Chapter 66 Office Ghost

Merit Officer Wang An saw that Li Xuan seemed unaware of the basic common sense regarding the superposition of "infinite" worlds and the "universe."

He patiently explained, "I did not achieve enlightenment in that world; rather, I happened to find it, brought it under my jurisdiction, and occasionally traveled there to gather information. For instance, when Lu Jian went to collect information, he encountered Zhang Miaoyuan, a person of exceptional character, and invited her to serve in Fengdu... What a pity, their fortune was ill-fated."

"Fengdu is not singular; rather, it consists of countless overlapping parallel worlds. Take my official title, Merit Officer Wang An, for example. In places unknown to me, there are countless iterations of myself—some old, some young, some middle-aged, and perhaps even of a different gender, who knows?"

"The higher one's official rank, the more worlds one can govern."

"As for beings like the Ten Kings of Hell, though numerous worlds all possess a Yama, in reality, they are all his true form. With his original self, he observes myriad worlds simultaneously!"

Li Xuan understood.

Fengdu existed in a state of overlapping parallel multiple worlds, where the more powerful a ghost or deity, the more worlds they could transcend and observe simultaneously.

It was like a skyscraper, with someone living on every floor, yet each person could only govern all the floors below their own.

Li Xuan scratched his head and said, "I am truly ashamed that my affairs have caused both Merit Officers to be punished."

Wang An smiled. "Do not blame yourself. Though the Black Code is stern, its purpose is to guide people toward goodness! We have unworthily served as Merit Officers for years, and seeing your uniqueness, we could not suppress our curiosity and thus made inquiries. This was our own fault, and we naturally deserve punishment."

Li Xuan asked, "I wish to consult the Merit Officer: for some reason, the spiritual energy in my world is exceedingly thin, and cultivation is completely devoid of the speed found in other worlds. What is the reason for this?"

Wang An shook his head and said, "It is not that I am unwilling to speak, but rather that the world you inhabit is so extraordinarily peculiar that its root cause is difficult to trace. Just now, as I attempted to reach it, who would have expected that it would consume a vast amount of magical power, yet still fail to advance even an inch. That I am able to converse with you now relies entirely on your magical power to operate the talisman paper, allowing us barely to communicate through sound... I am even unable to discern whether the Netherworld and the Underworld exist in that world."

Li Xuan waited with hopeful anticipation for the answer, never expecting that Wang An would not know either.

He ventured, "Could it be a Dharma-ending world?"

Wang An pondered for a moment and said, "I cannot make a rash judgment, but one thing can be stated: the world you inhabit is far more real and solid than any of the worlds I now know! With my abilities, should I go to your world, I fear that even if I exerted my magical power, I would find it difficult to lift a small stone weighing a mere few catties..."

Li Xuan wanted to ask further.

Wang An's figure began to grow somewhat scattered and faint. He said, "Heaven and earth are separated by an abyss, and the path is distant and long. To converse across such a gulf is mentally and physically exhausting. Another day, in another realm, we shall speak again. Let it end here. I hold you in high regard, and I eagerly hope that we shall have the affinity to work together in Fengdu in the future!"

The black smoke could not sustain itself and directly collapsed...

Li Xuan: "..."

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Did long-distance calls make Merit Officer Wang An suffer this much?

His emotions were somewhat complicated, not expecting that after formally requesting a Netherworld Merit Officer and having a brief chat, these two would be bound directly to copper pillars and beaten mercilessly!

Lu Jian was even more miserable. Because Xie Yali invited her grandmaster, the grandmaster even sent the Merit Officers into the Iron-Encompassing Mountain.

Holding the Black Code, Li Xuan decided not to let himself run wild under the guise of the "Northern Emperor's Special Pardon." He would follow the rules when rules were meant to be followed, and only commit a "minor" violation of the precepts when there was truly no other way.

He deeply understood that taking someone else's "convenience" for "granted" was extremely dislikable.

As a social introvert, during the period that followed, aside from cultivating every day by absorbing the spiritual energy stored within the purple-red gourd, he maintained his habit of fitness training. With combat sports and his previous return, he had practiced for over half a year; he had mastered the required moves and techniques, leaving only a vast amount of practice to accumulate experience.

He enrolled in a shooting club and weapon classes at a martial arts club.

Traveling across the heavens and myriad realms, Li Xuan felt that striving to become a "well-rounded" warrior was the right path: close combat with weapons, ranged attacks through shooting, spatial duels relying on techniques, and summoning powerful backers when clashing backgrounds!

The spiritual energy accumulated this time was considerable.

Li Xuan spent a full year in cultivation before exhausting it all.

The practice nurtured the person; adding all the time together—over a year—his age increased from twenty-four (the latter half of the year) to twenty-six. Yet the facial features and appearance on his face seemed frozen, showing not the slightest change. If forced to make a comparison by looking at a photograph from when he had just graduated, the current him had a newfound agility and wisdom in his eyes, with the pure foolishness diminished...

The spiritual energy in the gourd was depleted.

Li Xuan felt like a man who had squandered all his savings; his spine suddenly softened, and even his voice grew quieter.

Standing in the bathroom and looking at himself in the mirror, he smiled. Moderate fitness is merely for attracting the opposite sex, whereas wholehearted fitness attracts the same sex...

Looking at his own body with its exquisite muscle lines, his eyes held only appreciation for himself.

Very well!

It was time to work...

Li Xuan changed into a clean, comfortable set of clothes, stood by the windowsill looking toward the direction of the garden, and said, "Assign a mission."

The tender shoots in the garden sensed his demand, swayed gently, and green light crossed time and space, instantly wrapping around Li Xuan before transforming into a breeze and vanishing the next second.

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Hong Kong, New Territories, Star Ring Office Building.

This office building had been completed for many years. Because of its favorable geographical location, it had always been the preferred choice for small companies to move into. However, starting ten years ago, between the seventh and ninth lunar months every year, exactly nine people would die. To date, ninety people had already died.

Although Hong Kong enjoyed religious freedom with many beliefs, some matters could not be discussed openly.

Because these deceased individuals did not all die inside the office building—while jumping from buildings accounted for the majority, others died in car accidents, drowning, or fires, with a wide variety of causes.

Strangely enough, despite people dying like this every year, the business performance of the companies stationed in the office building remained remarkably good...

The bosses of these companies shared a tacit understanding: every year when recruiting employees, they went to great lengths to conceal the fact that nine people were bound to die annually, because they treated these deaths as sacrifices.

Although this sounded somewhat horrifying by modern standards, viewed from an ancient mindset, it made much more sense.

In pursuit of favorable weather for crops and peace along riverbanks, there had been no shortage of offerings like the Five Sacrifices to deities, marrying wives to the River Lord, and filling rivers with human lives...

Standing on the street was a young man wearing a suit, dress pants, and a necktie, with a pair of moderately priced leather shoes on his feet and glasses on his face—the standard, quintessential look of an office worker and corporate beast.

This young man was Li Xuan.

Having just arrived in this world, he first confirmed the era's background and immediately received a task from the black notebook: [Please resolve the cyclical curse of nine deaths per year at the Star Ring Office Building from its root cause.]

This name was quite distinctive and very easy to look up. Just as he arrived at the base of the office building, he brushed against a man with a buzz cut, which instantly triggered the information for contacting a key figure, allowing him to learn the plot details concerning this world.

It turned out that this world originated from a movie titled *Office Has Ghosts*, a film composed of three short stories, all of which took place inside the Star Ring Building.