Chapter 366: 365

Through his conversations with ghosts, Jiang Li learned quite a bit about the Underworld. There were ten rulers known as The Ten Halls of Yama who governed all affairs in the Underworld. Beneath them were the Black and White Impermanence, the Horse-Faced Ghost and other infernal officers who were all Ghost Immortals.

The Underworld was filled with innumerable Ghost Immortals who could battle against the Immortal Realm.

The Underworld managed the spirits of the dead and had little interest in matters of the living world.

There were many Immortal Artifacts in the Underworld, all related to the cycle of reincarnation. The absence of any one of them could potentially disrupt the cycle of reincarnation.

All this information aligned with what the old immortal had told him.

Jiang Li contemplated. If the Underworld was attacked, be it by external forces or internal strife, it indicated that the state of the Underworld was not good. Perhaps it was too chaotic in the Underworld, and that’s why the Black and White Impermanence had no time to come after him for the Book of Life and Death.

If it were an external enemy, Jiang Li guessed it could be a Heavenly Demon from another realm or a powerful being from the Immortal Realm. If it were an internal rebellion, the root cause was likely the chaos brought about by the Heavenly Demon’s world destruction that disrupted the balance of life and death.

Anyway, there was a high probability that it was related to the Heavenly Demon.

“What were you doing near the tavern last night?” Du Ping asked curiously.

Xiao Fang looked lost, “I don’t know, I just felt that the street was very familiar to me, as if I’ve been here before. Perhaps I was from this world in my past life.”

“Last night, I intended to stroll down that street in case it could trigger my memory of my past life, but as soon as I appeared, I saw you rushing towards me.”

“The Yang energy on you is too appalling, very dangerous for me, and I was so scared that I ran away.”

Du Ping was speechless upon hearing Xiao Fang’s words, it seemed as if he appeared to be the terrifying ghost.

“What should we do with these ghosts?”

“No hurry, let’s first help Xiao Fang find her family.” Jiang Li used his Divine Sense to spot a portrait in a house in Anyang City, the portrait was of a couple with their daughter.

The girl in the picture was identical to Xiao Fang.

Qi Ming returned home and collapsed into her chair, looking at the portrait on the table and tears welled up in her eyes.

Over the years, she had been living in the pain of losing her daughter. Every year after paying tribute to her daughter, all she would do was wait for the anniversary of her daughter’s death next year.

The over two hundred-year lifespan of a Golden Core cultivator brought her immense sorrow. She had thought of ending her life multiple times, yet she could not bring herself to go through with it.

She always felt that she would meet her daughter again.

Her husband did not want to stay in Anyang City, where painful memories were evoked. He suggested that they move elsewhere.

Qi Ming was left alone in the large house, lost about what to do. She was living lifelessly, unlike the spirited Golden Core cultivator she used to be fifty years ago.

“I’m sorry, daughter.” With the portrait in her arms, Qi Ming broke down into tears.

Through blurred vision from her tears, Qi Ming vaguely saw her daughter standing in front of her.

She rubbed her eyes, and indeed, her daughter was really standing in front of her.

“Is that you, Xiao Fang?”

Qi Ming reached out slowly, wanting to touch the familiar face. To her shock, her hand passed through her daughter’s body, unable to touch anything.

Xiao Fang didn’t know how to respond. She had forgotten everything. She just felt that Qi Ming seemed very familiar.

In Xiao Fang’s memory, this was her first time seeing Qi Ming, but she seemed to know Qi Ming’s name. The words were on the tip of her tongue, yet she couldn’t say it out loud.

Who is she again?

Xiao Fang couldn’t recall Qi Ming’s identity, nor could she remember their relationship.

Until Xiao Fang noticed the portrait in Qi Ming’s hands. The girl in the portrait looked exactly like her.

Even so, Xiao Fang still couldn’t recall her past life.

She was somewhat at a loss.

Jiang Li at her side shook his head gently. The effect of Meng Po’s Soup couldn’t be negated just by willpower or emotion.

“This is your mother, Qi Ming,” he said. “Your name is Qi Guifang. You passed away fifty years ago.”

“H-Human Emperor?” Only now did Qi Ming notice that besides Xiao Fang, there were three other people in the room.

“I happened upon this ghost named Xiao Fang, and I believe she is your daughter.”

Jiang Li briefly explained Xiao Fang’s background, and Qi Ming realized she was not dreaming.

Her daughter was standing right in front of her.

No matter how hard Qi Ming tried, she could not touch her daughter.

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember you,” Xiao Fang whispered. Even though she knew the woman in front of her was her mother, she truly didn’t remember anything. She felt uneasy about Qi Ming’s actions.

“It’s okay, it’s okay… Not remembering your mother is okay, as long as you’re here…” Qi Ming sobbed. Her daughter’s appearance was beyond her expectations. She didn’t dare to hope for anything more.

“Thank you, Human Emperor.” Qi Ming kneeled before Jiang Li in gratitude, but Jiang Li used an invisible force to help her up.

Jiang Li said gently, “You clean my statue every day, worship me, and pray for my blessings. This is already a thanks to me.”

Qi Ming’s house had a statue of Jiang Li, and he could feel the strong power of faith from it.

“I plan to build a city near the Imperial Palace and gather all the ghosts scattered across Jiuzhou, including Xiao Fang. I hope you can understand.”

After understanding the origin of the ghosts, Jiang Li wanted to gather them together. Even though ghosts were harmless, little was known about them. If they remained scattered, there could be potential problems.

“Can I go to that city?”

“Of course.”

Qi Ming sighed in relief. Being able to go was enough for her. It was merely moving to a different place.

“Du Ping, we are short of manpower at the Imperial Palace. I know you fairly well. You are not a bad person; you just like to drink too much.”

“I appoint you as the temporary leader of the Imperial Palace. Your probation period will be ten years. If you keep out of trouble during these ten years, I will agree to you becoming the official leader.”

“Do you have any objections to this appointment?”

Du Ping was overjoyed: “Greetings, Hall Master!”

He never thought that his fifty-year probation period would be shortened to ten years. His status was also promoted from candidate leader to temporary leader.

“Since you agree, I will give you a task. I will have Liu, the leader, build a city near the Imperial Palace. Your task is to bring all the ghosts in Jiuzhou to the newly established city.”

“I assure you the task will be carried out!”

Du Ping intended to do his first task well.

“Kongkong, after all this, are you still afraid of ghosts?” Jiang Li asked with a laugh.

Ji Kongkong’s face flushed red. Her fear of ghosts had largely diminished. Thinking of her situation before, she wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

She finally realized she was the one scaring herself.

Wait, it was obviously her father who had deliberately told her ghost stories to scare her.

She remembered her father’s exact words.

“Kongkong, you must be tired of listening to Uncle Jiang’s stories before bed, let your father tell you a different story, change the taste.”

After hearing this, Jiang Li was laughing so hard tears almost came out: “Is that what he said?”

When Jiang Li and Ji Zhi were studying, Jiang Li used the same excuse to tell Ji Zhi ghost stories.

“Ji Zhi, are you tired of studying? Let me tell you a story to relax your mind. By the way, don’t use your heavy pupil, the most important thing about this story is the mystery.”

Jiang Li still remembered that Ji Zhi had been so scared that he had to use his heavy pupil whenever he went to the toilet. He wanted to see the future to make sure there no ghosts hovering over his head, no ghost faces under his crotch, no red embroidered shoes placed at the door, and so on and so forth.

Ji Kongkong glared at Jiang Li resentfully.

So, it all started with Uncle Jiang.