Chapter 59 The white-robed male ghost met again in the underworld.
Zhong Yuxiu stood blankly to the side, her eyes vacant, waiting for guidance.
Jiang Yuzhi: "Let's go together."
Xiao Wen nodded hurriedly and said "Yes" repeatedly, "Miss, sir, may I feed my master iron pellets?"
Jiang Yuzhi nodded, "Be gentle, don't hurt Xiuxiu's voice."
Xiaowen's outstretched hand froze, her face contorted with grief. "Miss, I really can't do that. Iron pellets aren't something I can conjure, and even my master's throat is in danger..."
"Just be gentle." Di Ting followed Jiang Yuzhi's words, "We'll get some medicine from Meng Po later to soothe her throat."
"Thank you for your understanding, Miss and Master." Xiao Wen tried her best to feed Zhong Yuxiu the iron pills according to Jiang Yuzhi's instructions.
Since Zhong Yuxiu was going to take up her post in the underworld, she could only take the righteous path through the gates of hell.
The long road that used to be shrouded in mist now seemed to have thinned considerably. Jiang Yuzhi keenly noticed that the flowers and plants on both sides of the road appeared to be much more lush.
They moved forward in silence, with Jiang Yuzhi keeping a close eye on Zhong Yuxiu's condition.
The moment she swallowed the iron pellet, Zhong Yuxiu's snow-white nightgown transformed into a jet-black robe, and her long black hair was tied up with a jade hair crown, resembling the official robe of a judge.
She held a judge's pen tightly in her hand and walked ahead of Xiaowen, clearly in the posture of leading the way.
Upon seeing them, the Eastern Ghost King skillfully let them pass, clearly indicating that this was not the first time he had met Zhong Yuxiu.
Indeed, Xiuxiu had come several times before, though she herself had no recollection of it. Jiang Yuzhi silently escorted Zhong Yuxiu to the Judge's Hall, watching her sit down before going to find the Black and White Impermanence.
The feeling of being completely refreshed was not an illusion. Even the mountains and rivers that were shrouded in mist last time were now laid bare before her eyes.
Jiang Yuzhi asked in confusion, "Ah Ting, has the fog in the underworld cleared up quite a bit?"
Di Ting was completely unaware. It was a strange beast whose senses and strength far surpassed Jiang Yuzhi's. The mist had never been an obstacle for it, nor had it ever cared. So it honestly said, "Is there?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuzhi began to doubt whether she was being overly sensitive.
After asking a passing ghost for directions, they learned that Xie Bi'an was still in hell, while Fan Wujiu was at the training ground they had visited before.
Strangely, the Emperor was not present when she passed the Fengdu Palace. Jiang Yuzhi didn't think much of it and headed straight towards the training ground.
The training ground was much livelier than the last time I visited.
All the ghost messengers who could be dispatched were gathered here, divided into two groups. One group consisted of newly trained ghost messengers, and the other group consisted of veterans who were to be selected to serve in the human world.
The difference in numbers between the two groups of ghost messengers was so great that Jiang Yuzhi almost couldn't tell them apart. Only when she got closer did she realize that the four or five ghost messengers pitifully surrounding Fan Wujiu were the ones who were currently safe.
"Brother Fan, are these all?"
"Xiao Zhi is here. Right now, they're the only ones without any tasks. Why don't you choose one?"
"I?"
"Naturally, you will most likely be in charge of the outposts in the mortal realm from now on. Choose the one you think is suitable."
"All right."
Jiang Yuzhi could only ask a few questions based on her intuition.
The ghost messengers have forgotten their past lives, but they will often pick up their old skills again in order to earn some extra money in the underworld.
Of the five ghost messengers, only one was a woman, Erqi. She was quite skilled in footwork and needlework. Jiang Yuzhi and Diting whispered to each other for a while and learned that her family had run a security escort agency in her previous life. She had practiced martial arts since childhood and was also quite good at cutting cloth and making clothes.
Erqi waited nervously for the adults to discuss her. She already knew that she was going to work in the mortal world. She was really tired of the days of collecting souls. Heaven knows how excited she was when she passed the exam to become a ghost messenger. Now she regrets it so much. She might as well just reincarnate.
Erqi has a long-hidden secret: she's afraid of ghosts, even though she herself is one. She's most afraid of ghosts who died tragically, missing limbs or with their necks broken in half; the more gruesome the death, the more terrified she becomes.
However, due to Erqi's outstanding abilities, she was always sent to capture evil spirits, which were usually vengeful ghosts who had died too tragically.
She always kept her eyes tightly closed, lifting and lowering the lock as she went, trying not to look a second time. Those who had worked with Erqi praised her for her high efficiency and vied to work with her.
Today, Erqi also threw the evil spirits into the Judge's Hall ahead of time and hurriedly tried to get a chance to go to the mortal world. She couldn't be assigned to catch evil spirits again if she stayed in the mortal world.
Jiang Yuzhi was quite satisfied with Erqi. "Then Erqi, let's decide first that you can't use the code name of a ghost messenger in the mortal world. Think of a name for yourself."
Erqi nodded excitedly, earning envious glances from the assembled ghost messengers.
The ghost messengers: The mortal world must be much easier than the underworld!
With the help of Di Ting, Jiang Yuzhi learned that the remaining four men were at least yamen runners in their previous lives, with the most capable having served as a county magistrate. They were all of good character, having passed the initial examinations to become ghost messengers.
Jiang Yuzhi wanted to pick two more to take, one from Wannan and one from Kyoto, so she could do some physical labor in the shop. She just randomly picked two that looked strong.
"Thank you for your high regard, Miss!" The two ghost messengers showed identical joy on their faces.
The ghost messenger who had served as a county magistrate was also not selected. He sighed, led another unselected person, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the officials, and left on his own.
The bitter county magistrate not only has to catch ghosts, but also has to deal with all sorts of messy paperwork after he returns.
Fan Wujiu was very satisfied. The county magistrate was gone; who would help him with his official duties now?
Jiang Yuzhi was also very satisfied. "Have you thought of a name yet?"
The three ghost messengers were so overjoyed that none of them had a good idea. They were immediately ashamed, lowered their heads, and shook their heads.
Since becoming ghost messengers, they've been called by their serial numbers, which have become their names. Erqi had no ideas, but tentatively asked, "Miss, could you help us choose one?"
Faced with three expectant faces, Jiang Yuzhi hesitated, "But I'm not very good at this..."
"It's alright, it's alright, I believe you, Miss!"
"Yes! Having a name at all is good enough!"
"That's right!"
"Alright, let me think about it."
After much thought, Jiang Yuzhi actually came up with an idea.
The second one is called Zhiwu, and the other two are called Yanliu and Yanqi respectively.
The dog, Di Ting, twitched its mouth, clearly not good at it, but seeing that the three ghost messengers seemed to like it, it didn't say much.
Jiang Yuzhi: "I have some other things to do. You guys go to the Gates of Hell and wait for me. We'll go to the mortal realm together later."
The three ghost messengers all agreed.
Jiang Yuzhi also wanted to greet Meng Po and see Xie Bi'an, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
Fan Wujiu summoned the county magistrate ghost back to help him oversee the training of the ghost messengers, while he, Jiang Yuzhi, and Di Ting left together.
There were far fewer ghosts by the River of Oblivion, and Meng Po had some free time. She was sitting on her usual couch, drinking tea, with a male ghost in white sitting next to her.
A white-clad male ghost? Jiang Yuzhi looked closely and recognized him immediately—Bai Yan, a name she knew all too well.
What's going on? Why is Bai Yan here again?
The male ghost, completely unaware of how abrupt his appearance was, stood up abruptly with a beaming smile and shouted, "Wife! I'm here!"
Meng Po grabbed the rope made of ghostly power tied to Bai Yan's wrist. "Sit still! If you run around again, Xiao Zhi will abandon you."
Bai Yan pointed urgently into the distance with his other free finger, "Impossible, my wife has already come looking for me!"
Meng Po finally heard his words clearly, turned her head and saw Jiang Yuzhi and the others. As if she had found a savior, she grabbed the rope and headed over there. "Oh dear, they've finally come. I don't know why this kid is here again. Quickly, take him away."
Without Meng Po even needing to hand over the rope, Bai Yan scurried up behind Jiang Yuzhi, and the rope unfurled.
"Thank you for your help, Grandma. When did he arrive?" Jiang Yuzhi pushed Bai Yanzhao behind her, looking slightly embarrassed, but Bai Yanzhao grabbed her hand with both of his.
Listening to Jiang Yuzhi's tone, I realized that this wasn't Bai Yan's first time in the underworld. It's just that he looks like a fool. Hahaha, it's a pity I can't let him see it for himself.
Meng Po sighed and rubbed her forehead. "It didn't take long, and it wasn't too troublesome, but they kept crowding towards the reincarnation line, disrupting the order."
"He must have come with me. I'm sorry, Grandma. I'll keep a closer eye on him next time."
"Nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong either. I'm free too, Mother-in-law. How's Wannan doing?"
"Successfully, Grandma Huang seems to be doing quite well."
"That's good, that's good. Why talk about her? I didn't ask." Meng Po turned her back with feigned disgust, intending to return to her couch and sit down.
Jiang Yuzhi clearly saw Meng Po's lips curl slightly as she turned around, "Then we won't disturb you any longer, Granny. We'll be going now."
"Go away, go away, don't get in my way."
"Let's go."
Fan Wujiu had already learned about Bai Yan's situation from Xie Bi'an, but seeing it with his own eyes now was still a bit hard for him to accept.
The ghost followed closely behind Xiaozhi, afraid that Baiyan might step on Xiaozhi's shoes and fall to the ground.
As Fan Wujiu walked, he looked Bai Yan up and down. It was really strange. Could a soul and a body have two different personalities? Or was this just how he was originally?
Fan Wujiu couldn't help but whisper to Di Ting, "Has he been interacting with Xiao Zhi like this lately?"
Di Ting first shook his head, then used his power to scan Bai Yan's body without anyone noticing.
Fan Wujiu: "Then how..."
Although Di Ting was also puzzled, he still muttered something mysteriously and casually, "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."
Jiang Yuzhi, walking ahead, felt her palms sweating. Ghosts don't sweat, but Bai Yan was holding her hands too tightly. "Mingze, do you really have to hold my hands? It's not quite right for you to walk like this..."
Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Yuzhi noticed that Bai Yan was actually floating!
When did you learn to float?
Bai Yan tightened his grip on her hands. "Just now, the ghost in the queue taught me that if I don't hold my wife tightly, she will run away."
"How could this be, I..."
“At Meng Po’s place, my wife left me alone, and I can’t find her anywhere.”
Jiang Yuzhi wanted to say no, but after thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be true. However, she really didn't know why Bai Yan had come to the underworld again. Given Bai Yan's current state, it would be useless for her to argue any further.
"Okay, okay, it's my fault, but can I not use my hands? It's also inconvenient for me to walk."
After a moment's thought, Bai Yan compromised.
He released one hand, and with the other hand, he wedged his fingers one by one between Jiang Yuzhi's fingers, making them inseparable. "Good, it's not easy to separate like this."
Jiang Yuzhi froze, the scene from the daytime reappearing, and the familiar feeling washed over her again.
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Author's Note: Zhiwu (Zhiwu), Yanliu (Yanliu), Yanqi (Yanqi)
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