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"Don’t push, everyone, don’t push!"

Originally a Confucian Temple in the north of the city, it was temporarily replaced with a sculpture of the City God.

With the flourishing literary culture in Jiangnan, Lyuzhou’s education ranked only behind Nanming Prefecture and Nanyang City.

There were naturally many Confucian Temples, generally donated by wealthy people, providing a place for poor scholars from out of town to study in quietude.

Now, there were very few students left in Lyuzhou. Chen Qing temporarily dismantled one; for the moment, no one said anything. Besides, at this time, so many people were missing their relatives so much that they didn’t care and demanded to be let in to worship.

The first to line up were naturally the scholars in long gowns. The people of Lyuzhou respected the learned, and even in this situation, no one would fight with the teaching scholars for a place.

The elder scholars walked in cautiously, only to feel immense puzzlement.

They had heard it was a newly built City God Temple, but it was practically the same layout as before, unchanged, except the statue of Confucius had been replaced with a majestic and solemn City God figure, which looked exceptionally simple, as if it had been made in a rush. This made everyone start to doubt.

Would the City God really manifest in such a disrespectful place?

While they were pondering, the scene inside the Confucian Temple suddenly changed.

The originally elegant and refined temple turned gloomy, and everyone saw a river appear out of thin air on the other side.

The river separated yin and yang realms: this side was still in broad daylight, while the other was engulfed in night, dotted with greenish lights.

But many people saw them, the familiar faces of their relatives standing across the river!

"Si Ya, is that you? Si Ya!" one of the scholars suddenly widened his eyes, approached the river, and shouted to the other side.

"Grandfather..." a child’s voice, carrying a sob, the cry of his granddaughter that he could hear even in his dreams these past few days.

"Is it really you?" The old scholar was so excited that he wanted to run into the river, but he was blocked by an invisible force.

Other scholars saw their relatives too, along with the commoners lining up behind. In an instant, no one could hold back their patience or follow the rules to queue anymore; they all surged in, knocking Zhou Pangzi, who was trying to block them, very hard!

"Cui’er..."

"San Wa!"

"Child’s father..."

Various cries mixed together, and cries of response came from the other side as well. Hearing the familiar voices only made everyone more frantic, wishing they could cross the river and embrace their lost relatives.

"Silence!"

A stable voice rang out in the sky, finally calming the chaotic scene a bit. Before anyone had time to wipe the tears and snot from their faces, they all looked up.

There stood a figure in a black robe, wearing a fierce deity mask, towering above them!

"Could it be Lord City God?" One of the scholars reacted, hurriedly kowtowing, the old saying "Children do not speak of ghosts and gods" thrown out of their heads, kowtowing over and over: "Lord has manifested!

My grandchild but six years of age sadly met with this calamity; so pitiable.

I beg the great mercy of Lord City God, please allow us to reunite with our grandchild! "

"Please have mercy, my child is also so young..." A crowd of people also came to their senses, all bowing in worship.

"Once people die, they cannot come back to life. I understand the sorrow in your hearts, but the laws of nature are set, and I cannot grant such requests!"

The voice was authoritative and firm.

Hearing this, a few scholars staggered, their faces showing even more sorrow.

"People suffering calamity like this pains my heart too. Therefore, I have allowed the underworld to appear, so you can see your families across the river of yin and yang. You need not be too sad; this disaster does not come from heaven’s cruelty but from demons causing chaos.

We are commanded by the divine to protect Lyuzhou and naturally bear the responsibility.

Those who died in this disaster will have their ’yin’ lifespans extended.

You only need to practice virtue and do good deeds in your daily lives.

There will come a time when you can meet with your relatives. .."

Upon hearing this, the scholars and others quickly raised their heads, and just as they were about to ask what ’yin’ lifespans were, they saw that the voice of Lord City God had disappeared, and the crying voices of relatives on the other side grew fainter and eventually, the entire vision of the underworld vanished before everyone’s eyes.

Everyone stood there, stunned, not knowing what to do.

It was the scholar who asked the question first that snapped to his senses and turned to Zhou Haitao, asking, "Your Excellency, do you know what Lord City God meant by ’yin’ lifespans?"

After all, everyone had only heard about lifespans in the living world and had never heard of ’yin’ lifespans before.

Zhou Haitao composed himself, gave everyone a disdainful glance, thinking that now they finally remember me? But considering he still had a mission, he didn’t take offense and honestly explained, "This ’yin’ lifespan is the lifespan of a mortal in the underworld after death."

"The underworld?"

"It is where the souls go after death," Zhou Haitao continued, according to what Chen Qing told him to memorize, "after one’s lifespan in the living world ends comes the ’yin’ lifespan.

This lifespan is closely tied to the virtue and good deeds of one’s life.

Those who are virtuous and meritorious to the state will have a long ’yin’ lifespan, while the others will have shorter ones.

Once the ’yin’ lifespan ends, the soul will fall into the cycle of rebirth, to be reborn either as a human or as one of the six domestic animals. "

"Is there really such a thing?" Everyone looked at each other, utterly shocked, wanting to ask many questions, yet not knowing how to begin.

"Then our grandchildren, so young and without a chance to accumulate virtue – does this mean they will have only a few years of ’yin’ lifespan as mentioned by the Prefectural Governor?"

Zhou Haitao nodded, "According to the Prefectural Governor, if children haven’t committed any evil acts, they will have at least ten years of ’yin’ lifespan and up.

If their family members practice virtue and good deeds, and if a memorial tablet is set up and incense offerings are made, their relatives will also benefit and extend their ’yin’ lifespans.

You, as a scholar who has educated many, naturally have accumulated much merit.

If you set up a proper memorial tablet and make incense offerings, the ’yin’ lifespan of your grandchild will not be short.

There will come a day when you and your grandchild can meet again. "

"So it is, so it is..." The elder scholar was suddenly filled with tears: "Thank you for enlightening me, thank you for enlightening me!"

The crowd also understood, realizing that after death, there was still a span of life to be had, that indeed... family offerings and incense could truly benefit their departed loved ones.

The rumor quickly spread from the City God Temple, and within less than a day’s time, it had permeated the entire Lyuzhou City.

Nowadays, most refugees have family members who died undeservedly, and upon hearing this news, they not only went to the City God Temple to worship in droves but were also eager to create spiritual tablets for their relatives.

In an instant, the belief in the Yin Division under Wei Gongcheng’s jurisdiction skyrocketed, making him, destitute as he was, exceedingly happy.

So thrilled that he rolled up his sleeves, ready to properly expand the Yin Division city walls.

But just as he was about to get started, he was stopped by Chen Qing.

"Your Majesty, I’m busy here. If it’s not urgent, could we talk another day?"

Wei Gongcheng seemed somewhat anxious, as tens of thousands of residents in Lyuzhou were lining up outside the City God Temple to worship at this moment, causing an astonishing surge in the power of faith. The energy of his karmic fruits was almost reaching the height of an eight-story building.

If handled correctly, he could even build a civilian street with it.

Seeing that he was finally about to give the Yin Division somewhat of a decent appearance, he naturally couldn’t wait to stretch his hands and feet, but unexpectedly, at this critical moment, the guy who usually avoided matters took the initiative to come to him.

"Check if Shen Yiyun has come to the Yin Division!"

"Eh? Shen Yiyun? Why would he come here?" Wei Gongcheng was astonished. "Didn’t Your Majesty say that besides you, only the dead can enter this Yin Division?"

"Shen Yiyun is dead!"

"Huh?" Wei Gongcheng was immediately startled, realizing that the matter seemed quite significant, and quickly straightened his attitude, "Does Your Majesty know what happened?"

"If I knew, that would be great..." Chen Qing said with a wry smile.

When Murong Yunji found him, he was also taken aback. That’s why he had Zhou Pangzi go to the City God Temple to spread the word hastily while he followed Murong Yunji to the location of Shen Yiyun’s body.

Shen Yiyun died within the city, in a terrible state, his body pitch black as if someone had drained all the fluids from his body, turning his whole corpse nearly into a skeleton wrapped with skin.

After asking Murong Yunji, she stated that Shen Yiyun went missing this morning.

Out of curiosity about the situation of the night wandering spirits in the city, he followed them.

Murong Yunji, finding it boring, wandered around the city on her own, hoping to find the young man who had made her heart flutter with his ability to wield thunderous power.

However, after wandering around, not only did she not find the young man, but she did find Shen Yiyun’s corpse.

According to her, the two separated for only about two hours, and the distance wasn’t far—just three streets apart. For people with their abilities, such a distance could be reached almost instantly. Yet, within such a short distance, Shen Yiyun was killed!

Chen Qing felt his scalp tingle when he heard the news. There was now someone in the city who could silently and effortlessly kill Second Elder Shen?

If his estimations were not mistaken, the strength of Second Elder Shen of the Shen Family was definitely above Wang Ye’s.

After all, being a Grand Sorcerer who had lived for three hundred years and mastered techniques like the Ghost King Arm, he would at least be at the level of a high official in the Great Jin Dynasty.

Definitely a Super First-Rank Magician!

Such a person was actually killed under Murong Yunji’s watch?

Who possessed such ability?

And that person was in Lyuzhou City?

Chen Qing felt the situation was beyond his control!

"Lord, with Shen Yiyun’s capabilities, if he is dead, do you think the Night Traveling God can hold his spirit?"

"They can..." Chen Qing nodded. "Magicians are strong because they manifest some abilities of ancient demons using their mortal bodies; they are not strong in and of themselves. Although their souls are stronger than ordinary humans’, they are far from being divine beings.

Once they leave their bodies, at most, he would be a third-level Evil Spirit.

If my elder brother encountered him, he could be captured directly. "

"Then it’s strange..." Wei Gongcheng shook his head and took out a register. Although the register was made of paper, the names within it shifted and scrolled like a digital display, incredibly magical.

"All the wandering spirits captured by Chen Ye will appear in this register. If Shen Yiyun’s name is here, I can see it immediately."

Hearing this, Chen Qing nodded. If his elder brother hadn’t caught him, it meant Shen Yiyun’s soul had hidden away immediately.

That made sense, as he was a very scheming person who naturally wouldn’t trust others.

But if they couldn’t find him and didn’t figure out the culprit’s details quickly, Chen Qing feared he wouldn’t even be able to sleep in peace.

After clearing things up, the two of them immediately moved from the Yin Division to the Yang realm, which is to say, to North Street where Shen Yiyun’s body was located.

"It really is Second Elder Shen." Wei Gongcheng frowned deeply as the corpse before them which looked like nothing more than skin and bones, died a gruesome death, but he could still recognize from the contours that it was Shen Yiyun!

"Lord, this ability you have now is quite interesting." The voice of Murong Yunji sounded faintly: "Disappearing without a trace in an instant and then appearing just as quickly, it’s quite frightening."

Chen Qing gave her a glance: "You’d better worry more about the person who killed your family’s second elder."

"How about it? Can you tell how he died?"

Murong Yunji shook her head; this was not her forte. Wei Gongcheng, frowning beside her, said, "Should we ask Chen Ying to have a look? She studied medicine and has traveled far and wide with Mu DaRen, so she should have greater insights."

Chen Qing slightly nodded in agreement and was about to bring Chen Ying over when a voice sounded from afar.

"It was poison..."

All three were startled and immediately turned to look. A graceful woman with a protruding belly, if it wasn’t the Thousand-Faced Fox, then who was it?

Chen Qing stared at her belly somewhat dumbfounded—how could her stomach get so big in just a few days?