Chapter 91: Fuyuan Chenghuang Office

After closing the door.

Wu Xian immediately checked his phone.

He found indeed one unread message from “Fuyuan Chenghuang.”

The message was sent at noon.

Congratulations, Ju Ren Wu Xian, for surviving your second Fudi. Please report immediately to the Chenghuang Office at No. 44, Fourth Street, Fuyuan City. Safe living is hard-won and requires the ongoing effort of every Ju Ren. Obey laws and regulations, conceal the extraordinary…

This text contained much information.

Most of it demanded that Ju Ren live honestly; otherwise, they would be struck down by heavenly punishment, and so on.

There were snack stalls selling jianbing guozi and liangpi, old women selling scallions and garlic; most people ignored the Chenghuang Office entirely, while a few stole occasional glances.

Bai Gu turned around and barked at Wu Xian twice, seemingly complaining he hadn’t eaten her carefully prepared meal.

Take it slow.

This was the car thief’s home; his motorcycle had a hidden tracker, so Wu Xian found his address with almost no investigation. In fact, Wu Xian’s own motorcycle had been stolen partly as bait.

Wu Xian observed here for a long time but never tried to take a task himself.

Wu Xian counted out two thousand four hundred yuan and returned it to the thief’s money box.

“Pity this thief isn’t home today; otherwise, I could’ve practiced a combat skill on him.”

The third day: wallet empty.

Wu Xian immediately turned back and scanned the garage—but found no source of the sound; the atmosphere grew increasingly eerie.

Could it really be that so many Ju Ren are registering that they can no longer afford rice and oil…?

As long as you follow the rules, Ju Ren have almost no presence—just come monthly to collect money and supplies.

The monster stood upright like a human, one point eight meters tall, covered in thick black fur, a large tail swaying, wearing an apron, its paws sheathed in rubber gloves.

There were many people on this street.

Wu Xian entered the Chenghuang Office, took away a bucket of soybean oil, a sack of rice, and fifteen hundred yuan—then discovered his motorcycle had been stolen…

Day one: cautious covert observation.

Wu Xian realized the number of Ju Ren who had participated in the second Fudi was also enormous; the Ju Ren population of Fuyuan City far exceeded his expectations.

A steaming plate of egg fried rice was placed on the computer desk.

After registering at the Chenghuang Office.

More than ten minutes later.

Suddenly.

Early the next morning.

Suddenly.

Jing Ke came to the door.

He finally understood: the Chenghuang Office itself was strange. Last time, from above, he hadn’t seen the black van enter—not because of some underground passage, but because the Chenghuang Office could block distant sightlines.

“Is this Bai Gu?”

These three chapters are transitional.

“Pah!”

“You’re a car thief and you’ve only got 8,400 yuan saved? How long will that even last me?”

Wu Xian found this organization was actually quite decent.

It seemed Wu Xian wasn’t the only one suspicious of the Chenghuang Office.

After all, even without this money, you’d still have to enter the Fudi; monthly stipends increase with the number of entries—surviving more times in the Fudi means higher pay, and later figures should be quite substantial.

…

…

“I’m hungry. Make me something else to eat.”

Wu Xian owned his house, and with Bai Gu cooking, these savings would stretch far enough.

The message was sent directly to his phone.

Wu Xian, dressed in black, wearing a hood, mask, and gloves, ransacked a residence from top to bottom.

Wu Xian stepped back a distance.

Wu Xian’s underpants were practically stripped bare—he no longer needed to worry about exposure.

He rode along the street for a long while without spotting the Chenghuang Office sign; this troubled him. He’d checked maps and satellite images last night and found no trace of the Chenghuang Office.

Though it was black stealing from black, leave a little room—take all the money and the guy’s left with no way to live, he might panic and commit murder; that karmic debt would fall on Wu Xian.

It was already deep night.

He erased all traces he’d left in the room, then went out to retrieve his motorcycle.

Also, the Chenghuang Office had another aspect that intrigued Wu Xian.

Wu Xian made a simple disguise, mounted his motorcycle, and arrived at the address in the message.

But since it was welfare, Wu Xian didn’t mind the small amount.

The furthest one inside cast a shadow even more flashy than Wu Xian’s ride—but Wu Xian was a very loyal man; he mounted his motorcycle to leave, when suddenly he heard an odd noise.

Wu Xian parked his motorcycle outside the Chenghuang Office’s influence range.

“Hmm… it’s a demon after all; that’s reasonable enough.”

A building suddenly appeared before Wu Xian, its sign glaringly reading “Fuyuan City Chenghuang Office”; the structure that should have occupied that spot had vanished into thin air.

But why wasn’t this message sent after the first Fudi?

Wu Xian shook his head jokingly.

Wu Xian heard water running from the kitchen.

The first floor of the Chenghuang Office was a hall like a bank counter.

Disguised, squatting outside the Chenghuang Office, secretly observing.

Day two: openly sitting outside, cracking sunflower seeds and observing.

The money from the Chenghuang Office wasn’t much.

Wu Xian scratched his head with a sheepish grin and went to the gaming cafe to play.

He cautiously walked over and saw a standing monster washing dishes at the sink.

There was a lounge area filled with many Ju Ren, but they rarely spoke to each other, as if all had silently agreed not to discuss Fudi matters.

Wu Xian erased from his mind the image of Bai Gu using her mouth to hold a spatula while stir-frying, then observed further—Bai Gu was tidy; at least she washed dishes far more diligently than he did.

Inside were five more motorcycles or electric scooters, likely all stolen by the thief.

Many rest days remained.

Such as investigating haunted locations, eliminating evil spirits, breaking curses on yin residences, hunting down deranged Ju Ren—task rewards ranged from hundreds to tens of thousands, and once posted, they were snapped up instantly; tasks were few, Ju Ren many, and nearly every task had to be fought over.

On the hall’s walls hung a screen that occasionally displayed tasks.

Perhaps they didn’t send messages to Ju Ren entering the Fudi for the first time simply because they couldn’t afford the welfare.

The building vanished again, strangely.

…

Was the Chenghuang Office really on this street?

The thief’s home was in a city village; the courtyard had a separate small garage, unlit—but Wu Xian spotted his beloved ride at once under the moonlight.

So he relaxed, and shamelessly made his request to Bai Gu.

“Hmph, hmph… grunt, grunt, wu wu wu.”

All kinds of people came in, then walked out moments later, carrying money and sacks of rice and oil; ignore their Ju Ren status, and the scene resembled retired workers collecting subsidies.

Why rush?

After robbing the car thief tonight, I can live comfortably for a while longer…

To flesh out the world, establish background, and set the tone, they were necessary.

Don’t worry about transitional chapters being too long—they’ll end soon.

(End of Chapter)