Wu Steward

Ghost Ridge Palace, Command Hall.

Su Jie and the other two entered through the mountain gate and went straight to the Command Hall to hand over their mission.

It was a towering pagoda a hundred meters tall, its peak wreathed in black smoke like a dark monster swallowing clouds and exhaling mist.

A plaque engraved in blood hung above the pagoda entrance. Three large characters—Command Hall—were written across it, and the bright-red blood on the plaque seemed to be flowing endlessly.

"You two stay here and watch the goods. I'll go in and hand over the mission."

Su Jie gave Gu Weinan and Chen Yun his instructions, then entered the Command Hall.

Inside was a deep, dimly lit main hall, and the temperature dropped several degrees.

There were very few disciples in the hall. Apart from handing over and assigning missions at the counters, ordinary disciples had no reason to come here and loiter.

Su Jie walked up to a counter.

"What is it?"

A man in a black uniform, around thirty years old, looked over from behind the counter.

This was Steward Wu of the Command Hall. Su Jie had come here before. His cultivation was only at the Spirit Nurturing Realm Third Layer, but one must not underestimate him.

The Command Hall specialized in managing and assigning missions to Ghost Ridge Palace's inner and outer disciples. Those who became stewards here might not have been very strong, but they were certainly Sect Master's trusted confidants.

For example, this very Steward Wu was related by blood to Ghost Ridge Palace's Sect Master—though the connection was so distant that it could hardly be reached with eight poles.

"I'm outer disciple Su Jie. I've come to submit a mission for recuperation."

Su Jie handed over his mission token, then passed over the letter granting him permission to return for recuperation.

Steward Wu accepted them, then found the relevant file and looked it over before saying indifferently:

"How did so many of you die?"

"We were attacked by Strange Ghosts. Of the twelve of us, only the three of us survived. We were lucky."

Su Jie reported everything truthfully. All traces of evidence had been wiped away, and since they were only outer disciples, the Command Hall would not go to great lengths to investigate for their sake.

Sure enough, Steward Wu did not question them at all.

After a simple inspection, he had the three of them press their fingerprints, confirming the mission handover.

"By the way, did you kill any Strange Ghosts?"

Seeming to have thought of something, Steward Wu asked one more question.

"We did. We brought all the Strange Ghost corpses back."

Su Jie nodded. There was no point hiding it anyway. The corpses had to be sold.

"Have you found a buyer? I happen to know several good merchants. Their prices are very fair."

Steward Wu immediately became enthusiastic, his attitude turning a full three hundred and sixty degrees.

"Sorry for the trouble, Steward Wu. We were just planning to auction them at the Black Market. If it's convenient, could you lead the way and serve as our witness?"

Su Jie took advantage of the opening. These stewards stationed in the Command Hall had well-informed networks and knew many people. They loved getting involved in business deals.

When ordinary outer disciples made large transactions, they would also ask a steward to act as a witness and ensure the deal proceeded properly for both sides.

As he spoke, Su Jie took several Blood Marrow Crystals from his pocket and handed them over. "Steward Wu, take these for tea."

Steward Wu swiftly slipped the Blood Marrow Crystals into his sleeve. His face broke into a smile. "Certainly, certainly. The price of Strange Ghosts in the Black Market has risen again. One is worth at least six hundred and fifty Blood Marrow Crystals, so don't sell them too cheaply. I know plenty of merchants in the Black Market. I absolutely won't let you suffer a loss."

Steward Wu made his guarantee with great conviction, then rose and left his post.

The other stewards pretended not to see anything. They were all on the same side anyway—what was wrong with slacking off a little?

The two of them left the Command Hall together and soon reunited with Chen Yun and Gu Weinan, who had been watching the goods outside.

"This is Steward Wu of the Command Hall. These are Fellow Daoist Gu Weinan and Fellow Daoist Chen Yun, whom I mentioned before."

Su Jie introduced both sides.

"My real name is Wu Bin. There's no need to be so formal. Fellow Daoist Su, let's first inspect the quality of the corpses. The prices of Strange Ghost corpses also vary slightly depending on their size."

Wu Bin looked toward the flatbed cart guarded by Gu Weinan and Chen Yun. "Are they on that?"

Su Jie gave Chen Yun a glance. She stepped forward, seized the covering cloth, and lifted one corner, revealing the true appearance of the Strange Ghosts inside.

"You caught them at a good time. In the past, a Strange Ghost was worth only around three hundred Blood Marrow Crystals. The price has only recently shot up. It's already very difficult for you to hunt one, so you'd better take advantage of—"

Wu Bin continued his persuasive spiel, but his words suddenly jammed in his throat. His eyes widened as he stared in astonishment at the three Strange Ghost corpses piled on the flatbed cart.

It was not the one corpse he had expected. Three entire Strange Ghost corpses were piled together, and the sight left Wu Bin rooted to the spot.

"How are there three corpses? You killed three Strange Ghosts?"

His voice was filled with disbelief. It was not that Wu Bin had never seen the world, and he had handled goods of even greater value.

But he had truly never seen a few outer disciples bring back three Strange Ghost corpses.

"It was simply a matter of luck. We just happened to pick up a bargain."

Su Jie described their experience with utter "honesty and integrity." He had only slightly modified the story, changing Meng Dongge's death into a death at the hands of the Strange Ghosts, which made things seem more reasonable.

Only after hearing that Meng Dongge had led the group and secured most of the gains did Wu Bin barely accept the reality.

"Meng Dongge? I've heard of him. Spirit Nurturing Realm Fifth Layer, a formidable figure among the outer disciples. He even had hopes of being promoted to an inner disciple. What a pity."

Wu Bin sighed, then could not help glancing sideways at Su Jie.

"Looking at you, Fellow Daoist Su, you're so young, yet you actually managed such impressive results. You never know what you'll see until you look—what a shock! Truly, heroes emerge from the youth!"

Whether Su Jie had merely picked up a bargain or not, the fact that he had obtained three Strange Ghosts meant he certainly had something exceptional about him. He might rise to prominence in the future, and Wu Bin instantly developed the intention of befriending him.

"Steward Wu, you flatter me. This is nothing."

Su Jie waved his hands repeatedly, only for Wu Bin to seize one of them.

"Don't call me Steward Wu. I'm just a few years older than you. Call me Brother Wu."

"Brother Wu."

"Aye, worthy little brother."

The two began addressing each other with nauseating familiarity, without the slightest trace of the stiffness of new acquaintances.

Central Street of the Black Market.

At the Gathering Immortals Tower, two extraordinary men sat upright, a Go board before them. They had already been playing for quite some time.

One of them was an old man dressed in purple robes, a black python coiled around his hand. His withered face and deep-set eyes radiated a chill that made people afraid to look directly at him.

Opposite him sat a short, middle-aged man with an utterly ordinary face. A string of black prayer beads hung around his neck, and faint wails and cries of grief seemed to come from within them, as though someone inside were enduring torture and torment, sending shivers down the spine.

Both men were elders of the Secret Treasure Realm of Ghost Ridge Palace. They were Old Daoist Qiu and Yi Jinggong.

A maidservant was also nearby, pouring tea and water for the two men. She was none other than inner disciple Yu Wenxian.

"It's a dead position. Are you still going to play?"

Holding a white stone, Old Daoist Qiu placed it in the middle of the board and spoke slowly.

Yi Jinggong threw down his stone. His gaze was cold and ruthless as he turned toward the window. "I lost today's game, but the outcome of the wager between the two of us is still undecided."

Before he had even finished speaking, Yi Jinggong pulled a black prayer bead from his neck and flung it out the window. The bead flew on its own, heading toward a certain location.

"Then let's see whose disciple is superior and hunts more Strange Ghosts."

Old Daoist Qiu plucked out a strand of hair. The strand transformed into a small, multicolored snake. Flicking its tongue and winding its body, it swiftly vanished from sight.

Before long, the disciples of both sides, having received the message, hurried toward the Gathering Immortals Tower.

Pei Haibing rode a tall horse, with two disciples following closely behind him.

Behind their group, four tall horses dragged a raised platform. Long poles stood upright on it, with two pale Strange Ghost corpses hanging down.

Such an eye-catching scene immediately caused an uproar throughout the Black Market.

Merchants from more than half the street swarmed around Pei Haibing, competing to bid.

"Young Master Pei, twelve hundred—twelve hundred Blood Marrow Crystals! Our Bright Moon Hall is willing to buy these two Strange Ghosts."

"I represent the Zhang Clan Merchant Team and offer thirteen hundred Blood Marrow Crystals. I'll also present a piece of Blood God Wood for Young Master Pei's cultivation. I only ask to purchase these two Strange Ghost corpses."

"Our Taixu Pavilion..."

Among the merchants, a plump young married woman also joined the bidding. She was none other than Cai Chun'e, the steward of Taixu Pavilion.

At the very front, Pei Haibing wore a cold expression, his arms folded across his chest. Seeming to find the crowd far too noisy, he said coldly, "All of you, shut up. These Strange Ghosts won't be auctioned until my master has inspected them."

"Junior Brother Pei, to hunt two Strange Ghosts in one go—looks like this White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword is yours."

Yu Wenxian waited beneath the Gathering Immortals Tower. She lifted her beautiful eyes to glance at the two Strange Ghost corpses and spoke with a charming smile.

"It took some effort, but fortunately I didn't disgrace my master. Senior Sister Yu, what did Master say?"

"I don't know. Elder Yi's side seems quite confident as well."

As Yu Wenxian spoke, commotion also rose from the other end of the street.

Several Ghost Ridge Palace disciples were pushing a tall carriage. Two Strange Ghost corpses lay upon it.

At the front was a man in a blue long robe with a face as handsome as jade. He even cupped his hands in greeting toward them with considerable grace. He was Feng Wenjin, an inner disciple of Yi Jinggong's faction.

"They also have two Strange Ghosts."

Yu Wenxian covered her cherry-red lips, her face full of astonishment.

"He was simply lucky. If Strange Ghosts weren't so hard to find and didn't flee whenever they sensed something was wrong, I could kill even ten of them."

Pei Haibing snorted coldly, believing that he had simply suffered from bad luck. Outer disciples might fear Strange Ghosts, but he did not. His luck had merely been poor, and he had not run into more of them.

Fortunately, he could barely accept this result. At least he had not been surpassed. Otherwise, in a fit of rage, Old Daoist Qiu might not even have been willing to bestow the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword upon him.