Invitation to Lingyu Realm

"Stay right there, conman!" a man yelled. Evidently, he was angered to the point veins were bulging on both sides near his eyebrows. If the phone in his hand didn't cost him over a grand to buy, he would have thrown it at the conman.

Beside him were a few other villagers whose money was scammed by the same person.

"You're crazy! You too! All of you are crazy! I'm sure that everyone in this village is crazy for sure!" the conman yelled in reply. But his response couldn't hide the fact his pockets were filled with cash he scammed from them.

One would notice an altar in the middle of a courtyard if they tried to see where these people come from. And beyond that courtyard was a cemetery. Based on the tributes on the altar, it was evident that a ceremonial ritual was ongoing to appease the ancestor's anger.

But how would the villagers with poor education know that the Chen Xuan standing before them was a conman?

All he had was a vague understanding of Taoism, Ghost-Catching, and Fengshui-Related matter? Still, paired with his eloquent speech, he effortlessly scams over a million Yuan from them before planning his escape.

Unfortunately, a sly fox eventually falls into a trap. His lies were exposed when a real Taoist appeared to point out all his lies. And that's what lead to this cat and mouse chase right now.

But none of them, the villagers, the Taoist and Chen Xuan, noticed a pair of special guests looking at them from the shadows.

Well, even if they wished to, they couldn't unless the pair of guests were willing to reveal their divine presence to the mortals here.

-----

"High God Shen-Ming, is the person you're looking at the same one as mine?" the female accompanying this divine presence said. His title undoubtedly sounded a little quirky, but he has a divinity as remarkable as his name.

"Middle God Yuan-Ling, why not you guess who I am looking at?" the High-God replied to her query with a smile on his face.

"The Taoist?" said the Middle-God as her fingers pointed at the Taoist following the group from behind. "His footsteps were steady and firm, which is a good representation of a disciplined Taoism-Practitioner," she added.

"Wrong. In fact, I am looking at the person they're chasing." the High-God pointed at Chen Xuan, who was taking the lead.

"Him?" the reply from High God Shen-Ming got her by surprise.

"How can an eloquent speech conman caught the High-God's attention?" the Middle-God's gaze focused on the Chen Xuan dressed in a messy, yellow Taoist robe paired with black jeans. He supposes to have a hat with him, but it fell when he turned around and cussed at the villagers.

"Why would High-God think that he's a better choice compared to the Taoist?" Middle God Yuan-Ling asked. "Won't the better foundation Taoist be a more sensible choice to send into Lingyu Realm?" she added.

"The Taoist might be a better choice, but better doesn't mean wiser. With his rigidity, I would question whether he could survive there for more than ten days," the High-God replied. But there's a hint of sighing he's trying to hide at the end of his reply.

As for that conman... He's an interesting one. Can't you see that he's pretty good at running and was an opportunist? He might possibly survive more than ten days over there." the High-God added. There's no doubt that he had taken a liking in Chen Xuan.

This was not their first time sending a candidate over to the world they called Lingyu Realm from their conversation. But through their grim expression, the possibility of failure is relatively high as well.

And after speaking out what is in his mind, the High-God's expression remains serious. From its look, the matter related to Lingyu Realm was a complicated subject to the gods.

"I'm afraid he might not survive past the first day with that kind of physique." the Middle-God had a different impression in Chen Xuan, who was about to get off from the mountain road.

"That might not be the case... Look at that intersection." the High-God interrupted.

Unsure if it was pure coincidence or factored in his calculation, a hauling vehicle was coming from another end of the mountain road. That intersection actually led to a Peach Plantation. Because the truck came out much earlier than Chen Xuan, the driver failed to notice someone catching up to the truck's carriage.

Using his belt like a hook, Chen Xuan latches on one of the steel rods before putting his legs over the truck's registration plate. Using that part of the hauler's carriage as his stepping board, Chen Xuan quickly got inside the carriage filled with fruits, timber, and trimmings from the trees.

"GOODBYE, YOU MISERABLE BASTARDS!" Chen Xuan shouted after he stood firmly inside the carriage. His heart was at ease as the distance between him and the villagers pulled further and further.

"I'll come back to scam you next time! Remember to save more until my return! I'll use this money to live lavishly!" Chen Xuan continued to provoke them by kissing a stack of the banknotes he took out from his pocket.

The villagers soon panted and stopped to catch up with their breathing.

"Huh... Huh... Why nobody tried to grab their car and chase him?" the leading villager turned around and asked. He seemed unwilling to give up.

"How? Our keys were still inside the Memorial Hall." one of the villagers answered.

"Memorial Hall? Didn't he come out from the hall just now? That conman might have left with all our car keys! Quick! Get someone back there to take a look!" the angry villager hurriedly said.

The two gods left to follow the more interesting Chen Xuan inside the truck's carriage. It seems they decided to pick Chen Xuan as the candidate for this mysterious Lingyu Realm.

Meanwhile...

Chen Xuan is entertaining himself by throwing the keys into the ditch one by one. Clapping his hand after he was done with the keys, Chen Xuan proceeded to sneak around the carriage to see what goods it was transporting.

'Woods and more woods... Don't tell me there's nothing to eat inside here? I'll be starved to death if this car not making a stop in between its journey...' Chen Xuan complained while moving from one stack of woods to another.

Soon, his sight landed on a stack of boxes neatly arranged above a wooden pellet. The word "Golden Peach Garden" printed on the box made his stomach growled immediately. Chen Xuan picked up his pace and appeared beside the wooden pellet without a hint of reservation on his face.

Looking at the beautiful peaches about the size of his fist packed inside each of the boxes, Chen Xuan's evil claw began to work its way into the uppermost box. Like how a werewolf stripped its victim from her dress, Chen Xuan tears the paper wrappings apart.

He behaves like a hungry beast as he plants his teeth into one of the peaches.

"Ah! So sweet!" a smile appeared on his face, with a hint of satisfaction. There's no doubt that these were some premium quality fruits based on how nicely they were packed. But to a conman like Chen Xuan, it would only be counted as sweet when one doesn't have to pay a single cent for it.

Before Chen Xuan realized that this would be the last meal, he was caught in a car accident. All he remembered was spitting the pebble inside the peach out before a deafening sound came to him. And he's still wondering what came into his hand before he lost consciousness.

-----

"High God Shen-Ming... Won't we look suspicious if we send this soul straight to the Lingyu Realm?" the Middle-God seems to have some reservation as they appeared within the toppled carriage.

Evidently, this truck was caught in a road accident. But the worst thing is both gods didn't predict something like this to happen, and it was entirely a coincidence that they were right here at the right time.

It just happened while both gods were still planning on how to appears before this mortal. But after this accident, the mortal literally has no other choice to listen to what they got to say.

"What Middle God Yuan-Ling indeed makes sense. If we're sending him there right away, it will make us look suspicious for sure. How problematic..." the High God Shen-Ming pinches his chin out of habit while he is thinking.

Taking advantage of this mortal after his death would indeed leaving bad taste on them. But the matter related to this so-called Lingyu Realm cannot be delayed either.

*Woo...*

And while they were busy considering the option they had, Chen Xuan's spirit had slowly separated itself from the dead body. The first thing this spirit did was wandering around the peaches that was turned into juicy pulps.

"Mortal... Can you hear me?" the High-God tried to communicate with Chen Xuan's spirit but failed to get the desired reply. It was evident that the consciousness and soul were gone.

Right now, this spirit was just a mere ghost resembling Chen Xuan.

"Look's like I had no other choice." High God Shen-Ming flicked a wisp of divinity into Chen Xuan's Spirit.

"What happened? What am I doing here? And what's wrong with my body?" Chen Xuan's mind and soul immediately returned to this spiritual vessel. His mind was bombarded with questions as he tried remembering what had transpired.

"Mortal Chen Xuan." the High-God approached him with his hands clasped together over his back.

"I am High God Shen-Ming. As you can see, you're dead. Luckily, we have some affinity with each other. I want you to do something for me, and I'm willing to give you some benefits if you agree to help. Would you like to listen?" said the High-God.

"You sounded like a salesman doing his selling pitch. If you're asking for money, I don't have it. Shoo!" Chen Xuan replied.

"Impudence! This is the High God Shen-Ming you're speaking to!" the Middle-God Yuan-Ling quickly scolded Chen Xuan.

"You have guts, but can you escape the trial in hell after cheating so many innocent people? Including the group today, that's a total of 48 times, correct?" High God Shen-Ming chuckled.

"How do you..." Chen Xuan was going to question the High-God. Unfortunately, the arrival of two portals shining brilliantly on his left and right interrupted Chen Xuan from finishing his question.

Two silhouettes, one white and one black, slowly rise from the portal, head first.

"The guards of the underworld!" Chen Xuan panicked. As a conman with some knowledge of Taoism, he had a basis about what possibly happens when one dies.

"Are you ready to listen now?" the High God Shen-Ming asked the same question again.

"Go ahead." this time, Chen Xuan's expression was as bitter as he could be.

"My request is very straightforward. I want you to volunteer yourself to a place known as Lingyu Realm. I will give you your second life over there as long you're willing to perform an exorcism to the evil spirits there." the High-God said.

"Of course, we won't make you work for free. This middle God, Yuan-Ling, will give you a blessing before we send you there. As long you complete the objective of getting rid of the evil spirits, you're free to do anything you like during your time there."

"What do you think?" the High-God asked with a smile on his face.

"Do I look like I have a choice?" Chen Xuan softly yelled because the two underworld guards were halfway across the portal into this mortal world.

"Wise choice, mortal Chen Xuan." the High-God nodded. His attention then turned to the Middle God Yuan-Ling, as if he was giving her the approval to continue with the remaining procedure."

"Listen well, mortal Chen Xuan. The place you'll be going to is known as Lingyu Realm. Once you arrive there, immediately look for a human settlement unless you're tired of living."

"As for anything else, you'll know about them eventually when we met over there. I wish you good luck." the Middle-God said as she made the portal swallows Chen Xuan up.