Striving for Science C83

“It feels… a little cold?” Chen Panpan pulled her coat tighter around her. For the sake of looking good, she was wearing a coat with a skirt today. Everything was fine, except for the lack of warmth.

"It's not like it's cold, it's really cold." Ding Yang glanced at Chen Panpan, lowered his head and touched his coat, zipped it up, and said smugly, "Luckily I'm wearing thick clothes."

Chen Panpan: "Show off!"

"Here you go." Xu Ze draped a scarf over Chen Panpan, "Wear more clothes in the future."

"Thanks." Because it was really too cold, Chen Panpan didn't bother anymore, took the scarf and wrapped it around herself.

In just a minute, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees in a row. She even suspected that the water in her cup was starting to frost over.

What on earth is going on?

***

The tree yao in the courtyard, unable to transform, was already trembling with fear. The leaves were falling off one after another, and it couldn't help but curse in its heart. What did that human upstairs do again? This aura, how is it so similar to the King of Hell's inspection tour?

The King of Hell is the ruler of the Underworld, commanding countless Yin soldiers, overseeing the reincarnation of all living beings in the six realms. In the entire Yao realm, no yao dares to disrespect the King of Hell.

Now, the big shot that no one in the Yao realm dares to offend has been summoned by this big shot.

As for why the tree yao's first suspect was Shen Chang'an, it was because within a radius of ten li, apart from Shen Chang'an's special constitution, which could summon the divine, no one else could.

There's a saying, "It's easy to invite a god, but hard to send one away." He was just waiting for Shen Chang'an to be slapped down from the building by the King of Hell.

To make him bully the tree all day long!

Haven't you heard the saying, "Everyone has a responsibility to protect plants"?

***

In the office, Du Zhonghai and Aunt Juan held their breath when they saw Shen Chang'an light the incense. They were expecting a miracle.

The divine incense is lit, first to pay respects to Heaven and Earth, then to express one's wishes, and finally to bow to the divine.

When Shen Chang'an first bowed, Du Zhonghai and Aunt Juan sensed that something mysterious and ethereal was swirling in the air. This meant that Shen Chang'an's incense had been sent out.

Cold.

Bone-chilling cold. This wasn't the kind of cold you feel standing in the snow, but the kind of coldness that comes close to death, the coldness of losing life.

The Underworld, the Underworld is reacting?

The Underworld responded as soon as Shen Chang'an bent down. Isn't this a bit too fast? The dignified ruler of the Underworld, doesn't even have a little bit of airs?

How can we, who have been waiting for immortals for so long without success, compare?

Before Shen Chang'an could even bend down for his second bow, he saw a flash of golden light in front of the altar, and the King of Hell and the City God arrived at the same time. The King of Hell was very different from the last time he saw him. Today, the King of Hell was wearing a nine-layered Underworld robe and a crown, looking very majestic. But the smile on his face softened his original sternness.

"Junior greets the King of Hell."

"Mr. Shen is too polite." The King of Hell reached out to stop Shen Chang'an from bowing to him. He turned and glanced at the offerings on the altar, then at Du Zhonghai and Gao Shujuan, who were standing beside him, not daring to breathe. He coldly turned his head towards Shen Chang'an, then continued to smile, "I wonder what Mr. Shen has called me here for today?

"It's nothing major. It's just that the evil beast that almost escaped to the human realm last time made us very uneasy, so I'm taking the liberty of asking you, my Lord, what punishment will you give that evil beast?" Shen Chang'an didn't say that it was others who wanted to know, he took the blame for himself.

"It was because of the evil beast." The King of Hell secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they didn't ask him why the Heavenly Dao Lord was on the Yellow Springs Road that day, he was fine.

"Please rest assured, Mr. Shen. I have already suppressed the evil beast within the King of Hell's Seal. Without my command, it will never be able to escape the seal, so there is no need to worry about it coming to wreak havoc on the human world."

Gao Shujuan could tell that the King of Hell wasn't paying any attention to her or Du Zhonghai, but for the sake of her responsibility, she mustered her courage and asked a question.

"Please forgive this humble one for the intrusion, Your Majesty." She took a step forward, standing beside Shen Chang'an. "The evil beast was born from the condensation of the evil energy of heaven and earth. The King of Hell's Seal has no power to bind it. I wonder what happened that caused the evil beast to be suppressed under the King of Hell's Seal. I wonder if this change will have a significant impact on the human world?"

"This is my superior, Ms. Gao Shujuan." Shen Chang'an explained Gao Shujuan's identity.

The King of Hell saw a faint golden light of merit on Gao Shujuan, guessing that she must have done many good deeds, and his expression softened. "I was able to suppress it because Heavenly Dao allowed it. As for whether this change will affect the human world..."

He paused, turning to look at Shen Chang'an. "Don't worry about it."

With this human by the Heavenly Dao Lord's side, as long as the Heavenly Dao doesn't perish, humanity will have a glimmer of hope. What is there to fear?

He thought about his Underworld, which had never received a single glance from the Heavenly Dao Lord for years. What could he say?

He could only diligently worry about the souls of the dead reincarnating.

"Thank you." Although this answer was essentially meaningless, Gao Shujuan felt a little more reassured. At least, from the King of Hell's tone, she could tell that their human future didn't seem so bleak.

"You're welcome." The King of Hell nodded slightly, then continued to Shen Chang'an, "Mr. Shen, solving your problem is a trivial matter. You don't need to prepare these offerings, you're being too polite."

"These are my two superiors, Mr. Du Zhonghai and Ms. Gao Shujuan. They have immense admiration for you. They were in a hurry to prepare the offerings today, please don't mind it."

"I appreciate your kindness, but I cannot accept these offerings. Mr. Shen is still young, and since you two are his superiors, please take good care of him and guide him in the future."

Du Zhonghai and Gao Shujuan both agreed.

The King of Hell had personally greeted them. Even if they hadn't liked Shen Chang'an before, they would have to take good care of him now. Who in the living world would dare to offend the King of Hell?

"Then I'll leave it to you two." The King of Hell nodded in satisfaction, then said to Shen Chang'an, "I carry the cold energy of the River of Souls, it's not suitable for me to stay in the human world for long. I'll take my leave now. If you have any questions in the future, you can light an incense stick before going to sleep and call me in your dream. After you fall asleep, I will come."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Shen Chang'an thanked him again.

"Please also give my regards to the Daoist Master. Farewell." As soon as the King of Hell finished speaking, he disappeared into thin air with the City God.

After the King of Hell left, Shen Chang'an reached out to touch the tray holding the roasted suckling pig. It was still hot. Did the King of Hell heat it up for them before leaving, for their convenience?

"I told you the King of Hell is very kind. I wasn't lying, was I?" Shen Chang'an turned to speak to Du Zhonghai and Gao Shujuan, only to find that they were staring blankly, looking at him as if he were a rare treasure.

This look was familiar. When he successfully invited the City God, Uncle Zhang and Dharma Master Yan Yin looked at him with the same expression.

"Chang'an." Du Zhonghai was stunned for a long time before walking up to Shen Chang'an and patting him on the shoulder. "You shouldn't be in our Civil Service Department. This place is too humble for you."

Shen Chang'an: Huh?

A few days ago, they said they were happy I stayed. Now they're already complaining about me?

Could this be the shameful feeling of workplace jealousy?

"The world needs your salvation." Du Zhonghai gazed out the window at the scenery, his face full of emotion. "You are the hope of humanity, the light of humanity."

"I'm still Ultraman Tiga." Shen Chang'an interrupted Du Zhonghai, pointing to the roasted suckling pig, roasted lamb, and various fruits on the table. "It's almost time to get off work, let's divide these up, cut them up, and take them home to eat. It's a waste not to eat them, right?"

Du Zhonghai: "..."

The King of Hell said no, so you really took it back to eat? How big is your heart?

"This suckling pig smells so good, it's a waste not to eat it." Shen Chang'an sniffed the aroma of the roasted suckling pig. "This little suckling pig, it's already so pitiful to be roasted, and no one is willing to eat it. How pitiful it must be. What value does its pig life have?"

"Eat!" Du Zhonghai rolled up his sleeves. "Old Gao, go call Ding Yang and the others to come in and share. We'll have their superiors reimburse us for this expense. From today on, I'm officially someone who has seen the King of Hell before dying."

"If it wasn't for Chang'an, you might not even have seen the King of Hell when you died. You'd have gone straight through the reincarnation process." Gao Shujuan turned to open the door.

Outside the door, Ding Yang and the other three, shivering from the cold, noticed that the temperature inside the room had started to rise rapidly within a minute, so they trembled even harder.

This isn't from the cold, it's from being scared.

The temperature suddenly dropped, and then suddenly warmed up again. Even an air conditioner couldn't do that so quickly.

The office door creaked open, and the three people, who were in a state of fear, all looked up at Gao Shujuan standing at the door: "Aunt, Aunt Juan, what are you doing in the office?"

"Oh, the roast pig was a bit cold when it arrived, so I warmed it up with Director Du. Come on in and take some home to eat." Gao Shujuan calmly opened the door and let them all in.

The three of them looked at the incense that hadn't been extinguished on the altar, and the neatly arranged offerings, and asked with trembling voices: "Aunt Juan, what did you use to heat it up?"

"This is important?"

The three of them: "Of course it's super important!"

"Don't you guys want some?" Shen Chang'an took a small handful of longan from the altar, sat down on the corner of Director Du's desk, and started peeling them.

The three of them looked at him, so relaxed and at ease: "..."

For a moment, they didn't know whether Aunt Juan and Director Du were more terrifying, or if Shen Chang'an, who dared to eat the sacrificial offering, was even more terrifying.

"This... can we really eat it?" Ding Yang looked at the roasted suckling pig in the dish, his heart pounding with excitement.

If you don't eat it, what are you going to do with it, use it as fertilizer?" Shen Chang'an beckoned to them. "So much good stuff, it's a waste not to eat it. Come on."

Seeing Shen Chang'an eat with increasing relish and no terrifying consequences, they couldn't help but gather around and start eating like him.

From a certain perspective, there might not be a single person in the entire Civil Service Department with a normal level of courage.

When the flower delivery guy found Shen Chang'an, he smelled a very fragrant roasted suckling pig. His stomach was rumbling, and he couldn't help but swallow. "Excuse me, which one of you is Mr. Shen Chang'an?"

"It's me." Shen Chang'an had just finished washing his hands and returned to hear someone calling for him. He looked up and saw the flower delivery guy holding a huge bouquet of red roses. He couldn't help but take a step back. Could this be for him again?

He was starting to have a psychological shadow about receiving flowers.

"Hello, Mr. Shen. This is the flower your friend pre-ordered at our shop. Please sign for it." The delivery guy handed the receipt to Shen Chang'an.

"These flowers... who sent them?" Shen Chang'an hesitated to sign.

A gentleman who left a message as 'Nian'." The delivery guy maintained a professional smile. "Ninety-nine roses in total. Wishing you and Mr. Nian a long and happy life together, your love will last forever."