Chapter 2: Difficult to Resume
After the bestowal of the Dharma, the welcoming banquet also came to an end.

After Zhao Mancang respectfully saw Gu Yunli off, he hurriedly left the underworld palace and headed towards Grandma Zhao's house.

Everything in the world is divided into yin and yang.

As the dark side of the world, the underworld is different from the world of the living, except for a very few places that have been transformed by ghosts, most of the other scenery changes with the world of the living.

However, the overall tone is as dim as dusk, and the trees and houses are grey as if splashed with ink. There is no freehand painting, but instead it looks a bit cold and lonely.

Zhao Mancang, who had long been accustomed to the underworld environment, went straight to his destination after leaving the Land Palace.

From afar, one can see a magnificent courtyard house standing at the end of Tian'an Village. Under the golden glazed tiles in the front hall, there is a plaque with clear carvings of flowers and grass patterns, on which are clearly written three gilded regular script characters "Tian'an Hall".

——This is exactly the hall established by the fox fairy Cui Wen in the underworld!
"Hey, isn't this Uncle Zhao? I heard that the new God of Land has arrived. Why are you here instead of waiting at the God of Land Temple?"

A wisp of green smoke emerged from under the archway, and then a middle-aged ghost appeared, smiling and bowing.

"You are well-informed, kid. We are sent by Lord Gu to come and invite Mr. Cui San!"

As a local clerk, Zhao Mancang was connected to everyone he met and spoke very casually.

"Oh, then please come in quickly, don't delay the land god's important business!"

Zhao Mancang smiled and nodded, then stepped into the courtyard, and after being informed by the ghost, he walked into the main hall.

Under the painting of auspicious deer, Mr. Cui San, who was about 40 years old and had a goatee, was seen sitting at the head with a majestic posture.

"I am Zhao Mancang, and I am here to meet Mr. Cui San!"

"I heard that the new land god has arrived?"

"Mr. Gu just arrived today. Hearing about Mr. Cui's reputation, he sent me here to invite Mr. Cui to have tea tomorrow night."

"Good good!"

Cui Sanye laughed when he heard this, and then said seriously:

"Mancang, have you found out the origins of this Gu Bogong?"

"In reply to Mr. Cui San, this Mr. Gu looks gentle and polite, but he is very tight-lipped. I have not been able to find out his true colors. However, judging from his words and deeds, he does not seem to be from a wealthy family. He should be from a poor family. By the way, he also gave us a magic to pray to the gods, called the Internet. By burning incense and chanting incantations, we can communicate with colleagues through letters."

Zhao Mancang had not yet practiced, so he could only repeat Gu Yunli's introduction to the art of praying to the gods.

"Internet? Hahaha, it seems that our Gu Bogong is also a wonderful person! Tianan Village is a small place, but it also needs to burn incense to send messages? Is this for sending messages or for incense?"

Master Cui San had a joking look on his face. Sending messages through incense and burning candles was a skill that all immortals possessed. And Master Gu even used the excuse of praying to the gods, which was totally unnecessary and unnecessary.

Zhao Mancang laughed awkwardly when he heard this and didn't dare to respond.

"Forget it! Go back and tell Mr. Gu that I will definitely visit you tomorrow night."

"Yes, I will go back and report to Lord Gu right away."

"Xiao Liuzi, light a stick of incense and see the guests off!"

Zhao Mancang was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately bowed politely and left with gratitude.

After returning to the underground palace of the land temple to report to Gu Bogong, he could not wait to practice the art of praying to the gods on the Internet.

Although Mr. Cui Sanye looked down on this magic in his words and deeds, the fox was a fox fairy with great fortune, and he, a country ghost official, could not compare with her.

Any supernatural power is worth practicing, it’s always good to have more skills!
He concentrated his mind and held his breath, chanting in a deep voice:

"Dongjia Qianyuan is prosperous, and the positive Qi is surging. I have received the heavy destiny from the cloud ceremony, and the network controls the sky. Hurry up and move like a law, and the divine Qi will quickly gather endless blessings!"

hum-

In an instant, a mysterious force descended from the sky.

A curtain of light as bright as moonlight slowly unfolds in the field of vision.

Then, a Taoist figure appeared in the light curtain, sitting cross-legged with eyes closed in meditation. The Taoist figure was blurry and vague. Just as he was about to take a closer look, the Taoist figure had faded away, and the words "Yunli" stood out.

As a mysterious instruction message flowed into his mind, the screen flickered, and a line of cloud characters splashed on the screen appeared, which were:
——【Address Book】, 【Email】

Looking closely, his avatar appears in the upper right corner, which seems to be a dynamic display of him at this moment.

'interesting. ’

Zhao Mancang fumbled for a while with a curious look on his face, then he opened the address book and entered eight eights in the search box.

Suddenly, the portrait of Gu Bogong appeared.

“So this is how you add a contact!”

Zhao Mancang chose to add it rather strangely, and then sent a divine thought over.

"Zhao Mancang pays respect to Gu Bogong!"

After sending the message, he was about to end his magical powers, but unexpectedly, Gu Bogong had already replied.

"From now on, all matters, big or small, urgent or slow, will be communicated in this way."

"Zhao Mancang obeys the order!"

Zhao Mancang quickly replied, thinking that what Mr. Cui San said was not entirely true.

This technique of burning incense to ask for it is of course useless;
However, it would be much more convenient if you chant the mantra and move.

But if this happens, I won’t be able to receive any incense offerings. I don’t know what the point of Mr. Gu doing this is?
Could it be that they wait until more people use it, and then collect donations in the name of offerings?
But aren’t you afraid that everyone will abandon it by then?
Never mind, a new official has three things to do when he takes office!

How could Lord Gu be content without going through some trouble?
Ugh!
Zhao Mancang sighed, feeling that the days ahead would be difficult.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Tianan Village, which had been asleep all night, returned to its former bustle.

No one knew that the land in Tianan Village had a new owner. For the villagers of Tianan Village, life was the same as before, without any disturbance.

On the first day of his new job, Gu Yunli spent a whole day guarding the underground palace in the underworld. Seeing no villagers burning incense or worshipping, he sighed in his heart that the incense was indeed very scarce.

At midnight, Mr. Cui San came to visit. The two sides exchanged pleasantries and tested each other while drinking tea and discussing philosophy.

Mr. Cui Sanye is an old hand, and he is very careful with his words. Gu Yunli tried to probe him for a long time but couldn't figure out the truth, so he could only give up for the time being!

Just consider it as making yourself familiar.

For dozens of days thereafter, there was no one in front of the land temple.

Gu Yunli was also diligent. He would go to the underworld every day to inspect Tian'an Village. He found that what Zhao Mancang said was true. The hall established by Mr. Cui Sanye was indeed very popular.

Villagers would come to visit every now and then to see what was going on.

Frightening children, weddings and funerals, encountering evil spirits, changing fortunes, salvation in the underworld... and so on, the list goes on.

Some of them are indeed true, and the incense can ward off disasters;
But it is more of a mystery and purely for psychological comfort.

However, he is too famous.

In contrast, the land temple is deserted and there is not even a ghost in sight.

It seems that only when encountering a serious festival will people follow the procedure of burning incense and seeking peace of mind.

Seeing this situation, Gu Yunli shook his head secretly.

At midnight that day, after he finished his inspection of Tianan Village as usual, unexpectedly, Mr. Cui San came to visit him.

"Since taking office, Mr. Gu has been reporting to the police every day and inspecting the village. He is really diligent and cares about the people! It's a pity that the villagers of Tianan don't know that the government has changed. It's a pity!"

After entering the main hall of the underground palace, Mr. Cui San sighed deeply, with a look of public-spirited eagerness on his face.

"Mr. Cui, you are too kind. Sincerity can move mountains and break rocks!"

Gu Yunli replied politely, thinking, he has been observing Mr. Cui San during this period, and Mr. Cui San is also observing him? !
"Mr. Gu really has a good heart! But Mr. Gu is neither arrogant nor impatient. I'm afraid the county god only looks at the results and not the process."

"Oh, please enlighten me, Mr. Cui San."

"I don't deserve your advice, but I don't want to hinder Mr. Gu's bright future!"

Master Cui San paused and said:
"To be honest with you, Uncle Gu, this Tian'an Village is actually full of incense. It depends on whether Uncle Gu dares to take it."

"Oh? Where is the incense?"

"Twenty-one households of underworld spirits in Tian'an, and eleven households of lonely ghosts in Xipogang."

Mr. Cui Sanye had a meaningful look on his face.

The so-called underworld gods and ghosts are the ghosts who feast on the incense and offerings of their descendants, such as Zhao Mancang under Gu Yunli.

"Where do they get the incense from?"

"They don't have it, but they can ask for it from others, right? As long as Uncle Gu turns a blind eye, twenty sticks of incense can be offered to the underground palace on time every month."

Mr. Cui Sanye smiled brightly, feeling confident of winning.

When Gu Yunli heard this, a hint of coldness flashed in the depths of his eyes.

He finally understood why Tian'an Temple was said to have more incense than the county city god temple?

It turns out that he was just keeping the enemy for his own benefit!

At this time, Mr. Cui San came over, obviously intending to drag him into the water.

"Mr. Cui has found a way to make a fortune!"

Gu Yunli smiled and said, "Speaking of which, I also have a plan to make money. I wonder if Mr. Cui is interested?"

"Please tell me clearly, Lord Tubo!"

"I have a method, a technique of praying to the gods, called the Internet, which can be prayed for by burning incense and chanting mantras. If Mr. Cui can help me spread it throughout the country, I can also offer twenty sticks of incense every month, how about that?"

Mr. Cui was stunned for a moment, then he chuckled and said, "I am a humble man, but I am willing to speak for you and spread the word to the people in the village. However, please accept the incense from the gods and the people of the underworld."

Gu Yunli shook his head upon hearing this: "A gentleman loves money but gets it in a proper way. Mr. Cui, please go back. Although I am short of money, I will not risk my official position."

"Mr. Gu, you are worrying too much. This matter is known to heaven, earth, you and me. So where is the risk?"

"Bodhisattvas fear causes, and sentient beings fear consequences. You and I are both practitioners, so it is better not to do some things!"

Mr. Cui San's expression suddenly froze.

Is a land god who is unwilling to go along with the corrupt people still a good land god?

Will he be able to feel at ease accepting the incense donations he receives under various pretexts in the future?

Cui Sanye put away his smile and said with a pointed look: "Your Excellency is far-sighted, but it will be too late to cram for help when the incense is gone."

"Really? What a coincidence, the incense has already arrived."

Gu Yunli raised the bent wooden staff and lightly tapped the ground. In an instant, the underground palace in the underworld and the land temple in the world overlapped.

The scene in the land temple then came into the sight of the two.

(End of this chapter)