Cui Jiuyang was so afraid Master Tiger would say the wrong thing that he hurried to speak first. "My elder brother..."
He had barely begun before Lu Tu cut him off, looking at him with a faint, ambiguous smile. "I want to hear him say it."
Master Tiger weighed his words before speaking. "Clerk Lu, I was unwilling to die because I needed to kill someone and put an end to a calamity."
Lu Tu asked, "Kill whom? And what sort of calamity?"
Master Tiger honestly explained the whole chain of events surrounding his killing of Chen Weimin.
After listening, Lu Tu smiled lightly. "Well, I can't simply take your word for it. Come with me to the Virtue Division. A look at both your stores of Yin Virtue will tell us."
Lu Tu walked ahead, and the two followed him.
Before the magnificent hall, the three walked over bluestone paving, utterly tiny within the Daoist grounds, like ants making their way past an enormous boulder.
They went around the hall and reached another vast complex of buildings beside it.
Small buildings stood in an orderly arrangement. As they passed some of the entrances, Cui Jiuyang saw different plaques hanging above the doors.
"Loyalty and Filial Piety Division"
"Swift Retribution Division"
"Thieves Division"
Each division had its own small building, all neatly organized.
At last, the three reached the building bearing the plaque "Virtue Division." The other two waited outside.
Lu Tu went forward and knocked softly on the door.
A young underworld deity wearing the same green robes as Lu Tu came out to greet him, and they exchanged a few words.
Cui Jiuyang saw Lu Tu point their way as he spoke, and the young underworld deity nodded.
"You two lads, come over!" Lu Tu called.
Cui