Tang Nian and Lou Mu exchanged glances, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes.
"The original demons defied the heavens, but later the ascendant god changed the way of heaven, and the demons officially merged into the world."
When the previous deity was mentioned, Tang Nian was momentarily lost in thought.
From the time she became conscious, she has always been the current High Goddess; she has only heard many elders mention her.
At that time, the Heavenly Dao was in ruins and needed to be rebuilt. The Supreme God had fallen, and this person, relying on his own strength, suppressed all the immortals and became the new Supreme God.
Under her rule, the land prospered.
But later, something happened that led to the collective attack on her by the immortals of Kunlun Mountain, who imprisoned her in the underworld.
Lou Mu gently touched Tang Nian's arm, which brought her back to her senses, and she continued speaking.
"Although an immortal dies and his soul is scattered, he retains his immortal status, memories and power, waiting for the next immortal to arrive and inherit everything from him."
"Demons are different from immortals. After a demon dies, its soul returns to the underworld and its memories are cleared. If it has killed innocent people in its previous life, it can only be reincarnated after being punished in hell. If it has not, it will directly enter the cycle of reincarnation and be reborn as a human."
"If you are certain that the demon is dead, then it is impossible for it to come out of the underworld."
Ji Jingyu pursed his lips and lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought. Then he raised his head.
“This is my father’s ritual implement.”
One sentence silenced the other two people in the room.
"Could it be that your father faked his death?" Tang Nian asked hesitantly in a soft voice.
She knew about the conflict between Ji Jingyu and his clan, and she was worried that it would upset him.
Ji Jingyu shook his head, his calm voice as if he were talking about what he had eaten that day, without the slightest fluctuation.
“I killed him with my own hands, and I watched him die with my own eyes. There’s no way he could still be alive.”
How is that possible!
Tang Nian's pupils contracted slightly.
Suddenly, she remembered the strangeness of the underworld, licked her lips, and a trace of worry flashed in her eyes. She said, "Wait for me to ask."
She knew she couldn't ask the young prince, and she didn't dare to send a letter to her master rashly.
After thinking it over, she decided to look for that little old man.
Under Ji Jingyu's questioning gaze, Tang Nian took out a yellow talisman from her sleeve, whispered a prayer, and the talisman slowly burned.
Before long, a plume of black smoke rose from the room, and the temperature dropped considerably.
As the black smoke dissipated, a small old man appeared in the room.
It was the judge.
"My little ancestor, why did you call me up so urgently? Is there something you need?"
The judge's white hair was a mess, his hat was nowhere to be found, and his cuffs were stained with ink.
He was clearly still busy in the Judge's Hall when Tang Nian called him, and he hurriedly came to the mortal realm.
Tang Nian was a little embarrassed and turned to look at Ji Jingyu: "What's your father's name?"
"Ji Pingwei." Ji Jingyu glanced at the judge, thought for a moment, and then spoke.
"Judge, can you find out where the ghost of the crane Ji Pingwei is now?"
Tang Nian propped her head up and asked.
“My little ancestor, you know that the Book of Life and Death is not in my hands now, it's with the King of Hell, this…”
Tang Nian knew, of course, that if something major happened in the underworld, the Book of Life and Death and the Judge's Pen left in the hands of the judge would be taken back by Yama.
However, she dares not, and cannot, seek out the King of Hell.
She pouted and blinked her big, watery eyes at the judge.
"Alright, alright, little ancestor, wait a minute, I'll go check it out for you."
The judge couldn't stand seeing Tang Nian looking so pitiful, and immediately forgot all his principles.
Even the Kings of Hell dote on this little rascal. If they knew, they would just ask him for help. There was no need to make everyone unhappy.
Watching the judge leave, Ji Jingyu pointed blankly at the empty space and asked, "What was that just now...?"
"Judge."
Tang Nian instantly withdrew her affected expression and took a sip of tea.
Ji Jingyu was shocked.
Unexpectedly, the woman in front of him knew the judge, and it sounded like they had a good relationship.
Fortunately, I didn't completely offend her.
Before long, the judge returned.
“My little ancestor, I’ve checked. Ji Pingwei’s soul is being punished in the underworld and has not yet been reincarnated.”
Tang Nian, still not entirely convinced, asked another question: "Are you sure he's in the underworld?"
The judge nodded: "I went to hell myself, so I can confirm it."
Tang Nian smiled and nodded, "Thank you, Judge."
As she spoke, she conjured several gold ingots in her hand, lit them in mid-air, and they appeared in the judge's hand after burning.
The judge weighed the gold ingot in his hand, beaming with joy: "Little ancestor, if you have any further orders, just come to me."
After saying that, he turned and left the room.
"So you're sure this magical artifact belongs to your father?"
Ji Jingyu said firmly, "I'm sure."
Tang Nian bit her lip lightly and glanced at Lou Mu.
Now this matter is difficult to handle.
"If a demon from your crane clan dies, what happens to the magical artifacts on their bodies?"
Ji Jingyu stroked his chin: "I remember that magical artifacts would return to the ancestral hall after their owner's death, waiting for the next owner. But after my father died, no one in the clan should be able to get his magical artifacts again."
"Why?" Tang Nian asked, puzzled.
“During that time, I went mad. You should have heard about the curse of the crane clan. It is because of this that the young cranes are unable to gain the recognition of the magical artifacts in the ancestral hall.”
Tang Nian didn't know what to say for a moment.
The room was completely silent.
Ji Jingyu also felt that what he said was a bit inappropriate. He glanced at the ashes on the table and changed the subject.
What were you talking about just now?
Tang Nian's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "Do you know Old Yang?"
Ji Jingyu looked puzzled: "Old Yang? Who is Old Yang?"
"You don't know him?"
Tang Nian looked at Lou Mu, who then took out a portrait of Elder Yang and placed it on the table.
Ji Jingyu glanced at the portrait only once before pointing at it and asking, "Isn't this Chu Wende?"
Tang Nian and Lou Mu exchanged a glance, and it was indeed so.
"Didn't you say he was a carpenter?"
“Yes.” He nodded, his eyes scanning the two of them. “What? Isn’t he?”
Lou Mu spoke first.
"He is the city's mortician."
"How is that possible?"
Ji Jingyu looked on in disbelief, grabbed the portrait from the table, and examined it closely.
After a long while, he put down the portrait, his expression serious.
“I’m sure this person is Chu Wende, but he has a subordinate who is a mortician who looks somewhat like Chu Wende. However, I remember that his surname is Feng.”
Could it be a case of switching the beams and pillars?
"In that case, Lin Zhenming's subtle attitude towards Old Yang makes sense."
Tang Nian tapped her fingers lightly on the table.
If that's the case, then Lin Zhenming is Chu Wende's man.
It's truly remarkable that the Chu Emperor could keep such a figure in Yingzhou as a border general and remain on the throne for so long.
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