After emerging from the task center, Jiang Lin paid another visit to the King of Hell's Palace.
He needed to report.
Forbidden arts that altered life, reanimation, curses…
These things were too dangerous.
Especially that person in black, who had laid down forbidden arts both on himself and within the house.
Fortunately, he had sent paper effigies in first.
Upon arriving at the King of Hell's Palace, Jiang Lin found that the former Captain, King Jian'an, was also there.
And he was also there to report.
He mentioned that a ghost messenger had their ghost qi absorbed while on duty.
Hearing this news, Yan Luo narrowed her eyes.
"So many forbidden arts appearing at once… it seems there are still remnants from that era that weren't cleaned up."
"All departments are to strengthen their vigilance and report any information related to forbidden arts immediately!"
Jiang Lin and King Jian'an cupped their hands in unison, "Yes!"
…
After leaving the King of Hell's Palace,
Jiang Lin asked, "How is Team Nine doing?"
King Jian'an was a behind-the-scenes captain. In his work area, any latest news would reach him first.
"They're alright."
King Jian'an's expression was calm. "One encountered a curse and sustained some injuries."
"Another had their ghost qi absorbed, temporarily lowering their cultivation to the early stage of Ghost Soldier. I've adjusted her duties."
The so-called adjustment meant, in his opinion, a safer assignment.
Speaking of which, King Jian'an glanced at Jiang Lin.
"Speaking of which… you were also attacked by a similar forbidden art that drained your ghost qi, weren't you?"
Jiang Lin certainly hadn't forgotten this: "Yes."
That was many years ago.
Recalling it now, it felt like a long time ago, yet also like yesterday.
At that time, Jiang Lin wasn't the Captain of the Ghost Messengers, nor did he have such a high cultivation level.
He didn't have a system either.
He was just a member of the Ninth Team of Bai Wuchang.
During a soul escort mission, he accidentally stumbled into a forbidden art set by a human.
At that moment, he felt his internal ghost qi being rapidly siphoned away.
Fortunately, his reaction was swift, and the human was also new to forbidden arts, so the setup wasn't entirely complete.
After some struggle, Jiang Lin managed to break free.
He collected the soul and took the opportunity to teach the human a lesson.
Afterwards, he reported it to Captain Jian'an.
Upon hearing this, King Jian'an immediately launched an investigation.
The results came back not long after.
The forbidden art the human had obtained was accidentally dug up from the soil in his hometown.
And it was incomplete.
He had only set up the forbidden art this time with an experimental mindset.
Who knew it would be placed precisely in Jiang Lin's path.
Later, the forbidden art was destroyed and retrieved by the Underworld.
Jiang Lin didn't know the specifics.
He only knew that the Underworld had wiped the human's related memories.
And imposed a certain degree of punishment.
As for the ghost qi that Jiang Lin had lost… it was more than just being drained.
His cultivation level had also dropped.
Jiang Lin's ghost cultivation talent wasn't particularly good to begin with, and this decline made it even harder to recover.
Jiang Lin remembered that King Jian'an had even found some supplements to aid his cultivation back then.
…
"Are there any lingering side effects?" King Jian'an asked, glancing sideways.
Jiang Lin shook his head, "It could be considered a blessing in disguise."
Not long after being attacked,
He had bound with the Underworld Healing Live Stream System.
This led to the 'Daily Healing in the Underworld' live stream in the human world, attracting tens of thousands of fans.
And it led to his current position as the Captain of the Eighteenth Team, Jiang Wuchang.
Although he still didn't know if the visions that appeared with his cultivation breakthroughs were good or bad,
Or what kind of situation they represented.
At least for now, Jiang Lin's life was relatively peaceful.
Hearing this, King Jian'an nodded, "That's good."
"By the way, the tea tree from the West Hall is quite good. Feel free to visit Team Nine and try some when you have time."
He was referring to the tea tree Jiang Lin had brought back from the West Hall not long ago.
Jiang Lin replied, "Okay."
…
News of the reappearance of forbidden arts quickly spread throughout the Underworld.
Some ghosts, unaware of the Underworld invasion incident from years ago, were still confused about what forbidden arts were.
But those who understood immediately became vigilant.
Every time they went out to work, they carried a sense of caution.
Those things were not to be trifled with.
Just as the Underworld launched a large-scale investigation and search.
A major event occurred in the human world.
…
…
The Human World.
As the days grew colder, the calendars on people's phones flipped to December.
This meant the year was coming to an end, and a new year was about to begin.
For most children, the winter break was undoubtedly a wonderful holiday.
No school, freedom to play, and various delicious foods, plus the most important thing – red envelopes!
"Dad, what are we having for New Year's Eve dinner this year?"
After writing half of her homework, Li Guoguo couldn't resist picking up her pencil.
She ran to the kitchen door, looking at her father who was preparing dinner inside.
Li Aiguo looked at his daughter's eager expression, a smile appearing on his face.
"What does Guoguo want to eat?"
As he spoke, his hands continued their work, shaking the water droplets off the washed vegetable leaves.
Li Guoguo happily thought for a moment, "Will there be meatballs?"
Li Aiguo: "Yes."
"Pan-fried dumplings?"
"Yes."
"Braised pork ribs?"
"Certainly." Li Aiguo placed the vegetables in a basket, his eyes smiling. "Anything else?"
Li Guoguo subconsciously bit the tip of her pencil, hesitated, and said a little shyly:
"I heard from Fang Xiaopao and the others in my class that they're eating steak for New Year's."
"Dad, can we eat steak too?"
Li Aiguo's movements paused.
Seeing this, Li Guoguo quickly added:
"Never mind, Dad, I was just saying… it's too expensive. It's all meat anyway, pork is the same. Pork chops are delicious too!"
As she spoke, she nodded in agreement, "Mhm, mhm!"
Hearing her words, Li Aiguo felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
Ever since her mother passed away, he had been raising their child and earning money at the same time.
He hadn't done many things well.
In terms of material conditions, he hadn't kept up.
He shook his head and said, "It's not expensive. We'll all eat steak this year."
"Really?!"
Li Guoguo's eyes lit up, and she jumped up with joy.
"That's great! I'll tell Fang Xiaopao and the others on Monday!"
"Our family can eat steak too, hahaha…"
"Then Dad, I'll go back to my homework now!"
Watching his daughter happily run back into the room, Li Aiguo suddenly felt a sense of relief.
… This is truly good.
No matter what the side effects were, as long as he could accompany her as she grew up, he was content.
Just as Li Aiguo turned to put the washed vegetables into the pot to start stir-frying, he suddenly swayed.
"What's going on?"
He quickly grabbed the kitchen counter to steady himself.
At first, Li Aiguo thought it was a problem with his body, but as the shaking grew larger and more obvious.
He suddenly realized it was an earthquake!
"Guoguo!"
Li Aiguo dropped the vegetable basket in his hand and ran towards the bedroom.
"Dad!"
In the bedroom, Li Guoguo also ran out in panic.
*Crash—*
*Thump, thump, thump—*
The ground shook more violently.
Everything in the house began to shake, tables and chairs made creaking sounds, and the water cups on the coffee table rolled onto the floor.
Making a *smash* sound as they broke.
Standing on the floor, one could barely keep their balance.
Cracks began to appear on the ceiling, and white sand poured down.
"Quick, hide!"
Li Aiguo scrambled, scooped up Li Guoguo who had fallen to the floor, and ran towards the load-bearing wall in the house.
After only a few steps, a loud *boom* was heard.
Cracks rapidly spread throughout the entire building.
…