Chapter 426: Chapter 296: Black and White Impermanence, stacks of decrees from the Yin Deity!
“Husband, who is looking for you?”
Yue Qiluo helped Xu Yang get dressed while asking.
“Someone from the Underworld Palace, probably a grim reaper or ghost official sent by Lord Cui.”
Xu Yang said, “Now that the Yin-Yang Path is almost connected, more grim reapers and ghost officials will enter the human world to maintain order. You are ghosts living in the human world, so you’ll definitely attract their attention.”
“To avoid trouble, I’ve prepared some decree documents for you. With these, you’ll have identities and not only will you not be captured by the grim reapers and ghost officials…the Underworld Palace will even pay you a salary.”
What he said was not a lie.
Ghost officials belonged to the “system” of the Underworld Palace, akin to human “civil servants,” and their treatment was quite good!
After leaving the villa, Xu Yang quickly drove to the funeral shop.
The door of the funeral shop was wide open at this moment.
On the first floor of the shop, two “people” were sitting.
One dressed in white and the other in black; one tall and one short; one thin and one fat. They were in stark contrast to each other.
The one in white was pale and tall and thin.
The one in black had a fierce face and was short and fat.
Ma Xiaotiao poured tea for the two “people” and also brought them melons and fruits.
When Xu Yang walked in, the two “people” were eating a big piece of watermelon.
“Master!”
Ma Xiaotiao hurriedly greeted him, saying, “You’re here?”
“Master Xu?”
Eating the melon, the two “people” immediately stood up and bowed, saying, “Master Xu!”
“You’re both too polite.”
Xu Yang returned the bow and said, “Please… sit down.”
After the two were seated, Xu Yang asked, “May I know how to address both of you?”
The tall and thin man in white said, “My name is Xie Bian.”
The short and fat man in black said, “My name is Fan Wujiu.”
Xu Yang was startled, and bowed again, hurriedly saying, “So it’s the Black and White Impermanence, I apologize for not knowing earlier!”
Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu.
One in black and one in white, if not the Black and White Impermanence, then who else?
The two of them can be considered “big shots” in the Underworld, specializing in arresting spirits and assisting in the rewarding of good and punishing of evil.
“Master Xu is too polite.”
Xie Bian in white smiled and said, “This time, my brother and I came to the human world to arrest spirits under Lord Cui’s order… Master Xu is a well-connected expert in the human world, and we hope you can help us.”
His face was pale.
His grin sent chills down Ma Xiaotiao’s spine, as the reputation of the Black and White Impermanence in the human world was simply too great, and they were the most famous among the grim reapers!
Legend has it that the Black and White Impermanence were once ordinary people in the human world, who had been sworn brothers since childhood and were as close as brothers.
One year, when the two were under Nantai Bridge and it was about to rain, Xie Bian let Fan Wujiu wait for a moment while he went home to fetch an umbrella. Xie Bian left, and it suddenly began to pour, causing the river to flood. Fan Wujiu, not willing to break his promise, drowned in the river.
When Xie Bian arrived, he found Fan Wujiu had disappeared and, heartbroken, he hanged himself under Nantai Bridge.
After their souls entered the Underworld, Yama took pity on their deep affection and granted them the positions of Black and White Impermanence. They were ordered to serve City God, arrest spirits, and eventually accumulated enough merits to enter the Underworld, now working under Lord Cui in Fengdu City.
Before coming to the human world, the Black and White Impermanence had already inquired about “Xu Yang.”
Knowing that Xu Yang had a close relationship with Lord Cui, and that even the great emperor above had attention on Xu Yang, their attitude towards Xu Yang was somewhat excessively good!
“Right!”
Fan Wujiu slapped his forehead and said, “I almost forgot…Lord Cui asked us to bring some things to Master Xu.”
He spoke and waved his hand.
A large pile of tokens, documents, and various weapons like knives, axes, and bells appeared on the ground beside them.
“…”
Wow!
What the hell is all this junk?
Xu Yang’s mind was filled with that thought when he saw the pile of stuff. But after he took a closer look at the tokens and documents, and sensed the aura emanating from the weapons, he suddenly stood up!
Fan Wujiu said, “These are some decrees for governing the gods of mountains, rivers, land, kitchen, doors, wells, toilets, and beds, among others. Additionally, these documents are official records from the Underworld.”
Xie Bian continued, “Lord Cui knew that you, Master Xu, have many Yin spirits at your disposal, and considering the shortage of positions for human grods, he has gifted you with these 108 decrees of Yin Deity and 36 documents of the Underworld officials, allowing you to confer titles at your discretion.”
Xu Yang swallowed, “Brother Cui is very generous.”
Pointing at the weapons, he asked incredulously, “All of these… are Yin treasures?”
Fan Wujiu nodded, “These are some common Yin treasures. Lord Cui is aware of the scarcity of Yin treasures in the human world. So, these 428 items are for you to distribute among your subordinates.”
From the side, Xie Bian waved his hand, and nine more Yin treasures appeared on the table.
These nine Yin treasures were of various shapes and sizes, with one even being a handkerchief, but the strong Yin energy emanating from it was far more potent than the other items.
“These nine Yin treasures are specially prepared for you by Lord Cui.”
Fan Wujiu added, “Xie and I took the initiative to infuse a bit of power into each of them. So, whoever refines these Yin treasures can unleash a strike on par with a Ghost Immortal.”
Although the pair were polite towards Xu Yang,
their ability to serve Lord Cui and be well-known in the human world meant they were no ordinary grim reapers.
Xu Yang was overjoyed and meticulously collected the nine Yin treasures.
These items could be given to his wives and father for their use.
As for the other 428 Yin treasures, he could hand them over to Yue Qiluo to distribute to the underworld soldiers.
Of course,
each of the underworld soldiers in the Xi Xia Ghost Market had a well-equipped gun by now.
Compared to Yin treasures, guns were much more effective against ordinary Yin spirits and malevolent beings.
However, Yin treasures had capabilities that firearms lacked.
A Yin spirit holding a Yin treasure would be able to greatly accelerate their cultivation of Yin energy.
He collected all the Yin treasures, decrees of Yin Deity, and official documents, and said, “Thank you, Black and White Impermanence… By the way, you two are in the human world to track down ghostly spirits, aren’t you?”
“That’s correct.”
“This time, when the Ghost Gate opened, many Yin spirits and fierce ghosts infiltrated the human world and are yet to return. If left unchecked, they will cause trouble and chaos. The influx of ghostly spirits is the exact reason why we’ve entered the human realm.”
“Aside from us, a large number of grim reapers and Underworld officials have also entered the human world.”
Xu Yang said, “You two are a blessing to us humans… But tracking down Yin spirits and fierce ghosts is a difficult task, especially since many of them hide during the day and come out at night, and are highly skilled at evading detection.”
“Indeed.”
Xie Bian smiled bitterly, “Nowadays, positions for gods are scarce, and many City Gods have vanished. The system that the Underworld used to build in the human world has long been dismantled, making it increasingly difficult to obtain information on the whereabouts of malevolent beings. Our only option is to search extensively.”
“You two,”
Xu Yang laughed, “Have you ever heard of the Da Xia Supernatural Affairs Bureau?”
Black and White Impermanence shook their heads in unison.
Xu Yang introduced the roles and responsibilities of the Da Xia Supernatural Affairs Bureau.
Fan Wujiu mused, “This bureau sounds a bit like the Six Gates back in the day… except that the Six Gates only handled human affairs, not those involving ghosts and deities. The founder of the Supernatural Affairs Bureau has quite the ambition, overseeing both the martial world and supernatural beings – it takes more than just strength to do that!”
Seeing Black and White Impermanence’s interest in the Supernatural Affairs Bureau, Xu Yang seized the opportunity and continued, “The branches of the Da Xia Supernatural Affairs Bureau are spread across all provinces, with some even having stationed personnel in county towns.”
“Additionally, the information system of the Supernatural Affairs Bureau is very advanced. They collaborate with the military and local public security, and even have informants infiltrated into various Daoist sects, clans, and aristocratic families. There are few things in the martial world and human world that can escape the notice of the bureau.”
“The main problem you grim reapers face in capturing ghostly spirits is gathering intelligence… But if you can cooperate with the Supernatural Affairs Bureau, you can quickly access information on mischievous spirits.”
The eyes of Black and White Impermanence lit up.
Xu Yang took out a pack of Chinese cigarettes, lit one, and continued, “As far as I know, you Underworld officials have performance evaluations. With good performance comes better benefits, and the Supernatural Affairs Bureau captures countless ghosts every year, most of which are destroyed on the spot.”
He blew a smoke ring, smiling, “If you can cooperate with the Supernatural Affairs Bureau, these ghosts…”
At this point,
Xu Yang paused for a moment and decided not to continue. Instead, he said, “Have some melon, eat some melon… After the sun comes up, I’ll welcome both of you with a feast.”
However, neither Black nor White Impermanence were in the mood for eating melons at this point.
They exchanged glances,
and Xie Bian asked, “Master Xu, how can we cooperate with the Supernatural Affairs Bureau?”
Seeing that Black and White Impermanence were interested, Xu Yang laughed, “That’s easy. I have a good relationship with the founder of the Supernatural Affairs Bureau. If both of you are sincere about cooperating, let’s have a meeting at a hotel after the sun comes up. We can discuss the details over a good meal.”
…
PS: Recommending a friend’s new book: Infinite Simulation, starting from the evolution of myths and history!
