Chapter 176 No Regrets

No one lingered in the mortal realm; they dissipated peacefully and entered reincarnation.

The scene was solemn.

The duty of the ghost messenger is to be scattered throughout the mortal realm,拘投 (jū tóu, seize and throw) those ghosts who, for various reasons, cannot or are unwilling to enter hell themselves.

Therefore, having seen too many ghosts with grievances, complaints, and attachments in the bookstore,

It made one’s eyes tired and one’s ears calloused.

But now,

On the Nujiang side,

Going home,

They had no regrets.

Having crossed the border,

Dying within the nation's territory,

Under heaven and earth,

Their hearts were at peace.

Xu Qinglang took a deep breath, his eyes slightly moist. He was used to seeing petty, incessant complaining at the bookstore, too many examples of lingering resentment after death over personal grudges, love affairs, or property.

This scene before him gave him a feeling of being subverted.

"Alright, they're all gone. Your worries were unnecessary."

Hearing this, Lawyer An smiled and said, "Actually, I roughly guessed this would happen. Back then, they went abroad on expeditions, seeking to protect their borders and people.

Now that they're dead, become ghosts, how could they do things that would harm the people?"

"That's not what you were saying just now."

"That's called reverse-psychology, don't you understand?"

Lawyer An patted his pant legs, stood up straight, and stretched, hearing a series of "cracks" from his waist.

"Ouch, I've been really tired these past few days. I need to find the nearest county town and get a full body massage, preferably including the inner triangle."

"Let's go down and take a look. Didn't you see the boss still lying over there? Aren't you worried?"

"Worried? It's fine, the boss won't die. Didn't you see his demeanor after walking out for two days and two nights? Damn, if I didn't know better, I'd think he had achieved enlightenment and was about to become a Buddha."

"I'm not worried about him, I'm worried about you."

"Worried about me?" Lawyer An asked, puzzled. "What's there to worry about?"

Xu Qinglang took the lead, choosing a less steep spot to slide down. Lawyer An followed behind him. After they reached the riverside, Xu Qinglang spoke again:

"Even I can see it. Do you think the boss can't?"

"I'm doing this for his own good."

"That's what most meritorious officials say before they're discarded after the cunning rabbit dies and the hunting dog is cooked."

"If you want treatment to be effective quickly, you have to use strong medicine! Without this fog to stimulate him, do you think the boss could have entered the state so quickly?"

"I'm curious, Lao An. If the boss hadn't succeeded in the end, wouldn't these tens of thousands of heroic spirits have been sent to some unknown place because of this fog?

Has your conscience been eaten by a dog?"

Lawyer An shrugged. "At least, the current outcome is a happy one for everyone."

"Alright, do as you see fit. Just be careful when the boss wakes up."

"If you don't say it, and I don't say it, as long as we don't reveal it, he won't say anything," Lawyer An suddenly said.

"Why?"

"Haven't you noticed that the boss has changed a lot? He's changed a lot since returning from his trip to hell.

Although, in the boss's story, Ying Gou fought in hell,打杀四方 (dǎ shā sì fāng, fighting and killing in all directions), blasted so many Yama's avatars, and swept through the Yin Division army, it seemed truly awe-inspiring and unstoppable.

But the premise of the whole thing, first, was that King Pingdeng Lu willingly dissolved himself and gave himself to Ying Gou to devour, which ignited Ying Gou's fire.

Then Ying Gou summoned his initial, strongest physical body, burning it as the cost for obtaining the second wave of power.

But,

Think about it,

In this world,

Where can you find a second King Pingdeng Lu?

Moreover, Ying Gou's initial physical body has been drained of its last value and has already dissipated.

Most importantly, the little fortune that Ying Gou himself had accumulated through so many reincarnations was also completely consumed in that show-off,

And he himself has fallen into a permanent slumber.

The boss said that if a method could be found, it could allow Ying Gou to awaken again.

Putting aside how difficult it would be to find this method, even if it were found, Ying Gou would probably not have the same aura and ability to sweep through hell as last time after awakening.

If you ask if it's possible to find a way to help Ying Gou restore his strength?

Hehe,

If it really could be found,

Then what was Ying Gou doing for thousands of years of reincarnation, eating shit? Wouldn't he go looking himself?

Is it fun to raise so many dogs?"

After saying so much in one breath,

Lawyer An smacked his lips.

"So, the boss is willing to come to Yunnan this time because he's really a bit anxious. Although he looks the same as before, his mentality is different."

"Mentality?" Xu Qinglang was a little puzzled.

"It's probably like Ying Gou used to treat him like a little sweetheart,

Now that Ying Gou is no longer capable, he wants to save up some wealth himself, and when Ying Gou wakes up,

Let Ying Gou be his little kitten."

"............" Xu Qinglang.

This analogy,

Why does it sound so strange?

"Alright, alright, it's okay. Even if the boss sees it, he won't say anything."

"But this will ultimately damage the relationship. When the boss no longer needs you, your end will be very miserable."

"It's still early. Even if the boss becomes an inspector, there will still be places where he can use me." Lawyer An put his foot in the river water, shivering, and said:

"The water is too cold.

You're a snake.

Quickly transform your scales and take me across."

Xu Qinglang didn't even look at him, jumped into the river and started swimming. Lawyer An had no choice but to jump into the water as well.

When the two of them swam ashore, they were both a little disheveled and out of breath.

"Phew!"

Xu Qinglang reached out and grabbed his hair, feeling that this swim across the river was quite enjoyable, sweeping away the stuffiness and depression of being in the rainforest these past few days.

Lawyer An walked to Zhou Ze's side, where Yingying was kneeling beside him, taking care of him.

"Is the boss alright?" Lawyer An asked.

"He hasn't woken up yet," Yingying replied.

"Well, it shouldn't be a big problem, just a little kidney depletion."

After saying that,

Lawyer An's gaze fell on Zhou Ze's chest,

He bent over,

And reached out to pick up that thing.

"Hiss... so hot and big!"

Lawyer An kept moving his hands up and down,

The golden token kept rolling up and down in his hands, until finally, he completely grasped it.

The token only depicted a *pixiu* (貔貅, a mythical Chinese hybrid creature), but its shape was simple and majestic.

"What is this?" Xu Qinglang asked.

"It's a ghost messenger badge, oh no, now it should be called a captain's token."

Lawyer An handed the token to Xu Qinglang to look at, and said with a smile:

"Ordinary ghost messengers get a black token after being promoted to captain, but our boss's is golden. This is really the first time in history.

This is really the captain with the highest gold content visible to the naked eye!"

After all the hardships,

Entering Myanmar, going down into the rainforest,

What they sought,

Wasn't it this?

With this,

The road ahead will be much easier. The merits and foundations accumulated this time are truly strong.

"When the boss wakes up and recovers, when he opens the gates of hell, the Yin Division should send down a reward for his promotion to captain, usually ordinary cultivation methods, specially bestowed by the Yin Division.

But I think the boss's golden token will definitely bestow some other good things. Anyway, we'll see when the time comes. The Yin Division is in a mess right now, so probably nothing good will be rewarded.

But you never know, the boss is holding a ghost messenger badge left by the Lord of Mount Tai. I'm really looking forward to whether the Lord of Mount Tai will deliberately leave behind some treasure specifically waiting to reward his successor.

I guess the ghost messenger badges of Lin Ke and the other five should have changed too. They should specifically mark who their captain is, and maybe even have a little gold on them.

When they go out to show off, they can boast, 'My boss is Brother Xianyu from Causeway Bay!'"

After saying that,

Lawyer An bent down and put the token back on Zhou Ze's chest.

Just then,

Zhou Ze slowly opened his eyes.

He woke up.

Yingying immediately asked with concern:

"Boss, you're awake? Do you want to eat something? Or drink some water? Or should you eat something? You looked like you drank a lot of water just now at the bottom of the river."

Zhou Ze's eyes were still a little dazed.

This whole ordeal,

While his physical body was greatly overdrawn,

The fatigue of the soul was the most profound.

It can be said that if there wasn't a Mount Tai suppressing his soul, even if these tens of thousands of heroic spirits had no malice towards him, the pressure of carrying them would have ground his soul to dust.

Since Lawyer An is aware that there is a great opportunity here, then the number of people who know this must also be considerable. Why else would he continue to allow these tens of thousands of heroic spirits to remain here, giving up such a large piece of merit?

It's simply because they don't have the means, afraid of overexerting themselves.

Lawyer An brought his face close to Zhou Ze's, pointed to himself, and said:

"Boss, do you remember me? I'm Lao An, your most trusted butler, your brother in life and death!"

Zhou Ze's gaze slowly began to clear,

And his eyes,

Seemed to carry a special meaning.

Then,

He looked at Yingying beside him.

"Yingying..."

"Boss!"

"Beat him... up..."

"............" Lawyer An.

Yingying looked at Lawyer An beside her,

Then looked back at her boss,

Seeing her boss slowly nod,

She immediately responded:

"Okay, Boss!"

Yingying stood up,

And rolled up her sleeves!

"Damn it, you've got the wrong idea! Your boss wants to beat up Lao Xu! He's actually taking off his clothes in public to dry them,

Exposing his chest,

It's indecent, it's offensive to..."

Yingying raised her fist;

"Bang!"

"Ah!!!"