Volume 4, City God Chapter 178: The First Meeting of Ghost Messengers Held
That day at World Park, they spent the whole day there.
The only time they chatted together was during lunch; otherwise, they each kept to themselves and didn't bother each other. Xu Zhengyang didn't ask Chen Chaojiang what Chen Chaojiang and Ye Wan talked about or what progress they made. He wasn't a gossipy person, especially about matters of the heart.
Originally, Xu Rouyue and Ouyang Ying had discussed with their parents about returning to Fuhe the next day, but they insisted on staying for three more days because it was almost the weekend. They said they would go to Kangxi Grassland in Qingyan District together on the weekend, as it was the best time of year for the grassland scenery.
Xu Zhengyang didn't care and listened to his parents' opinions.
After thinking it over, Xu Neng and Yuan Suqin realized that the farm work wouldn't be much different in a couple of days, and they couldn't resist their daughter and Ouyang Ying's nagging, so they agreed.
After spending another three days in Beijing, the family returned to their hometown in Fuhe City.
This trip to Beijing lasted nearly half a month. When I returned to the village, I learned that the rice seedlings in the paddy fields south of the village had already been irrigated and sown four days earlier. Chen Chaojiang's parents helped Xu Zhengyang's family sow the rice seedlings. That evening, Xu and his wife delivered the money for the rice seeds and invited Chen Chaojiang's parents to their home for a meal, some drinks, and a casual chat.
During the casual conversation over the meal, Chen An and Xu Neng, two middle-aged men in their forties, finalized their plan to establish a construction team.
Although Xu Zhengyang had mentioned wanting to start a construction company, he was completely clueless about the industry. His father, Xu Neng, was a cautious man who was afraid of losing money, so he decided to start a construction team first. With his son's help, he could find some small jobs without any problem.
Xu Zhengyang didn't take it too seriously or focus too much on appearances, so he just went along with his father's wishes and let him do whatever he wanted.
The next day, Xu Neng went to see Xu Zhengyang's two uncles and one uncle-in-law. Xu Zhengyang's eldest uncle and uncle-in-law were both foremen of construction teams, and his youngest uncle was a foreman at a construction company in Fuhe City. They were also veterans in the industry.
These three relatives now have complete faith in Xu Neng. When they heard he was going to form a construction team, how could they not agree? Could they possibly suffer losses by following Xu Neng? He is Xu Zhengyang's biological father. Who is Xu Zhengyang now? A little bit of money slipping through his fingers is enough to fill their bellies.
With these three joining, the construction team will essentially have a solid core of members.
Subsequently, Xu Neng approached Zhang Zhong, the foreman of the original Shuanghe Village construction team, and discussed taking over all the personnel and tools of the construction team to form a new construction team.
Since Guo Haigang went to prison and Haigang Construction Company completely collapsed, the construction team in the village, led by Zhang Zhong, has seen a significant decrease in work and is gradually showing signs of disbanding. Some young laborers chose to apply for jobs in other places at the beginning of the year, while the experienced workers were unwilling to stay at home indefinitely and began looking for other jobs. The village's construction team originally only had about thirty people, and with the intense competition in rural house construction, the team members were basically working sporadically, and it seemed they couldn't sustain themselves under these circumstances.
At this moment, Xu Neng suddenly proposed to take over all of Zhang Zhong's construction team and equipment. Zhang Zhong was overjoyed. He naturally agreed without any objection, not asking to become a shareholder, but simply wanting to remain his foreman and receive a high salary.
Then, Xu Neng and Yuan Suqin, a married couple, started making arrangements for the distant relatives and neighbors who had come to their house a few days ago hoping to work at Xu Zhengyang's company and earn money, to discuss the establishment of the construction team. "Well, if you want to come, then come. If you don't want to come, don't blame us for not helping."
Since it was Xu Zhengyang's biological father, Xu Neng, who wanted to start a construction team, no one was unwilling to come.
First of all, they promised high wages: 45 yuan a day for laborers and 60 yuan a day for skilled workers, as long as there was work available. They also provided room and board for those working outside the village. Pretty good, right? Most importantly, the foreman of the construction team was Xu Neng, Xu Zhengyang's father. Everyone believed that under these conditions, the construction team would definitely not be like the team Zhang Zhong led in the past, working sporadically.
In less than a week, the new construction team had grown to more than fifty people and was capable of undertaking some similar projects.
Xu Zhengyang didn't sit idle either; he immediately helped find people to help the construction team secure projects.
He hasn't contacted Ronghua Group in Fuhe City yet, because a construction team like his isn't qualified to sign any contracts with such groups. However, Xu Zhengyang has secured a section of the North Ring Road for the paving work around the new ring road in Cixian County. This is quite significant; it will keep a construction team of over fifty people busy for more than two months.
Zhong Shan and Zhao Qing were undoubtedly the biggest help in this matter, and Xu Zhengyang even treated them to a meal for it.
Xu Zhengyang had originally prepared two red envelopes, each containing five thousand yuan, to give to the two men. This wasn't a bribe, but purely an expression of gratitude. Xu Zhengyang didn't know how much his father's construction team would earn after taking on the project, but he knew that even if he gave away ten thousand yuan, the team definitely wouldn't lose money. He wanted to pave the way for his father, who was initially apprehensive, giving him a successful start and boosting his confidence.
However, neither Zhao Qing nor Zhong Shan accepted his money, and they even scolded him.
Afterwards, Xu Zhengyang reflected on the matter carefully and realized he had made a huge mistake. Even if you didn't intend to bribe them, but simply wanted to express your gratitude, you should have given them the money privately. How could you give them red envelopes in front of them separately... Nonsense, utterly foolish! You really are inexperienced and naive!
The paving work along both sides of the county's North Ring Road won't begin for another month, which conveniently avoids the busy farming season in May—a perfect situation. Therefore, the foremen and laborers of the Zhengyang Construction Team are all overjoyed, whispering among themselves: "Look at that! It's only because Xu Neng has such a good son that the construction team has already secured such a large project..."
At this point, Xu Zhengyang had arranged everything in his life, and could now relax and easily attend to other matters.
On the sixth day of the fifth lunar month, the first assembly of ghost messengers under the Fuhe City God was officially held at the City God's Mansion.
The meeting was personally presided over by the City God, and the attendees included Su Peng, the captain of the ghost messengers, and a total of eleven ghost messengers, including Wang Yonggan and Yan Liang. Among these ghost messengers, several had recently been carefully selected by Su Peng, Wang Yonggan, and Yan Liang, and then submitted to the City God for final approval.
The main topics of the meeting included:
1. The City God shall review the punishments carried out by the ghost messengers in recent days for the evil people and deeds within the jurisdiction of Fuhe City, and determine whether there are any shortcomings, or whether the punishments are too lenient or too severe;
Second, the City God clearly stated that Xu Zhengyang is the City God's representative in the mortal world, above all the ghost messengers, and all the ghost messengers must obey his orders when they see him;
Thirdly, the division of labor among the ghost messengers is distinct and clearly defined. Captain Su Peng is responsible for the daily patrol area within the territory of Fuhe City, while Ghost Messenger Wang Yonggan, following the instructions of the City God, assists Xu Zhengyang, the City God's representative, in his daily work. Specifically, he secretly investigates and monitors the management of Jinghui Logistics Company and its branches for any misconduct in their daily operations. Branches in other provinces are not within his purview.
Fourth, each ghost messenger, in accordance with the conditions required by the City God and Captain Su Peng, shall constantly patrol and identify ghosts who meet the conditions, and recommend them to Captain Su Peng, who shall then report to the City God to decide whether to appoint them as ghost messengers.
Fifth, regarding the severity of the punishment for evildoers and their misdeeds within their jurisdiction, the ghost messengers discussed the matter, pooled their wisdom, and jointly agreed to come up with a feasible plan for the City God's approval.
Sixth, the City God promulgated criminal laws to punish those ghost messengers who abuse their power for personal gain, settle scores, or commit other misdeeds.
seven……
The City God, accompanied by eleven ghost messengers, took a tour of the underworld.
Well, actually, apart from the fifth point, all the other points of this meeting were entirely decided by Lord Xu Zhengyang, the City God. The so-called meeting place, the City God's Mansion, is the City God's residence and government office that Xu Zhengyang built with his divine power and will within the city scroll.
During the discussion of Article 5, the ghost messengers were initially somewhat apprehensive and hesitant to speak. After being signaled by the City God, Captain Su Peng spoke first, sharing his views. Wang Yonggan then raised his hand to speak, followed by Yan Liang, who elaborated on his opinions on how to punish various evildoers and their misdeeds.
With these three leaders speaking and the City God expressing his approval, the other ghost messengers began to get busy, racking their brains to think about what injustices and evildoers existed in the world, and then offering their own opinions.
The City God praised each of them and then highlighted a few key points for the ghost messengers to discuss.
As the saying goes, three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang. In the end, Xu Zhengyang formulated the first few simple criminal regulations for the City God within the territory of Fuhe City:
1. Those who are unfilial will be punished with three days of soul-beating with a ruler, ten strokes per day for minor offenses; and one month of twenty strokes per day for serious offenses. This punishment will be carried out every other day, with the ghost messenger entering the dream to enforce the law. Those who do not repent will be punished twice as severely, and those who repeatedly fail to change their ways can be reported to the City God to decide whether to sentence them to death. Conversely, the same applies to those with wicked parents-in-law.
2. Anyone convicted of rape shall be punished with a one-month "soul-beating rod" punishment, with thirty strokes performed daily without interruption. If the perpetrator is not apprehended by the police after one month, the case shall be reported to the City God, who shall decide whether to impose the death penalty or increase the severity of the punishment.
3. Those who commit evil deeds in their villages, oppress the good and kind, and incur the resentment of the people shall be punished with ten days of soul-beating with a ruler, thirty strokes each day, and shall be ordered to sincerely apologize to those they have harmed and take appropriate remedial measures; those who do not repent or repeatedly fail to correct their ways shall have their punishment increased and may be submitted to the City God for final judgment and sentencing.
4. Those who occasionally commit despicable acts, regardless of their magnitude, and are encountered by ghost messengers, will be punished to varying degrees according to the severity of the offense.
5. Without violating morality or the bottom line of the City God, when a ghost messenger encounters injustice or evil deeds, he may freely judge the matter, but he must report to the captain of the ghost messengers, Su Peng, for a decision.
...
Volume Four, City God Chapter 179: Do Not Blaspheme the Divine Power
Su Peng and Wang Yonggan, the two ghost messengers, dared not utter a word regarding the few simple criminal regulations Xu Zhengyang had finally drafted. However, the other ghost messengers raised objections. While the earlier regulations were relatively detailed, the later ones became somewhat vague. They stipulated different degrees of punishment according to the severity of the offense, without violating morality or the City God's bottom line, allowing for free judgment, and requiring reporting to the ghost messenger captain…
These are all very general concepts. If the so-called free judgment is approved, will it cause dissatisfaction from the City God or the captain of the ghost messengers?
Besides, it's all just working for free; the City God didn't personally promise any benefits.
When the ghost messenger dared to bring this up, Xu Zhengyang didn't immediately explode in anger. Instead, he calmly nodded and said, "It will happen."
Su Peng and Wang Yonggan, the two ghost messengers, were startled. Well, how dare they bargain with the City God and ask for benefits? Weren't they tired of living?
Nao Liang coldly retorted, "Benefits? You still have the nerve to ask for benefits?"
The other ghost messengers, upon hearing this, immediately awoke and pointed fingers at the guy who had just demanded payment for his work. Admittedly, they all felt it was somewhat unfair, but who wanted to be the one to stick their neck out and inevitably get shot?
Among these ghost messengers were either death row inmates or unlucky souls beaten to death. None of them were seventy or eighty years old, and the young and women were even further off; nor was there a single good person that Xu Zhengyang wouldn't want to reincarnate. Xu Zhengyang wondered, who says good people don't live long? Why are all these dead guys so utterly wicked?
Well, except for the pitiful Runliang when he was alive; Su Peng was also a decent person, but he took the wrong path in his final days and "luckily" bumped into Xu Zhengyang, who desperately needed a ghost messenger.
Xu Zhengyang looked at the trembling ghost messengers and sneered inwardly. Yes, these regulations were vague and ambiguous. What? He wouldn't tell them the reasons; they could figure it out themselves. It wasn't that Xu Zhengyang was being arrogant, but rather, "I'm really embarrassed to say it, how could I possibly come up with such clear regulations in such a rush?" He had considered copying down some mortal laws or classical records, but that was unrealistic. Not only were there insufficient ghost messengers, but once they possessed such abilities and authority, if there were detailed regulations to constrain them, it would be difficult to handle if something displeased them happened and they exploited loopholes in the regulations.
Does that mean that when I, as the City God, want to punish them, I have to overturn the rules I set?
Where is the City God's divine power? Where is his credibility?
Regardless, it's because he's the only god, and he can't be in two places at once. If he were to constantly monitor what these ghost messengers are doing, would he have time to attend to other things or enjoy the mortal world's splendor? As for specifically assigning Su Peng or Runliang to monitor these ghost messengers to solve this kind of problem, forget it. First, he doesn't have that authority right now, and second, giving them too much authority would make them gods themselves. That could lead to them rebelling against him.
Therefore, the so-called free judgment is ultimately up to the City God himself.
Who dares to disagree? Xu Zhengyang is eager for one or two capable individuals to jump out and show him what's what, so he won't feel lonely and desolate in certain aspects, or occasionally feel sad and miserable, because... those capable of disagreeing are probably all dead!
"Let's go, I'll take you to see the underworld, which you should have been going to."
As soon as the City God finished speaking, he vanished from the hall in the blink of an eye.
Soon, while most of the ghost messengers were still bewildered, they felt a wave of dizziness, as if the world had turned upside down. The city, mansions, and government offices all vanished, replaced by a vast, brightly lit world. However, although the light in this realm was bright, it was a bluish-green environment, serene and quiet, so somber and chilling that it made one's heart sink, become still, and feel a heartbreaking, chilling stillness.
Even without the City God's explanation, the ghost messengers who had never been to this place before guessed that this was the Netherworld.
Because everything here exudes a quietness so profound it's devoid of any life, and the light, the environment—all convey a chilling, bone-chilling cold.
With a wave of his hand, the City God sent all the ghost messengers involuntarily followed him and flew into the air above the Yellow Springs Road.
"This is the Road to the Underworld. The ghosts who walk this road cannot speak and can only recall their time as humans." Lord Chenghuang's cold voice rang out: "The Road to the Underworld is three thousand miles long and takes three years to travel. Although there are countless companions along the way, they are like strangers, lonely and desolate."
All the ghost messengers felt a chill in their hearts, as if they had fallen into an ice cellar. Even Su Peng and Wang Yonggan had never been here before, nor had they heard the City God mention these things.
Well, Xu Zhengyang made all of this up. Because he knew that most of what was recorded in classical books was nonsense.
Xu Zhengyang didn't have the time to travel and observe with the ghost messengers. He used his mind and consciousness to guide them. In an instant, they appeared above the River of Oblivion.
"This is the River of Oblivion. Ghosts who enter the River of Oblivion from the Road to the Underworld remain speechless and drift with the current for five years."
Before the ghost messengers could react, the world spun around them in an instant. The scene before them suddenly changed, and they found themselves standing on a mountain range supported by layers of clouds and mist.
Hearing the mournful screams coming from the wisps of mist below the cliff, the ghost messengers couldn't help but tremble.
"This is the River of Three Crossings." Xu Zhengyang's voice was icy cold, ringing out loudly in the lifeless space, chilling even the most vengeful spirits. "The River of Three Crossings has three streams: rapid, gentle, and slow. Those who did more good than evil in their lives drift in the rapids, where they can exchange feelings with other floaters. After ten years, they enter the Pool of Reincarnation to be reborn. Those who did more evil than good in their lives enter the gentle stream, drifting and floating for thirty years, suffering the erosion of the River of Three Crossings' waters and enduring all kinds of torment, before they can enter the Pool of Reincarnation to be reborn." Those who commit grave evil in their lifetime will float in a slow, stagnant current. This current contains a poisonous liquid that corrodes the spirit; those who enter this current suffer endless torment for a hundred years before finally entering the pool of reincarnation. Those who commit the most heinous crimes, after enduring a hundred years of torment in the slow current, will be apprehended by the demons outside the pool of reincarnation and taken to the eighteen levels of hell. Further punishment will be inflicted according to the severity of their crimes. The most severe punishment will result in being cast into the eighteen levels of hell, where they will suffer endless torment and punishment for eternity, unable to be reborn.
The ghost messengers were terrified, yet some of them still had doubts.
However, after the City God finished speaking, he waved his sleeve, and the ghost messengers were forced to fall from the top of the cliff, hundreds of feet below the clouds, and hovered in the air less than three feet above the river.
By now, they could see the six evil spirits floating in the murky, viscous, blood-yellow liquid. They were still howling in agony. The City God raised his arm and pointed at the evil spirits, saying, "Those evil spirits committed heinous crimes in their lives and were cast into the slow current by me. More than half a year has passed, yet they have only floated less than a thousand meters."
Several ghost messengers were already trembling uncontrollably.
Guo Miao, the ghost messenger who had previously asked for payment, was so frightened that he immediately knelt down in mid-air and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Great Eighth Hall Master, please forgive me, I will never, ever mention payment again, I know I am guilty!"
The City God ignored him completely, and with a flick of his sleeve, not only Su Peng and Wang Yonggan, but also Runliang was thrown down from the air.
The ghosts of the Three Crossings River slowly swallowed up below.
A piercing scream instantly echoed between the cliffs, carrying far and wide.
As we said before, ghosts suffer unbearable pain but cannot become numb or faint; they can only endure it, agonizing and howling miserably.
Soon, Runliang was the first to be pulled out of the slow current by the City God.
Next, one after another, Guo Miao was finally pulled out of the water.
After being lifted into the air, all the ghost messengers huddled together, trembling, lying on their sides, terrified and still shaken.
The City God's icy, clear voice rang out again: "In the past, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva said that he would not become a Buddha until hell was empty. Therefore, this judge cannot bear to see any sinful ghosts under my jurisdiction suffer endless torment in the slow flow of the River of Three Crossings, nor can I bear to see them fall into hell and never be reborn. However, I hope you will remember one thing: divine might is not to be profaned. This is not to be repeated."
Having finished speaking, Lord Chengyang waved his sleeve, and the ghost messengers felt a dizzying sensation, and before they could react, they found themselves in the sky above Zehe City in the human world.
The City God, radiating golden light, hovered several feet above their heads, his awe-inspiring voice resounding: "Go and perform your respective duties."
The various ghost messengers scattered and dispersed to the ground.
In the deep, high night sky, with a bright moon and few stars, where can the City God be found?
After a moment of slight surprise, the ghost messengers heard the voice of Captain Su Peng coming from the ghost messenger token: "As the City God has instructed, we are to investigate injustices, find the wicked, and warn the people within the jurisdiction of Zehe City. Under no circumstances should the punished be allowed to reveal heavenly secrets!"
"yes.