Chapter 107

Everyone truly didn’t know how to explain the fact that although the Xiaoyao Sect was a legitimate Taoist temple, it had absolutely no official documentation.

Fortunately, at that moment, a strong gust of yin wind suddenly rose from nowhere, drawing the attention of the local Taoist priests away.

Perhaps reminded of some unpleasant past experiences, the local priests' expressions changed dramatically the moment they felt the yin wind. They immediately raised their ritual implements and formed a defensive formation.

“Fellow Daoists, be careful! It might be another attack from the demonic clan!”

“That group of demons has very sinister methods. They're clearly beings rejected by the heavenly way, yet they can summon heavenly lightning—last time, we were ambushed by Jiulong Temple’s ghost soldiers because we didn’t expect them to be able to wield thunder. That’s how we got caught!”

“These despicable cowards always resort to shady tactics. We underestimated them last time, but this time we’ll make sure they don’t leave alive!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the yin wind inside the room intensified. Even the kumquats on the potted tree in the corner were blown off, making the local priests feel a pang of heartache.

At the same time, they couldn’t help but feel confused. These demons were way too arrogant—causing such a scene right on the Taoist Association’s turf? Did they think the Taoist Association was defenseless?

Before they could figure out why the enemy was acting so brazenly, the figures began to materialize in the wind—each one cloaked in black robes and emanating eerie yin energy. At a glance, it was obvious they weren’t the kind of entities to mess with. Especially when one of them swaggered in and arrogantly asked, “Who were you saying wouldn’t leave alive?”

The Taoist priests inwardly cursed. Who else could it be if not you damned demons?

Then they looked up—and saw dozens of shadowy figures packed into the meeting room, so many that there was barely any room to stand.

Their hearts sank. Had the demon-suppressing formation failed to kill any of the demonic clan? Why were there still so many left, and why were they so arrogant, showing up en masse to provoke them on their own turf?

Just then, one of the Jiangcheng priests caught sight of a familiar figure and blurted out, “Daoist Ke, isn’t that your ghost official friend?”

Ghost official?

The priests from Shancheng quickly applied spiritual sight charms to themselves, chanted to open their eyes, and looked carefully at the figures. Sure enough, all they saw was thick ghostly energy—no demonic aura.

Each figure even wore an ID badge on their chest. The one leading the group had a title clearly written—

Investigation Department, Lu Zhi Dao.

Lu Pan, the legendary judge of the underworld!

“……” The Taoist priests of the Shancheng Taoist Association slowly lowered their ritual implements in a daze.

Lu Zhi Dao scanned the crowd, raised an eyebrow when he saw Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen, and asked the intern judge next to him, Lu Li, “Are these the Xiaoyao Sect people you were talking about?”

Before Lu Li could answer, Zhu Chu raised his hand and jumped out, shouting, “Me me me! I’m one too!”

He was a proud member of Xiaoyao Sect—his master’s precious disciple!Lu Zhi Dao's gaze lingered on him for a moment, then he nodded without responding, his half-smiling eyes falling on the Taoist priests behind him. “The Underworld is busy with official duties. I haven’t come to the mortal world in a long time. It seems you all want me to stay a while longer?”

The Taoist priests: “…………???”

The local priests of Shancheng were completely bewildered. They had no idea what was going on. Why had such a large group of ghost officials suddenly shown up?

Though ghost officials were rarely seen—and even when spotted, it was only in a fleeting glance with no chance to establish any connection—it was still alarming to suddenly see so many of them appear at once.

Some of the older priests even thought their time had come and that they were about to die on the same day as their fellow Daoists.

The priests from Jiangcheng were also momentarily confused and instinctively looked toward Ke Xingzhou. Only after hearing the conversation did they realize—this must be the group of ghosts Ke Xingzhou had mentioned earlier.

When Ke Xingzhou brought it up, they thought the Underworld would send a few ghost officials over sometime last night, perhaps just a couple of intern ghost officers or soul catchers. They never imagined Lu Pan from the Underworld’s Investigation Department would come in person.

The priests instantly tensed up and quickly whispered explanations to the local priests from Shancheng.

However…

In the middle of their explanation, they paused, thinking—wasn’t Ke Xingzhou’s dark under-eye circles due to an all-night discussion with Underworld officials?

For some reason, the priests felt something about this whole situation seemed... off.

--

Lu Pan, who was supposed to be stationed in the Underworld, had come to the mortal world personally—just to meet a young man barely past twenty.

Both the local Shancheng priests and those from Jiangcheng were dazed, thinking: what an achievement. To live long enough to see this many ghost officials without being at death’s door.

And they were all polite too. Lu Zhi Dao even shook hands with Ke Xingzhou upon arrival and introduced himself: “Greetings, Daoist Ke. I am Lu Zhi Dao from the Investigation Department, one of the six branches of the Underworld. I’m responsible for diplomatic communications between the mortal and spirit realms.”

Though the Underworld had long stopped sending news to the surface, many old legends remained.

Zhu Chu, who had been studying supernatural folklore out of boredom recently, made a sound of surprise: “Wait, isn’t Lu Pan supposed to be the one who redresses the grievances of spirits in legends?”

The Taoist priests all subtly leaned in, eavesdropping while sneaking glances at the scene. They had the same question.

From what they understood, the Investigation Department was the Underworld’s equivalent of a justice department—responsible for rewarding the good, punishing the wicked, and clearing up wrongful cases. But unlike the Department of Virtue and the Department of Punishment, the Investigation Department dealt not only with ghosts but also with karmic ties in the mortal world. In the past, their officials would often come to the mortal realm, and many legends were born from such visits.

But that alone didn’t sound like diplomatic work, did it?

Lu Zhi Dao gave a slight smile. “The Underworld moves with the times too. We’ve studied some of the mortal world’s more advanced systems. The Investigation Department’s duties have evolved. Now, aside from dealing with the karmic matters of ghosts, we’re also in charge of cross-realm communications. It’s just that in recent decades, the surge in the mortal population has caused a corresponding increase in ghost population in the Underworld, so things have been a bit hectic.”

Zhu Chu summed it up in one line: “You didn’t have time.”

Lu Zhi Dao: “……”

Well, that was technically correct, but phrased like that, it just sounded weird.

He gave Zhu Chu a strange look, wondering how this seemingly unremarkable senior disciple of Xiaoyao Sect kept cutting in and making things awkward.

Still, having been a ghost for thousands of years, Lu Zhi Dao wasn’t going to bicker with a human boy over something so small. He quickly shifted the topic: “Daoist Ke, I’ve already heard from Lu Li. With the excess of ghostly energy in the Underworld lately, we’re grateful that your Xiaoyao Sect took in those problematic but kind-hearted ghosts, gave them work to help burn off the excess energy, and kept the western part of the capital city in order. Even conflicts between ghosts have dropped significantly. I came here specifically to thank you for your support and contribution to the Underworld’s operations.”

After this official speech, the local Taoist priests were all stunned. They turned to the Jiangcheng priests with uncertain expressions: “The Xiaoyao Sect… also takes in kind-hearted ghosts?”

When they said “takes in,” they had carefully chosen a term that wasn’t too pointed.After all, in the eyes of most legitimate Taoist temples, benevolent spirits are just a group of ghosts who pose no threat to humans after death—carefree and even protected by the Underworld.

Illegally detaining benevolent spirits was equivalent to imprisoning citizens. Letting them work for you? That was outright heretical behavior!

The Jiangcheng priests: “……”

They were now starting to regret glossing over those borderline-heretical practices of Xiaoyao Sect just to simplify their report. As the local Shancheng priests stared at them, they felt too guilty to say a word.

Zhu Chu already knew their temple wasn’t exactly “official.” Especially now that they were applying for temple land use approval, he didn’t dare say a single reckless word.

The atmosphere on-site was... indescribably awkward.

Lu Zhi Dao was completely confused. Why were the mortal-world Taoist Associations talking in such roundabout ways? He could barely understand them.

He turned to look at Lu Li beside him, who was sweating nervously.

This was, after all, a case of “act first, explain later.” Even Lu Li didn’t quite remember how he had explained it to Lu Zhi Dao. But in Lu Zhi Dao’s understanding, Ke Xingzhou had taken in those benevolent ghosts—who had committed minor infractions but weren’t severe enough to be deported back to the Underworld—as a last resort to help with a pressing issue.

That was definitely a good thing. Coincidentally, the Judgement Office had recently updated its systems and the workload had eased. So Lu Zhi Dao took this chance to bring some ghosts along to personally thank Ke Xingzhou.

Lu Li didn’t dare let Lu Zhi Dao linger here any longer and quickly reminded him, “Judge Lu, I think they came today to establish a local branch office.”

Lu Zhi Dao slapped his forehead, immediately tossing his confusion aside and laughed heartily: “Look at my memory. We came here today not just to thank Daoist Ke for helping with the ghost employment issue, but also to deliver your official certificate.”

Everyone: “?”

A certificate?

Nie Chen’s gaze flickered slightly as he glanced at Lu Li.

Daoist Feng couldn’t help but remind: “Judge Lu, if this is a diplomatic matter, it should probably go through our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or at least be reported to the Special Incident Handling Bureau so they can submit the paperwork for you—”

“No, no.” Lu Zhi Dao waved his hand and flipped his palm, pulling out a black-covered certificate. “Diplomatic matters between realms can wait. What I’m delivering today is a cooperation certificate for Xiaoyao Sect.”

Everyone: “……???”

They understood every single word, yet it all sounded so foreign.

Lu Zhi Dao, unaware of their complicated feelings, merely caught a glimpse of their reactions and assumed it was envy.

He shoved the certificate into Ke Xingzhou’s hands and couldn’t help but sigh, “To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever issued a certificate like this. Xiaoyao Sect really is a trailblazer—your spirit of innovation is something we can all learn from!”

Ke Xingzhou unfolded the certificate, and the bold headline immediately caught his eye—

[Official Cooperative Unit of the Underworld]

Ke Xingzhou: “……”

The Taoist priests: “…………”

Even with Zhu Chu’s wild imagination, he couldn’t help but think this was a bit too underworldly. If they hung this thing at the front of Xiaoyao Sect, who in the world would believe they were a proper, respectable Taoist temple anymore?!The ghost messengers behind Lu Zhi Dao were looking at the certificate with quite a bit of envy.

That was a certificate issued by the Underworld itself!

The jurisdiction of the Underworld wasn’t just some tiny patch of land. In any country that believed in the Underworld, all living souls were under its governance. This was basically the equivalent of a joint certificate issued by several mortal nations.

They had worked diligently in the Underworld for hundreds of years, pulling long shifts, and even then it was hard to get a departmental merit badge—let alone a certificate directly from the Underworld.

If they could get their hands on something like that, while they might not be promoted instantly to replace one of the senior judges, they’d easily win any merit or excellence evaluations.

Now that Xiaoyao Sect had received such a high-status certificate, even if its leaders couldn’t skip the exam and become civil servants in the Underworld after death, just being associated with them would be a huge benefit for the intern judge working with them.

Lu Li felt their gazes and couldn’t help puffing out his chest slightly, proudly showing off his newly updated work badge.

—He was now an official judge!

The other intern ghost messengers were green with envy.

Ke Xingzhou’s expression shifted slightly as he turned the certificate over a few times to examine it closely. He noticed that it granted Xiaoyao Sect certain administrative powers that only the Underworld usually had. This really might be the most legitimate certificate their sect had ever received.

He looked pleased and turned to Daoist Feng.

For some reason, Daoist Feng suddenly had a sinking feeling, as if something unexpected was about to happen.

Then Ke Xingzhou asked, “Can this prove we’re a legitimate Taoist temple?”

Daoist Feng: “……”

The other priests: “…………”

Lu Zhi Dao: “???”

He looked at the hesitant group, and his brows slowly furrowed. He more or less understood now—Daoist Ke had come to the Shancheng Taoist Association to handle official business, but got stonewalled!

How could Xiaoyao Sect not be a legitimate temple?

Before he came, Lu Li had shown him footage of the benevolent ghosts living their daily lives in the mortal world. There was none of that idle, resentful gloom typically associated with the dead—each one of them was so cheerful and vibrant, it was as if they’d come back to life.

In the current era of spiritual energy depletion, ordinary Taoist temples had a hard time even catching ghosts. When it came to benevolent spirits, they were even more hesitant. Letting those ghosts work obediently? That was unthinkable.

So in Lu Zhi Dao’s mind, there was no Taoist temple in the mortal world more legitimate than Xiaoyao Sect. That’s why he had gone out of his way to get this “Official Cooperative Unit of the Underworld” certificate approved by his superiors—to show his sincerity.

Why was this group of so-called legitimate temples turning around and questioning Xiaoyao Sect instead?

Lu Zhi Dao’s face hardened, and he stared sharply at the Shancheng temple priests—especially Daoist Feng. “This certificate was specially approved by the Underworld. If you have any doubts, you’re welcome to come with me to the Underworld and verify it personally with my superiors.”

The priests: “……”

Judge Lu was already one of the highest-ranking officials in the Judgement Office. Anyone higher than him would probably be one of the Ten Kings of Hell!

These priests were all elderly. Though they had cultivated for many years, they were still human and bound by mortal concerns. The older one got, the more they avoided topics like death—let alone traveling to the Underworld directly.

What if they died there?

The priests quickly waved their hands: “No, no. We’ve all witnessed Daoist Ke’s capabilities firsthand. Of course we don’t doubt anything. It’s just that when it comes to official procedures... this certificate isn’t listed in our reference materials.”Daoist Feng was in a real bind.

Lu Zhi Dao, on the other hand, didn’t see what the big deal was. With a grand wave of his hand, he said, “The times are changing. Even our Underworld has started modernizing reforms to adapt to a new era. How can you still be stuck in your old ways? Come on, give me your superior’s number, I’ll explain it to them.”

Daoist Feng: “...?”

Daoist Feng didn’t even know how it happened. By the time he came to his senses, his phone was already in Lu Zhi Dao’s hand.

The call to the Southwest Taoist Association had already gone through. After a brief beeping sound, a familiar elderly female voice came through the speaker: “Hello?”

—The current president of the Southwest Taoist Association was a woman.

Lu Zhi Dao straightened his expression and, with a very official tone, explained his purpose: “...In short, this certificate was issued by our Underworld, complete with the official seal. Hurry up and approve it on your end, raise your administrative efficiency a little. Learn more from the capital’s practices and let’s make progress together!”

President of the Southwest Taoist Association: “...”

There was a long silence on the other end. Lu Zhi Dao thought the signal had dropped and checked the screen—it still showed full bars.

He picked the call back up: “Hello?”

Then he heard the president’s voice, a bit distant now, as if speaking to someone nearby: “Nobody important, just a scam call. What’s wrong with old Feng? Did someone steal his phone...?”

Then came a flurry of “beep beep beep”—the call was hung up.

Lu Zhi Dao: “...?”

The other Daoists: “...”

Being mistaken for a scammer left Lu Zhi Dao a bit annoyed. When he tried calling again, he found he’d been blocked.

Daoist Feng: “…………”

Lu Zhi Dao handed the phone back to him, though he didn’t seem truly angry. “Strong anti-fraud awareness is good. So—anyone else got contact info for your higher-ups?”

After getting several numbers blocked in a row, the Daoists finally managed to explain the situation clearly to the president via video call.

The president listened to the whole account and fell silent for a long, long time. At last, she let out an “Ah”—but her expression remained blank with confusion.

The Daoists thought: finally, someone who understands how we feel. Watching Ke Xingzhou and the Underworld personnel—both people and ghosts—acting so calm and natural, they’d started to wonder if they were the strange ones.

Then the president, after long contemplation, looked at them suspiciously and asked, “...Are you real people? You’re not deepfaked AIs, right?”

The Daoists: “…………”

—

The questioning was endless. Just as everyone was getting caught in a loop of trying to prove they were real, Zhu Chu finally finished getting the full story from the ghost messengers about how extraordinary this certificate really was. Still riding the high from that revelation, he turned around—only to find this awkward standoff.

He raised an eyebrow in surprise: “Why not just have a ghost messenger go through and let the president see them directly?”

Everyone: “……”

They all recalled how those benevolent ghosts from Xiaoyao Sect had just popped up on Chong’er Mountain, fell silent for a moment—and realized they had absolutely no way to refute his suggestion.This really was the simplest, most convenient, and fastest way to gain the other party's trust.

So a moment later, a panicked scream was heard from the other end of the call. After calming down the frightened civilians around her, the president of the Southwest Taoist Association sat back down in front of the camera, her face full of complicated emotions.

Her expression was dazed: “What was it you were trying to apply for again?”

Daoist Feng gave another explanation, describing how much of a role Xiaoyao Sect had played in eliminating demonic sects and rescuing Taoist priests in the southwest, but they couldn't provide standard documentation—only the "Cooperative Unit" certificate issued by the Underworld.

The president of the Southwest Taoist Association fell into confusion once again.

She looked at the three clean and attractive members of Xiaoyao Sect in the video and asked a soul-piercing question: “How did you even manage to open a temple in the capital?”

The Daoists: “...”

Ke Xingzhou: “...”

Good question.

He didn’t know either.

--

Religious affairs weren’t entirely under the association’s control anymore. Given Xiaoyao Sect’s unique situation, the president couldn’t make a decision either. She asked them to scan the certificate and send it over so she could go consult others.

Lu Zhi Dao had now experienced the bureaucratic process in the living world and felt inexplicably exhausted, sighing, “There are plenty of procedures in the living world that need simplifying too.”

The Daoists: “...”

Lu Zhi Dao didn’t pay attention to the expressions on the Daoists’ faces. Remembering they had said Ke Xingzhou helped deal with demonic sects in the southwest, he asked curiously, “Daoist Ke, did you take our Underworld’s benevolent ghosts into battle?”

The Daoists tensed up, thinking: here it comes.

Even though the Underworld had entrusted those ghosts to Xiaoyao Sect out of necessity, it had only been to watch over them. Benevolent ghosts were protected by the Heavenly Dao, and if anything went wrong, it would implicate the Underworld. Letting them fight with yin soldiers really wasn’t appropriate...

Before they could explain how urgent the situation had been at the time, Lu Zhi Dao suddenly burst out laughing: “Good!”

Everyone: “???”

Lu Zhi Dao said, “That group of benevolent ghosts is full of energy. When they wandered the living world before, they were always causing trouble, and we had no way to control them. The Underworld has been distressed about this for ages and couldn’t think of a solution.”

“Xiaoyao Sect actually figured it out—burning off their energy while strengthening their sense of law and order, helping them understand the consequences of breaking rules. No wonder there have been far fewer ghost disturbances reported from the southwest these past few days.” Lu Zhi Dao was moved. “When I return, I’ll report this early success to my superiors. Your methods are worth promoting!”

As he spoke, Zhu Chu immediately picked up on the opportunity and stepped forward to offer a business card.

“Not at all. We were only able to get today’s tasks done smoothly thanks to your help. Otherwise, going through that mess of review and paperwork would’ve taken ten days or more, and who knows if we’d have even passed.” Zhu Chu said, “As it happens, we at Xiaoyao Sect are planning to set up a branch in the southwest to fully implement the yin-yang labor system. Judge Lu, if there’s a chance, would you consider cooperating with us again?”

As he spoke, he somehow produced a thick incense stick, brand new, and lit it in front of everyone, cupping the smoke and wafting it toward Lu Zhi Dao’s nose.

Lu Zhi Dao initially tried to decline, but the moment he smelled the incense, he paused.

“This incense is excellent. The fragrance is pure. Is this what you use as salary for the benevolent ghosts?”

“Of course! These are employees personally entrusted to us by the Underworld. How could we offer subpar materials? Rest assured, whether or not you end up cooperating with our new branch, we’ll treat the ghosts equally. Their monthly incense compensation will never fall below this standard.”

The two men, deeply moved, shook hands and immediately began discussing the details of cooperation.The Daoists nearby opened their mouths, belatedly realizing that they hadn’t managed to get a single word in.

Was there something wrong with the business skills of Xiaoyao Sect’s senior disciple?!