“Supervisor Zhao? Heh, what wind blew you here today?”

Han Lie stood up, forcing a stiff smile onto his weathered face. He knew exactly why Zhao Donghai had come, but he had to play the fool for now. The people from the Afterlife Hall of the Servant Department didn’t come to discuss the meaning of life; they came to collect corpses.

Zhao Donghai wore a fake smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “According to the personnel records in the Servant Department, you should have passed away from old age by now. I must say, I’m surprised to see you still looking so… radiant. It seems you still have some time left, Han Lie.”

“Heh heh, perhaps the Heavens favor this old man, allowing me to exert my last bit of strength for the Sect Leader,” Han Lie replied.

“That won’t be necessary,” Zhao Donghai stated flatly. “They’ve already assigned someone else to handle the servant affairs at Violet Heaven Palace. Since your old bones still have some days left, return to the Servant Department and enjoy your remaining years in peace. You’ve dedicated your life to the Heavenly Void Sect; the department won’t treat you poorly. When the time comes, I will personally oversee matters at the Afterlife Hall to ensure you leave this world with dignity.”

Hearing this, Han Lie offered an indescribable smile. He asked pointedly, “Supervisor Zhao, when you say ‘when the time comes,’ do you mean tomorrow, or the day after?”

Han Lie didn’t doubt for a second that once he left the sanctuary of Violet Heaven Palace and returned to the Servant Department’s territory, he would end up ‘committing suicide’ by being stabbed eight times in the back within two days at most.

Zhao Donghai dropped the pretense. He sneered, “Even though you’re almost ready for burial, your mind is still sharp. You have no cultivation talent and no energy left to perform servant duties. What value do you still hold for the Heavenly Void Sect? I’m giving you a chance now to leave with dignity yourself. If you don’t appreciate it, I’ll help find your dignity for you.”

The Servant Department was the lowest rung of the Heavenly Void Sect, but even among servants, a hierarchy existed.

Generally speaking, being the exclusive servant for Violet Heaven Palace was considered one of the most comfortable positions.

Why?

Ye Qingxuan might be strict, but at least you wouldn’t be bullied or oppressed by senior servants, and you had relatively more free time during leisure hours.

Most importantly, there was seniority.

After stepping down from the position of exclusive servant for Violet Heaven Palace, one could basically expect smooth sailing within the Servant Department afterward.

Apart from the exclusive servants for the Palace, other servant disciples—especially newcomers—had to do all the dirty, hard labor and endure bullying and oppression from their seniors.

During the first few years when Han Lie first arrived at the Heavenly Void Sect as a newbie servant disciple, he had experienced this deeply firsthand. Even after becoming a seasoned veteran within the system, one still faced internal power struggles within the Servant Department itself. If you weren’t slick enough, or were a bit too rigid, you likely wouldn’t end well.

Therefore, the position of exclusive servant for Violet Heaven Palace was coveted by countless servant disciples.

Back then, Han Lie—who lacked both background and connections—managed to become the exclusive servant solely due to Ye Qingxuan’s personal promotion. At the time, the Servant Department had repeatedly sent servants who performed poorly; enraged, Ye Qingxuan punished the Department while also personally selecting a capable servant herself—that person being Han Lie!

Han Lie had held this position for a hundred years straight—from a spirited youth back then to the white-haired elderly man nearing his end today!

Now, with his lifespan supposedly running out, the Servant Department supervisors were naturally eager to install their own people to replace him as soon as possible. If he was unwilling to cooperate, they could easily resort to forceful measures.

Because he was truly old now and his days were numbered, they assumed even Ye Qingxuan likely wouldn’t intervene further either way.

Although the Heavenly Void Sect was a demonic sect, the sect rules explicitly forbade mutual killing among fellow disciples—at least openly. But if he returned to the Servant Department’s territory, they had plenty of methods to make him ‘commit suicide’ and vanish without a trace, unknown to anyone else.

As a seasoned veteran himself, Han Lie understood this perfectly well!

Thus, he absolutely must not go back with Zhao Donghai! By the time Ye Qingxuan realized something was wrong and wanted to save him, he would have already reported to King Yama in the underworld.

Han Lie met Zhao Donghai’s gaze directly and retorted sarcastically, “Supervisor Zhao, your words are useless against This Senior!”

“This Senior can accept personnel arrangements made by the Servant Department—I can return to enjoy my remaining years peacefully, too. But a supervisor of the Afterlife Hall under the Servant Department like yourself seems to lack the authority over personnel transfers within the department!”

“If you want This Senior to vacate his position and return, fine! Let the Department Supervisor come and speak to This Senior personally!”

Zhao Donghai snorted contemptuously. “Old trash, you seem completely unaware of what a worthless piece of garbage you are!”

“You think you are worthy of having the Supervisor come personally? A small fry like you, lacking connections and background—if you hadn’t relied on excelling at servant work, how could you have enjoyed a comfortable life as the exclusive servant of Violet Heaven Palace for so many years?”

Saying so, Zhao Donghai waved his hand grandly, signaling the two accompanying servant disciples to carry him out forcibly.

Han Lie raised a hand, stopping the two disciples’ movements, and said leisurely, “Supervisor Zhao, this is the entrance to Violet Heaven Palace!”

“If you dare to cause trouble here, you’d better think carefully whether you can withstand the Sect Leader’s wrath!”

“Every single disciple among the hundred thousand in the Heavenly Void Sect knows the Sect Leader dislikes being disturbed during cultivation the most! This Senior’s worthless life doesn’t matter, but you are different! As a supervisor of the Afterlife Hall, your life and future are far more precious than This Senior’s!”

“Good! Very good!”

Han Lie’s words instantly cooled the heated Zhao Donghai. Thinking carefully, it was indeed unnecessary to make a big scene at the entrance of Violet Heaven Palace over a dying man.

“You just wait right here, you old trash,” Zhao Donghai said, his eyes dark and sinister.

Once back in the Servant Department’s territory, he had plenty of methods and strength to deal with him later. Although the Afterlife Hall lacked authority over personnel transfers within the department, he still held the title of Supervisor! How could he tolerate a lowly servant challenging his authority?

Han Lie shrugged, completely unbothered. “This Senior’s health is poor; forgive me for not seeing you off, Supervisor Zhao.”

After sending Zhao Donghai and his men away, Han Lie rubbed his nose and chuckled.

“Merely a supervisor of the Afterlife Hall… one would think he was some big shot.”

As the saying goes: The King of Hell is easy to meet, but the little goblins are hard to deal with.

That exactly described people like Zhao Donghai. From the perspective of the entire Heavenly Void Sect organization, Zhao Donghai’s status was barely higher than lowly servants like themselves.

“That said, This Senior still needs to find a way to resolve this matter…”

If not for the Life Extension Pill, he indeed would have already passed away by now. Thus, the Servant Department had arranged a replacement servant disciple in advance…