over to the Sandshrew's body and saw that it was just as you said. The Sandshrew's heart was like a withered lotus, with all its veins and tissues broken."

"The Sky-Drilling Rat sighed and turned to look at you. Speaking of the injuries of the Sandshrew, there are only two kinds of martial arts that can cure it. One is the Heart-Breaking Palm, and the other is the Heart-Eating Magic Sound. However, these two unique skills happen to be the signature skills of their Five Rat Master."

"The master of the Five Rats is called Broken Heart Taoist. He is a twin brother of the abandoned disciple of the Heavenly Master, the Heart Demon Taoist. However, the two have very different temperaments. Broken Heart Taoist is kind-hearted. He not only raised the five brothers, but also taught them many skills. Otherwise, with only the legacy left by the Justice Hall, without anyone's guidance, the Five Rats would not be able to master this unique skill."

“However, although the Soul-Breaking Taoist taught the five brothers everything he knew, he only kept the Heart-Breaking Palm and the Heart-Eating Demonic Sound. Not only did he not teach them to the five brothers, he even forbade them to practice the skills. Instead, he gave them the method to break these two skills.”

"Now that the Sandshrew has died from these two unique skills, it is hard for the Five Rats not to think too much. This also explains why the Sandshrew didn't make any sound when fighting with others. How could it be on guard against its teacher?" "The Golden Rat couldn't bear this kind of stimulation and blow, so he wanted to go find the Broken Heart Taoist to find out the truth. The other three rats also wanted to do so, but they couldn't. If it was really the Broken Heart Taoist who killed the Sandshrew, then they would not be able to escape death if they just went there. But the truth of this matter must be clarified, so the Sky-Drilling Rat wants to ask you for a favor."

Jiang Xinghuo thought that they were getting to the point. Now he was ready to see what Zuantianshu wanted to do. He probably wanted his help in finding evidence to see if it was really done by Brokenheart Taoist.

"The Mountain Rat said that you are an exile rejected by the secular kingdom of death. It hopes that you can enter the underworld through the method of watching the underworld, find the soul of the Mountain Rat, and find out the true identity of the murderer who killed it."

"The Sky-Drilling Rat took out a small mouse carved from jade. This is something that the five brothers carry with them. It contains a trace of their own aura, which can help you locate the location of the Sandshrew in the underworld. Do you want to accept the Sky-Drilling Rat's commission?"

Jiang Xinghuo thought about it and realized that he was now a walker in the Justice Hall, eating, drinking and taking things. Now people were asking him for a favor. If he refused, how would they get along with him in the future? This job as a walker in the Justice Hall would probably be over.

Besides, he was also curious about who killed the sandrat.

If it was the Broken Heart Taoist, why would it kill the disciple he had personally raised? Would it also attack the others?

If it wasn't the Broken Heart Taoist, then who killed the Sandshrew? Why did he know the Broken Heart Taoist's unique skills?

I'm afraid only dead mole rats can answer these questions.

"You took the jade mouse handed to you by the Sandshrew and agreed to its request, saying that you were willing to go to the underworld for it to find the Sandshrew and ask for the truth."

"You took out a talisman from your magic bag and stuck it on your body. Then you saw mist rising in front of you and a yellow earth path between illusion and reality appeared. Do you want to walk along it and enter the underworld?"

This talisman is not an ordinary talisman, but a talisman he got from those spirit-writing boys in the ghost market in Xishen City. It is an authentic product published by Maoshan Sect. It can allow people to enter the underworld in a mortal body. There is no need to perform any rituals, just stick it on the body.

"You walked onto that yellow earth path, and under the gaze of everyone, you entered the underworld. The surrounding scene suddenly changed a lot. As you went deeper, the illusory underworld gradually changed from illusory to real, until everything in the real world completely disappeared."

"You have arrived in the underworld."

"You then notice that the little jade mouse in your hand suddenly sparkles, as if it has come alive, and it suddenly leaps out and runs wildly in a certain direction on the ground, as if it has sensed the breath of the dead soul of the mole rat. Do you want to follow it?"

Jiang Xinghuo quickly chose yes, fearing that the little mouse would run too fast and he would not be able to keep up and find the whereabouts of the mole rat.

"You followed the Jade Rat on the ground, crossed the Yellow Spring Road, and came to the Styx Ferry. You saw the dead Sandshrew standing in the crowd with a confused look on its face. It followed the team and boarded the Styx Ferry."

"You walked over and pulled the soul of the mole out of the team. The ghosts immediately surrounded you. They haven't seen someone like you who openly defied the laws and regulations of the underworld for a long time. Even if ordinary people who have passed through the underworld see them, they have to be polite, give them three cups of tea, two glasses of wine, and offer a lot of paper, candles and incense. They don't come here to arrest people like you."

"But you ignored these ghost officials and snorted coldly, exuding the aura of the king of the underworld. Although the aura on you was still very weak, it was the real lord of hell. How could these ordinary ghost officials resist it? They were so scared that they knelt on the ground, thinking that it was the incarnation of the king of the underworld who came to the underworld, and they did not dare to overstep their boundaries."

Ok?
After reading this text, Jiang Xinghuo keenly grasped a clue: the incarnation of the king of the underworld in the world of the living?

Could it be that the Lords of the Underworld and Hell all have different identities in the secular world? If that were the case, things would become much more interesting.

"You have learned a secret of the secular world."

"Just as you think, the Lords of Hell in the underworld all have their own incarnations in the world of the living. They transfer a trace of their spiritual consciousness to the world of the living through reincarnation."

"However, due to the different paths of Yin and Yang, these clones do not know that they are the incarnations of the kings of the underworld, and those kings of the underworld cannot influence the clones' thinking. Only when the clones set foot in the underworld will they realize their true identity and awaken their wisdom and memory."

Jiang Xinghuo kept this matter in mind. Although this information was not useful now, it did not mean that it would not be useful in the future. Who knows when it might come in handy.

"Without the obstruction of these ghost soldiers and ghost messengers, you successfully took away the soul of the sandrat. After the sandrat left the team leading to the kingdom of death, it quickly regained consciousness."

"When it saw you, it was also very surprised. Did you die with it last night?"

"You briefly explained the cause of the incident and asked the ghost of the sandrat who killed it and whether it was their master, the Broken Heart Taoist."

"The sandshrew was silent for a long while, then shook its head. It said that it actually didn't know who killed it, but the method used to kill it was indeed its master's unique skill, and the mysterious Heart Demon Taoist's magic also played a big role in it..."

(End of this chapter)