Chapter 90 Temporary Worker in the Underworld
That thing called "merit" was like a wisp of golden smoke.
When it rests on my hand, it feels like it's being roasted by fire—warm but not painful.
Chu Ci looked at it carefully, waiting for the system's next prompt.
But the system seemed to be dead, remaining silent for a long time.
"System?" she called out in her mind.
The system remained unresponsive.
Chu Ci simply ignored it and looked at the drooling black yin messenger beside him.
"Senior, what is this for?"
Hei Yin wiped the drool from his mouth and glared at her.
"Weren't you silent just now? Now that there's a problem, you're starting to talk to me?"
Chu Ci smiled awkwardly, and in a daze, that wisp of merit suddenly disappeared into the center of her forehead.
She touched her head, widened her eyes, and asked the Black Underworld Official:
What's wrong with my head?
The black-clad man shook his head. "Nothing's wrong."
Chu Ci opened his mouth, and inexplicably felt a burning gaze on his back.
He turned his head and made eye contact with the child from the family next door.
The little girl, wearing a floral dress and with neat, pretty braids, was tilting her head and staring at her.
"elder sister."
Her big eyes blinked rapidly.
Who were you just talking to?
Chu Ci: "..."
She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, the little girl stared at her with bright, sparkling eyes and asked:
"Sister, my mother says you are the most powerful medium in our area!"
"Today is the Ghost Festival. My grandma says that the dead come back to visit their families. Are you talking to those ghosts?"
"You child! What nonsense are you spouting!"
The little girl's mother quickly covered her mouth, her smile tinged with fear and apology.
"I'm sorry, Master. Children often speak without thinking, please don't mind."
Chu Ci waved his hand, "It's nothing, it's nothing."
I never imagined she would become so famous; even children know her.
The black-clad official pinched his chin and snorted twice.
"He's talking to a ghost, isn't he? This kid's pretty clever."
Seeing his grandchildren being praised, the middle-aged old man squatting in front of the brazier smiled.
"That's right. Her grandma said that this child has excellent grades at school and is always in the top three."
"My child also said that when he grows up, he wants to be a civil engineer and study abroad!"
Although he has been dead for many years, the old man still speaks with great joy when talking about his successful descendants.
Chu Ci smiled and looked down, touching her forehead where she felt nothing. She wanted to ask Chen Xinxin's mother.
But Chen Xinxin's mother had already returned to Chen Xinxin's side, gazing tenderly at her daughter's innocent face.
This was a meeting that the mother and daughter only had once a year. Chu Ci hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not go over.
The long street was lit up by countless braziers, and faint spirits moved among the crowd.
Chu Ci was engrossed in watching when her grandmother called her name.
"Aci, go and stick an incense stick in the incense burner on the far right."
Grandma muttered to herself in a low voice.
"That's food for a wandering ghost that's just passing by. They have a hard life all year round, so let's give them something good to eat too."
"So that they won't steal food from our ancestors..."
Chu Ci nodded, took the incense, and placed it in the incense burner.
She had just lit the incense when she saw the black-clad underworld messenger who had been following her sit down on the ground.
He picked up the rice bowl from the ground and started eating heartily.
Chu Ci: "..."
Meeting Chu Ci's reproachful gaze, Hei Yincha picked up his chopsticks and spoke with righteous indignation.
"We ghost messengers are just wandering spirits too, what's wrong with having a little something to eat?"
He pointed at the street with his chopsticks and said, "Don't worry, every household will provide food for those wandering ghosts."
"They'll definitely be included; everyone will have something to eat!"
He ate the rice in his bowl in big mouthfuls, smacking his lips as he ate.
Chu Ci shook his head helplessly and continued to kneel by the brazier.
After the Black Yin Messenger finished eating, Grandma also finished burning the paper.
"Aci, let's go. Leave these things here and we'll collect them tomorrow. Let's go home."
Chu Ci nodded and stood up.
As the black goose plucked its feathers, it casually picked up a set of clothes from the basin and held them up to its side.
"Hehe, how do I look in this outfit? It fits me perfectly!"
It was a light gray long-sleeved shirt.
The outfit, paired with the tall black hat on his head, looked rather mismatched.
Chu Ci noticed that the Black Yin Messenger's attitude was somewhat different today, frowned, and quickly shook his head.
Following behind Grandma, he silently spoke to the Black Yin Messenger:
"It doesn't look good, change your outfit."
The black-clad official curled his lip, reached out, and the light gray long-sleeved shirt appeared in his hand.
"Tsk tsk." He clicked his tongue. "It's not suitable. What a pity."
Chu Ci followed Grandma back to the shop, planning to tidy up and then go home to sleep.
As soon as she turned around, she saw the Black Shadow Chariot following closely behind her, and she didn't know how long it had been following her.
She turned to see her grandmother go to another room, and asked in a low voice:
"You ghost messengers must be very busy during the Ghost Festival, right?"
Why have you been following me?
Hei Yinchai put his hands behind his head, and the chains on his wrists rattled loudly with his movements.
"Yes, we underworld messengers are very busy, we're so busy we barely have time to breathe."
Chu Ci looked down at his feet.
The ghost's heels did not touch the ground.
"Since you're so busy, why are you still following me?"
Thinking of his insatiable nature, Chu Ci glanced at his belly.
"Shall I prepare some more food for you?"
"Never mind, no need for food. I'm already full."
The black-clad messenger patted his stomach, his brows furrowed, as if he was thinking about how to start the conversation.
Seeing that he was really in trouble, Chu Ci called out "Grandma".
"Grandma, I'm going to the convenience store across the street to buy a drink!"
"A drink? We have some at home, let's drink it at home!"
Grandma came out of the room and only saw Chu Ci's back as he went to the convenience store.
Walking towards the convenience store, Chu Ci lowered her voice and asked him:
"What exactly is it? Have you thought it through?"
She sold two bottles of drinks and casually placed one of them on the offerings by the roadside.
In the blink of an eye, the bottle of beverage appeared in the hands of the Black Shadow Guard.
After taking a sip of his cold drink, the Black Shadow Slayer sighed.
Suddenly, he asked, "During the day, did someone lose a child in your shop?"
Chu Ci paused, "You know Ah Chun?"
"Ah, so the old man's daughter is named Ah Chun."
Hei Yincha took another sip of his drink and clicked his tongue.
"Aren't you short of underworld officials here? The higher-ups searched high and low and finally found it in Ah Chun's father."
"All the procedures were completed, and we were just waiting for him to start work tonight."
"Who knew he'd be kidnapping children before he even took office?"
He clapped his hands together, making a "smack" sound.
"Look, they were taken down before they even got up there."
Chu Ci: "..."
Her face scrunched up in a frown. "Someone like Ah Chun's father could actually be chosen?"
"Well, his ancestors used to do this kind of work."
“And don’t be fooled by how he treats his daughter,” the Black Yin Guard stared with his rat-like eyes, “he has accumulated quite a few good deeds.”
"When I was young, I was brave and saved several lives. After I died, I donated my organs and saved several more lives."
"If you don't ask him for this kind of good opportunity, who else would you ask?"
Chu Ci's lips twitched.
He's so nice to outsiders, but so terrible to his own daughter.
I don't know what that old man was thinking.
She looked at the black-clad messenger with a puzzled expression. "But why are you telling me this?"
Upon hearing her ask this question, the Black Shadow Chariot immediately straightened up.
"You gave me and Lao Bai so many gold ingots before, now that something good has happened, of course I'll think of you!"
Chu Ci: "..."
She couldn't believe it was directed at herself.
"You wouldn't be thinking of..."
"Yes, that's exactly what you mean!"
Hei Yincha chuckled twice to show his approval of her.
"Originally, the higher-ups wanted Lao Bai and me to continue searching, but we thought that if we started searching again, we might not be able to find it for a long time."
"So, until we find it, we'll have to do all the work in this area, right?"
"Then wouldn't we both have to work overtime every day?!"
He spread his hands, his face full of bitterness.
But then he quickly grinned, "But Sister Chu, it's different when you're included."
He patted Chu Ci on the shoulder, his shifty eyes growing even more menacing.
"I knew you were a great person the first time I met you."
"Later, when you were willing to spend money to send so many people to be reincarnated, I became even more certain that you were a kind-hearted person."
"Now that such a great opportunity to do good is in front of you, tell me, shouldn't you take it?"
Chu Ci: "..."
No wonder she felt this person was treating her differently today; he was waiting for her here!
She hesitated for a moment, "Is there a merit reward?"
"Merit?!"
The dark-skinned man stared wide-eyed, pounding his heart.
"How many good deeds do you have to do to receive merit?"
"You just want to help catch a ghost and send it to be reincarnated?!"
"Merit..." Chu Ci touched his forehead, "Is it that rare?"
"Of course! What kind of family you'll be born into in your next life depends entirely on this!"
The dark-skinned man looked at her forehead, his mouth watering.
"Sister Chu, just give me one word: do it or not!"
He hooked his arm around Chu Ci's shoulder. "Look at you, you're always in so much contact with those below. If you had this kind of identity, it would be so much more convenient!"
"And it's not like you're going to do it all the time, you're just helping out with a shift."
"Once Lao Bai and I find a suitable replacement, someone will naturally come to take your place!"
He tried to widen his rat-like eyes, attempting to let Chu Ci see the sincerity hidden deep within them.
Chu Ci: "..."
It sounds like you're describing a water ghost catching a substitute...
While hesitating, she suddenly remembered the underworld-specific gun that the system had given her.
Could it be that the system wants to...?
She pursed her lips, not waiting for the Black Shadow Messenger to rack his brains for further persuasion.
"Okay, I'll do it."
"Alright! That's what I've been waiting for!"
The black-clad man quickly pulled out a piece of paper from behind him. "Temporary worker contract, sign it."
Chu Ci: "??"
She frowned. "We still need to sign a contract?"
"Of course we need to sign a contract! How can we get you benefits without one?"
Hei Yincha patted his chest.
"Since you call Lao Bai and me 'seniors,' we certainly can't let you work for nothing!"
"You just do your job well until we find the right person."
"When the time comes, Lao Bai and I will help you apply for a longer lifespan, and we'll make sure you live to be 119, full of energy."
Chu Ci looked at the contract several times.
Seeing that there were no problems, he took the pen handed to him by the black-clad messenger and signed his name.
The moment she signed her name, the paper spontaneously combusted.
In the blink of an eye, it turned to ashes; a gust of wind blew it away, and nothing was left.
"Alright." The black-clad messenger clapped his hands happily. "The contract has been sent downstairs."
He pointed in the direction of the medium's incense shop, "Go get your little pistol, let's get to work now."
Chu Ci: "..."
Something feels off.
She took two steps and heard Hei Yincha burst into laughter, finally realizing what the problem was.
"Who in their right mind would bring their own desk to work?"
She stretched out her hand to the black-clad guards, saying, "The bullets for my pistol are very expensive; you'll have to pay for the weapon."
The black-clad man immediately stopped laughing.
After a lot of arguing, Chu Ci, under the resentful gaze of the Black Yin Chariot, used the old soul-hooking rope that he had discarded.
"Grandma, I'm going to sleep now!"
Back home, Chu Ci took a shower and went to bed early.
Grandma: "Okay, go to bed early. Today is the Ghost Festival, don't go out and wander around."
Chu Ci responded.
Hearing her grandmother go back to her room to sleep, she waited quietly for half an hour.
Half an hour later, she lay down on the bed, clutching the soul-snatching rope.
When she opened her eyes again, she was standing by the bed, holding the Soul-Hooking Rope.
Her lifeless body lay on the bed behind him.
Chu Ci couldn't help but step forward and touch her nose, but she couldn't feel anything.
But unlike ordinary ghosts, she can touch things around her.
Pinching the cheek of the corpse on the bed, the dark-skinned ghost called to her:
"Stop playing, you have to go to work."
"We have to drive those ghosts back before midnight!"
Chu Ci nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly heard the door to his grandmother's room open.
It was during this moment of hesitation that she heard her grandmother tentatively calling her from outside the door.
"Aci, are you asleep?"
Hearing no sound from inside, Grandma didn't ask any more questions.
Instead, she tiptoed out of the room and took the elevator downstairs.
Standing in front of the door, watching Grandma walk into the elevator, Hei Yincha raised an eyebrow.
"It seems like your grandma is hiding something from you!"
Chu Ci frowned.
"Let's go, we need to go down too."
Following her grandmother downstairs, she watched as her grandmother walked to the place where they had burned paper money earlier.
He quietly took out something wrapped up tightly from his bag.
When Grandma opened the thing, she saw that it was actually a memorial tablet.
Grandma wiped her eyes, wiped the memorial tablet with the corner of her clothes, and then placed it by the roadside.
They then placed offerings and a brazier in front of the memorial tablet, continuously throwing incense, candles, paper money, and various paper clothes into it.
"Who is your grandmother burning paper money for?"
The black-clad messenger curiously peered over and took a look; his rat-like eyes widened instantly.
He looked at Chu Ci, then at the memorial tablet, then back at Chu Ci, and then back at the memorial tablet.
Chu Ci frowned. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
She walked behind her grandmother and casually glanced at the inscription on the memorial tablet.
They froze abruptly.
In an instant, all the blood rushed to my head.
May my beloved grandson Chuci attain rebirth in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
[Offering Person: Yang Shang's Grandmother Chu Hongdan, standing reverently]
The black-clad messenger glanced at the memorial tablet, then at Chu Ci, and touched his nose.
"Your grandmother still keeps a memorial tablet for you, doesn't she?"
"Go to work."
Hei Yincha and Chu Ci spoke at the same time.
Chu Ci looked at the Black Yin Chariot, who clearly still had questions, and said, "It's a custom from my hometown."
Black Shadow Messenger: "...Oh."
She seemed uninterested, her face drooping.
Hei Yincha was curious and wanted to ask, but he was also afraid that the labor force he had finally found would run away.
He could only suppress his curiosity and lead her to the first workplace.
The job is simple: just put a door at the intersection and drive all the ghosts through it.
The spirits were terrified of the underworld messengers, and when the black underworld messenger shouted, they all rushed into the door.
Almost no one dared to cheat or shirk their duty.
Hei Yincha: "During this special period, our workload is too great."
"If anyone dares to run away, just beat them to a pulp on the spot!"
He was explaining to Chu Ci, but the spirits crowded around even more fiercely after hearing this.
They collected the goods street by street, quickly sweeping through the streets of Kwun Tong District and Kowloon City.
Hei Yinchai led Chu Ci on another tour of the two districts.
"I'm just afraid that some might slip through the net, so I'll check again before I leave."
Chu Ci: "What about the other districts?"
“There are naturally other underworld officials in the other districts.” The black underworld official shrugged.
"Hong Kong is so big, if we two are to handle it all, won't we be exhausted?"
Chu Ci nodded, "Then I usually..."
"Normally, you're in charge of the entire Hong Kong."
Hei Yincha patted her shoulder, "But don't worry, Lao Bai and I will show you the whole process in two days."
After finishing this task, Chu Ci thought they could finally rest.
Unexpectedly, the Black Shadow Messenger wanted to take her somewhere else.
"It's Ah Chun's father. We need to arrest him and bring him back."
"But don't worry, you don't need to do anything. You can just watch from the side."
The Black Yin Chariot said this, but they didn't expect that when they arrived, Ah Chun's father had already been captured.
Beside him were several paper ghosts, dressed in brightly colored clothes, their faces flushed with an eerie red.
She was sitting next to Ah Chun's father, crying her heart out.
Old Bai, standing nearby, covered his ears, his mourning stick poised to strike.
"I hate it when kids cry!"
"If you cry again, I'll beat you to a pulp!"
With a roar, all the little devils dared not utter a sound of crying.
The little body nestled against Ah Chun's father, its hands tugging at his trousers.
She only dared to sob softly.
If you don't look at their face, they are as pitiful as can be.
After finally scaring them into stopping crying, Old Bai poked their foreheads with his mourning stick.
"You still have the nerve to cry? You almost killed someone, and you still have the nerve to cry?"
"Luckily no one died. If someone had, you would all have been thrown into a vat of boiling oil!"
A little girl in a pink top was sobbing, "Grandpa made us do it!"
Bai Yincha: "If you've killed someone, your grandfather will be boiled in oil too!"
He glared at Ah Chun's father and snorted coldly.
"I've already told you, if you want to do well in our line of work, you have to act like nothing happened in the mortal world."
"How could you do that to your own grandson? What were you thinking?"
Ah Chun's father twitched his beard but didn't answer.
Seeing that others had already finished their work, the black-clad official chuckled with delight.
"Old Bai! Old Bai!"
He led Chu Ci over and glanced at Ah Chun's father.
"Have you finished all the work?"
Bai Yincha glared at him, "If you had come any later, I would have taken them all back to the underworld!"
Chu Ci looked at Ah Chun's father, who was also looking at her.
When she looked over, Ah Chun's father immediately recognized her.
He gritted his teeth fiercely, "It's you!"
If it weren't for this meddlesome girl, he would have already turned his grandson into his own grandson!
Chu Ci glanced at him sideways but didn't say anything.
The old man snorted coldly, looked her up and down, and looked at her with disdain.
"You actually want a woman to be a ghost messenger?"
"What's wrong with the woman?" Hei Yincha asked unhappily.
This is the person he chose!
"Both men and women are better than you, old man!"
"You were appointed as a messenger of the underworld, but you've already abused your power for personal gain before even taking office!"
"You look down on people, no wonder your daughter doesn't want your grandson near you!"
The old man's beard trembled with anger when his daughter was mentioned.
"you!"
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. You've been working all night." Bai Yinchai chained the old man up.
He waved his hand at Black Impermanence, "I'll do this job, but you can't escape either."
He pointed in one direction. "One is over here; it's a vengeful ghost committing murder."
“One’s over there,” he pointed in the opposite direction. “That person’s lifespan has long ended, but he’s still in the mortal world and refuses to leave. Go and catch him.”
The black-clad constable was so angry his face turned green: "Why should we do two jobs?!"
"Because you two are more capable!"
With a casual wave of his hand, Bai Yinchai conjured a dark, eerie gate that rose from the ground in front of him.
"Alright, I'm going to take them back. You should also go and come back as soon as possible."
He dragged the long chain and pulled hard, and the little devils started wailing again.
"I don't want to go back! I don't want to go back, waaaaah..."
"I don't want to go back either, I want to stay in the world of the living!"
"Grandpa, save us! You said you'd let us stay in the world of the living!"
Bai Yinchai tightened his grip, frowning impatiently.
"Stop crying! Keep crying! If you cry again, I'll throw you all into the boiling oil!"
He dragged a long line of ghosts, pushed open the dark door, and led the howling ghosts inside.
Even after the door disappeared, the Black Shadow Guard was still seething with anger.
"That old Bai is even more cunning and deceitful than me!"
"There are clearly two tasks in total, so it's perfect if we take one on each side!"
"He's doing well, going back to slack off so early!"
But talk is talk, and criticism is criticism.
The work that needs to be done still needs to be done.
"Let's go."
Black Impermanence, dejected, walked in one of the directions pointed out by White Impermanence.
"Let's go to the ghost's side first."
Black Impermanence led her through the wall in a straight line, and the more Chu Ci walked, the more familiar it felt.
Why does this road look so much like the road leading to the hospital where Zhuang Jingxuan's mother is?
Stop and look at the familiar cross in front of you—this is the hospital where Zhuang Jingxuan's mother is.
She followed the Black Impermanence up in the elevator.
Perhaps because it is the Ghost Festival today, the hospital is quieter than I expected late at night.
But as soon as the elevator doors opened, she heard Zhuang Jingxuan crying.
She was sitting at the counter making an international call, crying as she spoke.
"My dad is so shameless!"
"He came over as soon as my mother had the accident, and the first thing he asked me was whether my mother was dead."
"My mother was his wife for over 20 years, but all he thinks about is my mother's money!"
"I'm just waiting for my mother to die so that all the marital property will go to him and he can get more money!"
After hearing something said on the other end of the phone, Zhuang Jingxuan burst into tears and slammed her fist on the table.
"What do you mean he's gone! He's not gone! He keeps saying he's not feeling well and needs to be hospitalized!"
"She's lying in the ward next to my mom's right now! Damn it, my mom's in the OB/GYN ward!"
"I don't know what connections he used to get a private hospital room..."
"He doesn't care about my mom at all! He lives next door to her, he's just waiting for her to die!"
She was emotional, and the young nurse on the night shift reminded her apologetically.
"Miss, could you please keep your voice down? Our patients are all sleeping..."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Zhuang Jingxuan wiped away her tears and apologized repeatedly.
"I'll keep my voice down, I'm really sorry."
The nurse waved and smiled, about to leave, when suddenly a scream came from the ward.
She and Zhuang Jingxuan turned their heads in unison, looking in the direction from which the screams came.
The black-clad ghost's expression changed drastically. "Quick, quick, quick! That vengeful ghost is about to kill someone!"
Chu Ci chased after him and ran past.
As soon as Chu Ci passed through the wall, he saw a familiar face.
The housekeeper, who had died during the day from a broken neck, was still wearing the clothes she wore when she died.
Its neck was twisted, its head was bent backward, and its body was filled with black resentment.
He straddled Zhuang Jingxuan's father and tightly gripped his neck.
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