Xu Zhengyang temporarily halted his expansion plans for the City God's Palace, spending these days with his wife. He planned to proceed with the next phase of his plans once things stabilized. For this, Xu Zhengyang even came up with a reason that he himself found unconvincing: to accumulate divine power.
He never expected that the extra ten or fifteen days he spent at home would actually put his accumulated divine power to great use.
The incident dates back to the chance encounter with Chen Hanzhe in Yueshan City before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
When Xu Zhengyang left Yueshan City, he and Chen Hanzhe agreed that after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chen Hanzhe would come to see him and then go to Ronghua Group or Jinghui Logistics to see what kind of work he wanted to do. If all else failed, he could drive for Xu Zhengyang; these were all minor matters.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chen Hanzhe did not come to see Xu Zhengyang.
Initially, Xu Zhengyang didn't intend to urge him. Later, Li Bingjie became pregnant, and in the following days, Xu Zhengyang didn't think about it too much. After all, everyone has their own ideas. He wouldn't force Chen Hanzhe to work for him, would he?
On this day, Xu Zhengyang and Li Bingjie went to the Fuhe City People's Hospital for another check-up and confirmed that the fetus was developing normally. They then went to the maternity store in the mall and bought a maternity dress with anti-radiation properties before heading to the resort in Jingniang Lake, which belongs to Huayang Tourism Company.
After confirming Li Bingjie's pregnancy, Xu Zhengyang discussed it with his parents and the whole family decided to temporarily move to the resort at Jingniang Lake. The resort had long since closed due to the development of the Tianshui villa area. This one remaining villa in the resort was the one Xu Zhengyang had requested to keep for his leisure time after acquiring Ronghua Group.
The reason for moving here is naturally because of the beautiful scenery, the tranquil environment, and the absence of tourists. The villa area has already been built and is currently undergoing final decoration, so there is no construction disturbance.
Speaking of which, this is the perfect place for a woman to rest and recuperate during her pregnancy.
Buying this anti-radiation clothing was Xu Zhengyang's idea. He couldn't stay home with Li Bingjie throughout her ten months of pregnancy, and Jiang Lan had returned to Beijing after staying for a few days. Li Bingjie didn't have much in common with her in-laws and the nanny, Xiao Zhou, and inevitably felt lonely and bored without Xu Zhengyang around. Therefore, she needed to go online and watch TV to relieve her boredom.
It seems like buying these clothes was definitely the right decision.
Li Bingjie was very happy. She wasn't good at talking to people, and after going out for a walk, she liked to browse the news online, listen to music, or sit quietly on the balcony reading a book. After becoming pregnant, she basically stopped going online for the sake of her baby's health.
Now that Xu Zhengyang has bought her this anti-radiation clothing, Li Bingjie feels her husband's thoughtfulness and care even more.
"I'll try to spend less time online..." Li Bingjie said.
Xu Zhengyang laughed and said, "If you're bored, go online. There's a lot of stuff there. Read more about pregnancy precautions and such. It's good for both you and the baby."
"Um."
What a heartwarming and pleasant conversation!
After waking up from her lunch break, Li Bingjie sat in front of the computer casually browsing the web, while Xu Zhengyang, who had no habit of taking lunch breaks, remained in his study, flipping through books and scribbling on manuscript paper. He wasn't an extremely lazy guy; since he was at home, he always wanted to do something.
These days, he's started to consider that the City God's Palace will expand its scope as it grows, managing more and more land, which naturally requires careful planning.
Leaving aside the matter of bestowing titles upon the gods, the division of labor among the ghost messengers, the future management of the city god's office, the city god's office's authority over the human world, and the appropriate degree of intervention in the affairs of mortals all require careful consideration.
As I was perusing historical allusions, deep in thought with a furrowed brow, Li Bingjie's voice came from outside:
"Zhengyang, come and see this news."
"Oh, coming!" Xu Zhengyang hurriedly got up and went out upon hearing this.
Li Bingjie sat in front of the computer, chewing her lips and pointing at the monitor, saying, "This...it can't be a case of the same name. It should be Chen Hanzhe, right?"
Xu Zhengyang smiled and leaned over to look at the social scenes displayed on the monitor in Huatong News, and said with a smile, "Do you usually like to read these kinds of news?"
"Hmm." Li Bingjie nodded and said, "I think reading more of these things will be helpful to you in the future."
"Now you want to be an immortal again?" Xu Zhengyang joked with a smile as he opened the news article.
Li Bingjie shook her head and said, "Living such a leisurely life all the time would be quite boring. I'm not interested in doing anything else, so I thought I'd help you more. Don't you care about these things?"
"Hmm." Xu Zhengyang nodded, but the smile had vanished from his face, and his brows furrowed slightly.
Li Bingjie stood up and said, "Sit down, I'm going outside for a walk and to talk to Mom for a while."
"Oh, take care of yourself." He replied casually, then sat down in the chair and focused on watching the news.
This news story, though seemingly minor, concerns a medical malpractice dispute in Yueshan City. A young man named Chen Hanzhe kindly helped an elderly woman who had fallen at a bus stop and escorted her to the hospital. He also helped pay the deposit and contacted her family. Now, the elderly woman and her family are suing him, claiming that Chen Hanzhe knocked her down, causing her injury and requiring surgery. They are demanding 150,000 yuan in compensation from Chen Hanzhe for surgical and medical expenses, emotional distress, and subsequent nutritional support.
Xu Zhengyang was furious when he saw the news. No wonder Chen Hanzhe hadn't called him for so long; it turned out he had run into such a bad thing.
Xu Zhengyang intended to contact Chen Hanzhe immediately, but he was drawn to some related news and netizens' comments below.
So Xu Zhengyang suppressed his anger and continued watching.
It turns out that similar incidents have occurred multiple times across the country. Even worse, a middle-aged man who bravely chased after a snatch-and-grab robber was accused of being a suspect by the victim; others who stopped to help after witnessing a car accident were accused of causing the accident themselves…
Many netizens and even experts have discussed this issue: Do we still dare to help others or act bravely nowadays? Do we really have to ask passersby to witness and record a video before we go to help someone who has been injured and fallen to the ground?
What was originally a righteous act of humanity, morality, and conscience, a perfectly normal thing, is now being discussed about whether it should be done and how it should be done!
Further down, there are more related links recounting fraud cases exposed by the news media...
What is this? This is a trampling and insult to humanity, morality, and conscience! If this continues, conscience, morality, and humanity will be completely lost!
Xu Zhengyang grew increasingly annoyed as he read on. He took out a cigarette but didn't light it. Instead, he let out a long sigh and then beckoned Li Haidong, the acting judge of the City God's Palace who had just returned to report on his duties the day before. He said, "Take a look at these news reports and consider whether the ghost messengers of the City God's Palace can do something about this in the future."
After saying that, Xu Zhengyang got up and went to the balcony to smoke, while dialing Chen Hanzhe's number on his phone:
"Han Zhe, I will go there tomorrow to testify for you."
"Brother Yang... this, this matter, sigh."
"Heaven's justice is clear, and the gods are watching from above! You don't need to worry or get upset!"
Inside, Li Haidong stood in front of the computer with some confusion, looking at the news on it.
Volume Six, Chapter 308, "Controlling the Gods"
That night, after his wife had fallen peacefully asleep, Xu Zhengyang closed his eyes and sent his consciousness to the living room.
The communication between the divine consciousness and the ghost messenger naturally didn't need to worry about being overheard by ordinary people, nor did it require the assistance of light. Li Haidong was standing quietly in front of the coffee table in the living room.
The provincial god walked to the sofa, sat down as if he were an ordinary person, and then waved his hand and said, "Sit down and let's talk."
"Yes." Li Haidong did not feel anything was wrong, and then walked to a sofa diagonally opposite the governor and sat down.
Having served as a ghost messenger and acting judge of the City God's Palace for so long, Li Haidong had long since grown accustomed to and accepted the fact that Xu Zhengyang was his superior. Besides, humans and ghosts are different, and since he was no longer human, there was no need for him to put on airs of an elder.
In fact, for the divine consciousness and the ghost messengers, there is basically no difference between sitting and standing. However, Xu Zhengyang is more used to sitting down to talk.
What are your thoughts on these matters?
After a slight hesitation, Li Haidong replied, "We can notify the ghost messengers of the City God Temple in Yueshan City to investigate the truth of the matter. Then, we can use the power of the ghost messengers to enter the dream as a warning, but it should not be too obvious."
“If mere warnings were effective, this society would be peaceful long ago.” Xu Zhengyang snorted in dissatisfaction and said, “I’m not talking about Chen Hanzhe’s case. There are others… I haven’t been online to follow the news for a while, and I didn’t expect such messy things to happen in society these days. The City God’s Office should do something about this.”
“Hmm.” Li Haidong did not deny it and nodded, “But if the ghost messengers are made too obvious and too extreme in punishing those kinds of people, it will have too much of an impact on society.”
Xu Zhengyang remained silent for a moment with a serious expression, then waved his hand and said, "Having an impact isn't necessarily a bad thing. If everyone knew they had done something wrong, and that there were gods watching, would they still dare to do it? These damn bastards..." He gritted his teeth and cursed. Xu Zhengyang then summoned the Jade City Scroll, found the scene of Chen Hanzhe helping others, and reviewed it again. He then handed the scroll to Li Haidong and said, "Look at the people who were watching here. They can all testify for Chen Hanzhe. In a little while, their identities and home addresses will be displayed. Remember them. Tonight, you'll head to Yueshan City. Oh, and let Guo Li go with you. Urge those eyewitnesses who were present at the time to testify for Chen Hanzhe."
"My lord, it's like this..."
“That makes perfect sense. Let’s do it that way, and do it as soon as possible.” Xu Zhengyang didn’t let Li Haidong continue, and said, “I had promised Chen Hanzhe that I would personally testify for him, but I have some things to do. I will arrange for Zhu Jun to go tomorrow. He was also an eyewitness at the time, and he can drive my car there. The traffic police have a record of it.”
Li Haidong dared not say anything more, only nodded in agreement, and got up to rush to Yueshan City.
Xu Zhengyang added, "By the way, give it a good look. Following the general direction I've outlined, the City God's Office should increase its focus on this aspect in the future. See how you can make it more reasonable... After this matter is completed, I have an important task for you to handle."
"yes!"
Li Haidong bowed slightly in response, then stepped through the wall and disappeared.
In the quiet living room, Xu Zhengyang's consciousness rose and walked to the spacious, bright French windows. Gazing at the deep night sky and the few bright stars, he pondered. It seemed he was still young after all, lacking the time to navigate the mundane world, and thus unable to encounter so many things, see so much, and think so much.
They really deserve to be deified!
Otherwise, how could one properly and quickly handle all the complicated and trivial matters in the world, and one would not be able to see much about society on one's own?
After pondering for a long time, Xu Zhengyang's consciousness stirred, and he disappeared from the window inside the room.
The city of Fuhe was brightly lit, but because it was the middle of the night, there were few vehicles on the road, making the city seem as if it were asleep, peaceful and serene.
Xu Zhengyang's divine sense flew to the top floor of Ronghua Building and arrived at the vault specially used to store those pure mutton fat jades.
Without needing to open those cabinets that couldn't be blown up even with bombs, Xu Zhengyang stood in the middle of the room and took a quick look around. He could naturally see some cultural relics and antiques stored in the cabinets, as well as ebony roots and pure mutton fat jade that he had collected.
Mutton fat jade is extremely rare, so the more than twenty kilograms of mutton fat jade that Xu Zhengyang once collected were all exquisitely carved works of art by master craftsmen. Any one of them would be worth an exorbitant price. If Yao Chushun and Zheng Ronghua knew that Xu Zhengyang was going to refine all this mutton fat jade into a jade slab, they might very well disregard Xu Zhengyang's divine status and argue with him.
Standing in front of those safes, Xu Zhengyang mentally went through the steps he had planned long ago, and then raised his hands slightly, unleashing his divine power.
A bright, dazzling, yet invisible golden flame ignited in the pitch-black room.
Each hand held a ball of flame, about the size of a basketball, which made Xu Zhengyang's divine face shine even brighter. His entire divine body seemed to glow with a bright golden light, and a mysterious and powerful golden halo enveloped him. He was like, well, like a deity in a painting.
Unfortunately, no one could see this scene.
From the two golden flames, countless golden rays emerged, shooting straight into each of the safes containing pure mutton fat jade.
Inside the safe were exquisitely carved pieces of mutton-fat jade. Some depicted plum blossoms in full bloom, others auspicious symbols of wealth and good fortune, welcoming pines amidst mountains and rocks, auspicious clouds and cranes, and longevity figures like deer and plum blossoms—all vividly lifelike and expressive. As straight golden lines reached out to each object, they were lifted by divine power and suspended in the small, enclosed, dark space.
Gradually, these artworks began to shine brighter and brighter, unlike the golden light of the divine light, they instead emitted a pure white radiance.
The essence of the jade carving gradually faded, and it seemed to be melted away, losing its substance and turning into a ball of ethereal light.
Xu Zhengyang's hands trembled, then he brought them together in mid-air, forming a circle.
With only about a foot of space remaining between his hands, the golden light instantly merged into one, and streaks of golden light, like threads being drawn, extracted the pure white light that had vanished from the safe and merged into the golden light between Xu Zhengyang's hands.
Xu Zhengyang focused his gaze on the space between his hands, continuously channeling his mental energy into it.
Human customs and traditions, household registrations of humans and animals; detailed geographical information of each city god's jurisdiction, summaries of major and minor events... In short, all the data on the areas under the jurisdiction of each city god's jurisdiction currently established in the country were copied from that jade city scroll and injected into that ball of light entwined with golden and pure white light.
Time passed slowly. Xu Zhengyang stood there quietly, motionless, his incomparably powerful divine energy continuously injecting various materials while refining the highly pure jade.
Finally, amidst flashes of golden and white light, it suddenly seemed to explode, the ball of light expanding and scattering, disappearing into the darkness in an instant.
In Xu Zhengyang's hand, there was only a rectangular jade plate, about the size of a palm and two centimeters thick.
"It's done..." Xu Zhengyang let out a long sigh of relief; he was really exhausted.
Holding the jade tablet, Xu Zhengyang used his divine sense to inquire about the relevant information within.
But the jade tablet didn't even emit a shimmering light; there wasn't a single sound. Xu Zhengyang was puzzled. What was going on? He waved his hand and summoned the city scroll, asking, "Hey, I made it exactly as you said, so why isn't this thing working?"
The scroll of city walls shimmered with light. Answer: This divine artifact has not yet been infused with divine power.
"Nonsense, I gave it plenty!" Xu Zhengyang said angrily, but then he realized what was going on. So he stared at the jade plate with his divine eyes, and his thoughts entered the jade plate in an instant. Divine power suddenly burst out in the jade plate, filling it with the thoughts and ideas of the deity.
Thus, the originally chaotic, jumbled fragments of complex memories within the jade tablet were quickly encompassed and gathered by Xu Zhengyang's will. The lighter fragments rose, while the heavier ones descended, creating a void of white space. Although it was devoid of earth and sky, it was at least much clearer.
This situation reminded Xu Zhengyang of an ancient myth—Pangu creating the world.
Xu Zhengyang silently pondered the methods the Jade City Scroll had once told him. His mind, focused on the jade tablet, continuously filled the space with divine power while softly chanting: "I, holding the divine office of the Eastern Azure Heaven Court's Zhouhuang, bestow this jade tablet with all divine thoughts, to investigate the nature and mind of humans and animals; to seal it as a divine artifact, to awaken its spirit, to understand all matters, to comprehend yin and yang, to clarify affairs, to master the laws, to wield divine power, and to control those below..."
The seemingly ordinary jade plate began to gleam faintly, and then shimmering ripples appeared, like water ripples.
Soon, the light began to flow and shimmer on the surface of the jade plate.
Xu Zhengyang withdrew his mental energy from the jade tablet and asked again with a smile, "In Shuanghe Village, Huaxiang Township, Cixian County, Fuhe City, there is a villager named Xu Zhengyang. What is his identity? What is his family situation...?"
A flash of light appeared on the jade tablet. In an instant, a line of text appeared: