Chapter 26 is out

  The first of the Ten Halls of Yama is Qin Guang Wang, and the Yama King that people often talk about is actually this king. However, what people don't know is that in addition to the eighteen layers of hell, there are also ten halls of Yama: the first hall is Qin Guang Wang, the second hall is Chu Jiang Wang, the third hall is Song Di Wang, the fourth hall is Wu Guan Wang, the fifth hall is Yan Luo Wang, the sixth hall is Bian Cheng Wang, the seventh hall is Tai Shan Wang, the eighth hall is Du Shi Wang, the ninth hall is Ping Deng Wang, and the tenth hall is Zhuan Lun Wang. The rulers of the eighteen hells are actually the eighteen great ministers who followed them in the past. The hundred thousand ghostly soldiers are the spirits of the soldiers who died together with the ten halls of Yama. Of course, this is just a legend. In reality, the underworld is not an annex of heaven, but rather an independent realm.

  The First Palace is Qin Guang Wang Jiang, born on the first day of the second month. The Ghost Judge's palace is located outside the sea of Wostone, facing west to the Yellow Spring Black Road. He is in charge of the book of life and death of human beings, guiding the spirits of the dead to the afterlife, and determining their fortunes or misfortunes. For all good people who have lived a full life, when they die, they will be escorted by the Yin messengers either to ascend to heaven or to be reborn into a rich and noble family. If a person's merits and demerits are equal, after death, they will be sent to the Tenth Palace of Yan Wang, and then reincarnated as an ordinary mortal again.

  To distinguish between good and evil, to know the extent of good and evil, and to make a judgment based on this, there is a mirror platform in the underworld called the Mirror Platform of Sin. It is one of the three treasures of the underworld. On the right side of the Mirror Platform Hall, the platform is about one zhang high, with a mirror ten chi in diameter hanging from it, facing east. Above it hangs a horizontal plaque inscribed with seven large characters: "No good people before the Mirror Platform." Especially for those ghosts who committed numerous evil deeds in the world of the living, they can see all their past sins as if watching a silent movie on the screen. Then, according to the crimes they committed, they are led by ghostly attendants to the second hall of hell to receive punishment. At that moment, they realize that even a million taels of gold cannot redeem them, and the guilt of a lifetime still clings to their bodies. Regret comes too late.

  This demonic mirror stand is one of the three treasures of the underworld, so it's extremely precious. In front of the mirror lies a Vengeful Spirit Stone, which is used to absorb the vengeful energy of evil ghosts and resentful spirits. This allows them to receive punishment before being reborn. As a result, this stone has accumulated a massive amount of vengeful energy; even one piece would be enough to brew great disaster. This is also why Wang Qianqiu was sent here. Once this Vengeful Spirit Stone is broken open, it will stir up countless resentful spirits and evil ghosts in the mortal world, causing originally ordinary resentful spirits and evil ghosts to become extremely powerful, leading to chaos throughout the land. It can even affect some wandering spirits and wild ghosts, turning them into evil ghosts as well.

  Upon hearing the three words "Jie Yuan Shi", Master's face changed, and he couldn't help but change color: "General Wang, such a confidential matter, only General Wang's team is afraid..."

  "We're just looking for the Ghost King, and with this small group of people, it's not enough to deal with him. As long as we find the Ghost King, the underworld will send a large army to surround and annihilate him. Master, you don't have to worry. It's just that the Ghost King needs only two or three months to break open the Grievance Stone. Time is limited, and we can't move during the day, so we thought of asking for your help." Wang Qianqiu's face turned serious, and he bowed his fist to Master.

  The master also didn't dare to pretend, he just nodded: "General, rest assured, at this time I will pass on the news to the sect and inform all the Taoist temples in the world to find out where the Ghost King is. I believe it should be found soon, but since it's a big deal, words are not credible, please let me take a look at the Yama Order, otherwise, this poor Taoist wouldn't dare to act arbitrarily."

  "That's natural, thank you for your kindness, Daozhang. This is the Yin Wang Order of Qin Guangwang and mine." With a wave of his hand, a black mist condensed instantly, and in the midst of the black mist, a token was faintly visible, surrounded by talismans that gave off an aura that made one want to kneel down.

  Taking a deep breath, the master clasped his hands together in a lotus shape and stretched out to receive the Yama King's order. Before it even touched him, the order had already fallen into his hands. The talisman characters flashed with divine light, and the information naturally entered the master's sea of consciousness. The voice information of Qin Guangwang was impossible to fake. If there were ten halls of Yan Luo's means, there would be no need to impersonate Qin Guangwang. Therefore, the master did not suspect anything and returned the Yama King's order, his expression already very serious.

  After a moment's thought, the master took out several yellow talismans from his bosom and quickly folded them into paper cranes. He then pricked his finger and dotted the paper cranes with blood, muttering to himself: "The red book descends, wind and fire without interval. The spirit responds to orders, the golden horse relay conveys. The Great Supreme Elder Lord hastens as if by imperial decree, pardoning."

  Master did it very simply, just threw the paper crane, and those paper cranes were suspended in mid-air. With a flash of golden light, they had already transformed into five or six pigeons. Following Master's pointing direction, the pigeons flew towards their destinations one by one. What I couldn't understand was why Master folded paper cranes but the magic transformed them into pigeons. Moreover, what made me even more depressed was that Master wanted my finger heads. Such a solemn and serious matter, yet Master still didn't forget to play a trick on me with my blood, leaving me speechless. This master of mine is really an oddball.

  Cutting to the chase, Master Wang Qianqiu finished speaking and made a single-handed salute: "Infinite blessings, General Wang. I have already sent word to the Quanzhen School's Baiyun Temple ancestral hall, as well as to Longhushan, Maoshan, Luofu, Kunlun, and Qingcheng, informing them of the situation. I believe that soon each sect will dispatch capable disciples to investigate the matter of Gui Wang. Even if Gui Wang is hiding in a very secure location, he won't be able to evade the search by the various sects' doors. General Wang, please wait for news; as soon as there is any, I will notify you."

  Who would have thought that Wang Qianqiu would smile and say: "Daozhang, don't worry, even if all the Daoist sects in the world help find it, I wouldn't dare to slack off. Please, let's search together, and chat to our heart's content——"

  The master's face twitched, but he couldn't refuse, so he quickly came up with an excuse: "General Wang, it's not that my disciples and I aren't putting in enough effort. For such a big matter, we will definitely go all out to investigate the whereabouts of the Ghost King. However, as you can see, we are currently trapped in this spider web, so we need to think of a way to get out first..."

  "Haha - I thought it was a big deal, but this is just a small matter, leave it to me and I'll clear your names. You two can then be free." Wang Qianqiu made it clear that he wouldn't let us off, and my master was taken aback, looking at me back and forth. The two of us were very helpless, yet couldn't refuse, so we could only nod in agreement.

  Unexpectedly, after a night of turmoil, Wang Qian led the yin soldiers to make another round at the Public Security Bureau before dawn, even taking away an old man who was waiting for death in the family courtyard. This shocked the people at the Public Security Bureau, causing them to be frightened out of their wits. However, an unexpected change occurred: by the next day, no one came to interrogate me. Instead, a female police officer named Mu Qing rushed over with my belongings and, upon seeing me and my master, looked embarrassed: "Miao Daochang, Liu Hai, I'm really sorry for wasting so much of your time. We've confirmed that Zhang Yanqiu's case has nothing to do with Liu Hai. Today, I have orders from Director Li to release you."

  As a result, I opened my stuff to take a look, and the mobile phone wallet, octagonal mirror, and a pack of cigarettes lighter were all there, but I felt a bit strange in my heart. I just went out like this, but this was obviously not what I wanted. I hummed: "You are too overboard, suspecting me for no reason, locking me up for several days, eating poorly and sleeping badly, treating me as a suspect for interrogation, and now inexplicably letting me go out, it's not that easy."

  Mu Qing let out a soft cry, her face slightly changed. However, thinking that the director had also instructed her, she gritted her teeth and said: "I know it's our fault, so the director said we can give some compensation accordingly. Here is 10,000 yuan, which is the compensation for these few days. The director also said that our mistake delayed your business, so I want to sincerely apologize to you..."

  I was just about to mock Mu Qing, but it turned out that the police were scared off by the mysterious troops last night. Today's urgency is like sending a plague god. I'm not trying to take advantage of the situation, but I'm also very uncomfortable with this. Just as I was about to speak up, Master suddenly lit up his eyes and pulled me into a hearty laugh: "Young one, don't you quickly take it? This is what you should have taken. Haven't you stayed here long enough?"

  I don't know what the master means, but since he spoke up, I nodded and reluctantly handed over the 10,000 yuan. I glared at Mu Qing: "This matter is not over yet. I'll be watching you bring the murderer to justice. If you can't do it, I'll intervene later."

  Mu Qing didn't say a word, only awkwardly smiled at me, and I hummed a sound before walking out, casually throwing 10,000 yuan to the master. My family isn't rich, but we're not so poor that we'd stoop for 10,000 yuan; this isn't my style. But unexpectedly, the master didn't take it, instead looking like he was scalded by the money and threw it back at me with a glare: "Even close brothers don't calculate accounts clearly, you and I are master and apprentice, what's yours is yours, how could I take it? Take it back, take it back!"

  The master's appearance made me a little dazed, and I looked at the master in confusion. Didn't the master ask us to collect it? Looking at the master's two shining eyes, could it be that the master didn't want this ten thousand yuan? Scratching my head and sighing: "Master, I'm your apprentice, what's mine is yours, so you'd better take it as an elder."

  I thought it was a good intention, but then I saw the master's face turn stern and he scolded me: "Nonsense! Your grandfather and I still have to settle accounts, let alone you and I as master and apprentice. What belongs to you, take it well; what doesn't belong to you, don't even think about it. A Taoist disciple must have some discipline and rules."

  I reluctantly tightened my grip on the money in my pocket, feeling that something was off. I glanced at Master and indeed saw a hint of bitterness and helplessness on his face. Suddenly, I thought to myself, "With Master's skills, he shouldn't be short of money." I changed my mind and lowered my voice, saying: "Master, I know you don't care about this small amount of money. You must be wealthy now, right?"

  "My family's wealth is all gone, Master. I'm a penniless scholar, with only 28 yuan and 50 cents on me, barely enough for a meal, can't even afford to stay in an inn... Alas, it's hard to put into words, let's just not talk about it..." Bringing up the master's heartache, speaking more would bring tears.

  As they spoke, they had already left the detention center. Today's Public Security Bureau was unusually quiet. Occasionally, a few police officers walked by with panicked faces. Some people sprayed Buddha statues, some held rosary beads, and some wore talismans on their necks. In short, everyone was armed to ward off evil spirits and avoid calamity. What was going on?