Chapter 7: The Alliance of Righteousness!

“Victory!”

In the distance, Old Li and a group of kids were cheering joyfully.

Nearby, the injured Chen Meng hurried over to Chu Tian’s side.

“Are you alright?”

“Do you think I’m alright?” Chu Tian glanced at Chen Meng. “You women always manage to get me into trouble!”

“I didn’t expect him to track me down like that,” Chen Meng murmured, feeling both guilty and wronged. “But I didn’t expect you to actually kill him. He was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment Tiger Demon, you know!”

“No matter how powerful, if you can’t transcend, you have to die!” Chu Tian looked at the tiger demon’s corpse gradually revealing its true form—a massive tiger—and added inwardly, “Those who die must answer to me, the Underworld Officer! Except for that monkey causing trouble in the Netherworld!”

“What should we do with the tiger demon’s body?” Chen Meng asked, eyeing the enormous corpse.

“Uh…” Chu Tian stared at the huge body, suddenly feeling a bit troubled. He silently pulled out his phone.

“What are you doing?” Chen Meng asked curiously and turned her head to see Chu Tian searching on a news app.

How to destroy a body without being discovered?

How many years in prison for killing a large Northeast tiger? Is the death penalty possible?

If starving to death justifies eating a panda as emergency escape, does killing a tiger that was about to eat you count as self-defense?

How to hire lawyer Zhang San to defend oneself?

If you kill a tiger and turn yourself in voluntarily, will the sentence be lighter?

“Wait, are you really planning to turn yourself in?” Chen Meng was shocked at the last search. “You’re that law-abiding?”

“Nonsense!” Chu Tian said, “I’m an Underworld Officer, a civil servant of the Netherworld. As a public official, how could I break the law?”

“But… spirits, demons, and supernatural events aren’t police matters,” Chen Meng said.

Uh—

Chu Tian paused, “Then what do we do?”

“I’ve been away for four or five years, and you’re still working solo? Hasn’t any organization contacted you?” Chen Meng asked, surprised.

“Hmm…” Chu Tian fell silent.

“That’s impossible. Wherever there’s a large supernatural disturbance, relevant authorities show up within three hours at the latest,” Chen Meng said. “After all these years of ghost hunting, haven’t you met anyone?”

Chu Tian thought: Maybe the reason is… I never take more than half an hour to catch a ghost, usually five or six minutes, then I leave immediately. So I’ve never encountered outsiders before?

“Let’s wait here a bit. The fight just now was loud; the Righteous Dao Alliance guys should be arriving soon,” Chen Meng said.

Before she finished, a black car sped over and stopped in front of Chu Tian and Chen Meng.

“Must be the Righteous Dao Alliance!” Chen Meng said. The car doors opened, and a man and a woman in suits stepped out.

The woman immediately began photographing the tiger demon’s corpse, while the man calmly approached Chu Tian and Chen Meng. He pulled out an ID and showed it briefly.

“Commissioner Wang Dali of the Righteous Dao Alliance in Shang City. Chu Tian, Chen Meng, may we inquire about the situation just now?”

“You know me?” Chu Tian’s pupils contracted, and his heart tightened upon hearing his name called out directly.

“Mr. Chu Tian, please don’t be nervous. The Righteous Dao Alliance handles all kinds of supernatural incidents. Moreover, almost all practitioners and sects in the country are registered. It’s not uncommon to have lone practitioners like you. As long as you abide by the law and don’t disturb ordinary people’s lives, we generally don’t interfere,” Wang Dali explained.

“When did you find out about me?” Chu Tian asked.

“About six or seven years ago,” Wang Dali replied. “Although you’re quick in exorcism and haven’t met our officers in person, to eliminate the negative effects caused by ghosts and demons, we erase ordinary people’s memories and delete surveillance footage. That’s how we discovered you.”

Hearing this, Chu Tian finally realized the terrifying reach of the state machinery.

“The head is confirmed—an S-class demon on the bounty list, Mountain Lord Kui!” The woman taking photos came over. “Death confirmed!”

“You know this tiger demon too?” Chu Tian asked Wang Dali.

“Mr. Chu Tian, you jest. To ensure public safety and peace, it is a dereliction of duty if we overlook any potential threats,” Wang Dali said solemnly. “However, you don’t need to worry. For lone practitioners like you, we only need your name and appearance on record. Unless you commit crimes, we won’t investigate or issue warrants.”

“This tiger demon said he killed people. Looks like he’s done serious wrong,” Chu Tian observed.

“Serious, yes, but… not entirely his fault,” Wang Dali glanced at the corpse and sighed. “He originally cultivated in a small mountain for centuries, about to become a Mountain Lord. Then coal was discovered, and the mining company cut through the mountain range, preventing his ascension.”

“So he killed people because of that?” Chu Tian twitched his mouth. That’s basically ruining his prospects! Being a Mountain Lord is an official local mountain spirit position. After hundreds of years of effort, and someone just obliterates the mountain? Anyone would go mad.

“No,” Wang Dali said. “Though he couldn’t become the Mountain Lord, the people below still revered him as one, so he was fine. But later, a mine collapse trapped almost everyone underground. The boss covered it up to minimize impact. Half the worshippers died, the rest moved away. Furious, the tiger demon killed everyone involved in the cover-up.”

“So he’s a tragic figure?” Chu Tian said.

“He indeed has a tragic background. But after raising hungry ghosts, things changed,” Wang Dali sighed. “He broke the cardinal rule against killing, blinded by bloodlust. The ghosts he raised were no better, corrupting him. He committed several bloody massacres afterward. If not for his strength and speed, he’d have been taken down long ago. So, Mr. Chu Tian, you needn’t worry too much. By the way, would you be willing to sell this tiger demon’s body to the Righteous Dao Alliance?”

“Sell!” Chen Meng tugged at Chu Tian’s sleeve and whispered.

Seeing this, Chu Tian turned to Wang Dali. “If we sell it, how much can you offer?”