Chapter 1: Strange Phenomena in the Underworld

  After messing around in the security room of the residential area for half a day, until late at night, the three people finally drove away. He Jucai and Chen Zhenhua sat in one car, and Huang Aiguo returned home alone halfway. He Jucai went to Chen Zhenhua's residence, and as soon as they entered the house, they lit three incense sticks and deeply inhaled them like drug addicts. In order to maintain their spiritual health, the two also had to eat some food.

  Chen Zhenhua is the one who cooks, while Huo Jucai can't do household chores. After all, he's been living in a wealthy family and the person he's currently possessing is also a rich young master. He's used to having everything served on a silver platter, so if he had to live a frugal life, it would be worse than being stuck in hell.

  So while Chen Zhenhua was busy, he could only admire Chen Zhenhua's room.

  In Chen Zhenhua's bedroom, there were several sets of police uniforms and two photos of the policeman who had been shot before. The photos were placed on the headboard. If you didn't know that the policeman was timid, judging from the photos alone, this policeman looked quite majestic.

  Facing the photo, Huo Jucai felt a surge of emotion. Before, he only thought about living a life of playing games with people, driving around with girls every day, and drifting aimlessly. After dying once, he made great progress and now understands a truth - what one wants in life is to be admired by others. In the past, relying on his father's hard work and wealth, he became an object of envy for many people, as well as an object of jealousy. Greedy and vain girls sacrificed their bodies to swindle money from him.

  At that time, he was generous with his money and spent it lavishly.

  When the red lights of the city's bars reflect off the silver cups in the hands of the glamorous women, and the rotating disco balls witness their wild laughter, Huo Jucai's friends would call him, and then they would all waste their lives away in places like bars and nightclubs. The men would drink and sing non-stop, pretending to be drunk, until it was time for Huo Jucai to stumble around and pay the bill with his credit card. Meanwhile, the flashy women would swing their hips and shake their buttocks in front of the men's bloodshot eyes, making silvery sounds as they talked about their undying love for Huo Jucai, until he took them on a shopping spree to buy diamond necklaces and rings at jewelry stores, and only then would their passionate love for him temporarily subside.

  Such a life went on day after day and year after year. Huo Jucai was also drunk every day because he had been staying in the bar for a long time.

  Because of frequent visits to bars and nightclubs, he got into a car accident while driving home drunk one time. The car crashed into a large tree on the side of the highway, and he was thrown out of the vehicle, his body hanging from the branches, with a branch piercing through his chest. He died instantly. When the ferryman of the dead came to collect his soul, he could still see his parents standing guard over his body in extreme grief, and only they were so sorrowful. Those "brothers" who had been close friends with him during his lifetime were nowhere to be seen, and those women who had loved him to death seemed to have vanished into thin air. So, he regretted not listening to his parents' words, regretted befriending that group of rascals, and even more regretted knowing that group of flirtatious women. Previously, he thought his life was enviable, so he was proud, but only after death did he realize that in people's hearts, he had always been a useless person.

  He Lan Jingqiu and others came out of the underworld, he saw that group of men and women friends who went in and out of bars and dance halls again. Those people were living happily too, they had new prey, surrounding the new prey all night, he looked at it with a bitter smile in his heart.

  One time he went to a bar and ran into several friends from his past life. Those people saw him take out a large sum of money, just like before, and they were very enthusiastic towards this new body and identity of his. So he wanted to try to probe what kind of impression he had left on these people in the past.

  "I heard that there is a rich merchant in this city with the surname Huo, and his son's name is Huo Jucui. Do you know him? I heard he likes to go to bars and nightclubs." He pretended to ask a drunk man who was talking nonsense next to him.

  "How did you think of asking him?" the man said, putting his hand on his shoulder in a friendly and intimate manner. Just like an old friend, although they had just met for the first time.

  "It's like this," said Huo Jucai. "He owes me money, I've been looking for him for a long time, and heard he likes to hang out in these nightclubs, so I came to ask around."

  "So that's how it is," the man said, "That good-for-nothing still owes me money? Of course I know him, we used to be in love too, but he's already kicked the bucket, damn it, what a short-lived devil."

  "Do you often hang out together?" Huo Jucai's eyes rolled around, "Then your relationship is very good, huh?"

  "Who the hell is related to him?" The man poured himself another bottle of beer and said loudly, "That son of a bitch relies on his family having some stinky money to be arrogant, we've been looking at him with disdain for a long time. If it weren't for his wealth, we would have beaten him up."

  Upon hearing these words, Huo Jucai felt a mix of regret and anger. He hated the man and he also hated himself. His eyes bulged with rage, as if he wanted to strangle the drunkard in front of him to death.

  It wasn't until then that he realized that family ties were the most important, and life should be cherished. Cherishing life means letting limited life play infinite value, so in his desperate attempt to survive, he had no choice but to choose the city management with an aura of majesty in the eyes of street vendors.

  He stared blankly at the photo, admiring the police profession from the bottom of his heart. Today, seeing Chen Zhenhua's busy appearance, he admired him for being able to help those in need, even Ruan Jiaolü's soul came to ask for his help. In contrast, he spent his days following the city management personnel, driving around the city, yelling at vendors selling small goods on the street, confiscating their carts, breaking their scales, and scolding them like a local tyrant. The vendors would shrink back, nodding and bowing, saying "sorry" several times before they would leave with satisfaction.

  He put on Chen Zhenhua's police uniform, including the cap, and stood in front of a large mirror to adjust his clothes. He turned around and took a look at himself from different angles, then saluted the mirror with a military salute.

  "Do you want to be a police officer?" Chen Zhenhua went in and called him to eat, looking at him wearing a police uniform and not wanting to take it off, so he smiled and asked, "Isn't working at the Urban Management Bureau good? The work is easy, unlike me, when I encounter a case, I get worried."

  Huo Jucai sighed, took off his hat, walked out of the room and sat down at the dinner table, saying: "People are envious because they don't understand! Just like me, I used to be arrogant because my family had money, now the object I'm attached to is also a 'rich second generation', with many people surrounding me, I know how fake that is, but I don't want to live a life relying on a meager salary either."

  "But compared to your behavior before you died, your current thinking has made quite a bit of progress!" Chen Zhenhua followed him out and sat down opposite Ho Jufei, looking at him.

  "I want to help you," said Huo Jucai. "What can I do for you? I should also be able to handle the case."

  "And us!"

  Just as Ho Jucai's voice fell, a gloomy voice came from outside, and the two of them looked out to see two things floating in through the window, one black and one white. Chen Zhenhua and Ho Jucai recognized them and shouted in unison: "Hei Bai Wu Chang?!"

  "Are you two still looking for Ruan Jiaolü's soul?" Chen Zhenhua asked as he stood up.

  "Not bad!" Hei Wuchang said, "I don't know where this woman drifted to, we two looked for so long and couldn't find her, she really can hide."

  "What's the point of finding her?" Huo Jucai said, "Ran Jiaolü is quite pitiful, just let him off."

  "That's not possible!" Bai Wuchang said, "Capturing souls is originally my responsibility. We both sympathize with her, but we also can't neglect our duties."

  "This can be discussed later," Chen Zhenhua got up to get bowls of rice, he only took two sets of bowls and chopsticks, because Hei Bai Wu Chang didn't eat, after taking a mouthful of rice, he continued to say, "Has your company started business?"

  "Just opened for business," said Hei Wuchang, "business is not bad. Oh, right, we came this time also to tell you something. The Yama Temple has issued a notice that the eighteen layers of hell in the underworld will be rebuilt. The project has been contracted out to Tuhai Sun. Yama said that the underworld is facing financial difficulties and requires residents of the underworld to pay taxes per capita. If anyone does not pay taxes, the Yama Temple will not issue him a pass to visit relatives in the world on July 13th."

  "What does this have to do with us?" said Huo Jucai.

  "Of course," said Bai Wuchang, "aren't you a part of the underworld?"

  "Even if we do, our wages aren't paid by the King of Hell, are they?" said Huo Jucai. "Besides, repairing the eighteen layers of hell is the King of Hell's business, don't ghosts pay taxes every year?"

  "Besides, we were already in Yang's territory, so he couldn't threaten us even if he didn't issue a pass," said Chen Zhenhua.

  "You will also have a way to deal with him in the Yang world, expel your household registration in the Yin world, and at that time your soul will not be able to find its place and disappear into nothingness." Hei Wu Chang said.

  "But we are sent by King Yan to learn management experience in the mortal world. I think King Yan won't treat us like that, will he?" Chen Zhenhua said.

  "It's not necessarily so, your names that were taxed are also on the notice. This time we came to find you is still Yan Wang's order. Lan Jingqiu and Qian Xiaoying both told me, this time it's specially come to find you, since Brother Huo is here too, then we don't need to run again."

  "Renovating the eighteen layers of hell is indeed expensive. How can this business be given to that dwarf, Tuhang Sun?" Chen Zhenhua asked.

  "We don't know, we just heard that it was originally contracted to Erlang Shen, but later Yan Wangye went to heaven for a meeting, Erlang Shen's dog bit Yan Wangye, and Yan Wangye asked Erlang Shen to pay the medical expenses. Erlang Shen refused, and Yan Wangye was so angry that he gave the project to that dwarf. And then after Tuhao Sun became a god, he has been doing construction projects." said Hei Wuchang.

  "Who cares who it is," said Huo Jucai, "I just want to be able to live a carefree and happy life in the world."

  "I also have a favor to ask of you," Chen Zhenhua said, "When you return to the underworld, can you help me ask that Zhang Yuan who killed him and who was the mastermind behind his killing of Ruan Jiaolü? As long as the case is solved, you will be able to find Ruan Jiaolü and report back to Yan Wang's temple."

  "Don't count on Zhang Yuan anymore," said Bai Wuchang, "That kid is extremely unlucky. When we brought his soul to the underworld, we passed by Naihe Bridge and were robbed by those ghosts selling Meng Po's soup. He was accidentally pushed down from the bridge and hit his head on a rock, resulting in amnesia."