Chapter 98: The Civet Cat Emperor

The Yushan City God seemed to have come simply for a meal, but a typical private banquet for an official would not have such a grand retinue; with such a display, there was naturally official business at hand.

That is correct; the City God was "patrolling the territory."

"Patrolling the territory today, I reached Qingtian Xiang and saw that the Qingtian Dam Earth Deity was not at his temple. I was invited by the Fox Immortal Hall, which dealt with the pheasant spirit at Qingfeng Pavilion. I, this Earl, am also surprised—when did a Fox Immortal Hall emerge under my jurisdiction?"

The City God sat in the seat of honor, showing no sign of coming to hold anyone accountable; instead, he used a joke to get straight to the point and question Xu Jia.

"The Fox Immortal Hall is a small temple, just established. To be known by the local magistrate and even visited in person, it truly makes my humble dwelling shine!"

"Luejue, pour wine for the City God!"

Xu Jia did not answer. Although the Spirit General Luejue Shen was the Jijue Mountain God, he held no official rank, not even as high as an Earth Deity. Seeing the City God, he was still very terrified; only those on the Divine Path understand what it means for a superior official to suppress those below.

What kind of god was he? He could only be considered a mountain ghost.

However, Xu Jia had plenty of confidence, so he overcame this natural, instinctive fear and poured rice wine for the City God.

Xu Jia smiled and said: "Do not laugh at the muddy wine of the farmstead during the year's end; in a bountiful year, there is plenty of chicken and pork to host guests."

"This is rice wine brewed by the villagers themselves. I hope the City God will not mind. The common people pray for favorable weather every year, and it is thanks to the City God's governance that there have been no Heavenly Disasters or earthly calamities!"

The City God: I am too familiar with this routine! This flattery technique is much better than the Yeyou... You are so good at flattering, what is your rank?

"It is shameful to say, but I have been in Yushan for over two hundred years, and many things have not been as perfect as Young Master Xu describes. That chicken demon wreaked havoc at Qingfeng Pavilion for thirty years, and it was only through the Fox Immortal Hall's intervention that she was removed."

Xu Jia said: "Oh? Not removed for thirty years—did she have some background or history?"

"At the end of the previous Great Heng Dynasty, there was a Wan Fei who controlled the government. Wan Fei was originally from Yushan; she entered as a palace maid and became the Emperor's wet nurse. After the Emperor ascended the throne, he enfeoffed his wet nurse as a consort and intended to make her Empress, but the ministers obstructed it, so it was dropped."

"After the Emperor died, Wan Fei supported a young emperor who was actually a civet cat..."

"He was the Civet Cat Emperor."

"After Wan Fei died, she was demoted to the path of beasts and turned into a hen. But the Great Heng Dynasty also had a Dragon Court in Youming Difu, and its destiny was not yet exhausted, so she became a spirit. She occupied Qingfeng Pavilion, using the villagers' curses and insults to strip away their blessings and exhaust their destiny, intending to reincarnate as a human only after ten lifetimes as a beast."

Xu Jia laughed and looked at the spirit of the chicken demon, who had already been made a mount by Luejue: "Then, must this demon's soul be returned to the cycle of reincarnation?"

"That is not necessary. Being subdued before the altar can be considered his fortune. Pheasant spirit, are you willing to continue reincarnating as a beast for ten lifetimes to become a poor, lonely, and miserable woman, or are you willing to remain in this current form?"

The chicken spirit sighed and said: "I am willing to follow the Dharma Master!"

Xu Jia saw the goodwill the City God was showing and immediately toasted him another cup.

The City God added: "I heard that Young Master Xu cultivated in a past life. I wonder where that Immortal mountain was?"

"San Francisco," Xu Jia said.

The City God was puzzled; could it be that he was ignorant and ill-informed? He had never heard of San Francisco being a famous mountain or great river.

"This mountain is overseas; the City God surely would not know it. It was built by Shang Dynasty nobles who fled across the sea. It has an ancient Daoist tradition. In my past life, I flew across the great ocean, brought my disciples and followers, and established a tradition. But my merit and practice were insufficient, so I am reincarnating to cultivate once more in order to seek the true fruit." Xu Jia spoke eloquently, not sounding like he was lying. The Yushan City God became very interested in the land of the overseas Shang people and asked a few detailed questions.

Xu Jia then introduced the fire-breathing chickens, the feather-clad Great Shamans, and the golden grain of the valley. He also mentioned that gold mines were everywhere there, making it a wealthy place, but the Shang people preferred bronze, using it as gold to make weapons and vessels, while that gold could only be used as decoration.

The Yushan City God was fascinated and asked again: "The Qingtian Dam Earth Deity said you have a path for promotion in the underworld..."

Xu Jia laughed and said: "That was a misunderstanding. I only have small connections here, not big ones. Youming Difu has a rule: capturing one hundred evil ghosts and sending them to Youming Diyu counts as one merit. Previously, I intended to send infant spirits to secure a position as a third-class Underground Lord for this Luejue Shen, but later, I could not bear to do so, so I kept these infant ghosts on the altar to serve as quick-reporting Spirit Children."

"As for other things, it is not easy to say more."

The Earth Deity was mortified. He had been startled by the City God's sudden visit and caught attending a banquet at the Fox Immortal Hall, which is why he had blurted it all out. Before, he had been adamant that it had nothing to do with him and that he feared no one, but upon actually seeing the City God, he was like a mouse meeting a cat.

Xu Jia looked down on this behavior of the Qingtian Dam Earth Deity. One must know that all things are accomplished through secrecy; the matter of the twenty thousand Dharma Money he was supposed to prepare had not even materialized, yet he had already let the secret slip. He really was wet behind the ears.

The City God also knew this matter was inappropriate and somewhat abrupt, but he had no choice; he wanted to advance too badly. Having been the Yushan City God for two hundred years, his last four performance reviews were all "average." If this continued, how could he be promoted? He, ah, wanted to advance too much.

Last time, the messenger from Youming warned him if there were any Heavenly Court inspectors patrolling recently... and told him to be careful. Now, he had already mistaken Xu Jia for an inspector from the Heavenly Court who had descended to the mortal world.

It was just that Xu Jia did not reveal his identity, yet he was very provocative, giving this Yushan City God room for imagination and a sense of danger. His reason told him this person was a fraud, yet he harbored a sliver of hope.

Just then, a gust of yellow wind blew in, and the ghost soldiers and generals outside shouted: "Who goes there?"

In the yellow wind appeared an old woman covered in blood, missing an arm and blind in one eye. This was none other than Huang Laotai.

Huang Laotai looked at the majestic sign of the City God, which forbade mortals from approaching, and was already terrified. Why was the City God here? Neither Xu Jia nor the City God moved. The Yeyou stood up and said: "I will go see what the situation is."

He went out the door and saw Huang Laotai. The Tianliang Huang Family Temple could not be considered a licentious offering in the local area, nor could it be considered a proper one, but the Yeyou still recognized Huang Laotai.

"Why is it you? How did you end up in this state?"

Huang Laotai wailed: "The old woman was entrusted by the True Immortal Xu to investigate the evil woman from the Evil Sect who came here. I was discovered by a Yaksha, could not win in the magical battle, and fled here."

The Yeyou had long known she was mixed up with the Fox Immortal Hall, but he had not expected Xu Jia to be able to command this arrogant old demoness.

He immediately said: "The City God is currently feasting with Master Xu. I will go and report to him for you!"

An Evil Sect demoness was no small matter and could not be concealed; after all, the City God was already troubled by the fact that the Evil Aura in Yushan had not been substantially resolved.

The Yeyou went inside and whispered into the City God's ear to relay the message.

The Yushan City God heard this, suppressed the unease in his heart, and said: "Master Xu, since there is another guest, why not invite them in for a chat?"

Xu Jia had just calculated it and realized it was Huang Laotai who had returned.

It was just that choosing this specific time was perhaps too coincidental.

(End of chapter)