He realized he had been fleeced by this fellow.
"This..." Huo Qubing chuckled awkwardly. "Brother Fan, please eat quickly. I'll just have an apple."
Fan Wujiu didn't stand on ceremony either, tossing an apple to him before grabbing the ox head and devouring it.
Watching his thousands of silver dollars vanish with one bite from this guy, Yu Daochen felt increasingly uneasy, muttering to himself.
Should he just send a letter of complaint to the King of Hell, accusing him of exploiting the common folk?
But he dismissed the thought.
He wasn't the type to cause trouble for others.
This wasn't out of fear of retaliation... those who understood, understood.
Huo Qubing took a bite of his apple and asked, "Old Yu, you invited us today for another reason, didn't you?"
"As expected, Old Huo understands me best."
Yu Daochen smiled faintly, then suddenly turned serious. "I've found the entrance to the first layer of hell."
At these words, Huo Qubing was instantly stunned, lowering the apple he had raised to his mouth.
Even Fan Wujiu, who had been devouring meat with gusto, paused his actions, looking at Yu Daochen with an extremely grave expression.
Huo Qubing asked for confirmation, "Old Yu, are you sure?"
Yu Daochen nodded affirmatively. "I'm sure, it's the entrance to the first layer of hell."
Huo Qubing and Fan Wujiu exchanged a look of grim seriousness.
Huo Qubing inquired, "Then where is the entrance to hell located?"
Yu Daochen revealed the location of the hell entrance.
Upon hearing this, Huo Qubing continued to ask, "Besides you, who else knows this information?"
Yu Daochen thought for a moment and replied, "There's also Monk Wangming from the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple. However, he's a direct disciple of the Abbot of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, so he couldn't possibly be an informant for the Divine Religion. I've also told him not to spread this news."
Seeing that Yu Daochen had handled things so perfectly, Huo Qubing was filled with admiration. "Old Yu, you really get things done reliably."
Yu Daochen also sensed that Huo Qubing was thinking along the same lines as him and asked, "So, what should we do now?"
Huo Qubing didn't rush to answer but fell into thought.
Seeing that they were undecided, Fan Wujiu suddenly spoke up, "Should I call Seventh Brother up to ask?"
Huo Qubing shook his head. "Not yet. Be careful of eavesdroppers. Tell him about this in private when we get back."
Hearing Huo Qubing's suggestion, Fan Wujiu nodded in agreement. "Alright."
After a moment of deliberation, Huo Qubing made up his mind. "The Divine Religion's activities in the martial world have significantly decreased. We can't afford to panic. We don't know how many of their informants are within the various sects of the human world and the Underworld. The fewer people who know about this entrance to hell, the better."
Fan Wujiu and Yu Daochen also expressed their agreement.
Huo Qubing looked at Yu Daochen and continued, "Keep this matter confidential for now. I will quietly gather my trusted subordinates to guard it."
Yu Daochen strongly agreed with this approach. "Alright, I'll leave it to you then."
Huo Qubing nodded and looked at Fan Wujiu. "This matter is of great importance. We'll return to the Underworld first. You go tell Old Xie, and I'll report to the King of Hell."
After bidding farewell to Yu Daochen, the two headed towards the willow tree.
Fan Wujiu suddenly remembered something and ran back to the offerings. He pulled out a sack from somewhere and stuffed all the items into it, then looked at Yu Daochen. "Remember, you still owe me a three-animal offering."
Yu Daochen was bewildered. "When did I ever owe you a three-animal offering?"
Fan Wujiu pretended not to hear, walked over to Huo Qubing, and transformed into two wisps of smoke, disappearing into the ground.
Yu Daochen felt utterly miserable.
Why was Fan Wujiu acting like a bandit?
Seeing that the matter was concluded, Yu Daochen turned to leave, but suddenly remembered something.
"How foolish of me, how could I forget about that female ghost?" Yu Daochen slapped his forehead.
His other purpose was to ask if there was an easy way to deal with that ghost.
After all, they specialized in dealing with malevolent spirits and had encountered countless of them. They must have a solution.
"Should I... call them up again?"
Yu Daochen hesitated, but ultimately gave up, turning and heading back to the old house.
He reached the main door and saw it was ajar. Yu Daochen knew immediately.
His grandfather had left the door open for him.
He pushed the door open and entered, finding the main hall already dark.
Yu Daochen locked the door and was about to retire for the night.
"Knock... knock... knock."
The main door was suddenly knocked upon. Yu Daochen's expression changed drastically, and he instinctively reached for the Kang Long Jian at his waist.
Could it be that female ghost seeking revenge?
"Knock... knock... knock."
The room door continued to be knocked upon.
Without a word, Yu Daochen drew the Kang Long Jian from his waist and approached the closed door.
Just then, a hand suddenly rested on his shoulder.
Yu Daochen jumped in fright and turned to see that it was his grandfather.
Yu Shuntian looked at Yu Daochen, a smile on his face. "You go to the main hall first, I'll deal with this visitor."
Yu Daochen nodded and reminded him, "Grandpa, please be careful."
Yu Shuntian nodded and stepped forward, pulling open the door only to find that whatever had been knocking had vanished, leaving only a clean, neat set of red clothes on the ground.
Yu Shuntian picked up the clothes and examined them closely, his expression turning grim. He then threw them away.
Yu Daochen, standing behind him, had seen it clearly. The clothes were a red burial shroud.
He didn't need to think to know this red shroud was meant for him.
"Damn it, do you really think I won't deal with you?" Yu Shuntian cursed loudly, then turned to Yu Daochen and instructed.
"Hengheng, stay inside the house, don't go out. Grandpa is going out for a bit."
Yu Daochen nodded. It was the first time he had seen his grandfather so angry.
He knew instinctively where his grandfather was going.
Yu Daochen knew that if he followed, he would only be a burden, so he reminded him, "Grandpa, you must be careful."
Yu Shuntian nodded and rushed out the door, heading towards the mountain.
Watching his grandfather walk away, Yu Daochen finally closed the door, sat down on a chair in the main hall, and waited for his grandfather's return.
Time passed slowly, and sleepiness washed over Yu Daochen. He took out his phone and checked the time.
It was already half-past four in the morning.
Why hadn't Grandpa returned yet? Had something happened?
Yu Daochen began to worry.
"Knock... knock... knock."
Just then, the main door was knocked upon again.
Hearing the sound, Yu Daochen instinctively reached for the Kang Long Jian at his waist and looked at the closed door.
"Xiao Hen, it's me!"
He heard his grandfather's voice calling from outside the door.
Hearing his grandfather's voice, Yu Daochen breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the main door.
Reaching the main door, Yu Daochen was about to open it when he suddenly remembered something. He stopped what he was doing, reached for the Kang Long Jian at his waist, and peered through the crack in the door, seeing his grandfather outside.
Through the crack, he saw his grandfather standing still.