The self-heating hot pot made a bubbling sound, which was especially noticeable in this quiet place. White smoke billowed from the vent on the lid, bringing out the unique spicy aroma of the hot pot.
Xuan Ningcheng led the crowd to surround the outside. Several Taoist masters who loved hot pot couldn't help but swallow hard, but no one dared to move or speak. They silently watched the ghost messengers squatting in a circle around the cardboard box containing the hot pot.
Of course, they couldn't see them, they only saw a few wisps of yin energy. A few lucky ones managed to pull out a few eye-opening talismans, happily took pictures of themselves, and wanted to see what the ghost messengers looked like.
"Is it ready? Can we eat now?" He Guicha was so anxious that he kept rubbing his hands together, while Dong Guicha next to him had already picked up his chopsticks.
Ruan Bei took out his phone and checked the time: "It should be ready by now."
As soon as he finished speaking, the ghost messengers quickly lifted the lid. Because Ruan Bei didn't have enough stock, they could only share one box with two ghosts, which was quite miserable.
Ruan Bei watched silently, intending to speak only after they finished eating.
To be honest, he didn't intend to bribe the ghost messenger with the hot pot. No, it wasn't a bribe. Can offering sacrifices be called a bribe? He just wanted to invite his ghost messenger brother to try something new.
Ruan Bei felt that it wasn't good to ask for help without any effort; even borrowing a ladder from a neighbor required saying a few kind words.
Moreover, the esteemed elder brother received his letter and arrived very quickly, bringing his brothers in less than half an hour. This time, he brought more ghosts than last time; three of them were ones he had met before, and two others were ones he was seeing for the first time.
As soon as they came out, they were offered food by the living world. The two new ghost messengers had a very good impression of Ruan Bei. They had both heard Lao He and Lao Dong mention this person with the ability to see spirits, saying that he was polite, articulate, generous, and easy to get along with.
Just as expected, the young man and his friends were convinced.
The ghost messengers happily finished their hot pot, but because each portion was shared between two ghosts, a little fight broke out, leaving the Taoist priests who had secretly applied eye-opening talismans dumbfounded.
These ordinary offerings are just a taste for the ghost messengers, but how many years has it been since they've had a delicious and spicy hot pot? Even if someone offers them something, what kind of offerings are they?
The fruit wasn't fresh, the steamed buns were so hard they crumbled, and even the meat was cold and fishy, and some of it wasn't even cooked properly. What a rip-off!
Therefore, they don't like to eat offerings. Only those wandering ghosts crave such small things. What they ghost messengers are into is absorbing yin energy, which is similar to humans smoking. However, absorbing yin energy doesn't cause any harmful effects for them.
"Hey, this hot pot is delicious, but there's not enough of it," He Guicha said, wiping his mouth with a hint of lingering satisfaction.
"Huh?" Ruan Bei nodded blankly, only realizing what Qin Gu meant after secretly nudging him.
"Yes, it's a bit short. I'm almost embarrassed to bring it out. It's too disrespectful to you gentlemen." He said sincerely, "If we were on the ground, I could easily treat you all to a good meal. But this self-heating hot pot is, after all, fast food. It's not as good as freshly cooked food, don't you think?"
"Can we eat whatever we want?" Dong Guicha couldn't help but ask, "What if we have brothers?" His younger brother didn't become a ghost officer; he was just a lowly clerk in the underworld. He wanted to let his brother try it too.
The other ghosts were kicking him from behind. How could they do that? They were pushing their luck. What if they scared him away?
What's there to be afraid of when it comes to food? Even if there are a hundred ghost messengers, they can't eat him out of house and home after a few meals. He's rich now. The shares of Haiming Group that Qin's father gave him bring in tens of millions in dividends every quarter. And that's not all; according to regulations, a portion of it must be reinvested in the company to maintain operations.
The thought that Lu Minghai and Lu Siyuan had worked so hard to run the company, yet they received less money than he did, made him extremely happy.
"Yes, I'll provide everything." Ruan Bei patted his chest and assured him, "As long as we can all get back, I'll book a hot pot restaurant and let you eat for three days and three nights."
"This isn't a good idea." The sound of spitting filled the air.
"As long as we can go back, we can eat whatever we want." Ruan Bei emphasized again, even adding another bargaining chip: "We can also provide a batch of Yin Qi talismans."
He turned to look at his senior brother: "Right, senior brother?"
With such a huge demand, we can't afford to overwork ourselves; the Special Affairs Bureau has such a substantial foundation.
"Yes." Xuan Ningcheng took an eye-opening talisman from Qin Gu and nodded immediately upon hearing this: "All expenses will be accounted for through official channels."
The elimination of the Netherworld Ghost King was a great achievement, with no deaths and the injured not seriously wounded, who can recover after recuperating. It was a resounding victory, and this small expense is negligible.
"Ah..." He Guicha scratched his head awkwardly, "Young brother, it's not that I don't want to help you, but look at this place..."
He looked around and then scooped up a handful of mud to show him: "Do you know what this is? It's filthy soil mixed with the water of the River of Oblivion. I don't know which heartless bastard did this, blocking the road to the underworld completely."
There certainly weren't this many things at first, but if left unattended, they would multiply. They didn't notice at first, and by the time they did, the road to the underworld was already blocked, and they hadn't even figured out which section was blocked.
Ruan Bei's heart pounded with fear: "We can't go back?"
“No, that’s not it,” said Dong Guicha. “Once the road is dug up, we can send you back.”
Ruan Bei turned his head to look at the endless expanse of mud, and his vision went black: "...Um, do you guys have an excavator?"
"Digging chickens? What kind of chickens are those?"
Well, this is a ghost messenger who hasn't been to the mortal world for too long.
Several people who had activated the Eye-Opening Talisman nearly fainted. After telling their companions the news, they all collapsed.
Those who had previously laughed at Ruan Bei for using a rare spatial ring to hoard snacks were no longer laughing; some even wanted to ask him how much he still had in stock.
"How...how are we going to dig this road?" Ruan Bei asked desperately, "Are we going to dig it ourselves?"
"That's not it..."
Before Ruan Bei could even feel happy, he heard him say, "We have already reported this matter to the Judge. He told us to come and take a look first, and then Lord Wuchang will bring other ghost messengers to help."
Ruan Bei couldn't help but ask, "How many ghost messengers can come?"
He Guicha looked away guiltily: "A dozen or twenty, I guess... You know, there are so many ghosts stuck in the underworld right now, and we all have other work to do..."
We can't send everyone to dig up the road. Besides, this road has been blocked for decades. A few more years won't make much difference. We can find out where the blockage is and clear it gradually.
Ruan Bei: "..."
In his death throes, he pleaded, "Is this mud easy to clean? Can we use magic?"
Is it the kind of spell that you cast and wipe out a whole area?
He Guicha kindly demonstrated for him: he lit a small stove, then scooped up a handful of mud and threw it into the stove.
"That's it. We'll use yin energy, and you'll need to cover your hands with spiritual energy, then throw them into the furnace to burn."
Ruan Bei: "..."
Others: "..."
Ruan Bei stood there dumbfounded. It turned out that not only did they not have an excavator and could not use magic, but they could not even use a shovel. They had to dig with their hands.
How long will it take to dig them out? Will they even be able to get back?!
Ruan Bei said with a mournful face, "Big brother, look at us, how long will we starve? We'll die if we don't eat."
There's nothing to eat here either. The supplies in his space are only enough for one more meal. They can't just eat mud, can they?
"Oh right, I forgot you'd starve to death. Starving ghosts are so miserable." He Guicha chuckled twice, then met Ruan Bei's resentful gaze and gave an awkward smile: "Don't worry, I'll go back and ask Lord Wuchang or Lord Judge if they can send you back first."
I had just eaten someone else's food, and the smell of hot pot hadn't completely dissipated from my mouth yet, so I felt a bit embarrassed.
The ghost messengers, feeling obligated to speak well of them, all said they would put in a good word for them. Then, He, the ghost messenger, took a companion and prepared to go back to report the news, bringing back the road-digging companions, and also to plead for Ruan Bei's life.
I finally found a brother I could befriend in the mortal world, and I haven't even had the hot pot feast with him yet. I can't die now.
Just as they were about to leave, Qin Gu suddenly called out to them, "Wait."
What do you need?
He Guicha still remembered Qin Gu; the Yin Qi talismans he drew were of excellent quality and tasted quite good.
Qin Gu asked politely, "I would like to ask, can ordinary ghosts also dig this mud?"
He Guicha was puzzled, but still answered, "Yes, you can."
Humans need to wrap their hands with spiritual energy, but they don't. They are originally composed of yin energy, and ordinary ghosts are also clumps of yin energy.
Qin Gu felt relieved and tentatively asked, "You mentioned before that there are a large number of ghosts waiting to be reincarnated in the underworld. Because they are too idle, they often cause disturbances and are difficult to manage. Perhaps we could let them dig roads?"
We should prepare for both possibilities. It would be best if the spirits could send them back, but if not, with so many ghosts, each one could dig a section of the road with just one claw.
"Huh? Eh? Eh???" He Guicha was taken aback at first, then delighted: "That's right, you're right."
The Yellow Springs Road is also within the territory of the underworld. Those ghosts have stayed there for too many years. Once they go on the Yellow Springs Road, they can't return to the mortal world. With them watching over them, there's no fear of anything happening.
Besides, if you can install surveillance cameras, who would want to come and dig?
Dong Guicha interjected, "Will those lazy ghosts come to help?"
It would be nice to chat when you have nothing to do, why bother coming over to help dig up the road?
Upon hearing that there was a chance, Qin Gu immediately said, "As long as we can go back, we are willing to burn paper money for the kind-hearted ghost workers who participated in digging the road, as a way of paying their wages."
As long as a ghost is "alive," money is required. Even if family members have burned offerings for it, there are still ghosts who have no offerings to receive.
Working for the underworld and even paying their wages—where else can you find such a good deal!
Originally, he was supposed to be rewarded by his superiors for figuring out the blockage on the road to the underworld. If he could come up with such a good idea, he might even get a promotion.
He has enough experience, but he lacks achievements. Brother Xiao Bei is truly a lucky star!
He Guicha was excited and looked at Qin Gu with admiration: "You are really a smart man. No wonder you are a friend of our Brother Xiao Bei. You are so generous!"
Qin Gu smiled and nodded, and He Guicha ran off excitedly.
This time he returned even faster, with two ghosts by his side, one with a tall hat and the other holding a giant pen.
The ghost messengers who remained behind greeted him respectfully: "Judge, Lord Impermanence."
Ruan Bei glanced at him and saw that the judge looked to be only in his thirties and was quite handsome.
"Are you the one with the ability to see ghosts?" the judge asked.
Ruan Bei nodded quickly and introduced the others as his fellow disciples and companions.
The judge said, "He Yun has already told me about your situation. You have done a good job this time, and I will remember it. Now I will send you back."
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