Ashley Grant hadn’t said anything yet when another chain flew over, binding Ruby up tightly.

Ashley Grant turned around and saw another underworld messenger in the same uniform, also holding a lantern. The lantern read “Yin Cao Di Fu” (Underworld), and the tall hat bore the words “Peace Under Heaven.”

This underworld messenger also had a bluish-gray corpse-like face, with long, narrow eyes. He smiled at Ashley Grant, “I am Samuel Young. The message you sent, Old White has received it. He’s busy at the moment, so he split half the gold mountain you gave him and sent me to lend a hand.”

Jade: “…………”

Ruby said angrily, “You’re not even from the kitchen squad!”

Samuel Young looked at them and let out a couple of sinister laughs. “Since when did the underworld have that kind of department? You actually believed in a kitchen squad?”

He had seen Ruby’s miserable state, and those paper oxen and horses were so lifelike, even exquisitely crafted—their ferocity surpassed almost all paper effigies he’d ever seen. No wonder she could fold such high-quality ingots.

Ruby and Jade fell silent for a moment, then started cursing Ashley Grant.

Ashley Grant retorted confidently, “I’m in logistics, specializing in providing money and equipment. The jobs are pretty similar!”

Jade spat furiously. “Not even close!”

Ashley Grant could feel that resentful emotion traveling along the chain again, but aside from the different feelings it carried, it wasn’t as overwhelming as before.

This was an unexpected gain. Ashley Grant had wanted Old White to take him to see some evil spirits to collect materials, but now he was experiencing Jade’s emotions firsthand.

Ashley Grant: “Hey, can’t you be a little more vicious?”

Jade: “………………”

Jade rolled her eyes in exasperation. It was the first time someone had told her, a fierce ghost, that she wasn’t vicious enough! Was he looking down on her? If she wasn’t vicious, how did that person end up lying there?

What a scoundrel!

Being provoked by Ashley Grant like this, not only did her resentment surge, but hatred welled up too.

Both of Jade’s eyes started to bleed as she glared fiercely at Ashley Grant. Ashley Grant savored the emotions—malice, venom, and the cold, painful suffering of being unable to move on…

Samuel Young muttered, “What a hobby…”

Old White had said that the new living impermanence he summoned was especially soft-hearted and easy to talk to, just a bit scheming at times. But now, it seemed the reputation didn’t match the reality.

Ashley Grant withdrew from the emotions and said sincerely to Jade, “Thank you.”

Jade: “Pah.”

Samuel Young weighed the ghost in his hand. “By the way, judging by your ghost age, it’s probably less than three years, right? Vengeful ghosts who died unjustly need to be ghosts for at least three years before they can catch a substitute. How did you two secretly learn the art of capturing the living? Tell me everything, in detail!”

Ruby and Jade fell silent.

Ashley Grant didn’t know about this rule. He had simply helped out a neighbor as a fellow human. Catching a substitute was always a matter of personal ability anyway.

He had only vaguely gathered from his neighbor’s calls that Ruby and Jade had latched onto someone, and that person had gone to the neighbor for help. The process was very simple. He hadn’t expected Ruby and Jade to have broken the rules.

Ruby and Jade said nothing. Samuel Young just sneered twice. “Forget it. These days, all sorts of monsters and demons are coming out…”

What days? The Qingming Festival? Ashley Grant thought Samuel Young was referring to that. “So what now? Should we take them to the Dongyue Underworld for judgment?”

“Hahaha, vengeful ghosts who died so violently can’t just be taken to the underworld at will. Besides, they broke the rules. Even if some expert could help them move on and wash away their grievances, they’d still have to wait… And even if I could take them, I can’t bring them to the Dongyue Underworld.” Samuel Young gestured for Ashley Grant to look at his lantern, which read “Yin Cao Di Fu.”

“This underworld… isn’t there only one?” Ashley Grant had seen the words on the lantern before, but thought it was just a different way of referring to the same place, so he asked in confusion.

“Of course there’s only one underworld, but there are several bosses. You and I may be colleagues, but I can’t report to your boss, can I?” Samuel Young said leisurely. “To put it simply: gods depend on people’s faith! In the past, the Dongyue Underworld had the most believers, so the Lord of the Underworld was the ruler. Later, more people started believing in King Yama, so the power was split. The Lord of the Underworld got another title: ‘King of Mount Tai’ among the Ten Yama Kings. Now, everyone has their own responsibilities—some judge cases, some manage the prisons.”

Ashley Grant had never systematically learned about the underworld’s organization, but hearing this, he realized the underworld and the mortal world were indeed closely connected, even going through shifts in power.

He also understood what Samuel Young hadn’t said: Yama is a Buddhist concept, while the King of Mount Tai comes from the Daoist pantheon. As more people believed in Yama, it meant Buddhism had spread to China, and the two religions had blended in this area, eventually forming the current system.

“Thank you. I don’t know how to help them move on—what should I do with them?” Ashley Grant felt it was a tough problem. He couldn’t just let them go; who could guarantee they wouldn’t cause trouble again?

“That’s easy, just send them to someone who can help them move on. This is the capital, after all—the place with the most fraudsters in all of China, and also the highest concentration of experts.” Samuel Young said carelessly.

Ashley Grant: “……”