You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

Chapter 40 Departure, to Gucheng!

"It's so fragrant!"

"With Old Ma's wife's skills, why bother opening a goji berry and dried fruit shop? Wouldn't it be better to sell snacks?"

Inside the funeral home.

Chen Yang finished a bowl of rice noodle soup in one go.

He had just finished lunch and felt quite full, so he immediately got up to buy a drink at a nearby store and then strolled over to Old Ma's goji berry and dried fruit shop.

Old Ma wasn't there.

The son is minding the shop.

He was holding his phone, head down, playing a game.

Amidst the pervasive gloom on his back, the old man also lowered his head and quietly stared at his phone screen.

As Chen Yang entered the shop, the old man slowly looked up.

next moment.

Little Horse slowly raised its head.

His expression was completely different from before, and his eyes had a murky quality that didn't belong to a young man. His demeanor was exactly the same as the old man behind him. He said in a hoarse voice, "Xiao Chen, this is my family matter... Don't meddle in other people's business!"

A sudden gust of cold wind swept through the dried fruit shop!
boom!
The shop door closed automatically!

Even the temperature in the air is dropping rapidly!
Chen Yang was slightly surprised.

He had met Old Master Ma a few times before, and seeing him possess his children and grandchildren and wander around in the bright sunlight during the day, he knew that Old Master Ma was quite formidable...

I never expected it to be this powerful!

This one skill alone, with its Yin energy, is not much different from "Teacher Zhang's"!
The strength of a ghost or evil spirit is mostly related to its experiences in life.

For example, the big-headed ghost baby had such deep resentment in its heart that it transformed into a terrifying vengeful spirit!

Take "Teacher Zhang" for example. She suffered inhumane treatment during her life. She was forced to her death by the villagers and by Fang Wenhe's betrayal. She was then suppressed for more than 40 years before she turned into a vengeful ghost!

In other words, the stronger one's resentment, hostility, and obsession in life, the more powerful one's spirit will be after death!

Or the spirits of butchers, murderers, or cultivators may be more powerful than ordinary spirits.

Mr. Ma was just an ordinary, lonely old man when he passed away.

The fact that his spirit is so malevolent now is enough to show how much resentment and hatred he harbored in his lifetime!

However, this level of intensity was nothing to Chen Yang.

“Old man… As the saying goes, even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. Of course, I’m not happy to meddle in your family affairs, but a country has its laws, a family has its rules, and the underworld also has its own laws.”

Chen Yang said, "You are already dead. You should go where you belong, not stay in the world to harm people!"

Xiao Ma suddenly stood up.

The eerie aura behind him writhed like tentacles, his eyes gleamed with bloodlust, and he roared, "I am not reconciled... I gave birth to them, raised them, but they did not care for me in my old age and saw me off in death. They left me to suffer in a small house in the countryside, while they enjoyed a life of luxury in the city!"

"Before I became paralyzed, things were fine. My two sons and daughters-in-law often came back to our hometown to visit me, bringing me medicine and delicious food!"

“But ever since I became paralyzed, they have become more and more disgusted with me… They lock me in a small house in the countryside, and just throw food at me like livestock and then leave!”

"Eight months... a full eight months!"

Do you know how I've gotten through these past eight months?

The little horse spoke in the voice of the old man, his words filled with anger, hatred, and resentment.

One can imagine...

An elderly paralyzed man was confined to a small house in the countryside, unable to eat, drink, or even use the toilet on his own... Whether he eventually died of illness or starvation, no one knows!

He was not childless.

He has two sons. Although they are not extremely wealthy, they live comfortably.
Chen Yang fell silent.

Don't persuade others to be kind to others without suffering.

The suffering that Old Master Ma endured is incomprehensible to those who have not personally experienced it... You two beastly sons, after their father died, hired people to chant sutras and slaughtered cattle and sheep every year, showing utmost filial piety, but what use is filial piety after death?

Old Ma had an excellent reputation among the long-time residents of Yumin Street who ran shops and businesses. Who would have thought he would treat his own father like this?
At this time.

Xiao Ma's phone rang.

He pressed the answer button.

Little Horse's mother's urgent voice came through—

"Ma Qiang!"

"Lock up the shop and come back quickly... That bastard of your second uncle wants to beat up your dad, he wants to steal the house and land your grandfather left us!" "Ouch... my goodness!"

"Murder! Murder! You son of a bitch, how dare you hit me?"

On the other end of the phone, a chaotic mix of shouts, curses, and wailing filled the air.

"Little Ma" hung up the phone and burst into hysterical laughter: "Hahahaha... Look, look! These beasts, not a single one of them was filial when it came to showing filial piety, but now they're eyeing the few acres of land and the yard I'll leave behind after I die!"

Oh shit!

Chen Yang was somewhat angry when he heard about this behavior.

He gave "Little Ma" a deep look and said, "Old man, the law cannot be violated. I'll give you half a day to sort out your family affairs... Come to me before midnight tonight, and I'll take you downstairs."

After leaving a message, Chen Yang turned and left the goji berry and dried fruit shop.

The chilly wind inside the shop stopped.

Immediately afterwards, Xiao Ma hurriedly locked the shop door, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the countryside.

Chen Yang returned to the shop, played a few games, and then began practicing the Taoist "Fire Technique" and the "Yellow Spring Refining God Technique" until around 11:40 p.m., when a cold wind blew into the funeral shop.

Grandpa Ma has arrived.

Compared to his hysteria and resentment during the day, he appeared quite calm at this moment.

"Little Chen, are you a ghost messenger from hell?"

The Hui people also have the concept of heaven and hell.

If a person does good deeds and fulfills their filial duties while alive, does not steal or rob, does not smoke, does not drink, does not gamble, and regularly goes to the mosque to pray, they will go to heaven after death; otherwise... they will go to hell!

He asked, "If I go to hell, will I have to go through mountains of knives and boiling oil?"

Chen Yang said, "Once you go down there, the underworld will judge all your good and evil deeds from your lifetime..."

Perform the Rebirth Mantra.

We saw the old man off.

A system notification suddenly sounded in my mind.

[You have diligently performed your duties in the mortal realm, upholding the laws of the underworld. Reward: Cultivation +500.]

…………

One night of practice.

The next morning, as soon as Chen Yang opened his shop, he heard the owners of the hardware store and the tobacco and liquor store next door gossiping.

"Have you heard... Old Ma almost died!"

"Isn't it all over the inheritance left by his father? The two brothers got into a fight, and Old Ma got beaten up with a shovel by his brother, breaking his leg. Old Ma's wife was also knocked unconscious by a shovel."

"After Old Ma's son went back, he took a knife and ran to his second uncle's house, where he stabbed his second uncle."

"What a pity about Ma Qiang... I heard he was kidnapped by Uncle Hat last night!"

Grandpa Ma still couldn't bring himself to take drastic measures...

With a sigh, Chen Yang took out his phone and called Gu Jinghui.

"Old Chen... I was just about to call you."

“I have already burned Teacher Zhang’s ashes and am planning to send them to you… I have also found out about her family. Her parents passed away one after another ten years ago, but she has a younger brother named Zhang Tianhe, who used to work at the Jingyuan County Education Bureau and has been retired for eight or nine years.”

"Zhang Tianhe's grandson works in the Jing County government office..."

Chen Yang said, "Okay, get ready, we'll leave this afternoon..."

Gu Jinghui asked in surprise, "Me too?"

"Nonsense, Teacher Zhang died in our Wucheng. Aren't you going to send anyone from your Criminal Investigation Division to send her remains back?"

Jing County is under the jurisdiction of Gucheng City.

It's convenient to visit Dongyue Mountain on the way.

Chen Yang said, "After sending off Teacher Zhang's remains, I plan to spend a few days in Gucheng... You can take this opportunity to take a paid vacation!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Jinghui quickly said, "Wait here, I'll go ask for leave right away... oops, I'll go discuss the fieldwork with Captain Su!"

…………

P.S.: Happy May Day holiday, brothers! It's almost midnight, brothers, how about some monthly votes?
Then there's the issue of extra chapters. Previously, we asked for 500 votes for 3 extra chapters, but we're still 2 chapters short. Because we need to keep up with the recommendations and control the word count, we'll add one extra chapter tomorrow and another one the day after.

(End of this chapter)