Chapter 37 Part 1
It had actually been scolded by Wu Heng.
It just wanted to see what was going on with Wu Heng! It heard he was being harassed by a crazy old man!
This old man was quite formidable, even daring to cause trouble for Wu Heng.
The little white snake wriggled on the ground, scattering dirt and grass everywhere, shamelessly acting spoiled. ‘Hee hee hee, I won’t leave, I want to slither around in the shadows.’
Wu Heng: “…No wonder Uncle He doesn’t like you.”
The little white snake stopped moving: ‘…’
Wu Heng knew how to hit a snake where it hurts.
The Yin messenger, Lai Jun, wasn’t as casual with the little white snake as he was with Wu Heng, showing it more respect.
When he drowned in the river outside the village, his soul trapped, it was the little white snake, fetching water, that pulled him out from the depths.
Lai Jun said to Wu Heng, ‘I’ll take Liu Jianguo and his family back to the underworld. If I miss my appointment time, I’ll have to wait a long time to reschedule.’
Wu Heng, looking at the distant mountains, suddenly called out to Lai Jun, “Really don’t want to make some money?”
Lai Jun was surprised. Of course, he wanted to make money! Although he was promoted by the higher-ups, dealing with those little ghosts required money, and the gold ingots he received during the Hungry Ghost Festival were almost all used for that.
Liu Jianguo said, ‘My nephew should be burning a lot of joss paper for us.’
Wu Heng shook his head and pointed at the distant mountains, where gusts of Yin wind were blowing, looking at Lai Jun.
Lai Jun narrowed his eyes, swiftly taking out his soul-snatching rope and throwing it in that direction.
The Yin messenger’s rope was long and invisible, extending several miles with a single throw. Lai Jun pulled with all his might, even throwing the rope over his shoulder and pulling in the opposite direction, his pale face flushed with exertion, like the famous painting “Barge Haulers on the Volga.”
‘Damn it, did I accidentally snag a boulder? I’m new to this, not very familiar with the equipment yet.’
Lai Jun felt slightly embarrassed, seeing the senior officer, Liu Jianguo, looking at him.
Wu Heng stepped forward, grabbed a section of the rope, and with a slight tug, easily pulled the ensnared spirits closer.
Lai Jun immediately gave Wu Heng the middle finger. ‘Who asked for your help? Are you the Yin messenger or am I?’
Wu Heng pointed at the other end of the rope.
Seven or eight foreign-looking spirits were caught on the end of the chilling soul-snatching rope, like flowers on a vine.
Everyone immediately knew that these weren’t Chinese ghosts, probably from Southeast Asia.
So many souls, on a group tour?
Lai Jun raised an eyebrow, staring at them as he questioned them sternly, ‘Foreigners? What are you doing in China? We don’t offer 144-hour visa-free transit. Show me your passports, do you have visas?’
The Yin and Yang worlds had different systems. There was frequent travel between countries in the human world, with dedicated agencies handling visas.
But the underworld was different. Newly deceased spirits would rush to their respective countries’ underworld institutions for reincarnation. There was almost no international travel, so there weren’t any dedicated visa offices.
However, there were unlucky souls who died abroad and needed to return home for the seventh-day memorial, so sneaking back was one thing, but if they encountered Yin messengers, they could apply for temporary visas.
The foreign ghosts huddled together, looking at Lai Jun blankly, seemingly not understanding him, asking timidly, “Sir, can you speak English?”
Liu Jianguo’s patriotic fervor flared. He hadn’t expected English to be the universal language even in the afterlife! This was outrageous.
Lai Jun was embarrassed. He wasn’t a good student when he was alive, his English was terrible, and as for Wu Heng, he hadn’t even finished elementary school and probably couldn’t tell the difference between pinyin and the alphabet.
The little white snake and Liu Ziyang only knew a few English words, and Liu Jianguo and Chen Jiawen couldn’t speak English either.
Lai Jun said, ‘Should I summon Zhou Yi’s soul for a few minutes? He can translate, he’s the top student in his school.’
Wu Heng raised an eyebrow at Lai Jun. He had been promoted and could summon living souls now.
Lai Jun thought for a moment, then shook his head. ‘Never mind, if something happens to Zhou Yi after I summon his soul, and it affects his studies, his mother will go complain to my grandmother, and it’ll be a disaster.’
Lai Jun wasn’t a saint when he was alive, but he was very filial to his grandmother, who had raised him.
Lai Jun looked at Wu Heng. ‘The underworld network is still buggy, do you have a translation app on your phone? Let me use it.’
Wu Heng immediately volunteered. ‘No need, I suddenly realized I can understand them. I’ll translate.’
Lai Jun and the little white snake thought that perhaps Wu Heng, after waking up, had not only become a powerful shaman doctor, but had also gained the ability to speak English.
The foreign spirits timidly presented their identification documents, whispering to Wu Heng in English, “These are our IDs. We didn’t intend to illegally cross the border, we just wanted to see what the esteemed Yin messengers of your country look like.”
Wu Heng translated, “They didn’t intend to sneak in illegally, they just wanted to see if the Chinese Yin messengers look presentable.”
Lai Jun, already annoyed by their accented English, now felt his blood run cold upon hearing Wu Heng’s translation.
They wanted to see if they looked presentable?
So, they thought he, Lai Jun, looked unpresentable?!
The leading foreign spirit, noticing Lai Jun’s displeased expression, quickly offered a bag of gold ingots, continuing in English, “This is a small token of our respect for you, Master. We appreciate your hard work in processing our temporary visas, please accept this.”
Lai Jun opened the bag and examined the gold ingots. Their quality wasn’t as good as the ones Wu Heng folded, but they were still worth something. His expression softened slightly, then darkened again upon hearing Wu Heng’s translation, “They’re giving you the money, hurry up and issue our temporary visas.”
Not only did Lai Jun’s face darken, even Liu Jianguo and his family looked displeased.
In their territory, asking for a favor and being so arrogant?
The foreign spirits, intimidated, quickly explained their purpose in English, “Master, we came to China as a group for medical treatment. Our own practitioners couldn’t cure us and suggested we seek help from Chinese shaman doctors.”
Wu Heng translated concisely, “They came here for treatment, and Chinese shaman doctors are barely capable of treating them.”
Everyone was enraged!
Liu Ziyang and the little white snake lunged forward, biting the leading spirit’s legs.
Insulting an Yin messenger was one thing, but now they dared to insult their Doctor Wu Heng?!
Currently, the only known shaman doctor in China was Wu Heng. How dare they say he was only “barely” capable of treating them?
Brother Wu Heng had helped him find his dad, even extending his father’s life for a day, allowing them to reunite, he was the greatest shaman doctor! In Liu Ziyang’s eyes, Wu Heng was the most powerful!
These strange-looking foreign spirits, caught sneaking across the border, still dared to mock Wu Heng?
The little white snake had no other thoughts, it just felt that Wu Heng was family, Xi Xi’s godfather! It could mock Wu Heng privately, but others couldn’t, especially not ghosts.
Teeth marks appeared on the spirit’s legs. Liu Ziyang, having been brutally murdered, carried resentment, and the little white snake possessed natural spiritual power. Their bites made thick Yin qi seep from the wounds.
The other ghosts joined the fray, the little ghost and the little white snake biting the foreign spirits like rabid dogs.
Wails and screams filled the air.
‘Master, Translator, how did you translate our words to the Yin messenger?’ the Southeast Asian spirits wailed, being bitten and beaten.
Wu Heng looked confused. “Huh? I translated accurately.”
‘Enough! Stop!’ Lai Jun roared, stopping the violence.
The little ghost and the little white snake, knowing that Lai Jun was an official Yin messenger, stopped.
Liu Jianguo also wanted to join the fight but restrained himself, remembering his former identity as a police officer. Seeing Lai Jun’s furious expression as he stopped the fight, he felt a pang of regret.
They had similar jobs, they couldn’t just act on their emotions, how frustrating.
Lai Jun tossed his soul-snatching rope, lantern, official hat, and the bag of gold ingots to Wu Heng, cracking his knuckles.
Lai Jun charged into the group of spirits, throwing punches and kicks. ‘Your grandpa was a bully when he was alive, do you think I’m some kind-hearted police officer?’
‘I’ll teach you to be disrespectful!’ the Yin messenger’s slaps echoed, his face grim. ‘Caught sneaking across the border and still so arrogant, do you know who you’re talking to? The future number one Yin messenger of the underworld!’
‘And you dared to insult my admirer! Who gave you the right?’
Wu Heng: “…” Admirer?
Lai Jun’s attacks were ruthless, aiming for their most vulnerable spots, even pulling their hair.
Brutal!
Incredibly brutal.
The little white snake cheered excitedly, joining the fight with the little ghost.
The seven or eight Southeast Asian spirits wailed, their world crumbling. They had been so respectful, why were they still being beaten? Did that translator even translate correctly?
The leading spirit, kicked in the groin, its Yin qi surging, shouted, ‘I’ll devour these disrespectful little ghosts and replenish my strength!’
A wave of bloodlust washed over them, as if they had suddenly been submerged in a sea of blood, the pressure almost unbearable. Where was their earlier timid demeanor?
Liu Jianguo, holding his wife’s waist, noticed the change in the foreign spirits’ expressions, no longer docile, but malicious and vicious.
Being a new ghost, he didn’t understand the underworld hierarchy, only feeling… only feeling like…
His wife, Chen Jiawen, said firmly, ‘They’re all malicious ghosts who have taken lives!’
Chen Jiawen had waited thirty years at the Naihe Bridge for her family, encountering countless spirits during that time. She could naturally recognize a malicious ghost.
Malicious ghosts were different from ordinary ghosts, they were always restrained by Yin messengers when passing through the Naihe Bridge.
So what were these Southeast Asian malicious ghosts doing in China? Their presence would cause countless deaths.
Wu Heng, staring at the chaotic scene, said, “These are the malicious ghosts Lu Guoliang raised and worshipped in Southeast Asia. He was trying to summon them to deal with Liu Ziyang.”
But Lu Guoliang hadn’t expected those ferocious Southeast Asian ghosts to be so cautious about illegally crossing the border into China, hence their delay, and when they encountered the Yin messenger, they tried to pretend to be ordinary ghosts to avoid trouble.
Hearing that these ghosts were raised by Lu Guoliang, their family’s greatest enemy, Liu Jianguo and Chen Jiawen couldn’t control themselves any longer.
Liu Jianguo, seeing that he had lost his uniform after death, charged forward with his wife.
He wasn’t a police officer now, just a father seeking revenge for his son.
Although a new ghost, Liu Jianguo was empowered by his merits, his punches carrying the force of an Yin messenger, sending the spirits wailing in pain.
Wu Heng, tossing the light blue wristband in his hand, watched the one-sided fight.
The Southeast Asian spirits were subdued by Liu Jianguo and Lai Jun, kneeling on the ground, bruised and battered, wailing, ‘Please stop hitting us, Masters…’
Everyone gave Liu Jianguo a thumbs-up. As expected of a veteran police officer, even as a new ghost, his fighting skills were superior to a low-level Yin messenger’s.
Liu Ziyang raised his chin proudly, enjoying the scene.
Lai Jun said to Wu Heng, ‘I’ll take them all back to the underworld. Illegal border crossing, insulting underworld officials, murder, they have enough charges against them to be punished severely.’
Liu Ziyang’s face fell. ‘Huh? They’re going the same way as us? They’re dirty.’
Wu Heng, indulging the child, returned Lai Jun’s lantern, chanted a spell, and beckoned to the scattered Southeast Asian spirits. ‘Inside.’
Lai Jun: ‘…Holy crap, you’re giving me a forced upgrade.’
Wasn’t this favoritism?
