His words startled everyone, then filled them with solemn respect.
To ordinary people, the Underworld Office was the most mysterious and terrifying place of all. It was somewhere one could reach only after death. The living imagined it with fear, yet hoped never to go there.
Now Tang Changsheng had said he had just returned from the Underworld Office, wrapping him in another layer of mystery. They had always known the Mage of the General's Temple possessed extraordinary powers, but still!
Tang Changsheng offered no details. The less the living knew, the more reverence they would retain. Let their imaginations fill in the rest!
"Now, remake the Deity Statues," Tang Changsheng said evenly. "After some time, I'll return to consecrate them."
"But, Mage..." Fan Jiren hesitated, wanting to say more.
Tang Changsheng cut him off. "The dead cannot return to life. When Ghost Gods fall, it is no different from their souls being scattered to the winds. There is no bringing them back. But rest assured: the General's Temple and the Three Households are one. As long as the General's Temple stands, it will protect the Three Households!"
The elders of the Three Households were grateful and delighted. The three household heads, however, knew more and saw further. Inwardly, they could only smile bitterly.
Before, the Three Households and the General's Temple had been equals; the Three Households might even have held the upper hand. From now on, they would be vassals of the General's Temple.
But did they have a better choice? They ought to be grateful that Tang Changsheng still remembered their old ties.
The thought left them sighing. Fan Jiren felt it most keenly. When he had used the General's Temple to lecture his descendants that day, he had meant no harm. Yet deep down, he had