Chapter 160: It Must Be Investigated

“Absolutely not!”

The three ghost judges turned pale with fright and immediately dropped to their knees before Bai Yu, voices trembling.

“Lord Yama, we are but ghost judges — how could we ever dare to falsely issue an order in your name?”

“That’s right,” another quickly added, shaking his head. “All Yama’s decrees bear the royal seal. Even if we had doubts, how could we possibly defy an order marked with the King’s sigil?”

“Oh?” Yuan Jiang’s voice was cold and sharp. “Then how did you receive this supposed decree?”

“Of course, it was personally issued by Lord Yama—”

The third judge spoke without thinking — and immediately froze. His face drained of all color the moment he realized what he’d just said.

“So, you did see that false Yama,” Yuan Jiang sneered. “There’s no doubt, then.”

The three ghosts’ faces turned green, then white, then an ashen gray. They had known all along that something was off with that “Yama,” but they hadn’t cared. Some were afraid of being dragged into trouble; others secretly hoped the real Yama would fall.

After a long silence, one of them finally said, “Lord Yama, we did suspect something at the time, but that man held the royal seal, and his power far surpassed ours. As mere ghost judges, how could we challenge him?”

“Indeed,” another chimed in anxiously. “Later, when envoys from the Celestial Realm descended to investigate, we realized that the one who gave the order had been an impostor. But by then, he had vanished from Youling Hall without a trace.”

“We even attempted to look into it,” the third judge added. “But no matter how deeply we searched, we couldn’t find a single clue. It was as if the man had dissolved into thin air.”

The truth was, they’d given up halfway. The matter had involved celestial envoys, and they were terrified of the consequences — so they had simply buried it, feeding the upper realms a convenient excuse and pretending the issue never existed.

Yuan Jiang’s brow furrowed deeply. His tone was like ice. “So you simply decided to pretend none of it happened?”

If not for his little junior sister’s unexpected intervention — if their master hadn’t dragged them back from the mortal realm that day — both he and his junior would have perished. Even now, his golden body had yet to fully recover.

“We had no choice…” one judge stammered, sweat pouring down his spectral face. “There were no clues left—”

“I have some,” Yun Jiao suddenly interrupted.

“Eh?”

Everyone turned to stare at her — not just the three ghost judges, but Bai Yu and Yuan Jiang as well, all wide-eyed.

“You have what?” Bai Yu blinked.

“Clues,” Yun Jiao said matter-of-factly. “I’ll give them to you.”

She stood, picked up a sheet of paper she had just finished writing on, and handed it to the nearest ghost judge. “Start with this list. Investigate everyone connected to these names.”

The three took the sheet automatically. But as soon as they glanced at it, their expressions twisted in alarm.

“This is…”

“The list of people who used the back door,” Yun Jiao said bluntly. “I’m sure some of these names look familiar to you.”

Their faces turned several shades paler. Of course they recognized them — every one of those names belonged to souls they had personally helped through the system. People they had favored, bribed, or protected — those who had been conveniently reincarnated into noble families or placed in high-ranking underworld positions.

She was right. This was indeed a list of those who had “used connections” — and the connection was them.

Cold sweat trickled down their temples. What frightened them most wasn’t that she had found out, but that they had no idea how. Somehow, this mortal Yama had dug out every dark corner of their corruption — quietly, precisely, without them noticing.

Their fear of her grew tenfold.

“Forgive us, Lord Yama!” they cried in unison, collapsing back to the floor, trembling.

With this one list alone, the Yama could strip them of their posts — or worse, condemn them to the underworld prisons for millennia. It was irrefutable evidence of their corruption.

“The clues are in your hands now,” Yun Jiao said evenly. She stepped forward, crouched slightly, and met their eyes. “You have three months to find the truth.”

“Three… months?” one of them blurted. “But—”

Yun Jiao cut him off, her voice firm. “Coincidentally, the ghost judge selection also concludes in three months. Fair, isn’t it? You’re senior officials — surely you can prove your worth.”

Their faces twitched. The message was clear: fail to deliver, and you’re finished.

“We… understand!” they said, bowing deeply to Bai Yu. “Your subordinates obey!”

Without another word, the three faded into smoke and vanished, rushing back to the underworld.

Bai Yu blinked, still dazed. “…What just happened?”

(⊙_⊙)

Yuan Jiang, however, understood immediately. “Little junior sister… entrusting them with this investigation — are you sure that’s wise?” he asked quietly. “They may have no desire to dig too deep.”

“Don’t worry,” Yun Jiao replied, her lips curving in a cool smile. “They’ll make sure to find the truth — no matter the cost.”

If they still wanted to keep their jobs, that is.

Yuan Jiang paused. His eyes flicked toward the paper she had given them earlier. “That list you handed over… what was it, exactly?”

“I copied it straight from the Book of Life and Death,” Yun Jiao said calmly.

Then she explained. Every judgment written into the Book fused directly into the ghost judge’s soul — it couldn’t be seen by others, couldn’t be falsified, and therefore had always been considered incorruptible. None of the previous judges had ever imagined someone might actually read it, much less interpret their hidden biases from the phrasing itself.

“I compared the names on the Book to the ones in the personnel lists they just submitted,” she continued. “Many overlap. Which means those three weren’t just negligent — they were involved.”

The imposter who had dared to impersonate a Yama and even trap an immortal had to have powerful backing. The ghost judges’ failure to investigate wasn’t due to lack of evidence — it was because they’d realized the trail led back to their own people. They had chosen to bury it.

Yun Jiao, however, had just torn that mask away — and handed them their own corruption as the incentive.

They would have no choice now: either uncover the truth or sacrifice themselves. With the downfall of the last three judges still fresh in everyone’s memory, it wasn’t hard to guess which they’d choose.

“I also have another list,” Yun Jiao added, pulling a smaller slip of paper from her sleeve. She handed it to Yuan Jiang. “Please send this to Second— no, to Senior Brother Xi. Have him investigate these names too.”

“Two fronts,” she said with a faint smile. “Can’t put all the eggs in one basket.”

Yuan Jiang took the paper, his earlier worry replaced with confidence. “Understood. I’ll send word right away.”

He had thought this mystery might take years to unravel — but now, it felt like the truth was already within reach.

(End of this chapter)