Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 45 Yama, the King of Hell

The scholar Zhu Erdan remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Three months ago, I went to the Ten Kings' Palace outside the city," he said slowly.

"It was raining that day, and I was taking shelter in the palace when I fell asleep. When I woke up, I found myself lying next to a stone tablet with some strange characters carved on it."

"Since then, I've found that my memory has become exceptionally good. I can remember a book after reading it once, and I can repeat what I've heard once. I can even remember things from my childhood very clearly."

Zhou Ning frowned: "Isn't this a good thing?"

Zhu Erdan smiled wryly: "If it's just that my memory has improved, that's certainly a good thing. But... my personality has changed too."

"What's changed?"

"I've become... indifferent." Zhu Erdan lowered his head.

"I used to enjoy drinking and chatting with my friends, and I liked helping others. But now, I'm not interested in any of that. I feel... I feel that the people around me are stupid and not worth associating with."

He looked up, his eyes filled with confusion:

"Young Master Zhou, am I... possessed by something?"

Zhou Ning did not answer immediately, but instead reached out and placed his hand on Zhu Erdan's wrist, probing a wisp of his internal energy into his body.

As the protective energy coursed through Zhu Erdan's meridians, Zhou Ning's expression gradually turned serious.

Within Zhu Erdan's body, there was an extremely faint yet exceptionally pure spiritual energy flowing.

That wasn't something he cultivated; it was... something from elsewhere.

"Young Master Zhu, have you been to any unusual places recently? Or come into contact with anything unusual?" Zhou Ning asked.

Zhu Erdan thought for a moment and said, "The special place... is the Ten Kings Hall. The special thing... right, when I woke up, I was holding a copper coin in my hand."

He took out a copper coin from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Ning.

Zhou Ning took the copper coin and examined it carefully.

The copper coin is very old, and the writing on it is already blurred and illegible.

However, Zhou Ning could sense a faint trace of spiritual energy remaining on the copper coin.

"Where did you get this copper coin?" he asked.

Zhu Erdan said, "I don't know. It was in my hand when I woke up. I tried to throw it away, but every time I did, it would reappear on my pillow the next day."

Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat.

There's something wrong with this copper coin.

He closed his eyes and poured more of his inner energy into the copper coin.

The copper coin was slightly warm, and a blurry image flashed through his mind.

It was a gloomy hall, in which sat a man dressed in a red robe with a dignified face, holding a pen and flipping through a thick book.

Judge?

Zhou Ning felt a chill run down his spine and opened his eyes.

"Young Master Zhu, I will keep this copper coin for now. You should stay home and rest well for the time being. I'm going to check on the Ten Kings Palace."

Zhu Erdan quickly said, "Young Master Zhou, that place... is very eerie. Won't it be dangerous for you to go alone?"

Zhou Ning smiled and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

He put away the copper coins, left Zhu Erdan's house, and headed towards the Ten Kings Palace outside the city.

The Ten Kings Temple is located on a small hill three miles outside the county seat of Guobei.

When Zhou Ning arrived, it was already close to dusk.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the glazed tiles of the palace, reflecting a dark red light, making it look like a burning palace from afar.

The palace doors were wide open, and the interior was pitch black, with no way of knowing its depths.

Two stone statues stand at the entrance, one with a bull's head and the other with a horse's face, their faces ferocious and lifelike.

Zhou Ning stood outside the hall, observing carefully.

A faint sandalwood scent filled the air, mixed with a subtle, almost imperceptible chill.

This was different from the demonic aura he had sensed at Lanruo Temple; it was deeper and more ancient.

"The Hall of the Ten Kings... enshrines the Ten Kings of Hell." Zhou Ning muttered to himself.

"This is a temple of the underworld on earth; it should be protected by deities. Why does it exude an eerie atmosphere?"

He stepped into the hall.

The interior of the main hall appears more spacious than the exterior.

In the very center are ten tall statues, namely King Qin Guang, King Chu Jiang, King Song Di, King Wu Guan, King Yama, King Bian Cheng, King Tai Shan, King Du Shi, King Ping Deng, and King Zhuan Lun.

Each statue is more than two people tall, with a dignified face, holding a tablet, looking down at the visitors.

On the altar in front of the statue, several eternal lamps were placed, their flickering light casting an unpredictable glow over the hall.

The ground in front of the offering table was covered with thick prayer cushions, which were covered with dust, indicating that no one had come to worship for a long time.

Zhou Ning looked around but found nothing unusual.

He walked up to the statue of Yama, looked up at the majestic face, and felt an inexplicable sense of awe.

"King Yama rules over hell and judges the souls of the dead. This Hall of the Ten Kings must be the underworld's office on earth," he murmured.

"Zhu Erdan slept here and suddenly developed a photographic memory... Could it be that he encountered something?"

He continued walking towards the rear.

Behind the main hall is a small courtyard with several cypress trees and an ancient well beneath them.

The well opening was covered by a thick stone slab with some runes engraved on it.

Zhou Ning walked to the well, squatted down, and carefully examined the runes.

The runes were ancient, somewhat similar to those he had seen in the cave in Baihe Village, but much more complex.

He could sense that the runes contained a powerful sealing force, as if they were suppressing something.

"There's something in the well." Zhou Ning frowned, not daring to open it rashly.

He stood up and continued walking deeper into the courtyard.

At the far end of the courtyard was a side hall.

The palace doors were ajar, and a faint light shone through.

Zhou Ning gently pushed open the door and went inside.

The side hall is much smaller than the main hall, and contains only one statue.

It was a man dressed in a red robe with a dignified face, holding a pen in his hand and a thick booklet spread out on his lap.

Lu Pan.

Zhou Ning had seen records of Judge Lu in ancient books.

He is a judge under the Ten Kings of Hell, responsible for judging the souls of the dead and determining their merits and demerits.

"Zhu Erdan said he fell asleep here. When he woke up, he had an extra copper coin in his hand."

Zhou Ning walked up to the statue of Lu Pan and examined it carefully.

The eyes of the statue seem to be different from those of the other statues.

The eyes of the other statues are looking down, but Lu Pan's eyes are looking straight ahead, as if he is watching something.

Zhou Ning stared at those eyes for a moment, then suddenly felt dizzy.

He quickly looked away and took a few steps back.

"This statue... is strange."

He took a deep breath, channeled his inner energy to his eyes, and looked at the statue of Judge Lu again.

This time, he saw something different.

A faint, ethereal light seemed to flow across the surface of the sculpture.

That wasn't ordinary spiritual energy, but... divine thought.

Someone is controlling this statue with divine power.

Zhou Ning felt a chill run down his spine and gripped the Qingfeng sword tightly.

"Come out," he said in a deep voice. "I know you're inside."