Chapter 91: Living People Register Struck, Death Register Name Removed (First Subscription Request)

The matter of the chicken demon being exterminated soon began to ferment.

This was a scourge of Qingtian Xiang.

On this day, travelers passing through Qingfeng Pavilion were cautious, holding umbrellas to prevent attacks from bird droppings, when they realized that the chicken demon road-bully was no longer there! Along the way, they saw that Qingfeng Pavilion was scattered with chicken feathers, and some chicken blood could still be seen...

The chicken coops in the pavilion had all been overturned, and there were even smashed eggs...

On the pavilion pillar, a few words were written crookedly in blood, looking like a dog's scrawl: "The Fox Immortal Hall of Qingtian Xiang, on the night of the 【blank】 day of the 【blank】 month of the 【blank】 year, executed the demon and removed the scourge at Qingfeng Pavilion; inscribed as a record."

"What kind of hall is this Fox Immortal Hall?"

"Fox Immortal? Has a fox in our Qingtian Xiang become an Immortal?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, behind this Fox Immortal, there must be an expert giving guidance!"

The travelers discussed it heatedly, all talking at once, saying that the chicken demon here used to peck passersby, and the previous County Commandant had brought many strong men to try and capture it, but they couldn't catch it and instead got drenched in chicken feces...

"Then why not report it to the authorities?"

"How to report it? 'When a country is about to perish, there must be monsters'? Everyone reports auspicious omens, and you report a monster? And a chicken monster at that? Even if it becomes a monster, it's still a chicken; isn't it shameful that people can't beat a chicken...?"

"Isn't there a Dao Record Bureau?"

"Didn't they invite a Daoist or a Dharma master to come and subdue it?"

"First they invited a Daoist from Yushan, but the Daoist said this chicken demon was the reincarnation of a concubine from the previous dynasty who corrupted the inner palace and controlled the court; in this life, she was cast into the animal path, yet she still 'hens announcing the dawn,' and she has some background in destiny, plus she hadn't committed any great evil, so he didn't eliminate her."

"Later, they invited a Dharma master from Dizang An, but the master only knew how to chant sutras and wanted to persuade the chicken demon to enter the temple for cultivation, but he ended up getting drenched in chicken feces; he persisted for three or four days before being driven away by the stench."

"As for the others, they had even less ability."

"Foxes eating chickens is only natural and right; this has indeed removed a scourge. Should we build a shrine to thank the Fox Immortal?"

"Who knows? It's easy to invite a god but hard to send one away. Heaven knows if, after one chicken demon dies, a fox demon will come, perhaps even more formidable and harder to remove... Why invite one? It's best to have none of these messy things!"

Qingtian Xiang was only so big; if one person knew, seven or eight people would know immediately, and once seven or eight people passed it on, the whole village would know at once.

Plus, after Hu Jinhua finished carrying the chickens back last night, she worked overtime to send dreams, and the little foxes took it upon themselves to leave the inscription.

This matter soon reached the "Ghost Gods."

To be precise, the Earth Deity of Qingtian Dam was the first to know, after all, Xu Jia had only detained the soul of the chicken demon to serve as a mount for Luejue Shen, while the other chickens had been bitten to death by weasels and foxes; although they had no ability or Dharma Power, there were many old hens among them that had outlived their natural lifespans and awakened their spiritual intelligence.

As the saying goes, "seven years for a chicken, eight for a dog"; old hens over seven years old easily understand human nature because they eat with people, live with people, and hear people talk, so over time, they can generally understand human affairs.

This flock of chickens at Qingfeng Pavilion had left human care, but they were infected by the monster Qi of the chicken demon, making it easier for them to become spirits and cause trouble, only they didn't understand human nature well, lacked wisdom, were ignorant, and didn't know how to imitate humans.

Their souls turned into chicken ghosts and were found by the Earth Spirits under the Earth Deity, who captured them and raised them in the Earth Temple; the Earth Deity has the duty of "Six Livestock Prosperity," so naturally, he must also ferry the souls of the six livestock; it is not only human souls that must report to the Earth Deity first.

Not long after this Earth Deity saw these chicken ghosts, a Yeyou came to ask about the matter.

It turned out that although Xu Jia had performed a Gu Technique that mortals could not see, the evil energy surged, and to the Ghost Gods observing from the Dharma Realm, it was extremely ferocious.

The Yeyou had seen the foxes return to carry the chickens while patrolling at night and had seen them leave the demon-slaying inscription on the pavilion pillar.

Thus, he followed the foxes to the Fox Immortal Hall and saw Xu Jia drawing a Talisman, which shocked him; these Talismans could not be drawn by someone without a lineage, as they involved the secret names of deities.

So, after spying for a while, he went to the City God Temple to report the news.

In the Dharma Realm of the City God Temple, the City God had already returned the soul of Liu Wenpo, but he had struck her name from the register and taken away some of her lifespan, and after Liu Wenpo suffered some punishments, she was truly mad this time.

The City God of Yushan was also basically clear about the affairs of the Longevity Sect, and coupled with the memorial request from the temple-resident Daoist Zhang Zhenji last time, he already understood that Yushan had fallen into a crisis, and at the very least, the state of the Mountain God of Yushan was no longer under control.

But the problem was that the City God sat in command of the city, and even when patrolling, he could only patrol within the city; going outside would be "dereliction of duty," so he could only dispatch troops to Yushan.

However, Yushan was not a place that ordinary City God troops could enter to investigate.

At this time, the Yeyou came to report: "Majestic Manifestation Earl! That bristly pheasant demon at Qingfeng Pavilion has been eliminated by someone!"

The City God of Yushan was not surprised when he heard this: "This wicked beast was the reincarnation of the jealous soul of Wan Fei from the previous dynasty; it occupied Qingfeng Pavilion to cause harm for thirty years, and once its destiny was exhausted, it was naturally destined to be eliminated."

"Who eliminated it?"

"It was a pack of foxes and a pack of weasels; the foxes are the Wild Fox Zen from the Old Crooked-Neck Tree in Qingtian Xiang, and the weasels are from the Tianliang Huang Family Temple..."

"Is that Wild Fox Zen the one from that destitute household of the Lustful Fox at Cuichun Pavilion in the city?" "Indeed." The Yeyou said: "After that Hu Agui came, the courtesans in the city all changed their appearance; originally they were all old and faded, but later these old and faded ones couldn't compete with the young women she trained and couldn't afford to eat, so she took them into the workshop to give them a bowl of rice, specifically to do laundry and cooking for the young ones... Those who were glamorous in their youth taught others the skills of seduction, and those who knew music, chess, calligraphy, and painting became instructors..."

In his tone, there was actually mostly praise.

"He also does not take lives." The City God of Yushan said: "He also has some destiny and knows how to do some good deeds."

"A city cannot be without a place for pleasure-seeking like Cuichun Pavilion; that he can be praised by many people is also a different kind of popular support."

"But Wild Fox Zen aside, who set up this Fox Immortal Hall?"

"Has the Earl forgotten? There is a person in Qingtian Xiang who died and came back to life; this hall was set up by him."

"Last time, when the Earl asked the Earth Deity of Qingtian Dam, the Earth Deity said this person was subjected to the techniques of the Longevity Sect's evil practitioners, his soul was extracted to refine evil, but he accidentally awakened his Past Life Wisdom, and he is actually a practitioner; thus, after several battles of wits and lying low to build strength, he actually managed to cure the evil Daoist who was refining him to death!"

"As for his claim of returning from the dead, it was just to fool the masses; after all, he did truly die once, but the description of the scenes of You Ming he gave does not sound fake."

The City God suddenly recalled: "When the previous batch of souls was led into You Ming by the messengers of You Ming, someone once asked me if there had been any Heavenly Court inspections lately? I was still confused, and that messenger of You Ming also instructed me to pay attention..."

He immediately had an idea: this person is likely someone with destiny and a background; first he was able to kill an evil Daoist, and later he killed that bristly pheasant demon; he must have real ability.

"He is a practitioner?"

"What the humble god just saw was him using the essence blood of the chicken demon to draw a Talisman, invoking a true name, and causing a divine descent; originally, I could have entered the residence to investigate at any time, but I was blocked, and I saw that the evil Qi of Jijue Mountain had been cleared, and there was a faint rising of Clear Spirit Qi, so I asked the surrounding wandering ghosts, and it turns out that Jijue Mountain has been granted a divine position out of thin air!"

This time the City God was truly surprised: "He can confer divine positions? That Jijue Mountain is just a small hill of a dozen or so feet; what god could he confer?"

"The humble god does not know, but I imagine it is not as good as an Earth Deity, with a very low rank, perhaps a type of Underground Lord, only governing the underworld of the Dharma Realm beneath this hill, providing for the Fox Immortal Hall to use as a Dongfu."

The City God pondered for a moment: "You say, if I, this Earl, summon that person, what method can I use to not lose the dignity of the City God, while also not offending him?"

Yeyou:...

"Earl, we still don't quite know what his background is; even if his past life memories have awakened, it is quite inexplicable that he does not leave home to cultivate the Dao and return to his sect, but instead mixes with a group of foxes." The Yeyou pondered.

"That is true." The City God sighed: "Which Orthodox Cultivator does not view these demons, ghosts, and foxes as extremely lowly? Only those of the Leftist Path would mix with them."

"But the things he has done do not look much like the Leftist Path: killing evil practitioners, overturning altars and destroying temples, curing the chicken demon to death, and even last time, it was through his pointing out that Zhang Zhenji knew there was a problem with Yushan; it was just that the Earl was very cautious at the time, which shows he also understands the techniques of Heavenly Secrets, and this is not something that can be learned by the Leftist Path."

The Majestic Manifestation Earl of Yushan glanced at this Yeyou: "You are truly watertight, keeping both sides clean; you've let you say all the good and bad words."

The Yeyou said sheepishly: "The humble god is only inferring from what is known; the Earl is the one who makes the final decision. The Earl had a reputation for integrity and impartiality during his lifetime, but without seeing the person, one cannot necessarily know if he is good or evil, loyal or treacherous."

The Majestic Manifestation Earl of Yushan nodded and immediately summoned the Chief Clerk: "Bring the Living People Register; let's first check how his family has been doing recently."

The Registrar immediately went to retrieve the Living People Register; the Living People Register is half of the Book of Life and Death, recording only the Life Registry and not the Death Registry, divided into ten million volumes, one for each county, used to record the local living people.

This register is divided into several volumes, consisting of three types: the Yellow Register, the Vermilion Registry, and the White Register.

The Yellow Register is the rarest, recording those of naturally noble birth and disciples of sages.

The Vermilion Registry is next, recording those with official status, those possessing pure fortune and accumulated merit, and prosperous noble houses.

The White Register is the lowest, for the common folk and those who have achieved nothing of note.

It is just like in "Dream of the Red Chamber," which has the Imperial Decree Twelve Beauties main register, the secondary register, and the tertiary register.

One's innate status and where one is reincarnated are determined by this Living People Register.

Although Xu Jia's grandfather purchased his official position, it was not enough to qualify for the Vermilion Registry.

Therefore, the Registrar checked using the White Register, directly pulling out the Living People Register volume for the Xu clan genealogy, flipping through a few pages, and finding the lineage starting from Xu Jia's grandfather.

The grandfather's name had already been circled in red ink, indicating that his Life Registry entry had been crossed out and he had been moved to the Death Registry.

Looking further down at Xu Zhiyuan, one could see a small brush mark next to the name, with small characters manifesting "Wen Chang Protection."

"Xu Heshi." This name had a Pure Bottle mark, and also small characters annotated, manifesting as "Buddha Shade Protection."

Looking further down, one saw "Xu Jia"; this one was ordinary, but there was a "red approval" mark above it, clearly indicating that the Life Registry entry had been crossed out and he had been moved to the Death Registry.

(End of this chapter)