Chapter 1259: New Part-Time Job, Little Lord of Hell
As the first light of dawn broke, Zhouzhou suddenly opened her eyes.
She scratched her head, a little uncertain whether she was dreaming. Mr. Heaven Thunder had mentioned finding her a part-time job, but she had no idea what it might be. When she thought back to what she had seen, Zhouzhou began to wonder if it was all a dream. After all, the nature of the job was so bizarre. Was it even possible to have such a part-time job?
While she was lost in thought, her phone suddenly rang urgently—it was a call from Zhao Xinghua.
As soon as she picked up, his heavy voice came through, "Zhouzhou, come to the bureau." He didn't elaborate on the matter, but from his tone, it was clear it wasn't good news. Zhouzhou's heart sank, and she quickly pushed aside the lingering thoughts about her dream. She jumped out of bed, changed into her clothes, and rushed out the door.
Upon opening the door, she happened to run into Ye Lingfeng.
The two exchanged a glance but didn't speak, silently walking out together.
Zhouzhou immediately understood. Uncle Zhao must have already called her father. Her heart dropped, and she couldn't bear to think of what might have happened.
The two of them quickly flew to the island by plane. As soon as they landed, Zhouzhou felt an unusual, eerie energy in the air. It was unlike the usual spiritual energy she encountered—it was stronger and yet had a hint of righteous light. How strange.
She had never encountered this kind of energy before. Normally, with the predecessors guarding this place, no evil energy would dare to approach. What was going on here?
Following the energy's source, Zhouzhou soon arrived at the cemetery and spotted two figures—one black and one white.
That's when Zhao Xinghua noticed her and waved urgently, "Zhouzhou, come here."
The two figures, Black and White Soul Collectors, turned to look at them. As soon as Zhouzhou saw their faces, her eyes widened in shock. It really was Black and White Soul Collectors! No wonder they could come here.
After all, they were public officials of the underworld, tasked with collecting souls, and were not bound by any restrictions.
Black and White Soul Collectors glanced at her and exchanged a strange look. For a moment, neither of them moved forward.
Oddly enough, Zhouzhou had the same reaction—she didn't approach either.
Zhao Xinghua, not noticing this, quickly spoke, "Zhouzhou, they suddenly showed up to take the spirits away."
Zhouzhou had helped the people on the island open their eyes of heaven, so they could also see Black and White Soul Collectors. This was the first time she had seen them in person. Before she could wonder about it, she was immediately called over. As someone from the Mysterious Sect, she was expected to know how to handle the situation.
But even though she was an expert from this field, she was still an ordinary person. Could she really be against to Black and White Soul Collectors?
Though she wasn't sure, it seemed like... maybe she really could? She touched the peachwood sword at her waist just in case, but decided not to take it out.
They weren't exactly enemies, and it wouldn't be right to attack them.
Noticing her movement, the two Soul Collectors' eyelids twitched, and they quickly approached her, bowing respectfully, "Greetings, Little Lord of Hell."
These words caused everyone's gaze to snap toward Zhouzhou.
Everyone at present stunned.
Zhouzhou herself was just as shocked. So it wasn't a dream after all!
After a few seconds, she feigned calmness and nodded, "Ahem, yes, that's me. What brings you here?"
White Soul Collector replied, "These spirits are all blessed with great merit, and the underworld has arranged for their reincarnation. However, they've been waiting for a long time, and we're here to take them away. We hope Little Lord of Hell will explain this to them, as it is the rule of the underworld, and the living world needs them to reincarnate."
As he spoke, Black Soul Collector handed her a booklet.
Zhouzhou flipped through it—it was a record of the underworld's rules.
While she was reading, Black and White Soul Collectors discreetly observed her.
They had heard that the Lord of Hell had made a mistake while drinking and was punished to live as a human. The underworld couldn't go a day without a ruler, and when they found out they had a new Lord, a young girl no less, the news shocked the underworld. They hadn't expected to meet her so soon.
She was a beautiful girl, and her aura was so rich with merit that it almost seemed to drip with oil.
They had heard that Heaven Thunder had secured this position for her, but it was just a part-time job since she still had other responsibilities. She couldn't stay in the underworld all the time, after all—it was too gloomy there, and it would be bad for her health.
Thinking of this, Black and White Soul Collector's expressions became even more peculiar. For thousands of years, no one had ever disliked the underworld this much!
While they were contemplating, Zhouzhou quickly finished reading the rules. It was exactly as they had said, and the underworld had arranged for them to reincarnate into families of high status.
Their previous lives had been spent in service to the country and people, and the underworld wanted to ensure they had an equally good future.
The reason they had to leave was that even though they had great merit, they couldn't remain in the mortal world for long. If they stayed beyond fifty years, they would dissipate. The oldest among them were already nearing that age.
Zhouzhou didn't want to see them suffer such an end.
She walked up to the spirits and asked, "Grandpas, Grandmas, Uncles, Aunts, Brothers, and Sisters, why don't you want to go? If you want to help us, you can stay, but those nearing fifty must leave."
At her words, Black and White Soul Collectors' expressions changed. Their original intention had been to take all of them away, but they hadn't expected Zhouzhou to say this. According to the rules, those nearing fifty years old had to leave, and they couldn't enforce this—only the spirits themselves could choose to leave.
Some of the spirits were thrilled after hearing it. They hadn't been dead over fifty years and could stay longer. They hadn't finished their research on new formations yet and didn't want to leave.
Zhouzhou looked at a few who were close to the deadline, "Grandpa Sun, Grandma Huang, you can go in peace. We'll take care of Hua Country."
"It's not that we don't want to go," Grandma Huang said. "It's just that Old Liu..."
She turned to look at a young man with a dissatisfied expression.
Zhouzhou approached him and asked, "Grandpa Liu, what's bothering you?"
Although Zhouzhou called him Grandpa Liu, he was actually very young, having died in his teens during a war. He was only sixteen years old when he passed away, younger than Zhouzhou herself.
He was upset and said, "Why am I being assigned to C Country? I don't want that! I want to be reincarnated as a Hua Country person! Otherwise, I won't reincarnate—I'll just dissipate!"
Zhouzhou frowned upon hearing this.
Black and White Soul Collectors stood still, calm as ever.
Liu was being sent to a wealthy family in C Country, the only child of a billionaire—what a great opportunity! He seemed to be ungrateful.
Zhouzhou, however, nodded and said, "Grandpa Liu is right. Why go to C Country? There's nothing good there. You must come back to Hua Country."
She then turned to Black and White Soul Collectors, raising her hand, "Give me the Book of Life and Death."
Black and White Soul Collectors' expressions shifted slightly, and they hurriedly responded, "Little Lord of Hell, this can't be easily changed. If you want to alter his fate, he won't have such a great future. He'll have to go to a family with average conditions."
Although it would still be a decent life, it couldn't compare to being born into a billionaire family.
They thought this would dissuade Liu, but he actually smiled brightly and said, "So I'll be Hua Country's person in my next life? I'm happy wherever as long as it's Hua Country."
Taken aback, Black and White Soul Collectors exchanged looks before reluctantly handing over the Book of Life and Death.
Zhouzhou quickly made the change.
Finally, all the spirits were ready to reincarnate.
Before they left, Black and White Soul Collectors exchanged a glance.
Their shared thought was clear: this Little Lord of Hell was a bit wayward!