"Holy crap, who ambushed me?" Hong Ling suddenly stopped, covered her head, and turned to look at the person who had attacked her.
"My lord, you've finally arrived! I was almost eaten!" Leng Yue cried out as soon as she saw the judge. "This girl is too fierce! She actually eats ghosts just like Lord Zhong Kui!"
With a flick of his finger, the judge freed Leng Yue. She quickly hid behind the judge, stretching out her little hands and pleading for forgiveness.
"Hongling, it really is you! Back then, you secretly escaped from the Avici Hell, and the Underworld has been searching for you in vain. I never expected that you would actually deliver yourself to our door today. Truly, the net of Heaven is vast, and retribution is swift!" The judge held a judge's pen in one hand and a seal in the other.
Hongling recognized the person and smiled slightly, showing no fear. "Who do we have here? It's the Judge! How have you been?"
"Witch, surrender now!" the judge roared.
"Surrender? Do you think I'm stupid?" Hongling said, throwing a small glass bottle at the judge from the dressing table before disappearing. "I'm not in the mood to play with you today, little girl, I'll come back for you another day! Hahaha..."
"That witch is incredibly cunning!" the judge exclaimed angrily.
Leng Yue stared blankly at the judge, then asked, "My lord, have you ever heard a saying?"
"What did you say?" the judge asked irritably.
“Bad people die from talking too much, and so do good people,” Leng Yue continued galloping down the path of courting death. “You just talk too much. Why didn’t you just launch a sneak attack from the start? If you had, you might have caught her already… Uh, am I talking too much?”
Leng Yue belatedly covered her mouth, cautiously glancing at the judge. The judge's face was pale; although it was never usually pale, it was unusually pale now.
Leng Yue then regretted her words and felt guilty. How could she be becoming more and more brainless? "Um, I was just talking nonsense. Please forgive me..." Leng Yue tried her best to make amends.
"I talk too much?" The judge's expression was unfriendly.
Leng Yue shook her head frantically, "No, I... no, it's Xiao who talks too much."
"The matter of apprehending Hong Ling is now in your hands. You have one month to arrest her and bring her to justice, or you will spend a hundred years reflecting on your sins by the River of Oblivion." The judge said, then grabbed Leng Yue and returned to the Underworld. "Also, your vacation is over!"
"My lord, I was wrong. I was too talkative. I'll change, okay?" Leng Yue cried, full of regret.
"Hmph, you'd better atone for your crimes by doing good deeds!" The judge rejected Leng Yue's request without any mercy.
Back in the underworld, the judge had all the files about Hong Ling brought in. "Alright, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory. Good luck."
After the judge finished speaking, he left. Leng Yue, holding the case file, looked at it with tearful eyes, speechless and choked with emotion. The judge was gone, he was gone again! Leng Yue had only managed to avoid official duties for less than three hours, and now she had to pick them up again. Not only that, but she also had to add another case to her list: Hong Ling's case.
Leng Yue was on the verge of tears. Her vacation? Everything was ruined before she even got to do anything. And to make matters worse, another thing had been added to the list. What kind of mess is this? Can anyone tell her what this is all about?
The little underworld servant who always stood beside Leng Yue, acting like a telephone pole, chimed in, "You're just looking for trouble!"
Leng Yue glanced at the little underworld official, "I know!" After saying this, Leng Yue began to study Hong Ling's case with grief and indignation. Opening the file, the first page read:
Hong Ling is the name of a red water chestnut. It is the transformation of a ten-foot-long red water chestnut, originally belonging to Shan Shu. After Shan Shu was executed, one of her souls hid in the broken red water chestnut. After many years, it re-cultivated into a human body and was named Hong Ling.
A leopard can't change its spots. Even after growing up, Hongling remained unchanged, constantly harming innocent people. The underworld sent Ox-Head and Horse-Face to capture her and cast her into the Avici Hell, never to be reincarnated.
Decades ago, however, the human world was plunged into chaos, with widespread suffering, countless lamentations, and a multitude of wandering ghosts. On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, when the gates of hell opened, the spirits of the underworld, as was their custom, roamed the human world for a night. Unexpectedly, they were blocked in their path by the wandering ghosts outside the underworld. Unable to yield to each other, a riot broke out. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Hongling escaped from the Avici Hell and disappeared without a trace.
“Hongling must have escaped during the Republic of China era, so why haven’t we been able to find her?” Lengyue asked the little underworld messenger.
The young underworld official looked embarrassed. "Sir, I'm also a newcomer, having joined in recent years just like you. How could I possibly know about things from so long ago?"
"Then we'll have to ask Brother Black and White Impermanence," Leng Yue said, putting down the file and running off.
"Sir, wait a minute! Lords Black and White Impermanence aren't here; they're out on official business..." the little underworld messenger shouted from behind, chasing Leng Yue quite a distance outside the courtyard before finally catching up. "Wait a minute, why are you running so fast? Lords Black and White Impermanence aren't here right now..."
Leng Yue quickly stopped, "Why didn't you say so earlier? By the way, do you know when they'll be back?"
"I have no idea. The Black and White Impermanence appear earlier and later than others. How would we know?" The little underworld messenger shrugged.
Leng Yue looked troubled. "What should I do? The judge said I only have one month. If I can't do it, I won't be able to leave for a hundred years."
In her anxiety, Leng Yue kept circling around a tree. Seeing this, the little underworld official didn't know what to do and could only obediently stand by her side.
"What's wrong with this little kid? It's like he's been trapped in a ghostly maze." Suddenly, a person appeared next to the little ghost messenger. His voice was booming, like a thunderclap.
The little underworld messenger was startled. Upon seeing that it was Zhong Kui, he quickly bowed his head and replied, "Reporting to the Celestial Master, my master is troubled by Hong Ling's case."
“Hongling? Is that Shan Shu?” Zhong Kui glanced at Leng Yue.
“It’s the remnant soul of Shan Shu.” The little underworld messenger glanced at the file while Leng Yue was looking at it.
“Since it concerns Shan Shu, then tell the little one to stop,” Zhong Kui said calmly, stroking his beard.
Upon hearing this, the little underworld messenger quickly ran over to tell Leng Yue, who instantly beamed with joy. He trotted over to Zhong Kui, "Lord Zhong Kui, do you know why Hong Ling hasn't been brought to justice yet?"
"I don't know the answer to that, but I can lend you a hand," Zhong Kui said with a smile.
"Really? That's great! With your help, it doesn't matter whether we know why she's been able to stay outside for decades!" Leng Yue was overjoyed.
Who is Zhong Kui? He's a renowned ghost-catching expert. Not even a hundred red water chestnuts would be enough to fill a gap in Zhong Kui's teeth, let alone one.
“Little one, don’t be too happy yet. You still have to catch the red water chestnut yourself, but this celestial master can give you a magic weapon.” Zhong Kui said, taking out a fan from his sleeve and handing it to Leng Yue.
"Is this your Qiankun Fan?" Leng Yue looked at Zhong Kui in surprise. Wasn't it said that Zhong Kui always carried his Qiankun Fan with him at all times?
"Indeed, keep this fan safe. Take it out when necessary; it will surely be of great help to you." After giving it to Leng Yue, Zhong Kui turned and left.
"Thank you, Celestial Master!" Leng Yue held the Qiankun Fan and bowed deeply to Zhong Kui's back.
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