Chapter 159 The Nightclub

An Lawyer's excitement didn't really register with Zhou Ze. The seal of the Ninth Hall was truly useless to him.

Giving it to An Lawyer felt a bit like when Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan, leaving behind "special envoys" on the mainland with boxes of blank appointment letters, bestowing titles like "high official" or "major general" upon local bandits and warlords to keep them resisting.

Ultimately, it was just an empty promise.

The old guard of the Ninth Hall had mostly been purged.

If that Judge wanted to rebuild the Ninth Hall, selecting new recruits as the foundation, the Ninth Hall would likely be at a disadvantage compared to the other nine halls for a long time to come. It was even possible that if it couldn't be rebuilt, the Ninth Hall would be completely divided, its territory and functions split among the other halls.

Most importantly, tokens of authority were only useful to the old guard.

But the old guard were all dead.

You could take this seal and try to command the new recruits, but would they even listen?

But An Lawyer was still happy, carrying a breeze with him as he got into the car and started it.

Clearly a practical and meticulous person, yet he still couldn't escape the lowest forms of pleasure.

Zhou Ze looked out the car window.

A few raindrops clung to the glass.

It was raining outside.

Not heavily.

Half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of the bookstore.

Zhou Ze got out and stretched in the light rain.

It had been a busy day, more tiring than usual.

But, as soon as he pushed open the door, Zhou Ze saw a person in green standing behind the counter, like a postman, but not quite.

The old Taoist was behind the counter, staring wide-eyed at this person, as if they had been facing off for a long time.

"Who is this?"

Zhou Ze asked.

"I don't know, either. He just stood there after coming in. At first, I thought he was a customer, but… nope."

Just then, as if sensing Zhou Ze's return, the visitor reached into his coat and pulled out an envelope. Then, the green clothes instantly fell away, leaving only a paper talisman fluttering in the air, slowly descending.

"A letter-carrier?"

The old Taoist muttered, picking up the envelope and handing it to Zhou Ze.

An Lawyer walked over to the discarded clothes, picked up the talisman, and said, "A puppet messenger. The message dissipates upon seeing the recipient in person. It's a very high-end technique. I can't even do it."

Not that it was hard to learn, but there was no use for it, so there was no point in learning it.

Finished, An Lawyer handed the talisman to the old Taoist, instructing, "Take it to Old Xu, see if he can copy it."

"Alright."

The old Taoist took the talisman upstairs.

Zhou Ze sat down on the sofa with the envelope.

There was nothing written on it, no return address or recipient.

But since the person had disappeared only after seeing him, it must be for him.

He opened the envelope.

Inside was just a photograph.

The photograph was of the entrance to a nightclub called Splendor Nightclub.

There was also a date written on it: November 1, 2018, 6:00 PM.

Zhou Ze handed the photograph to An Lawyer, who was next to him.

An Lawyer glanced at it and said, "It must be a summons from that Judge."

Zhou Ze nodded, agreeing.

According to An Lawyer's analysis, that Judge was probably trying to rebuild the Ninth Hall, and this training session was actually an assessment.

Just then, a police car pulled up in front of the bookstore.

Old Zhang burst in, all flustered.

He was also clutching an envelope in his hand.

"Boss, someone just knocked on the door and gave me…"

Zhou Ze waved his own envelope at Old Zhang.

"Let's go together when the time comes."

"Okay, sounds good."

Old Zhang nodded.

According to An Lawyer's previous speculation, half of the ghost officers selected by that Judge this time were squeezed in through connections, and the other half were those with some reputation, seen as having potential for development and worth cultivating.

Old Zhang was squeezed in by An Lawyer using his connections in Hell, while Zhou Ze was selected by that Judge.

One was a publicly funded student, the other a privately funded student.

"I just feel like this is a little undignified."

Zhou Ze was speechless.

Judge training, attended by outstanding ghost officers and well-connected ghost officers, was being held in a nightclub, of all places.

And, judging by the look of it, this nightclub wasn't exactly high-class.

He had heard that Shanghai had been cracking down lately, and many establishments had closed down.

What if the ghost officers were having a meeting inside, and a bunch of police suddenly burst in?

Tsk tsk.

That scene would be too much.

Truly, a flood washing away the Dragon King's temple (a case of friendly fire).

"They probably need to lead us all down to Hell together. If everyone went down on their own, it would take some time to gather on the road to the Yellow Springs."

An Lawyer analyzed,

"The training location is likely in some corner of Hell, so they need everyone to gather and then have their souls travel together. This is also more convenient and safer.

Moreover, it ensures that everyone's physical bodies in the mortal realm will receive proper protection."

Zhou Ze tossed the envelope onto the coffee table and nodded.

Anyway, he was definitely going. As for the quality of the event, it didn't matter. He would just treat it as a publicly funded tour of Hell.

Being recruited into the Ninth Hall might be a great honor and a shortcut to success for other ghost officers, but the bookstore already had the Seal of King Equality.

Even if he wanted to latch onto a big shot and enter the upper echelons, he shouldn't choose this newly established, unpopular department.

"Okay, that's settled. You take a leave of absence, and we'll go to Shanghai together."

Zhou Ze said to Old Zhang, meaning that he could go back to his own business.

Old Zhang hesitated for a moment, but didn't move.

Just then, Xu Qinglang came down from upstairs and called out, "Supper's ready."

Old Zhang suddenly stood up, smiling.

"Hehe, what a coincidence."

…………

"Is Mom asleep?"

The little loli asked, standing at the bedroom door.

"Yeah, she's asleep. She's fine now."

Wang Ke stood up, walked over, and bent down to his daughter.

"You should rest early, too."

The little loli nodded.

She knew that Wang Ke's words had another layer of meaning.

Back in her room,

Pink wallpaper,

A princess bed,

The little loli lay on it.

She admired the woman she had just called "Mom."

Even An Lawyer had taken a nap with the wax figure in the bookstore,

But that woman had been able to tell that the people who had come in earlier were not her husband and daughter.

You could say she had mental problems,

But sometimes, she was clearer than anyone else.

Closing her eyes, preparing to rest.

She had planned to return their daughter to them for a longer period of time.

The little loli didn't intend to go back on her word.

Just then, a white shadow appeared at the window.

It pushed open the screen window,

And came in.

It was a white fox.

The little loli opened her eyes and sat up.

The white fox stood up on its hind legs,

And transformed into the form of a woman.

"I came to see."

For a while, the white fox had possessed Wang Ke's wife to take care of her.

"There's no need for you to come. It's all over." The little loli said.

"But I still wanted to."

The white fox said.

The little loli gave her a knowing look and warned, "Don't get any ideas."

"I never have."

"Whatever."

"Thank you."

The little loli lay back down.

The white fox didn't leave,

But hesitated.

The little loli said,

"Anything else?"

"Yes."

"Speak."

"Today, I saw a messenger from Hell on the road here, headed in the direction of the bookstore."

The little loli suddenly opened her mouth,

Her tongue instantly shot out,

Binding the white fox,

She said sharply:

"Are you spying on us?"

Her "mother" had been startled,

And she had come over immediately.

She should know, she wasn't in Tong City recently.

She had also run into the Hell messenger.

How could she be so lucky?

"I just wanted to help you."

The white fox said.

"You're not even my stepmother yet, and you're already thinking about being nice to his daughter?"

The little loli's face showed a hint of mockery.

"I have many friends, many, many…"

The connections of a brothel were indeed extensive.

Any owner who could run a brothel in the city must have strong connections behind them. Those without strong connections would have fallen in the various anti-prostitution campaigns.

The white fox hadn't even paid much attention to ghost officers back then,

Which was enough to show that her connections reached both the Yin and Yang realms.

It was just that she had encountered some problems recently, and her circumstances were too miserable, which gave people the mistaken impression that she was a "poor thing."

"And then?"

The little loli's tongue tightened.

"I know that recently, a big shot in Hell is holding a training session and will select a batch of ghost officers to go. Your bookstore should also have a spot. That lawyer, he definitely has a way to get a spot."

"That must be the boss's."

"No, there were two messengers."

The little loli's eyes narrowed,

She immediately got out of bed,

Walked to the white fox,

And said in a deep voice:

"Are you trying to sow discord between us?"

As a former successful businesswoman,

What situations hadn't she seen?

What tricks hadn't she experienced?

If she was provoked by a few words, she wouldn't be Lin Ke.

"You're joking. I'm not stupid, I wouldn't do something like that."

The white fox shook her head,

"It's not that I'm spying on them, but as Huang Age and Eighth Granny's aura grows stronger, many small demons have actually come to Tong City recently, preparing to take their ancestors back.

The reason you haven't noticed is that those small demons are insignificant and don't attract attention.

I learned about the situation from them."

"Small demons?"

"Don't worry, they're just a bunch of idiots who want to curry favor with their ancestors. They wouldn't dare to be impudent. If there are any more Great Immortals coming out of the old forests of Northeast China, I will also notify you in advance."

"Then today,

What exactly do you mean?"

"I just want to remind you that you used to be on his bed;

Now,

If you continue to choose to sleep,

The relationships you've built may become more and more distant.

To put it bluntly,

You can't even catch up with someone who is on good terms."

"Do you think it's appropriate for you to say these things?

Also,

The story of a fox demon and a scholar is very beautiful, but they all have bad endings.

The boss once said that being his friend is basically a recipe for disaster.

Look at his childhood friend,

Look at his friends,

Look at his daughter,

Look at his wife,

And finally,

Look at you?"