But in the blink of an eye—
That divine light dimmed once more.
Laughter drifted over.
"I thought you were a prefectural City God. Never expected you to be merely a provincial City God. It is rather strange for you to appear here, fellow Daoist."
At those words, the boulder hanging over Lu Chen's heart finally came crashing down.
He had thought this Tai Sui Duke had seen through him.
So the other party had merely been surprised that his rank was so low.
Good. Good.
"Yuan Duke," King Yama smoothly stepped in to defuse the situation, his tone unhurried. "This City God Li is an old friend of mine. He has come with me this time to pay his respects to the Supreme One."
"So that is how it is." The voice from within the palanquin gave a faint laugh. "Then I shall not delay you two any longer. I will take my leave first."
"Please, Yuan Duke—"
King Yama stepped aside, clearing the way.
—Whoosh!
The twelve ghost generals bore the black palanquin away. They moved so swiftly that they resembled a streak of black light flashing across the sky, and in an instant, they were already a hundred li away.
"Your Majesty," Lu Chen could not help asking, "what is this Tai Sui Yuan Duke's background, that you treated him with such courtesy?"
"What do you know?" King Yama shot him a sidelong glance. "This immortal is the foremost Guardian Deity of the Tai Sui Department, a deputy general under the Tai Sui Star Lord. He now guards the Netherworld and bears the honorific Luo Feng Year-Calming Duke. By your mortal standards, his rank is equivalent to the third grade—on equal footing with your sworn elder brother, Lord God of Wealth. Tell me, should I not be