Chapter 102: Cheating Men Must Die!

    Even though the minister’s eyes were wrapped by bandages, Jin Jiuchi felt the weight of his expectant gaze akin to a huge mountain on his shoulders. The line of his body grew tense, and a droplet of sweat rolled down his back.

    Amidst this back-breaking pressure, Jin Jiuchi parted his lips and bellowed loudly, "Start the soul trial!"

    A second of agonizing silence passed, then—

    Under the woman’s feet, a circle of blue light materialized, and at the same time, the feather of Ma’at pulsed with an intensified brilliance. In the presence of the God of Judgment, no falsehood could be concealed and the spirit wept bitterly in the next second, baring all of her most grotesque and abhorrent sins in front of him.

    "Before I ended my own life, I killed another person — my husband, the person whom I love the most in the world..."

    Jin Jiuchi slumped on his skull throne and discreetly wiped the sweat on his forehead. That was such a close call! Fortunately, his blunder worked just fine, otherwise he would need to endure the minister’s suspicion and ask him to explain how the soul trial worked!

    After getting past the first hurdle, Jin Jiuchi found himself absorbed into the woman’s story.

    She met his husband, that scumbag, when she was a university freshman. She fell madly in love at first sight for that handsome and charming senior of hers. And lo and behold, he turned out to have the same feelings as her too! What a miracle, she must have used up all of her luck in a lifetime!

    At that time, she still had no idea that this fleeting thought would become her jinx.

    They got married soon after they graduated from university, and everything went smooth sailing at first. She got a job at a multinational company, while her husband became a start-up businessman in the field of software development. For the first year, he would return late every night and collapse to the bed in exhaustion, not even having the time to chat with her.

    But she loved him wholeheartedly, so she tried her best to be supportive and considerate.

    Things abruptly took a turn for the worse when he started to ask her for money in order to cover up his insufficient funds. He convinced her that the business would do well soon, and he only needed to fix a few more things. She had seen how hard her husband worked every day, and out of love, she transferred half of her savings to him, believing in his every word.

    "Five years passed, and his business didn’t seem to show any progress. I persuaded him to start over again, but every single time, it would only end up in a fierce argument. Again and again!" She threw her head back and let out a bitter laugh. By now, she had already forgotten about her fear as she was consumed in fiery hatred down to the core. She spat out each word with venom, "He had the nerve to call me annoying... that I don’t understand him, that I am a tactless wife! How much more consideration does he expect from me?! I took on extra jobs, worked my butt off just to support us. I even dragged myself to work when I was sick. Many times I have ended up in the hospital all alone, while he was busy chasing his ’passion’!

    "On one hand, our family has been urging us to have a child... and on the other hand, the number of times we have slept together in the past year could be counted on one hand!"

    Jin Jiuchi propped his chin up with his palm and asked curiously, "And then? What drove you to kill him?"

    "I felt strange that his business could turn out so bad even after all the money we have poured out, so I took the initiative to investigate it on my own..." she laughed hoarsely, tears of blood slipping down her face. "I should have done this years ago! What a surprise, I found out that he has been cheating on me, and the money I gave him was used to raise his mistress and child! And do you know what’s worse than that, my lord?"

    Jin Jiuchi gulped, feeling tense for some reason. "W–What is it?"

    "I discovered that his child’s birthday was just one year after our wedding! Can you believe it? Even during our honeymoon phase, he was out there sleeping around and getting someone else pregnant! And I only found out about it on the very day I returned from the hospital after a medical check-up..." Her laughter grew louder, bordering on the edge of hysteria. "I was diagnosed with stage-four cancer! I only had a few more months to live! Had I taken some time for myself, maybe I would have noticed something was wrong with my own body, but no! I was too busy supporting my husband, but what did he repay me with?! Tell me, my Lord..."

    She gazed at him with a look of utter anguish, "This kind of wretched and miserable life, why should I continue to live it? I’d rather drag him down to Hell with me!!"

    "Presumptuous!" The mummy minister bellowed in anger. "Reaping another person’s life on top of your own, what a grave sin! My Lord!" He whipped his head to Jin Jiuchi, awaiting his impartial judgment. He saw the Lord of the Underworld trembling in his seat, though he could not see his expression clearly due to the dim light. The minister heard him murmur,

    "Unforgivable..."

    "That’s right!" He became more rejuvenated, and in return, the woman wept even more despairingly as she could already predict her bleak fate. "This sinner must—"

    "Cheating men must die!" The skull under Jin Jiuchi’s palm was crushed to smithereens from the force he exerted, and his silver eyes blazed in fervent fury. "Wait, that’s not right, he’s already dead. But it doesn’t mean that he will escape unscathed here! Where is the husband? The time of your death was not far, so he must be here too, right? Bring him to me! NOW!"

    The air in the temple shuddered under the weight of Jin Jiuchi’s seething anger, causing both mummies and spirits to grow restless.

    Upon seeing the minister gape at him without moving, Jin Jiuchi narrowed his eyes sharply, "Are you questioning my authority, mummy minister?"

    "T–This lowly servant would never dare!" The minister dropped to his knees as he desperately pleaded for forgiveness. He longed to correct the use of his title, to proclaim his true name, but if it pleased his Lordship to address him as ’mummy minister,’ then he would willingly adopt the name from that moment forth!

    Without wasting another breath, he turned and barked out an order to the mummy soldiers. Within minutes, another hapless spirit was forcefully dragged into the trial grounds.

    Jin Jiuchi clicked his tongue and stared at the spirit in disgust. He pinched his nose and his voice became muffled as he said, "Ugh, you smell so filthy. I don’t even want to breathe in the same air as you. Where is Ammit?" He looked around and called out, "Ammit, my dear servant, my baby! Come out, your lunch is here!"

    "N–No..." The male spirit, who bore numerous hideous stab wounds on his body, tried to break free from the mummies’ restraints to no avail. He could immediately guess what was going on as soon as he saw his mortal wife glaring at him with deep hatred."Please... please have mercy, my Lord! I know my wrongdoings now! Please grant me another chance to atone for my sins!"

    "Die!" The woman snarled fiercely at him. "Even the Lord said that cheating men must die, so you must die countless times before I’m satisfied!"

    The mummy minister: "..."

    Why... did everything turn out like this?

    "W–Wait..." he tried to speak up. "My Lord, do you not need the feather—"

    "What?!" Jin Jiuchi gasped in shock. "I still need to ask for permission from the feather of Ma’at for something so obvious?! Okay, now tell me. Do you have a complaint? If you do, just tell it to my face!" With a demanding look, he pointed at the dazzling feather on the tray, which trembled a few more times before going utterly still.

    Jin Jiuchi harrumphed and shot a look at the minister that seemed to say, ’See?’

    Mummy minister: "..."

    Jin Jiuchi continued to call out for the mythical creature, "Ammit, where are you~"

    As soon as his words settled in the air, from the depths of the stygian abyss, a monstrous figure began to materialize that was both grotesque and awe-inspiring.

    With a head resembling that of a fearsome crocodile, a body boasting the powerful muscles of a lion, and hindquarters of a colossal hippopotamus, the creature loomed above everyone. As it shifted its weight, a low and guttural growl rumbled from its mouth, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth that glistened in the dim light. The sheer presence of this monstrous amalgamation caused the very foundations of the temple to tremble in trepidation.

    The air itself seemed tainted with the stench of death and decay, a sickening aroma that mingled with the already stale atmosphere of the underworld.

    "Wow..." Jin Jiuchi let out a long whistle as he ran his gaze over the mythical creature’s body. He gave it a thumbs up, "Beautiful! Now, eat him!"

    The male spirit, who was pointed by Jin Jiuchi, could only freeze in sheer terror in the presence of this creature that towered over him. "N–No, please... arrghhh!!!"

    Mesmerized, Jin Jiuchi watched in fascination as Ammit mercilessly tore and devoured the spirit’s heart, consuming it with voracious hunger. The wails and shrieks of the tormented soul pierced the air, adding a macabre symphony to the creature’s feast, fueling its insatiable appetite.

    After Ammit finished its gruesome meal, it turned and walked over to Jin Jiuchi, each step causing the ground to tremble beneath its feet. Jin Jiuchi was shocked to discover that, despite his elevated position on the skull throne, Ammit was as tall as him! The creature’s cold breath fanned his face, smelling of death, despair and fear, and Jin Jiuchi had to hold his breath lest he would be choked to death.

    He reached out gingerly and patted the creature’s head, "Good boy, good boy... now go and stand aside. Your breath stinks!"

    Without Ammit to hinder his sight, Jin Jiuchi’s gaze landed on the woman prostrating before him, still awaiting her judgment. Sighing, he waved his hand to dismiss her, "Go, just go. How am I supposed to punish you when your life is so miserable already? In the next lifetime, don’t be so blind to marry such a scumbag, okay?"

    Not expecting to be pardoned just like that, the woman froze for a long moment. Then, as her emotions gradually overwhelmed her, she burst out into tears and lowered her forehead to the ground in a display of reverence and gratitude, "The Lord is benevolent! The Lord is benevolent!"

    As the soul trial stretched on indefinitely, time became a hazy concept for Jin Jiuchi. He listened intently to the stories from countless spirits queueing before the temple. Among them, he encountered spirits who were plainly evil, while others were honest and dignified. For those he could not ascertain, he relied on the feather of Ma’at to bestow judgment.

    Until at some point of time...

    He saw another extremely familiar face.

    "Y–You!" Jin Jiuchi straightened up in shock. What was he doing here?!

    "My Lord," the mummy minister bowed his head and announced, "This is a spirit who has just descended into our realm."

    "L–Let me go! Don’t kill me ahhh!!" Fatty struggled to escape from the mummies’ vice grip, his complexion ghastly. His glasses were knocked askew, his shirt printed with anime girl was stained in blood, and a few visible wounds marred his body. Under the mummy soldiers’ unrelenting strength, he was brought to his knees before Jin Jiuchi, and as soon as he raised his head, a look of utter shock crossed his features. "Y–You..."

    He blurted out in fluster, "Aren’t you Xiao Shen’s dog?!!"

    .

    .

    Mini theater

    Jin Jiuchi: Damn, I’m such an excellent actor *strike a cool pose*

    Shen Nianzu: You’re dead? No problem, I can still kill you again.