Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 165 The Living and the Unsolved Case

"We'll only know for sure when we see the Spectral Bird in the future."

Chen Ji spoke slowly, glancing at a goose feather nearby.

"But this requires the Youdi Bird to be willing to meet us."

"Why are you speaking to a goose feather, fellow Daoist? Can the Youdi Sparrow hear you?"

"can."

Chen Ji looked at Monk Zhenru, knowing that he was unaware of Youdi Sparrow's abilities, and then explained further.

“The Youdi Sparrow rarely reveals its true form, mostly existing in the form of an avatar. This goose demon and goose feather are both its avatars, and it can switch freely between its avatar and its clone.”

"I see. It is indeed no ordinary creature. The Netherworld Sparrow, I will remember it."

The monk Zhenru sighed.

Chen Ji put away the goose feather in his hand.

He has no way of finding the Ghost Bird now, but maybe he will find it later. This goose feather can be considered a token.

Afterwards, he explained to everyone that he needed to report the news to Judge Lu and asked them to continue investigating in the city to see if there were any other problems.

He left first, and only after finding a secluded place did he send the stone mill demon to deliver a message, briefly explaining the situation of the day.

In a short while, Chen Ji noticed that a summoning had appeared in the seal.

"Fellow Daoist, do not panic. Just take a short nap and come here to meet me."

Chen Ji recognized Lu Pan's voice and calmed down to fall asleep.

When I opened my eyes again, I had indeed entered the Yin Division of One Thought.

Judge Lu was sitting upright in the middle, his face serious.

"Fellow Daoist said that there is a Netherworld Sparrow in Fenshan Town. This creature is best at gathering intelligence. Other places are not safe enough, only this place is safe. I'll trouble you, Fellow Daoist."

After finishing his sentence, Judge Lu cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and went straight to the crucial question.

"Is the message you sent via the ghost messenger true?"

“If the magpie did not deceive, then it must be true.”

"The ghost messenger didn't explain clearly just now, so I'd like to trouble you to repeat it again, in detail, and tell me everything that happened after you met this Netherworld Sparrow."

"nature."

Chen Ji nodded and recounted everything to Judge Lu, starting from their experiences after arriving in Fenshan Town.

Lu Pan remained silent, deep in thought.

A moment later, he looked at Chen Ji.

"I'll trouble you to investigate this matter, fellow Daoist. If the Ghost King has set up a corpse-raising formation outside to cultivate rampant soldiers, fierce ghosts, and Yin corpses, it will be quite troublesome."

"But we don't know how much truth there is in what the Youdi Sparrow said, so it's not wise to launch an attack lightly."

"Is there no way for the underworld to investigate the mass graves?"

Chen Ji was somewhat surprised.

Even with the aforementioned turmoil in the underworld, it shouldn't have come to this point where there's no ghost hand.

"It was possible before, but recently we've been investigating the Ghost Gate incident in Zhanshui Town, so we can't spare any more personnel."

"Moreover, the rampant soldiers and yin corpses in the corpse-raising grounds are not ordinary ghosts. Even the underworld officials would not fare well against them. Most of the time, it is the day-roaming gods who originally lived in the human world who are asked to deal with them."

"Alright... Judge Lu, stop talking. I understand."

Chen Ji sighed.

"No wonder Judge Lu wanted to recruit me as a colleague. It seems that the underworld is really short of people but not ghosts."

Judge Lu was taken aback for a moment, then realized the joke Chen Ji had told him, and burst into laughter.

He then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and earnestly reminded Chen Ji.

"Fellow Daoist, even if you go to investigate, you must be careful. Although the Ghost King's strength has been greatly reduced in the mortal world, he still has a place to raise corpses and rampant soldiers. He is probably not simple."

"Nature knows."

Chen Ji nodded, then suddenly thought of something.

"I went to investigate this place, but I need some help. There was a master's sword at the place where I captured the wolf-blood demons. If I subdue them, absorb their ghost energy, and keep it for myself, what do you think?"

"nature."

Judge Lu agreed without the slightest hesitation.

"These are the spoils of war that you, fellow Daoist, have collected. As a day-roaming deity of the underworld, what's wrong with having a few minor ghost servants by your side?"

"I didn't mention these things to you before because I thought you were a proper Taoist who cultivated the Five Qi Method and was not good at setting up altars to invite gods and exorcise ghosts. Now that you have such ideas, I can find a few skilled people from the underworld and send them to serve you."

"That's not necessary. These few are enough. If there are more, their salaries won't be enough to support them."

"Hmm, why can't you afford to raise them?"

Lu Pan looked at Chen Ji in surprise, not understanding what this meant.

Chen Ji then revealed the matter of salary he had discussed with the Stone Mill Demon.

"Ten sticks of incense?"

Judge Lu shook his head.

"It's only because you're a living person and cultivate the Five Qi Method that you can be so generous. If it were an ordinary cultivator, these ten incense sticks would probably be more important than life itself."

"Haha."

Chen Ji burst into laughter.

"Since keeping them is useless for the time being, it's better to give them the opportunity to improve their cultivation. They can be of assistance if needed."

"Indeed."

Judge Lu nodded and then explained the situation of the underworld to Chen Ji.

“Ordinary ghost messengers are already very fortunate with just one stick of incense. If they are truly exceptional, three sticks of incense would suffice. Fellow Daoist, your offering is so generous that even I am tempted.”

"How about you give me half of the incense offerings each month, and I'll arrange it for you?"

As Lu Pan joked, Chen Ji suddenly remembered what the Stone Mill Demon had said.

They were willing to exchange ten sticks of incense for three meals a day to feed their soldiers.

They must have realized they were taking too much incense and felt a little embarrassed.

He shook his head, said nothing more, but then seemed to remember something and asked about the matter of Lu Pan's provisions for the soldiers.

"How strange, fellow Daoist, how do you know about this without learning the art of exorcising spirits and raising ghosts?"

"I overheard this from a discussion with the old abbot. There were two demons who had entered the Dao through cooking. They were talking about this as a casual conversation, and I just happened to remember it."

"That's right."

Lu Pan nodded slightly.

“Supporting soldiers with provisions is indeed more suitable for ghosts than offering incense, but there are not many people who know how to do it, and each sect has its own traditions.”

"Does Judge Lu know where to obtain these things?"

Chen Ji wrote down the recipe for raising the Five Witches soldiers recorded in the Art of Military Training.

"One serving of Ferocious Flesh, one serving of Crimson Blood, one serving of Moonlit Sand, one serving of Naihe Rice, one serving of Ghost Sunflower, one serving of Locust Spirit, one serving of Pearl, one serving of Moon Essence..."

"Can't find it!"

Judge Lu glanced at it once and then pushed it back in front of Chen Ji.

"Where did you get this prescription from?"

"As recorded in the book."

Judge Lu glanced at him and shook his head dismissively.

Do you know what this prescription is?

"Food for soldiers".

"..."

"Then do you know what kind of troops this is used to raise?"

Lu Pan sighed.

"This is the blood food recipe for raising the real Five Witches soldiers, the divine soldiers who died in the ancient war. When the Yellow Emperor sealed their souls on the Iron Enclosure Mountain of Fengdu with the talisman of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, this was the blood food he ate."

"So that's how it came about?"

Chen Ji couldn't help but be surprised.

I thought the recipes in this art of raising soldiers were just ordinary blood and fodder for the Five Witches soldiers, and I was thinking that these things were too hard to come by, and some I had never even heard of.

Now that they know this was actually the blood offering the Human Emperor made for the original Five Witches army, they immediately gave up.

This thing is unworthy of even the six ghosts in the Master's Blade.

Even if he were to become a tyrant now, he wouldn't be worthy of eating this.

However, Chen Ji was still somewhat curious.

"If it's something so secretive, how did Judge Lu know about it?"

"This blood offering recipe isn't exactly a secret in the underworld; many ghosts know it. Even if it's not for raising the Five Witches, ordinary ghosts can benefit from eating it, it's just that it's too difficult to gather them all together."

"If you wish to cleanse those few vengeful spirits of the Master Blade, you may use this, but it doesn't need to be this good. What you commonly use in the human world will suffice."

Judge Lu then gave another prescription.

Chen Ji accepted the food and found that it was basically the same as what he was making now, with only a few ingredients being different. He made a note of it and planned to ask the old abbot about it when he saw him again.

"Fellow Daoist, do you have any further questions? If not, I must return to my work." "Is the Underworld so busy?"

"It's all thanks to you, fellow Daoist!"

Lu Pan looked at Chen Ji with a resentful expression.

"The sorceress and the blood demon you sent haven't been dealt with yet, and now there's another city god. The prefect has already informed the city god offices across the country to conduct a joint trial. If we want to know anything else, we can only try to get through the trial before they arrive."

"If there are other things to deal with in advance, it will be easier to handle them."

"Judge Lu, you've worked hard."

Chen Ji smiled.

"Then I will take a few days to rest and properly assume the position of City God."

Having said that, Judge Lu looked at Chen Ji with a serious expression.

"Fellow Daoist, being the City God is not an easy job. You must be careful in everything you do."

"Ok?"

Chen Ji was taken aback, not understanding what was wrong with the City God.

Judge Lu then focused his mind and spoke.

"Fellow Daoist, do you know what the most important thing is for the City God?"

"To handle local ghost cases, guide souls into the underworld, and protect towns."

"good."

Lu Pan nodded.

"But you forgot to mention the most important thing, fellow Daoist."

"the most important?"

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought of something.

"Incense?"

"Exactly."

Lu Pan smiled slightly.

"Among the surrounding towns, only Zhanshui Town has a City God, but it is not like this place."

"Because demons, humans, ghosts, and gods live together in this place, the world is more chaotic than elsewhere."

"When things are in chaos, people seek divine intervention. The position of City God here is a lucrative one. If you do well these next few days, I'm afraid there will be people in the City God offices all over the world who will not like it and will try to make things difficult for you."

"If you encounter any problems, fellow Daoist, do not rush. Be sure to carefully judge the situation before making a decision."

Lu Pan drew out his words, emphasizing that he had encountered some issues.

Chen Ji instantly understood what he meant.

I'm afraid this wasn't an unintentional event, but rather a deliberate arrangement.

"understood."

"Then I'm going back."

Seeing that Chen Ji understood, Judge Lu transformed into black mist and returned to Hao Li.

Chen Ji then went to explain to everyone the reminder and arrangements made by Judge Lu earlier.

"Investigate the mass graves."

The people in the temple all looked out of the town with furrowed brows.

It was better not to know that it was the Ghost King's secluded place before, but going there now would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den.

Chen Ji, however, seemed to remember something and asked them just how powerful the Ghost King was.

"That's hard to say."

Taoist Xiyun shook his head.

“My master once fought a ghost king. The surrounding demons and ghosts all said that he was very strong, but my master was stronger. He subdued the ghost king in less than a quarter of an hour.”

"But the other ghost king was different. It only released some little ghosts to harm people from time to time. However, Master was unable to defeat it in time. Later, he had to set up an altar and devise a plan to defeat this ghost."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ji knew that asking Daoist Xiyun would be of no use.

His words had nothing to do with the local ghost king.

Looking at Miss Bai, he found her lost in thought, nodding slightly at him.

So he understood what she meant and decided not to say anything for now, but to ask Miss Bai later.

Chen Ji then mentioned the matter of being wary of people setting traps during the trial.

The two humans and the fox all sighed.

"Officials are like this, and so are the spirits; the people of the world are truly suffering."

They looked at Chen Ji and said they remembered.

"If there's a case, inform your friends immediately, lest..."

"Boom-boom-boom!"

Before the words were finished, the sound of drums could be heard outside the City God Temple.

Chen Ji raised an eyebrow and looked over, thinking to himself that it was strange.

The City God Temple also has two drums in front of it, just like a public court in the human world, except that one drum is for ghosts to beat and the other is for humans to beat.

The sound that was heard was actually from the drum that people were beating.

Logically speaking, human conflicts should be resolved by officials. For a living person to come to the City God Temple to file a complaint, there must be some issues.

"Fellow Daoist, shall we go and take a look?"

Master Xiyun inquired.

Chen Ji shook his head.

"No need. If someone really is going to make arrangements, there's no way to avoid it. We might as well go and see."

"Besides, we just said that if even the officials and spirits are so inactive, and we still hide from them, then we are no different from them."

“Amitabha, fellow Daoist, your insight is indeed extraordinary.”

As the monk chanted a Buddhist prayer, his eyes lingered with approval.

"Then, let's begin the trial."

Chen Ji gave the order.

So Master Xiyun went to open the door.

The little foxes quickly gripped their water-and-fire sticks and stood in their positions, slamming their sticks on the ground and shouting powerfully.

Chen Ji sat before the City God's altar.

Looking up, there was still a slight sense of regret.

This place was previously the location of the burial mound and the City God statue.

Now, after the villagers destroyed the temple and the gods, only a mess remains, and it hasn't been cleaned up yet. Who would have thought that a trial would be held here?

If I had known they would arrive so quickly, I should have cleaned up this place a couple of days ago.

Just as he was thinking about it, a thought suddenly occurred to him, but Chen Ji froze on the spot.

The furnishings inside the house changed, slowly transforming into the arrangement of the City God's ancestral hall that we had seen before.

Holding the City God's seal, Chen Ji understood the special nature of this place.

As long as the City God holds court to hear cases, even if the City God Temple is so dilapidated that only bricks and tiles remain, this space will still be formed.

Moreover, after carefully experiencing the place, Chen Ji understood its unique characteristics.

The ability to simultaneously bring forth both living people and ghosts is quite fitting for the City God's trial of cases.

However, before they could examine it in detail, the Taoist priest had already brought in the drummer.

"Tom!"

The newcomer stepped in and, before he could even speak, immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to give me justice! I beg you to give me justice!"

Chen Ji sat on it, wiggling his buttocks, somewhat unaccustomed to the current situation where he would kneel down and kowtow.

Unfortunately, nothing could be changed, so all that could be done was to send a gust of wind to lift him up.

"Just get to the point; there's no need for this."

"Yes!"

The visitor hurriedly nodded, then stood up and took out a petition from his pocket and presented it to the visitor.

He explained the situation to Chen Ji as they walked.

"Sir, this is my complaint against my neighbor. He owed me thirty taels of silver, but now he's dead. When I went to his house to ask for the money back, his family denied everything and refused to pay. I had no other choice but to come to you."

Chen Ji felt that it wasn't that simple.

“In ordinary debt cases, even if the person is dead, as long as there is an IOU, the local government will look at the evidence and will not make a wrong judgment.”

"There are gods and ghosts here, so we should be even more careful. There is no need to come to the City God for a judgment. I'm afraid this person's mind is not on money."

Chen Ji thought about it and looked at the person who had complained again, and sure enough, he noticed something wrong.

(End of this chapter)