Not long after returning to the underworld, King Yama convened a meeting.
He briefly explained the incident and the subsequent cleanup and reconstruction efforts.
The various departments would certainly need to cooperate with each other.
Speaking of cleanup and reconstruction.
The Northern Hall would undoubtedly have the largest workload.
However, they had paper-crafting techniques, so they should not be too short on manpower.
...
It is worth mentioning.
When the Kings of the Eastern, Western, and Southern Halls returned to their respective territories.
The King of the Southern Hall did not take action; the ghosts and monsters within his territory were largely dealt with by the ghost officers themselves.
The reason for this...
After Nan Ming returned to the Southern territory, just as he was about to act, he was respectfully 'invited' back by the ghost officers who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
"These minor ghosts, why would they require the King's intervention?"
The ghost officers patted their chests and said, "Leave it all to us, you can rest assured!"
Their demeanor and tone were full of confidence.
Seeing this, Nan Ming did not insist.
He directly returned to the King Yama's Hall and began polishing his great sword.
The great sword had a cleaning function, but he was used to this.
For him, it was also a form of ritual.
However, as he was polishing, Nan Ming felt as if he had forgotten something.
But upon closer thought, since everything was resolved, there shouldn't be any issues.
It wasn't until he looked up and saw Zhong Kui walking towards King Yama's Hall.
Nan Ming's polishing motion paused, and he suddenly remembered something.
The scene in the Northern Hall flashed through his mind.
But just as he stood up from his seat, he saw Zhong Kui stride into King Yama's Hall.
He still bore the marks of the battlefield.
Zhong Kui had rushed over upon hearing the news of the King's return and cupped his hands, saying:
"Your Majesty, how is the situation in the Northern Hall?"
Nan Ming: "I suddenly remembered I have something to attend to."
With that, he put away his great sword and vanished from King Yama's Hall in an instant.
Behind him, Zhong Kui couldn't even shout a proper greeting, still maintaining his cupped-hand posture.
"..."
Later, a ghost officer from the intelligence department brought news to Zhong Kui.
As Zhong Kui looked at the information, he almost fainted with a smile.
The entire King Yama's Hall in the Northern Hall had collapsed?
There were large areas of fighting traces around?
Countless houses and buildings were destroyed?
Did the King directly charge in and demolish their underworld??
"It seems I still need to make a trip to the Western Hall..."
Zhong Kui pondered. Currently, all the halls were busy with cleanup and reconstruction.
After they were done, if the Northern Hall demanded compensation, they wouldn't have enough to pay.
Why didn't he 'invite' the King to the Western Hall first to resolve the livelihood issues?
With the entire underworld like this, the expenses would become a problem.
Their King of the Southern Hall, if he had nothing else, his combat power was certainly top-notch!
...
...
The Human World.
In a European-style villa with a predominantly cool color scheme.
Jiang Xian lay in bed, already lost in dreams.
"Old Ancestor, this incident caused such a huge stir, with so many ghosts appearing, were they all resolved by the ghost officers?"
After reporting his recent academic progress to the Old Ancestor, Jiang Xian couldn't help but ask about the recent incident.
The Old Ancestor floated in the air and glanced at him, "What do you want to ask?"
Jiang Xian chuckled, "Old Ancestor, you see my divination skills are quite good, why don't you teach me a few more ghost-repelling techniques?"
"What if I master divination, but then get harmed by ghosts? Wouldn't your teaching be in vain?"
After speaking, Jiang Xian looked at the Old Ancestor with anticipation.
He had already gained some fame in divination, and others who had received the Old Ancestor's inheritance were also gradually achieving success.
But what concerned Jiang Xian were two people who were recently being talked about in the circles.
—Ye Youshi and Tang Tianze.
It was rumored that these two were very skilled in dealing with ghosts and might have received the Old Ancestor's inheritance.
Jiang Xian was not greedy; he just wished for the ability to protect himself.
The fan benefits provided by the streamer could protect him for a while, but not forever.
"Ghost-repelling?"
The Old Ancestor's expression turned cold, and he sneered, "You want me to teach you how to defend against me? You've become bold!"
"Practice everything I taught you ten more times!"
Jiang Xian: "??? Eh???"
Before Jiang Xian could react, his body began to move automatically.
He picked up the copper coins and started practicing.
He couldn't stop.
"Old Ancestor, I didn't mean it like that..."
Old Ancestor: "Also, recite everything I told you to memorize."
"Old Ancestor, I...amp;*!amp;@amp;"
Jiang Xian wanted to explain, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he began reciting automatically.
Tears streamed down his face.
I didn't mean to defend against you, Old Ancestor, I absolutely didn't mean to resist...
I just wanted to protect myself...
The Old Ancestor watched from the side with a stern face, "With your current skill, you call it good? You're far from it!"
"You haven't learned anything properly, and you want to learn more? Wishful thinking! Finish what I assigned today before you go back!"
Jiang Xian: "amp;!*amp;@"
Watching the Old Ancestor leave the dreamscape, Jiang Xian automatically began reciting as soon as he opened his mouth, and his hand automatically picked up the copper coins to practice.
He couldn't help but think: 'I miscalculated.'
It seemed impossible to learn ghost-repelling methods from the Old Ancestor. He would have to find time to meet Ye Youshi and Tang Tianze.
...
The Underworld.
After the incident with the Ghost Shopkeeper, Ji Yin had also approached Jiang Lin.
He asked about this topic.
"No matter how the ghost officers patrol, there will always be ghosts left behind in the human world. Why not teach them how to fish?"
Since becoming a ghost officer, Ji Yin had been told not to arbitrarily teach humans ghost-controlling techniques.
Of course, other ghost arts were also forbidden.
"If humans have the ability to protect themselves, wouldn't they also reduce casualties when danger strikes?" Ji Yin said.
"What you're saying does have a certain feasibility."
Jiang Lin looked at Ji Yin, his hands behind his back, and asked:
"But have you ever considered what would happen if humans used these techniques against the underworld, or attempted to alter the lives and deaths of people, defying the heavens?"
"Do you think those old storybooks came out of nowhere?"
One cannot look at only the good side or only the bad side of a matter.
It needs to be viewed in conjunction with the actual situation.
According to the records in the underworld's 'Archive Hall'.
During the time when demons and monsters ran rampant, humans were indeed granted ghost-controlling techniques.
Some geniuses even emerged among the human race, who researched many other ghost arts.
Ghost control, ghost defense, ghost manipulation...
They even gave rise to entire families.
Sweeping away local ghosts and monsters.
But as humanity grew stronger, humans later even used techniques for resurrection.
Altering fate, attempting to rule the underworld!
Only after that did the underworld begin to consciously control the number of humans who knew such techniques.
Until now, the family legacies that knew such techniques have almost completely disappeared.
This was also one of the reasons why Jiang Lin had only provided fan benefits and had not arbitrarily passed down knowledge.
Even the matter of the Old Ancestor's inheritance was only about cultural and technical inheritance.
There was no inheritance of ghost control or ghost defense.
"And..."
Jiang Lin looked at Ji Yin calmly and said slowly:
"The human world is becoming more peaceful, and humans actually have very few opportunities to come into direct contact with ghosts and monsters.
Even the existence of ghosts, monsters, and the underworld is learned from storybooks.
The opportunities to use techniques are actually not many."
After listening to his captain's words, Ji Yin did not reply immediately but fell into thought.
Jiang Lin said, "If you have time, you can go to the 'Archive Hall' to take a look. It contains records of some of the underworld's history."
The Archive Hall was equivalent to a library in the human world.
Ji Yin respectfully cupped his hands, "Thank you, Captain. I will definitely go and see."
It seemed he still had much to learn about the underworld.
Ji Yin mused that he was indeed too young.
Reading more books was truly useful.
After seeing Ji Yin off, Jiang Lin returned to his seat.
In fact, there was one more thing he hadn't said.
That was—
After the incident with the Ghost Shopkeeper, should they reconsider passing down ghost-controlling techniques to humans again...
The specifics would depend on what King Yama thought.
From his position, this was all he could see.
But perhaps, from King Yama's position...
There was more that he could see and consider.
...
(Live stream ball: Who said it's over? Drag them out for a reward (dog head jpg.))