Family Matters

ous inwardly.This Old Master Wang is the biggest snake in the world, he even dares to disobey Jiang Qiyun!This woman suddenly showed up to provoke me, what does she want"Hmph, hmph~ My dear Lady, plea...Jiang Qiyun always tries to speak simply. I understand him half by listening and half by intuition.

I really can't figure it out, so I can only put on a brave face and say "I don't understand".

Though I roughly understand.

First of all, the City God is a high-ranking official in the underworld, similar to the highest government official of a province. The current political system in the human world only lasts for a few decades, while the underworld still uses a system that has been in place for thousands of years to manage things.

Most ghosts have to go through the City God's court before being sent to various ghost realms and converge at the Underworld to be rewarded for good deeds and punished for evil, and then enter reincarnation.

Therefore, the City God is very important, and the different levels of City Gods are equivalent to officials of different ranks in the human world.

Therefore, the City God is considered to be a large middle management hierarchy, and the most special one among them is Old Wang Ye, King Fuling Ming.

This deity is highly revered because he has been worshipped with the offerings of human emperors for several hundred years and even received a noble title.

Although he cannot be compared to Beitaidi Jun in terms of divinity and Taoist cultivation, his followers are widespread throughout the world and he has enjoyed imperial incense for hundreds of years. He is a deity with a large following and deep roots among the people.

Therefore, both in the mortal world and the underworld, everyone looked up to him. He had been stationed in the capital for several hundred years. Logically speaking, he should be a very beloved deity.

However, I sensed a subtle undercurrent. Jiang Qiyun, including the black and white impermanence, seemed to deliberately "avoid" interacting with him.

It seems he was treated like the "King" of the capital, with his power intentionally indulged.

"The temples and shrines of the human world are considered to be nine heavens, and it's common for deities in the underworld to be bestowed with titles. However, this old Wang Ye is related to the founding emperor, so he inevitably has some personal bias." Jiang Qiyun said seriously.

Several decades ago, when the world finally stabilized, I began to investigate his work. At that time, he was just a little arrogant, nothing too serious. But I wasn't convinced, so I placed an informant near him...

"That Ah Yue girl I think she's a bit of both good and bad. Last time, if it wasn't for Bai Wu Chang whispering in my ear and telling me to give her a step down… I definitely would have fought her." I said grumpily.

She was recommended by Judge Cui, and all the news that has come back has been reliable. She should be confronting you to make Old Wang trust her.

Well, if she's really a spy, I won't bother her for now.

"Those two late messengers..." Jiang Qiyun sneered, "They might have deliberately delayed. The child you saw wasn't a ghost, he has been possessed."

Inferior demons are like that, ferocious, violent, heartless, and chaotic... These two often mix into the ghost messenger's squad, frequently appearing at every scene where a ghost collects souls. They create a time difference, causing the person being collected to die a little earlier.

I'm a little confused: "Dying a little earlier Why Can they control ghosts or something"

"That demon in the form of a child can intensify the resentment of vengeful spirits, making them even more ferocious. That's why you feel that female ghost has a high level of cultivation." Jiang Qiyun explained.

I nodded. "Then why do they play with time, making those fated to die by the Death Register die prematurely"

"Swallow it, that child should be able to swallow the dying man's aura." Jiang Qiyun frowned.

“Anger…used to increase his own lifespan”

Jiang Qiyun nodded. "This is just a guess, but it should be about right."

He once said that birth and death are the laws of all things, and we should not be too attached.

I refuted him, saying that since your lifespan is as long as heaven's, of course you see a mortal's life like clouds and smoke passing by.

He said, “What’s the point of living as long as heaven and earth Even heaven and earth have an end. There's destruction before creation, and rebirth after destruction.”

Immortality exists, but it's not about eternal existence. It simply means living a very long life compared to the short lifespan of humans. However, it is not everlasting and imperishable.

Minor deities have lifespans of three to five hundred years. Those who live for over a thousand years are considered to have profound cultivation, and those who live for thousands of years are revered as divine beings.

The child probably also needed to extend its own lifespan, so it devoured the deceased's time.

"But he shouldn't be doing this for the first time, should he Didn't the Underworld notice before" I asked, frowning.

"...You've seen the Book of Life, haven't you You must not forget how it is recorded," he glared at me.

Huh

How is it recorded

I pondered blankly, I've only seen it once... It was when I looked at Mu Wanchen's life and marriage fate. I saw the girl's name and birthdate...

Ah! The records in the Book of Life mostly only record the year, month, day, and hour. A small number of special ones will also record "beginning," "correct," and "mark."

The "four pillars and eight characters" commonly referred to in Chinese culture, refers to the year, month, day, and hour of birth.

However, over thousands of years of calendar development, there are two more counting units needed to display time in detail.

"Chuzheng" and "Ke".

In ancient costume dramas, characters frequently mention "wu shi san ke" (three hours in the afternoon), which is a common plot device to create tension. While modern audiences may find this acceptable, if real people from ancient times heard it, they would likely be confused.

Because an hour was two hours, over a thousand years ago our ancestors divided two hours into "initial" and "midday".

In ancient times, great emphasis was placed on the study of "Yi Xue" (I Ching) and Feng Shui, which dealt with yin and yang. This led to the division of time into specific periods, such as "Wu Shi Chu" (11:00 AM) and "Wu Shi Zheng" (12:00 PM). Subsequently, the system was further refined by using increments of "yi ke," "liang ke," and "san ke" to denote even smaller intervals.

But no matter how detailed, it is impossible to be as precise as the "minutes and seconds" we use today.

This gave the little demon with the scornful glare an opportunity.

For a while, maybe fourteen or fifteen minutes, he could manage to "swallow" a little bit.

“After hundreds, even thousands of years in the capital city, such a little accumulation… I’m afraid it has amassed the life force of thousands of years…” Jiang Qiyun frowned.

Heaven... That clay-like, white-eyed little devil is actually this terrifying

"This involves deities of the underworld and other realms... Remember what Meng Shu told you"

"Huh What are you saying" She's a chatterbox, didn't you know that as her leader

If you give her a hundred days off, she'll spend ninety-nine days talking and the remaining day will be for drinking tea to soothe her throat.

"Some demons from other realms covet the treasures of the underworld. Have you forgotten" Jiang Qiyun smiled.

"Aren't you still laughing! This is serious, isn't it"

He looked down at me, a smile playing on his lips that held a hint of arrogance.

Her thin lips curled into a leisurely arc as she spoke slowly, "Why aren't you smiling If it weren't for your kind and amiable little empress appearing here, calming that little demon's fury after he was fuming for half an hour, when would this matter have come to light"

"Now then… I reckon Old King must be spitting blood with worry… I'd love to see how hard he tries to cover it up, hmph."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a commotion at the front door. Jiang Qiyun grabbed my arm and pulled me into the hidden passageway: "Come on, leave these worldly matters to others. You—"

I swallowed nervously, waiting intently for his next words.

Jiang Qiyun rarely explains things to me this much, does this mean he thinks I've made progress Maybe I could even become his right-hand man!

"—— You, get home quickly and take care of the two little ones."

"..."

>, arguing while hugging him How can you possibly threaten him like that"...Maybe I could grab some medicine from my place before we leave" I said, blushing and changing the subject."There's no shortag...