Chapter 1: The Haunted Yōlin (Part 1)

  Ding Lingxiu was very clear that he had done nothing wrong, so he was fearless and did not resist or panic excessively. He only wondered why he was being caught.

  This inner turmoil is even more severe than fear.

  Ding Lingxiu and Zhang Shanyi were pushed by the four ghostly guards into the underworld, they only discovered when they entered the door that there was no front yard in the underworld, and they could directly enter this vast hall by pushing open the bronze gate at the entrance.

  But after entering the underworld, there was no main hall, and they came directly to a corridor. This corridor was complex and confusing, like a maze.

  They had been walking in the ancient corridor for a long time, but Ding Lingxiu didn't know how far they had gone. It seemed that they were still wandering around the same place, and the scenery around them hadn't changed at all. The walls on both sides of the corridor were made of white marble, with reliefs of the eighteen layers of hell. In the red light, the ghosts and monsters on the reliefs looked lifelike, their teeth bared and claws outstretched, as if they were about to jump off the wall at any moment, making people feel a chill run down their spines.

  "Where are you two going to take me?" Zhang Shanyi rebuked Luo Cheng.

  Luocha didn't even glance at him and walked forward on his own, Zhang Shanyi shouted a few more times, but Luocha turned a deaf ear.

  They continued walking with their heads down, and occasionally strange cries echoed through the corridor, accompanied by stern shouts and the sound of whips cracking. Occasionally, one or two ghostly soldiers would walk by, nodding at Luo Sha in greeting, who would also respond with a haughty gesture, exuding an air of authority.

  Footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, disorderly and confusing, making a knocking sound that touched people's heartstrings.

  After a long time, the corridor finally changed. The corner in front of them was obviously an open area. The red glow there turned slightly white, and some people's conversations came from that place.

  As they approached the bend, they found that the corridor ended in a magnificent golden palace.

  The ghostly soldier gave them a push and shouted loudly:

  "Go in."

  The two were pushed into the great hall, and the great hall that had just been making some noise suddenly became quiet, almost to the point where one could hear a pin drop.

  They only then realized that they seemed to have come at the wrong time.

  Inside the grand hall, it was solemn and majestic. All the ghostly officials and attendants were kneeling on the ground with reverence, holding something similar to a memorial in their hands. However, due to the red glow inside the grand hall, the resolution of objects wasn't very high. It wasn't until Ding Lingyu really took a closer look that he was slightly stunned. He discovered that what they were holding were actually Pads that were slightly smaller than those from the mortal world.

  On the grand hall, a middle-aged man wearing a black suit with a subtle pattern sat upright at a black stone desk. The man had a refined and elegant appearance, but between his eyebrows was a deep wrinkle that seemed to be even deeper than the yin-yang eyes, making him look like he was angry. Although the man's appearance was amiable, his movements were extremely sharp and powerful, with two bright red eyes that seemed to see through everything in a cold and severe manner, making people dare not gaze at him directly.

  Next to the middle-aged man stood a bespectacled female secretary, whose skin was either naturally rosy or illuminated by the grand hall's lighting, making her complexion radiantly flushed and endearingly shy. Her slender figure complemented a bright orange dress, looking both elegant and casual, while her dark hair appeared slightly damp, sparsely draped over her shoulders, yet surprisingly not disheveled.

  After Ding Lingxiu and the others walked in, the entire main hall fell silent, with almost everyone's eyes fixed on them, including the middle-aged man sitting at the top of the hall and the beautiful woman beside him.

  That beautiful female secretary glanced at Ding Lingxiu, adjusted her glasses, combed back her hair and leaned over to whisper something in the middle-aged man's ear.

  Luocha also realized that his appearance was a bit abrupt, and he grabbed a handful of thin hair, bowed respectfully, and whispered a few words to the ghost soldiers beside him. The four ghost soldiers escorted Ding Lingxiu and Zhang Shanyi to one side.

  After a while, I saw Ding Lingxiu and the others shrink to the wall, and the other ghost officials under the main hall also turned their heads back, continuing to gaze at the main hall devoutly.

  The man on top of the great hall waved his hand and said in a loud voice:

  "Everyone loves you for who you are."

  As soon as the words were spoken, the yin messengers of the palace quickly got up and stood still with their Pads in hand, seemingly searching for some information on them. Meanwhile, Ding Lingxiu and others stood behind the main hall, but several yin messengers in the back row were actually playing games, seemingly claiming rewards from a timed activity.

  Zhang Shanyi looked at the man in the great hall and whispered to Ding Lingxiu:

  "Could that man be King Yanluo? I didn't expect him to look so refined."

  Ding Lingxiu nodded, in his impression, Yanluo Wang should also be like Zhang Fei, with a full beard and a cold gaze, but the Yanluo Wang in front of them now, except for the inverted frown on his forehead that made him look somewhat stern, at first glance was just a very down-to-earth chairman of a large corporation.

  Rakshasa glared at them, gritting his teeth and whispering a rebuke.

  "Shut up, you two."

  Zhang Shanyi gave him a white eye and shifted his gaze to the main hall.

  Only in the great hall, Yanluo Wang's expression was solemn, his hands were crossed and placed on the table, his cold eyes scanned the officials below, and he slowly opened his mouth to ask:

  "My dear sirs, is there anything you need to report during tonight's court?"

  "Late court?" Ding Lingxiu heard this term and felt a sense of doubt, involuntarily blurting it out.

  Zhang Shanyi whispered beside Ding Lingshu:

  "Brother Ding, in this underworld, there is no morning, so there's only evening and dawn. Their time is also special; although they use the lunar calendar like humans, it's reversed - from New Year's Eve to the first day of the new year, which is actually the last day of the old year."

  Ding Lingxiu nodded and said:

  "No wonder."

  Under the grand hall, these ghostly officials held up their pads to cover their faces and whispered to each other, seemingly deeply engrossed in discussion. However, Ding Lingyu once again clearly heard that the topic of conversation among several officials in the back row was actually about playing mahjong, which had nothing to do with politics. He couldn't help but think that this formalism seemed to be prevalent not only in the human world, but also in the underworld.

  One after another, some yin messengers raised some insignificant issues, and Yanluo Wang's face also showed some fatigue. At this time, a tall-faced yin messenger walked up to the main hall from among the officials, holding a Pad in his hand, his originally long face seemed to be pulled even longer, looking somewhat puzzled, he bowed his hands to Yanluo Wang and said:

  "Your Honor Yan Wang, this new head of punishment in the Oil Cauldron Hell is a pervert, and the number of people complaining about him has been increasing lately."

  As he spoke, the long-faced man handed the Pad in his hand over to Yanluo Wang.

  "Oh?"

  Yan Luo Wang was somewhat skeptical, stroking his chin with his hand.

  The big long face continued:

  "Your Honor, King Yan, this little scoundrel is really a pervert. Every time he pushes people into the oil cauldron, he forces them to go down in pairs, hugging each other."

  Yan Wang listened, somewhat crying and laughing, he took over the Pad, found that it was a photo, looked at the person, frowned, and then glanced at the female secretary beside him.

  The female secretary hastily lowered her head, carefully looking at the person on the Pad, and seemed to have recognized him with just a glance. She covered Yan Wang's ear with her delicate hand and whispered secretly.

  Yan Wang nodded while showing a hint of a smile, after listening, he became serious again and handed the Pad back to the tall-faced man.

  "Ah, I forgot to tell you, this little guy used to be a fried dough stick maker when he was alive, and he didn't put down his craft."

  "Huh?"

  He left with a helpless expression on his face.

  The next few were some unenthusiastic memorials, and King Yanluo seemed to be getting a bit annoyed. He looked down at the grand hall below, where there were still several yin officials waiting in line to speak. He couldn't help but curl his lip, and the female secretary beside him noticed his thoughts. She cleared her throat and called out to a white-clad yin official below:

  "Bai Wuchang, Lord Yanluo Wang felt severe stomach discomfort after getting up this morning. You'd better go find a doctor quickly."

  As soon as the secretary finished speaking, King Yan immediately covered his stomach and furrowed his brow. The officials below saw this and dispersed, including those who had just lined up to report.

  I thought Bai Wuchang would leave with a nod, but unexpectedly he made a bow and replied: "Report to King Yan, have you forgotten? Doctors always snatch people's heads from our underworld, King Yan, you hate them to the bone, so our underworld has no doctors!"

  Yan Wang's heart was filled with resentment, thinking to himself that he didn't know the underworld had no doctors. This Bai Wuchang was truly brainless, after a thousand years still acting like an old fool. Yan Wang's eyes widened in anger and his tone changed as he shouted: "Then what do you want me to do?"

  Bai Wuchang couldn't help but smile, with a flattering expression, and said: "Why don't I give you a stomach wash?"

  Yan Wang was taken aback and thought to himself, "When did this guy learn the art of saving lives?" He couldn't help but feel suspicious and curious, so he asked in a cold tone:

  "Stomach washing? What's the method?"

  Bai Wuchang smiled and stuck out his tongue, saying:

  "Let my long tongue reach into your belly and wash it!"

  "Get out..."