Master of Kaidan-Chapter 491

The early summer Sun was not yet scorching, and Magistrate Ma of Shuyan County lounged on a chair, basking in the sunlight when he suddenly heard hurried calls—

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency!"

"What’s the matter? Has the lady given birth?" Hearing that familiar voice, Magistrate Ma sprang up, his face tense with anxiety. After all, nothing significant transpired in Shuyan County for years, and to prompt such a frenzied "summoning" from his own steward, it could only be...

"No, no, it’s the temple! The temple outside the city!"

"Temple?" Magistrate Ma pondered for a while before he realized, frowning as he said,

"Is it that thing that’s been deserted for who knows how many years outside the city?"

"Yes, precisely that temple, it suddenly became spiritual!" The steward gestured wildly, his face full of shock. Magistrate Ma heard this and kicked him before saying,

"That temple has been deserted for so many years, nobody even knows who is worshiped there. How could it suddenly become spiritual? It wouldn’t be some life-risking beggar trying to scare people, would it?"

Magistrate Ma had a point. In this era, temples were not as ubiquitous as they were everywhere, but they were not exactly scarce either. Apart from the Dragon King Temple, most were either ancestral halls or clan temples. For instance, if someone became wealthy all of a sudden, they would return to their hometown, build an ancestral hall for their ancestors, or out of gratitude to someone, help them build an imperial residence or erect a statue (Nezha, for instance, was to receive three years of incense offerings).

However, while temples were easy to establish, they were abandoned just as casually. For example, developments could move elsewhere, and the person who founded the temple might come back annually to visit. But after he’s gone, would his son or grandson still return? Or, even more drastically, what if the family fell on hard times and no longer had the money for maintenance of the ancestral hall?

And yet, you can’t just tear down these temples, because no one knows if the family still has descendants. What if someone came back to find it gone? With today’s internet and spread of information, it would only take minutes for you to trend on social media. How much they demand in compensation, you’d have no choice but to accept.

These issues, to be honest, were the least of worries compared to the remnants of the previous dynasty, which had passed hundreds of years ago. But what was the previous dynasty? An Immortal dynasty! How many people pursued Immortal Cultivation? If that temple had any relation to an Immortal, it would truly be a clever way to die!

So, when it came to these abandoned temples and dilapidated ancestral halls, both the government and the people adopted a laissez-faire attitude, merely waiting for them to crumble from neglect. Until then, these places were nothing more than shelters for beggars to take respite from the wind. freewebnσvel.cøm

Magistrate Ma only remembered such a temple because a developer had wanted to acquire the land it was on; however, the presence of the temple hindered the deal.

Now, hearing that this decrepit temple had shown spiritual presences, Magistrate Ma was anything but at ease!

However, the steward obviously did not quite grasp his master’s thoughts and firmly refuted Magistrate Ma’s speculation:

"No, Your Excellency, it really has become spiritual, it’s old man Tang!"

"Tang the Wealthy? But wasn’t he buried just two days ago?" Magistrate Ma grew increasingly displeased. If it were someone from hundreds or even tens of years ago, he might believe it a bit. But a person who had died only a few days ago showing spirituality in a broken temple that’s stood for who knows how many years? Was he trying to fool ghosts?

"Exactly, it’s Tang the Wealthy. He claims that in his lifetime, he was kind and generous, and now he has been conferred the title of Immortal Official, and our entire Shuyan County is under his jurisdiction!"

The steward vividly described what he had seen and heard, while Magistrate Ma leaped up in fury and smacked the armrest, exclaiming,

"Under his jurisdiction? Then what am I doing as the county magistrate? Get some people, come with me to take a look!"

...

Magistrate Ma and his entourage traveled in high spirits to the city outskirts and saw a crowd of civilians gathered around taking pictures and checking in. Seeing this, Magistrate Ma immediately felt displeased, and promptly, his men stepped forward to disperse the people.

Following this, he saw the temple, which had once been dilapidated, now completely transformed. No, that word wasn’t accurate. Observing the green bricks and tiles, the vermilion doors, and the purple palaces, one could immediately sense an aged beauty that had withstood the passage of time. The moment County Magistrate Ma laid eyes on it, his eyes reddened.

The reason was simple—

The materials used for the temple were better than those of his own residence!

However, seeing this scene, he gradually calmed down. Even though he was still furious with the "Immortal Official," he understood that someone who could renovate the temple to such a degree under the noses of passersby, without attracting attention, whether it was through divine manifestation or wealth that commands divine power, was not someone he could afford to provoke.

Taking a deep breath, County Magistrate Ma slowly approached under the guard of his protectors and came to the front of the temple, where he saw that the signboard, previously devoid of any characters, now bore three gilded characters—

"City God Temple."

"City God? What’s that?" As soon as County Magistrate Ma spoke, his butler immediately said:

"Master, according to what Mr. Tang from outside the city says, the City God is the Immortal Official responsible for the city’s lands, mainly in charge of managing all matters of the Underworld."

"Underworld? Does he not manage the mortal world?" Hearing this, County Magistrate Ma bristled. The butler thought for a moment and replied uncertainly:

"He likely... doesn’t?"

"Likely! I asked you ’likely’!" At these words, County Magistrate Ma kicked his butler again, then strode towards the temple door, only to see the temple not so much seeking divine favors as it seemed to be receiving relatives!

"Junior Mr. Tang? What is this..." Upon seeing a familiar face, County Magistrate Ma immediately stepped forward, and then he saw, before him, a figure that, although solid, could be discerned as somewhat translucent upon closer inspection—who else could it be but Old Mr. Tang?

"County Magistrate Ma, my father has returned to life!" Upon hearing County Magistrate Ma’s call, Junior Mr. Tang rubbed his reddened eyes, his face flushed with excitement as he said:

"My father said that our family members all have virtuous deeds to their names, and if we continue to uphold these, we can live in wealth and honor for life. After death, we could even become an Immortal Official under his command, and if we accumulate enough merit, perhaps one day we could even become the City God like him!"

"Are you sure this is your father? Not some demon or ghost in disguise?" County Magistrate Ma was still somewhat incredulous. After all, although resurrection from the dead wasn’t entirely unheard of, it was almost always related to Immortals—either an Immortal had provided an elixir or left behind a Magic Treasure, or at least it involved the descendants of an Immortal. But Old Mr. Tang was just a slightly wealthy, low-ranking official who was usually a good Samaritan—why should he be resurrected?

If every good person could return to life, then why him? Was it that Shuyan County hadn’t seen a single good person in decades?

"County Magistrate Ma, how can you say such a thing? Could I possibly mistake my own father?" Although Junior Mr. Tang had also doubted this previously, upon hearing County Magistrate Ma’s questioning, he couldn’t help but get annoyed. Seeing this, Old Mr. Tang happily stepped forward, chuckling, and under County Magistrate Ma’s wary gaze, pulled out a small booklet and said:

"As the City God, I might be an Immortal Official, but I’m in a position of the Underworld. I only manage affairs of the Underworld, not those of the mortal world. At most, I encourage people to be virtuous. County Magistrate Ma, you need not worry about me competing for power with you."

Having his thoughts exposed by Old Mr. Tang, County Magistrate Ma’s face turned slightly red, yet he still said:

"Empty words prove nothing. Do you have any evidence to prove you are an Immortal Official?"

Upon being questioned, Old Mr. Tang immediately grew serious, shook the booklet in his hand, and said:

"With a copy of the Book of Life and Death as proof, all the residents of Shuyan County are recorded within, where their virtues and sins can be examined, including the matter that the child your wife carries is not your son—it too can be verified!"

"What?!!!!!"

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