Chapter 130

As soon as the police found the Ghost Gate, they called the Cultural and Tourism Bureau. So, when the Ghost Gate was brought back by the police, everyone present remained calm and composed, with no sense of having lost a child.

Only the Taoist priests still cared about this ancient artifact spirit, which symbolized the only connection between the Three Realms and the Underworld. Upon seeing it return, they immediately showed joy and approached: “Artifact spirit... ahem, how are you? Are you alright?”

The Ghost Gate, hearing the Taoist priests' concern, was momentarily at a loss.

As an artifact that connected the Three Realms and the Underworld, it had silently stood there for countless years, enduring the cleansing of spiritual energy from the heavens and earth, guiding countless souls. No one had ever asked it if it was alright.

In that moment, it felt a tingling sensation on its scalp, unsure of where to place its hands and feet. It frowned and replied harshly, “What, do you want me to be in trouble?”

As soon as the words left its mouth, it realized something was wrong because the Taoist priests' faces turned anxious. They hurriedly explained, “No, no! How could we have such an audacious thought!”

The Ghost Gate opened its mouth, suddenly feeling inexplicably irritated.

With its mind that hadn’t improved much in the ten thousand years of its existence, it couldn’t understand why it was feeling this way. It could only stiffly look away and hum.

The Taoist priests, not daring to provoke it, quickly surrounded the police, thanking them for bringing the child back safely.

The police thought the child's name was quite peculiar, and that so many elderly people were calling him "Sir." He probably came from a prominent family.

But with so many people following him, it was surprising that the trafficker had succeeded. What’s wrong with how people watch kids nowadays?

The police, with a set agenda, frowned as they observed the Taoist priests. They couldn’t figure out who among them was the child’s parent, so they decided to treat them all the same and immediately began educating them about being careless parents.

The Taoist priests lowered their heads, being lectured for a while.

Fortunately, the police saw that they were all elderly and didn’t reprimand them too harshly. They simply emphasized the importance of watching children in public places, instructed them to download anti-fraud apps, follow local anti-fraud public accounts, and bind their phone numbers before leaving.

The Taoist priests breathed a sigh of relief. First, they were glad the artifact spirit hadn’t made a mistake. Then, upon turning around, they found their mood somewhat complicated.

They saw the artifact spirit, who had been glaring at them earlier, now walking alongside Lian Cheng, calling him "Uncle Lian Cheng" repeatedly, occasionally looking nervously at Ke Xingzhou in front. The spirit seemed extremely obedient, a complete change from before.

Still irritated by its earlier inexplicable emotions, the Ghost Gate noticed the priests' gaze and immediately stiffened, glaring back at them.

The Taoist priests: “Wuu…”

Although the artifact spirit wasn’t really their child and had no need to be friendly with them, they couldn’t help but feel a little sad about being treated so differently.

However, their attention was quickly diverted by something else.

Ke Xingzhou brought up the matter of granting land to the Xiaoyao Sect.

With the supernatural disturbances finally resolved and the Ghost Gate spirit safely returned by the police, Director Wen was in a good mood and even considered a matter outside his authority, later commenting, “It’s not impossible.”After the country promoted the abolition of feudal superstitions, most temples and Taoist temples gradually declined. Except for some well-known temples, the rest of the Taoist temples barely made ends meet, relying on the annual funding from the Taoist Association to maintain basic operations.

However, even so, every year, many temples and Taoist temples are left deserted and on the brink of closure.

Some Taoist temples that have already closed down haven’t even had time to plan for other uses, so giving the land to the Xiaoyao Sect is just a matter of convenience.

To be honest, the strength of the Xiaoyao Sect was something he had witnessed firsthand on this trip. To exaggerate, Ke Xingzhou's actions of subduing the Demon Clan and the Ghost Gate artifact spirit could be considered a way of protecting the country, so it would not be wrong to give them some face.

However, these closed Taoist temples were mostly in remote, sparsely populated areas. If not, they wouldn’t have remained without any future plans up until now.

If this plot of land were to be given to the Xiaoyao Sect, it might not even be about forming a good relationship, but simply not creating enmity.

Director Wen hesitated to voice his concerns, wanting to hear Ke Xingzhou's thoughts.

But unexpectedly, Ke Xingzhou blinked and, very naturally, looked at the large base in front of him: "I want this piece of land."

Director Wen: "?"

Noticing the confusion on Director Wen's face, Ke Xingzhou withdrew his gaze and innocently looked at him: "Is that not possible?"

The staff of the Cultural and Tourism Bureau exchanged glances. Director Wen cleared his throat and awkwardly explained, "Daoist Ke, it’s like this. It's not that I’m unwilling to give you this land. If you had come to us six months ago, it might have been possible, but now, this land has already been planned as a tourism area, and our bureau has already invested a lot of effort into it..."

It wasn’t just the staff from the Cultural and Tourism Bureau— even the Taoist priests thought Ke Xingzhou’s request was somewhat unreasonable.

Although they had previously complained about the "Xiaoyao Sect Taoist Culture Experience Base," and many online users mistakenly thought the address of the Xiaoyao Sect was here, the land had been applied for by others first. Now, it had been renovated and was already in use.

If Ke Xingzhou wanted it now, what about the investment from the Cultural and Tourism Bureau?

Ke Xingzhou likely sensed the impossibility from their attitudes and frowned slightly: "How much did you spend on the renovation? I’ll reimburse you."

Director Wen was at a loss: "Daoist Ke, it’s not about money..."

A bold subordinate behind him couldn’t help but speak up: "Daoist Ke, you can't just take someone else's land."

Ke Xingzhou was a little confused: "Isn't that okay? But before you developed this land, didn’t you check whether it had an owner?"

Director Wen gasped and turned to ask the subordinate who had spoken earlier: "Is that true? Did someone use this land before?"

The subordinate waved his hands quickly: "No, that's impossible! We conducted a thorough investigation before requisitioning it. This land has been uninhabited for a long time!"

Ke Xingzhou: "Then did you check if this place had a registered Taoist temple?"

The subordinate hesitated for a moment, his expression becoming uncertain: "...Ah."

Director Wen sensed something was wrong, and upon inquiry, he learned that this land had indeed been home to a legitimate Taoist temple, and that temple had also been called Xiaoyao Sect. That was why the planning documents submitted by the subordinate had directly used this name.

At this point, the Cultural and Tourism Bureau found itself in the wrong. Director Wen looked into Ke Xingzhou’s calm eyes, feeling a strange sense of guilt.

However, the subordinate quickly explained: "But the registered Taoist temple hasn’t paid its association fees for several decades, and no one has been registered as the next temple leader. Every year, the Taoist Association’s list of attendees doesn’t include any disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect. Based on past experience, this temple no longer exists, so the temple’s address naturally became unclaimed. Our procedures are all compliant!"

Ke Xingzhou became even more confused: "You have to pay association fees?"

Why had his master never told him this?

Although he hadn’t been learning under his master for long, it had been two or three years. Had his master never added his name to the sect’s roster?Ke Xingzhou was slightly dazed, feeling a sense of something not too unexpected, but still difficult to accept.

He didn’t see what was happening behind the crowd. When the subordinate explained that the land was originally ownerless, Lian Cheng’s expression suddenly tightened, and he glanced at Chen Xiezi.

Chen Xiezi silently looked up at the sky, pretending not to sense the murderous "gaze" directed at him.

However, when his gaze swept over Ke Xingzhou, he couldn't help but feel a moment of daze.

When he first got involved in Ke Xingzhou’s life trajectory, he had used the identity of a long-deceased old Daoist, and inherited both his sect and its stories, which he had fabricated for Ke Xingzhou.

After Ke Xingzhou had assimilated all the teachings, he had made an excuse to wander off from the human realm.

He never expected that Ke Xingzhou would actually rebuild that broken sect, which had nothing but land at the time, and even took in two disciples. He also never anticipated that the Cultural Tourism Bureau would silently take over the land, develop it for tourism, and then tell Ke Xingzhou about all of this.

After hearing the subordinate’s explanation, the Bureau Chief let out a sigh of relief and continued explaining to Ke Xingzhou, "Daoist Ke, as you can see, our paperwork is in order. By rights, this land now belongs to the Cultural Tourism Bureau of the capital. From what I know, due to the recent downturn in the real estate market, several commercial properties in the city are still vacant. How about I help connect you with some others?"

Zhu Chu, one of the few who knew the full picture among the people present, couldn't help but roll his eyes, "Bureau Chief, what you're saying is wrong. This land has always been our Xiao Yao Sect’s temple. Why should we go somewhere else?"

The Bureau Chief froze, not expecting this reason at all.

To be honest, when Ke Xingzhou had mentioned that the land might have an owner, he had had a bad feeling about it.

Also, since the Xiao Yao Sect was indeed the same as the name of the previous temple, he had fleetingly considered this possibility.

But Ke Xingzhou was just too young, so young that he didn’t think Ke Xingzhou could have inherited any teachings from an old man who had long lost contact, and deliberately ignored it.

However, if this was really the case, his previous understanding was completely wrong.

The Xiao Yao Sect was established far earlier than the “Xiao Yao Sect Taoist Culture Experience Base” they had come up with, and even the land had originally belonged to them. Now, hadn’t they essentially taken a private citizen’s property?

The Bureau Chief shook his head, struggling to accept the reality, "But the Xiao Yao Sect’s records haven’t been updated in decades. The last update was during the early years of the founding of the country. Moreover, the Taoist Association’s personnel records have not increased…"

Ke Xingzhou’s expression didn’t change much, only becoming silent.

Chen Xiezi, however, felt inexplicably that this was largely his fault. After a moment of silence, he stepped forward to console Ke Xingzhou, "The elderly can’t keep up with the times, it’s normal. Maybe he just forgot?"

"Right, senility is a thing too," Zhu Chu added, trying to comfort him. "Maybe the ancestor just didn’t pay the membership fee because he was worried about having to make up for it when he went to the Taoist Association!"

Chen Xiezi: "…"

Only then did he realize that Ke Xingzhou had taken him as a disciple, and turned to give Zhu Chu a puzzled look.

This disciple really knew how to speak rudely!

After saying that, the Bureau Chief also realized he had touched a sensitive spot in Ke Xingzhou. He felt awkward and guilty, looking at him but unsure how to begin.

Ke Xingzhou looked at the place where he had lived and studied for over two years, his expression frozen.

Zhu Chu looked at his master’s expression and felt a sense of discomfort. At times like this, he really missed his junior brother. If his junior brother were here, he could probably use his ability with money to help solve the problem.

Unlike him, who had no abilities and no money, and could only stand there, feeling anxious.

A cold, indifferent voice then spoke, "Return the temple to him."Everyone froze for a moment, following the sound and turning to see Lian Cheng quietly "gazing" at Director Wen. His face, cold and icy like frost, was tense, with an inexplicable sharpness to it.

One must admit, the high-ranking underworld figure still had a certain intimidating presence.

Just thinking about the fact that the other party was sent by the underworld made Director Wen's heart tremble. However, he suppressed the natural fear instinct and struggled to explain the difficulties in this situation.

They weren’t even mentioning the time, effort, and money they had invested—such a large project had gone through numerous approvals to be implemented. Now, suddenly being told to return it to the Xiaoyao Sect, how would they explain it to their superiors?

Lian Cheng, however, directly interrupted the words Director Wen had yet to speak, pointing at the perplexed ghost gate standing beside him, seemingly troubled by something: "If this situation happens again, do you think you’ll be able to handle it?"

The ghost gate, suddenly called out: "?"

Director Wen: "…?"

Director Wen was confused and glanced warily at the ghost gate, only to find the latter equally puzzled.

The ghost gate, after a moment of contemplation with his not-so-brilliant mind, realized Lian Cheng was reprimanding him. He quickly hugged Lian Cheng’s leg to show his loyalty: "Uncle Lian Cheng, I truly know I was wrong! I was misled by the other party and acted foolishly. I won’t do it again! You have to believe me!"

Lian Cheng waved his hand, using a restriction to push him aside.

The ghost gate desperately reached out three steps away, trying to grab his pants leg, but Lian Cheng ignored him, coldly speaking: "Do you know why the demon race chose to manifest the weapon spirit here and lead him to the dark side?"

Director Wen froze.

Lian Cheng turned his face towards the ghost gate, signaling for him to explain.

To everyone's surprise, the ghost gate was just as confused. After scratching his head for a moment, he spoke uncertainly: "They said there was someone here who had ruined their plans several times, so they wanted me to bring down the heavenly thunder to destroy all of their hard work."

Lian Cheng nodded slightly, turning back to Director Wen with an expression that said "See, it's like this."

Director Wen: "???"

Still somewhat puzzled, the nearby Chen Xiazi understood and explained to him: "Don’t you get it? The evil sect that Xiaoyao Sect wiped out before was also the work of the demon race. Now, they’re targeting Xiaoyao Sect. This place has become their property!"

The ghost gate nodded repeatedly.

He remembered when he first came to the human world, how the demon race looked at the grand palace that was rebuilt here, filled with people. They hated it so much that their teeth almost ground to dust.

"…They said this place must have been built by Xiaoyao Sect over decades or even centuries, and asked me to destroy it completely, making Xiaoyao Sect regret ever provoking the demon race. They also told me to wipe out any pilgrims who came here to worship!" The ghost gate still had lingering fear, "Fortunately, I was quick-witted and didn’t do what they said. Otherwise, not only would I have been struck by calamity, but the heavenly Dao might even send down punishment to strike me!"

He had never suffered any hardship since his birth, and today’s lightning strike during his fall to the dark side had already caused him unbearable pain.

The ghost gate couldn’t even bear to think about it. If he had really followed the demon race’s instructions, leading the heavenly thunder to kill innocent humans, would he have even survived?

His lingering fear affected the others around him, and the group, including Director Wen, was struck as if by lightning, all in shock.

Director Wen trembled, his lips quivering: "Then, they’ve come once, they must have realized they were in the wrong place, right?"

Lian Cheng didn’t answer, only remaining silent and facing him, his tall figure naturally exuding an oppressive aura.

From Lian Cheng’s silence, Director Wen understood something—The demon race had come, but once again, the Xiaoyao Sect had thwarted their plans. From now on, they would likely see this "Xiaoyao Sect Taoist Cultural Experience Base" as inextricably linked to the real Xiaoyao Sect.

He let out a long, sorrowful sigh, his emotions difficult to describe.

Zhu Chu looked at the grand transformation of Xiaoyao Sect that they had turned into, and inexplicably felt a little guilty.Others had gone through half a day of procedures, spent money and effort to help them renovate the Taoist temple, and now they were just going to take it back the moment they arrived—it really did feel a bit unfair to the Bureau of Culture and Tourism.

He glanced at Ke Xingzhou. His master didn’t seem to be in the mood to deal with social niceties anymore, so he had no choice but to speak up apologetically: “Then how about we return the operating rights to you?”

“No, no need.” Director Wen rejected dejectedly.

Operate what? Help the demons lure in tourists and wipe them out all at once?

They couldn’t take on such a huge responsibility.

--

Xiaoyao Sect got their temple back without spending a single cent, and the Culture and Tourism Bureau still had to pay them the promised remuneration for “protecting the Xiaoyao Sect Taoist Culture Experience Base.”

For a time, some were happy and some were worried. In the middle of the two groups with entirely different moods, Blind Chen stared at Guimenguan and suddenly fell into deep thought.

Director Wen was still waiting for them to take Guimenguan back to the underworld. Seeing this, he perked up and asked, “Immortal, what’s wrong?”

Blind Chen glanced at him, shook his head, then used a restriction technique to transmit his voice so only Liancheng could hear: “He’s already fallen into demonic cultivation. Is it really safe to just take him back to the underworld like this?”

The process of becoming demonic is irreversible. Maybe Guimenguan genuinely realized now that becoming part of the demon race wasn’t fun and had resolved never to fall for their temptation again.

But the demons weren’t sealed away in the past merely because of their malice toward all beings.

Demonic power comes from the negative thoughts of countless living beings. Similarly, demonic energy has a powerful influence on others—it can subtly and unconsciously lead beings to corruption and obedience to their own desires.

This kind of gradual influence is extremely dangerous. Especially now, the underworld is already chaotic enough. The gates of the dead are overcrowded, the underworld’s officers are overwhelmed, and many duties are still backlogged with no ghosts left to process them.

Bringing Guimenguan, now corrupted, back at this time would be like adding fuel to the fire.

But if they left Guimenguan in the human realm, would they just let living souls keep coming here to “check in”?

What if something like today happened again?

This was indeed a serious problem. Liancheng’s expression was grave as he turned toward Guimenguan. The latter immediately felt his scalp tighten, alarms blaring in his mind. Instinctively, he tried to hide behind Blind Chen.

But Blind Chen grabbed the little tuft on his head and flung him out.

Blind Chen said with deep worry, “Well? Do you have any good solutions?”

For some reason, Liancheng glanced over at Ke Xingzhou, who was standing under a tree in a daze. His tone was calm, but what he said was earth-shattering: “The inn has a sealing formation.”

Blind Chen froze.

The Huangquan Inn was able to host all races in peace not just because the innkeeper was Liancheng.

Even before the inn was built, that place was an extremely chaotic, unclaimed territory. Humans, ghosts, demons, gods—anyone who ended up there became prey, slaughtered at will by the stronger.

Until the inn was founded.

It’s said that the inn itself is a powerful ancient sealing formation, capable of suppressing all kinds of powers. No human, ghost, demon, god, or devil can use their abilities freely there, which is what keeps all guests in check.

But if the inn prohibits all abilities, wouldn’t Guimenguan be unable to perform his duty of connecting the Three Realms with the underworld once he’s there?Blind Chen shared his concerns with Liancheng, but the latter remained calm and confidently revealed the next step: “Then let’s move the inn here.”

Blind Chen: “?”

Move what? Move it where?

Liancheng said, “Didn’t the underworld’s ghost officers complain that they never have personal time, always working and doing overtime? Let Guimenguan work on a ten-hour schedule—9 to 5, five days a week, with weekends off.”

“You actually took those drunkards’ words seriously?” Blind Chen eyed him suspiciously. “No, wait—why can’t he work anywhere else? Something’s off. You came up with this system… is it really just for the sake of the underworld and Guimenguan?”

“Isn’t it?” Liancheng accepted the suspicion without hesitation, looked down at Guimenguan, and said, “Then how about 7 to 5, six days a week with one day off?”

Blind Chen: “……”

Was that what he was questioning?

But before he could voice his doubts, Guimenguan suddenly jumped up from the ground: “Aaaah! Wait! Uncle Liancheng, I’m willing, I’m willing to work! That schedule is great, really great!”

Blind Chen paused and realized Liancheng hadn’t used a sound barrier or restriction when speaking—because even Ke Xingzhou, who had been squatting under a tree nearby drawing circles, inexplicably looked up in their direction.

He frowned, feeling like something was off, though he couldn’t say exactly what.

Blind Chen opened his mouth to say more, but Guimenguan jumped up and kicked him in the knee.

Guimenguan frantically signaled him with his eyes.

Stop talking! Say one more word and it’ll turn into a 007 schedule!

That would be no different from when he worked in the underworld before!

He’d rather be struck by lightning than do that kind of job again!!!