Chapter 4 The Mission of the Family

  Yang Hao looked at the old man in front of him, a departure from his usual leisurely demeanor, now exuding an icy sternness. A red ghost mask covered his face, a black official robe draped over his body, and a pair of piercing eyes... Yang Hao couldn't believe what he was seeing, the person standing before him was actually his father who had watched him grow up since childhood.

  "Dad...Dad!! How could you....?? What's going on??"

  Yang Shu threw out a sentence and called in the White-Faced Judge. The two of them whispered to each other for quite a while before the White-Faced Judge hesitated for a moment, then turned around and left.

  "Hao Hao, this matter is a bit troublesome, you know what kind of place this is?" Yang Hao nodded foolishly.

  "Now that you know, I don't need to explain much, this is a place where it's easy to get in but hard to get out of. Some things are not easy to handle."

  Originally, the probability of a living person entering Meng Po is very small, but from ancient times to the present, there have been no shortage of such people. Correspondingly, the countermeasures are as follows: First, change one's yang life to yin life, with one day in yang life equivalent to one year in yin life. Stay in Meng Po's government office and do some scattered work while waiting for reincarnation. This is more common and often targets people with good deeds. Second, use Meng Po soup to erase their memories before being reborn. However, human memory is continuous and interrelated, and Meng Po soup does not have the function of eliminating a certain segment of memory. Therefore, if a living person drinks Meng Po soup, even if they are reborn, they will lose all their memories, including language, and will become an idiot or go crazy until the end of their yang life when they reincarnate. The above methods apply to ordinary people, excluding great practitioners.

  The two men fell into contemplation, Yang Hao couldn't understand why his father had appeared here and seemed to have a high status. Meanwhile, Yang Shu was considering how to deal with Yang Hao's situation. The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

  "Excuse me... let's take a step aside and talk." The White-Faced Ghost Judge walked in at this moment and called Yang Shu over to one side.

  "Uh... yeah... okay..."

  After two people consulted with each other, Yang Shu's expression relaxed a lot and turned his head to look at Yang Hao and said.

  "Hao Hao, you must be hungry, I'll have someone bring some food over." Later, he handed a token to the ghost judge, who then exited the back hall. Not long after, the back hall was filled with a table of delicious dishes. Yang Hao had been walking on the Yellow Spring Road for a day and a night, and when he saw this table of food, his stomach churned and saliva flowed...

  "Dad, eat quickly!"

  "No, I still have something to do, you eat first, and let Guizhen know when you're done"

  "Hmm..." Yang Hao didn't think much of it and quickly gobbled up his food. Yang Shu turned around and walked out the door, but he didn't go far, standing at the entrance watching his son. His heart was filled with melancholy...

  Not long after, Yang Hao put down his bowl and chopsticks, letting out a sigh of relief. Just as he was savoring the flavor of the food, a strong wave of drowsiness washed over him. Yang Hao thought to himself, "They say that when you're starving and then full, you'll feel tired afterwards. But it shouldn't come on this quickly, should it?" He shook his head vigorously, trying to shake off the sleepiness, but it was no use. The drowsiness only grew stronger, until he finally collapsed onto the table. Yang Shu saw that the effect had taken hold and walked into the room, personally picking up his son and sighing, "Alas...the arrangements of fate are indeed mysterious..." The ghostly judge beside him took over Yang Hao, turned around, and left.

  He didn't know how long he had slept, but Yang Hao woke up and stretched, just sitting up, only to find himself lying on a bed, wondering what was going on, when the White-Faced Ghost Judge walked in.

  "Are you awake? The adults are waiting for you..." He said, handing him a set of clothes.

  Yang Hao put on his official uniform and arrived at the grand hall with Gui Pan. He saw his father sitting at the public case, looking serious as he gazed at him.

  "Yang Hao... although you are my son, but that doesn't mean you can be partial to yourself. In front of justice, we must prioritize public interest over personal relationships. Can you understand?"

  "Hmm..." Looking at his father's serious face, he also knew that sometimes people are not in control of their own actions. After all, being a police officer for so many years wasn't for nothing.

  "Now that you understand, you come answer my 3 questions first"

  "Tell me, if our positions were reversed today, would you let me live?" Yang Shu said solemnly.

  "I won't... I will follow the rules"

  "Okay, secondly, if doing something right would still land you in 18 levels of hell, are you sure you want to do it?"

  "How can good people go to hell?"

  "Just answer me..."

  "As long as it doesn't go against my conscience and isn't a wicked or evil thing, I'll do it."

  "Alright, last one, can you keep the things in the underworld a secret?"

  "Hmm... I will, even if I said it, no one would believe me"

  Yang Hao didn't expect the problem to be so simple, but seemingly simple problems are often the most difficult to solve. Yang Shu listened to his son's answer and turned his head to look at Gui Pan, seeing that Gui Pan also nodded in agreement. At this time, a rare smile appeared on Yang Shu's face, he stood up and slowly walked to his son's side.

  "Son, Dad has no choice either... Listen to me"

  Yang Shu began to talk about the secrets related to himself and his entire family. It turned out that Yang Hao's family had always been a yang difference, starting from many generations ago, with this special mission. By the time of Yang Shu's generation, it was the most glorious one, but Yang Shu did not want his son to continue this mission. Once someone came into contact with this job, they could not turn back and would be trapped in danger for life, unable to control their own fate. During the day, they had to pretend to be a normal person in the human world, while at night, they had to work in the underworld. One mistake would lead to eternal damnation. It was not as simple as it seemed on the surface, with all its grandeur and majesty. Therefore, Yang Shu only wanted his son to live a peaceful life as an ordinary person, happy and carefree until old age. For this reason, he, who should have retired, took on his son's mission again and recited the 9999th Bhikkhu Sutra of the Benevolent King Bodhisattva in front of the Eastern Emperor. He thought that this mission would end with his generation, but unexpectedly, his son was injured by a ghost while executing his task, and his yang energy had not dissipated, causing him to mistakenly arrive at the Ghost City of Fengdu. All of this was beyond Yang Shu's imagination. At this point, Yang Shu naturally did not want to use either of the two methods to deal with his son. Yang Hao was still young, unmarried, and had not experienced many of the joys of human life - how could he be left in the underworld? The second method was even more unthinkable. Therefore, the only solution was to let Yang Hao continue as a yang difference officer and return to the human world. This was also an unavoidable solution, so when Yang Shu first saw his son, he sighed repeatedly. Yang Hao listened to his father's bitter words and felt moved to tears. He then comforted him...

  "Dad, since fate has arranged things this way, let's just accept it with pleasure. Actually, it's not a big deal, you've been through all these years, haven't you?"

  Yang Shu couldn't help but smile wryly and nodded his head.

  "Hey, Dad, how did I end up lying here in the living room with just this on when I woke up earlier?"

  "Haha, that was specially prepared by me. Otherwise, you wouldn't have the qualifications to become a Yang Cha." Yang Shu said, leading Yang Hao to sit down and continue explaining.

  Ever since Yang Hao ate that meal, he would feel drowsy, completely due to Yang Shu's masterpiece. That meal wasn't actually food, but rather energy... living people eat rice as their staple food, while ghosts and gods eat energy. That meal was just a transformation of energy, and Yang Shu had also cast a spell in the energy, causing Yang Hao to fall into a deep sleep.

  Afterwards, the ghost judge performed surgery on Yang Hao's entire body, including his meridians, bones, and even his five senses, making the greatest possible improvements. The soul and body have a connection that is as thin as a thread... although they seem to be separated, as long as there is still a hint of yang energy left, the yin soul that has escaped can return to the physical body.

  However, Yang Hao's original body had already been severely injured and couldn't be used again. Therefore, the changes made to his yin soul were equivalent to directly regrowing bones and changing tendons on his physical body. Yang Shu said this, then called over the ghost judge.

  "Afterwards, Gui Pan will teach you some methods of ghostly cultivation. When the time comes, you can naturally return to the world of the living."

  "How long will it take?"

  "Quickly it will be 1-2 years, slowly it will be 6-7 years"

  "For so long? Dad, isn't my physical body rotten yet?"

  "Foolish child, one year underground is just one day above ground. 6 or 7 years are merely 6 or 7 days in the world of the living."

  Yang Shu finished speaking, patted Yang Hao's head, smiled and then indicated that they could go to practice. The ghost judge led Yang Hao outwards.

  Six years have passed in the underworld, and for Yang Hao, these years were a torture, but the effect also made him feel relieved. One day, Yang Hao's spirit suddenly became bright all over, and around him gradually emerged seven colors of light: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and cyan. Yang Shu saw this and knew that the day of his rebirth had arrived, so he found him and gave him a thorough explanation before Yang Hao came back to life.

  "Hao Hao, are you done washing up? The food is almost cold!" came Yang Hao's mother's voice from outside the door.

  "Oh... I'm fine now" Yang Hao woke up from his daze, looked at his hands and eyes, everything seemed normal again, turned off the shower, changed into new clothes, and walked out.

  As soon as he walked out the door, Yang Hao caught a whiff of something savory and hastily made his way to the table, his stomach growling with anticipation. He hadn't eaten in ages - six years in the underworld had left him surviving on nothing but air. The sight of all that chicken, duck, fish, and meat was almost too much for him to bear, and he dug in without even bothering to pick up chopsticks, devouring his food like a starving tiger just down from the mountains. His parents were forgotten in the face of such epicurean delight, as he chomped away with abandon. Yang Hao's mother watched from the side, tears streaming down her face... but they were happy tears, tears of joy and contentment.

  "Slow down while eating, no one is competing with you." Yang Shu handed him the chopsticks, he didn't have a hand to take them, so he hinted at it with his eyes and continued eating and laughing foolishly. The whole family returned to their previous warmth once again.

  "Don't be foolish and stare at him, let's eat too." Yang Shu picked up a piece of chicken leg and handed it to his mother, just as she put it in her mouth, the phone rang... Yang Shu put down his bowl and chopsticks and answered the phone.

  "Hello?"

  "Is that Uncle Yang? I'm Huang Kai... I understand how you feel, but the dead can't be brought back to life. It's already been 7 days, my superior is urging me to hand in the forensic report, take a look at Yang Hao's body..."

  "What??? Uncle Yang, what are you talking about?? Ah Hao isn't dead? How is that possible?"

  "Don't you believe me? Let him tell you himself." Yang Hao wiped his greasy mouth and took the phone.

  "Hey.... Huang Ge ~ it's me..."

  “………”

  "Hey? Speak up! You let the bullets fly in vain? Brother Huang?"

  "Really... really is... you??? Ah Hao???"

  "Who else could it be? I'm fine, just having dinner at home. Have you guys eaten yet? If not, come over and let's have dinner together..."

  "Alright... you... save me a seat, I... I'll go with Guo Zhi."

  Huang Kai seemed to have been stimulated, put down the phone, and stared blankly at that spot. Anyone else would probably have had the same reaction. Huang Kai had been a cop for so many years, yet he couldn't even tell dead people from live ones?? He couldn't believe his judgment was wrong. As he stood there in a daze, Guo Zhi walked over.

  "Huang Ge, something has happened again at Lijiao Bay, here is the result of the investigation and on-site inspection of the deceased"

  "Country... Country Wisdom... You're just in time, let's go to Ah Hao's house right away... Come on, follow me." After finishing speaking, he didn't wait for Guo Zhi's reaction and pulled his arm to head out.

  "What's wrong? What happened? Where are you going? Ah! There's still a case here!"

  "Ah... no need to talk nonsense, you'll know when we get there." Huang Kai dragged Guo Zhi onto the car and drove towards Yang Hao's home.