176: Judge's Pen and Book of Life and Death

As Lin Chuping watched, his eyes gradually lit up.

"Tong Ge, it still has to be you."

"I spoke too loudly just now."

Lin Chuping said, but his expression showed no urgency. Instead, he held the Judge's Brush and the Book of Life and Death in his hands, eager to try them out.

"Tong Ge, Tong Ge, this Judge's Brush and Book of Life and Death... are they what I think they are?"

"[Precisely the standard Magical Artifacts for a Netherworld judge. Although they are replicas and an Incomplete Manual, they already possess basic functions.]"

Lin Chuping immediately brought up the detailed introductions for the two Magical Artifacts:

"《Judge's Brush · Replica》: Can outline Yin and Yang, determine life and death. Limited to 3 uses per day. Has a natural suppressive effect on ghosts."

"Book of Life and Death · Incomplete Manual: Can inquire about the lifespan of living beings within a hundred-li radius. Limited to 10 inquiries per day. Can modify the life and death of ordinary people (requires consumption of Incense Value)."

"Good stuff!"

Seeing these System rewards, Lin Chuping finally came to his senses.

Before, he was sidetracked by the matter of Liu Dao's Wheel of Reincarnation, thinking he needed to collect all these Netherworld Magical Artifacts himself, which made him feel the task was endless.

Now that the System could provide rewards, it meant they were available in the System Store.

He could buy them with Incense Value!

Didn't hope just arrive?

Although he currently owed the System Incense Value, if he worked hard and was frugal, he would eventually accumulate Incense Value.

With a change of mindset, the path turned around.

Lin Chuping, in a very good mood, held the Judge's Brush and the Book of Life and Death in his hands to examine them.

The Judge's Brush felt heavy in his hand. Its shaft was entirely black like ink, yet it subtly shimmered with dark gold patterns.

Looking closely, those patterns seemed like countless tiny Talismanic Incantations slowly flowing.

The brush tip was not ordinary hair, but composed of a wisp of solidified Netherworld Qi, emitting a cold silver light.

When he gently rotated the brush shaft, the tip actually left a faint golden afterimage in the air that lingered for a long time.

"This texture... it's really good."

It was a pity he couldn't write with a brush.

What a major failing in life! With a Divine Artifact in hand, he could only strike a pose now.

If he were to actually write, it would probably be no better than Brother Monkey's work back then.

"Tsk!"

Lin Chuping couldn't help but rub the brush shaft with his thumb. The touch was neither smooth like jade nor cold and hard like metal, but rather had a warm, living quality.

Even more miraculously, when he gripped the shaft tightly, he could clearly feel the Netherworld power contained within it resonating with him, trembling slightly as if alive.

Compared to the Judge's Brush, the appearance of the Book of Life and Death was much inferior.

The Incomplete Manual of the Book of Life and Death looked like an ancient bamboo scroll, but its material was neither bamboo nor wood.

Each "bamboo slip" was as thin as a cicada's wing, with edges faintly tinged with blood red.

The words on the bamboo slips were not carved, but moved slowly across the surface like living things.

When he gazed at a certain name, those words would automatically reorganize, revealing the person's birthdate characters and lifespan.

The edges of the bamboo slips were uneven, clearly torn from a complete Book of Life and Death.

Wisps of black Qi constantly seeped from the torn edges. These black Qi twisted and deformed in the air, faintly showing the shapes of struggling, pained human faces.

"Good heavens, this Book of Life and Death looks wicked."

Is this really a Magical Artifact used by a righteous deity?

Lin Chuping clicked his tongue.

"[Yes, Host. It's quite normal for Magical Artifacts from the Netherworld to look a bit eerie, isn't it?]

[Also, a reminder, Host, using the Judge's Brush and the Book of Life and Death together yields better results.]"

Hearing this, Lin Chuping, being very compliant, held both Magical Artifacts simultaneously. The golden patterns of the Judge's Brush and the bloody mist of the Book of Life and Death began to echo each other, forming a faint barrier of circulating Yin and Yang Qi around him.

"Wonderful!"

He tried gently touching the Book of Life and Death with the Judge's Brush. The moment the brush tip touched the bamboo slip, a golden light burst forth. The words on the bamboo slip instantly came alive, unfolding vivid scenes before his eyes—the fate trajectories of living beings within a hundred-li radius.

"This time, I've truly struck gold."

Lin Chuping caressed the two Magical Artifacts with adoration, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

With the help of these two Divine Artifacts, the plan to rebuild the Netherworld finally had a substantive beginning.

The Magical Artifacts were acquired; next was the enfeoffment of a Judge.

* * *

Lin Chuping casually flipped through the Book of Life and Death.

"[Host, do you want to directly find a Judge through the Book of Life and Death?]"

"Tong Ge, you're right."

Lin Chuping's finger gently slid across the bamboo slips, "But the choice of person must be careful..."

The more he looked, the deeper Lin Chuping's frown became.

Someone once said there are two things in the world that cannot be looked at directly: one is the sun, and the other is human nature.

The records in the Book of Life and Death were divided into the Merit Record and the Sin Record.

Scanning the long Book of Life and Death, Lin Chuping saw tens of thousands of names. The Merit Record was sparse, but the Sin Record was densely packed, making one's scalp tingle.

"This Steward Zhang, outwardly benevolent, but secretly he lent out usurious loans, forcing how many families to ruin..."

Lin Chuping's fingertip tapped on a name glowing with black Qi, and the man's crimes immediately appeared on the bamboo slip.

Last winter, for five taels of silver interest, he directly forced an old couple to their deaths and sold their daughter into a brothel to pay off the debt.

"This Matchmaker Li? She specializes in arranging ghost marriages, but secretly she's involved in grave robbing and selling corpses. Some of the unearthed corpses were used forGhost marriage (ghost marriages), while others were made into Magical Artifacts..."

"Tong Ge, what punishment will these people receive after death?" Lin Chuping's voice turned cold.

"[According to the old laws of the Netherworld, they should enter the Hell of Knives and the Hell of Oil Cauldrons... But now that the Netherworld is incomplete, most of these evil people become wandering ghosts after death, escaping justice instead.]"

"[Host, this is the significance of rebuilding the Netherworld.]"

Human laws may have loopholes, may have emotions, but the Netherworld will not.

Human laws speak of evidence; as long as you clean up your tracks, as long as you do it flawlessly, then you are innocent.

The Netherworld's judgment speaks of Karma; unless you can find a way to erase yourself from the Book of Life and Death.

Lin Chuping stared at the dense records of sins in the Book of Life and Death and suddenly sighed deeply.

"Tong Ge, you tell me... why can human hearts be so evil?"

He lightly tapped his fingertip, and a wealthy young master bullying a beggar appeared on the bamboo slip. "Just for fun, they can trample on people like livestock?"

The System was silent for a moment: "[Perhaps it is precisely because human laws have loopholes that the wicked are so brazen.]"

"[Host, don't worry. Once the Netherworld is built, these people can be judged after death.]"

Lin Chuping nodded and closed the Book of Life and Death.

But shortly after closing it, Lin Chuping felt increasingly indignant the more he thought about it, and he abruptly opened the Book of Life and Death again.

"No!"

"These beasts are living so comfortably now. To wait until they die to be punished? That's too easy for them!"

He grabbed the Judge's Brush, and its tip heavily slashed across the bamboo slip:

"Steward Zhang, five years off his life!"

"Matchmaker Li, five years off her life!"

"That profligate young master who bullied the beggar, five years off his life too!"

With each stroke, the Judge's Brush glowed with a bloody light.

Until the last stroke fell, all the bloody light disappeared into the Book of Life and Death.