Monsters Emerge in Times of Chaos

"Have you really seen ghosts?"

Lin Zheyu asked.

He had been in this world for quite some time, yet he had never encountered a ghost.

There were no memories of ghost encounters in his predecessor's mind, though there were plenty of folk legends about gods and spirits.

"Of course. When you go to guard the mountain later, you might just run into one."

"Which mine shaft hasn't had a pile of people die in it? With so much resentment, some ghosts are bound to be spawned."

Jia Yanyong said nonchalantly, "They might look terrifying—a wisp of a wandering soul, untouchable and intangible—but they also drain a person's vital energy."

"But we martial artists have robust vital energy, so we can hold out for a few days without issue."

"If you run into a wandering soul, just run toward a fire."

"These things fear fire and explosives. Just take some gunpowder to where the souls appear and blast away for a few rounds; then, there won't be any problems left."

Lin Zheyu: "..."

Wu Yinghe: "..."

Lin Zheyu and Steward Wu exchanged glances, speechless.

How did these things become such trash in their mouths?

"But if you run into a reanimated corpse, run as far as you can."

"A few years ago, when I was guarding the mountain with the previous boss, someone dug a coffin out of a cave. We opened it up, and good heavens, the body hadn't even decayed."

"The moment the coffin opened and the corpse touched the breath of the living, it sat bolt upright and started biting anyone it saw. It was terrifying."

Jia Yanyong said with lingering fear, "That thing had skin of bronze and bones of iron; gunpowder couldn't kill it. Only a Blood Energy Realm expert could handle it. If we saw one, we could only run."

"Brother Yong is truly knowledgeable. I am truly enlightened!"

Steward Wu listened, stunned, and couldn't help but exclaim.

He had spent almost his entire life in the city and hadn't wandered much outside. Any rumors he knew, he had only heard from others.

Lin Zheyu was equally amazed.

"There's plenty more you haven't seen."

"The world outside is chaotic. Once rebel armies rise and the times turn turbulent, even the city might not be peaceful anymore."

Xie Jiang curled his lip and said.

Steward Wu thought for a moment and said, "I heard from the elders that whenever the world is in chaos, monsters emerge. If things keep going like this, demons and ghosts will all come out."

"I've heard my grandmother say that too. When I was little, she always used demons and ghosts to scare me," Xie Jiang said with a smile.

The group chatted idly.

Just then, a man trotted in from outside, scanned the room, and ran straight toward Lin Zheyu and the others.

"Brother Yong, Brother Jiang, Brother Yu, it's bad." The man was panting heavily.

"What happened?"

Lin Zheyu handed him a cup of tea to let him catch his breath.

"The Wuding Gang is causing trouble again. This time, Xing Jinglong is leading them," the man said.

"That bastard Xing Jinglong, coming to cause trouble in our Flying Rainbow Gang's territory again!"

Jia Yanyong slammed the table and stood up abruptly, a flash of anger on his face.

"Take us there."

Lin Zheyu stood up and handed his manuscript to Steward Wu: "Steward Wu, find someone to take over the storytelling today. Here is the script."

"Alright, be careful."

Steward Wu took the manuscript; this was something he and Lin Zheyu had agreed upon.

To prevent issues if something came up during the storytelling, Lin Zheyu had pre-arranged a contingency plan with Steward Wu.

"How strong is this Xing Jinglong?"

On the way, Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

He had never been in a gang fight before, and he felt quite intrigued.

"Stronger than me. Last time I dueled him, I lost by one move," Xie Jiang said with a grave expression.

Jia Yanyong curled his lip and said, "Don't try to save face; you lost by more than just one move."

The group followed the messenger, heading all the way to the end of Baiwei Street.

"It's right inside."

The man pointed to the restaurant ahead, which was surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.

"Make way, make way."

Several people pushed through the crowd and arrived inside the restaurant.

"Young Master Xing, you're quite imposing, aren't you? Coming to our Flying Rainbow Gang's territory to throw your weight around?"

Jia Yanyong's voice arrived before he did.

Xing Jinglong heard the voice and looked toward Lin Zheyu and the others, a cold sneer appearing on his face.

"What, are people not allowed to come here to eat now?"

"The food at this restaurant is terrible; are people not even allowed to say so?"

Xing Jinglong said with a cold laugh.

He was a burly man, over 1.9 meters tall and weighing an estimated three hundred pounds or more; standing up, he exuded a sense of overwhelming pressure.

Xing Jinglong wore fine silk robes and looked even younger than Lin Zheyu, appearing to be a young master from some noble family.

"Is there any need to smash up the place just because it doesn't taste good?"

"Besides, you think it tastes bad every time you come to eat, yet you keep coming back. That doesn't make any sense, does it?"

Jia Yanyong's expression was unfriendly as he and several brothers surrounded the other party.

"Relying on having more people, are you?"

"I just wanted to see if their food had improved today, but it's as unpalatable as ever."

"Food this bad isn't even fit for dogs, yet you dare to run a restaurant?"

"It would be better to just smash this place up."

Xing Jinglong picked up a plate of food and smashed it onto the floor, scanning Lin Zheyu and the others with an indifferent expression.

"Is this guy from some noble family?" Lin Zheyu asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, a young master from a branch of the Xing Family. It's not a big deal."

Xie Jiang said.

They had dealt with Xing Jinglong several times before. Whenever this guy got frustrated or unhappy elsewhere, he would find a place to stir up trouble.

"I reckon he got slighted by some young master from the Xu Family, Chen Family, or Ren Family, so he came to the Flying Rainbow Gang's territory to pick a fight and vent his anger on us."

Xie Jiang whispered.

The Xu Family, Chen Family, and Ren Family were the three noble families backing the Flying Rainbow Gang.

There was all sorts of messy drama between the young masters of these families, and every so often, they would run into someone coming to pick a fight because of it.

If the other party had a significant background—like being a direct descendant of a family—they couldn't afford to offend them and would have to report it.

But a branch-family young master like Xing Jinglong didn't amount to much, so they could handle him directly.

"Don't we need to tell Lord Qiu?"

Lin Zheyu asked.

Lord Qiu, named Qiu Gaoxuan, was their direct superior, and his strength had reached the peak of the Organ Refining realm.

"No need. A fight to let off steam will do."

"These young masters are extremely concerned about face. If they come to act wild and still lose the fight, they'll be mocked if they keep pushing it."

"I've dealt with this Fatty Xing several times before, though we've lost more than we've won."

"You don't need to step in later; just let Jia Yanyong handle it. That guy has thick skin and is incredibly resistant to a beating."

"We'll just block the others so they don't launch any sneak attacks."

Xie Jiang said, signaling for Lin Zheyu to keep an eye on the people Xing Jinglong had brought.

"Understood."

Lin Zheyu nodded. He didn't want to get involved if he didn't have to.

Soon, Xing Jinglong and Jia Yanyong began to fight.

Although Xing Jinglong looked young, his strength was quite impressive, also reaching the level of the Bone Forging Realm.

He grabbed a stool and smashed it directly toward Jia Yanyong's head.

Jia Yanyong wasn't intimidated. Being a reckless brute, he ignored the incoming stool and charged forward like a fierce bandit, displaying exceptional ferocity.

He swung his right fist, unleashing the Black Fiend Fist, and met the stool head-on, shattering it with a single punch.

"This guy fights with such ferocity."

Lin Zheyu watched Jia Yanyong's fearless and incredibly brave fighting style, feeling somewhat speechless.