The male supporting character was actually myself.

"Just keep walking along this main road, and you'll see it when you get there." Seeing that he had no intention of taking the food, Half-Face softened his tone and pointed out the way.

The little white cat huddled in its host's arms, trembling and meowing softly, "These ghosts are so scary. Even though they're ghosts, your host is much more handsome."

"Yes, the main difference is the manner of death. The original owner was killed by the male protagonist, Murong Liangchen, with an overdose of anesthetic, so it looked like she was asleep and wasn't scary." Jiang Chen drifted along, and sure enough, there were more and more ghosts along the way.

Ninety-nine percent of ghosts can be roughly guessed how they died at a glance. A ghost as clean, whole, energetic, and radiant as the original owner is extremely rare. Therefore, it attracted many curious, envious, or admiring glances along the way.

The underworld didn't seem to change much over time; the sky remained a hazy gray with a thin crescent moon hanging in it, but it wasn't too dark, allowing for a clear view of the surroundings. After drifting for an unknown amount of time, Jiang Chen finally saw a patch of light.

An ancient and solemn gate stands on the mountaintop, its doors tightly shut despite the bright lights.

Next to it was a row of tall, bright buildings that looked like temple gates, with neon lights flashing in various colors—the words "Reincarnation Office" were particularly eye-catching.

"This art style... it feels a bit..." Jiang Chen frowned slightly, unable to think of any words to describe it.

The fluffy little ball counted on its paws, "One, two, three, four, five... Wow, there are eighteen service points in total! Hey, host, look over there, those guys don't seem to be ghosts!"

Rows of ghosts stood obediently in line outside the various service points, while several people dressed in Taoist robes and wearing masks stood to the side, with swords at their waists and exuding an aura that was not to be trifled with. The other ghosts were obviously afraid and kept their distance from them.

“They are celestial masters,” Jiang Chen said in a low voice. “The original owner of this body was suppressed by a very powerful celestial master without asking any questions.”

"Pah! Money-grubbing bastard!" the little white cat said indignantly.

"Newcomers, please line up at the back. Behave yourselves! If you know no one will be burning paper money for you, don't waste your time. The minimum withdrawal amount is five million. You can't withdraw anything less than five million. Hurry up and process your withdrawals. Withdrawal services will be suspended in three hours. We need to compile a list after Qingming Festival. Withdrawal services will be suspended for the next three days..."

The loudspeaker at the entrance of the reincarnation office played the message several times before falling silent again.

Jiang Chen twitched his lips and sighed, "Well, no one's going to burn paper money for me."

"No withdrawals under five million? Is inflation this bad in the Underworld?!" The little white cat hurriedly opened its system space to take a look and comforted the user, "Host, don't worry, we still have space this time. Meow, I'll exchange the money for you right away and try to become the richest ghost in the Underworld!"

Sure enough, the system space was still usable.

Although it flickers occasionally as if there is a connection problem, it does not affect the overall normal operation. All the props are usable, while other items are temporarily locked up because items in the underworld are not interchangeable with those in the human world.

The fluffy little dumpling had already learned its lesson. It grabbed an antique plate, stuffed it into the piggy bank, glanced at it, and was immediately dumbfounded. "Huh? Host, come quick, what do we do when the antique is worthless?"

“We should probably follow the rules of the underworld. Do you think ghosts need antiques?” He said in a low voice while observing the surroundings. “Look for things like candles or ingots; they might be worth something.”

"Candles? Hmm~ Host, you're right, candles are indeed valuable. But... what's the concept of 'underworld currency'? Shouldn't it be the same as the reincarnation office, using ghost money?"

As she spoke, the little white cat took out a stack of slightly yellowish "money" from the piggy bank. It looked a bit like gold foil. "Look, I traded a pack of candles for this. I don't know anything about it, and I don't know if this stuff is universally accepted."

Chapter Three: What Are You Looking At?

"I'll go ask." Jiang Chen took the Yin Si coins and counted them. There were twelve in total, each marked with the number "100".

As he passed by several Taoist masters, although the oppressive aura they exuded made the ghost instinctively uncomfortable, he did not flinch at all and even openly and carefully examined their clothing and masks.

Upon entering the mission world, Jiang Chen noticed that the Soul Weapon was not responding. He wasn't afraid of losing his best helper; at worst, he would be beaten to a pulp by the Celestial Master, and maybe he could return directly to the script selection space.

"What are you looking at?" The tallest of the Taoist priests, who was about 1.95 meters tall, had a strong build and wore a black mask. He spoke with a heavy accent.

Jiang Chen stopped and replied directly, "I was suppressed by that unscrupulous exorcist without any investigation. Let's see if you're in cahoots with him. What? You dare to come to the underworld but are afraid of being seen by ghosts?"

The other exorcists whispered a few words to each other, and one of them waved his hand and replied with a slight accent, "You have the highest level of suppression mark of Listening Wind Valley on your body. They are a top sect in the human world that specializes in suppressing evil spirits. We are just messengers from the underworld, and we have nothing to do with Listening Wind Valley, even if we can't afford to offend them."

The original owner was just a diligent ordinary person who had never been exposed to such a mysterious profession, let alone heard of Listening Wind Valley.

Jiang Chen then pressed on, "Then who can break the suppression mark of Listening Wind Valley? I was killed and dismembered by my twin brother and flushed into the sewers, and then suppressed by the exorbitantly paid exorcist he hired. There has to be somewhere where I can seek justice, right? Which department in the underworld deals with this kind of thing?"

The burly Taoist priest, standing at 1.95 meters tall, sighed, "Brother, your situation is not easy to handle."

You were just suppressed and banished from the human realm to the underworld, weren't you? It seems you don't know the situation here. Come, let me tell you."

Given the continued decline in the birth rate in the human world, the underworld is overrun with ghosts.

Due to the limited number of reincarnation slots and the severe inflation caused by the excessive burning of ghost money in the human world in recent years, the underworld has urgently reformed its management system by classifying ghosts.

After all the ghosts follow the ghost messengers into the underworld, they must pass through the classification gate.

Those who do good deeds throughout their lives are enveloped in auspicious light and are then directly placed in the ghost market where they are provided with food, lodging, and good drink while waiting to be reincarnated; those who commit many evil deeds are thrown into the eighteen levels of hell and go through the process of atonement, and in the end they all fall into the animal realm and are directly arranged to be reincarnated.

The most numerous ghosts are ordinary people, a mix of good and bad. They first go to atone for their sins, and then wander in the wilderness.

Every year during the Qingming Festival, all ghosts can go to the reincarnation office to see if their families have burned money into their accounts. With enough money, they can directly buy a pass at the reincarnation office to enter the ghost market behind the gate, which has almost everything that the human world has.

Those with more money can buy the right to be reincarnated. With the addition of their own good and evil points and other calculations, once they have accumulated enough money to get the reincarnation number plate, they can wait for reincarnation with peace of mind.

Those whose families don't give them money to burn are in dire straits. They can't even afford a full meal all year round, let alone go to the ghost market to be reincarnated. They can only take advantage of the time when people are burning paper money everywhere during the Qingming Festival to steal some money from others to buy some food.

“Your situation is rather special.” The burly Taoist priest clicked his tongue and shook his head. “You’ve never done anything bad or harmed anyone in your life. You’re the kind of person who’s a great philanthropist. If you had died back then, you would have come to the underworld with the ghost messengers and immediately moved into the ghost market to wait for reincarnation. It’s a pity, brother, you made one wrong step after another.”

It's one thing to evade capture by the ghost messengers and stay in the human world on your own, but you just can't swallow your anger and fall into becoming an evil ghost.

"That's why the people of Listening Valley directly suppressed and expelled them. The place is already overcrowded with ghosts, and most ordinary ghosts are left to fend for themselves. Someone like you, with no background or connections, being suppressed like this, will find it extremely difficult to turn things around."

Jiang Chen frowned slightly and asked unwillingly, "The underworld can't manage everything, so I, a perfectly good and kind person, am just destined to be torn to pieces and can only accept my bad luck?"

"That's not it, there's also cause and effect!" The burly Taoist master patiently explained: "You suffered injustice up there, but after obeying the will of Heaven and coming down, you can use the VIP channel to wait for reincarnation; the guy who harmed you is living a life of luxury in the human world, but when his lifespan ends and he comes down to settle accounts, he will have to pay back the debts he owes."

"It's a pity you, you fallen evil spirit, suppressed again... Unless you have enough money to enter the ghost market and make a name for yourself, and are lucky enough to speak with the underworld, perhaps you can remove the suppression mark from Listening Wind Valley. Otherwise..."

He turned around and pointed to the ghosts who were still queuing up, and said in a low voice, "Just like them, the longer they have been dead, the less people will care about burning money for them. They are so poor that they can't even afford a full meal and can only drift aimlessly in the wilderness."

Perhaps three to five years, perhaps a hundred or two hundred years, without replenishment, the soul's energy will slowly be depleted, and eventually, when exhausted, it will turn into a wisp of ashes, its soul completely scattered.

Another celestial master whispered a reminder: "My senior brother is only telling you this because he feels sorry for you. If you don't have any other problems, you should leave quickly. The aura on our bodies has an impact on ghosts and will weaken your soul energy."

"Thank you all for answering my questions." Jiang Chen thanked them sincerely and then asked his last question, "There's one last thing I'd like to ask—what's the most valuable thing in the underworld?"

The burly Taoist priest replied with an accent, "In recent years, the inflation of ghost money has been severe. Even a few million can only buy a bite to eat, and it may not even be enough to fill your stomach. If we're talking about valuable things... the most important thing is the energy that ghosts need, which is ghost food."

Other necessities like clothing, food, housing, and transportation are also quite expensive, but you can only access them by entering the ghost market.

If your family members are knowledgeable, they can exchange the paper money they burn for you with incantations for underworld currency, which is much more valuable than ghost money.

The reincarnation office offers many services, such as sending messages in dreams. Newlyweds who are broke can even get loans. You could consult them and ask your family to send you a message in a dream so they can burn more money for you, at least so you can live a better life here.

Jiang Chen thanked him again and floated towards a row of shops in the distance.

The youngest Celestial Master asked in a low voice, "Senior Brother, why are you talking so much to a ghost? He's been suppressed by Listening Wind Valley. Unless you can find connections to get to the officials in the Underworld, who can release him?"

Sooner or later, we're all destined to drift away and slowly dissipate in the wilderness. What's the use of knowing so much?

"Your cultivation is still shallow, so you can't see it." The burly Taoist master lowered his voice as he watched the figure getting further and further away. "He has a faint golden light protecting him, so he must be a very virtuous person with karma."

It's just a few words of reminder; even if we don't tell him he'll find out after a few days in the underworld.

Let's make a good connection; who knows, we might meet again in the future.

"A benevolent person with a knack for karma? Wow, those guys from Listening Wind Valley are getting more and more arrogant. They'll mess with anyone as long as they can make money!"

"Perhaps it's because he has fallen into evil spirits. Isn't it only right for a celestial master to suppress evil spirits?"

"Tsk tsk, that depends on the specific circumstances! The kind of person who was murdered and died with resentment is completely different from the kind of villain who fell into evil spirits. Even the ghost messengers know there's a reason for it and won't easily dispel such evil spirits. The people of Listening Wind Valley are simply blinded by money."

"Stop gossiping about others, Xiao Su has gotten his communication certificate, we need to hurry to the ghost market to take care of some important business..."

…………

A celestial master emerged from the reincarnation office, holding several red ropes and distributing them to his fellow disciples. They tied the red ropes to their wrists, which instantly turned into marks.

The tightly closed, solid door touched the marks on their wrists, and the marks rippled like water, creating soft, gentle waves. They filed in and disappeared completely through the door.

Chapter Three: What Are You Looking At?

"I'll go ask." Jiang Chen took the Yin Si coins and counted them. There were twelve in total, each marked with the number "100".

As he passed by several Taoist masters, although the oppressive aura they exuded made the ghost instinctively uncomfortable, he did not flinch at all and even openly and carefully examined their clothing and masks.

Upon entering the mission world, Jiang Chen noticed that the Soul Weapon was not responding. He wasn't afraid of losing his best helper; at worst, he would be beaten to a pulp by the Celestial Master, and maybe he could return directly to the script selection space.

"What are you looking at?" The tallest of the Taoist priests, who was about 1.95 meters tall, had a strong build and wore a black mask. He spoke with a heavy accent.

Jiang Chen stopped and replied directly, "I was suppressed by that unscrupulous exorcist without any investigation. Let's see if you're in cahoots with him. What? You dare to come to the underworld but are afraid of being seen by ghosts?"

The other exorcists whispered a few words to each other, and one of them waved his hand and replied with a slight accent, "You have the highest level of suppression mark of Listening Wind Valley on your body. They are a top sect in the human world that specializes in suppressing evil spirits. We are just messengers from the underworld, and we have nothing to do with Listening Wind Valley, even if we can't afford to offend them."

The original owner was just a diligent ordinary person who had never been exposed to such a mysterious profession, let alone heard of Listening Wind Valley.

Jiang Chen then pressed on, "Then who can break the suppression mark of Listening Wind Valley? I was killed and dismembered by my twin brother and flushed into the sewers, and then suppressed by the exorbitantly paid exorcist he hired. There has to be somewhere where I can seek justice, right? Which department in the underworld deals with this kind of thing?"

The burly Taoist priest, standing at 1.95 meters tall, sighed, "Brother, your situation is not easy to handle."

You were just suppressed and banished from the human realm to the underworld, weren't you? It seems you don't know the situation here. Come, let me tell you."

Given the continued decline in the birth rate in the human world, the underworld is overrun with ghosts.

Due to the limited number of reincarnation slots and the severe inflation caused by the excessive burning of ghost money in the human world in recent years, the underworld has urgently reformed its management system by classifying ghosts.

After all the ghosts follow the ghost messengers into the underworld, they must pass through the classification gate.

Those who do good deeds throughout their lives are enveloped in auspicious light and are then directly placed in the ghost market where they are provided with food, lodging, and good drink while waiting to be reincarnated; those who commit many evil deeds are thrown into the eighteen levels of hell and go through the process of atonement, and in the end they all fall into the animal realm and are directly arranged to be reincarnated.

The most numerous ghosts are ordinary people, a mix of good and bad. They first go to atone for their sins, and then wander in the wilderness.

Every year during the Qingming Festival, all ghosts can go to the reincarnation office to see if their families have burned money into their accounts. With enough money, they can directly buy a pass at the reincarnation office to enter the ghost market behind the gate, which has almost everything that the human world has.

Those with more money can buy the right to be reincarnated. With the addition of their own good and evil points and other calculations, once they have accumulated enough money to get the reincarnation number plate, they can wait for reincarnation with peace of mind.

Those whose families don't give them money to burn are in dire straits. They can't even afford a full meal all year round, let alone go to the ghost market to be reincarnated. They can only take advantage of the time when people are burning paper money everywhere during the Qingming Festival to steal some money from others to buy some food.

“Your situation is rather special.” The burly Taoist priest clicked his tongue and shook his head. “You’ve never done anything bad or harmed anyone in your life. You’re the kind of person who’s a great philanthropist. If you had died back then, you would have come to the underworld with the ghost messengers and immediately moved into the ghost market to wait for reincarnation. It’s a pity, brother, you made one wrong step after another.”

It's one thing to evade capture by the ghost messengers and stay in the human world on your own, but you just can't swallow your anger and fall into becoming an evil ghost.

"That's why the people of Listening Valley directly suppressed and expelled them. The place is already overcrowded with ghosts, and most ordinary ghosts are left to fend for themselves. Someone like you, with no background or connections, being suppressed like this, will find it extremely difficult to turn things around."

Jiang Chen frowned slightly and asked unwillingly, "The underworld can't manage everything, so I, a perfectly good and kind person, am just destined to be torn to pieces and can only accept my bad luck?"

"That's not it, there's also cause and effect!" The burly Taoist master patiently explained: "You suffered injustice up there, but after obeying the will of Heaven and coming down, you can use the VIP channel to wait for reincarnation; the guy who harmed you is living a life of luxury in the human world, but when his lifespan ends and he comes down to settle accounts, he will have to pay back the debts he owes."

"It's a pity you, you fallen evil spirit, suppressed again... Unless you have enough money to enter the ghost market and make a name for yourself, and are lucky enough to speak with the underworld, perhaps you can remove the suppression mark from Listening Wind Valley. Otherwise..."

He turned around and pointed to the ghosts who were still queuing up, and said in a low voice, "Just like them, the longer they have been dead, the less people will care about burning money for them. They are so poor that they can't even afford a full meal and can only drift aimlessly in the wilderness."

Perhaps three to five years, perhaps a hundred or two hundred years, without replenishment, the soul's energy will slowly be depleted, and eventually, when exhausted, it will turn into a wisp of ashes, its soul completely scattered.

Another celestial master whispered a reminder: "My senior brother is only telling you this because he feels sorry for you. If you don't have any other problems, you should leave quickly. The aura on our bodies has an impact on ghosts and will weaken your soul energy."

"Thank you all for answering my questions." Jiang Chen thanked them sincerely and then asked his last question, "There's one last thing I'd like to ask—what's the most valuable thing in the underworld?"

The burly Taoist priest replied with an accent, "In recent years, the inflation of ghost money has been severe. Even a few million can only buy a bite to eat, and it may not even be enough to fill your stomach. If we're talking about valuable things... the most important thing is the energy that ghosts need, which is ghost food."