Death Knocks on Hell’s Door Chapter 14 Part 2

Chapter 14.2 Faith

After finishing their food and drinks, Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu returned to the fourth floor of the guesthouse. They noticed that the door to Room 404 across the hallway was slightly ajar, and it seemed there was someone inside.

What’s more, the lingering resentment of the vengeful spirit had disappeared.

They both understood what had happened. How could they not tell that the young Taoist priest had spiritual powers? Even if they hadn’t noticed, they would recognize his face. He had lived through nine lifetimes, always a virtuous sage dedicated to the welfare of the people. In his first life, he had even saved the citizens of an entire nation and was revered as a National Master, possessing immeasurable merit. Every life, they had personally escorted him to the underworld, which made him an old acquaintance. Otherwise, how could they have given him a second glance when he entered the room?

Now, in this era of declining faith, people had lost their beliefs. The Taoist priest in this life wasn’t as wealthy or prominent as before. He seemed to live in poverty, yet he continued to walk the front lines of saving the suffering and guiding spirits, performing great good.

With ten lifetimes of merit shining upon him, once this life passed, he would join the ranks of immortals.

It was fate that they met here.

They didn’t visit the old acquaintance in the room. Fan Wujiu swiped the room key and opened the door, stepping in first to rest.

Ouyang Feng had been reciting the reincarnation mantra for two full hours, finally clearing all the resentment from Ying Xiaowen. His throat dry and parched, he twisted open a bottle of mineral water and took a sip. Just then, he heard footsteps outside. The guests from the opposite room had apparently returned.

Ouyang Feng realized this might be a problem. Later, when he needed to invite the ghost officers, he would have to set up an altar and perform rituals, which was bound to create quite a commotion.

A vengeful spirit wasn’t on the list of souls to be captured, so the impermanence ghosts would not come to claim it. Since he had already cleared the spirit’s resentment, the impermanence ghosts wouldn’t be notified. Therefore, the third step was to inform them. But being a mortal, Ouyang Feng knew he couldn’t just summon the impermanence ghosts as if it were an ordinary summons. Even an ordinary ghost officer held a position in the afterlife. It required setting up an altar, offering sacrifices, ringing bells, and chanting the incantations loudly and sincerely to invite them over. This process usually took about an hour. As for the two highest-ranking Impermanence Immortals? Don’t even think about it. No celestial master could summon them, and no ordinary vengeful spirit was worthy of their attention.

It wasn’t Ouyang Feng’s first time exorcising a vengeful spirit, nor was it his first time summoning impermanence ghosts. But the night was late, there were people in the room next door, and the guesthouse had poor soundproofing. If he didn’t stop ringing the bell and chanting loudly, the people in the adjacent room would probably think he was disturbing the peace and call the police to have him arrested.

After thinking it over, he decided to go knock on the door next door as a precaution. Hopefully, the people there would be understanding.

Ouyang Feng knocked politely on the opposite door, saying, “Hello.”

The door swung open, and a tall man in black leaned against the doorframe, his hand resting on the door. “Can I help you?”

Ouyang Feng paused, feeling that the man looked somewhat familiar. When he looked inside, he saw a young man in white sitting on the bed. The feeling of familiarity grew even stronger. He couldn’t help but feel an odd sense of warmth and closeness to these two strangers.

But he was certain that he had never met them before. They were both so handsome that if he had seen them before, he would surely remember.

Could it be that they were connected in a past life?

Ouyang Feng quickly pushed aside these random thoughts and, feeling a bit awkward, said, “Good evening, both of you. I’m from an out-of-town theater troupe. We’re here to perform for a show that’s starting tomorrow. We still have some rehearsals tonight. I’m playing the role of a Taoist priest, and the program might be a bit noisy. So, if you hear any sounds tonight, I hope you’ll understand.”

He was still a little nervous. He wasn’t sure if this excuse would hold up. If the neighbors didn’t understand, there wasn’t much he could do. Others weren’t obligated to put up with his noise.

“No problem,” said Fan Wujiu, who was surprisingly easygoing. He glanced over at the altar that had been set up. “Looks like you’ve got everything prepared.”

Ouyang Feng’s face lit up with relief. “Thank you so much.” There truly were still many kind-hearted people in the world.

With the permission from the neighbors, he returned to Room 404, shut the door, and began setting up the altar. He shook the soul-summoning bell and began chanting the prayer to summon the spirits.

Only a minute had passed when a gust of chilling wind swept through the room. Two figures, one black and one white, materialized at the door.

Ouyang Feng blinked in surprise, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. How had they appeared so quickly this time?

Could it be that impermanence ghosts were just nearby on patrol?

As he focused, he realized something even more astonishing. There were characters on their officials’ hats.

It was well known that while the “summoning” spell could bring forth ordinary ghost officers, it couldn’t summon true gods. So how could one distinguish between a ghost and a god? The answer was simple: by looking at the characters on their hats.

This…… he had summoned the Impermanence Immortals?

He stared, stunned, as the two figures in front of him looked all too familiar.

It wasn’t until the white figure spoke that he realized something. “We meet again.”

Ouyang Feng was struck dumb with shock.

That was the very neighbor he had seen just a minute ago!

Fan Wujiu casually picked up an apple from the altar, biting into it as he spoke with a lazy grin. “You really don’t need to go through all that trouble. Just knock on the door next door. We just changed clothes, that’s all.”

Ouyang Feng was left stunned. “.……You’re really the Impermanence Immortals?”

Fan Wujiu raised an eyebrow. “Actually, we are also part of a troupe that specializes in playing the roles of Heibai Wuchang. These are our costumes, and we rushed here specifically to cooperate with your performance.”

Ouyang Feng was in a daze. “….But you clearly just walked through the wall.”

Fan Wujiu chuckled. “Well, you’ve already figured that out, so why bother asking if we’re real or not?”

Ouyang Feng pinched his own face, disbelieving. “This really feels like it’s fake…… Ow, that hurts.”

It was real.

He had been a Taoist priest for twenty years, and he never dared dream of having the Impermanence Immortals as neighbors.

“Alright, stop messing with him,” Xie Bian said, glancing at the white-clad female ghost. He casually muttered an incantation.

Immediately, two ghost officers appeared out of thin air. They bowed respectfully to Xie Bian and Fan Wujiu, speaking in unison. “Seventh Master, Eighth Master, what are your orders?”

Mortal Taoist priests had to respectfully summon the ghost officers. But for the Impermanence Immortals, those ghosts officers were just lowly subordinates, summoned and dismissed at will.

“Take her to the underworld and help her reincarnate,” Xie Bian commanded softly.

“Yes!” The two ghost officers took their orders, swiftly gathering Ying Xiaowen’s soul and leading her to the underworld to be reincarnated, leaving no trace behind.

Ouyang Feng gazed at them with awe. In the past, he had only dealt with impermanence ghosts. He had thought that was impressive enough, but now, seeing the real deal, he realized that those were merely low-budget imitations.

Fan Wujiu, clearly enjoying the situation, laughed as he watched Ouyang Feng. “It’s only been a hundred years, and you’ve already fallen into such a state?”

After all, they were old friends from ten lifetimes. In every previous life, Ouyang Feng had been a highly respected and an extremely wealthy figure. In contrast, this life was certainly a far cry from his former glory.

Ouyang Feng paused, then nodded in understanding. “It seems I have some connection with the Impermanence Immortals.”

He wasn’t surprised. In the past, whenever he invited the ghost officers, they had always been slow to arrive, sometimes even dismissive. But once they did show up, their attitude was always completely different. They would praise him, speak of his immense merit, and promise that he would eventually ascend to immortality. They always said that when he achieved wealth and status, he must not forget them.

Such great merit couldn’t have been accumulated in just one life. It made sense that in his past lives, he had known the Black and White Impermanence well.

Ouyang Feng sighed. It was clear that this was their first meeting, but they spoke with an easy familiarity, as if they were old friends. “People nowadays no longer believe in ghosts and gods. They’ve turned to Marxism instead, all of them atheists. Even those who follow a religion tend to prefer Buddhism or Christianity, leaving little space for Taoism to survive. Fewer people are practicing the craft, and even fewer can make a living from it.”

Still, despite being disbelieved and labeled as a charlatan or a swindler, he would only grumble about it. His actions, however, remained true to his craft.

Xie Bian watched the reincarnation of his old acquaintance, his thoughts drifting back to the days when this very person had been revered by millions, worshipped as a god.

That had been Ouyang Feng’s first life. Born in chaotic times, he had lived through endless wars, with the common people suffering greatly. The battlefield was littered with the souls of soldiers, while families at home wore mourning clothes. It was a time so grim that even the gods of the underworld were moved with pity. The Black and White Impermanence, newly appointed at the time, had nearly been worked to death by the endless stream of souls. With countless spirits in need of guidance each day, despair took hold of the gods, even more so among the people.

In that dark age, the dynasty was decaying, the rulers were incompetent, and the common people had no hope or support. The only thing they could rely on was their faith in the gods. Temples were filled with burning incense, as everyone prayed for peace for their families and the country.

It was during this time that Ouyang Feng, the great national master, was born. He poured all his cultivation into his work, offering his own life as a sacrifice to end years of war, becoming a god in the hearts of the people. When he passed away, a golden light of merit descended from the heavens, and the Black and White Impermanence were sent to guide his soul. Their eyes were nearly blinded by the brilliance of the golden light.

Within that golden light lay an ocean-like expanse of faith.

The revered national master, who had been adored by millions and treated like a god in his lifetime, was a stark contrast to the Taoist priest who now worried about being reported to the police for performing his rituals.

“Perhaps this is better,” Xie Bian remarked with a faint smile.

Ouyang Feng blinked in surprise. “How is this better?”

Xie Bian answered, “Throughout history, whenever the people collectively prayed to gods or Buddha, it was always during wars, plagues, natural disasters, and often under a weak and incompetent government. When human efforts fail and life seems devoid of hope, they turn to intangible gods and spirits for solace. But in times of peace and prosperity, when everyone is well-fed, clothed, and without fear for their lives, when both their material and spiritual needs are met, it is natural for people to become atheists. If the world can remain in peace and prosperity, I would prefer that humans no longer believe in us.”

Ouyang Feng listened in silent respect. This was the Impermanence Immortal. His enlightenment was genuinely profound. As a Taoist priest who had been born with the ability to see spirits, he had always looked down on materialism. But after hearing these words, he could only want to shout—

“Long live communism, long live Marxism!”

If you enjoy this novel, support the Translator ginevre on her ko-fi account :))