Chapter 1

In the winter of the year Renyin, the cold wind was biting, and the snow was boundless.

In the icy and snowy wilderness, Xun Yi gripped a branch and leaned against a pine tree to fend off several wild wolves.

The eyes of the wild wolves glinted green, and they salivated as they stared at the boy who had just returned from school. One of the hungry wolves darted forward like an arrow.

Xun Yi panicked and swung the pine branch, using the sword technique he had learned from his grandfather the day before.

"Maolin Sword Technique, Burning Peach Blossom!" The newly learned sword technique was still somewhat awkward, but he managed to drive the hungry wolf back, though his arm was scratched and bled.

Not good! Xun Yi knew the situation was dire. Even though he was young, he understood how the scent of blood could excite wild beasts. Sure enough, the hungry wolves, stimulated by the blood, went mad and pounced on Xun Yi.

Before long, the five hungry wolves had knocked the seven-year-old boy to the ground, biting and tearing at his limbs.

"Be careful, don't kill him, or it will affect the effect of the Linglong Heart," one of the hungry wolves transformed into a young man. His sinister face and emerald eyes added to his eerie appearance.

Watching Xun Yi being torn apart by the wolves, the boy stared at him with cold eyes. The wolf demon shrugged, "Don't look at me, possessing a treasure is a sin. Who made you have the heart of a sage? And the news was revealed by your own family, the Xuns."

The boy's pupils constricted, and he was about to speak when a hungry wolf bit his neck, swallowing his words.

The wolf demon's face changed, and he kicked the hungry wolf that had bitten the boy's neck away, "Didn't I tell you not to kill him!"

Seeing the boy about to die, he quickly transformed his right hand into a sharp wolf claw and dug into the boy's chest.

Pfft—

The hot blood splattered the snow, and the surrounding wild wolves became even more frenzied. The hungry wolf that had been kicked away came back and licked the blood from the chest wound.

Xun Yi's vision went black, and he lost consciousness. Just before his consciousness faded completely, he faintly heard a shrill laugh and the wolf demon holding a crimson-gold heart. The heart was still beating, as if it still had some life.

"Ha ha! The heart of a sage can enhance my cultivation by at least a thousand years, and even allow me to transcend to the divine realm!" The wolf demon put away the heart, and a gust of demonic wind carried away his subordinates.

Only the boy, who had been gnawed to the point of being unrecognizable, remained, his eyes lifeless as he gazed at the overcast sky, his body gradually cooling with the snow.

The tranquil night sky encompassed all evil, and the white snowflakes fell, burying all traces in the snow.

...

The sky was dark blue, and the light shone in all directions. The magnificent divine city stood on the vast wilderness.

Above the city were the characters "Qinglong," indicating that this was the divine domain of the City God of Qinglong, who governed the local deities and spirits.

In the main hall of the city, Bai Fu hummed a folk song while watering the flowers. The glowing clear water sprinkled on the light yellow roses and roses, making them particularly charming. Laughter echoed from the flower beds.

Occasionally, two or three flower spirits appeared in the flower centers, and the thumb-sized flower spirits danced for Bai Fu. A few mischievous flower spirits ran to the sundial to play. The sundial showed the current time as "Year Renzi, Month Bingwu, Day Yihai." One of the flower spirits was adjusting the time on the sundial, changing the Jiazi calendar to the Gregorian date "May 15."

"Go away, go away! I'm not the master, and even if you dance for me, I have nothing to give you!" Bai Fu, wearing a yellow robe and a small hat, waved his hand to drive away the flower spirits. Looking up at the dark blue sky, he sighed, "Why is the master taking so long this time? It's been almost half a year, and he still hasn't returned."

His gaze fell on the City God Hall, which remained closed. As the City God of Qinglong, the supreme earth deity who governed the local mountain and land deities, he had not appeared in public for five months. The civil and military judges, the four generals, and the subordinate mountain and land deities who came to pay their respects were all turned away by Bai Fu.

"Thud—" A loud noise suddenly came from the main hall, and Bai Fu's face lit up with joy as he ran over, "Master, you're back!"

Pushing open the door, he saw papers flying everywhere. In an instant, various official documents hit Bai Fu in the face. The accumulated five months of documents flew out and scattered all over the courtyard.

Bai Fu was startled and quickly cast a ghost spell to gather all the documents and put them back in the hall.

Boom—

The bronze cranes and spirit lamps around the hall lit up on their own, illuminating the hall. The hall was filled with piles of documents, burying the tables and the divine throne.

"Five months without work, what are you going to do when you come back, Master!" Bai Fu muttered, throwing the documents onto the pile.

Suddenly, the pile of documents began to move, and a rustling sound could be heard.

"Master?" Bai Fu was delighted, but then he realized the sound was wrong and his expression turned cold. He summoned a black iron sword and pointed it at the pile of documents, "Who's there!"

"Cough, cough, cough..." Suddenly, a hand reached out from the pile of documents, and then it stirred, and a head emerged from the thick pile, "I almost suffocated!"

"Human?" Bai Fu was stunned and examined the young man.

He looked young, not yet of age. His features were well-defined, his skin was fair, and he had a smile on his lips. His bright, clear black eyes looked around. Overall, he was a handsome young man. But for some reason, he looked very familiar.

"Is this the young master of the Xun family?" Bai Fu had a vague premonition.

Xun Yi fell into an unfamiliar hall and instinctively touched his chest. Xun Yi had a heart condition and could not engage in prolonged physical activity or be startled. However, he could not remember when he had developed this condition. Or rather, all his memories before the age of eight were very vague. Although he still remembered various common knowledge, most of his personal experiences were blank, especially from the summer of his seventh year to the spring of his eighth year, which he had no memory of at all.

The only thing he remembered from that time was that his family seemed to have held a funeral.

Looking around, he saw someone calling him and turned to greet Bai Fu.

"Big brother, is this the City God Hall?" The young man climbed out of the mountain of documents, brushed the dust off his head, and spoke to Bai Fu in a familiar manner, "I met an uncle in my dream who said he was the City God of Qinglong and asked me to come and help with the documents. Is this it?"

The young man smiled brightly, making people feel warm and friendly.

Bai Fu's mouth twitched, and he was both amused and exasperated, realizing that his master was looking for someone to take the blame again. And why was it someone from the Xun family again? He remembered that the last time it was his father. How many years had it been?

Composing himself, Bai Fu took on the appearance of a divine servant and respectfully asked, "Does Young Master Xun have the mark of the City God?"

"You mean this?" The young man extended his hand, and on the back of his left hand was a crimson pattern. It was clear and radiant, filled with the divine power of the City God.

A short while ago, Xun Yi had just finished washing up and was about to rest when he was summoned by the City God in his dream. The City God smiled and threw him a divine seal, sending him to the City God Hall.

Bai Fu only glanced at it, and a divine voice echoed in his ears, "Bai Fu, I have been promoted and transferred to the underworld. I am busy establishing a ghost kingdom there. Please help manage the City God Hall for now, and I will take you to the underworld as a divine official later. However, to avoid any awkwardness with the new City God, you and this young man, Xun Yi, will help handle the documents until the new City God takes over." At the same time, he informed Bai Fu of the permissions given to the young man. He had no power to command troops or control the land, only to help clear the documents in the City God Hall and not leave the premises.

"So, Young Master Xun is a spirit, with a virtual physical form created by divine power?" Bai Fu understood and said to the young man, "Young Master, you are well-read and should know the story of dream-judging. My master is about to be transferred, so he has asked you to temporarily handle the official duties to avoid delays."

Dream-judging is a folk legend. It tells of virtuous and wise people who are often invited by deities in their dreams to help judge cases and distinguish right from wrong. This is usually done by the underworld or local deities when they have unresolved matters that need to be resolved by humans.

It is said that the current prime minister once helped judge cases in the underworld.

"I understand," Xun Yi, with his family's deep knowledge, immediately grasped the situation. He looked at the mountain of documents and asked Bai Fu, "Is this it?"

"Exactly."

Xun Yi silently calculated in his mind, then reached out and pushed all the documents to the ground, clearing the table and the writing tools.

"By the way, what's your name?" Sitting down, Xun Yi suddenly realized he didn't know the name of the divine servant and turned to ask.

"I am Bai Fu, the attendant of the City God. I greet Young Master Xun Yi."

"Ah." Xun Yi was not surprised, as his family was a prominent clan in Qinglong, and it was normal for deities to know his name. He sat down decisively, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared the ink and paper, "What are the requirements for these documents?"

"Master has not worked for five months, and many of the documents are already expired. You only need to sign them. The documents are categorized into divine strategies, underworld records, and complaints. The underworld records are sent from the underworld, mostly for the City God to escort the souls of the dead to the underworld on the first and fifteenth of each month. In the past five months, we have already helped Master complete this task and safely sent the dead to the underworld, but the underworld records have not been signed or stamped. You only need to sign them and send a copy to the underworld. The divine strategies are reports from the mountain and land deities under our jurisdiction. You only need to review them and sign them."

These divine strategies concern the governance of the mountains and rivers within a hundred miles of Qinglong. Xun Yi, a mere human, could not understand such matters, and they were considered divine secrets that he should not easily view.

Bai Fu said, "We will invite a few assistant deities and judges to help you. What you need to be most concerned about are the complaints. These complaints—"

Before he could finish, a loud roar came from the door, and a powerful voice echoed, "Who are you! How dare you sit in the City God's seat?" A wave of divine power hit Xun Yi, and the City God's seal on his hand automatically protected him.

Xun Yi looked at the door, where a tall, muscular man in golden armor stood, staring coldly at him. Mobile users, please visit http://m.piaotia.net

Page turning AD starts

Page turning AD ends