Chapter 55 Returning to the Capital: The Underworld's Station in the Human Realm
The illusion shattered.
Deng Laosan and the woman drifted away with the wind and disappeared into the darkness.
"Mingze? Eat?" Jiang Yuzhi could still feel the yellow paper rope around her waist, but she couldn't hear the response from the person next to her. Her whole body was radiating a faint light.
Before long, this strange situation disappeared.
Humans, ghosts, and sheep stood together in the courtyard, and the moonlight grew even brighter.
Chichi, contrary to his usual behavior, bared his teeth at the female ghost on the ground, but was stopped in time by Jiang Yuzhi.
"Mingze, are you alright?" She asked, restraining Chichi while looking Bai Yan up and down.
"No, it's just that I suddenly couldn't find you..."
"It's good that you're alright."
"..."
Chichi's reaction already spoke volumes. Jiang Yuzhi calmly looked at the pitiful female ghost on the ground and asked, "Tell me, what did you do?"
Xue Yi was practically prostrating herself in gratitude. "My benefactor, I didn't mean to hurt you. I just want you to help me."
She truly meant no harm. Those illusions had been repeating themselves ever since her death, and she couldn't escape them. Xue Yi had long been in a daze. Today, for some reason, the memories of hatred had faded, and experiencing them again seemed to bring some of them back.
When the illusion ended, Xue Yi subconsciously wanted to separate herself from her benefactor and beg Jiang Yuzhi, who seemed to be the most soft-hearted, to help her take revenge. Even if she wanted to use inappropriate methods, she wouldn't have the chance to do so.
Even though I had already kept them in the darkness, I felt as if I was being held back by something, unable to appear, so I had no choice but to bring my benefactors out again.
Xue Yi concealed the negative parts and sincerely apologized to Jiang Yuzhi.
It was immediately obvious that the Sheji Tu (a mythical map of the land and rivers) had controlled Xue Yi; this female ghost was not as harmless as she appeared.
Jiang Yuzhi: "If you want revenge, do you know where Deng Laosan has gone?"
Xue Yi carefully observed the expressions on her benefactors' faces. "They went to Kyoto and took all my family's belongings with them." Resentment welled up in her dark eyes.
Jiang Yuzhi nodded. "The cause and effect between him and you is something we outsiders cannot interfere with too much. I can take you to Kyoto, where you can do whatever you want, but you must not harm anyone's life."
Upon hearing this, Xue Yi was so grateful that she wanted to kowtow several times.
"No need for that. I'll have someone buy this shop. Then we'll know where Deng Laosan is. Stay put until we return to Beijing." Jiang Yuzhi repeatedly instructed. The wooden box showed signs of decay when it was bitten open by Chichi. Presumably, Xue Yi used that crack to scare away the tenant with her ghostly power.
"Put it down, my benefactor! I will behave myself!"
As they were talking, Jiang Yuzhi was about to pick up the box on the ground when she was surprised to find that the doll inside had disappeared.
She looked around suspiciously, only to see Chichi looking left and right, its four hooves moving randomly in place.
"Oh, so they were eaten and gnawed!" Jiang Yuzhi suddenly realized. No wonder Xue Yi looked blank at first and couldn't sense any dangerous aura from her, yet she was able to pull them into the illusion.
Jiang Yuzhi initially thought Xue Yi was putting on a good act, but looking at her in the illusion, she was indeed a naive person.
If you eat and swallow the baby, everything makes sense.
The doll is Xue Yi's seal, and it also carries her hatred. She swallows the seal with her, and the hatred goes down with it, but how can she swallow all her emotions?
Xue Yi experienced death again, and the hatred in her heart accumulated once more, and her memories became much clearer.
Jiang Yuzhi angrily tugged hard on the leash around Chichi's neck.
Chichi was already hesitant to move because of the lingering scent on the rope, and now she stumbled even more nervously.
"Meow~"
Since they'd already eaten, there was no point in saying more. Jiang Yuzhi handed the dog leash to Bai Yan and told him to keep an eye on the dog and not let it chew on any more random things.
He took out paper and a tinderbox from his small bag and summoned the Black and White Impermanence.
Before long, Fan Wujiu appeared alone in the courtyard.
When Xue Yi saw him, she shrank back in fear.
Fan Wujiu: "Is this the ghost? Did the box hurt Xiaozhi?"
Jiang Yuzhi: "No, do you have a way to deal with the box? I want to take Xue Yi to Kyoto."
Fan Wujiu picked up the mostly broken wooden box with his bare hands. A ghostly blue flame rose out of thin air, and the wooden box was completely reduced to ashes.
After all, he was the head of the ghost messengers, so dealing with this little thing was a piece of cake for him.
The Book of Life and Death floated in the air. Sensing Xue Yi's presence, it moved without wind and stopped directly on Xue Yi's page.
Another soul that hadn't been taken away. Fan Wujiu frowned. But this time it was understandable. It was locked in a peach wood box, which ordinary ghost messengers couldn't detect.
Jiang Yuzhi had been thinking about this for a long time, and taking this opportunity, she said, "Brother Fan, I want to take over this shop, along with the one in Kyoto, and use it as a base for the underworld in the human world. I'll also send a few ghost messengers to guard it and patrol the area they are in charge of every day. This should reduce the number of ghosts that are overlooked."
Fan Wujiu did not give a direct answer for a moment. "Xiao Zhi, the number of ghost messengers in the underworld has always been small." He didn't know if there were enough to spare for a portion of them.
“Yu Zhi, the people around you, Zhi Yi, Zhi Er, Zhi San, and Zhi Si, were originally ghost messengers, weren’t they?” Bai Yan sensed Fan Wujiu’s concerns.
“Yes,” Jiang Yuzhi understood immediately and continued following Bai Yan’s words, “Brother Fan, all four of them are skilled ghost messengers. Although they are injured, they can still do the patrol work, right? I’ll send two to Wannan, plus Xiao Jin, to try it out at the two shops first, how about that?”
Fan Wujiu was persuaded. If the station was well managed, it could reduce the workload of the Underworld. "Yes, but I have to inform the Emperor first. This is no small matter. I will send ghost messengers to assist."
Jiang Yuzhi: "Yes, yes! I know, Brother Fan."
“Keep Xue Yi with you,” Fan Wujiu said, taking a small bottle out of his sleeve. “Just keep her in the bottle. You know the rules; if she takes someone’s life, even the Emperor can’t protect her.”
Jiang Yuzhi nodded.
Fan Wujiu patted her head, told her to take care of herself, and turned to leave. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he paused, "This sheep?"
Jiang Yuzhi: "Oh, I've met Huang Daopo. She said Chichi is pitiful and told me to take her with me."
Fan Wujiu's expression was off. "Do you know what it is...?"
Jiang Yuzhi: "I know."
Fan Wujiu really wanted to see what Xiao Zhi was thinking. No wonder Xie Bi'an was watching her more and more closely. The Taotie was a strange beast that had not appeared in the world for many years. Logically speaking, it should have been isolated from the world along with the world of mountains and seas. How could it be?
Jiang Yuzhi first invited Xue Yi into the bottle, then put the bottle back into her small bag. Only when no one else was around did she reveal her guess.
“I suspect it’s because of the Sheji Map. Doesn’t the Sheji Map maintain the fortune of the human world? The Great Emperor told me that fortune is like a protective shield for our world. When the Sheji Map is damaged, the shield is also broken, so Yuxiu came, and Chichi came too.”
Bai Yan stared in shock at Jiang Yuzhi's lips as she spoke, uttering shocking words: "The world is shattered?" "Yuzhi...can I hear this?"
"I think... yes."
Fan Wujiu waved his hand, "You carry the Map of the State, so it won't hurt for you to listen. I will also inform the Emperor about the Taotie's arrival."
Taotie?
Bai Yan turned his head blankly, staring intently at Chichi on the other end of the rope.
Jiang Yuzhi: "Brother Fan, I just ate the cursed doll that sealed Xue Yi. It still has silver needles stuck in it."
Fan Wujiu remained expressionless. "It's a Taotie. It could eat both of us without any harm. Since you know that, why did you keep it?"
Jiang Yuzhi: "It doesn't seem to be that hungry here, and it doesn't eat random things." Except for that rag doll.
Fan Wujiu sighed, realizing there was nothing he could do. If the Taotie continued to devour people and ghosts, Heaven would deal with it. So he let it go free.
...
All matters in Wannan have come to an end.
Jiang Yuzhi contacted the shop owner through Manager Miao, who turned out to be Deng Laosan.
After renting out the shop, this person moved his entire family to Kyoto, entrusting the contract to a broker, presumably intending never to return to Wannan.
Manager Miao also learned that Deng Laosan wanted to sell the shop directly, but the deed was registered in the name of Xue Yi's parents in the government. As a son-in-law who had married into the family, Deng Laosan had no right to sell his wife's family's shop.
Jiang Yuzhi couldn't help but sneer. So what if they didn't have the right to sell? They still lived a life of luxury for several years by collecting rent.
The shop, which was unable to continue operating, was rented to Jiang Yuzhi at an extremely low rent. The family that profited from the dead never showed up.
The broker who came to sign the contract said that the family had moved away long ago. In order to rent out the shop, they promised that only 70% of the rent would be paid for the first year, and the original rent would be paid directly to the shop owner, Deng Laosan, after the lease expired.
Whether Deng Laosan could hold out until the following year was another matter entirely.
Jiang Yuzhi recalled his fate in the Book of Life and Death, which was to die of a heart attack this year.
There are still scientific expeditions to arrange in Kyoto, and Jiang Yuzhi needs to start preparing for the underworld's outpost.
The ghost sent from the underworld was someone Jiang Yuzhi knew—Ake.
For now, Ake will be in charge of it alone. We'll send Zhiyi and Xiaojin over after Jiang Yuzhi goes back.
The one who was most reluctant to see them leave was none other than Prince Huai'an.
To be precise, it's because they can't bear to eat it.
Before leaving, Huai'an cried and hugged Chichi tightly.
He wasn't as fat as when we first met; he had quickly lost weight and successfully earned a look of disdain from Chi Chi.
Huai'an really wanted to go to Kyoto with them, but his mother and An'an's graves were here. He was torn between them.
Unexpectedly, before he could even decide what to do, he was about to leave!
Eating doesn't interfere with anything. Seeing that Huai'an had cried enough, he raised his hoof, carefully controlling the force to kick him away, then jumped onto the carriage, found a good spot next to Jiang Yuzhi, lay down, and closed his eyes to rest.
A fleeting hint of reluctance was well concealed in her eyes.
The convoy set off with five or six truckloads of food that Huai'an had prepared for Chichi.
Calculating the time, it's only been half a month since we returned to Kyoto for the scientific expedition.
Along the way, they encountered many students who were on their way. Upon learning that Xiao Wang was riding in the carriage, they all wanted to get on and make his acquaintance.
Regardless of whether they wanted to establish connections with high-ranking officials or seek protection to ensure their safe arrival in Kyoto, Bai Yan did not meet with them, but allowed them to stay within the protection zone of the caravan.
It's really not easy to digest the legendary gluttonous beast from the Tales of the Immortals and have it in the same car as yourself.
Although Jiang Yuzhi repeatedly assured that Chichi wouldn't bite people, Bai Yan still couldn't help but wonder how it could eat people.
How could a lamb's mouth possibly hold it all?
The intense gazes made Chichi unable to stay in the carriage any longer, but she dared not stray too far from them, so she could only lift the curtain and sit with the coachman.
Those accompanying the master knew that the lamb was his new favorite, so they dared not neglect it.
Moreover, Chichi simply liked to scare the convicted officials who were being escorted away when they were resting at camp.
This is not a big deal.
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Author's Note: [Let me see]
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