Chapter 54 Hua Xiaomei-Shock
"Palace Master Mo Luo has arrived!"
As the announcement that resounded through the sky spread, the door of the golden carriage opened wide. Behind the door was only endless darkness. Any light that approached here would be swallowed up.
As everyone was surprised, a heroic and extraordinary woman walked out of the darkness. She was wearing a black cloak and heavy boots. Her eyes were like stars, her nose was high, and there was a slight smile on the corner of her mouth, showing her confidence and boldness. There was a bit of awe-inspiring pride between her brows, as if she didn't care about anything.
Upon seeing this person, all the hall masters who had taken their seats earlier in the Equality Hall bowed to greet him.
"The Lord of Guangwang Palace, along with all the judges of Guangwang Palace, respectfully welcome the Lord of Māra Palace..."
"The Blood Pond Palace Master welcomes the Demon Luo Palace Master!"
"Golden Wheel Palace Master, I extend my highest regards to the Demon Palace Master..."
"The Beast Palace Master pays homage to the Demon Palace Master."
Respectful greetings rang out one after another, some of them from the level of the Palace Master. You have to know that in a Yama Palace, the Palace Master has the final say, so why should he bow down to others?
The ghosts in the Equality Hall were not surprised by this situation. Only the most powerful person in the underworld, the Lord of the Demon Hall who was a Nine-Turn Proud Immortal, could enjoy the welcome from many hall masters.
Outside the hall, Hua Xiaomei also caught a glimpse of the retreating figure of the Demon Palace Master. Only after the boundless pressure that intimidated the heavens and the earth faded away did she pat her chest lightly and introduce Nan Linghe:
"She is the Lord of the Mara Palace, Moro. Her Majesty Moro's power is unfathomable. In previous Ghost Messenger Galas, she never appeared in person, but instead had her subordinates attend on her behalf. Why did she come in person this time?"
Nan Linghe nodded as if he understood, and was about to say something when he heard a muffled groan beside him. Looking closely, he saw Lu Xi suddenly squatting on the ground, holding her head with her hands, with a look of pain on her face.
"Are you okay?" Nan Linghe looked worried. He quickly took out the medicine powder given by Bai Luo and carefully fed her.
Hua Xiaomei found a seat for the two of them. Seeing that Lucy wasn't in good spirits, she suggested, "Looking at her like this, she probably can't go to the Ghost Messenger Market. It just so happens that the Lord of the Demon Palace is here, and the Ghost Messenger Festival is about to begin. Why don't we just sit outside the Equal Palace and listen to the rankings of the Ghost Messenger Festival, and see what other talented Ghost Messengers have appeared in other continents."
Nan Linghe nodded and looked around, only to see that many ghost officials, like them, were not qualified to enter the Equality Hall and could only listen to the announcement outside.
In the Hall of Equality, on the grand and magnificent high platform, a golden auspicious beast appeared on the stage under the attention of all the people. The auspicious beast had a strange appearance, with a tiger head, a dragon body, a lion tail and unicorn feet. Even if you just got close to it, you could feel the auspicious aura from it, causing the ghosts in the hall to exclaim in surprise.
"It's the divine beast Di Ting! Di Ting is on stage!"
"Is it the one hosting this Ghost Messenger Gala?"
"That Di Ting is a beast of good fortune. Following it will surely bring endless good luck. The effect is equivalent to a first-class talent: a lucky star entering your life..."
"Stop arguing and let me hear the rankings!"
On the stage, Di Ting cleared his throat and announced the start of the event. His voice was not loud, but it rang in the ears of all the ghost officials in Fengdu Imperial City. No matter what they were doing or where they were in the imperial city, they could hear his words accurately.
"The Ten Kings of Hell have gathered, and the Ghost Messenger Gala begins now!"
"Based on the rankings of each Yama Hall last year, I will announce the best candidates for ghost messengers for each Yama Hall one by one. In order, they are: Demon Hall, Equality Hall, Blood Pond Hall, Beast Hall, Golden Wheel Hall, Azure Lotus Hall, Nether Spirit Hall, Sorcerer Hall, Profound Heaven Hall, and Guangwang Hall."
"First up is the Mara Palace. In the 638th year of the Mara calendar, the best ghost messenger in spring was Shura Hong, who earned a total of 5.9 million Yin De. The best ghost messenger in summer was Shura Bao, who earned a total of 4.7 million Yin De. The best ghost messenger in autumn was Shura Hong, who earned a total of 4.5 million Yin De. The best ghost messenger in winter was Shura Yan, who earned a total of 6.2 million Yin De..."
"This year's winner of the title of the best ghost messenger in the Demon Palace is Shura Hong! He has earned a total of 19.3 million Yin De throughout the year!"
"Next is the Equality Hall..."
In a remote corner of the hall, Guichaba listened to the cold announcement and could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart. The moment that belonged to him had finally arrived.
It reached into its bosom and pulled out a torn page. As its mind moved, the contents on the torn page quickly came into view:
【Life and Death Book Files:】
【Guangwang Palace: Performance Ranking in the Winter of the 12th Year of Zhenguan】
【First Place: Guichaba, with a total of 371,000 Yin De】
Second place: Ghost Messenger Tiger, with a total of 296,000 Yin De.
Third place: Ghost Chaser An, with a total of 229,000 Yin De.
【……】
After reading the contents of the torn page, Ghost Messenger Ba was overjoyed and laughed out loud: "Huh, hahahaha, maybe I can't compare to those Shuras leaning against the big tree, but in this Guangwang Palace, who else can be my opponent? Even the fourth-level Wuchang is inferior to me. The title of the best Ghost Messenger of winter belongs to me!"
Upon hearing this, all the ghosts belonging to Guangwang Palace also congratulated him:
"I remember that you were the best ghost messenger for spring, summer, and autumn this year! So, if you become the best ghost messenger for winter, you'll achieve an epic achievement of a full year!"
"A full year grand slam... That's a great achievement that no ghost messenger in Guangwang Palace's history has ever achieved. I never thought we'd be able to witness this moment with our own eyes today."
"Ghost Messenger Ba is truly amazing! He's truly the pride of our Guangwang Palace! I wonder what kind of amazing rewards the Guangwang Palace Master will give him once he becomes a hall-level ghost messenger."
The crowd's praise filled Ghost Messenger Ba's heart with joy. Thinking of the upcoming reward, he couldn't help but rub his hands with excitement. Who was the Guangwang Palace Master? Even a small reward slipped through his fingers would be enough for an ordinary Ghost Messenger to enjoy for a lifetime.
…………
"The Soul Devouring Abyss is ahead."
On the top of the Black Mountain surrounded by gloomy winds, Ye Jie led the soul of the Hengshan bandit to this place and spoke softly.
"Jump down, Jiang Xin. That's where your soul will end up. You've killed too many people. Your soul will be tortured in the Soul Devouring Abyss. It won't end for hundreds or even thousands of years."
Behind Ye Jie, the bandit Hengshan looked calm, as if he had already accepted the result.
Seeing the ominous and sinister scene below the Soul Devouring Abyss, which made people's hearts tremble, Luo Bei's teeth trembled as he asked, "What about me?"
Ye Jie glanced at her and said, "You didn't do anything evil in your life. You don't need to be punished in the Soul Devouring Abyss and can be reincarnated directly. You still have 2,000 Yin De, enough for an eighth-grade reincarnation. In your next life, you will be reborn into a wandering family."
"How could this happen..." Luo Bei shook her head repeatedly, "No, I want to stay with my husband, and I also want to enter the Soul Devouring Abyss."
Ye Jie sighed, "The Soul Devouring Abyss is filled with extreme horrors. There are mountains of knives and cauldrons of oil, tongues pulled out, hearts gouged out, stones crushing beasts, and tortures of being cut into pieces. It's designed specifically to punish evil spirits. I've never seen a soul that enters it again. Do you really want to do this?"
Hearing about the horrific punishment he was about to face, even the murderous bandit Hengshan showed a bit of fear on his face and advised Luo Bei:
"You don't have to do this. Our bond as husband and wife has ended, and it's time to part ways. I've killed too many people, and this is the retribution I deserve. You don't deserve this. You should just forget me and reincarnate peacefully. That's where you belong."
Luo Bei burst into tears and reached out to touch the face of the Hengshan Bandit:
"How could I abandon you? You committed this heinous crime out of revenge for me and our child. Let us both bear this retribution together. We are husband and wife, and we should share hardships. Not even death can separate us."
The two hugged each other and cried. Ye Jie stood aside with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky, but saw dark clouds rolling and no sunlight.
Finally, Luo Bei wiped away her tears, bowed to Ye Jie and said, "Master Ghost Messenger, I was able to reunite with my husband thanks to your help along the way. I have decided to enter the Soul Devouring Abyss with Jiang Xin and endure thousands of years of punishment. The good deeds I have accumulated are useless, so I'll give them to you."
Ye Jie took out the fragmented page, which indeed contained the Yin De transferred from Luo Bei. He sighed and asked the Hengshan Bandit, "Jiang Xin, I have another question for you. You brought the baby all the way south. Could it be that you wanted to take them across the barrier in Lei Ze and reach another continent?"
The bandit Hengshan shook his head. "I had planned to take them to the Jing River. The Dragon King there had promised to give us refuge, but unfortunately, we failed in the end."
Hearing this, Ye Jie nodded slightly, took out the Ghost Messenger Order from his bosom, handed it to the Hengshan Bandit, and said, "I understand. Let's say goodbye then."
The bandit Hengshan took Luo Bei's hand, walked to the edge of the cliff, and the two of them jumped down together, hugging each other. Their bodies fell down and landed in the black clouds, and soon disappeared without a trace.
Ye Jie stood there, speechless for a long time, but saw several new ink marks on the torn page.
【Book of Life and Death:】
In the winter of the twelfth year of the Zhenguan reign, the soul holding the Ghost Messenger Jie's token was escorted to the Soul Devouring Abyss.
【A second-level ghost messenger receives a 10% reward.】
【Ghost Messenger Jie gained 247,000 Yin De.】
Next to the pitch-black text, two faces were painted in scarlet blood. Jiang Xin had a fierce look in his one eye and a scar on his face, while Luo Bei was in tears, heartbroken.
Ye Jie stood at the edge of the cliff for a long time before he put the torn page into his arms.
…………
Outside the Pingdeng Hall, Hua Xiaomei listened to Di Ting's announcement, stretched, and took out a torn page: "Let's take a look at the ranking of Guangwang Hall this year. You can tell without looking that Guichaba is number one again..."
It wouldn't be a big deal to just glance at it, but she couldn't take her eyes off it at all!
"This..." Hua Xiaomei was stunned. "No, what does this Ghost Officer Jie mean?"
"What the hell is this Cha Jie?" Nan Linghe looked puzzled.
"It's Guicha Jie, Guicha Jie!" Hua Xiaomei gestured wildly, her words barely coherent. "Look! Third on the performance list, Guicha Jie!"
Nan Linghe curiously leaned over and took in the record on the torn page:
【Life and Death Book Files:】
【Guangwang Palace: Performance Ranking in the Winter of the 12th Year of Zhenguan】
【First Place: Guichaba, with a total of 371,000 Yin De】
Second place: Ghost Messenger Tiger, with a total of 296,000 Yin De.
Third Place: Ghost Officer Jie, with a total of 242,000 Yin De.
【……】
Looking at the ranking on the torn page, Nan Linghe tilted his head and asked, "Could there be another Ghost Messenger Jie in the underworld?"
"What other one? It's him, Ye Jie!" Hua Xiaomei was almost going crazy. "What is going on? How did Ye Jie get to third place? Also, where did these 240,000 Yin De come from? When did he earn 240,000 Yin De? There must be something wrong with the Book of Life and Death!"
"Two hundred and forty thousand Yin De..."
Nan Linghe scratched her head, thinking back to every moment she spent with Ye Jie. She suddenly remembered the first task Ye Jie assigned her: "Brother Jie once asked me to post a wanted poster. The thief wanted on it seemed to be worth 240,000 Yin De. What was the thief's name..."
After some fruitless thinking, Nan Linghe shook his head and gave up: "I don't remember... I just remember that man had a scar on his face, and it scared me. I think his name was something like Thief..."
"Thief? The Hengshan Thief?" Hua Xiaomei reacted and opened her mouth wide. "Only someone of the Hengshan Thief's level is worth 240,000 Yin De. Are you saying that Ye Jie captured the Hengshan Thief? How is that possible..."
Hua Xiaomei looked at Nan Linghe, then at the ranking fragment in her hand. She had no choice but to believe it now. She sighed repeatedly, "Oh my God, what on earth did Ye Jie do? When I get back, I must ask him about it."
In the Pingdeng Hall, many ghost messengers belonging to the Guangwang Hall also immediately noticed the change in ranking:
"Look! Someone rushed to the third place and pushed Ghost Officer An down!"
"Wait... that guy is Guicha Jie? Isn't Guicha Jie always ranked last? How did he get to third?"
"I just saw him last, but how did his Yin De suddenly increase by 240,000? It seems he has captured a very important wanted evil spirit."
When his name was called, Xie Bian's face turned pale. He looked at Guicha Jie's name on the performance list, his eyes filled with a chilling coldness. What really made him angry was not being surpassed in the ranking, but the meaning behind the 240,000 Yin De:
"The bandit Hengshan died just like that? What a useless thing! I wasted my time designing it..."
Seeing Xie Xinyu looking at him with curiosity, he shut up and closed his eyes to rest. However, his chest rising and falling seemed to tell that his heart was not at peace.
Guicha Ba, who was confident of victory, also heard the discussions of the crowd. He hurriedly took out the torn pages and looked through them. He immediately fell into a rage. The name of Guicha Jie on the performance list was like a thorn in his throat, and he couldn't say a word for a long time.
Recalling his unexpected encounter with Ye Jie in the Hengshan Bandit camp not long ago, Guichaba was almost gnashing his teeth:
"Hmph, Ye Jie! How dare you snatch the soul of the Hengshan Bandit while I was here to receive the award? That's my target! It belongs to me! When the Ghost Messenger Festival is over, you're dead. I'll teach you a lesson about my power!"
At this moment, the discussion among the crowd also made Guichaba's expression change slightly, and a little cold sweat flowed down his forehead:
"Look, that Ghost Messenger Jie's performance is still growing! And there's no sign of it stopping..."
"Looking at this momentum, could it be that he wants to compete for the title of Best Ghost Messenger of this quarter?"
"That Ghost Messenger Jie has always been ranked last and was once the laughing stock of Guangwang Palace. Who would have thought that once he rose to power, he would have such lofty ambitions..."
Hearing this, Ghost Officer Ba could no longer sit still and roared in a low voice, "What nonsense are you talking about? What virtue and ability does that Ghost Officer Jie have to think he can surpass me? This winter's best Ghost Officer must be mine!"
Under the intimidation of Guichaba, everyone kept silent, but still stared at the changes on the performance list with suspicious eyes.
…………
The top of Black Mountain.
Ye Jie unfolded the soul-summoning banner and released all the men of Hengshan Bandit. They had followed Hengshan Bandit in their lifetime, slaughtering civilians along the way, and their hands were stained with a lot of blood. They could not enter the cycle of reincarnation and had to enter the Soul-Devouring Abyss to be punished.
The soul of the black-armored warrior knelt in front of the cliff, holding Ye Jie's ghost order in his arms, muttering in sorrow:
"King Yokoyama, I failed you in life, but not this time! Please lead us. After death, continue the fight in this underworld and slay all the unjust!"
He leaped forward, just like when he used the shock leap attack on Xia Wei before, with his legs stretched straight and a momentum of no return, his body falling into the dark abyss like an iron tower.
Inspired by him, the other bandits jumped into the Soul-Devouring Abyss heroically and resolutely like dumplings being dropped into the water.
…………
Ye Jie's Yin De number climbed rapidly, from the original 240,000, to 260,000... 280,000... and even 300,000... 350,000, and then stopped, and remained unchanged for a long time, causing the ghost officials to discuss:
"It finally stopped. Ghost Messenger Jie's performance has surpassed Ghost Messenger Hu and reached the second place. He is only 20,000 points away from the first place..."
"What a pity... Even though it's only 20,000 points short, these 20,000 points of Yin De are enough to become a natural barrier, completely destroying Guicha Jie's hope of becoming the number one."
"Personal missions issued in Guangwang Palace, or the good deeds earned through trading with other ghost officials, will not be counted in the performance rankings. The final settlement will be made soon. It seems that ghost official Jie has no chance..."
Outside the Equal Hall, Hua Xiaomei looked at the rapidly growing numbers on the performance list. She was so shocked that she was completely numb. She opened her eyes wide and couldn't say anything.
Nan Linghe waved in front of her: "Sister Mei, are you okay?"
Hua Xiaomei finally came to her senses after Nan Linghe called her. She couldn't calm down for a long time. She grabbed her hair and said, "What on earth is Ye Jie doing... Could it be... Could it be..."
At the end of the conversation, Hua Xiaomei had some unrealistic thoughts in her mind. The scene that only existed in her dreams seemed to appear before her eyes. Could it be that Ye Jie was going to become the best ghost messenger of this season?
This idea was so absurd that Hua Xiaomei immediately rejected it from the bottom of her heart. She just looked at the rapidly growing numbers on the performance list and couldn't help pinching her pale face.
Unfortunately, the rapidly growing numbers stopped completely after reaching 350,000. There is still a gap of 20,000 from the number one ranked Ghost Messenger, and it seems that there will be no more changes.
This result left Hua Xiaomei feeling lost and speechless for a long time. Nan Linghe noticed her abnormality and couldn't help asking, "Sister Mei, are you okay? You looked a little off from the beginning."
Hua Xiaomei sighed, "What a shame... He and I have been struggling in the underworld together for many years. We are both down-and-out ghost messengers. I really hope that your brother Jie can win just once, even if it's just once... It's a pity that he still fell short..."
Inside the Equality Hall, Guichaba was already sweating profusely as he watched the ranking changes on the performance list. Even he himself was unaware of this. His eyes were wide open, staring straight at the performance changes on the torn page.
These 370,000 Yin De are already the most Yin De that Gui Cha Ba has earned in a single quarter in the four quarters of this year. The total amount of Yin De it has earned in a year is only 1.33 million.
Seeing that Ye Jie's performance remained at 350,000, Gui Chaba finally felt relieved. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his arms trembling slightly, but he still managed to speak:
"Hmph, what's this Ghost Messenger Jie? Trash is trash after all, not worth mentioning at all. The best Ghost Messenger this winter must belong to me, Ghost Messenger Ba!"