The old man was puzzled. Given the lifespan of humans in the mortal world, everyone who had known him back then should have died off, shouldn't they?
Besides, not only did this little fellow look young, but there wasn't the slightest fluctuation of power from his body. He was clearly an antlike mortal...
"My ancestor recorded some of your distinguishing features, Senior, so I ventured a guess at your identity. Please forgive my presumption."
"Is that so?" The old man found this even more interesting. "Who was your ancestor? Tell this old man."
"My ancestor was a mortal, just as I am. You certainly wouldn't have heard his humble name, Senior, but he had a close friend named Mister Donghua, who knew you and once spoke to my ancestor of your illustrious reputation!"
"Who did you say?" The old man froze. His earlier calm composure vanished, and his expression actually turned somewhat savage. He abruptly stepped forward, reaching out as though to grab Chen Qing.
Ghost Child hurried forward to stop him, but Chen Qing didn't move, staring fixedly at the old man.
The next instant, with a sizzling sound, the old man's outstretched hand jerked back as though shocked. He immediately abandoned Hong Wu's broadsword and retreated several dozen feet!
Caught off guard, Hong Wu brought his broadsword crashing into the ground as the resistance vanished. The entire ground heaved with a thunderous roar. Countless vicious ghosts were shattered, while those that survived were sent flying by the tremendous force!
What was going on?
Hong Wu looked stunned. Before he could react, he heard Chen Qing shout, "General, fall back! Come over here!"
Hong Wu was no fool. The mysterious young man accompanying Vice Minister Wang had clearly used some method to restrain the old man. If he didn't retreat now, when would he?
His massive body moved, and the next instant, he had fallen back beside Chen Qing.
"Cough, cough!"
The old man's coughing came through the flying dust. Only then did Hong Wu notice something strange about this place...
His strength had just shattered the terrain, yet the spot where the crown prince and the others stood hadn't suffered the slightest damage. It was as though it and the outside were two separate worlds!
A barrier?
Hong Wu looked closely and indeed saw that not even dust could fly into the place he had just retreated to.
"My ancestor was right after all..." Chen Qing sighed in relief and addressed the old man outside. "Senior, you and your evil ghosts cannot enter the Tomb of King Xiang."
At that, everyone hurriedly examined their surroundings and discovered that those evil ghosts indeed dared not draw any closer.
Hong Wu was dumbfounded. After all that, they would have been safe if they had simply retreated a little farther? Why hadn't anyone said so earlier? Fucking hell, he had held out there for ages, even having his guts ripped out!
"Who exactly are you?" The old man walked up to the barrier and stared coldly at Chen Qing.
How could a human know so much about matters within Yin-Yang Road?
"As you can see, Senior, merely a mortal..." Chen Qing bowed respectfully. Not wanting to get entangled any further, he gave Wang Ye beside him a meaningful glance.
Wang Ye understood and formed hand seals. As the power of the Evening Elephant rose, Ghost Child immediately slapped Ghost Horse's rump. Ghost Horse threw back his head and neighed, opening Yin-Yang Road once more.
The Evening Elephant let out a long cry, and its distorting spatial power temporarily stabilized the Yin-Yang Road Ghost Horse had opened.
Wang Ye's face instantly flushed red, and cracks even appeared on his arms.
As he was now, he still couldn't reach his master's level of casually holding space open.
"Your Highness, let's go!"
The crown prince didn't hesitate. He immediately activated the Golden Crow's power, spread the wings on his back, and flew toward the Yin-Yang Road Ghost Horse had opened!
Hong Wu's face twitched. After cupping his fists toward Wang Ye and Chen Qing, he too led the guards running toward the passage.
"Daddy, hurry!" Ghost Child mounted Ghost Horse and reached out to Chen Qing, while Wang Ye had already climbed on ahead of him.
"Boy..." Just as Chen Qing was about to mount, the old man behind him spoke again. "Donghua... is he still alive?"
Chen Qing paused, then shook his head. "I don't know, Senior."
The old man gazed at Chen Qing darkly. "I've memorized your scent. King Xiang is about to be reborn. This Tomb of King Xiang won't hold me for much longer. I... will come looking for you!"
Chen Qing: "..."
"Where is His Highness the Crown Prince?"
After leaving Yin-Yang Road, Wang Ye saw only Hong Wu and the others treating their wounds in the mountain forest. He immediately frowned.
"His Highness?" Hong Wu spat out a mouthful of bloody foam and chuckled. "He went back to the royal capital. Probably felt it wasn't safe to stay here. By the time we came out, all we saw was His Highness flying away. We couldn't have caught him even if we'd tried."
Wang Ye nodded. That made sense. His true nature had already been exposed, so there was little point in staying to win over Hong Wu and the others. Getting back to the palace early to ensure his own safety was what mattered.
It certainly fit that fellow's temperament.
"That's why I keep saying the Yuchi Household is better suited to guarding the crown prince. See? At least that fellow Yuchi Peng could keep up when the crown prince flew away..."
Wang Ye smiled and shook his head, then looked behind him at Chen Qing, who was violently vomiting on the ground again from dizziness.
"You ought to exercise. Your constitution is too weak."
Chen Qing rolled his eyes. Are you kidding? My constitution is weak? I walked to the capital to take the examinations, across three provinces! Fuck, how many people in the modern world could compare with me?
"I'm a little curious. Who were that old man and the Mister Donghua you mentioned?"
Chen Qing wiped his mouth and said weakly, "You don't know them..."
Wang Ye: "..."
Naturally, Chen Qing didn't want to say much. That monstrous thing Donghua wasn't his design. Hopefully, he was already dead. If he was alive, that would be real trouble.
And the old man's words just now had sent a chill through his heart...
Ghost King Xiang was going to revive?
According to the setting, Ghost King Xiang should have revived during the later years of Xuanzong's reign. Had he died again?
The old man hadn't sounded as though he were lying. This made Chen Qing feel an ever greater sense of urgency. The peace of this world probably wouldn't last much longer.
After returning to the capital, Chen Qing encountered the palace guards sent to collect him while he was still at the city gate. Leading them was none other than the officer who had been guarding Vermilion Bird Gate that day.
Moreover, they were taking only Chen Qing into the palace. There was no intention of summoning either Wang Ye, who had assisted him, or Hong Wu and the others, who had guarded the crown prince.
Chen Qing's heart lurched. That bastard emperor isn't planning to go back on his word, is he?
"Then I'll head back and get this dealt with first." Hong Wu, who had returned to being a nine-foot-tall man, pointed at his mangled belly. "The men were scratched by evil ghosts too, so we need to treat those wounds quickly. We won't hold you up. Er... Chen Qing, right? Thank you for saving our lives. Once you're out of the palace, I'll treat you to a drink!"
Chen Qing smiled and returned his salute. "Of course. I can't hold much liquor, but I'll certainly drink with you to your heart's content, General."
"Haha, good!" Hong Wu immediately broke into a broad grin. "I like you, scholar. All right, remember to come find me when you're out!"
Without dawdling, he led his subordinates briskly away. Wang Ye looked at Chen Qing. "My master sent word asking me to come over, so I won't wait for you outside the palace. If you have nowhere to stay after you leave, you can come to my place."
"Haha, all right..." Chen Qing laughed perfunctorily. This time, he was being thoroughly insincere. If he made it out alive, he'd rather go find Yuchi Peng...
Though he had body odor, staying with him would still feel more reassuring than spending the night with a wooden man...
Only after saying all his goodbyes did he enter the imperial palace with the officer, his heart filled with apprehension.
"Master..."
As soon as Wang Ye arrived at the Duke of Song's residence, he sensed something amiss. There wasn't a soul in the vast ducal residence. The servants seemed to have vanished.
Had Liu Yu not been brewing tea in a conspicuous spot in the rear courtyard, he would even have suspected something had happened.
"I heard from the crown prince that you sought out Ghost Child?"
"Yes..." Wang Ye cupped his fists. "I encountered him by chance in Liuzhou. He's a very straightforward demon. As long as you give him what he wants, he'll help you get things done."
"Is that so?" Liu Yu nodded. "After changing bodies, you seem less resistant to working with demons?"
Wang Ye: "..."
"That's not a bad thing." Without waiting for Wang Ye to speak, Liu Yu continued on his own. "In this world, humanity truly cannot survive without demons. Ironic though it is, it's the truth."
"Master..." Wang Ye frowned. "Has something happened?"
"Thousand-Faced Fox isn't dead!"
Wang Ye: "!!"
Thousand-Faced Fox... wasn't dead!
Chen Qing's face was also grim as he rode in the carriage back to the palace.
Ghost Child had told him. It was information Ghost Child had learned through Ghost Horse.
The news was more shocking than he had imagined. Not only was Thousand-Faced Fox alive, but His Majesty the Emperor had personally spared her!
Ghost Horse couldn't explain the exact reason either. He only knew that when they were caught, Mountain Ghost had fought back desperately but couldn't withstand the combined might of the emperor and the Duke of Song.
After Mountain Ghost died, Thousand-Faced Fox had no strength to resist at all. After all, though that thing's abilities defied the heavens, her vitality was ordinary. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been poisoned to death by a cup of poisoned wine during the previous dynasty.
But she seemed to have said something to the emperor...
It seemed to have been a very important secret, one that led the emperor, whose fury had originally surged to the heavens, to actually choose to spare her!
Chen Qing found this utterly bizarre.
That thing was a demon that had killed your wife and nearly killed your only pure-blooded son.
And you just spared her like that?
Chen Qing felt... this matter was probably far bigger than ordinary!
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