Lou Yangzi's self-built house suddenly became crowded.
All sorts of spirits and monsters came in.
Some were sprawled by the table, some hung from the beams, and some stood on the surrounding tables and stools.
All of them looked at Jiang Lin, and the two balls beside him.
Their expressions were full of curiosity.
Meanwhile, the colorful egg and the mechanical ball were also curiously observing their surroundings.
They had seen spirits and monsters before.
They just didn't know what new wonders this small world held.
"Master, can we go out for a stroll?" the colorful egg asked.
Jiang Lin glanced at Lou Yangzi, who quickly waved his hand. "Xiao Lu, you take them for a tour."
It wasn't about surveillance, but rather that they had set up some small mechanisms for their usual games.
"Okay!"
"I'll do it! I'll do it!"
A few small spirits that looked like branches with a few leaves on them hopped out.
They happily beckoned to the colorful egg and the others, "This way."
Then, a few more spirits glanced at Lou Yangzi and the others, then at the colorful egg flying outside.
Afterward, they secretly slipped out to join the fun.
Inside the house.
After Lou Yangzi introduced the names of the surrounding spirits to Jiang Lin one by one, he brought up his management of this small world.
"We've harvested all the spirit plants that have matured and are ready for harvest, and stored them in the underground warehouse over there."
"Besides spirit plants, we've also collected items that can be obtained from some spirit creatures, and they are all well-preserved there."
Things like shed skins and shed horns from some spirits were also good stuff.
Over the years, they had filled several warehouses.
"Brother Jiang, if you need anything, you can take it from the warehouse."
Lou Yangzi was quite knowledgeable about spirit plants and spirit creatures.
His family used to be a large clan, involved in various industries.
"Speaking of which," Lou Yangzi smiled,
"Si Xi and I met because he often came to eat at my family's various restaurants.
He always packed several large food boxes, which was truly memorable."
Jiang Lin: "That's just like him. He'd never skimp on food."
"By the way, Brother Jiang, how did you and Si Xi meet?"
"I met his master first, and through his master, I met Si Xi. He was still small then, looking about five or six years old."
Jiang Lin said this without any hesitation.
Before entering the house, he had already anticipated that the other party would bring this up.
Through their conversation, he had a general understanding of Lou Yangzi's personality.
He also had a rough idea of why his second disciple, Que Si Xi, had become friends with him.
This person was talented and capable.
Although his personality was a bit soft, he was not ambiguous when it came to important matters.
He didn't play any tricks or use any schemes on his friends.
He was even a bit naive, easily mistaken for a fool.
See?
If it were someone else, those items in the warehouses,
not to mention wasting them, would at least be used to improve oneself or replenish something.
But Lou Yangzi, whom Jiang Lin was facing, was not strong.
Clearly, he hadn't used them much.
Moreover, he had managed this small world in an orderly fashion.
"His master..."
Upon hearing this, Lou Yangzi sighed, "It's a pity he left too early. I never met him."
Jiang Lin: "..."
He didn't know what Que Si Xi had said. He had clearly ascended, but to Lou Yangzi, it had become a premature death.
Jiang Lin's silence, however, was interpreted by Lou Yangzi as sadness over the passing of a friend.
"Look at me, what a mouth."
Lou Yangzi patted his forehead and changed the subject.
"Brother Jiang, can you tell us about the outside world?"
"I haven't been out for a long time, and I don't know how much time has passed outside."
Although there were many bad things happening outside, it didn't mean that the world was entirely like that.
Nor did it mean that the times were always like that.
Hearing his words, the spirits in the room widened their eyes in unison and leaned forward involuntarily.
They wanted to hear more clearly.
Their understanding of the outside world was limited to what Lou Yangzi had selectively told them.
Things like steamed lamb, steamed deer ears, eight-treasure porridge, eight-treasure duck...
And books, storybooks, city walls, weddings... and so on.
No matter how good the stories or how novel the events, after hearing them hundreds of times, they had grown tired of them.
Although they didn't know how long they had lived here, it should have been... some time?
Had more novel and fun things appeared in the outside world?
Were there more interesting storybooks?
Looking at the expectant faces before him, Jiang Lin pondered for a moment.
He slowly said, "Skyscrapers everywhere, everyone can use vehicles instead of walking, and one can fly across mountains and rivers..."
As he spoke, seeing Lou Yangzi and the spirits looking curious yet bewildered,
Jiang Lin paused and raised his hand.
Using his hand as a brush and his ghostly energy as ink,
simple sketches of various scenes appeared in the air.
There were skyscrapers, vehicles driving on roads, and people flying from one place to another in airplanes.
There were also square televisions where one could watch dramas.
Telephones that could transmit sound across thousands of miles, generators that could produce electricity...
As Jiang Lin narrated,
soon, almost the entire room was filled with these simple sketches.
The spirits were all amazed, gently poking at these sketches.
These were much more interesting than what Lou Yangzi had told them.
Lou Yangzi, sitting opposite Jiang Lin, also looked delighted. "Everyone can go to school and have enough to eat, which is very good! Very good!"
"And amusement parks, airplanes, and game consoles are also very interesting!"
Although he couldn't see them with his own eyes, based on Jiang Lin's narration and these simple sketches,
he had a general understanding of the current state of the world.
At least, it was much better than the world he lived in back then.
Jiang Lin remained silent.
He sat there quietly, waiting for them to digest this information.
After a moment,
Lou Yangzi carefully considered his words and asked,
"Is Brother Jiang currently serving in the Underworld? Is the Underworld still well? How is its operation?"
...