The Underworld Sable Envoy: I Cultivate Immortality at the Department of Spiritual Investigation

My name is Su Nianyang, and I am a young man working in a rural area in western China. I thought my life would continue in an orderly manner.

Until one late night, a sudden knock on the door shattered all the ordinariness.

I'm lying on my bed in the public rental apartment, dozing off to the sound of an audiobook.

"Knock! Knock knock!" A series of urgent knocks on the door startled me awake. My first thought was, "Oh no!" Had something urgent happened in the village again? I hoped it wasn't a wildfire! Countless possibilities flashed through my mind in an instant.

I forced my eyelids shut and opened my phone. The screen showed only 10% battery remaining. Damn it, I fell asleep listening to an audiobook and forgot to charge it again! I cursed under my breath.

Strangely, apart from the knocking, there was no other sound—if there were really an emergency, the supervisor would have called or sent a message long ago.

Just then, a user with the ID "Forest Protection Sister" in the work group messaged everyone: "Did anyone knock on my door just now?"

"Someone knocked on your door too?" Out of professional habit, I immediately replied to the message, both to prove my innocence and to confirm the anomaly.

At the same time, two colleagues also spoke in succession:

"Could it be a thief?" the firefighter asked.

"Why don't we go out and take a look? There's strength in numbers."

After agreeing on the terms, we each opened our doors. Due to limited conditions in our community, we all lived in a courtyard-style public rental apartment. Opening the door revealed an open space with an unobstructed view, but apart from the howling cold wind, there was no one outside.

We peeked out and looked around, nodding to each other, which was enough to say hello.

At this point, Sister Mori couldn't hold back any longer and burst out: "This is so annoying so late at night! Who played this prank?!"

"No, listen, who's crying?" The firefighter closest to the hospital entrance suddenly fell silent; his room was closest to the source of the sound.

As soon as the words left my mouth, a thin, faint sob drifted in the cold wind, as if it were emerging from the ground. It was hoarse and elusive, right next to my ear, yet I couldn't pinpoint its direction. I instantly got goosebumps.

"Look over there!" Senfang pointed to the corner of the yard. I was about to turn on my phone's flashlight when a message popped up on the screen: "Battery level below 10%, cannot be turned on."

The firefighter immediately took out his flashlight, and the beam slowly swept towards the source of the crying. In the dim light, it seemed that a woman in Tibetan clothing was sitting on the steps with her back to us, crying.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It was probably some couple arguing, and the wife, still upset, came to us to settle things.

Seeing my colleagues heading in that direction, I put on my down jacket and prepared to go out. Suddenly, for some inexplicable reason, I thought, "It's so cold at night, why don't I pour her a cup of hot water first?" So I turned around, picked up the kettle, and boiled some water...

"ah!!!"

A heart-wrenching scream shattered the silence, instantly jolting me awake from my drowsy state. I rushed out the door and saw my colleagues running back like madmen. In the corner of the courtyard, the figure of the "woman in Tibetan clothing" slowly rose to her feet—her body was burly, and beneath the Tibetan clothing was a blurry human face with a bear's snout and a pair of eyes that glowed with an eerie green light in the darkness.

This is no wronged wife, this is clearly a Tibetan bear with a human face!

Instinct overwhelmed me; I turned and ran into the house, slamming the door shut, locking it from the inside, and then dragging the wardrobe over to block the door. But halfway through, my hand suddenly froze: What about my colleagues outside?

I quickly peeked through the window and thankfully everyone had taken refuge in the firefighter's house, so they were safe for the time being. Only then did I continue to move heavy objects from inside to block the window, but I knew in my heart that these defenses were nothing but paper in front of the Tibetan macaque's claws. The image of it with a human face kept flashing through my mind, and my legs felt like lead, trembling uncontrollably.

Fear...like an icy hand, gripped my heart. A strong metallic smell filled my mouth and nose. I knew this was the physiological reaction of a person under extreme fear.

I curled up under the bed, deliberately keeping my breathing soft, my ears straining to catch any sounds outside, while out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Chou Chou still fast asleep by the bedside.

Damn it, I completely forgot to bring it in!

Chou Chou is my pet ferret. It's been with me since it was a kitten, and I love it more than anyone else. But then I thought, we can barely protect ourselves. If a Tibetan macaque breaks down the door, we're all doomed. Besides, that beast is clearly making noise in the middle of the yard; it probably hasn't even noticed my house.

"Thump! Thump thump!!!"

A heavy thud sounded, not at my door, but at the firefighter's. The dull thud of a bear's paw hitting the wooden door struck my heart again and again. In that brief moment, I rushed to the bedside table, grabbed my phone, and called for help. My fingers were shaking so badly I could barely unlock it. I found the number of police officer Zaxi and dialed it.

"Brother Zaxi! A Tibetan bear has broken into our yard, and it's killing someone! You guys need to come right now!"

"What? There are casualties? We're on our way!" The call ended abruptly.

I immediately called the village chief: "Village chief, there's a Tibetan macaque in the yard! Bring the old hunter here quickly!"

"Tibetan bear? You must be mistaken! Bears hibernate in February, and there are only black bears in the Nyingchi area!" The village chief's voice was full of doubt. "Never mind, I'll bring a few old hunters from the village. Hang in there!"

After hanging up the phone, I picked up the still-sleeping Chou Chou and crawled back under the bed. My fingertips stroked its warm fur, and my panicked heart finally calmed down a bit. Knowing the local traffic, it would take at most ten minutes! As long as I could get through that time, I would definitely be rescued!

I stared at the watch on my wrist, the fluorescent second hand ticking away, starting another "cycle." Each second felt like an eternity; this was truly a case of time dragging on endlessly.

Just as I was guessing the rescue was about to arrive, a loud bang suddenly erupted, followed by heart-wrenching screams. My heart sank; I knew that the firefighter's door had been broken into by a burly man.

I forced my trembling body to stay upright and peered out the window—a khamatis had bitten Mori-san's neck, blood spurting like a fountain; another female colleague lay beside her, her neck empty...

No one knows where the firefighter pulled out a large Tibetan knife from, a knife exclusive to the people of Gongbu, which was extremely sharp. He gripped the handle with both hands and retreated with trembling steps.

The Tibetan bear set its sights on him again, kicking up a cloud of dust as it stomped its paws on the ground. Perhaps driven by desperation, the firefighter suddenly unleashed a fierce attack, brandishing his large Tibetan knife and slashing at the bear's forelimbs.

In an instant, he was sent flying two or three meters away by the Tibetan bear, crashing heavily to the ground and convulsing. But the knife also struck the bear's forelimb, severing his arm, leaving only a layer of skin and tendons connecting it, with dark red blood flowing all over the ground.

The firefighter is still alive!

As I watched all this, my heart burned with anxiety. I wanted to rush out and save people, but the firefighter had fallen more than 20 meters away from my door, and Zang Ma Xiong was standing right in the middle. I had no chance at all.

"Damn it!" I gritted my teeth and called Zaxi again. "Brothers, are you guys here yet? If you don't come soon, we're all going to be wiped out!"

"We've reached the village entrance, hang in there!"

Zaxi Ge rushed in with several colleagues, followed by the village chief and a few old hunters, each carrying a signal arrow. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they were stunned, and several of them immediately leaned against the wall and vomited.

I peered out the window and shouted, "That Tibetan bear is in the left corner! It's trying to lure you over there; it's killed several people!"

The shout shattered the silence, and the "bear in human skin" slowly turned around. A sticky, human voice drifted over, indistinguishable in gender, carrying the chill of the cold wind: "I'm a person! I'm a person! Come here quickly!"

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end instantly, and my palms clenched into a cold sweat. I had heard countless stories from elders about Tibetan bears disguising themselves as humans, but how could this beast speak human language? Its voice carried a chilling coldness, devoid of any trace of life!

It felt as if an invisible hand was gripping my throat. I wanted to shout "Shoot!" but I couldn't even squeeze out a sound. My chest ached, and all I could see was fear.

"Hiss—" An old hunter from Gongbu suddenly raised his hand and threw a burning torch toward the source of the sound. The torch hit the ground, and the flames sizzled in the cold wind, casting distorted shadows with its orange-red light.

Finally, they saw clearly—that wasn't a human at all, but a Tibetan bear covered in blood, its paws protruding from its wrists, bits of flesh hanging between its fingers, its eye sockets glowing with an eerie green light, as if it were a monster crawling out of hell.

"Rat-a-tat-tat—" The rapid gunfire suddenly rang out, bullets piercing human skin and striking the bear's chest and cheeks, exploding into specks of black blood. Everyone present knew that the Tibetan bear had thick hide and flesh, and pistol bullets could not cause fatal wounds.

Someone immediately drew a bow and shot an arrow, the arrow whistling through the wind—it was the unique Gongbu whistling arrow. The village chief then threw out several torches, illuminating the corner of the courtyard.

With a muffled thud, the Tibetan bear fell to the ground.

Out of caution, I remained inside: "This thing is very cunning; make sure it's not completely dead!"

The crowd responded, and several axes were hurled fiercely at the bear, embedding themselves in its flesh with a dull thud. The eldest hunter precisely threw a torch at the bear, and its fur sizzled and burned instantly. The acrid smell, mixed with the stench of burning human skin, was pungent, forcing everyone to cover their noses. The night wind carried this strange odor, filling the entire courtyard.

Once they were sure the beast was still, several voices drifted in along the windowsill: "Are you alright? Do you need a hand?"

"I'm fine, I'll be right out!" I answered through a crack in the window, and the pungent smell of burning filled the room. I hastily wrapped myself in thick clothes, reached out and moved the heavy object blocking the door, my fingertips still trembling slightly.

"Why aren't you coming out yet? This thing is completely dead." Moriho's voice came.

"I'll bring Chou Chou along," I said as I looked for the ferret.

"What time is it for you to worry about your ferret? Let it come back first!"

"Yes, that mink is very clever; it's safest to keep it indoors," several old hunters echoed.

Perhaps I was still shaken, but I was wary of everything, and something felt off. I peeked through the crack in the window again. The torches outside were flickering, and everyone in the courtyard had stopped moving and was staring at my door with stiff heads.

A female voice! Only Senfang and her female colleague were in the courtyard, but weren't they already possessed by Kuramakuro…?

A bone-chilling cold swept through my body. I covered my mouth tightly, my back pressed against the cold cement wall, cold sweat streaming down my spine. As I stopped moving, I heard slow, approaching footsteps from inside the courtyard, stiff and hesitant. Two female voices, mingled with muttering, grew closer: "Why aren't you coming out yet…?"

The torches outside the window crackled and burned, their orange-red light illuminating the profile of the person in the courtyard. The person was expressionless, their eyes sunken in shadow. The muttering sound was like a repeated incantation, intertwined with Mori-san's soft voice, sending chills down one's spine.

Just then, Chou Chou suddenly popped out of my arms, its fur bristling, and began to hiss at the window with its sharp beak, its voice thin and urgent. I hurriedly pulled it back into my arms, and it was this hiss that made the murmurs in the yard pause for a moment.

The next second, Chou Chou leaped onto the desk and spoke in a high-pitched voice, yet carrying an inexplicable air of authority: "Little Su, do you think I look more like a human or a god?"

A feeling of powerlessness surged from the soles of my feet to the top of my head, and I collapsed onto the ground, completely losing the will to fight.

"Stinky, you know how good I am to you. I'll spend 100 of my last 200 yuan on freeze-dried food for you. Can you please let me go? I haven't done anything wrong. I work hard and just want to live a peaceful life..."

"Little Su, you don't have much time left." The arrogant voice turned colder. "I'll ask you one more time: do you think I look more like a man or a god? Think carefully before you answer."

It stood on the desk, the pale moonlight slanting down, illuminating its bristling fur. Its beady black eyes gleamed with a sinister light, completely devoid of their usual docility. I knew that today was my inevitable end. So be it, dying at the hands of my own pet was better than being torn to pieces by those things outside.

In the end, what difference does it make? They're just a bunch of man-eating monsters. Thinking of this, I suddenly laughed, a mournful and hoarse laugh that echoed in the empty room: "You're like a god, no, you are a real god! Remember to give me a quick death later, I don't want to die as miserably as those people outside."

The moment the words left my lips, an incredibly dense black mist suddenly exploded around Chou Chou, instantly enveloping its small body and swallowing even the pale moonlight. The black mist carried an eerie, deathly chill, as if I were already in the depths of hell.

As the black mist surged, a figure grew at a visible speed—in the blink of an eye, the palm-sized ferret transformed into a humanoid figure nearly three meters tall, standing steadily in the room. Its back almost touched the roof beam, and its robust body was even more imposing than the Tibetan bear in the yard. A terrifying pressure swept over me, pinning me to the ground, unable to move even my fingertips, and my breath was filled with a bone-chilling cold.

The silvery-white sable fur transformed into jet-black iron needles, each one standing upright, gleaming with a cold, dark light in the corner of the eye. The claws, like scimitars tempered with venom, gleamed with a pale, cold light, and as soon as they landed, they dug several deep marks into the concrete, the edges of which were covered with a thin layer of white frost.

His once black, beady eyes had split into narrow, blood-red vertical pupils, devoid of any light, filled only with an intense, unyielding crimson. His eye sockets were deep-set, surrounded by swirling black mist, within which one could vaguely see tiny, ghostly phantoms floating. The low, guttural sounds emanating from his throat carried a piercing, ear-splitting buzz.

Before I could recover from the shock, the figure suddenly turned its head and slammed its claw at the window—the window frame was instantly shattered into dust by the force of the claw. The black mist enveloped its body as it rushed into the yard, and the two-meter-tall figure landed on the ground, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

The chanting outside the courtyard abruptly stopped. The roar of the Tibetan bear in human skin was cut off by the black mist as if countless ghostly hands had gripped its throat.

I peered through the window and saw it clearly. The beast had no chance to dodge; with a single sweep of its paw, it enveloped everything in the courtyard. The moment the bear's body touched the black mist, it emitted a sizzling, bone-corroding sound. The thick bear skin melted away at a visible speed, and the eerie shadows possessed by evil spirits twisted and dissipated in the black mist, leaving not even a complete scream.

In just a few breaths, the khama bear and its "colleagues" in the courtyard were completely wiped out, as if they had never existed.

Only the rustling sound of black mist rolling across the ground remained. The orange-red glow of the torches was extinguished, and the entire courtyard was left with only the pale moonlight and the lingering chill emanating from the divine figure.

A moment later, the black mist began to shrink back, and the giant divine shadow contracted at a speed visible to the naked eye. The jet-black hard needles turned back into silvery-white soft fur, the thick limbs returned to their small size, and the lifeless vertical pupils slowly shrank into black bean eyes, with only a faint black halo remaining at the corners of the eyes.

The black mist completely disappeared into its body, and even the ice shards and claw marks on the ground were smoothed out by the Yin energy, as if the terrifying figure had never appeared.

Chou Chou yawned, stretched out its little paws and rubbed its eyes, looking sleepy again—it usually curls up in my arms and sleeps for eighteen hours every day.

I was trembling like a leaf, my back soaked with cold sweat. I stared at the clean ground outside the yard, speechless for a long time. My little pet, whom I cuddled and fed freeze-dried food for a hundred yuan every day, turned out to be such a terrifying creature. Those Tibetan bears that terrified me were nothing more than ants to be crushed at will in its eyes.

A deathly silence enveloped the courtyard once more, but it didn't last long. The roar of helicopter rotors echoed from the distant night sky, growing louder and louder as it approached, the deafening wind shattering the tranquility of the mountains. Three blinding beams of searchlight pierced the darkness, sweeping straight over—three helicopters hovered low above the courtyard, their rotors whipping up dust and dead leaves, rattling the broken window frames. The searchlights illuminated the entire courtyard as if it were daytime, even revealing the little rascal in my arms.

Immediately afterwards, the engine sounds of several full-size American SUVs approached from afar, the rough roar shaking the ground, and the dazzling high beams pierced the darkness, beams of white light shooting straight into the yard and coming to a heavy stop outside the gate.

The car doors opened in unison, and a group of people dressed in black uniforms stepped out quickly, their well-trained footsteps steady and powerful. One person in the crowd stood out—not dressed entirely in black, but wearing a loose-fitting uniform over a red monk's robe, with a string of lustrous bodhi beads around his neck and a string of old sandalwood beads between his fingers. He had a middle-aged face, with calm eyes that concealed a coldness, and his aura was different from the somber atmosphere of the others, carrying a serene Zen-like quality.

They all wore a silver Spirit Investigation Bureau badge embroidered on their left chests, held high-precision detectors that glowed blue in their hands, and had standard weapons at their waists. Only the master had no mission weapon; instead, the beads on his fingertips spun rapidly.

"Paranormal Investigation Bureau is conducting an investigation. Everyone stay put and do not move!"

A cold, harsh male voice came through the loudspeaker, making my eardrums ache. Several people burst through the door. The man in the lead was in his thirties, with a sharp, cold look in his eyes and a taut jawline. He glanced at me, who was sprawled on the floor, and when his gaze fell on the smelly poop on my leg, he clearly noticed something was wrong.

His sixth sense told him that there was definitely something wrong with the mink in front of him!

The man's fingers unconsciously gripped the standard weapon at his waist. He glanced warily at Chou Chou out of the corner of his eye, his eyes filled with apprehension, but he didn't ask any questions. He simply nodded slightly to the master behind him.

Master Rangda walked out slowly and steadily. When he reached me, he looked down at Chou Chou.

As if sensing a threat, Chou Chou instantly bristled its silver fur, its black bean eyes rolled back into lifeless vertical pupils, and black mist faintly rose around its body, as if it wanted to manifest again.

But as soon as the black mist emerged, it was suppressed and slightly shrank by the golden light emanating from Master Rhonda.

At the same time, a golden ray shot out, as fast as a shooting star, and landed straight on Chou Chou's forehead.

"squeak--!"

Chou Chou let out a sharp screech, not its usual soft voice, but a chilling cry of pain. The black mist surrounding it exploded instantly, only to be firmly suppressed by the golden light. The surging black mist melted away with a hiss upon touching the golden light, unable to spread even slightly. Master Rangda lowered his eyes, his fingers, which were holding prayer beads, paused for a moment, a barely perceptible hint of pity flashing in his eyes, gone in an instant.

In the midst of the intense pain, fragmented thoughts suddenly crept into my mind, as if Chou Chou's consciousness had drifted into my brain—fragmented images and information crashed into my head, making it throb.

Only then did I vaguely realize that Chou Chou was not a ferret that had come to life, but a messenger of the underworld, in charge of catching ghosts and guarding the boundary between the yin and yang realms.

The reason it chose to house a ferret is simply because it can only perform its duties while sleeping. Ferrets can sleep for eighteen hours a day, which is enough for it to handle the affairs of the underworld.

Furthermore, since ferrets and weasels both belong to the mustelid family, they inherently possess the potential to be granted human form. If they successfully obtain such a form in the human world, their cultivation and merits will increase exponentially. At the same time, ferrets do not need to hunt all day like weasels; they only need to be affectionate with people to get food, which suits their playful and lazy nature.

What sent chills down my spine even further was knowing what the answer to the question about seeking a title meant!

If I answer that it resembles a human, its underworld power will not be able to awaken in the mortal realm, and it will be unable to protect me. In the end, we will both perish at the hands of the Tibetan bear and evil spirits.

If the answer is that it is a demon or a monster, its divine status will immediately collapse, and it will have no chance of cultivating and attaining enlightenment in the mortal world in this lifetime.

Only by confirming that it is a god can it successfully obtain the title, awaken the power of the divine messenger in the mortal realm, and establish a connection between the title lord and the divine messenger in the underworld, thus barely saving my life.

That's why the Tibetan bear never came near my door; it was wary of Chou Chou!

A moment later, I clearly saw a tiny, golden "seal" character, as thin as a mosquito's leg, appear on Chou Chou's forehead.

Hidden in the downy fur, almost invisible to the naked eye, it acts like a shackle, tightly binding its breath.

Chou Chou's body trembled violently, the murderous intent in his vertical pupils faded a bit, and his black bean eyes slowly shrank back. The black mist around him dissipated at a visible speed, and even the bristling fur softened, drooping listlessly as he clung to my leg.

"Is it all settled?" the leading man asked in a deep voice.

Rhonda twirled the old sandalwood bead and nodded slightly: "Its source of mutation has been sealed, so it cannot manifest for the time being, and its true form cannot be detected by ordinary means."

After speaking, he stepped aside, and the leading man quickly walked up to me, handing me a glowing electronic badge with the prominent logo of the Spirit Investigation Bureau. He checked my phone information, his voice icy cold: "Linzhi Spirit Realm Special Investigation Bureau, ID 073. Su Nianyang, you are involved in tonight's unknown supernatural event. Come with us now for formal questioning."

Two officers from the Bureau of Spirits Investigation immediately stepped forward, lifting me up from either side with an irresistible force. The little creature, smelly and listless, clung to my collar, nuzzling its head against my neck with a hint of grievance, but no longer emanating any power.

I could feel its anxiety, but I was powerless to do anything about it—the god who could just raise his hand to crush evil spirits had his power easily sealed away.

"Take this 'pet' with you. Its matter is also part of the interrogation," the leading man said in a deep voice.

I was being carried outside, my feet sinking into the cold, hard concrete of winter. In my arms was a smelly, soft little body, the roar of helicopter rotors overhead, and the blinding beams of SUV headlights beside me. The officers from the Department of Spirits Investigation surrounded me, their menacing aura making even breathing feel heavy.

As I was led towards the off-road vehicle, I glanced back at the familiar forest protection station hut. The chill from earlier still lingered inside, while the yard was spotless, as if the horrific battle had never occurred. Only then did I belatedly realize that my ordinary, grassroots life deep in the mountains had shattered the moment the Tibetan bear spoke tonight.

My pet ferret, Chou Chou, whom I've raised for nearly two years and who always loves to curl up in my arms to sleep, and who was once a terrifying underworld messenger capable of transforming into a nearly three-meter-tall divine shadow, has now become an "ordinary pet" whose powers have been sealed by the Spirit Investigation Bureau. Together with me, it has fallen into the hands of this group of mysterious people.