Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Wei Xi asked, “Can’t we just send a message in a dream or come to their door?”
Black Impermanence wearily shook his head: “Those with official titles possess inherent yang energy. The higher the title, the stronger the energy. They must actively request an audience.”
Wei Xi pondered for a moment and understood. In the past, one method for dispelling ghosts and spirits was to obtain the seal of the county magistrate. This was based on the belief that officials possessed the righteous energy of heaven and earth and the power of the people’s faith. The higher the magistrate’s rank, the stronger this “energy” was. Therefore, there was a saying that ghosts were immune to ghosts within a hundred meters of the county magistrate’s court. It was similar in today’s society, except the government offices had become public centers.
The “Introduction to the Basic Principles of Marxism” that Wei Xi initially gave to his mild-mannered neighbor, Uncle Zhao, was probably based on the same principle. With enough believers, even useless inanimate objects could be used for exorcism, let alone living people. Although Black Impermanence was a fairly high-ranking official in the underworld, the mortal and spiritual realms were not interconnected. He was, after all, a ghost, and it wasn’t so surprising that he couldn’t approach the mortal government unless requested to see him voluntarily.
However, despite understanding, Wei Xi still found Black Impermanence’s request difficult to fulfill.
Being a leader, Black Impermanence was adept at reading people and immediately noticed Wei Xi’s hesitation: “Is there some inconvenience?”
Wei Xi shook his head: “You don’t know, but the Taicang Sect isn’t doing too well.”
Black Impermanence was surprised: “How can that be? You’ve provided us with over seven hundred jobs.”
Wei Xi said heavily: “Perhaps it’s because we started too late and our foundation is still shallow. To be honest, we’re currently trying to join the local Taoist Association, but unfortunately, our qualifications aren’t enough, so the outlook isn’t very optimistic.”
Moreover, after staying outside the mountains for so long, he had gradually realized that his profession wasn’t easy to make a living in these days. Even a Taoist like Kuang Zhiming lived a very poor life.
Black Impermanence paused, a deep sense of melancholy creeping into his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses— the mortal realm was truly more difficult than he had imagined. The Taicang Sect was already considered quite powerful among the Taoist temples he had encountered, so how could they not even join the local Taoist Association? No wonder those bachelors couldn’t find wives their whole lives; it was understandable.
The two heads of the sister unit sat facing each other, sighing deeply. Both were leaders bearing heavy responsibilities, and they exchanged a glance, feeling a deep sense of shared misery.
Wei Tianyi passed by several times, always seeing this gloomy atmosphere, and couldn’t help but glance over a few more times— what was all this gloom?
Wei Xi met his gaze and suddenly remembered that this disciple seemed to be involved in business as well, so he might know a thing or two. He proactively asked, “Tianyi, if we want to cooperate with government departments, what’s the best way to do it?”
Wei Tianyi’s face darkened; he thought to himself, “Who the hell are you calling ‘Tianyi’?” But his mind instinctively went through the procedures for attracting investment in various places: “You can go to the XX office and apply to the Party and government departments. What do you want to cooperate on?”
Wei Xi subconsciously glanced at his disciples. His second disciple had turned his head away since Black Impermanence started speaking, seemingly unable to listen. While Tuan Tuanyi, with his meager intelligence, didn’t realize how incongruous the topic was and was seriously considering, “Master, if Lord Black can’t go in person, our sect probably won’t have much persuasive power.”
Wei Xi nodded. Wei Tianyi felt something was off about this. The young man’s surname was Hei? He couldn’t go to the office? What’s going on with this guy? Does he have a criminal record?
Immediately, he became alert: “What exactly do you want? Where did he come from?”
Wei Xi said, “This is Black Impermanence, the Minister of the City God Department of the Underworld. He wants to discuss some work with us in the mortal realm on behalf of the Underworld.”
Wei Tianyi, who had just beaten up a swindler who claimed he could summon underworld messengers to collect his soul, chuckled: “…………………………”
Black Impermanence, the Minister of the Underworld, the Underworld wants to discuss work with the mortal realm, and he even needs to contact a government department, huh.
Wei Tianyi chuckled sarcastically: “A minister, huh? I didn’t expect him to be such a high-ranking official, higher than the underworld messenger that skinny guy wanted to summon.”
Black Impermanence smiled modestly: “Not at all, not at all. I worked my way up from the bottom, all thanks to the appointment and promotion of leaders and the masses, that’s how I got to where I am today.”
Wei Tianyi: “…”
Wei Chengshu was right, he really was a lunatic, despite his handsome appearance. Wei Tianyi was too lazy to bother with them anymore, so he turned and left. Seeing that Wei Xi still wanted to ask, he waved his hand speechlessly and said, “I don’t know, you can call the mayor’s hotline yourselves.”
Tuan Tuanyi was reminded of this and suddenly remembered, “Oh right! There’s a mayor’s hotline!”
He took out his phone and searched, and was overjoyed, “Master! The news said that our city is doing a campaign these days, and the hotline might be answered by a leader in person! I’ll go get a lucky charm first before I call!”
After learning what the mayor’s hotline was, Black Impermanence was also immediately happy. This was really good news! He said with great insight, “Your experience in the mortal world is indeed advanced. We don’t have this kind of way of directly understanding and adopting the voices of the masses. I will definitely mention it to the higher-ups when I get back and try to learn from it!”
Two minutes later, the two ghosts stood there dumbfounded, holding their phones with the screen showing “Call ended”.
Wei Xi: “Tuanyi, your fortune-bringing spell isn’t very good.”
Black Impermanence: “Director Wei, your work on incorporating public opinion in the mortal realm isn’t great either.”
Tuanyi: “Yeah. That’s right.”
Shuo Zong who had already left the group a long time ago: “…”
Wei Tianyi stood at a distance, watching the whole process of them being electrocuted. He really wanted to endure it, but in the end, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes—
“Crazy.”
Wei Chengshu silently washed his rag, and after washing it, hung it back in the first-floor bathroom: “…I’m going to go racing.”
….
After Black Impermanence finished his work, he said to Wei Xi: “Director Wei, this won’t work. We have to think of something.”
Wei Xi nodded. As a brother unit, it was obviously beneficial for Taicang Sect for the City God’s Division to be able to connect with the department, but at this moment, they were helpless.
As they were talking, the few junior police officers who had finished taking witness statements returned, seemingly about to leave. One of them glanced over unconsciously and suddenly recognized Wei Xi: “It’s you!”
Wei Xi, interrupted from his thoughts, looked up at him, finding the man somewhat familiar, but unable to place him for a moment.
The junior officer’s expression was initially strange, then softened: “Mr. Wei, have you forgotten? We met at the Gangyue Building. I was the officer investigating the child abduction case you were involved in. Thanks to your brilliant foresight, the child was finally safe.”
Actually, he had initially responded to a report of superstitious activities being conducted at the Gangyue Building; the child abduction was something he stumbled upon during the call. However, after handling the abduction case, his colleagues who had responded that day were already marveling at his incredible foresight, and the so-called superstitious report was naturally ignored.
The young policeman found it unbelievable and couldn’t understand the special abilities Wei Xi had displayed that day. However, regardless, Wei Xi had ultimately saved the child who had suffered such a tragedy. Therefore, even though he couldn’t accept feudal superstitions, he still felt respect for Wei Xi upon seeing him.
Wei Xi said, “Oh, it’s you.”
Construction on the Gangyue Building began rapidly some time ago, and so far, no problems had arisen. The developer, Bai Hao, specifically called to thank him, subtly mentioning his desire to convey gratitude to the Taicang Sect employees still residing on the construction site.
Wei Xi later learned that several kind-hearted elderly women had caught thieves stealing steel bars from the construction site. Late at night, the thieves were very skilled, targeting the hours when the construction workers were asleep, and moving very quietly. If they hadn’t made noise and alerted the workers, the construction site might have lost a significant amount of materials.
After this incident, Bai Hao no longer objected to his shopping mall being used as employee dormitories; on the contrary, he would proactively inquire whether the noise would disturb everyone’s rest.
Wei Xi, as the boss, was very pleased with the harmonious relationship between the employees and the landlord. As the number of Taicang Sect employees increased, living in the Gangyue Building would undoubtedly save him a considerable amount of money.
In comparison, the child abduction case hadn’t left much of a mark on him. Only now, with the young policeman bringing it up, did he vaguely recall that it might have actually happened.
They were just strangers he’d met; Wei Xi didn’t intend to engage in much small talk.
However, as he casually turned his gaze away, he unexpectedly found Tuan Tuanyi and Black Impermanence staring intently at each other.
Wei Xi: “?”
Tuan Tuanyi whispered, “Lord Hei, if we can’t reach the municipal government, what about the police?”
Black Impermanence now knew his initial goal was unlikely to be achieved, and after a moment’s thought, he nodded: “If it’s his superior… then yes.”
The young policeman suddenly felt a chill and inexplicably shivered.
At that moment, a man in a black suit and glasses sitting next to Wei Xi smiled at him, his eyes unusually kind: “Kid, can you give me your chief’s contact information?”
Young policeman: “????”
Young policeman: “Of course not.”
“Tsk!” The tall, strong man next to the bespectacled man looked at him disapprovingly. “Don’t be so rigid. Come on, sit down and let’s discuss this properly.”
The young policeman felt a sense of unease and instinctively backed away. “Sorry, I have to go on another call. I might not have time to chat with you.”
But the other party still asked, “What call is so urgent? Sit down and have some tea!”
The young policeman was terrified, but after thinking for a moment, hesitantly spoke to Wei Xi: “Master Wei… since we’ve happened to run into each other, could you please come with us to take a look at this call?”
Wei Xi: “What’s wrong?”
The young policeman was clearly a materialist, so his request was very hesitant: “…It’s like this… this call is about an archaeological excavation site. From the phone call, it sounds a bit off. I’m not sure if it’s what I’m thinking.”
Before Wei Xi could even speak, Black Impermanence slapped the sofa and stood up: “Sure! Let’s go!”
What does it mean when a pillow appears just when you’re dozing off? Something’s not right, that’s exactly what I wanted! Something’s not right, isn’t that exactly what my expertise is?
Before asking someone for a favor, you can’t expect to get something in return. Black Impermanence, having spent years in politics, understood this principle well, so he smiled and said, “Young man, we can help you solve your problem, but after that, we’ll need to ask your bureau chief for an introduction.”
The young policeman: “???”
Who exactly is this person, and what does he want? Why is he so insistent on seeing our bureau chief?!
….
At the cultural relic excavation site, a considerable number of people had already gathered. When Wei Xi arrived, he was surprised to find that the old Taoist priest he had met at Kuang Zhiming’s Temple that day was also present, having brought the temple’s Taoist priests and ritual implements, seemingly preparing to perform a ritual later.
Upon seeing him and the Black Impermanence behind him, the other party asked, “Master Wei, you’re here too? And who is this?”
Wei Xi introduced, “This is Minister Black Impermanence, the leader of the Underworld.”
The old Taoist priest was stunned for a moment: “………………What?”
Wei Xi continued, “Minister Hei, this is a senior member of our local Taoist Association, responsible for reviewing applications for new members.”
Black Impermanence glanced at the old Taoist priest, recalling what Wei Xi had said earlier, and exclaimed in surprise, “The one where your Taicang Sect might not even be able to get in because of insufficient qualifications?!”
Wei Xi hummed in agreement. Thinking of the Taicang Sect’s level, Black Impermanence couldn’t help but sigh at the old Taoist priest, “Your Taoist Association’s membership standards are truly strict.”
The old Taoist priest: “……………………”
The old Taoist priest’s eyes widened, staring blankly at the other party, finally confirming that this young man in the suit was indeed full of lingering Netherworld aura, just like the underworld messengers he occasionally encountered, only more profound.
Wei Xi just said he was… Black… Black Impermanence…
The old Taoist priest snapped back to reality, digesting the information, and looked at Wei Xi with disbelief— wasn’t our review a little slow because your information didn’t meet the standards? And you actually brought out Black Impermanence?!
This junior, put your hand on your chest, don’t you think you’ve gone a little too far?!
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