"You four have quite the refined tastes, eager to divide the spoils before even conquering the Underworld?" Lin Qing's voice rang out in the hall.
"Huh? Who is it?" The four ghosts' expressions changed drastically upon hearing this, as they had not been able to find the speaker at all.
Lin Qing appeared directly inside the main hall: "Everyone, I have come here on a matter."
"Of course, of course. Whatever it is, I'll help if I can," said the Eastern Ghost Emperor as soon as he saw Lin Qing's limbs going weak.
"Yes, yes, yes, we'll definitely help if we can," the Northern Ghost Emperor and the Western Ghost Emperor immediately echoed.
"Hmm? What are you saying? What kind of little demon is spouting nonsense here? I've never eaten a dragon before, deep-fried ones must be delicious." The Southern Ghost Emperor's eyes gleamed and his mouth watered.
"Oh? Do I taste good after being deep-fried?" Lin Qing asked.
"Shut up, Liu Datou! This is none other than the Dragon King, the guardian beast of the Ming Dynasty! What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Yeah, Liu Datou, do you want to die?"
"Damn Liu Datou, if you want to die, don't drag us down with you."
The three ghost emperors were immediately enraged, their eyes looking as if the Southern Ghost Emperor was their father's killer.
The three Ghost Emperors were extremely anxious. Unlike the foolish Southern Ghost Emperor who didn't care about human affairs, they knew of Lin Qing's great name.
"Hmph! So what if it's a guardian beast? Even the emperor of the Ming Dynasty has to listen to me after he dies. It's an honor for a mere guardian beast to be eaten by me."
"What's wrong with you three today? What's there to be afraid of with just a little dragon? We have an army of 100,000 outside, what's there to be afraid of?" the Southern Ghost Emperor said disdainfully.
"Well done, Liu Datou! Well done, Four Directions Ghost Emperor! I came here today to get rid of you, and now there's even less to say."
Lin Qing opened his mouth wide and inhaled sharply at the four ghosts, causing a strong wind to blow through the hall.
However, the four ghosts remained motionless. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that the ghostly aura surrounding the four ghosts had neutralized Lin Qing's suction force.
"Hmph, it seems the Dragon King has come with ill intentions today. We are no match for you in the mortal realm, but in the underworld? This is our territory." The Eastern Ghost Emperor changed his tone and said.
"Dragon King, please leave now. From now on, we will live in peace and not interfere with each other. Let's leave each other a way out so that we may meet again in the future."
"Why say so much? Let's all attack together, skin this dragon, and eat it all," said the Southern Ghost Emperor.
"Shut up! If you keep babbling on, do you believe the three of us will take you down first?" The Western Ghost Emperor was furious.
The other two ghosts also turned and glared angrily at the Western Ghost Emperor, ready to attack if he said another word.
Seeing the three ghosts' murderous gazes, the Southern Ghost Emperor decisively chose to shut up.
"Your Majesty the Dragon King, Liu Datou is a little out of his mind. I hope you will be magnanimous." The Eastern Ghost Emperor said kindly, as having one less enemy was the best thing ever.
Although he was not afraid of Lin Qing in the underworld, Lin Qing was also a powerful demon, and they dared not offend him.
"Hmph!" Lin Qing didn't expect them to be able to resist his suction force, but thinking about it, it made sense; the Ghost Emperor must have some skill after all.
"I told you, I'm here today to get rid of you all. Yama paid a hefty price to hire me."
As Lin Qing snorted coldly, a tremendous pressure pressed down on the four ghosts.
The four ghosts staggered and almost knelt on the ground: "Damn it, this is the underworld, not your Great Ming Kingdom! Men, summon the army!"
Then Lin Qing noticed a ghost general outside the main hall and immediately went down the mountain to start the army.
"They're really courting death." Lin Qing exhaled a breath of dragon's breath.
The entire gloomy hall was instantly engulfed by Lin Qing's flames.
"Ah! What kind of flame is this? Ah!"
"It's so uncomfortable, damn it, my ghost energy is about to give way."
"Dragon King, Yama is about to die. Whatever price he offers, we will pay double."
"Your Majesty the Dragon King, I was wrong. Please, have mercy on me. I am willing to submit to you."
Seeing the four people in such agony, Lin Qing didn't answer, but simply watched coldly.
Before long, the four ghosts were engulfed in flames and their souls were scattered, and then the entire hall was burned and collapsed.
Lin Qing immediately flew into the sky and said loudly, "I was entrusted by King Yama to come and eliminate the Four Ghost Emperors. Now the Four Ghost Emperors have been destroyed."
"You all better take care of yourselves." After saying that, Lin Qing thought of leaving the gates of hell. The matter was resolved, and he was going back to the human world.
"The four Ghost Emperors have been wiped out?"
"Really?"
“Look, even the main hall has collapsed. I remember the four Ghost Emperors were discussing things inside.”
"Why don't you go and see for yourself?"
Subsequently, a large group of ghostly soldiers and generals entered the main hall to investigate, but they couldn't find it anywhere.
Yes, because it was beaten to a pulp, it can't be found.
Immediately, some of the ghost soldiers and generals from the underworld smiled broadly, knowing they could return to the underworld and be under the control of Yama.
The ghosts who were originally under the command of the four Ghost Emperors were terrified.
One of the ghost generals immediately led his men to prepare to escape, but this move was discovered by the other ghost generals.
Immediately, a chaotic battle broke out. The subordinates of the Four Ghost Emperors tried to escape, but the ghost soldiers and generals sent by Yama tried to stop them.
However, half of Yama's subordinates were elite troops, while the subordinates of the Four Ghost Emperors were only interested in escaping and had no intention of fighting.
After fighting for an hour, they were finally captured by the soldiers of the underworld, who then escorted the ghosts to the underworld.
Lin Qing returned to the Demon Extermination Palace and secretly asked the old man, learning that Ao Qing's family had disappeared and returned to the Cold Pool.
It's said that they accumulated 200-year-old light orbs while doing missions, preparing to help their daughter advance to the level of a thousand-year-old great demon. This journey will take at least several decades.
Lin Qing immediately felt relieved. He guessed that when Ao Qing and the others came out to see him again, Lin Qing would have already entered the next world.
"Your humble servant Ning Caichen requests an audience with the Dragon King and with Lord Liu." A familiar voice came from outside the door.
"Ning Caichen? Come in!" Lin Qing said.
Ning Caichen, dressed in official robes and wearing an official hat, walked into the inner hall and immediately knelt on the ground upon seeing Lin Qing and the old man.
"Your humble servant Ning Caichen greets Your Majesty the Dragon King and Lord Liu." (Liu Lan is the Deputy Lord of the Prefecture.)
"Get up. Why didn't you yell 'monster' when you saw me? Now you've become an official?" Lin Qing said with interest.
"Well, sir, you flatter me. I didn't know you were the Dragon King at the time. As for becoming an official, I was fortunate enough to be granted the title of Jinshi by His Majesty."
"His Majesty heard that I have a past relationship with Lord Yan and Lord Dragon King, and specifically instructed me to come and serve Lord Dragon King."
"Oh? That's good. Just do as Old Liu says. By the way, is Nie Xiaoqian still with you?"
"Ah! Yes, Your Excellency, Nie Xiaoqian is in my residence." Ning Caichen's face turned pale upon hearing this.
Chapter 126 Nie Xiaoqian Who Cannot Be Reincarnated (Revised)
"How did Your Majesty the Dragon King learn about Xiaoqian?" Ning Caichen asked timidly.
"Why didn't you let Nie Xiaoqian reincarnate? Why did you keep her by your side?" Lin Qing asked instead of explaining.
In the original ending, Ning Caichen had Nie Xiaoqian reincarnate.
"Well, Your Majesty the Dragon King, I also want Xiaoqian to be reincarnated, but..." Ning Caichen hesitated to say it.
It's all Lin Qing's fault that Nie Xiaoqian couldn't be reincarnated.
"Stop stammering, just say it, and I'll help you solve it," Lin Qing said loudly.
“Alright! My lord, the reason is that you and the Yan State Preceptor broke Xiaoqian’s urn, preventing her from being reincarnated,” Ning Caichen said, mustering his courage.
The old man's eyes widened immediately upon hearing this. Although he didn't know what was going on, Ning Caichen actually said it was because of Lin Qing.
"What? What did you say? I broke Nie Xiaoqian's urn?" Lin Qing was immediately dumbfounded.
He didn't even know when he broke Nie Xiaoqian's urn.
Lin Qing still remembered that in the first A Chinese Ghost Story, the Black Mountain Demon wanted Nie Xiaoqian to break the urn of ashes so that she could stay with him forever.
Lin Qing didn't pay much attention at the time, but now that she thinks about it, she never imagined that breaking the urn really meant she couldn't be reincarnated.
Suddenly, Lin Qing realized that it might have been broken accidentally when he killed the tree demon, which explained why Ning Caichen stammered and dared not speak.
"My lord, it's possible that you and the Yan State Preceptor accidentally broke it when you were slaying the Tree Demon Granny and the Black Mountain Demon," Ning Caichen said guiltily.
"Ahem! Maybe it really was an accident! Um, don't worry, I said I'd help you and I will."
"I'll solve this for you now. Come on, tell me where you live, and we'll take Nie Xiaoqian to the underworld." Without any hesitation, Lin Qing grabbed Ning Caichen and flew away.
They then arrived at Ning Caichen's house, and upon entering, they found Nie Xiaoqian's figure in a dark room.
"Bang!" Lin Qing crashed into the room with Ning Caichen, then grabbed Nie Xiaoqian, opened the gates of hell, and flew inside.
"Ah! Who is it? Let me go! Ning Caichen? What are you doing here?" Nie Xiaoqian struggled and suddenly noticed Ning Caichen standing to the side.
"Xiaoqian, don't be nervous. It's the Dragon King. He's here to help us. He's come to the underworld to see if he can let you reincarnate," Ning Caichen said happily.
"Really? You really want me to be reincarnated?" Nie Xiaoqian suddenly fell silent.
"Of course, this way you can rest in peace and be reincarnated as a human sooner," Ning Caichen said excitedly.
Suddenly, Ning Caichen saw Nie Xiaoqian's eyes glistening with tears and his heart skipped a beat.
"Do you really want me to leave?" Nie Xiaoqian asked calmly.
"Um, no, I really want to be with you too, but, but..." Ning Caichen hesitated for a long time before finally managing to say it.
"No matter what you say, you're both ghosts. Ning Caichen is a human. The two of you can't be together," Lin Qing said mercilessly.
I also put a spiritual energy shield on Ning Caichen to prevent him from being invaded by yin energy.
“If you get together with Ning Caichen, how will he ever get married and have children? Do you want to make him childless? I don’t believe his old mother won’t beat him to death if he does that.”
"Yes, yes, it's impossible for me to be with Ning Caichen," Nie Xiaoqian murmured.
"That's not how it is, Xiaoqian, you, you..." Ning Caichen stammered for a long time without finishing his sentence.
After passing through the Gates of Hell, Lin Qing found no ghosts and continued onward. When he arrived at the Bridge of Helplessness, even Meng Po and the bowl were gone.
"What's going on? Has something happened in the underworld?"
After crossing the Bridge of Helplessness, he released his divine sense and quickly flew towards the underworld.