Leiji Town

Leiji Mountain.

The mountain range rose in layer upon layer of peaks, vast and magnificent, stretching across the land from east to west, with countless summits vying for splendor.

Leiji Mountain was the tallest peak in Qingzhou and the surrounding prefectures. The Ghost Market had originally been established at its base because the mountain was large enough that, at the first sign of trouble, one could vanish into its depths, impossible for anyone to track.

Over time, the Ghost Market's location at the foot of Leiji Mountain became a fixed certainty, and people no longer needed to flee into the mountain at every gust of wind.

Because of the Ghost Market, travelers from north and south gathered here, forming a town at the mountain's base.

It was called Leiji Town.

The town was bustling. People from the far north and south, east and west of Great Sheng could all be seen in Leiji Town—crowds coming and going, heavy traffic, shops lining the streets, lively and prosperous.

Entering the town, Lu Yuan saw that nearly everyone passing by was a martial artist, carrying blades or swords.

"The Ghost Market opens at random. I'll stay in town for now, gather information about the market, and when it opens, I can head over in time..."

Lu Yuan mused, and soon found an inn in Leiji Town called the Four Seas Inn. The place looked decent, so he rented a room.

After bathing and eating at the inn, Lu Yuan went out for a stroll.

"A pair of mandarin ducks play in the rain on the water's face, longing bittersweet with a hint of sweetness, I ask not who among the three thousand weak waters would resent me..."

Before long, a plaintive singing voice drifted over. Following the sound, he saw a barefoot woman with disheveled hair walking down the street.

"Hey, isn't that the new Third Concubine taken in by Cheng Yuanwai?"

"Yeah, Cheng Yuanwai heard her singing at the vegetable market and was hooked."

"But she had a husband, and a child three years old."

"So how did she end up married into his household?"

"Her husband died, her child was killed, and she had no parents left."

"So she just married him like that?"

"She's probably lost her mind. All day she mutters about how Nannan loved hearing her sing—Nannan's her daughter."

"She's gone mad. Cheng Yuanwai doesn't bother with her anymore. Singing day and night without eating or drinking, I doubt she'll last much longer."

Lu Yuan watched the woman stagger past him, singing her song, and couldn't help but sigh. In this world, how many countless pitiful souls were there?

The location of the Ghost Market's opening was easy to learn. Leaving the town and walking seven or eight li toward Leiji Mountain would bring you there.

Under the evening sun.

Boom boom boom!

Like firecrackers exploding, a series of violent blasts rang out without end.

Two figures bounded wildly through the forest on foot. Every step they took kicked up gravel and dirt, leaving dense footprints on the ground.

Trees whipped past them, and long trails of dust dragged behind.

"Xu Ziyi! Did I bed your mother or rape your wife?! Instead of chasing those murderous bandits, you come after me, a mere flower thief?!"

The man running ahead had a clean, handsome face twisted with fury.

Xu Ziyi's expression was ice-cold: "Whether it's murder or abducting women, both are grave crimes. Tang Ying, the cases you've committed are enough to warrant decapitation!!"

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"Hahaha, Xu Ziyi, I just fucked a few women. Why so angry? Could one of them be from your household? Let me guess—your wife, your daughter, or your mother?"

Tang Ying laughed wildly:

"Don't think I'm actually afraid of you. You've chased me this long and still can't do a thing to me. While you've been hunting me, I've still been fucking daughters. Once I shake you off, I'll fuck this woman in my arms to death! Let you collect her corpse!"

His lightness skill was excellent, partly due to his natural talent, but more because the 'Divine Speed Electric Light Steps' he practiced was unusual.

Other lightness techniques trained the whole body during practice, but 'Divine Speed Electric Light Steps' abandoned the entire body, focusing only on the legs.

It was precisely because of this skill that Tang Ying had been a flower thief for years, roaming several prefectures, evading capture by Six Doors time and again.

Now, with a woman cradled in his arms, his speed was no slower than Xu Ziyi's pursuit.

If not for the woman, shaking off Xu Ziyi would have been easy.

"Relentless pest! Xu Ziyi, Leiji Mountain will be your grave!!"

Xu Ziyi's gaze grew even colder, murderous intent boiling to its peak. In his mind, images of the violated women who had taken their own lives swirled, and he silently swore to chase Tang Ying to the ends of the earth if necessary.

Suddenly, Tang Ying's heart jolted. He faintly sensed a surging killing intent rising from Xu Ziyi.

"Does Xu Ziyi have some hidden trump card??"

Tang Ying frowned slightly.

After all, he was a constable of Six Doors—one of Great Sheng's two major enforcement bodies, specializing in martial affairs, with countless secret martial arts in their vault. A trump card wouldn't be surprising.

The killing intent came too fiercely, like a giant hand gripping Tang Ying's throat, choking off his breath.

"Shit! Xu Ziyi is going all out!!"

Tang Ying's eyes turned bloodshot. Blood and qi swelled in his legs, making his trousers puff up like they were about to burst. He exploded with full-body blood qi, his speed increasing by a third, and he hurled the woman in his arms backward.

An unnatural flush spread across Xu Ziyi's rough, iron-black face—he had clearly activated a Six Doors secret technique, instantly detonating his blood and qi in exchange for a momentary surge of several times his normal strength and speed.

"Die!!"

Amid the roar of wind and thunder, Xu Ziyi let out a long cry, his arms sweeping horizontally as his force rolled through the air like mountains toppling and seas overturning.

But Tang Ying was no stationary target. In that instant, he hurled the woman forward as a shield. Xu Ziyi's gaze sharpened, his palm force abruptly shifting to slam heavily onto Tang Ying's shoulder.

"Pfft!!!"

Tang Ying screamed, a mouthful of blood spraying out as he endured the agony of his shattered shoulder bones and continued fleeing.

After that single palm strike, Xu Ziyi's face turned pale. He silently lamented the missed opportunity, caught the woman, glanced around, then leaped to place her on a tree branch before resuming the relentless pursuit.

"Xu Ziyi, even if you've wounded me, you still can't catch me—I said so!!"

Tang Ying's voice, filled with hatred, drifted through the jungle.

"Injured and still this arrogant?"

Lu Yuan heard the furious roar from afar, mildly surprised. He looked toward the scene over a hundred meters away, where two men were locked in a chase through the woods. He had no desire to meddle and was about to leave, but then he heard the pursuer's angry voice:

"Tang Ying! How dare you collude with the Taiping Sect!!"

"Hahaha, Xu Ziyi, since you've already said I'm guilty of a capital crime, what difference does it make whether I colluded with the Taiping Sect or not?"

Lu Yuan's gaze froze, and with a single surge of his body, he darted over.

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