Chapter 56

The Earth Immortal was dead?

Fu Zheng's words left Lin Yu reeling. "How is that possible? Then who are the people in the Earth Immortal Temple worshipping right now?"

"My apologies for the wait, everyone. This King has already found the culprits and brought them here." Zhu You's voice came from afar, cutting off Fu Zheng's train of thought.

A chain strung together over a dozen ghost messengers, their hands and feet bound by shackles. Zhu You walked in front, holding the chain loosely, dragging the ghost messengers to a stop before Lin Yu.

The ghost messengers trembled in terror, sobbing silently in place.

Zhu You studied Lin Yu again with a strange look. "These are all the ghost messengers collected around the Imperial City in the past seven days. They're at your disposal."

He yanked hard on the chain, and the linked ghost messengers were dragged forward heavily, nearly crashing into Fu Zheng at the front. Zhu You squinted and continued, "Do as you please. Killing them works too."

Lin Yu pressed her lips together. "One person's mistake doesn't warrant punishing so many."

She glanced back at Fu Ming, who stepped forward and casually swept his gaze over the ghost messengers' heads. "Your ghost messengers all look the same to me. How am I supposed to tell them apart?"

Lin Yu looked directly at Zhu You. "Since we can't identify who made the mistake, take them away and discipline them strictly. As for these wrongly captured souls, I'll take them and return them to the mortal world. This matter ends here. But if the Ghost Realm makes such a mistake again and implicates the innocent..."

Lin Yu stopped there, leaving the threat unspoken. She paused, then shifted her tone. "And what about the Book of Life and Death? We agreed you'd bring it out for verification."

"Is the Ghost King going back on his word?"

"That's possible, but—" Zhu You let out a soft laugh, so light no one noticed. "This King ventures to ask one question: what deity are you, Your Excellency?"

Lin Yu's expression remained unchanged as interrogative words poured from Zhu You's mouth. "May I ask where you preside, where your temple is located, and how many believers you have in the world?"

Seeing Lin Yu's silence, Zhu You grew more emboldened. "I may be unremarkable, but I'm still someone of standing. Gods, kings, generals, demons, ghosts—there's no one I, Zhu You, haven't seen." He lifted his gaze to stare at Lin Yu. "But I've never seen you, Your Excellency. Naturally, I'm curious who you are."

Zhu You pointed at Fu Zheng and Zhou Yuan, then looked toward the living souls behind them. "This King has shown good faith, hasn't he? The people you want, I'll let you take. The ghost messengers at fault, you can deal with as you please. All I ask is that you state your name. Is that too much?"

In the brief time they'd been apart, Zhu You had suddenly become so overbearing, demanding Lin Yu's identity. His arrogance was like a different person, as if he'd confirmed Lin Yu was a fraud and had come with the intention of interrogating her.

The more tense the moment, the calmer she had to stay. Lin Yu's demeanor grew even more composed instead. She looked at Zhu You with contempt, ignoring his questions, and gave a barely perceptible shake of her head before turning to walk toward the back, ready to collect the living souls into her qiankun pouch.

"What, are you questioning Us?" Fu Ming spoke up. "I've already told you, she is my guardian deity. She entered this shabby Ghost Realm of yours to save me. Her coming here is an honor to the underworld."

Lin Yu had dismissed Zhu You and turned away, and Fu Ming had insulted his underworld as well. Zhu You was furious, but he kept a stiff smile on his face.

What else could he do? He couldn't openly provoke Fu Ming and Lin Yu. Zhu You pretended to be indifferent and replied, "Yes, today my underworld is indeed honored."

Vaguely, Fu Ming seemed to hear the grinding of teeth. He glanced at Zhu You casually, who still wore a discordant smile.

After settling the living souls and tucking them securely into her pouch, Lin Yu said, "We'll let today's matter go. How do we get out?"

Zhu You, seeing that dawn was approaching and time was short, didn't bother with further maneuvering. He said bluntly, "Go back along the Yellow Spring Road, and when the door opens, walk out."

Lin Yu took a step forward, closing in on Zhu You. She didn't seem to believe his words and asked suspiciously, "Really?"

"Of course it's true! This King wouldn't stoop to lying to you about something like this."

Lin Yu nodded and looked toward Fu Ming. Fu Ming gave her a slight nod in return, signaling that Zhu You was telling the truth.

Lin Yu said nothing more. Her impersonation of a deity had already aroused Zhu You's suspicion. Since the matter was concluded, there was no need to linger in the Ghost Realm—leaving as soon as possible was the best choice.

Not far from the Ghost King's Palace lay the Yellow Spring Road, the direction they'd come from. It was over a dozen li to the original black gate, and it would take at least a few hours to walk out.

Hearing they were about to leave, Fu Zheng instinctively reached for Zhou Yuan again. Lin Yu caught the movement and slapped his hand again. Caught off guard, Fu Zheng yelped and pulled his hand back, staring at Lin Yu in confusion.

Lin Yu took Zhou Yuan's hand and started to leave. Fu Ming shot Fu Zheng a long, unreadable look before following. Fu Zheng stood there for a moment, stunned, then snapped out of it and hurried after them.

After they'd walked a short distance, Di Ting rushed over, looking at their retreating figures and asking Zhu You in confusion, "Just like that, you're letting them go?"

Zhu You burst out laughing. "Of course I'm letting them go. They're still useful to me. But after insulting me like that, there's no way I'm letting them walk away unscathed."

"There are two roads out of the underworld. One of them, yes, is the reverse path. But I never told them: anyone can enter the Yellow Spring Road walking forward, but going backward, only the Human Tribe can pass. Anyone else who tries will be skinned alive."

Lin Yu was categorized as a deity. As for Fu Ming, given his cultivation, Zhu You wasn't sure if he was still human. Fu Zheng, having died from going mad with demonic cultivation, was definitely of the Demon Tribe. As for those living souls—their bodies had long been refined into Longevity Fruits and devoured. Without their physical forms, they were now considered part of the Ghost Tribe.

Of the whole group, only Zhou Yuan could walk out safely. But with her mortal body, even if she made it through the Yellow Spring Road, she couldn't cross the Buzhou River.

A look of sudden realization dawned on Di Ting's face. "So they're bound to stumble! Good, we'll teach them a lesson. Your plan is brilliant, Your Majesty!"

"Di Ting, go kill the younger man now." Zhu You was referring to Fu Zheng. "He's seen me. If he reveals my secret on the way, and the others catch on, it'll be trouble."

"Remember: only let the deity woman and the mortal emperor out. Kill the rest. And mind this—only protect the deity woman. Let the others suffer."

Zhu You curled his lips. "Better yet, wound the emperor a bit and expose his demonic cultivation in front of the deity woman."

Di Ting didn't quite understand. "Your meaning is...?"

"He's a demonic cultivator. Just use some trick to make him go mad too. I want to see what happens when a demon is exposed before a deity. Will she kill him on the spot, or shield him and let him go?"

"Got it. Rest easy and go—I'll handle everything!"

Zhu You waved toward the distance, and a man who looked exactly like him shuffled forward nervously. Zhu You looked at him displeased. The fake Zhu You hung his head, guilty, not daring to meet his eyes.

"If I'd had urgent business and couldn't return, you'd have blown it. Useless—after being my stand-in this long, you still can't handle things." Zhu You reached up and gripped the fake Zhu You's chin, forcing him to meet his gaze. "If this happens again, I'll kill you and find another stand-in. It's no trouble."

Fake Zhu You: "Understood."

Di Ting: "You're leaving already? In such a hurry?"

"Mm." Zhu You answered casually, a smirk curling his lips as he shifted his appearance. If Lin Yu were still here, she'd immediately recognize that face as the Earth Immortal's.

"It's the hour of the tiger. Soon, believers will come to pay respects to me, their lord of the land."

Before leaving, he cast one last look back in Lin Yu's direction. The woman in white stood out brightly among the group. Zhu You stared at her deeply.

At the Earth Immortal Temple, Zhu You had been certain she was a mortal. But she carried a powerful divine aura, and in the underworld, no one's identity could be hidden. That was how her deity identity had been exposed.

Tied to the God of Glory, a powerful divine aura, the identity of a deity—all these signs told Zhu You that Lin Yu would surely aid his path to godhood in the future.

...

"So you're saying you've never met the Earth Immortal?" Lin Yu found it hard to believe.

Fu Zheng nodded. "Of course not. The Earth Immortal was just an ordinary land god, old and with few believers. Who knows if his cultivation could even sustain him much longer—a decrepit old man with insufficient cultivation, about to exhaust his lifespan. Who would go to him seeking immortality? Do you take me for a fool?"

Fu Zheng's tone was sharp, and Lin Yu felt an urge to toss him out. But since he had information, she held back. Frowning, she asked, "Then how did you know he was dead?"

"The Ghost King told me." Fu Zheng looked unconcerned. "He died two or three months ago. But he was too insignificant among the gods—no one even noticed."

"Where did the Longevity Fruit tree in your courtyard come from?"

Fu Zheng didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with having defied fate, gone mad, and died. His tone was matter-of-fact, without dodging his actions. "I begged the Ghost King for longevity. Naturally, he gave it to me."

"How can that be..." Lin Yu's eyes widened slightly. As impossible as it seemed, all the evidence pointed to the Ghost King.

He had the Longevity Fruit tree. He had the Book of Life and Death. He governed mortal life and death. And conveniently, the real Earth Immortal had died, so he replaced the Earth Immortal in name, becoming a god and extending mortals' lifespans.

Realizing all this, Lin Yu suddenly sensed something off. "We met two Ghost Kings just now!"

Among them, the first Ghost King was fake. He didn't know Lin Yu, so he'd mistaken her for a deity. But after he left, a second Ghost King arrived—this one was the real one. When he'd been the Earth Immortal, he'd seen Lin Yu before, so he knew for certain her identity was fake!

The Earth Immortal was the Ghost King... which meant Lin Yu had already been exposed when the second Ghost King appeared. He'd given her the Longevity Fruit, and Lin Yu had followed the trail to the Ghost Realm, taking away the souls who'd died from creating the fruit.

The Ghost King knew all of this and had played along with Lin Yu's act.

"No, something's wrong!" Lin Yu turned to look back toward the Ghost King's Palace. They hadn't gone far yet and could still see it—but now, the front was empty.

"Move fast!"

Just as Lin Yu's words fell, the gravel and sand on the Yellow Spring Road began to tremble. Di Ting shed his human form, morphing into his beast body, jaws wide, charging straight at them!