Chapter 99: Cause and Effect

Chen Jiang immediately ran to Lengjiao Mountain on Lamma Island, thinking of cozying up to Zhang Sheng to see if he could learn some immortal arts.

After all, the immortals in storybooks could ascend to the heavens and dive into the earth, capable of anything, and he felt Zhang Sheng was just like that.

Upon arriving at Lengjiao Mountain, Chen Jiang saw Zhang Sheng, who was supervising the work.

He hurriedly stepped forward and called out affectionately: "Uncle-Master, I've come to see you, old man!"

Zhang Sheng turned his head with a somewhat wooden expression to look at the rushing Chen Jiang, frowned slightly, and said: "A-Jiang, what are you doing here? Are you not tending to the Daoist hall?"

Chen Jiang heard that Zhang Sheng's voice sounded somewhat bitter, as if there were some foreign object in his throat.

He hurriedly asked with concern: "Uncle-Master, is your throat uncomfortable? I'll go buy you some medicine right now."

Zhang Sheng barked: "You brat, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"Hmph, do you think I don't know your little schemes? Speak up quickly."

Chen Jiang said with a grin: "I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Uncle-Master. Uncle-Master, tell me honestly, are you about to become an immortal?"

Zhang Sheng was truly confused now and asked: "So what if I become an immortal?"

Chen Jiang thought to himself: Uncle-Master didn't deny it, so it must be true?

He hurriedly said: "Uncle-Master, teach me some immortal arts. Last time, I was almost beaten to death by that Sakai fellow."

Zhang Sheng let out a cold snort and said: "Even if I knew immortal arts, I wouldn't teach you."

Chen Jiang sighed and said: "Uncle-Master, why?"

Zhang Sheng said with some disdain: "You haven't even mastered the basic spells of the Profound Gate, yet you want to learn immortal arts? You're dreaming.

Go on, stop bothering me, and get back quickly. If you continue to be lazy and hate work, watch out, or I'll slap you silly."

Chen Jiang shrank his head and hurriedly ran off.

Zhang Sheng, sitting cross-legged on a large rock, closed his eyes once more.

Not far away, Zeng Cheng secretly looked at Zhang Sheng, and Zhang Sheng immediately opened his eyes and looked over.

Zeng Cheng guiltily turned his head away and looked at the construction site.

Only then did Zhang Sheng close his eyes and meditate there.

In reality, Zhang Sheng was still working overtime in the Underworld. The sealing of the Underworld was imminent, and all the Yin-messengers in Hong Kong had left, leaving only Zhang Sheng and his subordinates behind.

Recently, there had been quite a few wandering ghosts, and with many ghosts lingering in the Underworld, some Yin-messengers could not go out for field duty and could only stay within the Underworld to manage the ghosts.

Besides registering and vetting the ghosts entering the Underworld, Zhang Sheng also had to investigate the matters the ghosts reported.

This resulted in him being completely unable to finish his work.

Especially with the civil war in the north recently, many commoners from the coast had crossed the sea to Hong Kong.

There were truly too many dirty deeds occurring, and many of the ghosts brought in were crying out about their grievances.

At the same time, colleagues from the Underworld were transferring files to him, all of which he had to inspect before taking over; in short, he was currently too busy to get away.

Therefore, Zhang Sheng could only create a puppet to supervise the work outside.

Having just finished handling a case, Zhang Sheng couldn't help but twist his neck and say: "When will this ever end?"

A Yin-messenger on the side said: "Boss, you need to find the Civil and Martial Judges to help you with the work."

Zhang Sheng was greatly troubled; he had yet to find a candidate for the Civil Judge, and as for the Martial Judge, he intended to let Mi Tailang take the role.

It would still take some time for Mi Tailang to undergo his 'soldier-release' reincarnation; in the meantime, he could only continue to expand the team of Yin-messengers while searching for the heads of the Twenty-Four Offices.

Zhang Sheng immediately called for Chen Zheng to handle things temporarily, and he would review them again later.

He left the Underworld, arrived in the mortal realm, and withdrew a wisp of his soul from the puppet to sense the recent changes.

He found nothing of major importance, mainly that Chen Jiang had been coming by quite frequently recently.

He sent the soul back into the puppet and then arrived at Chen Jiang's Daoist hall.

His wife, A-Zhi, had a very large belly and would soon give birth to a baby boy.

Lin Zhengfeng and Zhong Fabai were both studying at school and getting along quite well with their classmates.

As for Chen Jiang, he was getting close with some wealthy individuals.

Especially after Li Siwei was warned by Chen Zheng, Chen Jiang had been trying to find a way to resolve the matter.

As for Mao Xiaofang, he was dealing with the affairs of Xiao Zun and Xuan Kui.

However, Yang Feiyun had already obtained the Flying Dragon Seven Star Array; next, he still needed to find a bead before he could use the Flying Dragon Seven Star Array to change his destiny.

Zhang Sheng had already looked at these people's Books of Life and Death. If he were to intervene, he feared it would cause problems for the existing Books of Life and Death, requiring a massive amount of data to be changed, which was simply increasing his own workload.

Therefore, before finding usable subordinates, he had better just wait and see.

Zhao Yunsheng was visiting Hong Kong for the first time. He had originally thought the war was over, but a new war had arrived.

He had survived the great war; he used to fight the Japanese, but now he was fighting his own people, which he could not bring himself to do, so he had fled to Hong Kong.

However, there were truly too many people like him who had fled to Hong Kong, and he couldn't find work for the time being, so he could only go hungry.

Fortunately, his fellow villager Zhao Sanshui was a kind-hearted man, and seeing him starving, he gave him a steamed bun to eat.

Zhao Yunsheng said very gratefully: "Brother Sanshui, thank you very much."

Zhao Sanshui waved his hand and laughed: "Yunsheng, you're being too polite. What is our relationship? There's no need for such polite words."

Zhao Yunsheng gave an honest smile, thinking in his heart that he must repay Zhao Sanshui.

He saw the little girl behind Zhao Sanshui, who was pulling on Zhao Sanshui's leg and looking up at the bun in his mouth, swallowing her saliva.

Zhao Yunsheng immediately broke off a piece and handed it to the little girl.

Zhao Sanshui laughed: "Yunsheng, once you're settled here in Hong Kong, you should also find a girl and start a family. You're the only one left in your family line."

Hearing this, Zhao Yunsheng sighed and said: "I used to think that once we drove the Japanese away, we'd have peace. I didn't expect that old bald-headed man... sigh..."

"Hiring! Hiring! Room and board provided, salary fifteen dollars a month!"

Zhao Yunsheng hurriedly helped Zhao Sanshui squeeze in front of the recruiter and shouted: "The two of us!"

The foreman took one look at the sturdy Zhao Yunsheng and saw that Zhao Sanshui was bringing his family, and immediately pointed at the two of them, saying: "Good, I'll count you two."

Zhao Yunsheng and the other were all smiles, hurriedly pushing past others to follow behind the foreman.

The foreman recruited about twenty people and left, while hundreds more remained crowded on the pier waiting for the next foreman.

The foreman led Zhao Yunsheng and the others to a simple dormitory, with the construction site not far away.

The foreman made some casual arrangements and said, "Nothing else, get to work quickly; today counts as a half-day shift."

Zhao Yunsheng immediately put down his things, helped Zhao Sanshui tidy up, and the two left in a hurry.

In their dormitory, only a few women and children remained.

Just as they started working, the foreman brought a young master over for an inspection.

The foreman bowed and scraped, saying, "Mr. Xu, look, I guarantee we will definitely finish on time."

Xu Shunzhi smiled and said, "Good, good, good, well done."

The foreman remembered that among the workers recruited today, there was a woman who looked quite good, so he hurriedly said, "Mr. Xu, please this way."

He had someone lead Xu Shunzhi to the office first, while he went to the dormitory and happened to see that woman with a little girl.

The foreman stepped forward and said, "I remember your husband is named Zhao Sanshui, right?"

Cuilian nodded timidly.

The foreman smiled and said, "Hmm, since your husband is working here, you should come and help out too."

Cuilian asked, "I don't know what task the foreman has for me to do?"

The foreman smiled and said, "This construction site is arranged by Mr. Xu; go and keep Mr. Xu company."

Cuilian hurriedly shook her head and said, "No!"

The foreman sneered, "Do you still want your husband to work here? Let me tell you, if you offend me, your whole family won't be able to survive here on Xiang Island!"

Cuilian was very panicked; she hurriedly stood up and ran out holding the child, but several burly men walked in and directly covered Cuilian's mouth and took her away.

When Zhao Sanshui returned in the evening, he saw a distraught Cuilian.

Zhao Sanshui hurriedly stepped forward to ask, and Cuilian burst into tears.

Zhao Yunsheng shouted, "Who bullied my sister-in-law!"

A woman who had seen the incident told them about the afternoon's events.

Zhao Yunsheng was so angry that veins popped on his forehead.

Just as Zhao Sanshui was about to get up to seek revenge, he saw Cuilian stop him and take out a stack of money.

Zhao Sanshui ultimately chose to swallow his anger.

But Zhao Yunsheng could not bear it; he was the one who couldn't stand the local landlords and wealthy gentry back then, which was why he had indignantly joined the army.

Zhao Yunsheng grabbed a wooden club and ran off to beat the foreman, but in a moment of carelessness, he actually beat the foreman to death.

Zhao Yunsheng was immediately arrested and then killed by the foreman's family through underhanded means.

Zhang Sheng had just come to look at the site where accidents occurred frequently, and ended up encountering Zhao Yunsheng, who had become a fierce ghost.

Before Zhao Yunsheng could even make a move, he was taken away by Zhang Sheng.

Zhang Sheng immediately used magic to restore Zhao Yunsheng's clarity and asked about the ins and outs of the matter.

Looking at Zhao Yunsheng, who was kneeling on the ground crying out for justice, Zhang Sheng sighed and said, "Their sins will naturally be punished after they die."

Zhao Yunsheng asked in confusion, "Why can't they be sentenced on the spot!"

Zhang Sheng shook his head and said, "The human world has its own laws; I cannot interfere."

Zhao Yunsheng said angrily, "But they are getting away with it!"

Zhang Sheng shook his head and said, "Heaven has the Heavenly Dao, and immortals have immortal rules. Even if a god commits a crime, they are not necessarily punished. Do you know why?"

Zhao Yunsheng naturally did not understand, and Zhang Sheng said, "Because, Heaven and Earth are unkind and treat all things as straw dogs."

Humans, gods, immortals, demons, monsters, and so on, are all the same in the eyes of the Heavens.

No matter what you have done, whether you will be punished or not, it is not important.

It is just that the final result will follow the path arranged by the Heavenly Dao, and that is enough.

If you want to defy Heaven, then there will be a lightning tribulation. The lightning tribulation is the true heavenly punishment; the rest is not worth mentioning in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao."

Zhao Yunsheng sneered, "But you are not the Heavenly Dao."

Zhang Sheng was not angry; he indeed was not the Heavenly Dao. He explained, "If I help you, I must bear the karma. If I bear too much karma, that lightning tribulation will strike me."

Zhao Yunsheng softened his tone and asked, "Why?"

Zhang Sheng explained, "Because me helping you is defying the Heavenly Dao."

Zhao Yunsheng asked, "Are you afraid of the lightning tribulation?"

Zhang Sheng shook his head and said, "I don't know; I haven't tried it yet."

Zhao Yunsheng asked with some unwillingness, "Then what punishment will these evil people receive? Will they go to the eighteen levels of hell?"

Zhang Sheng asked, "Do you want to know?"

Zhao Yunsheng hurriedly nodded and said, "Of course, I want to know."

Zhang Sheng waved his hand, and the two of them arrived at the Ghost Gate Pass in an instant.

Zhang Sheng said calmly, "Let's go, I will take you to see."

Zhao Yunsheng immediately followed Zhang Sheng's footsteps into the Ghost Gate Pass.

Soon, they arrived at the public court.

Chen Zheng was interrogating the foreman, and Chen Zheng was heard saying, "He Jing, in this life you have committed one hundred and twenty-five minor offenses, fifty-eight major crimes, and thirteen wicked sins."

"Now, according to the laws of the Underworld, I sentence you to go through the eighteen levels of hell and be cast into the Hell Path!"

He Jing was terrified and cried out, "Spare my life, I was forced into it, I was originally a good person!"

But no underworld official paid him any mind and directly dragged him down.

These underworld officials had seen too many outrageous things; someone like He Jing was not even the most sinister.

Zhao Yunsheng watched He Jing suffer in the eighteenth level of hell, and only then did he realize he was inside the Underworld.

He hurriedly knelt down and said, "Are you the King of Hell?"

Zhang Sheng shook his head and said, "Of course I am not. Zhao Yunsheng, I see that your aptitude is quite good; are you willing to become an Underworld Emissary?"

Zhao Yunsheng hurriedly nodded and said, "I am willing. To be able to personally punish these wicked people, I am truly more than willing!"

Zhang Sheng reminded him, "Zhao Yunsheng, you must remember that the laws of the Underworld are effective not only on the spirits, but also on you Underworld Emissaries. You must never commit acts of corruption or injustice."

Zhao Yunsheng hurriedly nodded and said, "Please rest assured, I will definitely handle things fairly."

Zhang Sheng nodded slightly and appointed Zhao Yunsheng as an Underworld Emissary.

He took Zhao Yunsheng along and handed him over to Chen Zheng.

He said to Chen Zheng, "I have seen all the work you have done these days, and I think I can promote you."

Chen Zheng said with some excitement, "Thank you, Boss."

Zhang Sheng nodded slightly and said, "From now on, you are the Chief of the Yin-Yang Bureau. I will arrange your subordinates for you in due time. Your task for now is to help me manage the spirits that are sent here."

Chen Zheng hurriedly nodded and said, "Rest assured, Boss, I will definitely handle these matters well."

After Zhang Sheng gave these instructions, he left the Underworld and returned to Xiang Island; he still had to continue searching for suitable Underworld Emissaries.

For example, people who were stabbed to death while heroically saving others, people who drowned while saving someone who had fallen into the water, or perhaps some who were kind and charitable but died of illness.

However, this time Zhang Sheng came to a rural village, and in this village, there was a family that raised an ox.

This ox had already been raised for over twenty years.

The old yellow ox was frail and dying, and this family was in need of money.

Thus, the old yellow ox thought about letting its owners sell it.

Unfortunately, the old yellow ox was too old, and no one would buy it, but it knew that it had a bezoar inside its body.

So, the old yellow ox rammed itself to death at night, intending to enter the owners' dreams to tell them that there was a treasure inside its body.

Zhang Sheng gave it a helping hand, allowing it to fulfill its wish.

With teary eyes, the old yellow ox looked at its owners who were crying their hearts out, and then reluctantly followed Zhang Sheng as he left.

Zhang Sheng directly cast a spell to awaken the old yellow ox's intelligence, and it immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, Immortal."

Zhang Sheng waved his hand and said, "I am no Immortal. You possess some spiritual energy, and meeting me is your good fortune."

"I want to make you General Ox, are you willing?"

The old yellow ox naturally knew about things like Ox-Head and Horse-Face, as it had heard its owners talk about them while it was alive.

The old yellow ox lowered its head and said, "I am willing to follow the instructions of the City God."

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(End of this chapter)