Journey to the West: From Fish-Chasing Boy to the Boundless Heavenly Venerable of the Golden Palace

The small courtyard, about four zhang square, has three main rooms facing south, with a central hall, an east bedroom, a west study, and an east wing room that serves as the kitchen.

In the bedroom, Shen Qingzhu was fast asleep, having a sweet dream, a smile on her face.

"Shen Qingzhu... Shen Qingzhu..."

In his sleep, he suddenly heard someone calling his name, and he groggily opened his eyes.

Still half asleep, I vaguely saw a woman in white standing in front of the bed, her long hair flowing.

Shen Qingzhu couldn't help but smile; her dream had come true.

"Young lady, who are you...?"

Shen Qingzhu spoke subconsciously, but before he could finish, the woman in white suddenly tilted her head to one side, blood flowed from her seven orifices, and her tongue was sticking out.

"...A ghost!"

A terrified scream instantly echoed throughout the entire Yunqi Town.

Shen Qingzhu rolled off the bed and tried to run outside, but her legs went weak with fear, and she couldn't stand up. She fell to the ground and crawled out with both hands.

After finally climbing to the door and opening it, the female ghost floated leisurely behind him, and with a flick of her sleeve, the door slammed shut again.

"Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"

Shen Qingzhu sat on the ground, leaning against the door panel, haphazardly covering her face with her hands, and kept shouting.

"We have no grudge against each other, don't come looking for me, please don't come looking for me!"

"No enmity or grudge?"

The female ghost gave a cold snort, her voice suddenly turning chilling.

"Shen Qingzhu! Open your eyes and see who I am!"

"Um?"

The voice sounded somewhat familiar, and Shen Qingzhu was startled, instinctively looking up to see.

His eyes widened instantly.

Six months ago, he met a woman from another town, whose maiden name was Qianqian.

After her parents passed away, Qianqian, a vulnerable young woman, had no one to rely on in her hometown, so she came to Yunqi Town to stay with her uncle. Unexpectedly, her uncle also met with misfortune before the new year.

With no relatives or friends around, Qianqian was at a loss when Shen Qingzhu appeared. He took the initiative to help her find a place to stay and took good care of her every day. In addition, Shen Qingzhu was handsome and charming and could recite a few poems, so he quickly won Qianqian's heart.

Shen Qingzhu originally intended to take Qianqian's body first and then make money from her, but he lost his mind at the gambling table and had to change his plan, tricking Qianqian into handing over the family property left by her parents.

Unexpectedly, he lost everything in several days and wanted to ask Qianqian for more money, but Qianqian had no money left for him. Shen Qingzhu didn't believe it, and in the struggle, he strangled Qianqian to death with a straw rope.

After searching her house thoroughly, they only found a few coins. Realizing her mistake and fearing exposure, Shen Qingzhu threw Qianqian's body into a dry well outside the town.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and there was no news of anything. He thought that everything was fine, but to his surprise, Qianqian turned into a vengeful ghost and came to take his life tonight.

"I didn't mean to kill you, I just made a mistake, yes, a mistake, please spare me."

Shen Qingzhu looked terrified, kicking her legs and shrinking back while trying to explain.

"A slip-up?"

Recalling the狰狞 face of Shen Qingzhu when she strangled her to death, a cold smile appeared on Qianqian's pale face. How could it be an accident?

"Shen Qingzhu! You owe me my life!"

Without further ado, Qianqian let out a cold shout, her long, sharp nails like daggers, ready to stab Shen Qingzhu.

"Help! Someone please help me!"

Shen Qingzhu was so frightened that she almost lost her mind, and she covered her head and cried out in panic.

"Hey!"

A thunderous roar erupted, and a burst of golden light burst forth from outside the door, shoving the female ghost who was about to grab Shen Qingzhu away.

"This is……"

Shen Qingzhu, who had already given up hope, was startled by the loud shout and was stunned when she saw the golden-armored general who suddenly appeared.

Did a deity really come to save him?

"you……"

Qianqian got up from the ground and looked at Li Yue, both anxious and angry.

They clearly allowed her to come in and take revenge, so why are they stopping her now?

"You audacious female ghost! Disturbing the mortal world, I'll beat you to a pulp!"

Li Yue didn't explain, acting as if he didn't know him, and with a loud shout, he raised the door-fixing ruler in his hand.

Having been hit by the door ruler before, Qianqian knew how serious it was, and was instantly terrified.

Looking at Shen Qingzhu on the ground, and then at Li Yue holding up the door ruler, he stomped his feet angrily and hurriedly flew away through the wall.

"She's gone, the female ghost is gone..."

Only then did Shen Qingzhu come to her senses, and she breathed a long sigh of relief after surviving the ordeal.

Then, looking at Li Yue standing in front of him, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Thank you, God, for saving me! Thank you, God, for saving me!"

"I am the gatekeeper, and it is my duty to protect this household. There is no need for thanks."

"Master Menlang... there really is such a deity..."

Shen Qingzhu nodded slightly, secretly smiling to himself, thinking that heaven had indeed spared him.

"Although I drove away that female ghost this time, she harbors deep resentment and I'm afraid she will return."

Just as Shen Qingzhu was feeling happy, Li Yue spoke up again, saying something leisurely.

Shen Qingzhu's smile froze instantly, then she trembled all over and hurriedly kowtowed to Li Yue again.

"God, save me! God, save my life!"

"It's not difficult for me to save you."

Li Yue glanced at Shen Qingzhu, who was trembling with fear, and smiled slightly.

"You only need to set up a shrine to me at home, burn three sticks of incense in the morning and evening, and worship me every day without neglecting it. If that female ghost returns, I will be able to sense it and come to her rescue."

"Is it enough to just make offerings to the deity? Yes, I understand! I understand!"

Shen Qingzhu kowtowed again, but after a long while there was no response, she looked up and saw that there was no one there.

I suppose they've left.

Shen Qingzhu wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, turned over and sat on the ground, panting heavily.

Looking around at the dark room, he felt a chill run down his spine again, and he just hoped that dawn would come soon so that he could go and set up the shrine for the door god.

[Drive away evil spirits and perform the duties of a gatekeeper once, experience points +2!]

After glancing at the notification, Li Yue stepped out of Shen Qingzhu's courtyard with a smile on his face.

In this way, there will be one more source of incense offerings!

The more incense offerings he receives, the sooner he can condense his golden body.

Once the golden body is fully formed, the soul can finally have a safe place to reside.

"My Lord, Divine General!"

Just as Li Yue was pondering, a shout rang out, and he saw the white-clad female ghost looking at him with resentment from a dozen feet away.

Why did you go back on your word?!

"Does this god need a little brat like you to criticize what I do?"

"You're condoning evil and encouraging wickedness!"

"To encourage evil?"

Li Yue looked at the female ghost and sneered disdainfully.

"Tell me, what is wickedness and what is evil? If I let you kill that scholar, wouldn't that be considered letting a ghost commit murder, wouldn't that be considered encouraging wickedness?"

"this……"

The female ghost opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know how to answer.

Imagine, how could she, an unmarried woman from ancient times, possibly outwit Li Yue, a 21st-century internet troll?

"However..."

A moment later, Li Yue suddenly spoke again.

"If you do things for me, I might allow you to take revenge."