Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Kuang Zhiming was actually quite uncertain as well. He had been a Taoist for over a decade, and even with his parents and ancestors combined, this was their first encounter with such a magical counterpart.

Ever since he got to know Taicang Sect, his worldview seemed to be constantly being refreshed.

Upon receiving Kuang Zhiming's answer, Wei Xi immediately felt that the certificate in his hand was very useful.

There was a reason for his cautious attitude. Since descending the mountain and establishing Taicang Sect, he gradually learned that the world outside was much more challenging than he initially imagined. Rules and regulations abounded, from paying taxes for setting up a company, obtaining business licenses, to providing social insurance and housing funds for employees. Unity Yi had explained that these were necessary experiences for ordinary people starting from scratch, especially since Taicang Sect lacked any backing.

Backing, huh...

After learning about it, Wei Xi pondered seriously what this actually meant. Eventually, he realized that it referred to official support.

For instance, those wild boar spirits, who used to be a source of food in the past, now held the title of "protected wildlife" and couldn't be hunted or eaten without consequence. Attempting to capture them would result in fines.

And then there was their own sect, which faced difficulties joining a Taoist association due to insufficient credentials.

A single coin could humble a hero, and Wei Xi initially thought reviving the sect would be easy. But after seeing the number of believers they had and comparing it with other Taoist abbots' temples, he came to terms with reality. Achieving fame across the land was still a long way off.

With great care, Shuo Zong folded the certificate neatly and passed it to his second disciple. "Keep it safe, don't lose it."

The second disciple, who had been vigilantly watching the Underworld Messengers just moments ago, now wore a complicated expression due to the unexpected turn of events. After silently examining the certificate for a while, he stashed it away.

The other Taoist priests in the room were likewise perplexed, just like Kuang Zhiming – they had no idea what was happening.

Then, more conversation drifted from the other side.

In shock, Unity Yi asked his junior brother, "Junior Brother, did our Master become an official?!"

Shuo Zong replied, "...Yes."

Unity Yi exclaimed, "Whoa, a department head! That's quite a high position, right? Does he have a formal job position?"

Shuo Zong was at a loss for how to explain. The Underworld Messenger interjected, "There's definitely a formal position, he's under the jurisdiction of our local City God's Office. It's all part of the proper procedures."

Unity Yi honed in on the crucial point, "Will there be a salary?"

The Underworld Messenger assured him, "Of course, the payment will be provided promptly."

"Hua!" Unity Yi promptly inquired, "How much is it per month?"

Underworld Messenger: "For a director-level leader in our department, excluding bonuses, the monthly base salary would be around eight hundred thousand..."

Unity Yi's eyes widened at the figure, only to hear the Underworld Messenger continue with the second part, "...in Infernal Currency."

Unity Yi: ".................................."

Unity Yi calmly acknowledged with an "Oh," but what use were eight hundred thousand Infernal Bills?

******

The Underworld Messengers were evidently also displeased with their salary standards. Speaking of the topic, he expressed his sentiments with a sigh. "In recent years, the paper money in the mortal world has been printed in larger denominations, causing severe inflation down here. Yet, the salary standards within the bureaucratic system haven't changed in over a decade. This amount of money can barely do anything."

Middle-level officials were already like this; it was even more challenging for grassroot employees like him. Therefore, most of the Junior Soul Reapers in charge of retrieving souls from the mortal world in the City God and Land Deity Department were like him, finding ways to earn extra income. The invitation by Daoist Priest Yudao of the God Immortal Palace to help with the revival was one such extra income. The ghost money burned during the ritual wouldn't be recorded in official accounts, becoming his own illicit earnings. His colleagues had their own methods to make extra money as well, some even earning substantial sums, but those paths weren't entirely clean, something beyond his reach.

Curiosity piqued, he asked, "Director Wei, how does your sect provide job positions for over seven hundred ghosts? What kind of benefits do they receive?"

Wei Xi truthfully stated a figure, and the Underworld Messenger immediately revealed an envious expression. "The mortal world is indeed in a market economy era. Joining the system isn't as profitable as being an independent entity."

The Daoists present upon hearing this: "..."

Unity Right jokingly said, "Our company is always hiring. Are the Underworld Messengers interested in applying?"

He had only been teasing, but to his surprise, the Messenger actually seemed intrigued. After a moment of hesitation, he sighed. "There have been several major accidents in the mortal world recently, so I've been quite busy. Perhaps after the holiday season, when I have more free time, I could bring a few colleagues to take a look. Quitting my job is out of the question; the competition for civil servant positions isn't any easier than your realm. We all worked hard to get where we are now. But if there's an opportunity for part-time work, we could consider it."

This topic veered into the corrupt territory of official and business collusion.

The Daoists who had heard the entire conversation were left feeling uneasy.

*****

On the bed, the revived little girl suddenly twitched and let out a mewling sound. It was then that Daoist Jade from the God Immortal Palace snapped back to reality and stepped forward to examine her.

The girl was dazed, clearly struggling to comprehend her hazy experiences of the past few days. She stared at the group of strangers in Daoist robes with fear. Daoist Jade was prepared, however, and placed a talisman on her forehead to ensure she remained asleep before leading everyone out of the room.

But his state wasn't much better than the newly awakened girl's. Wei Xi's impact had left him utterly blank-faced.

Unfortunately, the culprit behind his disoriented state, Taicang Sect, was oblivious to the harm they had caused. The second disciple, the only one with some common sense, didn't bother to console them, instead holding onto the certificate that Wei Xi had treated with solemnity with a cold demeanor.

However, the appearance of a group of uniquely dressed Taoist priests in the hospital still drew plenty of curious gazes from patients, their families, and medical staff in the corridors.

Wei Xi maintained his composure under the scrutiny. Seeing the Underworld Messenger preparing to leave after emerging, he suddenly thought of something and called out, "Wait a moment."

The Messenger was quite polite towards him and promptly stopped. "Director Wei, what's the matter?"

Wei Xi took out a piece of paper, wrote down Wei Dedao's birth date and name, and handed it over. "While you were working downstairs, did you come across the owner of this birthdate?"

Kuang Zhiming, standing by, asked, "Is Daoist Wei also looking for a soul?"

Wei Xi nodded. "He's been missing for a long time. We don't know where he is."

Kuang Zhiming inquired, "Did he also disappear recently in Beijing? Was his soul lost? Perhaps we could help perform a ritual to retrieve it."

Wei Xi shook his head. "His life span had ended. He died in Fengyang, so he should have gone to be reincarnated. I just want to see how he's doing now."

This situation was clearly different from what Priest Jade had encountered, and Kuang Zhiming immediately felt that it would be difficult. "Fengyang is at least a thousand kilometers away from Beijing, and it was a natural death. The local City God and Earth Deity might not be able to—"

Before he could finish, the Underworld Messenger effortlessly took the light piece of paper. "No problem, no problem. The Underworld Bureau has learned from the advanced practices on the human side in recent years, advocating information transparency and sharing among local City Gods. We've just completed a census of ghosts. Finding one shouldn't be an issue."

Kuang Zhiming: "..."

The Underworld Messenger finished speaking and conjured a book, flipping through it according to the eight characters. As he turned the pages, he suddenly exclaimed, "Director Wei, there's no record of this birth chart. Could it be a mistake?"

Wei Xi fell silent, as he had expected this answer.

His second disciple, who had been standing nearby, stepped closer and stood silently by his side. Wei Xi, coming back to his senses, didn't offer an explanation. After retrieving the paper, he pondered for a moment and wrote down another set of eight characters: "What about these? He also died in Fengyang."

These were the eight characters of the unfortunate soul that he had helped cross over. Having forcibly entered the young man's body, Wei Xi was unsure of the spirit's current state after being reincarnated.

This time, the Underworld Messenger found some information. Looking at the page, he said, "Ah? This is a local registration from our capital, right? It shows that after his death, he was transferred from the Fengyang City God Office back to our local department for reincarnation. He passed away later, so he might have quite a wait. However, he recently submitted an application for the regional exam at the City God Office. Ambitious, isn't he? Hmm? Why does it show that his application wasn't approved? His educational background is quite impressive. Let me check the reason..."

After a moment, he let out a long "oh": "The cause of death was suicide. That's probably why his application got stuck. Nowadays, the provincial exam has stricter requirements, and it's challenging for those who committed suicide to pass the initial screening. The chances of getting accepted are slim. Director Wei, do you know him?"

Wei Xi nodded.

Upon receiving an affirmative response, the Underworld Messenger immediately wore a smile. "I see. I'll mention it to our department and see if we can grant him a chance to apply. With such an outstanding education, it would be a pity to reject him."

After all, it was just giving him a chance to apply. The City God Office's provincial exam was notoriously difficult, and those with inadequate abilities would eventually be eliminated.

Wei Xi nodded indifferently. He hadn't willingly entered this body in the first place and didn't feel any karmic debt towards the young unlucky fellow. Now that the latter's family members had all become disciples of his Taicang Sect, lending a helping hand was only natural.

As they spoke, someone among the group of onlooking Taoist priests couldn't hold back any longer.

Wei Xi heard a cold snort and looked up to see an middle-aged man in a hospital gown leaning against the bed in an open ward ahead.

Their eyes met, and the man's expression grew increasingly disgusted as he scowled deeply. "Crazy! Pretending to be a ghost!"

Realizing what the man meant, Wei Xi recalled that ordinary people without the ability to see spirits like him would not be able to perceive the Underworld Messengers conversing with him. Thus, they would likely think he was talking to himself, especially with so many Taoists around him.

Seeing Wei Xi staring at the patient who had cursed out of the blue, Kuang Zhiming, mindful of his fiery temper, hurriedly intervened. "Fellow Daoist Wei, don't take it to heart. In our line of work, we'll eventually get used to it. The skeptical will never believe..."

Before he could finish, he heard the Underworld Messenger beside Wei Xi exclaim, "Ah!" It raised the list in its hand and compared it to the middle-aged man, then pulled out a chain. "So he's here! What a coincidence!"

Kuang Zhiming: "..."

Everyone: "..."

In a moment, chaos erupted in the ward, and medical staff swarmed in and out.

Outside the hospital room door —

Kuang Zhiming: "…"

Everyone: "…"

The middle-aged patient's spirit, bound by the Underworld Messengers' chains: "…"

Wei Xi pondered for a moment and considered it a business opportunity. He asked, "Do you want us, the Taicang Sect, to perform a ritual?"

The middle-aged patient's soul gazed blankly into his eyes, then, after a moment, weakly murmured, "…I've troubled you."

*****

This middle-aged man had suffered a sudden stroke due to chronic alcoholism. As was customary, he was in a daze for a while, and amidst the tearful cries of his family, he was taken away by the Underworld Messengers.

Before leaving, the Messenger mentioned that he would visit Taicang Sect when he had time. After bidding farewell, Wei Xi, armed with his new certificate, set off with his two apprentices to search for a store that could create divine sculptures.

As it was the first time a believer requested to enshrine the small statue at home, Wei Xi took the matter seriously regarding Taicang Sect. He carefully selected a few stores before settling on one. Upon entering, the shop owner approached and asked, "What can I assist you with?"

Wei Xi: "We need statues of several divine beings."

The owner immediately understood. In recent years, many small temples and shrines would order customized statues of deities from outside, then bring them back to their own places for consecration before use. Familiar with the process, he pulled out a catalog. "May I ask which deity you're looking for? The Three Pure Ones? Wang Chongyang? The Seven Quanzhen Elders? The Great Emperor of True Martial? We've been in this business for a long time, we can create whatever you want."

Tuan Jieyi flipped through the catalog the owner had given him but couldn't find the figure they revered. "Owner, why isn't there an example image of the Celestial Venerated Daoist?"

Owner: "The... Celestial Venerated Daoist?"

He searched his memory intensively, but couldn't recall such a venerated deity. Facing Tuan Jieyi's expression that seemed to say, "You don't even know this?", the owner felt a bit awkward.

Wei Xi glanced around at the finished statues without offering any explanation. Finally, Shuo Zong couldn't bear it anymore and spoke up. "No need for examples, just make them according to our requirements."

Relieved, the owner wiped his sweat and eagerly agreed. He had run his shop for many years and had encountered similar requests from customers before. It was no big deal.

He quickly fetched paper and a pen. "Then please describe the appearance and posture of the deity you want. I'll sketch it based on your instructions."

Upon hearing this, Wei Xi was slightly taken aback. "Appearance? Posture?"

Owner: "Since you're ordering a new statue, it must be different from our existing ones. You don't have to go into too much detail, just highlight the unique features. How tall is the nose? How high are the eyebrows? What shape are the lips? What kind of clothes is he wearing?"

Staring at the paper and pen in his hand, Wei Xi was lost in thought for a moment. His gaze then drifted to a set of three distinctively different and vividly depicted images of the Three Pure Ones beside him. Suddenly, he said, "Lu Que, let's postpone our ceremony of brotherhood for another day."

Lu Que, who had been enthusiastically envisioning the grandeur of their ascended deity, was taken aback by Wei Xi's sudden request to leave.

Shuo Zong disregarded Lu Que's confusion, furrowing his brow as he quickly followed Wei Xi, catching up with his swift pace. "What's wrong with you?"

Wei Xi gazed at the bustling street outside the shop, remaining silent.

*****

Later that night, Shuo Zong found Wei Xi as usual in the courtyard of the Wei family's residence.

The vegetation in the courtyard had grown lush, and Wei Xi sat cross-legged amidst plants that could have concealed his entire body. He lifted his head, expressionless, to stare at the moon.

His entire being exuded an emptiness as if he had nothing to do, as if he could sit there indefinitely without interruption.

Shuo Zong frowned at this display and approached, just as he did last time, sitting down beside him.

Hearing footsteps, Wei Xi turned his head, his pupils reflecting the starry sky. His second disciple's contrasting black and white eyes looked down upon him.

Silence hung in the chilly night air, their surroundings obscured by towering vegetation, as if the world had narrowed down to just the two of them.

Since his days within the barrier, Wei Xi had often sat alone outside, gazing at the sky. He didn't know what was so captivating about it, but when idle, gazing at the heavens seemed the only decent distraction.

It was like an instinctive habit, and thus Wei Xi sometimes wondered if he had also lived such an aimless life in his forgotten past.

He had never thought much of it before, but with his second disciple sitting beside him now, he suddenly felt uneasy.

The second disciple remained quiet, as serene as always.

When Wei Xi casually plucked a blade of grass to chew on, the disciple finally frowned and turned, reaching out to pull the grass from his master's mouth and discard it.

Having grown accustomed to being tended to, Wei Xi didn't resist. After a moment, he lowered his eyes and spoke, "I think I've forgotten what your great-grandmaster looked like."

His tone was calm and even, revealing little emotion. "I can't recall how high his nose was, or the arch of his eyebrows. He was blind, couldn't see a thing. After he died, it was me who carried him to his grave. With his eyes closed, I buried him with my own hands, and that's the image I remember of him."

The second disciple gently brushed back his hair in silence.

Wei Xi frowned at him. "In the hospital today, the family of the soul taken by the Underworld Messengers was weeping bitterly. But Que'er, not a single tear fell from my eyes when your great-grandmaster passed. Why am I not sad at all?"

The second disciple whispered, "You're upset."

Wei Xi pondered for a moment and replied with certainty, "I'm not."

Their second disciple slowly let out a sigh, leaning their upper body forward to press their foreheads together. Their eyes shimmered with an unreadable emotion as they called out, "Wei Xi."

Wei Xi responded, "Hmm?"

Feeling a warmth on his lips, he was gently touched. The second disciple looked at him calmly and said, "You are."

Is there?

Wei Xi fell silent for a moment, not too willing to dwell on the matter. He reached out to clasp the nape of his neck, intending to press their lips together.

The disciple, however, retreated slightly, leaning back against his tip of the nose and asking, "Are you hungry again?"

Hungry? Wei Xi was taken aback by the question, only then realizing that he had been attempting to absorb his disciple's yang energy again, which puzzled him. During dinner, as usual, he emptied the Wei family's table under Wei Tianyi's darkened expression, and afterwards consumed a considerable amount of snacks and fruit. Although he tended to feel a bit hungry all year round no matter how much he ate, the current hunger didn't seem dire enough to warrant absorbing yang energy.

So why did he feel the urge to absorb yang energy just now? It seemed like a natural impulse.

Wei Xi found the situation perplexing, but it indeed didn't seem appropriate to drain his disciple's yang energy when he wasn't too hungry.

After all, this was his disciple. Wei Xi hesitated for a moment before honestly shaking his head. "I'm fine."

Upon receiving an answer, the disciple seemed to be momentarily stunned.

Looking at him, Wei Xi thought, Never mind. I'm not that hungry anyway. If my disciple doesn't want me to, then I won't do it.

Just as he was about to leave, his nape was suddenly covered, and his disciple, avoiding his lips, pressed back with a scorching heat. The overwhelming yang energy and tongue enveloped him irresistibly.

A hot breath cascaded down, causing him to involuntarily emit a soft moan.

The mysterious emotion that had tormented him the entire afternoon vanished abruptly. Within less than two seconds of hesitation, he succumbed to his instinctive hunger.

Under the bright moon and sparse stars, silence reigned except for their quiet kiss. The faint sound of water could be heard between their entwined lips and teeth.

Perhaps they were too engrossed in the act, Wei Xi only realized he had unknowingly straddled his disciple when they finally parted. He licked his lips, feeling something hard against his thighs.

Instinctively swaying, he hadn't figured out what it was when his disciple abruptly pinched his waist and forced him to stand up. "That's enough. Let's go back and rest."

"..." Wei Xi looked at his disciple, who seemed to be enduring the same trials he had, with hesitation. "Que'er, aren't you suffering?"

The expressionless disciple's forehead twitched slightly. "No."

Satiated and content, Wei Xi followed considerately. "Master will help you."

Shuo Zong: ".... No need, hurry back."

Seeing his disciple's stubbornness, Wei Xi became even more worried, thinking that his apprentice might not want his assistance. He offered an alternative. "If you don't want Master to come, you can call your senior brother."

Shuo Zong: ".... ???"

After Wei Xi finished speaking, he noticed his disciple's inexplicably darkened expression and was taken aback, realizing that he himself also felt some inexplicable reluctance.

However, it seemed that his disciple genuinely didn't want anyone's help, as the rejection was so decisive.

Watching his disciple open the door by himself, Wei Xi, who was also feeling unwell, could only tug at his pants. "Alright then, get some rest early."

But when he tugged at his pants, his disciple suddenly stopped in the act of closing the door, his gaze sharp as it landed on him. "... Where are you going!"

Despite feeling somewhat unwell, the discomfort wasn't as intense as before. Since his disciple could endure it, Wei Xi also intended to bear with it. However, before retiring to his room, he planned to look for his eldest disciple and ask him to hang the certificate received from the Underworld Messengers alongside the company's business license.

Wei Xi responded quite naturally, "I'm going to look for your senior brother."

Disciple: "............"

After his reply, Wei Xi started to walk away.

Unexpectedly, just as he lifted his leg, his arm was suddenly grasped.

Confused, Wei Xi was pulled into the room by his disciple, "? ? ? ?"

Why was his second disciple always so unpredictable?