Chapter 108 Misunderstanding: Young Master Jiang, I'm sorry.

"You're just... being completely unreasonable."

Even a clay figure has some clay-like qualities, let alone a judge who governs the Nine Netherworlds. His heavy, patterned black robes fluttered in the cold wind of the underworld. He pulled a pen from his sleeve, which shone with golden light, and waved it a few times in the air.

A huge character for "kill" slowly appeared.

Jiang Yu watched his movements and a slight smile appeared on his lips. It was finally time to make a move. He didn't like wasting time talking to these people, but this time he was concerned about his reputation, and with so many people from Qingyun Ladder around, so many ears and mouths, only if the news got out would this trip be worthwhile.

Otherwise, where would he find so many mouths to relay messages? Seeing that he had achieved the desired effect, Jiang Yu stopped saying anything provocative to anger the judge and removed the restraints from the Xianchen Sword.

To avoid being too conspicuous, Jiang Yu deliberately set up a decoy on the Xianchen sword before coming to Shenwuke. Over time, he also forgot how dazzling the Xianchen sword was.

The sword's surface was as white as snow, and its smooth, sharp blade seemed to descend from the sky in the dim Netherworld, piercing through the seal and illuminating the ghosts so brightly they could barely open their eyes.

"Oh dear, what is this thing? Is the world really this bright? I don't remember. Can anyone tell me? Oh dear, my eyes start to water whenever I see something so bright."

"You were like this when you were a human, and you're still like this now that you're a ghost. You're such a troublesome wretch."

"Ox-Head, are you worried you can't see anything with those big bull eyes?" Horse-Face chuckled from behind Ox-Head's massive body. What were they, little devils, doing getting involved in a fight between gods? If they were to overestimate themselves and get too close, they'd probably be sent flying before they could even make a move.

"The judge has finally stopped pretending."

With the sword in Jiang Yu's hand, he fiercely slashed at the judge's pen. This was his usual weapon, used to determine life and death, and to reward and punish ghosts. Any ghost that caused trouble in the Nine Netherworld would have its soul scattered and never be reincarnated, depending on the severity of the crime, under this pen.

The pen tip kept growing larger, almost as tall as a giant tree, carrying a power that shook the entire Netherworld. The weaker ghosts had already wisely slipped out of the hall, while the slightly stronger ghosts were pale and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

The water began to freeze, and thick, smoky fog rose from above and below. It was cold and obscured the view. The new ghosts on the Azure Cloud Ladder knew nothing and knew nothing. They had not cultivated in life and were in a daze after death. They simply could not withstand this power.

"Young Master Jiang."

"Help! Young Master Jiang!"

After shouting, Wu Er realized something was wrong. He was already dead, wasn't he? Yes, but would that ghost die again? Did he still need Young Master Jiang to save him?

Wu Er hesitated. Everything had happened too fast. He hadn't even had time to react when he suddenly found a silver light in front of him.

Jiang Yu seemed to take a moment out of his busy schedule to glance over here, and then Wu Er calmed down. He felt at ease, as if Jiang Yu knew they were here and knew they needed to be rescued.

The ice surface was cleaved open by the sword, leaving an extremely long mark. This sword strike carried earth-shattering power, and even knocked several hairs off the pen in the judge's hand. He looked at the young man opposite him in disbelief, never expecting that one day someone could actually deal with his judge's pen.

Water surged out from the broken ice, overflowing the shore and creating towering waves. Wu Er and his companions were suddenly pushed into a corner by a force, and then he witnessed a magnificent and terrifying scene he had never seen before in his life.

The judge's wide sleeves revealed streaks of talisman paper. Although he didn't look closely, as a ghost, Wu Er felt a chill of fear creep in. He secretly glanced towards the door, hoping that if Young Master Jiang lost, he wouldn't be implicated.

"Smack—"

Wu Er slapped himself as he thought about it. Young Master Jiang had come to save him, and he was still thinking that Jiang Yu would lose. How could he be so heartless?

Those water droplets near the judge spontaneously twisted into a rope and returned towards Jiang Yu. The enormous impact, mixed with the ghostly energy of the judge's pen, was like a tidal wave. Jiang Yu couldn't help but take a few steps back before he could barely stand there.

"Jiang Yu, I told you before, don't be stubborn and refuse to listen. So don't blame me for being impolite. This Netherworld is not a place you can come and go as you please. Just some random cat or dog can come and cause a ruckus in my territory. Do you really think that I have been in charge of the Underworld for so many years just because of this face?"

"Wow, Judge is so amazing!"

"Your Excellency Judge is mighty."

Ox-Head and Horse-Face overheard this from outside the door and couldn't help but cheer. After a while, Horse-Face slapped Ox-Head again, saying, "It's so noisy inside. How can the adults hear us talking like this?"

"That seems to be true. Then wouldn't all that talk have been for nothing?"

The two ghosts, each harboring their own secrets, stared at each other, afraid that the other might utter an extra word of flattery.

Jiang Yu sneered and swung his sword backhand.

"It's dawn?" Niu Tou was a little surprised. How come he suddenly felt like he had come to the human world? When did the Nine Nether Palace become so bright? Besides the sword from earlier, what else could be so bright?

"It feels chilly on the top of my head."

Horse-faced agreed, and the two ghosts looked around, exchanged a glance, and then looked up in surprise to find that the roof of the Nine Nether Palace had disappeared.

These are top-quality glazed tiles!

The young man had actually knocked them all down with a single sword strike. The judge felt a sharp pain in his chest and looked down in disbelief, only to find that a sword was stuck in his body.

The sword hilt was still trembling slightly, and his flesh was shaking along with it. The judge spat out a mouthful of blood, and the pen in his hand fell to the ground. He had never been hurt like this in his entire life.

"The talisman on Judge's body seems to be drawn quite well. At first glance, it's even similar to those on the Azure Cloud Ladder. Could you tell me if Judge personally drew it?"

Jiang Yu bent down to pick up the pen, held it in his hand and played with it. He twirled the pen in a circle, then sat on the table with his long legs crossed at an angle. He didn't seem to feel uncomfortable at all, even though they were wet from the floor.

A dull ache throbbed in his chest. For some reason, the Xianchen Sword was somewhat out of control in the Nine Netherworld tonight. But at least the Judge had just been struck by a sword and couldn't recover for the time being. Jiang Yu forced a calm expression and asked, "Did the Judge draw it himself?"

"What talisman? Is it the talisman that my parents and the others snatched from Young Master Jiang?" Wu Er felt that Young Master Jiang's words seemed to have a deeper meaning. Could it be that those things were really not drawn by Young Master Jiang?

In his memory, no one seemed to have mentioned this matter before. When he was chopping firewood at home, his parents happened to come back with a thick stack of talismans. Wu Er noticed something was wrong.

Putting aside the fact that Young Master Jiang and Sect Master Shen are so busy with their daily affairs, whether they actually have time to draw so many talismans, even if they were bored out of their minds, how could an ordinary disciple possibly take them out and sell them?

This is clearly a scam.

But the two elders simply refused to believe it. Wu Er was, after all, a junior, and couldn't persuade them otherwise, so he could only watch as they pasted those talismans into their home.

Later, when he went out for a stroll after dinner, he saw that many of his neighbors had this posted in their homes. He couldn't say anything about it, but after observing for a few days and seeing that nothing had happened, he stopped paying attention to it.

So, did the trouble start with those talismans after he died? Wu Er looked at Aunt Zhang beside him, "Auntie, your family's talismans—"

Before he could finish speaking, the old woman nodded repeatedly, "Second son of the Wu family, you died young, you don't know, ever since you left, a series of strange things have happened to Qingyun Ladder. We all came here while we were sleeping, and I heard them say that it was all because of the problem with Young Master Jiang's talisman."

"This thing is really harmful!"

"Auntie, Young Master Jiang is right here. If he really wanted to harm us, why would he come to save us?"

"But Xiaoying... he's like this too?"

"Xiao Ying was originally saved by Young Master Jiang. Young Master Jiang could have chosen not to save him. He managed to save him from such a serious injury, which shows how much effort he put in."

Wu Er's words hit the nail on the head, leaving Aunt Zhang speechless. She herself had once cursed Jiang Yu and Shen Jiuxu, but now that she thought about it, she was glad that Young Master Jiang and Sect Leader Shen were broad-minded and didn't hold it against them.

"If I could go back, I would definitely speak well of Young Master Jiang and the others. I would personally take my old man to Shen Wuke to apologize to Young Master Jiang and the others."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhang was filled with regret. Staring at the pale-faced Jiang Yu and the fierce-looking Yama King opposite her, her fear vanished, and she burst into curses, "You damned Yama King! Is it because our young master Jiang is young that you, you old geezer, bully him? This is outrageous!"

Jiang Yu was waiting for Yama to speak, but instead he heard a burst of fierce cursing, led by Aunt Zhang, followed by a group of middle-aged women and young girls, and even a few old men who followed suit.

Like water that had frozen and then melted in the netherworld, Jiang Yu's heart suddenly softened, and his nose felt a little sore. He turned his face away to avoid the gazes of those people.

Jiang Yu had tried to comfort himself many times before, but it never seemed to be as effective. He thought he didn't care about these things, but only now did he realize that he had always longed for them.

That's why he came here despite everything, not only to clear his name of any misunderstandings, but also because he cherished the warmth these people had given him, even if it was just a little bit, it was enough.

"Young Master Jiang, I'm sorry." Aunt Zhang saw him turn away from afar, and her apology deepened. She had been listening to the rumors and gossip all those days and knew how quickly the people of Qingyun Ladder had gone from respecting and admiring him to turning their backs on him.

"This was never your problem in the first place."

"Yes, Young Master Jiang, it's our fault. We listened to the rumors and bought their things without thinking. Now you have to take the blame and come to our rescue."

“Young Master Jiang, you did nothing wrong. We are sorry, it is the people of Qingyun Ladder who have implicated you.”