The civil judge put the judge's pen in his sleeve and said something to the military judge beside him.
"There are practitioners in the temples of the living who have invited me to meet them. I will leave for a moment!"
Judge Wu stopped writing and listened for a while, but heard no sound. Then he drew a line in front of him with his pen, and ripples appeared in front of his eyes, showing the scene in the side hall of the temple.
There was a man in a blue shirt with wide sleeves, who was arranging offerings and pouring wine, and bowing to the statue of Wenpan.
At the same moment when Judge Wu picked up his pen to draw the scene, the other party seemed to sense something and looked up at the other judge statue next to Judge Wen. His eyes seemed to meet the two judges, the civil and military judges, of the underworld across the Yin and Yang, causing both judges to feel a chill in their hearts.
"Wenpan can go by himself. I will keep an eye on the situation in the temple!"
Upon hearing this, Judge Wen stood up and without saying anything else, he bowed to Judge Wu and walked out of the Merits and Demerits Department.
In the side hall of the City God Temple, Ji Yuan glanced in the direction of the Wupan statue when he just felt something. He could vaguely feel some kind of gaze and thought that the underworld must have noticed him.
Sure enough, not long after, the invisible image of Judge Wen stepped out from the statue and landed next to Ji Yuan. He was wearing ink-colored official robes and hat, and his black beard and black hair showed his vicissitudes of life.
Ji Yuan hurriedly bowed to Judge Wen.
"My name is Ji Yuan. I have something to bother you with. I hope you can forgive me and take some time to talk to me!"
Seeing the tribute of wine and the other party's humble and polite attitude, Wen Pan's attitude naturally softened. In addition, he couldn't see the other party's intention clearly, so he naturally returned the greeting as well.
"Sir, you are too kind. If you have anything to say, just tell me."
Ji Yuan smiled, thinking that this judge should be easy to talk to, and pointed his left hand towards the altar.
"Please have some, Wenpan. We can talk while we eat!"
Wen Pan was quite free and easy. Upon hearing that, he picked up a wine glass, sniffed it, and drank it all in one gulp. However, when he put the glass down, Ji Yuan clearly saw that there was still wine in the glass, but there was no smell of alcohol.
Ji Yuan smiled and waved his hand, and the remaining wine in Wen Pan's glass disappeared. While refilling the other person's glass, he began to explain his purpose.
"I guess Wen Pan still remembers that there was a famous Zuo family in Juntian Prefecture?"
"Yes, of course I have an impression of him. He is the best in the martial arts world and has a great reputation."
"Has the Zuo family ever produced any extremely evil people who would offend the underworld?"
Wen Pan answered after eating another piece of rice cake.
"That has never happened."
If you are more open-minded, it will be more appropriate to think that the predecessors did not make any major mistakes.
"Speaking of which, the Zuo family has some connections with me, so my visit this time is a private matter..."
Ji Yuan spoke slowly, speaking the truth but not the whole story. He tried his best to express the intention of a cultivator who owed a favor to the Zuo family and wanted to lend a helping hand.
One yin, one yang, one human and one ghost, they chatted with each other for a long time in the side hall of the City God Temple on this rainy day, and no other pilgrims came in during this time.
When the rain outside stopped, the conversation between the two sides naturally ended.
Wen Pan just listened and nodded frequently. He not only listened to Ji Yuan talking about the Zuo family's affairs, but also occasionally chatted with him about other things. Although he could not get Ji Yuan's background, he felt it carefully during the conversation and realized that this man was knowledgeable and open-minded, and must be a man of integrity.
What the visitor said was naturally a piece of cake for Wen Pan and not a big deal. In addition, he had a good impression of Ji Yuan after the conversation, so he agreed readily at the end of the conversation.
"Don't worry, Mr. Ji. The underworld of Juntianfu will definitely take good care of the Zuo family. The virtuous among the deceased Zuo family members will also be given priority to join the underworld. Tonight I will personally go to see how the Zuo family is doing now and put them in the corresponding collection!"
Wen Pan made the promise himself, and Ji Yuan heaved a sigh of relief. The key was that he didn't have to go see the City God, so he hurriedly bowed again.
"Thank you for your patience. I will take my leave now!"
Wen Pan and Ji Yuan were in a good mood after chatting for such a long time. Even some difficult and complicated matters in the underworld's judgment were pointed out by Ji Yuan with witty words. Now he bowed in return.
"I will do my best!"
After watching Ji Yuan leave, Wen Pan saw that the number of pilgrims gradually increased as the heavy rain had stopped. He glanced at the altar and after taking away the remaining stack of cakes and half a pot of wine, he returned to the underworld.
After leaving the City God Temple, Ji Yuan let out a long sigh, breathing in the fresher air after the rain, and felt more relaxed.
"Finally, I have finished everything. It's a rare trip to Juntian Mansion, so I'm going to satisfy my appetite!"
. . .
At midnight that night, on the banks of the Yuanzi River outside Juntianfu City, the lights in the houses where the Yan family lived had already been turned off and everyone had gone to sleep.
The civil and military judges of the Juntianfu City God's Merit and Demerit Department all came here.
Before they even got close to the area, the civil and military judges had already sensed something strange.
Ghosts and gods like them can see some special things in their respective territories. For example, when looking at the Yan family's area at this moment, the overall view presents a sense of clarity in the dark night.
It wasn't that something was emitting light, but it gave the two judges a feeling of uprightness and clarity. Originally, the two judges came to see the Zuo family's gate together because they were curious about the relationship between the Zuo family and Ji Yuan, but now they were more curious about what was inside.
"Let's go and find out what's going on!"
The two judges moved forward again together, and soon they were close to the Yan family shop. However, when they arrived here, an invisible ripple that even the judges could not see clearly spread through the air, but it made the two of them feel it slightly.
Walking all the way to the main courtyard of the Zuo family, passing through the gate wall and entering the lobby, a copy of calligraphy that had not yet been brought into the city for mounting was placed on the Eight Immortals Table. In the eyes of the judge, it presented a sense of heavy energy. Looking at it, the night was transparent and there was no light but it was bright.
When I scanned the handwriting, it was exactly: Peace and health, immunity to all evil, determination and hard work, hard work will not be in vain! This is a gift to the descendants of Zuo!
"The decree!" "The decree!"
The civil and military judges expressed their astonishment in unison, their tones rarely out of control.
Wu Pan looked at Wen Pan and said:
"Who was that person who drank and talked with you during the day? Can you sense his profound magical powers?"
Wen Pan also answered while recalling.
"I didn't realize it at all. If he hadn't called upon the gods to stop the water from leaking the wine, it would have been..."
Wen Pan said this, paused, and looked at Wu Pan.
"Like a mortal!"
"Hiss..."
Even though Wu Pan didn't need to breathe, he took a deep breath and recalled the glimpse of Yin and Yang in the daytime.
The two judges looked at each other for a long time, and then Judge Wu seemed to suddenly remember something.
"The other day, a night patrol reported a strange incident. It was said that a scholar who owned a writing shop in the city had obtained a magical calligraphy piece. Even the ghosts couldn't look at it directly at night. Could it be that this was also a decree left by Mr. Ji?"
"I guess so!"
Wen Pan carefully appreciated the calligraphy on the table again and couldn't help but sigh.
"What a good handwriting... This Zuo family is incredible!"
"Hmph, the decree left by the master is also based on the law of fate. Judging from the meaning of the words in the decree, if the Zuo family really has an unfilial descendant who does not know what is good for him, it will violate the true meaning of the decree..."
"That's when the time comes!"
Wen Pan smiled and stroked his beard, sighing, then he took out a special chapter book and wrote on it with a judge's pen: Jun Tianfu Zuo Clan...
Inside the house, Zuo Boran and his wife were already asleep.
For some reason, Zuo Boran woke up at this moment and smelled a faint fragrance, like the scent of sandalwood in a temple.
The decree made Zuo Boran, a mere mortal, smell the scent of Shinto incense.
Zuo Boran felt something was strange, so he put on his clothes and wanted to go out to take a look. However, he lifted the curtain and went to the outer hall separated by a wall. There was nothing unusual inside, and the smell of sandalwood was even stronger.
"Strange, there is no incense in the house..."
The two judges looked at the old man Zuo Boran twitching his nose and looked at each other again.
"Could it be that this person can actually smell it?"
“It must be the influence of the law!”
Wu Pan suddenly smiled and said something to Wen Pan, which made the latter smile as well.
"We have worked together for many years, and it is rare that Wu Pan is interested in this. Okay, let's do it!"
The civil and military judges actually took the initiative to reveal their Dharma images as soon as they finished speaking.
Two men wearing ink-colored official robes and hats, one with a red beard and the other with a black beard, holding seals and pens, suddenly appeared in front of him, scaring Zuo Boran to death.
"Oh my! You guys..."
Zuo Boran fell backwards, his hands stretched out and he could not speak clearly with slight trembling.
Especially since the two people in front of him seemed to be shrouded in shadow, it was extremely scary. Even though Zuo Boran had martial arts skills, he was still so frightened that he was speechless.
“Hahahahaha… Don’t be afraid, Mr. Zuo. We are the civil and military judges under the City God of Juntian Prefecture. We are entrusted by the masters to come here to determine the status of the Zuo family.”
"Old man, old man, what's wrong with you?"
There was a sound coming from the inner room.
Wen Pan also smiled and bowed slightly to Zuo Boran.
"This matter is over, I will take my leave now!"
After saying this, the civil and military judges turned around, walked out of the door and disappeared, leaving Zuo Boran, who was sweating and gasping for air, half-collapsed on the ground to calm down.