As soon as dozens of ghost guards appeared, they surrounded Lei Hulao, the Ghost King.
Old Cai glared at the Ghost King and shouted furiously, “You bastard! Lei Hulao, how dare you cause trouble here! Are you asking to be sent to the Eighteenth Level of Hell? In the past, you were protected by Baiyang, but now this area is under my jurisdiction. If you dare to stir up trouble, I’ll have you arrested and sent straight to the Eighteenth Hell!”
Old Cai, once a quiet man, now wore the robes of a City God and exuded an air of authority.
Surrounded by so many ghost guards, the Ghost King grew fearful. He quickly forced a smile and said, “No, no! I’m not causing trouble. My guys are just busy… In fact, I just chased away a group of evil ghosts who were causing chaos. If you don’t believe me, ask my little brothers…” He looked desperately at Shui Miao, hoping he wouldn’t be betrayed.
Old Cai turned to Shui Miao and said, “Brother Shui, is this really what happened? If he’s up to no good, just tell me. I won’t let him off the hook!”
“Hmph…”
Shui Miao smiled faintly and walked toward Lei Hulao, motioning him closer with a finger.
Lei Hulao was taken aback but quickly changed his form, shrinking his ghostly body to match Shui Miao’s height. He whispered nervously, “What’s up, big brother?”
“Brother, today’s incident can be either big or small. We can be friends and work together in the future. But to show your sincerity, I think you should offer a little something,” Shui Miao said, pointing at the Yin Holy Spirit orb in Lei Hulao’s hand. “You’ve been playing with this thing all the time. Don’t you find it boring by now?”
Shui Miao’s target was clearly the Yin Holy Spirit.
Lei Hulao was momentarily stunned. That Yin Holy Spirit was the very source of his pride!
Old Cai and the others listened intently. The head ghost guard immediately sneered, “The Eighteenth Level of Hell has countless tortures, perfect for evil ghosts who cause chaos in the human world. Brothers, don’t you agree?”
“Absolutely!”
“Especially the Copper Pillar Hell! A copper cylinder, one meter in diameter and two meters tall, is heated red-hot by burning charcoal inside while fans blow air to intensify the heat. Then the demons strip you naked and force you to hug the scorching pillar. Just thinking about it makes me shudder!”
“Ha! I think the Oil Cauldron Hell is worse. You’re stripped bare and thrown into a pot of boiling oil, sizzling and popping! With someone as fat as Lei Hulao, I bet he’d even release some grease when fried!”
“Hahaha…”
After the ghost guards finished, Old Cai added, “I think someone like Lei Hulao should start with the Copper Pillar Hell, then go through the Saw Hell, where his body is cut into pieces, and finally be thrown into the oil cauldron…”
“Enough! I’ve been to hell before!” Lei Hulao couldn’t take it anymore. He shoved the Holy Spirit orb into Shui Miao’s hands. “What’s the big deal? It’s just a bit of Holy Spirit. I’ll just go to the Realm of Rakshasa and get more. This one’s yours now.”
“Great! Generous indeed!”
Old Cai gave a thumbs-up. “Brothers, let him go.”
Lei Hulao looked at Shui Miao, who patted his shoulder and transmitted a message telepathically, “Don’t worry. I’m a man of my word. Sure, you lost a bit of the Yin Holy Spirit, but you saved your life. It’s worth it. Remember, don’t go far. We’ll team up for something big at the Yellow Spring Mountains.”
Reassured by Shui Miao’s words, Lei Hulao vanished immediately.
Shui Miao examined the Yin Holy Spirit orb, then mentally divided it into dozens of pieces. They flew out and each ghost guard received a share. Old Cai and the head guard each got three portions, while two were specially sent to the night patrol guards deep underground who recorded events. Chen Meiling, Chen Xiang, the fox demoness Qi Mei, and Jin Chanzi each received one share. Shui Miao kept two for himself, and thus the Yin Holy Spirit of Lei Hulao was completely distributed.
The ghost guards were all elated with their rewards.
Old Cai was also delighted and stepped forward, bowing to Shui Miao. “Brother Shui, you’re truly our lucky star and the nemesis of evil ghosts!”
“Haha! Brother Shui is our savior too! If it weren’t for you, we’d still be suffering under Baiyang’s tyranny,” the head guard chuckled in a deep voice.
“Exactly!”
“Brother Shui, you’re truly noble-hearted!”
The ghost guards showered Shui Miao with flattery after receiving his gifts.
Reminded by the head guard, Shui Miao suddenly thought of Bai Niang and smiled apologetically at the ghost guards before whispering to Old Cai, “City God, as the saying goes, if you don’t uproot the grass, the roots will remain. Bai Niang, the thousand-year-old female ghost, is still at large. Do you know where she is?”
This was also a concern for Old Cai and the head guard, as they bore some responsibility for Baiyang’s death.
Old Cai immediately lowered his voice. “We’ve investigated. She went to the Immortal Realm. She has powerful enemies there, and she might never return.”
“I also found out that the so-called Earth Soul was just a lie by Lady Heishan. Bai Niang had already merged her three souls at Fenghua Mountain eight hundred years ago,” the head guard added quietly.
“I see…”
“Looks like Old Cai and the others now consider me one of their own,” Shui Miao thought, licking his lips. Then he said, “By the way, I need to ask you all something important…”
At this, Old Cai quickly turned and ordered the ghost guards to surround the area, forbidding anyone from entering.
Then the head guard laid a talisman on the ground to prevent eavesdropping. Once precautions were taken, Old Cai said, “Now it’s safe. Go ahead, Brother Shui.”
“Great!” Shui Miao nodded. “I received word from the Ghost Physician that the Yellow Spring Patriarch from the Yellow Spring Mountains was severely injured after challenging the King of Hell. He was also robbed of all his medicinal pills by a mysterious thief. Now he’s gathering herbs and using his Nine Cauldron Pill Furnace to make new pills. So I wonder, what’s the difference between this Yellow Spring Patriarch and Lei Hulao? If his injury has nothing to do with the Underworld, why don’t we take the Nine Cauldron Pill Furnace first?”
Upon hearing this, Old Cai and the head guard’s eyes lit up with excitement.
Old Cai’s eyes darted around as he said excitedly, “This could be a huge deal! Brother Shui, the Yellow Spring Patriarch is basically a bandit leader in the human world. Since he hasn’t committed crimes, the Underworld hasn’t touched him. I’ll immediately ask Old Qin to investigate. If it’s true, we’ll set up a grand trap, raid his Yellow Spring den, and if we can capture that thief, we’ll strike it rich!”
“Exactly! We can also mobilize all the Ghost Kings under your jurisdiction to lead the charge. We’ll sit back and watch the tigers fight, reaping the benefits in the end!” The head guard, Old Qin, clenched his fist tightly, his excitement evident.
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