The Ghost Station

As Hu Mang listened to the languid and tender singing, which seemed to hide a hint of melancholy within its sweetness, he turned his head and looked at Chen Xiaosan.

The Old Third, however, remained completely calm.

"Second brother, I've already told you it's Ghost Dragon Vein, so stop judging it by common sense from the mortal Yang World. A Ghost Dragon Vein is that long, isn't it normal for it to revive scenes from different eras? The more ghostly a place is, the easier it is to recreate."

Hu Mang thought for a moment.

"That's true."

"No wonder it recreates a Ten-Mile Foreign Quarter."

Back then, with the collapse of the last feudal Yu Dynasty, the Spiritual Qi dissipated and all destiny vanished. Coupled with the invasion of demonic forces, everyone was neither human nor ghost for a considerable period of time.

This refers to the period of the century-long demonic calamity.

However, not everyone suffered during those difficult times. Some places colluded with overseas evil forces and local warlords, forming settlements. These settlements absorbed a large amount of refugee resources, manpower, material resources, and financial resources, and became increasingly prosperous.

A distorted prosperity, a bizarre training ground.

"This is Red Beach Station. Someone I know delivers food here. Wait here, I'll contact him first."

The next moment, Chen Xiaosan, who was standing at the door, stretched out his palm and reached into the doorway. Once inside, his palm transformed into a ghostly palm, and a peculiar Ghost Qi spread out.

"Are there still food delivery services these days?"

Hu Mang's gaze swept over the rickshaw drivers; these guys did look somewhat like them.

However, as Chen Xiaosan's Ghost Qi emanated, a woman emerged from a brightly lit, luxurious high-rise building.

She wore a dark green velvet cheongsam, the fitted cut outlining her slender waist. The cheongsam had a slit at the hem that reached her thigh, revealing a section of her unreal white legs. In her hand, she held an exquisite opium pipe.

Hu Mang looked at Chen Xiaosan speechlessly.

"Is this delivery girl legitimate?"

The woman in the cheongsam turned her head and looked around, confirming the two's direction. She chuckled, "Delivery is just a formality. As long as the ghost can rest in peace, why bother about the method?"

Awesome!

Hu Mang had only ever heard of replenishing Yin by absorbing Yang energy; this was the first time he had ever heard of replenishing Yang by absorbing Yin energy.

"Sister Yan, let me introduce you. This is my brother Hu Mang, and this Sister Yan is my colleague, Liu Ruyan."

Chen Xiaosan greeted him warmly.

Liu Ruyan stared blankly at Hu Mang for a long while before finally breaking into a smile.

"Young Master Hu, you have great eyes, I really like them."

"Thank you, Sister Yan, you look beautiful too," Hu Mang grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Sister Yan, we've come to you with something. Have you lost anyone here?"

"No living people, but there are two handsome young men right in front of me. Young Master Hu, would you be interested in coming to my Red Performer Grand Restaurant? I'll sing for you, and maybe we'll find some clues about the person you're looking for."

Chen Xiaosan interrupted her directly, chuckling, "Sister Yan, this is my own brother. You can't do anything to him. Just tell me directly, whether it's there or not."

Liu Ruyan sighed softly, "No, there's no one here except the dead. If you really want to know, there's been some activity at Iron Gate Pass. Go ask Old Ironhead."

"Okay, Sister Yan," Chen Xiaosan thought for a moment and said, "Sister Yan, I have good news for you. Did you see a Ghost Willow in the Yin-Yang Passage before?"

"Such a commotion, of course we saw it. That willow tree wasn't originally that big, but it just happened to be thrown into the Yin-Yang Passage and absorbed the ghosts from so many stations. Now it's incredibly ferocious."

"That's a Ghost Dragon Vein."

Liu Ruyan's originally languid demeanor instantly changed; her eyes lit up, and she said impatiently:

"Little brother, are you telling the truth?"

Chen Xiaosan chuckled:

"Whether it's true or not, you'll know once you go and see for yourself. I, Chen Xiaosan, am a liar, I've never lied to you, sister."

"Little brother, dear little brother, if that's the case, then I'm truly indebted to you!"

As soon as the door closed, Hu Mang looked at Chen Xiaosan.

Why was Liu Ruyan so agitated about the Soul-Binding Willow?

"Because there's a legend in the Underworld that as long as you devour a portion of Dragon Vein, you can automatically become a high-ranking Underworld Bureau. She's a foreign saleswoman, so she definitely knows more than I do."

"Then why don't you go?"

"I can't beat that old willow tree. Let alone the old willow tree, I can't even handle that thousand-year-old ghost that's tied to it."

Chen Xiaosan is very self-aware.

"I'm just a Foundation Establishment, while that Sister Yan is at least a Golden Core, maybe even higher. Because in her site, most of those thousand-year-old ghosts have been fed into a deep sleep by her. People sleep without ghosts knowing, but ghosts can sleep for a hundred years. Once a thousand-year-old ghost falls into a deep sleep, it won't wake up for at least a hundred years."

"Is that so?" Hu Mang stroked his chin. He hadn't sensed the other person's aura through the door, but to be able to see the "Yin-Suppressing Mark" in his eyes at a glance, that was quite a formidable character.

"Is she an outcast like you?"

"Hmm, I don't know where it comes from, it's neither human nor ghost."

"Alright, let's go to the next one then, 'Iron Gate Pass,' doesn't that sound a bit like an ancient battlefield?"

"Yes, that's an ancient battlefield."

When the two found the point of this Yin-Yang Passage and opened the door, they were indeed greeted by an ancient city gate.

Built of rammed earth, the walls are tall and thick, but due to their age, many sections have collapsed, revealing jagged gaps; the gate of the pass is open, but the interior is pitch black, making it impossible to see what is inside.

Only fragmented ancient weapons could be vaguely seen, stuck in the darkness.

However, after Chen Xiaosan tried to contact the deliveryman at this station for a long time using his Ghost Qi, the "deliveryman"—who was said to be an ancient ghost Old Ironhead —still failed to appear.

Just as Chen Xiaosan looked at Hu Mang questioningly, asking if they should go to another place, Hu Mang silently shook his head, his expression turning serious.

The next moment, thousands of broken weapons suddenly shot out, covering the entire sky above the Iron Gate Pass.

The weapons slowly rotated and aligned in the air, all pointing towards the gate of the pass.

The next moment, thousands of weapons poured down like a torrential rain, accompanied by sharp whistling sounds and trails of white air, crashing into the darkness of the pass's gate.

But this time, the rain of swords did not stop on the ground.

The moment those weapons crashed into the pass, they seemed to have touched something deeper—they did not fall, but instead transformed into countless silver-white sword lights, soaring into the sky from the other side of the pass and piercing the heavens.

The sword lights intertwined and converged in the air, forming a huge sword pillar, carrying a sharpness that could tear everything apart, and crashed into the thick, lead-gray clouds above the Iron Gate Pass.

A massive crack extended to both sides along the trajectory of the sword pillar, its edges gleaming with a blinding white light, as if a wound had been torn open in the sky.

The leaden-gray cloud that had shrouded Iron Gate Pass for countless years began to crack in the middle.

Chen Xiaosan stared at the scene in disbelief for a moment before suddenly snapping out of it.

"Is this what Boss Gu was talking about, the Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin? The Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin One that can rival One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Laws, and is even more lethal?"

"Hmm, no need to look anymore, this is it."

Hu Mang let out a long breath.

He didn't know Qian Xiao Long, but he recognized the other's method of using Dragon Vein to control swordsmanship.

The exact same methods used by that Ji Xiaodao.

The person who could make him unleash the Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin is most likely Eighth Master Hui.

So next, Chen Xiaosan led Hu Mang out of the residential area and headed straight for the Ghost Subway. During this time, Hu Mang didn't forget to use the hundred-yuan ghost money in his hand to buy two packs of cigarettes at the tobacco and alcohol shop at the entrance of the residential area and throw them into the empty gatehouse.

It has to be said that prices in this Underworld seem to be stuck 30 years ago; even the most premium Ghost Smoke Black Tower Mountain costs only 10 yuan a pack.

So, the Old Third's 3000 yuan in ghost money actually went quite well?

The Ghost Subway that Chen Xiaosan mentioned wasn't hard to find; it was near Many Gates Garden, just two blocks away.

The entrance is not on the road, but hidden in the stairwell of an old residential building.

Pushing open the half-closed wooden door in the stairwell and descending two flights of stairs, a passageway extending underground comes into view.

At the entrance of the passage hangs an old lightbox with the words "Great Prosperity City Underground Transportation - Many Gates Garden Station" written on it in standard boldface font. However, the light tubes are severely aged, with several sections already out of light, leaving only the words "Changcheng", "Tong", and "Yuan Station" stubbornly shining.

The walls on both sides of the passageway were covered with white tiles, which had turned yellow and cracked in some places, with dark green mold growing in the gaps.

The floor was terrazzo, polished smooth and shiny by countless feet, but its surface was covered with fine cracks, like a dried-up riverbed.

Every few steps, there was a fluorescent light overhead, its tube humming with electricity, casting a pale and cold light that illuminated the entire passage without a single shadow.

At the end of the passage is a security checkpoint.

The turnstiles were old-fashioned, rusty tripods, and the ticket window next to them was tightly closed, with a faded notice pasted on the glass. "This station does not currently support cash purchases; please use ghost money to board the train."

"Second brother, they don't allow live people to buy tickets here. I'll show you my unique fare-dodging skills later."

Just as Chen Xiaosan was about to show off his skills honed over many years, he turned around and saw Hu Mang standing opposite him, pointing to his security guard uniform.

"With these clothes, it seems I can come in without buying a ticket."

"..."

Chen Xiaosan sheepishly bought a ticket and entered the station, complaining as he went.

"Why do security guards not have to buy tickets, but delivery drivers do? Aren't we all just low-level workers?"

"Maybe it's because my outfit is for older men, which falls under the category of elderly, infirm, disabled, or pregnant women."

"Second Brother, don't joke around. When do we talk about this in the Underworld?"

Chen Xiaosan's plan to evade the fare failed; there was no other way, as his operation only worked if no one was ahead of him entering the station.