Merit rewards

It was past three in the afternoon by the time the three of them took a taxi back to the shop.

The incense on the offering table had all burned out.

Zhou Hu followed them inside, looking positively buoyant.

He took out his phone, lowered his head, and tapped a few times.

Wen Ning's phone chimed with a bank deposit notification: 18,888 yuan.

Zhou Hu slipped his phone back into his pocket and scratched the back of his head, his eyes behind his glasses utterly sincere.

"Wen, I've transferred the money. I know it isn't much. You ran around all over the place for me, and you even—"

"That's enough."

Wen Ning put his phone back in his pocket, showing no particular reaction to the money.

"That's all behind us now."

Zhou Hu turned to Gong Kai and thanked him solemnly as well.

"Kai, if you hadn't put me in touch with him, I really wouldn't have known what to do. I'll treat you another day, just the two of us. We're not leaving until we're drunk."

Gong Kai waved a broad hand, putting on the carefree air of a man who didn't stand on ceremony, though the smug curl of his lips betrayed his true feelings.

Zhou Hu straightened up and insisted on treating Wen Ning and Gong Kai to a meal.

The three of them found a nearby hot pot restaurant.

Zhou Hu ordered a whole tableful of food. Gong Kai ate until sweat covered his head, stuffing beef rolls into his mouth as he mumbled,

"Wen, your services really do cover everything now. Last time, you helped me investigate that Snail Maiden at my place. This time, you helped Zhou Hu fight a Japanese soldier. Are you going international next?"

Wen Ning picked up a slice of potato and ignored him.

After the meal, Gong Kai and Zhou Hu said goodbye to Wen Ning outside the hot pot restaurant.

Zhou Hu walked a few steps, then turned back and waved at Wen Ning. Wen Ning waved back and headed for the shop. Once he was back, he sat down in his folding chair.

He recalled Zhou Weiguo's ramrod-straight back as he sat on the bench in the reincarnation hall, then remembered the Japanese soldier's soul curled up in a corner after being struck by lightning.

Something had been on his mind ever since he returned from the old house. He took out his phone and sent Meng Jiang a message.

"Meng Jiang, Zhou Hu's problem is taken care of, but I have a question. That arm bone had been in the old house for so many years. Why was everything fine while Old Mr. Zhou was alive? Why did it start causing trouble as soon as he died?"

Meng Jiang replied quickly.

"Wen Ning, you've hit on the key point. It wasn't that the Japanese soldier's remnant soul didn't want to cause trouble. It didn't dare. Think about who Old Mr. Zhou was.

"He was an Eighth Route Army veteran who fought on the battlefield and killed Japanese soldiers. People who survived that era carried a fiendish aura of their own. In Underworld terminology, we call it warrior fiendish aura.

"That aura was earned by putting his life on the line. It naturally suppresses foreign remnant souls lingering in the mortal world. Forget causing trouble—it didn't even dare show itself.

"While Old Mr. Zhou was there, that bone was just an ordinary bone. But once he was gone, there was nothing left to suppress the remnant soul, so naturally it started stirring.

"Besides, the remnant soul doesn't have a complete consciousness. Its revenge is instinctive and mechanical. It haunts whoever is closest to Old Mr. Zhou by blood."

Wen Ning read the message and remembered Zhou Weiguo's hand, covered in old scars. He remembered his words: "Back when I was fighting the Japanese, there wasn't a monster or demon I hadn't seen."

So while the old man was alive, that bone hadn't dared make so much as a sound—not because it didn't want to cause trouble, but because the house was home to someone it had feared for decades.

He thought for a moment, then sent another message.

"Meng Jiang, could you pass a message to Old Mr. Zhou for me? Tell him Hu's problem is taken care of, and the military medal is in Hu's hands too. I've burned the bone and scattered its ashes in the old house's courtyard. Tell him he can wait for reincarnation in peace and stop worrying."

Meng Jiang soon replied.

"No problem. I'll head down there after work today. Old Mr. Zhou is in Class A of the pending assignment area. I just need to speak to the ghost officers there."

Wen Ning thanked her, then remembered the lead about General Yamamoto that had come up when the Black and White Impermanence dragged the Japanese soldier away. He asked another question.

"Has the Underworld found out anything about the General Yamamoto that Japanese bastard mentioned?"

"He's still being interrogated."

A trace of coldness entered Meng Jiang's tone.

"Xie Bi'an reported it after he got back. The Underworld is taking this lead very seriously and has already formed a special task force. Our preliminary assessment is that Yamamoto is most likely the ghost of a general-level officer from the Japanese army that invaded China. He may have gathered a group of dead souls somewhere and be preparing to stir up trouble. We won't know the details until the interrogation results come in. The Underworld has taken over this matter, so you don't need to worry about it for now, Wen Ning. I'll let you know the moment there's any progress."

"Those Japanese bastards—not a decent one among them. They didn't cultivate merit while they were alive, and even in death they're still making trouble for people."

"All right. Thanks for all your hard work."

Wen Ning had just sent that message when a notification popped up at the top of his phone screen.

The Heavenly Court Personnel Department had sent another message from that number beginning with a string of zeros. He opened it. The message was brief, but every word delighted him.

Heavenly Official Wen Ning of the Thunder Department successfully resolved an incident involving harassment by a foreign dead soul in the mortal world, safeguarding a mortal. His achievements have been verified. Pursuant to volume three, article twelve of the Heavenly Court Merit Assessment Regulations, he is awarded 1,200 merit points.

Additionally:

Note from Heavenly Venerable Wen Zhong of the Thunder Department: practical application of the Five Thunder Righteous Method received a grade of A. An additional commendation of 500 merit points is awarded.

The merit points have been deposited into your payroll account. You may check them through the Thunder Department's internal system.

Remarks: well done.—Issued by the Heavenly Court Personnel Department

Seventeen hundred merit points. Wen Ning's current monthly salary was only five thousand merit points, and all he had done was make one trip that afternoon. What a deal.

The merit reward for this one assignment amounted to nearly half a month's salary.

While Wen Ning was still staring blankly at the red number, Lu Ming's message exploded into the group chat.

Lu Ming: 1,700 merit points! Wen Ning, what did you do? I work overtime all month and only get a few hundred basic merit points. You deal with one Japanese soldier and get 1,700 straight away, plus an extra commendation from the Heavenly Venerable! I object! I'm reporting this! Something shady is going on!

Bai Lu appeared right after him and sent just one devastating line.

"Who are you reporting? Heavenly Venerable Wen?"

The group immediately fell silent. Who would dare respond to that? Lu Ming finally squeezed out a message, his tone visibly softer.

"I was just saying. Wen Ning, could you take me along next time you get a job like this? I can't fight, but I can stand beside you and cheer you on."

Lu Ming had been muted by an administrator. The mute had come late, but it had come all the same. His loose tongue had gotten him muted again.

Wen Ning chuckled at the notification that Lu Ming had been muted.

He was just about to reply, Next time I need someone to scrub my back, you'll be the first person I call.

His phone vibrated again. This time, it wasn't a group message, but a private message from Wen Zhong. There was only one line.

Your use of the Five Thunder Righteous Method has become more efficient. The circulation of your magical power could be a little smoother.

Wen Ning stared at the message for several seconds. Wen Zhong rarely praised anyone. He typed a reply.

Understood. I'll work harder next time. Thanks for the merit bonus, godfather.

Wen Zhong didn't respond to that message directly. He merely sent one sentence.

Stay safe in the mortal world from now on. If something happens, don't try to tough it out alone.