Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The fellow Daoists of the Xin’an Dao Association were in a daze, Zhang Pang was even more confused than them, only Wei Xi nodded as if he understood.
No wonder the Black Impermanence had been gone for so long without them meeting up; it turned out he went to the Xin’an City God Temple to do anti-corruption work.
The fact that the top leader, who was based in Fengdu, personally went to crack down on corruption had caused the chaos at the Xin’an City God Temple, which needed no further explanation. Just look at how quickly the hastily arriving underworld messengers extinguished the burning paper money and incense— the messengers watched helplessly as the burning paper money was extinguished, feeling both regret and resentment towards Zhang Pang.
Last night, Black Impermanence descended upon the local City God’s office without warning, startling the City God so much that he didn’t even have time to count the worshippers’ incense offerings before hastily gathering his confidants to begin the reception. However, upon meeting the high-ranking official, before even having time to arrange the welcoming meal, he was immediately subjected to a barrage of insults. Not content with just scolding the City God, the high-ranking official also summoned the local land officials from various districts of Xin’an and reprimanded them one by one. At that moment, all the underworld officials in the City God’s office were trembling with fear. Later, upon inquiring, they learned that their own underworld officials had been embezzling money from a brother unit in the capital! And to make matters worse, they had run into the high-ranking official who had just arrived in the capital from Fengdu.
They had lost face beyond the province; how could they tolerate this?
The City Gods and Earth Gods, having suffered mistreatment from their superior, naturally vented their anger on their subordinates. In the latter half of the night, these underworld officials were the ones being reprimanded, each one being scolded like a grandson. With such an incident, the Xin’an City Gods’ year-end performance evaluation in Fengdu was definitely out of the question. A poor evaluation would affect their salary and benefits, and more importantly, if word got out of the city god offices in other regions, who knows how much they would laugh at them.
The entire city of Xin’an, from the City God to the underworld officials, felt ashamed.
The cause of the incident wasn’t hard to find. The underworld official brought back by the higher-ups was stripped of his position. His hard-earned official post was canceled, and the entire underworld was devastated. He confessed to everything, such that everyone knew the whole thing started with the leader of the Xiusheng Sect! The City God investigated further and was nearly furious. The City God’s office wasn’t well-paid; so occasionally receiving extra income was an unspoken perk. The underworld officials were generating revenue, and the City God himself was doing it too— the rule was “no investigation unless the people complained.” Gray income! What does gray income mean? It means you have to keep a low profile when earning it! But the Xiusheng Sect, with its little dealings, made a big show of it, making it known to everyone. Even the Taoist priests in the mortal realm knew he had connections with the City God’s office. How could the City God’s office maintain its credibility in the industry?!
Having developed to this point, it was impossible not to investigate. The task force was quickly set up, which led to a crackdown on the entire Xin’an City God Temple overnight. Not only were the underworld officials arrested, but other colleagues were also cut off from their source of income. Who wouldn’t be angry?
Fueled by anger, the underworld officials acted with extraordinary ruthlessness, each displaying unwavering impartiality towards Zhang Pang. They even produced their law enforcement records, determined to drag out all the other corrupt ghosts in the area who had colluded with him!
The Taoist priests standing at a distance seemed to be in a dream, watching Zhang Pang being interrogated by his accomplices in a daze. They all felt that this ritual was unprecedented and that they were witnessing history.
While interrogating Zhang Pang, the underworld official kept glancing at Wei Xi. This was none other than Director Wei, the one who had caused such a mess…
Zhang Pang found himself in an unprecedented predicament. Even the betrayal of the Yin soldiers hadn’t brought him this despair. His young apprentice frantically asked him, “Master… Master, what should we do now? The Yin and Yang realms are enforcing the law together. We’ve run into a crackdown!”
Zhang Pang suddenly turned his gaze to him, and that sinister look made the little fat boy’s hair stand on end: “Master, Master?”
Zhang Pang suddenly smiled, looking at him gently: “Meng Xiaoming, your master has raised you for so many years, and among all the fellow disciples in the sect, he has always treated you the best, hasn’t he?”
“That’s absolutely true,” the chubby boy nodded, his eyes full of trust.
Zhang Pang asked with satisfaction, “So, are you willing to risk your life for your master today?”
The extinguished incense in front emitted one last thick plume of smoke. The nearby underworld officials, while maintaining their impartial expressions, all secretly took a few extra breaths. The chubby boy was stunned by the smoke for a moment, then quickly shook his head: “No, no, thank you.”
Zhang Pang: “…”
….
Zhang Pang’s smile faded slightly. The Taoist priests in front noticed something amiss and, after regaining their senses, couldn’t believe he still refused to accept his fate: “Zhang Pang, you have nowhere left to go!”
They were, after all, partners they had worked with before. Even though they had fallen out, the underworld officials who enforced the law were somewhat reluctant to let it go: “We heard that you have been running a cult and causing great harm to people. All the land under heaven belongs to the emperor. We are now under the watchful eyes of our superiors and have to cooperate with the arrest operation. You can’t escape. It would be better for you to accept the judgment of the mortal government.”
Zhang Pang sneered, “Is the whole world the emperor’s land? What are you talking about? It’s one thing for you to manage your own little plot of land, but do you think you can manage America?”
The messengers of the underworld: “…”
Taoist priests: “…”
This was the first time Wei Xi had encountered such a national topic, and he was a little bewildered: “Isn’t the United States under our government’s jurisdiction?”
Upon hearing this, the Taoist priests subconsciously pondered for a long time before concluding, “The religions are indeed different; more of them believe in Jesus…”
Tuan Tuanyi was shocked: “The country has been engaged in globalization and overseas aid for so many years, and now they even have embassies. Have we in the Underworld never established diplomatic relations with them?”
The underworld messenger, holding the chains, muttered, “…I don’t think any leader has ever mentioned this before.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Pang took two steps back, coldly staring at the group of astonished opponents in front of him. His voice became cheerful as he said: “Didn’t expect that, did you? Knowing you were coming, I prepared my escape route long ago, transferring my assets overseas and contacting a lawyer to apply for political asylum. Now I have a passport and visa in full, and I don’t believe that you poor Taoist priests have enough power to restrict me from leaving the country.”
The poor Taoist priests present all said they really didn’t expect it. They said that monks and nuns live a poor life and few can afford to travel. Who would have thought that those who run cults are so rich now, immigrating to the United States as they please and even having overseas assets.
Wei Xi couldn’t help but feel envious. This fellow practitioner seemed to be doing much better than the Taoist priests around him, and he was his role model.
But in this situation, the Taoist priests still had to give it their all, and they retorted sharply to Zhang Pang, “You can’t escape.”
Zhang Pang remained remarkably calm, befitting his background in pyramid schemes. Even in this dire situation, he remained composed: “How do you know I can’t escape?”
After saying that, he bent down and took the arm of the chubby boy who was already trembling, and said in a gentle tone, “Xiaoming, I’m afraid you’ll have to agree this time, whether you want to or not.”
The chubby boy stared at him blankly, tears welling up in his eyes, and said cautiously, “Master, you, you mustn’t scare me…”
Zhang Pang smiled, but his gaze was exceptionally cold. Then, with a strength that seemed to come from nowhere, he lifted the chubby man up and, before anyone could react, shoved him heavily toward the crowd.
The Taoist priests were quite confused; what use could this whiny, chubby little boy be? Just then, Zhang Pang shouted, “Lu Qing! Come here!”
The tall, thin man in the crowd, still grieving, glanced at him, paused, and seemed to know what he was about to do. His gaze then fell on the chubby boy who was staggering and calling him “senior brother” repeatedly, and he hesitated.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Pang frowned: “Lu Qing!”
The tall, thin man gritted his teeth and finally got up. Since the Taicang Sect members weren’t nearby, he escaped the grasp of the Taoist priests like a catfish, then scrambled towards Zhang Pang. The others chased after him.
Zhang Pang moved with lightning speed. He quickly pulled out a knife and slashed his own arm. Then he grabbed the tall, thin man’s hand and cut off his middle finger.
At this moment, the Taoist priests had arrived at his side and hurriedly pressed him to the ground. His blood was haphazardly splattered all over the ground. Wei Xi originally wanted to follow forward but suddenly felt a heavy weight on his shoulder and was lifted up, almost lifting his feet off the ground.
After he stopped and looked up, he saw his second apprentice staring at him with a serious expression: “Don’t go over there!”
Wei Xi paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to the crowd, suddenly realizing something.
Zhang Pang’s blood was splattered on the ground behind the incense table where he stood, and there were actually engravings there! The blood quickly split into several streaks and spread out, the shape of which made his vision blur for a moment, and then an indescribable restlessness surged in his heart.
It was as if the aroma of blood had suddenly filled his nostrils, stirring up his insatiable appetite and the hidden killing intent deep within him. So many living, breathing humans were there… He unconsciously opened his mouth, and Tuan Tuanyi, who noticed his change, exclaimed, “Master, why are your eyes red?!”
But the sound also became distant, making it almost impossible for Wei Xi to hear clearly.
Fortunately, at that moment, a warm sensation covered his face and hid his wide-open eyes.
The second apprentice’s arm was also trembling slightly, as if he was suppressing something. The veins on his arm were bulging. However, the scent of his palm and his steady voice remained the same: “Close your eyes and don’t look.”
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