Who Made Him a Ghost Officer? Chapter 1: In the Past and Present, Has the Nether Court Ever Sared Anyone? The heavens and earth were dim, the four expanses vast and bleak, the air inside the Underworld wrapped in miasma. Su Fan, clad in plain white garments, was led by a Ghost Officer into the Ghost Gate. The moment he crossed the threshold, a wave of potent ghostly aura surged toward him. Su Fan's soul was frail; for a split second, he nearly dissolved in the wind. "Hmph!" The Ghost Officer snorted. A force radiated from him, forming a barrier in front of Su Fan to shield him from the yin wind. "With such a feeble constitution, and you had the nerve to go seven times in one night?" the Ghost Officer opened his mouth. "Seven times in one night?" Su Fan was baffled. "Damn, you've got the wrong person. That wasn't me!" "Not you? Are you Su Fan?" asked the Ghost Officer. "Yes! But I was run over by a car!" Su Fan mumbled, glancing at the Ghost Officer before hastily lowering his head. The Ghost Officer's face was truly terrifying, ghastly and hideous; he dared not say much more. "Cut the crap, move faster!" The Ghost Officer bellowed, cracking a whip against Su Fan's body. "I'll curse the day I fall into your hands," Su Fan cursed in his heart, but his feet did not dare to linger. This whip was specifically designed for souls, and it hurt like hell. As Su Fan walked, he looked around. The road was long, shrouded in yin energy, with many fiery red flowers on both sides. Presumably, these were the legendary Red Spider Lilies? On the road, there were many ghost souls just like him, all being herded forward. "You dogs, I am a prince of Great Li! Do you have bear hearts and leopard gall to abduct my soul? When I meet Yan Wang, I'll make him punish you to death!" "Shut up! You're dead already. Now you are nothing!" "Smack!" Immediately, a whip crack landed on the prince's back. "It hurts! Don't hit me!" Around them, angry curses echoed. Some had not yet adjusted to their situation, still acting spoiled and arrogant toward the Ghost Officers; they received no light beating. After a few strokes of the whip, they all behaved. "Why bother?" Su Fan sighed. Life was like being strong; if you couldn't resist, you had to learn to enjoy it. But even at this moment, Su Fan still hadn't figured out one thing: Was he actually dead, or had he transmigrated? The ghosts beside him were wearing ancient clothes, and he himself was wearing an ancient plain robe. "Ahead is Fengdu City. If you don't want your soul to scatter and lose all chance of reincarnation, behave yourselves once you enter the city!" At this moment, a Ghost Officer bellowed. His yin energy was chilling, carrying a tremendous pressure. This must have been the official authority naturally possessed by the Underworld's Ghost Officers? "Fengdu City!" Su Fan raised his head and looked. A massive black city stood at the end of the Yellow Spring Road. The city was vast, gloomy, and terrifying. Seeing this city was like seeing an immense Ghost Emperor watching over you, making one's heart tremble involuntarily. Su Fan didn't dare to stare at the giant city for long. He quickly lowered his head and continued moving forward. "Within Fengdu City, you will undergo trial by the Judicature Office. All sins, after being punished by the Punishment Bureau through You Zha, the sea of fire... and other series of punishments, can only be cleansed. Then, according to the merit and sin recorded in the Reincarnation Document, you will choose which path to reincarnate into." "You... You Zha?" Upon hearing this, the numerous ghosts trembled with fear. Some ghosts were so scared they turned around and tried to run. "Hmph! In the living world, doing good or evil in three lives is up to you. From ancient times to the present, has the Nether Court ever spared anyone? Once you enter the Nether Court, do you actually think you can escape?" The Ghost Officer roared. He cracked the whip, and the ghosts who had tried to run emitted piercing screams as their soul bodies completely dispersed. Soul scattered! Seeing this, no ghost dared to escape anymore. Su Fan went through his entire life from start to finish in his head. He shouldn't have any major sins. Did peeking at girls bathing in elementary school count? "I'm telling you now to save you from breaking the rules once you enter the city and angering the Judge, which would make me look incompetent." The Ghost Officer said in a low voice. As he spoke, the multitude of ghosts finally reached the outer city of Fengdu. A Ghost Officer handed a document to the ghost soldiers guarding the city, then led the crowd of ghosts into Fengdu City. Fengdu City was incomparably vast, its size unknown in li. Inside, all the palaces were black, with wisps of yin energy rising and falling, emitting a tremendous pressure that intimidated the spirit. "Judicature Office One, Judicature Office Two... Judicature Office Thirteen... Three hundred and sixty offices..." Su Fan kept observing the palaces around him. From not far after entering Fengdu City, they had been passing Judicature Office palaces. They had walked for such a long time and were still seeing Judicature Offices. But then again, with so many people dying every day in the world, how could one or two Judicature Offices handle them all? Looking at the Judicature Office palaces around him, saying he wasn't intimidated would be a lie. As long as you went inside once and reflected on yourself in the Sin Mirror, you would know everything. "Damn, the legends were all true?" Su Fan was a bit worried. What if the Judge who tried him got careless and sent him to the Animal Realm? As Su Fan walked, he suddenly felt the view blur, as if something had flashed past. Moreover, a voice rang out in his mind. "Host detected entering the Underworld, system activated!" Hearing this voice, Su Fan was overjoyed. A golden finger? Had he really transmigrated? "Main Quest: Become a Soul-Reaper Ghost, motivate Ghost Officer's work efficiency, maintain the balance of heaven and earth's yin and yang." "Reward: Immortal Body, True Spirit indestructible." Name: Su Fan Realm: Nether Ghost (1/10) Technique: None Magic: None Evolution Points: 10 Note: Souling can obtain Evolution Points. "Can you say it more simply? Is there no manual?" Su Fan asked in his mind, but there was no response. Become a Soul-Reaper Ghost, maintain the balance of heaven and earth... this meant he was required to stay in the Underworld as a ghost officer. And that Immortal Body... did that mean he wouldn't dissipate? Although the system said so, Su Fan didn't dare to experiment. Also, the Realm column listed Nether Ghost, the lowest level of ghost soul, and indicated that it could be upgraded, which probably required Evolution Points. But how could he become a Soul-Reaper Ghost now? In this Underworld, without any relatives, even his ancestors were probably already reincarnated by now. Who could he ask for help? At this moment, Su Fan looked at the Ghost Officer ahead of him and said, "Esteemed Ghost Officer, I observe your handsome and brave appearance, your distinguished features. In life, you must have been a great man who held up the sky!" Indeed, Su Fan's words were very pleasing to the Ghost Officer. He grinned and expelled a mouthful of ghostly breath. His face was flat, making it almost impossible to distinguish his nose and eyes. He looked at Su Fan and said: "You little ghost are quite good with words. Back then, I certainly was a considerable figure. Who would have thought that during the Feng Shen War, the mount of a disciple of the Chan Sect got its eyes confused and kicked me to death." Su Fan: ... "But even so, what of it? After entering the Underworld, didn't I still become a Ghost Officer?" "May I ask, esteemed sir, what was your official rank in the living world back then?" "The chief of Black Wind Stronghold!" the Ghost Officer said. Then, he stared with both eyes, saying in a low voice, "Get out, get out! Why are you prying so much? You are about to be tried, and you might even end up in the Animal Realm. How can you afford so much chatter?" "Damn, you're the one going to the Animal Realm, your whole family is going to the Animal Realm." Su Fan cursed internally. At the same time, his heart was very calm. The previous mention of the Feng Shen War by the Ghost Officer had startled him. After the Investiture of the Gods? Honghuang? If he followed the timeline, wasn't the Calamity of the Investiture of the Gods immediately followed by the Calamity of the Western Journey? Could this be the world before and after the Western Journey? Chapter 2: Fengdu City: Choosing the Ghost Officers Inside Fengdu City, a shroud of yin energy hung in the air. The souls drifting back and forth were all thick with yin, moving in a hurried rush, holding Soul-Collecting Ropes in their hands as they headed out of Fengdu City. "Sigh, in these days, our Underworld is completely done for. Of the Three Realms—heaven, earth, and man—ours is the lowest in status. Everyone wants to trample on us." As they spoke, two Ghost Generals walked through the streets of Fengdu City. "I'd say so too. Ever since we were absorbed into the Heavenly Court, does our Underworld have any autonomy? This soul can't be collected because it's the close kin of a immortal in some cave abode; that soul can't be collected because it's a relative of some mortal emperor. What the hell is left of the Underworld's dignity?" The two Ghost Generals walked and cursed, complaining at every turn. "The Investiture of the Gods, they say, but at the end of it, the whole of Honghuang has become gods and buddhas. It's only us in the Underworld who ended up as ghosts." One Ghost General grumbled. "Shh, keep your voice down. If this gets to the Heavenly Court, they'll likely make another example of us." "What's there to fear? Damn it, think of how glorious the Tribe of Witches used to be, and now we're treated as mere ghosts." "Now even the cats and dogs of the human realm dare to show up and kill our Ghost Officers. It makes me damn sick of it!" "You're the one who's frustrated? Which of the Ten Palace Yama Kings isn't frustrated? But what can they do? Whether it's the Heavenly Court or the Buddhist Sect, don't they all have a Saint backing them up? Only the Underworld... Sigh!" "I'd say so. Since Empress Pingxin disappeared, the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist Sect have both stuck their hands into our business. I remember those days when Ksitigarbha came. Qin Gu Wang sent that bald old fool ten female ghosts to attend to him with a scowl on his face. Ha! I remember Ksitigarbha turned so green he was practically smoking!" "I suppose Qin Gu Wang had a lot of anger to vent as well." "Sigh, let's not talk. My Ghost Officers from the Soul-Collecting Bureau have suffered heavy losses. The Eighth King sent us to recruit new ones, so we'd better hurry." "Damn it, going out to the living world really isn't a good job. One misstep and your soul scatters to the winds. Among the Underworld divisions, the Soul-Collecting Bureau has the highest risk." "But the pay is high too. Even a regular ghost soldier gets a hundred Merit points a month." "Oh, look, aren't those our Soul-Collecting Bureau's Ghost Officers up ahead? They've brought back quite a few souls this time. Let's go see if there's anyone suitable." With that, the two Ghost Generals walked toward them. Su Fan was just pondering how to become a Ghost Officer when the line of souls in front of him suddenly stopped. Su Fan walked straight into the back of the man ahead of him. Fortunately, as they were all ghosts now, he didn't feel anything; otherwise, he would have gotten a good chewing-out. "Greetings to the two Ghost Generals!" The Ghost Officers ahead bowed to the two. "I am Lu Gang, Ghost General under the Eighth King's command, here on the Eighth King's orders to recruit a few souls to fill the vacancies in the 33rd Bureau. Do you have any strong ones here?" "General Lu can choose as he pleases," the Ghost Officer replied respectfully. "Mm!" With that, Lu Gang walked toward the long line of souls behind. At that moment, Su Fan was excited. Just when he wanted a pillow, someone delivered one. Was this the charm of a born protagonist? But his ghost body was too ethereal. This frame was weak as a spring breeze could scatter it; he had no chance of being selected as a Ghost Officer. Thinking this, Su Fan's wits were quick, and he silently began allocating points. "Consume ten Evolution Points to break through to Netherworld Soldiers!" A voice sounded in Su Fan's mind. He felt his soul body begin to grow powerful. In fact, soul energy had even emerged on his person, a power specific to the creatures of the Underworld, similar to the spiritual power of the living world. The Underworld didn't have that many messy realms. Generally, they were: Nether Ghost, Ghost Soldier, Ghost Demon, Ghost General, Ghost Marshal, Ghost King, Ghost Emperor... The Ten Palace Yama Kings were at the Ghost King realm, equivalent to a Great Firmament Golden Immortal. The Five-Direction Ghost Emperors were at the Ghost Emperor realm, equivalent to a Quasi-Sage. However, the Five-Direction Ghost Emperors were the powerhouses stationed to guard the critical area of the Ghost Gate. Even the Ten Palace Yama Kings couldn't command them unless it was a matter of great importance; they were only responsible to Empress Pingxin. As Su Fan broke through, his soul body instantly hardened considerably, far exceeding the surrounding souls. "What is your name?" At that moment, Lu Gang looked at one of the souls. "Chen Kang!" "Mm! Not bad. Divine light on your head, enveloped in good fortune. You count as one who has Merit!" As he spoke, he took out a mirror and held it up to Chen Kang. Instantly, Chen Kang's entire life appeared on the mirror's surface. His father died when he was six. His mother died when he was twelve. He was raised on charity from the neighborhood. One day, wild beasts appeared in the mountains. Chen Kang stood alone against the beasts, eventually saving the whole village, but he himself was swallowed by the beasts' jaws. "Are you willing to serve as a Ghost Officer in the Underworld, or are you willing to enter Reincarnation and be reborn?" Lu Gang asked. "Life in the living world is full of suffering. I don't want to go back," Chen Kang said. "If that's the case, from now on you shall be a Ghost Officer of the Soul-Collecting Bureau of our Underworld." With that, Lu Gang pulled Chen Kang from the line. "What is your name?" Now, he looked at another soul and then used the magical mirror on that soul. Immediately, a series of scenes appeared on the mirror's surface, and Lu Gang's face darkened. On the mirror, one could see a man who bullied women and children, kidnapped them, and after abusing a woman, forced her to be sold to a brothel. "You dog of a thing! How dare you claim to be human!" Lu Gang cursed loudly and smacked him across the face. "Take my token. This one doesn't need to go through the Judicature Office for trial. Just take him to the Punishment Bureau, fry him in oil a hundred times, and then throw him into the Animal Realm," Lu Gang told a Ghost Officer. "Yes, my lord!" "No! You can't do this! My father said he's already paid someone to handle things. I don't have to go to the Animal Realm..." "Bastard, who is your father?" Lu Gang roared. The soul clamped his mouth shut and said nothing. "Hmph! It's people like you, the scabs of society, who have made the Underworld such a mess. Drag him off and fry him!" Lu Gang's words scared some of the souls into a deathly pale look, while others gave a thumbs-up in excitement. They were all from ordinary families and had suffered plenty in life. If the sinner of such grave crimes were to escape punishment and enter Reincarnation today, they would be chilled to the bone. "In the living world for three lives, whether you do good or evil is up to you. Since ancient times, who has the Underworld ever let go?" Su Fan muttered to himself, feeling great admiration for Lu Gang. "Your power is quite good. What is your name?" At this point, Lu Gang came to Su Fan's side. "Su Fan!" Su Fan was a bit nervous. He had transmigrated into the body of a dead man, and right after crossing over, his soul had been collected. He didn't know what kind of person the original 'Su Fan' had been, or if he had any sins. The Ghost Officer earlier said the original owner had managed seven times in one night; he must have died on a woman's stomach. He was probably not some good sort, right? Su Fan was a bit worried. At that moment, Lu Gang had already taken out the Sin Mirror and began to shine it on Su Fan. At that moment, Su Fan finally knew what kind of person the original owner had been. "Master Su, come here? After this cup, we have three more to go." At the pleasure house, everything was soft and gentle on all four sides. One by one, these women with big chests surrounded a young man, curving their bodies and coqueting. A green dot among ten thousand flowers. The original owner alone had monopolized the entire brothel. "Damn, that really makes me jealous!" Su Fan cursed in his heart, while his worry grew even deeper. Chapter 3: The Soul-Washing Pool In the Sin Mirror, 'Su Fan's entire life was reflected. Inside the brothel, he was embraced on both sides. Some fed him precious fruits, while others poured drinks for him. It was a life of great pleasure. Watching the scene, the gathered ghosts were all envious. The screen flashed. Before the door of a widow's home, 'Su Fan' knocked on the door and said, "Lady Zhang, may I enter?" "Master Su, these past years, I owe much to your care. Please come in!" "Damn it! Does he have this hobby too?" Su Fan, now a ghost, was left utterly speechless. The gazes of the many ghosts watching him changed completely. The final scene showed the interior of a green house. The original owner had drunk too much, was overly excited, and shouted, "Tonight, this sir will take seven!" Then, the next day, he never got up again. Quickly, the reflection of 'Su Fan's entire life was complete. He finally understood how the original owner had lived his life. It was a life of food, drink, and entertainment. But the original owner also had his own quirks. The decent women were not his type. He never forced himself upon anyone; he simply liked to stroll through the green houses and flirt with widows. Wherever the original owner went, he would ask the attendants nearby, "Are there any young, beautiful widows here who need assistance?" They were poor and destitute, lonely and cold. He would use silver to help fill that void in their lives. Su Fan lowered his head. He had completely lost the battle against the original owner's special hobby. He could feel the surprised gazes of the ghosts around him. Even the two Ghost Generals remained silent, having nothing to say. "Lu Gang, does he seem to have many sins? Although he was lustful, he took what was fair. It seems he hasn't harmed anyone either. Plus, he assisted many widows. That can be counted as merit, right?" "What the hell merit! That was for a fee. I can only say he didn't commit great sins." "Do we need to fry him to wash off the sins before entering the Soul-Collecting Bureau?" Lu Gang murmured to himself. Hearing this, Su Fan instantly felt like he was exploding. Urgently, he said, "Your Excellency, I have been well-read in poetry and literature since childhood. I deeply understand the sufferings of the mortal world. Although my family was quite wealthy, I scattered all my wealth. Whether it was the women in the brothels or the widows, they were all suffering people. Without the silver, they likely could not survive." "If one gave them silver for no reason, they definitely would not accept it. As the saying goes, women love wealth. Taking it in a proper way is the rule. So, I had no choice," Su Fan said, his face full of agitation as he spoke urgently. "What you say does seem to have some merit. Anyway, I am not a judge. As long as it isn't killing, arson, or great wickedness, visiting a brothel and helping some widows doesn't seem like a great sin," Lu Gang said. He immediately pulled Su Fan out. Su Fan secretly let out a breath of relief. This hurdle was finally overcome. Subsequently, Lu Gang selected a few other ghosts and led them toward the Soul-Collecting Bureau. As for the other ghosts, the process continued as usual. Those with sins were tried and subjected to You Zha (fried), while those without sins left through the rear gate of Fengdu City and headed to the Reincarnation Ground. The Soul-Collecting Bureau was very large, occupying a vast area within Fengdu City. Inside were many smaller bureaus, responsible for the soul-collecting duties in various places of the Three Realms. The masters of the Soul-Collecting Bureau were the Black and White Impermanence. Both were at the Ghost General realm, and they were members of the Ten Yin Generals, responsible for the soul-collecting duties of the Underworld. Under Lu Gang's guidance, the group of ghosts walked toward a great hall. Along the way, Su Fan got to know a few companions. Besides Chen Kang, there was an old ghost who looked quite shrewd, named Luo Qing. According to the reflection in the Sin Mirror, Luo Qing had been a businessman in life. However, he had too many concubines. The primary wife felt lonely and endured it no longer, so she slept with another man. This enraged Luo Qing. He took his sword to find that man, but was counter-killed in the resulting fight. After Luo Qing died, his property was taken by the primary wife. She dismissed the concubines and ended up living together with the other man. Because of this, Luo Qing was in a very depressed state on the journey, saying not a word. At this moment, Su Fan looked at Luo Qing and said, "Brother, what is your surname?" "Luo Qing!" "Looking at the situation reflected in the Sin Mirror, it's truly tragic, isn't it!" "'Tragic' is an understatement. When I think of my enemy spending my money and sleeping with my wife, I feel incredibly frustrated," Luo Qing gritted his teeth as he said. "You were too impulsive at the time. In that situation, you should have had your wife report him to the yamen for rape. He would have been thrown into prison. Then, you could have returned home and divorced your wife!" "Brother, that's a clever plan!" Hearing this, a light flashed in Luo Qing's eyes. But then he shook his head in thought, "It's too late to say anything now. The person is already dead. Sigh, I was too impulsive back then." "Alright, stop chatting. We are about to arrive at the 33rd Bureau. Pay attention to yourselves." Lu Gang spoke up. His face was pitch black, and his features were fierce. When he spoke, no small ghost dared to disobey. They finally arrived at the 33rd Bureau. Looking at the tall and magnificent 33rd Bureau great hall, Su Fan felt a shock in his heart. Inside the hall, yin-qi swirled around. There were statues of vicious ghosts carved on the surrounding walls. They glared with furious eyes, looking terrifying and horribly fierce. Even though Su Fan and the others hadn't done anything guilty, at this moment, being watched by the vicious ghost statues around them, they all felt extremely tense. "Take them to the Soul-Washing Pool. Wash off the grime on the ghosts and reshape the soul bodies." Inside the 33rd Bureau, Lu Gang looked at several Ghost Officers and said. "Yes!" "Follow me!" The Ghost Officers led Su Fan and the others away from the 33rd Bureau, heading toward a specific area of Fengdu City. This was a mysterious area of Fengdu City with many large pools. Inside them was black water that smelled quite foul. "All ghosts must go down and bathe, rinse the spiritual souls, and then reshape the soul bodies." Su Fan looked at the black, murky pool water and couldn't help but be speechless. No wonder those Ghost Officers were all so black. Could this pool really wash the spiritual souls clean? But it was not the time for much thinking. The Ghost Officer behind them held a whip and lashed the ghosts one by one into the Soul-Washing Pool. The moment he entered the water, Su Fan felt a mysterious power washing over his soul. Some of the mortal red-dust qi was washed away cleanly. Then, dark, grime-like matter began to seep toward his body. Su Fan jumped in surprise. He quickly used his ghost-qi to block it, filtering out that black matter. He looked at the others. He saw that none of them had the strength to block that black matter. They let the power of the Soul-Washing Pool carry those dark substances into their spiritual souls. Su Fan felt as if he had gained a spiritual body. He looked down and saw that the mysterious matter was indeed condensing his soul body for him. "What is this kid's background? He just became a ghost and already has the strength of a Ghost Soldier? He even filtered out the grime from the Soul-Washing Pool?" "Haha, Big Brother, is this kid an idiot? If you don't mix some grime when shaping the soul body, when you come out you'll be so clean and white that you won't look like a ghost at all. Without that fierce, terrifying look of a ghost, how can you intimidate those people in the mortal world?" "Who knows? Maybe he just likes things clean." "Big Brother, if he's so obsessed with cleanliness, can he even adapt to the life of a Ghost Officer? Won't he starve to death?" "Don't talk nonsense. He won't starve to death. At most, he'll just feel hungry all day." Time passed bit by bit. The several ghosts in the Soul-Washing Pool finally finished shaping their soul bodies. When they stepped out of the Soul-Washing Pool, they all froze in shock. When they first entered the Underworld, the qi surrounding them was all death-qi. But now, that death-qi was gone, replaced by pure ghost-qi. The main thing was, how was this shaped soul body so black? They looked at each other, all utterly dazed. At this moment, they finally saw an anomaly among them. It was a soul body that was pristine and white. Even in plain clothes, it could not hide its elegance. His bearing was as fine as jade. If not for the ghost-qi all over him, the ghosts would have thought he was a living person from the mortal world. "Su Fan, we are all this black. Why are you so white?" Chapter 4: Soul-Collecting Ghost Officer Gazing at the fair-skinned and quite good-looking Su Fan, Chen Kang asked with a puzzled expression. “I don't really know this either. Maybe I drank too much milk in my previous life, which moistened my skin,” Su Fan said. When he was on Blue Star, he indeed loved drinking pure milk. But hearing these words, and combined with the record of ‘Su Fan’s’ life in the Sin Mirror, the numerous ghosts instantly understood. “Damn, so milk has the effect of moisturizing skin? I drink quite a lot of it too, don’t I?” Luo Qing muttered to himself. Afterwards, under the guidance of a few ghost soldiers, the group returned to the 33rd Bureau. Lu Gang watched the few Ghost Officers, nodded in satisfaction, then cast his gaze upon Su Fan and said, “As a man, why make your soul-body so fine and delicate? When going out to collect souls in the human world, just smear some black mud on your body.” “Yes!” Although Su Fan didn't know what black mud was, he still nodded and agreed. “Now that you have just become Ghost Officers today, you don't need to go out to collect souls in the human world. Later, we will arrange accommodations for you, along with the necessary treasures and tokens for soul collection.” “Thank you, General Lu!” The newly appointed Ghost Officers paid their respects. Afterwards, Su Fan was assigned a living space. It was a small grave built out of black stones. On top of the mound, several Nether Flowers and nether grasses grew, swaying in the yin wind and flashing with an eerie glow. “A grave?” “Do all the ghost soldiers in this Underworld live in graves?” Su Fan blinked. But thinking about it, it made sense. They were all dead, after all. If not graves, where else would they live? He looked around; it was all black stone graves, with numerous ghost souls standing before them in silent meditation. “Since I am here, I might as well make myself at home.” Su Fan said to himself. Then, with a flash of his figure, he entered the grave. It was pitch dark inside, with several beads flashing with an ominous light. Inside was a not-too-large coffin, presumably used as a bed. Around it were many strange black urns, seemingly leaking an eerie glow from within the vessels. “What are these urns for?” Su Fan was puzzled but didn't bother to investigate. Instead, he took out a bag. This was the bag he had collected from the Soul-Collecting Bureau. Inside were the Soul-Reaper Ghost manual, the Minor Book of Life and Death for his designated area, the Soul-Collecting Rope, and the Soul-Collecting Token. At this moment, Su Fan took out the Soul-Collecting Token. The token was pitch black, with a huge character 'Hook' written on it. A light flashed in his hand, and the token was refined by him. At the same time, a sense of mysterious mission appeared in his heart. It felt like a kind of pressure, or as if it had inherited a certain will of the Underworld—responsibility and something holy. “By fusing with this token, I am now a Soul-Reaper Ghost of the Underworld,” Su Fan murmured. “Host becomes a Soul-Reaper Ghost. Reward settlement: Immortal Body, True Spirit undestroyable.” Name: Su Fan Realm: Ghost Soldier (0/100) Talent: Immortal Body (True Spirit Undestroyable) Techniques: None Skills: None Evolution Points: 0 Mission: Work hard, boost Ghost Officer morale, maintain the balance of yin and yang between heaven and earth. Note: Collecting souls yields Evolution Points. In Su Fan's mind, the panel reappeared. Looking at the data above, he pondered for a moment. He couldn't even afford to be a slacker. If he didn't collect souls, he wouldn't get Evolution Points, and he couldn't advance his realm. Moreover, after taking a walk through Fengdu City today, he had seen many ghost soldiers who were lazy and slacking off. He wanted to slake off and be a slacker too, but his abilities didn't allow it. “Let’s start collecting souls tomorrow!” Su Fan touched the Soul-Collecting Rope. It was ice-cold to the touch, cold enough to make one shudder. Right, I don't have bones. This soul-body was indeed strange. It was reportedly condensed from the fortune of the Underworld, a substance of substance. Then, Su Fan opened the Soul-Reaper Ghost manual. Ghost-like characters were scribbled on it, but strangely, although Su Fan didn't recognize these characters, he somehow knew what they meant. “Soul-Collecting Rule Number One: Safety first. If a living person resists soul collection, report to the Nether Bureau to send strong ones to catch them. Under no circumstances should you engage in combat, as your soul may shatter and be destroyed.” “Are Ghost Officers this weak?” Su Fan was bewildered. According to Lu Gang, after shaping the soul-body in the Soul-Washing Pool, one was no longer a mortal. If reaching the level of Ghost Soldier, in the human world, no one could suppress them except for Immortals. However, the current environment had changed. The human world had many Immortal caves and dwellings. Loose Immortals could set up altar and preach, and people achieved the Way and ascended to heaven frequently. It seemed the conditions for becoming an Immortal had become lower. “Soul-Collecting Principle Number Two: Three Non-Collection Rules. First, a woman in labor shall not be collected. If one's fate is not yet exhausted, do not collect. If one has a deep background, do not collect!” “Damn it. Collecting a soul, and there are so many requirements. Not collecting a woman in labor, I agree. Not collecting if fate is not exhausted, I also agree. But what the hell is this 'deep background no collection'?” “Does that mean if they have a background, they can just not die?” Su Fan was very angry. Forget it, forget it. A single arm cannot twist a large thigh; whatever you say is fine. Su Fan consoled himself, then put away the soul rule book, not wanting to look at it any longer. Only then did he take out his Minor Book of Life and Death. The Underworld's Book of Life and Death was naturally in the hands of Lord Cui. Since Lord Cui was too lazy to manage the scheduling daily, to facilitate soul collection, he distributed some Minor Books of Life and Death to the various Ghost Officers. They recorded the fate of all living creatures within each Ghost Officer's jurisdiction, viewable but not editable. Su Fan was currently just a novice Ghost Officer who had just entered the Underworld, not knowing many rules and lacking experience in soul collection. Therefore, Lu Gang only assigned him a small area. Two counties and thirteen towns, plus some villages in the Human Realm. All the souls in this area were to be collected by Su Fan alone. Su Fan opened the Minor Book of Life and Death and saw many dense red names on it. According to Lu Gang, the Minor Book of Life and Death had names in three colors. Green names indicated newborn infants, black names indicated normal people, and red names indicated those whose fate had ended and who needed to be collected. “In such small areas of two counties and thirteen towns, there are so many needing soul collection?” Su Fan felt a headache coming on. Today he had also heard that if a person's lifespan was exhausted but their soul was not collected into the Underworld, two situations would arise. First, over time, the physical body would wither, the soul would have no destination, becoming a lonely ghost or even a malevolent ghost, harming the human realm. Second, the physical body withers, unable to sustain the soul; a Taoist would use spells, consuming heaven's materials and earth's treasures to rebuild the body to carry the soul. “So many uncollected living souls, how long have they been accumulating?” “No, I have to collect them back quickly. These are all Evolution Points.” Su Fan made up his mind. He would start collecting souls tomorrow to strengthen himself quickly. “Grumble!” At this moment, Su Fan's stomach growled. He was actually hungry. “Even becoming a ghost, you can still get hungry? What do you eat?” Su Fan looked around inside the grave, finally placing his gaze on the few black urns beside him. His intuition told him that there was food inside; there was a smell that greatly stimulated his appetite. Su Fan stood up and opened the urn. An eerie light spewed out. He looked inside and saw it filled with black mud that glowed with green light. Seeing this black mud, Su Fan had a strong urge to eat it. “Black mud?” For some reason, Su Fan remembered the black mud Lu Gang had mentioned. “This is edible? A proper Ghost Officer, and you eat this?” Chapter 5: Going Out on a Ghost Duty Staring at the black urn before him, which looked just like an ash jar, Su Fan absolutely lost his appetite. Though his body was honest and craving it, Su Fan truly couldn't eat it. "Forget it, forget it. It's said that after becoming a Ghost Officer, the soul body is nourished by yin energy and won't weaken to death. I might as well skip this black mud." Su Fan stopped looking at the black mud and lay down in the coffin to rest. There was no day or night in the Underworld; it was always dark and gloomy. When that blood moon in the Void set, the numerous Ghost Officers would put down their work and go back to rest. Su Fan lay in the coffin, turning from side to side. His stomach was pained with hunger. Finally, he couldn't endure it any longer. He folded up his body, charged directly to the black urn, grabbed a handful of the black mud, and stuffed it into his mouth. "Actually, the taste isn't too... Ugh... bad!" Pinching his nose, he filled his stomach. The hunger vanished, and only then did Su Fan realize how extraordinary this black mud was. After these lumps of black stuff entered his stomach and were absorbed by his soul body, they actually transformed into ghostly qi. It moisturized every inch of his soul body, and he even felt that his soul body had become somewhat stronger. "So this black mud actually has this effect?" In a moment, Su Fan felt that this black mud was quite tasty. It was really fragrant. The night passed quickly. As the blood moon rose into the sky, the numerous Ghost Officers walked out of the cemetery. The place looked like a jumble of unattended graves. Even in front of some grave mounds, there were tombstones that had broken off halfway. Su Fan walked out of the cemetery, just like the other Ghost Officers. He saw numerous black shadows yanking their heads and walking toward the Soul-Collecting Bureau. "Brother Su, Brother Su!" Luo Qing called out urgently from behind Su Fan. Su Fan turned around and looked at Luo Qing. "Old Brother Luo, you also live in this cemetery?" "What cemetery? That's too ugly. We call them crypts," Luo Qing said. "Brother Su, what are you going to do now?" "Old Brother Luo, haven't we become Soul-Reaper Ghosts? Isn't a Ghost Officer's job Souling? I'm going to the mortal realm to do some Souling." Luo Qing was a businessman in life, quite shrewd. Although he died in a somewhat embarrassing manner, his mind was still sharp. "Brother, let me tell you. I observed yesterday that many Ghost Officers at the Soul-Collecting Bureau are just slacking off. If you're too aggressive with Souling, you'll likely be ostracized by them." "When I was alive, I had a clerk who took his work seriously, meticulous and striving for perfection in everything. Because of that, the other clerks isolated him and targeted him." "Why?" Su Fan asked. "Because the other clerks were all slacking off. They would lazily finish the work in a day, leaving whatever they couldn't finish for tomorrow. But he was different. He would finish in half a day what others needed a day and a half for." "Isn't that a good thing?" "Yes, it's a good thing. But with him doing that, the others couldn't work anymore. He forced them to finish their work in half a day too." "He boosted the efficiency of your clerks. That's good, isn't it? Don't you like that?" "I love it!" "So what happened later?" "I fired him." "Hm? Why?" "Because he had already improved the efficiency of the clerks in my shop. His presence affected the work morale of the other clerks, so I let him go." Su Fan: Is Old Brother trying to point this at me? "No, no, brother, don't misunderstand. I'm just reminding you. No matter where you are, the most important thing is to maintain a good relationship with the senior members. Whatever they do, you just do the same." Luo Qing chuckled. Su Fan nodded. Luo Qing's words seemed to have some merit, but if he slackened off, his efficiency in Souling would drop. What would he do about his Evolution Points then? "Old Brother Luo, if that clerk you fired had slacked off from the start, just like the other senior clerks, what would you have done?" "He dared! Hell, slacking off right after arriving? I would have fired him immediately." "Hm, I understand. Thanks for the reminder, Old Brother Luo." Su Fan said, and then walked toward the outskirts of Fengdu. Luo Qing froze for a moment, and it seemed he had just realized something, his expression changing. "I better hurry and go do some Souling. Sigh, being a person is hard; one careless move and you get cheated. Being a ghost is even harder; one careless move and you get blackmailed!" Holding a Soul-Collecting Rope, Su Fan walked straight toward the outside of Fengdu. Along the way, he encountered Chen Kang, who was also going to do some Souling with a grim face. Chen Kang wasn't as chatty as Luo Qing. After seeing Su Fan, he just nodded and quickly left. Soon, Su Fan arrived in front of the Ghost Gate. Looking at the massive portal wreathed in yin energy, his heart wasn't quite calm. This single portal divided the world into yin and yang. Su Fan had departed from the Ghost Gate on Taozhi Mountain in the East. As soon as he entered the mortal realm, he gasped a cold breath. It was so hot. He hadn't noticed this before, but ever since becoming a ghost, he had felt very uncomfortable with the scorching heat of the mortal realm. No wonder many Ghost Officers of the Underworld didn't want to go out on a Ghost Duty. Not to mention the high level of danger, the main issue was that it was just so uncomfortable. However, Su Fan was destined to become a great ghost. He was the one who needed to boost the work enthusiasm of the Underworld's Ghost Officers. Could minor difficulties stop him? Su Fan walked in the cool spots of the mortal realm. Although he had already reshaped his soul body and was no longer afraid of sunlight, he still didn't like being exposed to the sun. Xi Luo County was one of the two counties under Su Fan's jurisdiction. It contained seven towns, and each town, along with the surrounding villages, had a population of about twenty thousand. In a town of twenty thousand people, someone would exhaust their lifespan and die every three or four days. If you spoke of Xi Luo County as a whole, a few people would die every day. If Su Fan did some Souling every day, he could manage to keep up. But the previous Soul-Reaper Ghost had been too lazy, resulting in dozens of uncollected living souls in each town of Xi Luo County that hadn't been led back to the Underworld. Across the whole of Xi Luo County, there were probably hundreds of souls that hadn't returned to the Underworld. Some people might still be alive, but some others had probably already died, and their souls might have long become lonely wandering ghosts. With so many souls not returning to their proper place, did the Ghost Officer Captain of the Soul-Collecting Bureau not care about it? Or perhaps, Lord Cui, who managed the Book of Life and Death, couldn't possibly be unaware of this? "I hope those lonely wandering ghosts haven't been influenced to become vengeful ghosts; otherwise, my little patch of territory won't be peaceful." Su Fan's expression turned somewhat grim. He headed first toward Qingyang Town. In this town and the surrounding villages, at least thirty living souls had not been collected. It was late, the night was as cold as frost, and the yin wind blew in gusts. In the mountains and woods, a rustling sound was heard, as if small beasts were running through the forest. "The yin energy here seems quite heavy!" Su Fan looked around. Dressed in black robes, with ghostly qi swirling around his entire body, and holding a Soul-Collecting Rope in his hand, he hurried along. "Hm?" Suddenly, Su Fan noticed what appeared to be a figure ahead. It was kneeling in front of a grave burning paper, whimpering and murmuring to itself. "My son, they said that in the early hours of the morning, when heaven and earth, yin and yang intersect, the yin energy is at its thickest. Calling at your grave at this time can bring your soul here." "You once sent me a dream, saying you were very cold and very hungry. There is food here. Come and eat quickly."