After Saving the Self-Destructing Ghost King - Chapter 4

Ning State, Liucheng, Zhenwei Tower.

Ying Chuang gripped a chicken leg in his right hand, while the third chicken just served by the waiter was placed before him. Compared to a Frost Silver Wolf, he looked much more like a yellow-weasel. Under Jinyou’s glare, Yan Baichuan rubbed his nose and ordered a pot of the cheapest Shaodaizi liquor.

What was most infuriating was Lingyun. Relying on the fact that he wasn’t the one paying, she picked out all the expensive items on the menu and periodically offered commentary:

“Such a fine Longjing Shrimp, yet they had to put in so much oil it’s sickeningly greasy.”

“The flavor of this sauce hasn’t even been simmered into the meat, and they still dare to charge one hundred and twenty cash. It can only fool a sucker who only knows how to eat roasted chicken.”

Ying Chuang was happily eating his roasted chicken when it finally dawned on him a moment later. He was the one being subtly insulted! He immediately wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and challenged, “Want to fight?”

Lingyun pinched her nose in disgust. “You’re filthy! Stay away from me!”

Jinyou snapped his folding fan shut with a slap and glared coldly at Lingyun. “If you don’t care to eat, put down your chopsticks and get the hell out of here.”

Lingyun sat back down as if nothing had happened, lifted her chin toward Yan Baichuan, and said, “Name your price for the unmelting ice; I need it for artifact forging.”

Yan Baichuan cast a glance at Ying Chuang. “The unmelting ice belongs to him. You just called him filthy a moment ago.”

Lingyun strode across, bypassed Yan Baichuan, and sat down right next to Ying Chuang. All smiles, she looked at him with ingratiating flattery. “Little brother, what will it take for you to sell the item to me? For instance… how about I treat you to a meal?”

How much was a meal, and how much was unmelting ice worth? Unable to bear Lingyun’s calculating demeanor any longer, Jinyou sneered, “What kind of person is Yan Baichuan? Do you really think you can take advantage of him?”

That was true. Lingyun withdrew her flattering expression, her fingers tapping rhythmically and deliberately against the tabletop this was her serious negotiating posture.

“Help me get Dichen back, take care of a grudge along the way, and figure out how to open the passage between the upper and lower realms.” Yan Baichuan knew Lingyun’s temperament well; she was a classic example of someone who wouldn’t release the hawk until she saw the rabbit. “Of course, I can give you the unmelting ice first. Ying Chuang.”

Ying Chuang freed up one hand, pulled out the cloth bundle from his bosom, and said with his mouth full, “Here you go.”

An item that hadn’t been successfully mined in over a decade was simply wrapped in a tattered piece of cloth no matter how one looked at it, it was a terrible waste of a heavenly treasure. Lingyun put away the unmelting ice, taking this as her agreement to the trade. “Let’s make this clear first: I don’t know the method you’re talking about, otherwise wouldn’t I have become an immortal long ago? But if it’s about brainstorming ideas to help out, that’s no problem at all. Besides, haven’t you ever considered what would happen if I took the item and just ran off?”

Yan Baichuan looked up at Lingyun, saying half in praise and half in warning, “You won’t. Besides, even if you really did run away, I’d still hunt you down to the ends of the earth.”

Lingyun let out a light chuckle of acknowledgment. She knew Yan Baichuan wasn’t joking; those people and ghosts who had tried to trick Yan Baichuan had all without exception turned into souls beneath his blade—she had no interest in challenging that fate.

Lingyun picked up her wine cup, but before her lips could even brush the rim, she gently set it down again, her gaze drifting toward the entrance. “It looks like my trouble has arrived first?”

None of them were ordinary people. Sensing that the people outside were harboring malicious intent, Ying Chuang had already clenched his fists tightly. However, before the anticipated scene could unfold, a slender hand gently pushed open the door.

“These honored guests possess extraordinary abilities; how could they be matters for you people to offend? Get back and take your punishments.” The newcomer was dressed like a scholar, looking refined and scholarly, yet the fabric of his garments was exceptionally valuable, indicating that his status was far from ordinary.

The servants behind the scholar bowed their heads and retreated. The scholar cupped his fists toward the group: “This one is Liu Chengmian, acting on the orders of my father, Liu Yingfeng, to invite the honored guests to resolve a difficult trouble at our residence.”

Lingyun looked at Liu Chengmian with amused interest, propping her head up with one hand. “The City Lord of Liucheng puts on quite grand airs, actually blocking people right at the entrance of Zhenwei Tower. Won’t this ruin the proprietor’s business?”

Liu Chengmian merely smiled and instructed the young attendant beside him: “A-Nian, compensate the proprietor for the restaurant’s losses today as a token of our apology.”

The attendant named A-Nian bowed in acknowledgment, turned, and went downstairs to explain things to the proprietor. Liu Chengmian remained standing in place, a warm smile still gracing his face as he politely cupped his fists at the group once more: “In that case, would the honored guests be willing to accompany this one to the Liu residence? If you can resolve the problem at our estate, the Liu family will certainly offer a generous reward. Please consider this request.”

The Liu family held immense power. It was likely that whatever had happened at the gambling house had been reported to Liu Yingfeng’s desk almost immediately, especially since Lingyun and Ying Chuang had boldly called out Yan Baichuan’s name. Although Yan Baichuan had been dead for seventeen years, his name remained as resounding as ever so much so that it could still stop crying children at night.

Jinyou shot a disgruntled glare at the troublemakers, only to notice that Yan Baichuan wore a thoughtful expression, seemingly quite interested in whatever was going on inside the Liu residence.

It seemed this trip to the Liu residence was unavoidable. Exchanging glances, Jinyou stood up to pay the bill, but Liu Chengmian stopped him: “Since the honored guests are entrusted by the Liu residence, this one will naturally arrange everything properly.”

Jinyou narrowed his eyes, studying Liu Chengmian with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Young Master Liu certainly does things very thoughtfully.”

Liu Chengmian responded politely, “It is merely my duty.”

[You’re really going?] Jinyou quietly transmitted his voice to Yan Baichuan, sounding somewhat worried. [This Liu family acts like local tyrants in Liucheng. If even they can’t solve it, it can’t possibly be anything good.]

Yan Baichuan rubbed his ear and transmitted his voice back: [What are you afraid of? If the sky falls, I’ll hold it up. Besides, the more troublesome it is, the more it’s the exact kind of place we ought to go right now, isn’t it?]

What kind of logic was that? Before Jinyou could ask, Yan Baichuan’s voice sounded in his mind again: [If it weren’t for you agreeing to those troublesome matters for Qin Guang, otherwise we’d have to go back to the Underworld to do manual labor for those two ox-and-horse guards, and we wouldn’t have ended up just slaying that big locust tree which wasn’t even enough to sharpen my blade.] The one inside the Liu residence had better be a formidable character; good ghosts couldn’t be killed indiscriminately, but wicked ghosts should be fair game, right?

Jinyou was left speechless. If it weren’t for saving Yan Baichuan, who would want to negotiate terms with Qin Guang? Did he look like he wanted to do manual labor for those two hideous guards?

The Liu residence was located in the central axis of Liucheng. Its exterior wasn’t extravagantly decorated like those of ordinary wealthy households, but its courtyard walls were much taller than those of neighboring residences, enclosing the situation inside the courtyard tightly out of sight.

Seeing Liu Chengmian return, the doorman hurriedly opened the courtyard gates to welcome them. “Young Master, the Master is waiting for the honored guests in the main hall.”

Liu Chengmian nodded and led Yan Baichuan and the others into the main hall.

Liu Yingfeng was well past forty, yet his face bore few traces of aging. A pair of sharp, hawk-like eyes flashed with keen intelligence; looking at the group, his gaze felt less like appreciation and much more like evaluating assets.

This kind of scrutiny inherently caused discomfort, and Jinyou’s face immediately darkened. Liu Chengmian introduced the backgrounds of Yan Baichuan and the others to Liu Yingfeng as if belatedly realizing it, though he remained entirely clueless about Ying Chuang.

Yan Baichuan was only interested in the strange occurrences happening within the estate and couldn’t be bothered to engage in verbal sparring or beat around the bush with Liu Yingfeng. Straight to the point, he said, “Instead of who he is, I think who I am matters more, doesn’t it, Lord Liu? I hear your honorable residence has been plagued by strange events. Since that’s the case, Lord Liu must be quite anxious why not just fill us in on the situation directly?”

Liu Yingfeng concealed the displeasure in his eyes, invited the group to be seated, and began recounting the sequence of events amidst the fragrance of tea.

“To be frank with you all, the strange occurrences within the estate have actually been going on for a long time, but they don’t involve myself rather, it is my unworthy son.” Speaking of Liu Chengmian, Liu Yingfeng’s brow and eyes revealed a trace of genuine worry. “My son is twenty-one this year, an age when he should be settling down in marriage, who would have thought… alas!”

Liu Chengmian also offered a bitter smile. “Three years ago, my marriage was betrothed to the daughter of Magistrate Wang. Who would have expected that merely three days after our wedding, she would suddenly bleed from her seven orifices and die violently? With no other recourse, we could only give her a proper and thick burial. I originally thought our horoscopes simply clashed and didn’t think much else of it. Who could have known that when I married for the second time, the exact same thing happened again? My second wife also met her end in the identical manner three days after the wedding… That was what finally alerted me.”

Jinyou glanced sideways at the seemingly understated tables and chairs adorning the main hall and chuckled softly, “With Lord Liu’s immense power, you surely wouldn’t just sit back and wait to die, right?”

Overlooking the mockery in Jinyou’s words, Liu Chengmian explained to him, “To not hide it from Your Excellency, Liucheng is protected by protective arrays, preventing ordinary ghosts and spirits from entering. My father and I have also invited Daoist priests to take a look, but we still came away with nothing.”

Lingyun crossed her legs, lifted the lid of her tea cup, blew away the steam, and took a rough gulp like an uncultured brute: “You just said all the strange occurrences in your estate started because of your marriages. That being the case, you were in such a rush to have us brought here—could it be that Young Master Liu is preparing to get married again?”

Liu Chengmian nodded hesitatingly. “This one originally had no wish for this either, but my father has only one son in his declining years, so we have looked into another family. We aren’t asking for matching family status; we only hope to continue the family line and live in peace and safety.”

Yan Baichuan turned his gaze to Liu Yingfeng, his tone carrying undisguised irritation: “When is the wedding date?”

Liu Yingfeng exchanged a glance with Liu Chengmian, unease written across his face: “Tomorrow. Everything will have to be entrusted to you all.”

“Hmph, neither of that father-son pair is any good.” Jinyou leaned against the doorframe, his tongue as sharp as if it had been dipped in poison. “What ‘not asking for matching family status’—it’s just that too many people have died, so families of equal status are unwilling to marry their daughters over, fearing they’ll get their own daughters killed. There must be plenty of people in Liucheng who know about this Liu family business; if this young lady is willing to marry, there’s no telling what kind of benefits the Liu family promised her.”

Lingyun was pondering what kind of magical treasure she could forge with her newly acquired unmelting ice, occasionally sparing enough attention to chime in: “Yeah, the wedding is tomorrow, yet they were in such a rush to find us today ah, looks like we’ve been press-ganged into service.”

Jinyou cast a glance at the silent Yan Baichuan. The battle-hungry aura radiating from him was like a volcano waiting to erupt beneath a calm sea, needing only a single spark tomorrow to set it off.

The Liu family treated human lives as if they were mere grass. Two young women had already died tragically, yet the Liu father and son cared only about continuing the Liu family lineage and stubbornly insisted on marrying again. Judging by their actions, they were far from good people. Liu Chengmian appeared courteous and considerate, but he was deeply scheming, knew how to retreat when necessary, and upon realizing Yan Baichuan and his companions possessed extraordinary abilities, immediately pushed the guards forward to take the blame while he feigned apology, effortlessly shifting between offense and defense. Yet if he were truly a benevolent person, how could he repeatedly condone Liu Yingfeng arranging marriages for him time and time again?

People always said ghosts told countless lies, but human words couldn’t be trusted entirely either.

“All right, your brow is furrowed so deeply it could pinch a mosquito to death. It’s a good thing those two aren’t good people, since I’m no saint either.” Yan Baichuan knew Jinyou was disgusted by the Liu father and son, though he didn’t see what there was to be angry about.

At worst, once they resolved the Liu family’s problem, if these two had committed too many evils, they’d kill them; if they had committed fewer evils, they’d just bag them up and beat them for a bit. If one beating wasn’t enough, they’d beat them a few more times what kind of big deal was that?

Jinyou raised an eyebrow sharply. “Are those two freaks even worthy of me frowning? I’m merely lamenting that innocent lives are being wasted. Forget it, I think I’d better go back to the blood-jade bead to find some peace and quiet. Call me if anything comes up.”

With that, Jinyou transformed into a wisp of water mist and leisurely drifted back into the bead resting against Yan Baichuan’s collarbone. Watching Lingyun, who looked entirely ready to sleep while hugging her unmelting ice, alongside Ying Chuan, who had accidentally drunk a cup of wine and promptly passed out cold, Yan Baichuan suddenly felt a headache coming on. “Go on, go on, get back to your respective rooms to play! I’m going to sleep!”