"Hey hey! You're teasing this old man's brain again! Can't you stop making fun of me every day? This carriage was assigned by the higher-ups for official use! Do you think I dare to ride such a high-class thing on my own?" A middle-aged man with a big belly, around fifty years old, laughed and scolded Dao Lao as he opened the door and gracefully stepped down from the carriage.

("So they also call it an 'official car'! I thought it was just us! That's really interesting!" the author remarked.)

Why did they say "gracefully stepped down from the carriage"? Because, judging from the height of these war horses, the carriage was at least one meter fifty-six centimeters above the ground. The man who got out of the carriage was almost the same height as Dao Lao, about one meter seventy centimeters. Therefore, without any assistance, the man with a protruding belly had to rely on such graceful movements to elegantly descend from the carriage.

"Ha ha ha! It's been many days since we last met, Brother Dao, are you well?" After landing on the ground, the man smiled and greeted Dao Lao. Seeing his intimate behavior towards Dao Lao, Hao Yun couldn't help but suspect that these two old guys had some kind of mysterious camaraderie, like sworn brothers.

("Oh my god! What kind of language is that? 'Sworn brothers,' can you be any more cliche?" the author complained while writing.

"Ah! It's just so cliché! You're not the one writing this rotten plot, are you? What's with this pretense of purity?" Hao Yun cursed angrily.

"Sigh! I don't want to either! But it's necessary for the plot!" the author replied helplessly.

"Nonsense! I bet you're smuggling in your own stuff!" Hao Yun retorted, pursing his lips.

"Hey? You better watch your mouth! Otherwise, I'll make you taste your own medicine!" the author angrily retorted.

Hao Yun tensed up and said, "Author, you're not right! I need to keep my distance from you!"

Ahem, cough cough! Alright, let's continue with the story.)

Dao Lao was disgusted by the man's enthusiasm. He shrugged off the man's embrace and impatiently said, "Still the same! Patrolling everywhere, chasing after mold spirit energy. How could I have your comfortable life?"

("'Comfortable life' means--"

"It means comfortable! We all know that! Stop dilly-dallying!" Hao Yun rudely interrupted the author.

The author, afraid others might not understand the meaning of 'comfortable life,' originally wanted to explain kindly, but was rudely interrupted by Hao Yun.)

"Ah, that's not true! I've reached this position today, thanks to your blessings!" The man with the big belly said in a slick tone.

Dao Lao pursed his lips and said, "You're indeed officer material, glib-tongued and flattering!"

However, Dao Lao didn't want to continue chatting with the man. He turned to Hao Yun and nodded towards the man, saying, "Enough chit-chat, let's get to business! Let me introduce you. This is Yan Zhengyi, the Chief Judge of the Land of Yin Spirits in the Thirteenth Realm of the Spirit World, commonly known as Judge Yan. In your terms, he's the real deal, the King of Hell himself, you can just call him Judge Yan."

In a hurry, Dao Lao introduced to Yan Zhengyi, "And this is the one I mentioned earlier, Hao Yun. Although his mouth sometimes needs a slap, overall, he's quite promising. I hope he won't disappoint me in the future!"

After hearing Dao Lao's introduction, Hao Yun couldn't help but be amazed in his heart: "Damn! The King of Hell! I actually met the King of Hell?!"

Hao Yun quickly bowed respectfully to Judge Yan and said, "I pay my respects to Judge Yan! I didn't know I was facing Judge Yan just now. If I have offended you, please forgive me!"

Although not an ancient person, Hao Yun had learned a bit of ancient etiquette from watching many costume dramas and classical novels, so he could greet Judge Yan in such a formal manner.

Seeing that Hao Yun, despite his modern urban appearance, could still show such respect, coupled with his current status as Dao Lao's designated assistant, Judge Yan, who already had a good impression of him, now liked him even more.

Judge Yan nodded in satisfaction and returned the greeting, saying, "Hmm! Indeed a promising young man! Just call me Judge Yan, no need to be so formal! Remember, it's rare for Dao Lao to recruit another assistant, you're very lucky! So, you must learn a lot from Dao Lao in the future. I hope you'll be promoted soon and become an excellent official in chasing mold spirit energy!"

"Yes, I understand!" Hao Yun bowed again and continued speaking to Judge Yan in the manner of ancient people.

Then, Hao Yun turned to Dao Lao with curiosity and asked, "So, I'm not your first assistant? Are your previous assistants now all official officials in chasing mold spirit energy? If I have the chance, can I meet those predecessors? It would be good to learn some experience as an assistant from them?"

After hearing Hao Yun's question, Dao Lao shrugged awkwardly and answered somewhat evasively, "Before you, I did have another assistant. Since that guy has graduated, I had the opportunity to recruit a new assistant. Ah, but those are all stories for another time. Let's talk about business first! We can discuss the rest later!"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Since Dao Lao said so, and it seemed like he didn't want to bring up the matter of the previous assistant, Hao Yun wouldn't continue to inquire, he could only temporarily give up. However, this didn't diminish Hao Yun's excitement at the moment, because according to what Judge Yan said, as long as he worked hard enough, one day, he would also become an official official! Hao Yun was filled with anticipation and determination to work harder.

Judge Yan also noticed Dao Lao's change in expression and quickly changed the subject, saying anxiously, "Right, right! Let's talk business! Time is of the essence! I've sent someone to look up information about that ghost doll. Come, both of you, get in the carriage, we'll head back to my mansion, and then we can discuss this matter in detail."

Then, Judge Yan continued with some urgency, "And I need to quickly send the cake I just picked up back home! Otherwise, if I let my wife wait too long, I'll inevitably suffer a scolding!"

After saying that, Judge Yan lightly waved his sleeve while turning around, and then Hao Yun and Dao Lao were enveloped in a force and sent onto the carriage.

The carriage was very spacious and extremely comfortable. From the view outside the window, the carriage was moving at an extremely high speed, silently and smoothly, without any feeling of bumpiness, no matter how it moved up and down rapidly.

Hao Yun sat opposite the two immortals, feeling slightly uneasy. But as soon as Judge Yan entered the carriage, he immediately shed his official demeanor, propped his legs up, and lazily reclined in the spacious and comfortable seat. Removing his feathered crown and undoing the top buttons of his official attire, Judge Yan grabbed a bunch of grape-like fruits from a plate, pushed another plate filled with similar food towards Hao Yun, and gestured for him to help himself, insisting he shouldn't be polite.

Dao Lao, feeling right at home, stretched with a big yawn after taking a deep breath. Then, he casually picked some fruits from the plate and began eating, "Wow! These spirit peaches taste great, much better than those celestial peaches we had last time!"

"Yeah! Humph! Those peaches last time were overhyped. When it came to the actual taste, they were nothing special. It forced us to travel all the way to the Royal Fruit Garden to reorder a large batch of spirit peaches. The ones we're eating today are also from that supplier. They arrived yesterday, so they're super fresh! Hey! You're really a gourmet! Every time I get something delicious, you sniff it out and come running!"

Seeing Hao Yun sitting awkwardly on the side, Judge Yan continued to munch on his grapes and tossed a peach to Hao Yun, saying, "Come on, buddy, have a peach. Take whatever you want, we're all friends here, so don't be polite! Otherwise, if you end up thirsty or hungry, I won't be responsible!"

Hao Yun nodded in understanding, and as he took a bite of the celestial peach, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "So this is the real Judge Yan! He's completely different from how he was just now! Look at the two old guys now, they don't look like officials of the Spirit World at all! They're just like seasoned old folks who have been around society for years!"

With his keen insight, Judge Yan could naturally see what Hao Yun was thinking, so he took the initiative to say, "Ha ha ha! Don't be surprised, Brother Hao. I'm actually a very easygoing person. It's just that as the Chief Judge of the Land of Yin Spirits in the Thirteenth Realm of the Spirit World, I have to show enough authority when facing outsiders. But in private, since we're all comrades, there's no need to be so formal! Ah, it's too tiring to keep up that facade all the time!"

Dao Lao nodded in agreement with Judge Yan's words, and continued, "I met Old Yan a long time ago because of an incident involving the invasion of mold spirit energy. Because this guy is upright, has a sense of justice, and is straightforward, our personalities clicked, and we became friends in no time. Ah, before we knew it, so many years had passed."

As the three of them chatted along the way, Judge Yan's carriage finally returned to the main city of the Thirteenth Realm of the Spirit World. Hao Yun put down the fruit in his hand, no longer paying attention to Dao Lao and Judge Yan, who were still gossiping about the Spirit World, and focused all his attention on the scenery outside the window. The carriage was now speeding along a long stone road lined with towering trees. Although the weather here was still gloomy and gray, the road was brightly lit by large lanterns burning with green flames on either side, making everything in the surrounding forest clearly visible, as if it were daytime.

Finally, after driving along this stone road for a while longer, a towering and boundless city wall gradually appeared from the tops of the giant trees. Enclosed within this sturdy city wall was the main city of the Thirteenth Realm of the Spirit World—the City of Spirits.

The towering city wall of the City of Spirits was also adorned with many large lanterns burning with green flames. The entire massive city wall was brightly lit by these lanterns, but instead of giving off a vibrant atmosphere, it further intensified an unprecedented sense of solemnity. Hovering above the City of Spirits were various bizarre flying creatures responsible for surveillance, silently demonstrating their strict vigilance.

After leaving the giant forest, Judge Yan's convoy immediately crossed a huge stone bridge also made of blue stone. Underneath the stone bridge was a wide moat. However, Hao Yun thought that calling it a moat might not be accurate because instead of flowing water, what flowed in this moat was beams of energy, undiminished in color and incredibly bright.

After crossing the huge stone bridge, the carriage arrived at the massive gate of the City of Spirits. Similar to the guards they had passed on the stone bridge, there were guards standing at least five meters tall, holding giant axes and wearing heavy armor. Since the carriage slowed down upon reaching the city gate, Hao Yun finally had the opportunity to carefully observe these imposing guards.

To his surprise, although these guards were clad in heavy armor with an unclear style, clearly reminiscent of ancient times, their bodies also bore traces of modern and even futuristic technology. For example, the guard who had just passed by Hao Yun appeared to be a giant bear or ape, and his arms holding the giant axe were obviously made of highly advanced mechanical construction. Hao Yun realized that although the concept of the Land of Yin Spirits was similar to the traditional image of the underworld in Chinese legends, the real Land of Yin Spirits was completely different from the traditional concept of the underworld.

This thought was soon confirmed as they entered the City of Spirits. Despite the city's appearance being built in a gentle style reminiscent of many ancient traditional buildings, there were many elements of modern and futuristic technology embedded in these buildings. Additionally, bright lights emanated from many metallic materials on the buildings, illuminating the entire city gorgeously. At the same time, many holographic screens appeared around the buildings, some playing videos from unknown civilizations, while others displayed scrolling texts that Hao Yun couldn't understand. With all this packaging of technology far beyond Earth's, the City of Spirits looked like a futuristic magical metropolis.