20demayo Chapter 12 King Yama, do you think my kneeling posture is correct?
Chapter 12 King Yama, do you think my kneeling posture is correct?
King Qin Guang!
These three words were like three great mountains, crashing down on Chu Jiang's soul.
He felt his soul fire flickering under this pressure, as if it might be extinguished at any moment.
At the ferry crossing, all the ghosts, including the vampire count from the West, kept their heads bowed low, wishing they could bury themselves in the ground, and even stopped breathing.
Meng Po bowed slightly, her posture respectful yet neither servile nor arrogant, clearly indicating that her status was extraordinary.
At the entire Sanzu Ferry, only two people were still standing.
One was the disheveled, mysterious Taoist priest at the end of the line; he remained like a lifeless statue.
The other one is Chujiang.
It wasn't that he didn't want to kneel; it was the oppressive aura emanating from the robes of the King of Hell that pinned him to the spot, rendering him unable to move.
King Qin Guang stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes, which seemed to have seen through life and death, calmly gazing at the Chu River.
He didn't unleash any killing intent, but the absolute dominance emanating from his level of existence was more despairing than any killing intent.
"You just said that I... should obediently stand in line?"
King Qin Guang's voice was flat, revealing no emotion.
Chu Jiang's mind raced, and cold sweat trickled down his body.
He took a deep breath, and then, to the horror of all the ghosts, he actually gave King Qin Guang a smile that was more like a grimace.
"Reporting back to Your Majesty."
Chu Jiang's voice was a little hoarse, but he remained relatively calm.
"I was blind and did not recognize Your Majesty. I have offended Your Majesty and deserve to die."
He first admitted his mistake, adopting an extremely humble posture.
Then, he changed the subject.
"However, every word I just said came from the bottom of my heart."
Upon hearing this, even Meng Po couldn't help but glance at him.
Is this kid trying to get himself killed?
King Qin Guang raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly showing some interest.
"Oh? Tell me about it."
"Your Majesty, look at this ferry crossing." Chu Jiang pointed around and then to the stone tablet.
"In the past, this place was filled with resentment and evil spirits. When the dead crossed the river, only one in ten survived, which seriously affected the KPIs and the image of our underworld."
KPIs? Image?
The several spirits accompanying King Qin Guang looked at each other, clearly not understanding.
"That's why I made a rule that all spirits, whether good or evil, high or low, must be treated equally by me."
Chu Jiang's voice grew louder, carrying a sense of self-righteousness.
"Because rules are the cornerstone of the underworld's stability! If even rules can be trampled on at will, then what difference is there between us and those corrupt and chaotic officialdoms in the mortal world?"
He straightened his back and looked directly at King Qin Guang.
"I didn't know you were the king before, so I dared to stop you. Now that I know you are the king, I'm even more determined to stop you!"
"Because you are the head of the Ten Kings of Hell, the creator and guardian of all the rules of the Underworld! You should set an example and demonstrate the impartiality of the Underworld to the Three Realms and Six Paths! What is this called? This is called... this is called the power of example!"
Chu Jiang spoke more and more fluently, as if he were not facing a life-or-death situation, but rather conducting onboarding training for a new employee.
"Think about it, if you don't queue today, will the judges of the Underworld also skip the queue tomorrow? And the head of the Reincarnation Department the day after? If this continues, won't the order I've worked so hard to establish become nothing but a piece of paper? Where will the face of the Underworld be then?"
He gave his concluding remarks.
"Therefore, I dare to ask Your Majesty... to form a queue! What you are lining up is not just a queue, but the unchanging law of my Underworld! The discipline of my millions of underworld officials!"
After saying that, Chu Jiang's legs went weak, and he knelt down with a thud.
He looked up and gazed earnestly at King Qin-Guang-Wang.
"Your Majesty, I have finished speaking. Do you think what I said makes sense? If not, then execute me right now. If it makes even the slightest bit of sense… will you go and queue up yourself, or should I help you?"
The entire ferry crossing was deathly silent.
All the ghosts thought Chu Jiang had gone mad.
This isn't about reasoning anymore, this is about forcing someone to abdicate! It's like putting the King of Hell on a fire in front of all the ghosts!
One of the golden-armored generals behind King Qin Guang could not contain himself and stepped forward, shouting sternly.
"How dare you! A mere ferryman dares to point fingers at the king! You're asking for trouble!"
He unleashed a terrifying aura at the level of a Ghost General, and was about to make his move.
"Step back."
King Qin Guang uttered two words indifferently.
The golden-armored general's imposing aura vanished instantly, and he respectfully retreated.
King Qin Guang looked at Chu Jiang, who was kneeling on the ground with his neck stiff and an expression that said, "I have rendered service to the underworld, I have shed blood for the netherworld, I want to see King Yama," and fell silent.
a long time.
"Haha...hahahaha!"
A hearty laugh, filled with supreme majesty, emanated from King Qin Guang's mouth, causing ripples to spread throughout the Nether River.
He stepped forward and personally helped Chu Jiang up.
"Excellent! What a powerful example! What an age-old rule!"
King Qin Guang patted Chu Jiang on the shoulder with such force that it almost shattered Chu Jiang's soul.
"I have ruled the Netherworld for countless years, and this is the first time someone has dared to talk to me about this principle."
He looked at Chu-Jiang with eyes full of approval.
"You're much better. Much more interesting than Cui Jue, that blockhead who just reads from the book."
Judge Cui, who was reviewing official documents at the Investigation Department, sneezed without warning.
"I approve of the rules you set."
King Qin Guang pointed to the stone tablet, his voice echoing in all directions.
"From this day forward, the rules of the Three Crossings shall be the laws of the underworld. From Yama, the King of Hell, to the lowest demon, all who cross this river must abide by them. Those who violate them shall be dealt with by the ferryman at his sole discretion, executed first and reported later!"
boom!
These words were even more terrifying than the oppressive aura from before.
All the ghosts looked at Chu Jiang with the same eyes they would give a god.
This... this is like getting a royal decree, plus an unlimited firing license!
"As for me..."
King Qin Guang smiled, and actually turned around, walked to the end of the line, and stood behind the mysterious Taoist priest.
"Today, I, the king, will also experience what it's like to queue."
Even the King of Hell himself is queuing up!
This scene completely overturned the worldviews of all the ghosts present.
Chu Jiang watched Qin Guangwang's retreating figure and let out a long sigh of relief; his back was already soaked with cold sweat.
Bet right.
"Let's get to work!"
Chu Jiang cleared his throat, resumed his lazy demeanor, and beckoned the next ghost to board the boat.
With the King of Hell personally overseeing the end of the line, the order at the ferry crossing was better than ever before, and even the noisy ghosts disappeared.
However, just as Chu Jiang had ferryed two ghosts across the river and was about to call for the next one...
"Gurgle... gurgle..."
The tranquil River of the Underworld began to bubble without warning.
The clear river water churned violently as if it had been boiled.
A sweet, pungent aroma, carrying the scent of ancient times, wafted from the depths of the riverbed.
"boom--"
With a loud bang, a huge column of water suddenly burst open in the middle of the river and shot into the sky.
Immediately afterwards, an enormous head slowly rose from the vortex.
The head resembled a small mountain, covered in dark green scales. Its two eyes, like enormous lanterns, gleamed with a greedy and cruel light. When it opened its mouth, it revealed a mouthful of fangs like sharp swords, and foul-smelling saliva dripped into the river, making a "sizzling" sound of corrosion.
"It's...it's an ancient water monster, a soul-devouring beast!" A knowledgeable old ghost let out a desperate scream, his soul body turning transparent with fright.
"It...wasn't it suppressed at the bottom of the River of the Underworld for three thousand years? How did it wake up!"
"We're doomed! It's going to swallow us all!"
The ghosts in line instantly erupted into chaos, screaming and scattering in all directions. The once orderly queue crumbled in an instant.
Even the vampire count turned pale with fright and hid behind Meng Po.
Only King Qin Guang and the mysterious Taoist priest remained standing in place, their expressions unchanged.
The Soul-Devouring Beast was clearly awakened by the scent of the Holy Water of Merit. It took a deep breath, inhaling the spiritual energy of merit floating on the river surface, and let out a satisfied roar.
Then, its enormous eyes fixed on the Yellow Springs Spirit Boat that radiated a rich light of merit and virtue.
In its eyes, the ship was a delicious feast.
It opened its blood-red maw, creating towering waves, and lunged at Chu Jiang and his ship.
"Young Master Chu, be careful!" Meng Po exclaimed, about to intervene.
King Qin Guang frowned slightly, preparing to raise his hand.
However, Chu Jiang simply yawned.
Looking at the enormous, all-encompassing maw, he calmly pulled something out of the cabin.
It was a baseball bat, entirely black, gleaming with a metallic sheen, and with an antique design.
"What are you yelling about in the middle of the night?"
Chu Jiang slung the baseball bat over his shoulder, looking displeased.
"Don't you know that disturbing the peace is illegal? Don't you have any sense of public decency?"
Amidst the incredulous gazes of all the ghosts, he leaped high into the air, facing the gigantic maw, gripped the baseball bat tightly with both hands, and, using all the power of the Ghost King, struck a standard swinging stance.
"Take this! A heart-shaped home run!"
"Bang--!"
A deafeningly clear sound echoed through the netherworld.
That seemingly ordinary baseball bat struck the Soul-Devouring Beast squarely in one of its front teeth.