All the ghostly guests at the table turned their eyes to Manager Liang at the head seat. None of them had come today for merriment. They were all here because of the matter mentioned in the invitation.
Liang Fuyi did not beat around the bush. She got straight to the point.
"You all know how business has been lately, I don't need to say more. We've each run paper crafting shops on Yinshui Alley for over three centuries. The rules of the underworld are no mystery to us.
For essential ghostly goods like paper crafts and incense, the price range has always been regulated by the Underworld Commerce Division. We rely on the quality of our products and business acumen to make a living.
But now, a large group of ghosts has been dumping paper goods on Yinshui Alley at prices so low they don't even cover production costs. This has dealt a huge blow to our businesses. I've had people investigating the source of those goods for some time. Just a few days ago, I finally got reliable information. All of it comes from the living world."
The news startled the ghostly shopkeepers present.
"The living world? Are mortals involved?"
"No wonder those ghost vendors looked off to me—the way they dressed, spoke, behaved—they didn't seem like old ghosts at all! Is someone in the mortal world supplying them? Who would be so bold? Are they not afraid of being recorded in the Book of Life and Death?"
"I suspected this would happen. Ever since spiritual energy began reviving in the mortal world, I knew it would affect us down here. I just didn't expect it so soon."
"What are we supposed to do? We've been dead for so many years. No one in the living world remembers to honor us anymore. The connection between the underworld and the mortal world was severed long ago. How can we possibly resolve this cross-realm problem?"
"Now that the boundaries between realms are so strict, even underworld messengers don't go to the living world anymore. During Ghost Gate Openings, only ghosts with living relatives can return. So unless we hire other ghosts to handle this, our only option is to bring this matter to the underworld court."
"Of course we must! This is malicious interference in the underworld market. Are mortals planning to monopolize paper crafting for all eternity?"
"Yes, we must report this! The living have lost all respect for death after being cut off from spiritual energy for too long. We may be ghosts, but the rules of the underworld are not to be broken!"
...
As the crowd grew increasingly angry, Liang Fuyi turned to Song Miaozhu, seated downstream from her.
"Manager Song, what do you think? Your shop has the most contact with the mortal world, so your information is usually the most up to date. Do you see things differently?"
Song Miaozhu had no intention of defending The SEIU. Her shop had been the main target of the SEIU's price war. If she hadn't mastered her craft so thoroughly, she would've suffered far more by now. She had already warned the SEIU via her contacts in Lingcheng more than once.
So now she spoke purely from the perspective of Anshou Hall's shopkeeper.
"I do know some of the details. Those goods are being distributed by the Spiritual Energy Investigation Units (SEIU), an official cultivator organization in the mortal world. The ghosts selling them are all agents the SEIU planted in the underworld. The low-priced paper goods are issued as part of their welfare system, and the difference in cost serves as their reward.
The revival of spiritual energy in the mortal realm is tied to craftsmanship, and paper crafting is one of the included skills. Soon, the living world will see an influx of new artisans, including many paper crafters. With the SEIU's influence, they can supply low-cost paper crafts to their ghost agents in the underworld for a long time."
Everyone knew what the long-term dumping of low-cost paper goods would lead to. The news of spiritual revival had been out for a while. Those willing to gamble had already sold their assets to reincarnate into better families.
The people here were the ones who didn't want to get caught up in the chaos of the living world. They just wanted to guard their businesses and live a steady afterlife. But now, cultivators from the mortal realm had reached into the underworld, exploiting the differences between worlds to steal their livelihood. This was entirely different from Anshou Hall's resale of unique mortal goods. This was outright warfare.
"Outrageous! If this continues, we'll all be pushed out of business!"
"The SEIU actually planted ghost agents here in the underworld? They're openly provoking the authority of the underworld Magistrates! If we don't report this, they'll think we're powerless against them!"
"Exactly! File a petition to the underworld Magistrates!"
...
After thinking it over, Liang Fuyi agreed with the others.
"It seems taking this to the underworld Magistrates and letting them handle it is our best option.
According to Manager Song, mortal cultivators have conspired with underworld ghosts, spied on the situation here, and disrupted the paper goods market. That's more than enough to qualify as a crime of disturbing the balance between realms.
Yi Qiu, draft a joint petition for us."
A female ghost seated across the stream from Song Miaozhu, still downstream from Liang Fuyi, responded.
"Based on what everyone has said, it's best to draft two petitions. One to the Fengdu Magistrates, accusing mortal cultivators of colluding with ghosts to spy on the underworld. Another to the Underworld Commerce Bureau, accusing them of disrupting the underworld paper market through malicious interference."
Youlong had introduced her earlier. She was a renowned lawyer from Sanchi Alley, invited by Liang Fuyi in advance.
Although every ghost in Fengdu has their actions recorded in the Book of Life and Death, those records are only reviewed periodically by underworld messengers. Due to the overwhelming volume of information, it's easy for individual issues to be missed unless they're specifically flagged.
That's where lawyer come in—to submit formal complaints to the underworld magistrates. Once a complaint is received, it is processed much more efficiently. If the report proves valid, the offending ghost is punished, and both the complainant and the drafter are rewarded.
And that reward is usually quite generous.
So in the underworld, if the accusation is valid, lawyers don't charge a fee. They're considered civil assistants to the Fengdu Magistrates, well-versed in underworld law and court procedures.
Shen Yiqiu was one of the Four Great Lawyers of Sanchi Alley.
Liang Fuyi must have anticipated that this matter would involve the mortal world and would be beyond their means to resolve, which is why she had invited Shen Yiqiu in advance.
"Let's do it your way," Liang Fuyi agreed.
A ghost attendant beside Shen Yiqiu handed her a brush and ready-prepared paper. She immediately lowered her head and began writing.
The two petitions were completed quickly and presented to Liang Fuyi. After reviewing them carefully, she took out her shopkeeper's certificate and stamped the documents with her personal seal.
The petitions were then passed to Song Miaozhu. What had only been briefly discussed earlier was now laid out clearly and formally. The petitions even referenced specific clauses in underworld law.
The logic was tight and the language precise, though certain phrasing was noticeably careful.
For example, where Song Miaozhu had casually said the SEIU planted agents in the underworld, Shen Yiqiu wrote that the SEIU inserted ghost agents, who were likely attempting to spy on secrets of the underworld magistrates.