Meeting

They arrived at a grand temple. A plaque hung above the entrance, bearing three sweeping characters: "City God Temple." The calligraphy was bold and imposing.

Wang Daniu couldn't read. He only knew that after being shoved into the temple, he suddenly found himself somewhere else. The sky seemed veiled by a hazy film, yet his heart settled, and the terror he'd felt when he'd first died was gone.

The squad leader escorted Wang Daniu to a clerk, who greeted him. "Squad Leader Li, you're back! And you've brought in a wandering soul. That's the third one today. You've had quite the luck!" He didn't mean that the squad leader had brought in three; there had only been three in total. Fang Ming hadn't had this policy before, so his fate went without saying. Wang Daniu had made it in time—wasn't that good luck?

Squad Leader Li laughed and exchanged a few words with the clerk, then brought Wang Daniu to a side hall, grand and imposing, like a courtroom.

Wang Daniu had never experienced anything like this. The moment he entered the hall, he dropped to his knees.

Then a voice rang out from above. "State your name, your native place, and the cause of your death. Tell the truth!"

Wang Daniu had never imagined such wonders awaited after death. He was stunned. Squad Leader Li kicked him again, and only then did he snap out of it. "This humble man is Wang Daniu, from Shitou Village in Anmin Township. I drowned today while saving Gouwa's boy..." He explained what had happened, stammering and stumbling over his words, but he managed to make it clear. "Is this true?" the voice above asked again.

"I wouldn't dare lie to Your Honor!" While kowtowing, Wang Daniu sneaked a glance up. He saw a young man dressed like a registrar, seated behind a magistrate's desk.

The young man was Guo Sheng. He wrote down Wang Daniu's statement, then ordered, "Bring me the register for Shitou Village!"

He was now a records registrar, a position of great importance and authority. At his command, a servant promptly brought the records.

Guo Sheng flipped through the ledger and checked its entries. Then he asked Wang Daniu a few questions about his family. Seeing that his answers were correct, he spoke gently. "Your family was a devout follower of the former Land God, now the City God. Your family's incense offerings have been abundant! There are still eighty-seven strands of incense offerings in your personal account. You have two choices..." He explained, one by one, the rules Fang Ming had established.

At first, Wang Daniu couldn't understand a word of it. But he knew of the Land God, whose powers were wondrous. Everyone in his village worshipped him.

Fang Ming's blessings of fertile fields, cures for illness, and gifts of children were closely tied to the people's everyday lives. He was especially popular in the countryside.

Stammering, Wang Daniu asked, "Th-this... where am I? Who are you? Are you subordinates of the Land God?"

Guo Sheng's expression turned solemn. "This is the City God's Divine Domain. We are all subordinates of the Land God. You should now address him as the City God!" Guo Sheng patiently explained the whole story to Wang Daniu, then advised him, "Your family's incense offerings are quite abundant. I'd recommend that you secure your own future first."

Wang Daniu thought it over, then transferred fifty strands of Divine Power to his parents' and younger siblings' accounts, keeping the rest of the incense offerings for himself.

Guo Sheng nodded and recorded the account. "All right. Ten strands each for your parents and siblings. After the fee, that's nine strands apiece. You have thirty-seven left. Deduct half, and we'll say you have nineteen strands!" That was the authority of a registrar: when the amount couldn't be divided evenly, he got to decide. This time, for example, it could have been eighteen strands, but Guo Sheng had taken pity on Wang Daniu's filial heart and added one more.

After writing everything down carefully, he stamped and signed the document, then handed it to Wang Daniu. "Check it over. If everything's correct, press your fingerprint and sign."

Wang Daniu couldn't read, so he could only kowtow and press his red thumbprint onto the page.

Guo Sheng nodded. A subordinate brought over nineteen large coins. Guo Sheng held them in his hand and tossed them. The coins flew into Wang Daniu's body. Wang Daniu felt a wave of warmth travel through him; to everyone else, his soul simply looked much more solid.

"Wang Daniu, you can live for fifty-two days within the City God's Divine Domain. Once you go down, someone will take you to your lodgings. These days, the City God is short on people, so he's recruiting. You look strong and sturdy. If you come across a recruitment drive for Yin Soldiers, don't miss it. Remember that!" Guo Sheng was kindhearted after all, and offered him another bit of advice.

Wang Daniu kowtowed and withdrew. Outside, he saw an old man, shrewd and lecherous-looking, dressed in a servant's uniform. Wang Daniu's legs went weak, and he dropped to his knees again. "Old Registrar He, I saw you when you came to my village last time! I never imagined you'd be here too!"

"Don't call me registrar anymore. I'm nothing but a servant now," the old man said with a bitter smile. This was He Dong. He had once leaked confidential information and been demoted to servant. Since then, there had been several rounds of promotions, but because he was a man with a stain on his record, he'd never been considered.

By now, even those who had joined later than him had official positions, while Guo Sheng, who had always served under him, had become his superior. The Four Great Families and his other subordinates remembered their old ties and did what they could to look after him, but that was all.

He Dong led Wang Daniu in several circles around the hall. It seemed as if they had reached the wilderness. They walked for another hour or two before reaching a village. Fields had been cleared in every direction, and fruit trees stood laden with produce. Pheasants and rabbits darted along the roadside. It was utterly unlike the world outside, and Wang Daniu couldn't stop marveling at it.

He Dong knew his way around. He led Wang Daniu into the village and up to a rather grand house.

Wang Daniu had been observing the place carefully along the way. The village was enormous, large enough to hold several thousand people, yet there were very few residents. They'd passed hardly a soul, and the place felt strangely empty.

He Dong entered the house and greeted its owner like an old acquaintance. "Sister-in-law Guo, you seem much stronger these days!"

"Not at all. It's all thanks to Sheng'er's filial care. I had time on my hands, so I asked the lord to give me this job," said a woman in her fifties. She was none other than Guo Sheng's elderly mother.

Now that Guo Sheng had become a registrar, he received a salary of thirty large coins each month, which he naturally brought home to support his mother. Mrs. Guo received her daily upkeep, and the extra Divine Power also replenished her soul. Over time, her health had improved, and her complexion was rosier than it had been when she was alive.

After Fang Ming carved out several villages in the City God's Divine Domain to house his followers, he moved over all the elderly and infirm he had been supporting in Qingshan Village. Fang Ming provided for them, so, in theory, as long as no outside force intervened and Fang Ming kept supplying them, they could live at least as long as a soul's natural lifespan. Fang Ming estimated that to be about a thousand years. Naturally, he couldn't let them sit around idle, so he moved them here to form the backbone of the villages, tend the land, and manage the followers.

Mrs. Guo was Guo Sheng's mother, and her son's status had raised hers. Fang Ming gave her the title of village head and let her choose a few people from among the elderly to serve as her subordinates and help manage the village.

Mrs. Guo chatted with He Dong for a while, then turned to Wang Daniu. "Any house in this village that's unoccupied is yours to choose. You can live in whichever one you like. The fields outside are the same: mark off ten acres, then come tell me, and they'll be yours. You can also take fruit, rabbits, and pheasants as you please."

"There's just one thing. Whenever something important comes up, I'll ring the bronze gong in the middle of the village. When you hear it, gather in the central square and follow instructions. Of course, you don't have to come—but if you miss an opportunity, don't blame me!"

"W-what? The house and the fields are mine?" Wang Daniu's eyes widened in disbelief. These things had been his whole family's dream, and after death, they'd fallen into his hands just like that?

"Heh-heh... They're all yours. You're a lucky boy. I've taken a liking to you, so I'll fence off another ten acres for you outside!" Mrs. Guo was amused by the simple lad. But deep down, she felt a little sorry for him. These things were wonderful, but he could enjoy them only while he existed. Once his soul scattered, they would naturally return to the village, to be left for those who came after.

Fang Ming knew that if he kept the followers' wandering souls cooped up with nothing to do, things could easily go wrong. So he made sure there were fields around each village he opened, with abundant produce that could be harvested after about ten days of casual work. Fruit trees and wild rabbits grew outside too; a little hunting could yield ten times as much as in the human world.

All this could be eaten and satisfy the appetite, but it was formed from the power of the Divine Domain. Though it tasted the same and filled the belly, in essence it was merely the power of the Divine Domain passing through the body before dispersing again.

No matter how much they ate, it couldn't extend the time their souls remained in the world by even a moment.

But when Fang Ming hosted banquets for his subordinates, the food was conjured from Divine Power, and it had wondrous effects. It replenished what they had spent and strengthened their spiritual energy, so his subordinates considered being granted a banquet by their lord a great honor.

In any case, making this arrangement required only a minor adjustment to the Divine Domain. It used very little Divine Power, and Fang Ming didn't mind letting these wandering souls satisfy their material needs a little before they died for good.

Mrs. Guo understood the difference, more or less. New followers who had just died were scarce, and whether she gave more or less was up to her anyway. So she'd let the simple lad enjoy himself for a few more days...

Mrs. Guo looked at him with pity, but Wang Daniu didn't notice at all. He was too busy grinning foolishly to himself...

Meanwhile, a distinguished guest had arrived at Whitewater Temple.

"Master... weren't you supposed to stay and guard the mountain gate? How did you..." Yuheng stared at the man before him, unable to believe his eyes.

"Could something have happened to the mountain gate?" He was alarmed at the thought.

"Foolish child, don't let your imagination run wild. Your Uncle Qinghe has returned, and with him guarding our sect, I can naturally leave!"

The middle-aged-looking Daoist was none other than Daoist Qingxu.

"I see... Wait, since Li Black Leopard has already been eradicated, why haven't I heard anything about it?" Yuheng said to himself, now puzzled.

True Person Qinghe had been summoned to Linjiang Prefecture to eradicate Li Black Leopard. Since he had returned to the sect, he must have succeeded. It was such a major event, and Wenchang Prefecture was right next door; word should have spread long ago.

At the mention of it, True Person Qingxu's expression shifted. "It's a long story..." He glanced at Old Daoist Baihe, who jolted and promptly bowed before leaving the room, leaving the two of them alone.

"Although Baihe is also a disciple of my lineage, this matter shouldn't be shared outside our circle. We can make it up to him a little later..." Qingxu didn't move, but a gentle breeze stirred in the room and swung the doors and windows shut.

Yuheng was startled. He knew his master had not only shut the doors and windows, but also set up a barrier. Only someone a rank above a True Person could eavesdrop without being discovered. With such precautions, what he was about to say had to be important.

Sure enough, what Qingxu said next left Yuheng frozen in shock.