“Yes, your mortal lifespan has indeed come to an end. Originally, you were destined to live ninety-seven years, but because you disrupted the balance between the living and the dead by killing Gui Man, you lost fifty years. Now you’ve caused the death of Li Dashan, which should deduct another thirty years. Your total lifespan was only ninety-seven years, and after subtracting eighty, you’ve already lived three extra years, so you should be grateful.”
The black-robed ghost official stroked his black beard, speaking with an air of authority.
“Gui Man committed countless crimes; I killed him to uphold justice. Why do you punish rather than reward me? As for this so-called Li Dashan, he’s nothing but a corrupt merchant. You protect him and have cost me thirty more years of life. Your underworld authority is truly lawless!” Shui Miao rebuked loudly while secretly channeling his immortal energy, causing the jade pendant at his chest to suddenly glow with light.
The jade pendant’s glow vanished in an instant, too fast to notice.
Seeing the glow, the ghost official was momentarily stunned.
Li Jiazheng, unable to recognize the jade’s power, mistook Shui Miao’s action as an attack and quickly hid behind the ghost official, shouting, “Judge, he’s trying to use sorcery to resist. Quickly capture him!”
He was afraid Shui Miao would scatter his soul in a desperate last stand.
Upon hearing this, the ox-headed and horse-faced monsters quickly approached.
“Wait!”
The black-robed ghost official suddenly raised his hand, stopping the monsters. He turned to Shui Miao with a serious expression and said, “Please don’t misunderstand. Today, I summoned you here to clarify matters and to test whether you are truly as upright as the rumors suggest. Now I see the rumors are indeed true!”
The ghost official’s tone had suddenly changed, and he was clearly more respectful toward Shui Miao.
Li Jiazheng noticed the ghost official’s shift in tone and quickly interjected, “Your Honor, this Chen Shuimiao is a villain! Please don’t be deceived by his sweet words!”
“Enough! I just listened to your side of the story. Now let me hear his explanation!” The ghost official waved his sleeve at Li Jiazheng and then turned to Shui Miao with a smile, saying, “Please wait here a moment while I double-check the details. I’ll be right back, and I promise to ensure justice is done!”
The black-robed ghost official was the judge of the City God Temple, who had been bribed by Li Jiazheng to target Shui Miao. However, upon seeing the jade pendant’s flash of cold light, he immediately recognized it as a treasure from a high-ranking immortal in the celestial realm. Fearing its power, he quickly signaled and rushed to the back hall to report to the City God of the underworld.
At this moment, the City God, dressed as a scholar, was sipping tea and chatting with Zhang Yuan.
The City God, Bai Yang, was once a scholar three hundred years ago, bearing only the name Yang.
Zhang Yuan treated him as an equal, clearly indicating a close relationship.
“This matter involving Shui Miao has become too big. He killed Gui Man and disrupted our order, so I must punish him. Brother Zhang Yuan, are you really not bothered by this? I heard you two have sworn brotherhood…” the City God Bai Yang politely asked.
Zhang Yuan waved his hand dismissively, “That kid was arrogant and wanted to swear brotherhood with me. I neither agreed nor refused, but he thought I accepted. Now he’s causing trouble everywhere, damaging my reputation. I’ve disliked him for a long time. Brother Bai, you can handle him as you see fit.”
“Is that so?”
Bai Yang furrowed his brows. In fact, he was testing Zhang Yuan. The local land god had overheard Zhang Yuan and Shui Miao’s brotherhood and had informed him. Today, Bai Yang had specially invited Zhang Yuan here to test his character.
Now, Zhang Yuan had revealed his true colors. Although Bai Yang’s expression remained unchanged, he was deeply displeased inside.
“My Lord…”
The black-robed judge entered the room, whispering anxiously, “It’s bad news. That Shui Miao possesses a protective jade pendant granted by a high-ranking immortal. I estimate his patron is at least a fifth-tier celestial immortal. We absolutely must not provoke him!”
“A high-ranking immortal!”
Bai Yang was shocked and quickly asked, “Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”
“Absolutely certain! Could my eyes possibly be wrong?” The judge pointed at his large, round eyes.
Bai Yang’s eyes flickered, then he whispered something into the judge’s ear. After listening, the judge bowed and quickly exited. Then Bai Yang turned to Zhang Yuan with a fist salute, “Brother Zhang, I have an urgent matter to attend to, so I won’t see you off properly.”
This was a clear dismissal.
Zhang Yuan was taken aback but had no choice but to leave awkwardly.
Zhang Yuan’s heart was in turmoil, filled with regret. He never expected Shui Miao to be connected to a celestial immortal so soon. If this continued, wouldn’t he be ruining his own future? No, he had to intercept Shui Miao along the way before he found out the truth!
※※※
“Come forth! Seize this corrupt merchant Li Jiazheng and throw him into the water prison!”
As soon as the black-robed judge exited the room, he loudly ordered. The two monsters quickly approached with enchanted chains and took Li Jiazheng away. Then, the judge turned to Shui Miao with a smiling apology, “Immortal, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. Please forgive me!”
Seeing the judge’s attitude, Shui Miao quickly returned the gesture, “Judge, what exactly is going on here?”
“Ah!”
The judge sighed, “I originally thought this merchant was a good man, but now I know from the City God that he’s nothing but a corrupt merchant. His words are completely unreliable. The City God even said that you did a commendable deed by killing Gui Man, helping the underworld maintain order. Not only should you not be punished, but you should be greatly rewarded. Adding ten more years to your lifespan would be appropriate. Moreover, your slaying of the sorcerer and evil spirits has earned you great merit, so adding another twenty years wouldn’t be excessive. We’ll report it and grant you a total of 133 years of life!”
“…”
Shui Miao was momentarily stunned. Was he dreaming? He had originally lived three years longer than he should, and now he had gained over thirty more years unexpectedly. This seemed too surreal.
At this moment, two more ox-headed and horse-faced monsters entered.
The judge waved at the monsters and said, “Quickly release the fox spirit Qi Mei and bring her here.”
“What! Did you capture Qi Mei too?”
Shui Miao had long suspected that Qi Mei might be implicated, but he hadn’t expected things to escalate so quickly.
The judge quickly smiled and nodded repeatedly, “It’s all the corrupt merchant’s fault, all his fault…”
“Ah! This must be Chen Shui Miao, the semi-immortal?” the City God Bai Yang, dressed in an imposing black official robe, walked out and greeted Shui Miao with a distant bow.
“Yes, yes, Your Honor, this is indeed the semi-immortal Chen.”
The judge responded with a beaming smile.
“…”
Since others were courteous to him, Shui Miao couldn’t afford to be impolite either. He quickly saluted Bai Yang, who immediately stopped him and warmly clasped his hands, apologizing profusely for being occupied with official duties, causing today’s misunderstanding, and earnestly requested Shui Miao’s forgiveness.
Seeing the City God’s courteous behavior toward him, Shui Miao felt greatly honored.
After some small talk, the fox spirit Qi Mei arrived.
Bai Yang apologized again with kind words, which quickly earned strong goodwill from both Shui Miao and Qi Mei.
After a brief chat, Bai Yang ordered his subordinates to prepare a banquet and invited the local land god and other earthly immortals to properly entertain Shui Miao. Unable to decline the hospitality, Shui Miao and the fox spirit Qi Mei stayed. Soon, the previously cold and empty place suddenly came alive with many beautiful women bustling about, creating a warm and lively atmosphere.
Bai Yang held Shui Miao’s hand, insisting on calling him brother and inviting both Shui Miao and Qi Mei into his study, where the judge personally brewed a pot of fine tea.
Bai Yang, refined and elegant, began discussing calligraphy, painting, poetry, and moral conduct with Shui Miao.
Shui Miao patiently endured a while of topics he wasn’t interested in before seizing an opportunity to change the subject. Bowing to Bai Yang, he asked, “Brother Bai, I’d like to ask you something…”
“Brother Chen, feel free to speak, feel free to speak!” Bai Yang attentively looked at Shui Miao, showing a posture of eager listening.
Shui Miao paused and then directly asked, “There’s a millennium-old female ghost named Bai Niangzi nearby. Do you happen to know about her?”
“Oh, you’re asking about my ancestor!” Bai Yang smiled.
Shui Miao was momentarily stunned, “What? She’s your ancestor?”
“Yes, indeed. But why do you ask, Brother Chen?” Bai Yang became somewhat puzzled.
Shui Miao thought to himself, since that’s the case, it should be easier to handle, “I might have offended Bai Niangzi over the matter of the baby fish, and she said she would come for my soul tomorrow night!”
“What!? Could there really be such a thing!?”
Bai Yang was shocked, stunned for a moment.
The black-robed judge was also taken aback, “Oh no! This is really a problem. You offended anyone but the ancestral matriarch!”
It was evident that both Bai Yang and the judge deeply feared the millennium-old female ghost, Bai Niangzi.
Shui Miao inhaled sharply, thinking to himself, this time he might really be in mortal danger!
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