Cataclysm Chapter 1: Human Skin Painting 1; Dafu APP

The Cataclysm on the Road Between Realms

Crash Into Yin-Yang Road

大撞阴阳路

Author: 木兮娘 (Niang Mu)

jjwxc

Status in Original Country: 140 chapters (Completed)

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Action, Horror, Slow Romance

Summary: 

Chen Yang got married to a Hell servitor at the age of eighteen, graduated college at twenty-two. As soon as he graduated, he received an employment document at the community center, so he brought his husband’s altar with him and decided to pick up the job. At first, when he discovered his new job description was dealing with ghosts and demons, and his colleagues were all Tianshis, Chen Yang strongly refused. Later on, he learned that this job had a high pay with good welfare, so he happily accepted.

 

Chapter 1: Human Skin Painting 1; Dafu APP

Translated by Shiya of Exiled Rebels Scanlations 

Editor: The Girl from the East

 

The midday sun was so fierce that the air seemed to tremble and waver from the heat, giving rise to the illusion that space was distorted. The road next to the subway entrance was scorching, and vehicles came and went in a hurry. On the other side of the pavement, pedestrians were only willing to walk in the shade. It caused the sidewalk to be half full and crowded with pedestrians, the other half empty and exposed to the sun.

The sidewalk near the subway entrance was full of cars and bicycles, leaving only a narrow road for one person to pass. A young man stepped out of the subway entrance. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a red checkered over-shirt, his sleeves were pulled up to his elbows. A red rope adorned with an old copper coin was worn on his right wrist. His lower body was encased in black trousers and high-top shoes. With a shoulder bag slung over his back, his handsome features and a gentle temperament were like a spring breeze. In the hot weather, the young man was as refreshing as a cool breeze. Unconsciously, people felt that the heat around them receded a lot, and they cooled down.

According to the direction indicated by the electronic map, Chen Yang walked into a community that was away from the noisy winding road into where it was quiet. The community was surrounded by lush trees along the avenue, and the heat was dispelled.

“West Community…building number 10.” Chen Yang looked up. “Turn left and go straight.”

In front of him, the address that was on the employment document was Dafu Street Office, Building 10, ShenChun West Community.  But what was in front of him was a residential building,  and he couldn’t see where the Dafu Street Office was written.

Chen Yang asked an aunt who came out of the residential building. She pointed out a path for him, “From here, go straight, it’s over there.”

The road was full of cars and bicycles. Four or five shared bicycles were abandoned on their sides. Chen Yang went down the path which was a densely shaded and narrow gravel road. It was hard to enter, but finally before him was an old residential building, six stories high.

Walking into the courtyard, Chen Yang saw a large sheet of iron on the left side of the gate. It read: Dafu Street Office, West Community, ShenChun.

Chen Yang entered and found it was not as strict as an ordinary street office, as there were no rows of chairs and windows. It was more like a typical family living room with a coffee table, sofa, and a landscape painting hanging on the wall. This was the appearance of the left side of the lobby. On the right side of the lobby, there was a square table with two incense burners, two water cups, and two wine cups. On the top part, there were two identical copies of the five offerings. The so-called ‘five offerings – incense, flowers, light, water, and fruit” were often offered to the dead.

Behind the table and incense burner, were the two portraits of the ancestors. One was Tianshi Zhang of the Tianshi faction, the other were the Maoshan faction’s Three Perfect Mao Lords. ¹

Chen Yang twitched his mouth, thinking that if he were one of these people’s ancestors, he would slap the people who worshiped them. They were a great ancestor, yet couldn’t even have their own separate dwelling, let alone the fact their portraits have to share the same table. How frustrating.

Chen Yang shook his head and stopped halfway, frowning tightly. He remembered that this was a community office. Why would a place that speaks Science and reason, worship two factions of Daoism at the same time? Did he walk into the wrong place?

Chen Yang turned around silently and knew that this was way too good to be true, to receive an employment notice for the post as Director of a community office right after graduation. 

Sure enough, this wasn’t normal.

Ma Shanfeng stepped out of his office with his beer belly and his hands behind him. At first glance, he noticed the unknown young man standing at the front door. Considering he had yet to see the young man who was supposed to come for the position of Director today, he quickly stopped him, “Chen Yang?”

Chen Yang looked back and saw Ma Shanfeng, who laughed like the Maitreya Buddha. With some doubts in his heart, he muttered, “Hello.”

Ma Shanfeng quickly took Chen Yang’s hand and intercepted him from thinking of running away. “You are Chen Yang who came for an interview today, right?” He said with a laugh, “Did you bring the papers with you?”

“I have it with me… Is this the Dafu Street Community Office?”

Ma Shanfeng nodded, narrowed his eyes when he saw Chen Yang’s suspicion and hesitation. He said quietly, “We don’t have too many rules here; there is not much work to do; we are only busy at certain special times. Pay includes food, housing, insurance, and other daily necessities. We also send some fruit and food on holidays and provide expenses for going on holiday trips. Basically, if you don’t quit, you can retire after twenty years. We also offer retirement pension and allocate individual housing after retirement…”

Chen Yang was already hooked and entirely attracted by the pay, food, and the rest of the employment package. He was originally from a small village in the south and had moved to a big city to attend B University after passing the exam. After graduation, he wanted to stay in the capital, but food and housing expenses became a huge issue. What’s more, he was not single; he had his family to support.

“Can I bring my family to the dormitory?”

Ma Shanfeng, “How many people?”

“Just one. My significant other.”

At this moment, Ma Shanfeng looked at Chen Yang differently. He had just graduated and could already start a family.

“We can give you a flat with two rooms and one living room, that way you will have room even if you have a child in the future.” Ma Shanfeng said, “However, good treatment means harsh conditions. You have to pass the interview assessment first.”

Chen Yang straightened his back, peach blossom eyes full of joy, shining with a bright light, “I will work hard.”

Ma Shanfeng smiled and looked at the young person in front of him. His heart was thrilled.

The young person was handsome and charming. Later, as a representative of the branch office, he had to be the face of the office. Looking at him, Ma Shenfeng saw he was excited and energetic because of the promise for accommodation. He was a motivated and straightforward person.

Okay, good, very good.

“So what do I need to do now?”

Ma Shanfeng took out his phone and dialed a number. He whispered a few words and hung up then raised his head and motioned for Chen Yang to sit down. “Drink some tea first, and then someone will bring the assessment test down.”

Chen Yang nodded and sat down. Then he asked, “This is the street community office. Why don’t I see anyone?”

Shouldn’t everyone be busily working during the day?

“We are the Dafu branch office.”

Chen Yang’s smiling face didn’t stay. Why did a subdistrict office even have a branch office??

“We currently have three staff members. If you pass the examination then we will be four. We are recruiting for the Director of this branch office in hopes that the new Director will lead our branch to develop and grow.”

… And then unify the whole street and the neighborhood?

Chen Yang was silent for a moment and asked, “Will you really give me food, shelter, and pay?”

Ma Shanfeng cut the iron nail on the head, “Yes! If you pass the examination today, you can move in tonight.”

Chen Yang clenched his teeth and decided to stay as long as he was not breaking the law…  and had a guarantee of food, shelter, and pay.

A young and lively girl jumped in and said, “Ma Shangfeng, incoming order!!”

“Here comes the assessment.” Ma Shanfeng laughed and was not angry with his nickname at all. He pointed to the girl and introduced, “This is Mao Xiaoli, one of the staff members of our Dafu office.”

Mao Xiaoli looked at Chen Yang and immediately gave him an introduction to the welfare of the office staff with open eyes and a smile. She also took out a pen and a contract and flicked it over to him to sign it. It was not until Ma Shanfeng coughed a few times that she said sadly, “Sign the contract after the examination… I’ll give you a simple assessment, handsome man, I’m optimistic about you.”

After that, she took out her cell phone, logged in to an app, and picked out a simple neighborhood dispute before almost hitting the confirm button. Ma Shanfeng suddenly patted her on the back, “Xiaoli, are you done yet?”

Mao Xiaoli’s finger slipped and accepted the order(item) below in the list instead. The order had been accepted and couldn’t be withdrawn. Looking at the three-star difficulty, she knew that this task would be difficult even for a veteran. 

Mao Xiaoli pointed at Ma Shanfeng angrily and scolded, “You sly old fox!!”

Ma Shanfeng laughed and said, “You should go along with him. If it’s really too difficult, then hand it back to the main office.” Then he said to Chen Yang, “Good luck, young man.”

Chen Yang was puzzled and looked at Mao Xiaoli.

Mao Xiaoli’s face was full of sorrow and frustratedly explained, “The nature of our work in the Dafu Branch Office is different from that of an ordinary branch office. We choose our work from the lists of orders on the Dafu app ourselves and the difficulty of the orders are graded. Five-stars is the highest and the most difficult but comes with the highest pay. We have a monthly base salary and a share per order the office completes. The pay from that is quite good.”

“Dafu app?”

“When you sign the contract, we will give you the link and account to download and log in. Later, you can take orders on it by yourself. But even if the order is accepted, the employer may refuse… If your level isn’t high enough – forget it, let’s wait until the exam is over before I explain all of that to you.”

No matter how many explanations were given, she could do nothing if he failed the examination. Chen Yang understood that from Mao Xiaoli’s unfinished words, but he was still full of energy. Including accommodation, pay, and food, plus a share at the end of each month, there were more exclusive benefits.

“Come on, we will now go to the customer’s house.”

Chen Yang nodded and followed. Hearing Mao Xiaoli mutter in a low voice, “Strange, how come I can take a three star order? I’ve just received my DuGong rank. Aren’t all the three stars looking for a WuLei or above rank?”

Chen Yang stopped his step, and his eyes moved slightly.

The DuGong(merit) and WuLei(five thunder) Mao Xiaoli spoke of meant a Tianshi’s rank. People who took the oath to become a Tianshi could be divided into nine ranks, also called the nine grades, but in fact only those who have received a blessing (ShouLu) could call themselves a Tianshi. There are five blessings, DuGong (merit), MengWei (prestige alliance), SanDong WuLei (Three caves Five Thunder), WuLei (five thunder), and lastly, ShangQing (Supreme Clarity), the five blessings occupy seven of the nine ranks ².

Mao Xiaoli only just became a DuGong Tianshi, so her rank should be between seven and six. However, was this not an ordinary community office working to deal with neighborhood relationships or cultural development? It seems out of place to link Tianshi ranks and an order together. Chen Yang frowned and was silent. He decided to take a look at the examination test first. Maybe he was overthinking it?

Half an hour later, Chen Yang stood at the door of a villa and asked Mao Xiaoli earnestly, “Tell me the truth, what on earth does the Dafu community office do?”

Mao Xiaoli, “It’s not a community office. It’s the Dafu branch office.

Chen Yang was in despair.

“Don’t worry, we are also civil servants, but our welfare is one hundred times better than that of ordinary civil servants… Although it is still not comparable to the main office. In fact, the nature of work is almost the same. Both serve the people.” Mao Xiaoli was gradually silent, probably because Chen Yang’s accusing eyes were too obvious.

“What is the assessment about?”

Mao Xiaoli raised her thumb up and said, “Go in and have a look?”

“……”

When Chen Yang entered the villa, he discovered there were more than one group of people taking up the job, as inside were two more. He heard that another group just left earlier…

After listening, Mao Xiaoli shook her head. “Desperate time calls for desperate measures. No wonder they didn’t reject our application for the order.” 

Chen Yang thought for a moment, and after thinking about the situation, he also understood.

The family’s surname was Han, and the only daughter in the family was possessed. Only then did the family place an order and invite the Tianshis to come to the house. All the Tianshis who came to accept the order failed, so the difficulty rose from one star to three stars, which then happened to be received by Mao Xiaoli.

 

The author has something to say:

In future, only the five blessings rank will be mentioned (Grade seven to one). As for the ninth level and eighth grade, they are only entry-levels, so ignore them.

 

Translator notes:

As all the grades mentioned later by the author will be in the Chinese characters format and not number grades, I will add the number grade after it in a bracket: WuLei (Grade three) Tianshi

(Shiya: Why did I choose this grade in particular? Because a character I like is that grade X3)

 

 

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