Chapter 1: Strange Phenomena in the Underworld

  The Yama Temple is not far from a large, independent house that is also shrouded in dark energy. The walls are old and worn out, covered with dust and spider webs. There is only one window on this house, and inside, a lamp that never goes out is lit. Although the light is not too bright, it's still visible from outside. If you stand outside, you can see many desks and chairs arranged inside, which makes it clear that this is a classroom or at least looks like one. It's usually very quiet here, and almost no one comes unless the underworld is about to hold an ascension exam, when it becomes bustling with people.

  It's hard to say what date it was, after all, the calendar of the underworld and the world above may not be calculated in the same way. Anyway, after hearing the big horn on the roof of Yan Wang's temple sound three times, those ghostly shadows went towards that house like water, holding brushes and other tools for the exam, and soon stood in front of the spacious house, some ghosts who had taken exams in the mortal world couldn't help but tremble at the sight of this so-called examination hall.

  The house also has two black lacquered doors, and on the side of the door is posted an examination system, with content written about fairness and justice, similar to what people write.

  When the trumpet sounded for the fourth time, a middle-aged ghost wearing a long shirt walked over. Although he was middle-aged, his head was already bald, with only a dozen silver threads growing on the back of his head. His eyes were sunken, his nose was not collapsed but also not very straight, and his mouth was thin, with all his teeth gone. It is said that he was a scholar in the late Qing dynasty who had just passed the imperial examination when the Xinhai Revolution broke out. The emperor's throne was not even secure, let alone these newly successful scholars. In a panic, he escaped from the capital but was caught by a group of bandits in a mountainous area and tortured for several days and nights. They knocked out his teeth one by one, making him wish he were dead. Finally, he was brutally murdered. When he arrived at the underworld, King Yan saw that he was pitiful and let him be his secretary, helping King Yan and the judges handle some trivial matters. As for the bandits who killed him, they had bad luck after they died. He was happy to have avenged himself, and especially cruelly, each of them was put in a pot of oil and fried into an oil strip.

  At this time, he held a large bunch of keys, selected one from among them and inserted it into the rusty old lock on the locked gate. With a "click" sound, the door was opened, and a cloud of smoke and dust flew out, accompanied by a musty smell that rushed towards each candidate.

  After the gate opened, the examinees - if they could be called that - poured in like a flood, finding their seats in the classroom filled with eight immortals' tables, and then waited for the underworld judge to come and distribute the test papers.

  They all hold brushes - this is a problem created by humans, a big problem that has not been solved until now and may continue for a long time. People burn TVs, sedan chairs, cars and other things to the underworld, but forget to burn pens or pencils, which are necessities of life, so the underworld still uses brushes to write characters. Of course, their brushwork is also very ugly, except for that ancient ghost - that unlucky Song Dynasty official.

  In the dim and tense examination hall, Song Dynasty old ghost Du Gu Jingzhong and Ouyang Qing were also inside. There were also two girls with purple hair. The two girls were extremely ugly, but they tried their best to look good with thick foundation covering their dark faces. They seemed to have died not long ago, but they didn't seem to be sad about it. On the contrary, the two of them seemed to get along well with other ghosts in this underworld. They jumped around the examination hall, occasionally joking with other ghosts.

  Ouyang Qing looked very excited, occasionally flipping through the underworld special exam materials he had once wanted to sell to Huo Jucai. For this exam, he seemed confident, having spent a year memorizing the book's clauses, and could now recite them fluently.

  Du Gu Jing Zhong was not so happy, sitting alone in his seat, aimlessly and anxiously flipping through the Heaven Ascension Exam special textbook. He feared that this exam would end in failure again, after all, he had been taking it for over a hundred years without making progress, always ranking last. He once told other ghosts that the difficulty of the Heaven Ascension Exam was no less than when he took the imperial examination to become a scholar. So this time, he didn't have much confidence either.

  The exam has finally started, and everyone excitedly took their test papers from the judge's hand.

  But unexpectedly, as soon as the test paper was in hand, except for those close to Yan Wangye, everyone else was shocked. The previous excitement vanished into thin air, and everyone stared at the test paper with their two bloodshot eyes, speechless. Even Ouyang Qing, who had been confident earlier, was stunned.

  The first question on the test paper: What is the displacement of King Yan's Mercedes-Benz car?

  The second question on the test paper: Where is Yan Wang's car key usually placed when the car is not in use?

  The third question on the test: How much can King Yan drink?

  ……

  These questions had a few people who could answer immediately with effort, while others just looked at the test paper in despair.

  However, those two girls were different from the others. After all, they had taken human exams and had honed their cheating skills. Their eyes darted around, stealing glances at the exam papers of the ghosts close to Yan Wang, and their necks stretched out as they worked with incredible speed. By the time the ghosts finished, the two girls also completed the questions and handed in their papers with satisfaction.

  Time is slowly moving its feet, and before the examinees know it, it has slipped away. When it's time to hand in their papers, the proctor shouts loudly that the test is over, and all the examinees reluctantly get up, crying and walking out with a dejected look on their faces.

  After the exam, the underworld returned to its usual tranquility. The dark, damp and black Qi-filled Huangquan Road and the Lonely Soul Street were still haunted by ghosts, but overall, the underworld was a dead silence. Every day, it presented a scene where souls of different ages were brought in by Heibai Wuchang, then went to the Great Hall of Yanwang Temple to register and receive their underworld household registration. Those with money started to sell houses and land, while those who were "rich second-generation" in life came to the underworld and drove BMWs everywhere, showing off without any signs of the pain of a short life, nor did they care about their loved ones in the sun who were crying themselves to death because of his passing.

  In the days following the exam, the examinees were also anxiously waiting for the results to be announced. Although they couldn't do those strange questions, they still scribbled randomly on the test paper. They had a kind of lucky mentality, hoping that the judges would overlook their incorrect answers and give them a check mark when re-grading the papers, so that they could unexpectedly get admitted. Some even fantasized about being envied by other unlucky ghosts when ascending to heaven.

  Finally, the results were announced, and on the wall next to the gate of Yanwang Temple, a list of honor was posted. The names of the examinees who were admitted by the Heavenly Court were written on a large red paper with a brush pen. The handwriting was quite good, and it must have been written by that unlucky scholar. Yan Wang couldn't write such good characters, everyone in the underworld knew this after staying here for a few years.

  The red paper was filled with names, and everyone stretched their necks and stared intently, each soul hoping to find their own name on the red paper.

  "I've been accepted!" one of the two girls with purple hair suddenly shrieked, excitedly shaking a ghost beside her.

  Another one also shouted, she pulled the girl who had just been admitted and said: "Yingzi, I was also admitted, look, Qian Xiaohong, it's right here." While saying this, she pointed to a name in the upper left corner of the red paper.

  "I see mine too," said the one called Yingzi. "Look, isn't my name right here? Lu Xiaoying."

  The two of them shouted at each other, one sentence after another, their voices shrill and piercing, causing the ghosts in attendance who hoped to see their own names on the red paper to suddenly feel envious, jealous, and hateful.

  Those ghosts closest to Yan Wang were also admitted, they looked so calm and showed a steady expression of "this is expected".

  At this time, the loudspeaker remembered and Yan Wang said loudly inside: "Everyone, please note that those who have passed the exam this time, please pay attention. The Heavenly Court will send gods to the underworld in two days to take you to the Heavenly Court. You should be prepared to set off at any time. By the way, the journey to the Heavenly Court is far away, and the travel expenses can be brought with you and bought tickets by yourself at the station, or they can be handled uniformly by Yan Wang's temple."

  Those who didn't pass the exam left with a scolding, and those whose names were on the list went to the underworld one after another.

  Qian Xiaohong and Lu Xiaoying were also among the crowd heading to the Yama Temple, everyone was chatting and laughing with joy, after all, being on the golden list was a great honor and surprise.

  They entered the Yama Temple and were personally received by King Yan. Everyone squeezed into King Yan's office.

  Yan Wang Ye was looking at a book of life and death, he seriously flipped through it, a red brush drew on the book of life and death, "sentencing" the death penalty for the living.

  "Your Majesty Yan," Lu Xiao Ying stood in front of the desk, she looked at Yan Wang for a long time before speaking, "We have come to ask about the unified management of travel expenses in the Yan Wang Palace."

  "Hmm," King Yan raised his head, putting down his pen, allowing the living in the mortal world to feel a slight sense of relief. He said, "Right, are you bringing it with you or handing it over to the Yan Wang Temple for unified processing? Please think carefully!"

  "How much spirit money is needed?" Qian Xiaohong batted her eyelashes, as if flirting with the King of Hell.

  "One hundred thousand hellish coins." Yan Wang didn't look at her, perhaps Lord Yan already knew that Qian Xiaohong was an extremely ugly person.

  "What's the difference between handing it over to Yanwang Temple and keeping it for myself?" Lu Xiaoying continued to ask.

  Yan Wang thought for a moment and said, "If you hand it over to the Yan Wang Temple, they will naturally arrange for a vehicle to take you directly to the Heavenly Court, as the Heavenly Court will send an immortal to receive you. If you buy a ticket and take the bus yourself, you may need to transfer along the way, which is a waste of time and even troublesome."

  "Can you make it less?" said one of the souls.

  "Cannot," Yan Wang said firmly, "it is clearly stipulated, and we have no way."

  It's said that one can't, and another ghost let out a sigh, he shook his head and slowly walked out of the King of Hell's office, muttering to himself: "I passed the exam, I'm happy, but I don't have any money, how am I supposed to go? It seems like I can only give up. Damn it, having an opportunity in front of me doesn't mean I can grasp it, all opportunities require money as a foundation!"

  Others thought it was a hassle to change buses halfway, so they all handed over the money to Yanwang Temple. The judge hurried over to collect the money and write down the receipt, and after everything was settled, everyone left one after another.

  After everyone had left, Yan Wang Ye let out a few sly laughs and then whispered to the judge: "Book a ride to Tian Ting, the cost is around 30,000 yuan, if the driver asks for more than 30,000 yuan, don't even bother."

  "What about the rest?" The judge smiled mysteriously, his eyes staring at King Yan, waiting for him to speak.

  "Old rules," said Yan Wang, "I get seven and you get three."

  The judge nodded and turned away.

  On the day of ascension, both those who passed and failed gathered at the gate of Yan Wang's palace. Those who passed were excitedly waiting to leave this damp and dark underworld as soon as possible and hurry to the bright heavenly court. Those who failed and did not take the exam were watching the excitement, their mouths quietly cursing, hoping that the vehicle would overturn on the way to heaven, and then everyone would die again.

  They just waited like this, stretching their necks and looking out.

  At last, they saw two trucks slowly approaching the Yama Temple. As soon as the cars arrived, a burst of smoke suddenly filled the empty space in front of the temple gate, just like the green smoke people see on TV. Seeing this green smoke, everyone knew that the heavenly god who came to take away the newly admitted ghost had arrived. The scene was so grand and majestic, only gods could do it, but who exactly would it be? Was it Taibai Jinxing or Tudou Li Tianwang? Moreover, the smoke had a pungent smell, like the smell of burnt newspaper.

  People are looking forward to it!