Rumors of Demons and Ghosts

Avoiding the fleeing crowds, Hong Yuan and his group of five slipped into the trees. Under cover of the dark night, they silently crossed the row of houses at the front.

Yet only the houses closest to the manor remained intact. They seemed to have been deliberately rebuilt and renovated for people to live in. The farther out they went, the more desolate and ruined the place became.

Crumbled mud walls and roof tiles had collapsed over large areas, with broken stones and rubble scattered everywhere.

Beneath the cover of wild grass and trees, mottled blue-stone paths could faintly be made out, stretching in all directions and telling of this place's former bustle and prosperity.

As they passed a stone wall that had mostly collapsed, they saw heaps of ruins within. The scale was considerable; there must once have been a workshop here. Hong Yuan could still detect a faint, lingering strange odor.

After thinking for a moment, he recognized it as the smell of tung oil.

The group felt their way along by moonlight for nearly a li. Hearing waves churning and crashing ahead, they found a great river surging onward without cease. Once they confirmed that no enemies had followed them, the four of them—apart from Master Qin, who had completely passed out on the black-clad man's back—finally let out a breath of relief.

"Wutong Town!" Only then did Yang Lie turn back toward the place lit by flames and answer Hong Yuan's earlier question.

Hong Yuan paused, somewhat puzzled. Yang Lie smiled. "Brother Hong is still young. It's perfectly normal that you've never heard of this place."

They did not stop walking. Following behind the man surnamed Wu and the black-clad man toward the riverbank, Hong Yuan listened as Yang Lie explained.

Wutong Town lay southeast of Qingxu County, less than twenty li away. Surrounded by mountains and embraced by water, that water was the Yudai River, which passed through three prefectures and dozens of counties.

The hills and wilderness around the town were densely planted with tung trees. Most townsfolk made their living processing tung oil, building oil-refining workshops on a large scale. Their refined tung oil was abundant and high in quality, drawing in great numbers of merchants to buy it. At its peak, it nearly monopolized seventy percent of Linjiang Prefecture's tung oil trade.

Wutong Town thus flourished.

But good times did not last. More than a decade ago, a sudden upheaval erupted in the town. Some said it was an internal power struggle, with an uneven division of spoils. Others said it had been plague or banditry... There were even rumors of demons and ghosts causing trouble. In any case, within merely half a year, the prosperous market town fell into ruin. The townsfolk abandoned their homes and livelihoods, fleeing in panic and scattering like a rushing stream.

Even after the authorities intervened and relocated people there several times to restart oil production, no one could stay for long. Those households moved in would flee one after another. Even when soldiers held blades to their necks, they would submit at the time, only to later prefer fleeing into the mountains to live as savages.

As time passed, the town became completely abandoned. Even the authorities could do nothing but withdraw their offices. Yet the rumors surrounding it only grew more mysterious, and gradually it came to be called the "Ghost Town."

Hong Yuan suddenly understood.

He was only eighteen in this life, so it was hardly strange that he had never heard of Wutong Town. But the name "Ghost Town" remained vivid in his memory. Whenever "he" had been mischievous as a child and refused to study, his father would frighten him by saying that if he did not behave, demons would drag him off to the Ghost Town.

"Could there really be demons and ghosts in this world?" Hong Yuan asked curiously.

"The world is vast; there is nothing it does not contain." The man surnamed Wu strode swiftly onward and answered casually, "When I was in the army, I heard some strange tales as well, though most were hearsay and impossible to verify. If demons and monsters truly exist, I would very much like to see them for myself."

One hand rested on his sword hilt, his fighting spirit surged, and he looked eager to give it a try.

"May I ask the names of Your Excellency and this... senior?" Hong Yuan cupped his hands. He hesitated slightly as he glanced at the black-clad man. The man had covered his face, clearly not wishing to reveal his identity, but his voice already showed that he was no longer young.

"Your Excellency is too much. My surname is Wu. Wu Duxiong."

Wu Duxiong suddenly stopped. A proud smile bloomed across his originally stern face, and his brows danced with delight. "My dead old man spent money to have an old master give me this name, and I am quite satisfied with it myself."

He chuckled and raised his brows at the black-clad man. "Old Yang's name is far worse by comparison. Old Yang, stop playing the mute gourd. They asked you something—why aren't you answering? And why are you still wearing that face covering at a time like this? What are you, some young lady from a noble family? Too ashamed to show your face?"

The black-clad "Old Yang" glared at him irritably, then pulled down his face covering. He revealed a square-faced, bearded man with bronze skin, around fifty years old. He nodded to Hong Yuan. "This old man is Yang Erhu."

"Greetings, Senior Yang." Hong Yuan solemnly bowed again. "Thank you to both seniors and Brother Yang for saving me. Without the help of you three, I fear I would have found it difficult to escape that devil's den tonight."

"It was merely a chance encounter. We had our own plan and did not set out to save anyone. You need not thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Heaven!" Wu Duxiong shook his head.

Seeing Hong Yuan about to speak, he waved a hand and smiled. "Enough. Why should a real man be so fussy? You need not call us seniors either. I find you quite pleasing to the eye, boy. First, you had the courage to act. Second, though you are young, your skills are truly not weak. Of course..."

"Most importantly, you look like me when I was young. Not merely similar—practically identical."

Hong Yuan opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.

Yang Lie looked at Hong Yuan's jade-like bearing, then at Wu Duxiong's long horse face, and could not help grumbling inwardly, They say a man knows not his own ugliness, and a horse knows not the length of its face. I have truly seen it today.

He nearly burst out laughing, hurriedly lowering his head and forcing himself to hold it in.

With a smack, a large hand swung over and struck him so hard his head throbbed. Yang Lie looked up to find Wu Duxiong leaning close, his gaze sharp as a blade. "What were you about to say?"

"Nothing!"

"Then keep it bottled up."

Wu Duxiong casually gave Yang Lie another flick on the forehead, making him bare his teeth in pain. On the other side, Yang Erhu suddenly said in a muffled voice, "He wanted to say, a man knows not his own ugliness, and a horse knows not the length of its face."

"Hm?"

Wu Duxiong raised his sword-like brows, his eyes turning unfriendly.

Without even looking at him, Yang Erhu simply walked with his head lowered. "If you want to hit me, I will hit back."

"When we get home, let us spar." Wu Duxiong proposed.

Yang Erhu's body paused slightly. He slowly nodded. "Fine. It has indeed been years since we martial brothers last exchanged blows. Let me see how much you have improved."

Hong Yuan watched with a smile. Wu Duxiong then turned back to him and asked, "Where does your family live, boy?"

Without waiting for Hong Yuan's reply, he continued, "No matter where you live, you cannot go back now. I only wonder whether you still have family at home. If you do, that may be troublesome."

"Brother Hong truly cannot return." Yang Lie chuckled. "That good brother of yours signed that so-called Immortal-Mortal Contract in your name. It was really just a contract of sale. Then he had you press your seal upon it. Once you go home, all that fat pig has to do is remember it. He need not act personally—just submit the contract to the yamen, and the authorities will have to come arrest you."

Hong Yuan's eyes turned cold.

He thought again of that fat Huang fellow with his honest-looking face, once a classmate and friend. This grudge had to be settled, no matter what. Whether to vent his own anger or to settle the karmic ties of the original owner, he had to pay the Huang Family a visit.

But the Huang Family wielded considerable influence within Qingxu County. If he wished to make a move, he had to plan for the long term. At the very least, he needed a deeper understanding of this world and greater strength of his own.

"My home is in Qingxu County. All the elders in my family have passed away. My father was once a scholar. Before his death, he accumulated some family assets, farmland, and a two-courtyard residence..."

Hong Yuan had no need to explain in such detail, but he vaguely guessed at Wu Duxiong's intentions and thus laid out his background clearly. He was, after all, an open and forthright man with nothing to hide.

"My father died several years ago. At the time, I was a student at the academy, and my studies were passable, so I was still able to preserve the family property. Once the court abolished the imperial examinations, there were no more students. The coveting of others was manageable, but then yamen runners came to my door, forcing taxes and labor service upon me, even demanding payment for several previous years..."

He sighed. "In the end, I could only scatter all my assets to preserve myself. Now, the only thing left in the county town is two tiled rooms in Flagstone Alley... I do have a second uncle, but my father had cut off contact with him long ago..."

Hong Yuan had not revealed everything.

His second uncle truly had a poor relationship with his father. Because his father had been a scholar while his second uncle was obsessed with martial arts, his father, as a learned man from a scholarly family, naturally looked down on his uncle as an uncouth idler.

His second uncle spent all year away from home. In the few memories he had, whenever his uncle returned, he would have a fierce argument with Hong Yuan's father, and they would part on bad terms.

But after the imperial examinations were abolished, Hong Yuan had "merely" handed over all the farmland, family wealth, and the two-courtyard residence, while still retaining two tiled rooms for shelter. In truth, that mysterious second uncle had pulled some strings behind the scenes.

After all, the original owner had merely been a frail scholar, not a newly upgraded, cheat-enabled player like Hong Yuan now. Without someone protecting him, he would have been gnawed down until not even his bones remained.

Leaving aside everything else, this top-tier appearance of his was the greatest offense.

Hong Yuan remembered one occasion when he had nearly been ambushed with a sack over his head. The following morning, several hooligans with broken arms and legs lay covered in blood in the alley, endlessly begging him for mercy when they saw him.

By noon, his second uncle had brought more than a dozen strong, sturdy men into Flagstone Alley. They stood outside his door, while his uncle entered the house and stayed with him for an hour before leaving some silver behind and departing.

In truth, they had only exchanged a few casual words during that hour, then sat facing each other in silence. Hong Yuan understood that his uncle's purpose in coming had simply been to intimidate anyone who dared extend their claws.

To let people know that he was not alone and helpless.

His second uncle had roamed the martial world for many years and possessed seasoned experience. He could even intimidate both the underworld and the authorities in the county town, so he should have some influence. For the time being, Hong Yuan did not need to worry about dragging him into this.

But that dead fat pig truly seemed several shades mad. He could not be judged by the standards of ordinary people. He still had to improve himself as quickly as possible.

Wu Duxiong nodded. His background was clean, his origins simple, he had no burdens, and his natural talent was exceptional. The more he looked at Hong Yuan, the more pleased he became. Smiling, he said, "In that case, why not come with us? I was not joking when I said I found you pleasing to the eye. If you do not mind, stop calling us seniors. Like that brat Yang Lie, just call the two of us uncle."

"I will trouble you, Uncle Wu and Uncle Yang."

Hong Yuan climbed the pole once offered.

In any case, he had nowhere else to go for now. Moreover, both Wu Duxiong and Yang Erhu seemed knowledgeable. At the very least, one had come from the White Scale Guard in the prefectural city. By following them, he could learn many things.

"What do you mean, trouble us?" Wu Duxiong laughed heartily, clearly in high spirits, and patted Hong Yuan on the shoulder.

As they spoke, their steps remained brisk. Before long, they reached the banks of the Yudai River. In a dense forest by the river, Wu Duxiong leaped down and brushed aside the dead branches and fallen leaves covering a small black-canopied boat.

Yang Lie hurried after him. The two stood on opposite sides, their arms swelling slightly as they exerted force and pushed the black-canopied boat into the river.

Yang Lie took up an oar and stood tall at the prow, steadying the boat. Once everyone had boarded, he thrust the wooden oar hard against the shore. The boat rocked for an instant, then glided steadily across the river.

Yang Erhu carried Master Qin into the cabin and let him rest against its wall. He lit an oil lamp. In its dim yellow glow, Master Qin remained unconscious, only occasionally muttering in his sleep. Yang Erhu could not help sighing.

Wu Duxiong entered the cabin as well and somehow produced a jug of wine, drinking deeply from it.

Hong Yuan consciously stood at the prow with Yang Lie and found another oar. There had been a small river three zhang wide outside his childhood home in his previous life. Back then, before bridges and roads had been built, crossing the river required rowing. With his enhanced body now, the task came even more naturally.

Splash! Splash!

The oars stirred, raising clear ripples as the boat slowly sailed onward.

The bright moon hung high, its radiance like silver light, making the river's surface barely visible. Hong Yuan's [Clear Eyes Through the Nether] talent only allowed him to see clearly several zhang away at night; anything farther remained blurred.

For safety while traveling by night, they did not let the black-canopied boat move too far from shore. It almost hugged the bank as it followed the slow current. Since they were traveling downstream, the ride was fairly smooth.

Moreover, Hong Yuan and Yang Lie hardly needed to row at all.

Yang Lie also explained their destination. It was Yangquan County, which bordered Qingxu County. But night had already fallen, and the county gates would be closed, so they would spend the night in a market town more than ten li downstream.

"That den of depravity Wei Zhenzhu built in abandoned Wutong Town could not have been constructed in a short time."

Inside the cabin, firelight flickered within the lampshade as Wu Duxiong and Yang Erhu once more discussed Wutong Town and the so-called Jade Wutong Immortal Realm.

"Even if she built it in three years and enjoyed herself for three years, that would only be six years."

Wu Duxiong took a gulp of wine, swallowed it, closed his eyes to savor it for a moment, then slowly said, "The tales of plague, banditry, demons, and ghosts go back more than ten years... Yet Wei Zhenzhu and her people were unharmed. Even if demons or ghosts truly haunted Wutong Town, they must have left at least ten years ago."

Yang Erhu nodded and sighed. "Good people do not live long; scourges last a thousand years."

A thoughtful expression appeared on his face again. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly said, "The row of houses outside the manor has been renovated. Do you think Wei Zhenzhu intends to restart the tung oil workshops?"

"The tung oil trade is such a large piece of fat meat. If there is a chance, she will certainly want a bite." Wu Duxiong smiled again. "Rebuilding workshops, finding so many skilled oil-refining workers—even those simplest matters are beyond that dead fat pig. She does not have the ability."

"She does not, but the Wei Family does."

"The Wei Family is the Wei Family, and Wei Zhenzhu is Wei Zhenzhu. They cannot be lumped together." Wu Duxiong shook his head, mockery on his face. "A freak like Wei Zhenzhu has long made the Wei Family lose all face in the prefectural city. That is why they have refused to let her enter it all these years. Why would they help her?"

"Do not forget Wei Zhenzhu's man..." Yang Erhu tapped the small table in the cabin where the candle sat, his meaning clear.

"That Salt and Iron Judge?!" Wu Duxiong's expression grew more solemn.

Linjiang Prefecture's Salt and Iron Judge, Zhou Wenjie, was merely an eighth-rank official in title. Yet because he had been directly appointed by the prefectural administration, his rank was low but his authority great. He possessed the power to inspect the salt, iron, and tea taxes throughout all of Linjiang Prefecture.

The forces Zhou Wenjie controlled were also terrifying. Openly, he had two hundred elite men of the Smuggling Suppression Battalion and five hundred robust salt workers. In secret, no one knew how many powers he had colluded with or how many so-called martial world heroes he had recruited.

Those burly men guarding Wei Zhenzhu's manor were likely salt workers drawn from his forces!

"I have admired few people in my life, but as for Judge Zhou Wenjie, I truly prostrate myself in admiration." Wu Duxiong sighed. "I hear he was originally a farmer's son. To climb upward, he attached himself to the Wei Family. Tsk! He actually lived as husband and wife with that dead fat pig for decades! How could anyone endure that?"

"Do not put it that way. I heard Wei Zhenzhu was quite a beauty in her youth. She only grew fatter and fatter after falling ill..." Yang Erhu could not continue. Merely thinking of Wei Zhenzhu made his stomach churn, and he could not help nodding in agreement. "You are right. Zhou Wenjie truly is a remarkable man, a great figure beyond compare!"

"Have you identified the other six women's identities?" Wu Duxiong asked again.

"We do know the identity of 'Lady Xuansu'!"

"The one who ascended and became immortal?" Wu Duxiong smiled.

Yang Erhu snorted. "What ascension? That woman is the first madam of the Chen Family in Yuxi Town. Nearly eighty percent of Yuxi Town's businesses belong to her family. Unfortunately, Wei Zhenzhu's group does not merely eat outsiders; they gnaw at their own people too. Once you join them, they slowly crack your bones and suck out the marrow. Once they have eaten you clean, it will be time for your whole family to ascend."

"The other women include officials' wives, young ladies of powerful clans raised deep within their chambers, noble matrons, Buddhist nuns from the mountains..."

Wu Duxiong listened in a daze. Only after a long while did he sigh. "These women sure know how to have fun."

"It is not that these women know how to have fun. It is that the lords know how to have fun," Yang Erhu said.

"Our Great Yin has its own national conditions. With the customs as they are, what can be done?" Wu Duxiong sighed.

Great Yin had held the realm for nearly eight hundred years. Prosperity and decline were ordinary throughout that time. Whenever it fell into decay, a heroic ruler would emerge to turn the tide. Yet once the dynasty had finally stabilized, some bizarre emperor would take the throne again.

Three hundred years ago, Emperor Changle of Great Yin had been perverse by nature and often committed absurd, laughable acts. Not only did he take both men and women, he would even summon consorts to hold revelries in the main hall while discussing state affairs with his ministers, allowing all the officials to observe and learn. Rather than feeling ashamed, he took pride in it.

Of course, Great Yin's rotten customs could not all be credited to Emperor Changle. Who knew how many bizarre emperors had come before him, with outrageous antics no less shocking than his own?

"You probably cannot return to the White Scale Guard, can you?"

"The White Scale Guard was long ago riddled through like a sieve, with the sons, nephews, and the like of countless families planted within it. Its fighting strength was not nearly as great as outsiders imagined. I had long had enough of that nonsense. This time, having offended Wei Zhenzhu, I might as well roam the martial world and become a wandering hero. That would not be bad either..."

"Why not come help me..."

Wu Duxiong waved a hand and cut him off. "I know what you want to say, but I have already chosen the best candidate for you..." He gestured with his eyes toward the outside of the cabin.

Is he planning to take me as a disciple or something...? Hong Yuan grumbled inwardly, though he did not feel much resistance.

One had to have thoughts suited to one's position. Right now, he wanted to open a breakthrough into this world through Wu Duxiong and Yang Erhu. Becoming an apprentice would be no hardship.

Hong Yuan's gaze flickered. With a thought, words like flying mosquitoes surfaced before his eyes once more.

"Blessed Land Dao Lord?" Hong Yuan murmured. Watching the flying-mosquito words turn into a vortex that drew in all things, he desperately wanted to enter it. Yet he ultimately suppressed the urge. There were other people on the boat. If that vortex swallowed him whole, how could he explain it?

Endure a little longer...