I hung up the intercom, re-sheathed the Soul Capturing Token at my waist, and said with my hands behind my back, "Tell me, brother, what's going on?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, this place was originally the Second Sharp Jade of Lvshun City. We are all heinous criminals sentenced to hard labor. Over a hundred years ago, a sudden war broke out, and we were all caught in the crossfire, dying here. Due to our deep sins in life, we were to be sent to the eighteen layers of hell after death, so we gathered in the iron ore pit where we used to labor, to avoid the punishment of the underworld officers... uh, to avoid arrest by the underworld officers."
They must have been from the late Qing Dynasty. Although I couldn't see their faces clearly, I could vaguely see that the hair on the front of their heads was short, and there was a queue at the back. They spoke in a semi-classical, semi-vernacular manner, but their accent was pure Northeastern. I understood everything, so I nodded, "What you say is understandable, but I have a question, why are you not affected by the iron ore here? Get up, stop kneeling."
The middle-aged man stood up and bowed deeply to me again, "Perhaps because we toiled here for many years during our lives, our bodies have already adapted to it."
It seemed he didn't understand the reason either, but the fact was the fact. Unless an underworld officer related to magnetite industries in their past lives could be found, it would be possible to apprehend them. However, underworld officers were scarce, and they were all famous figures from history (at least a Jinshi, a county magistrate, or similar; otherwise, they wouldn't have the qualification). In ancient times, much emphasis was placed on academics, and famous people were mostly scholars. How could scholars be associated with magnetite!
Furthermore, in ancient times, the demand for magnetite was not very widespread. It was only known to be used for compasses, and the demand was relatively small.
"I understand now. You are afraid of going to the eighteen layers of hell, so you are resisting arrest. If I pardon your sins from your past lives, can you enter the underworld with the same treatment as ordinary deceased people, and will you still be arrested?"
"Of course not!" the middle-aged man said. "But... forgive my presumption, Your Excellency, do you truly have such authority? To be frank, to arrest us, many underworld officers have come over the past hundred years. The highest-ranking one was even a Deputy Commander. We expressed our demands to him, but that Deputy Commander did not have such authority. Although you know His Highness the Little King Yama, you are, after all, just a mere Banner Officer... I misspoke, I misspoke, I hope Your Excellency will forgive me!"
I waved my hand to indicate it was alright, "If the deputy can't do it, then the main one can. If the main one can't, I'll have the Little King Yama come in person. Wouldn't she have this authority?"
"Your Excellency, please be merciful, be merciful!" The middle-aged man knelt again. "Please do not enrage His Highness the Little King Yama. I heard that His Highness the Little King Yama is someone who kills ghosts without blinking..."
Is that so? How did I not notice?
"How about this, brother, don't be afraid. I don't want to trouble the Little King Yama either. I'll first ask Commander Bai Wuchang if she has this authority, alright?"
"Thank you for your trouble, Your Excellency. You are truly... different from other underworld officers!" the middle-aged brother said in a low voice.
As I was making the call, I asked him: How am I different?
Brother said that the previous batches of underworld officers all attacked first. If they couldn't win, they would negotiate, and if they couldn't reach an agreement, they would just leave. Unlike me, who was amiable, didn't even make a move, and started negotiating directly with such a good attitude!
I nodded deeply and pretended to be impressive, "You commoners might not understand the power of a living underworld officer like me. A living underworld officer appears only once in a thousand years. If I wanted to deal with you, I could have wiped you all out with a single 'Palm of the Tathagata' back in the villa area. Killing people and spirits harms one's virtue, so even though I am an underworld officer, I rarely take action. Alas... It's so lonely to be invincible... Hello, An'an, where are you?"
"Weihai Guard." Xie Bi'an's icy voice.
"Oh, not far from you, across the sea. I'm in Lvshun," I said with a smile.
"...You call Seventh Master 'An'an'?" the middle-aged man exclaimed in astonishment.
I motioned for him to be quiet and continued, "An'an, I have a question for you, do you have the authority to prevent ghosts with a record of heinous crimes from going to the eighteen layers of hell?"
"No," Xie Bi'an immediately shut me down.
My face turned a little grim, "Then, then who has this authority? Princess Shuyao?"
"She doesn't either. Only the Judge does," Xie Bi'an said.