CHAPTER 76: CHAPTER 75: A LEGENDARY DEED TO ENTER THE OFFICIAL CHRONICLES

Outside the Yunjiang Prefecture City, at the ten-mile pavilion.

At this moment, the sky was still in the twilight, and the evening breeze brushed through the ancient plains, reflecting a unique antiquity and tranquility on the entire world.

However, it was precisely this ancient tranquility that made Cui Fu feel a sense of eeriness.

After sending out the communication, about half a quarter of an hour later, another paper crane flew from the sky: "How long have the people been missing? I will arrive swiftly."

Currently, the truly top-level communication methods are only mastered by the highest cultivators, while the spread-out paper crane talismans and the like often have the drawback of being slightly slower and having a short communication distance.

Of course, no matter how slow the paper crane communication talisman is, or how short the distance it covers, it’s still faster than any human messenger.

Cui Fu waited anxiously and quickly replied: "They disappeared at three quarters past You hour, it’s been half a quarter since."

Even if it’s only been half a quarter, for a large group of living people to disappear into thin air, even a matter of breaths would seem terrifying.

Cui Fu had prepared for the worst, and then heard the sound of galloping hooves.

Turning his head, he saw a group of people galloping towards the city gate on the official road.

The most conspicuous among them, in Cui Fu’s eyes, were from the Cui family.

For instance, Cui Yunqi had surprisingly arrived in person.

Moreover, Cui Jingxian’s father, Cui Yunqi’s third uncle, Cui Lang, also accompanied them.

In addition, there were the Wei family, the Ning family, the Tian family, and the Yunjiang County Magistrate Feng Yuanbai, with the Wang family’s people trailing at the back.

According to Cui Fu’s observation, none of the outstanding members of the Wang family attended the poetry gathering this time, so it was not surprising that the Wang family had only sent a few people to show their care for the families involved.

Yet Cui Fu did not know that the Wang family indeed had an important figure in the Ghost Market, but Wang Ji had hidden himself well.

Seeing the group galloping towards him, Cui Fu hurriedly went to greet them.

Suddenly, he saw Cui Yunqi, who was leading, stop his horse abruptly.

"Whoa—"

With the steed’s front hooves raised, a shuddering neigh resounded, and everyone unexpectedly stopped their horses.

A pair of astonished eyes looked towards the direction of the pavilion behind Cui Fu.

Cui Fu suddenly felt a chill on his back, hurriedly turned his head, and then saw a gigantic, nearly ten-zhang high, deep portal, seemingly descending from the evening sky to the mortal world.

Behind the portal, it vaguely appeared as if projecting a world.

It was an endless long street, bustling with pedestrians, vendors hawking, children running, depicting all the varied scenes of city life...

Except, all the characters on the street were headless.

"Ah!" Cui Fu shouted, twisting his neck and staggeringly retreated.

With that stagger, his vision blurred, and when he looked again, where was the portal?

All he saw was the twilight, the pavilion.

Inside and outside the pavilion were figures looking bewildered.

Then came a heart-wrenching cry: "I am out, I finally came out of that ghastly place, boo-hoo..."

The cry seemed contagious, and in mere moments, three or four more cries followed.

Of course, some did not cry but frowned and said, "Why are you sniveling? Stop crying, act like a man."

Among them, some did not care about the changing surroundings, but instead, they recited incessantly in a trance:

"No idle land in the four seas, yet farmers starve to death..."

"Flowers are not flowers, mist is not mist... How much time do spring dreams last?"

Suddenly, they laughed foolishly, which was exceedingly eerie and terrifying.

Until those who arrived on horseback dismounted and rushed into the pavilion.

Suddenly, a soul-stirring angry shout erupted in the pavilion: "Tang’Er, what has happened to you?"

Wei Tang, blood staining his clothes, had his root cut off by the "ghost" and was subjected to palace punishment, now rendered useless.

The entire scene turned into utter chaos.

Because Wei Tang was not the only one injured; there were others who lost hands, feet... even eyes!

"Save them, quickly!"

"What on earth happened here?"

"What, a member of the Cui family unfurled a painting that summoned the Ghost Market, where is the painting?"

"The painting, it is here."

The painting that had fallen to the ground was nervously retrieved by a guard, and upon close examination, it was found to be just an ordinary painting.

The paper appeared very new, with a crooked plum blossom drawn on the side.

It was not a masterpiece of any famed artist, more like a child’s practice work.

Cui Jingxian exclaimed: "This isn’t my original painting of the Moonlight Beauty; this painting must have been swapped by someone!"

As it was Cui Jingxian who invited everyone to the poetry gathering and brought out the painting, he was initially blamed for the major mishap that occurred.

But this unsigned Broken Plum Blossom Painting went some way in absolving Cui Jingxian of suspicion.

The brushstrokes were too immature, making it hard to believe that someone as tasteful as Cui Jingxian would present such a painting at a poetry gathering.

Yet, even so, as the initiator of the poetry gathering, Cui Jingxian still bore some of the responsibility for the tragedy.

Cui Yunqi said: "My esteemed uncles and brothers, this incident was not what our Cui family wished for. It is important to investigate the cause, but more urgent to heal the injured brothers.

This year’s Cold Dew Fruit, our Cui family is willing to give up thirty percent of the share to heal the injured brothers, hoping everyone will accept.

As for this painting..."

"This painting, I must take it home to investigate thoroughly." The speaker was Wei Jinfeng, Wei Tang’s father.

The Wei family’s influence in Yunjiang Prefecture does not quite match the Cui family’s, but today, Wei Jinfeng is both a senior and the father of a victim—

Among all the injured, Wei Tang was probably the most severely wounded.

Could Cui Yunqi refuse?

Suddenly, Cui Jingxian said: "Yunqi, the reason we were able to leave the Ghost Market today is largely thanks to a brother who composed three Cyan Smoke Poems, which opened the Ghost Market portal..."

"What?"

"Three Cyan Smoke Poems?"

"You must be joking?"

The shock at that moment was almost palpable.

And outside the pavilion, by a line of four carriages, the Jichuan County School students and others, who had stepped out of the Ghost Market and returned to their original location, simultaneously turned their gaze towards Chen Xu.

Chen Xu was still quietly adjusting his breath, trying to comprehend the differences between the Netherworld Ghost Market and the Mortal World, while accelerating his adaptation to his dramatically increased cultivation.

[Cultivation: Early Stage Meridian Passage Realm 52%]

Fortunately, the innate divine power [Netherworld] had fully awakened, and at this moment, Chen Xu’s mind was bursting with inspiration, as if a fountain.

During the chaotic moments, he had already consumed 100 Fireworks Value after spending some time in the Fire and Smoke Kitchen.

In reality, the stint in the Fire and Smoke Kitchen only lasted for several tens of breaths, but it was about half an hour in there.

Chen Xu utilized this brief time difference to diligently adjust his breath.

As he came back to his senses, he still saw the twilight lingering in the sky, and all that he had experienced in the Ghost Market felt like a surreal dream.

Yet, he heard exclamations echo around him: "In the Ghost Market, composing three Cyan Smoke Poems, the words on paper rose skyward, blasting open the Netherworld portal. There is truly such a legendary occurrence in this world..."

"This event should be recorded in the prefecture annals!"

Bang!

It was Cui Fu, his face full of emotion, who came running in small steps, and with a bang, knelt before Chen Xu.

"Thank you, Master Chen, for saving my young master Jingxian from peril. Master Chen, your great talent and virtue are admired throughout Yunjiang, boo-hoo..."

As he spoke, Cui Fu was so moved that he burst into tears.

Chen Xu: "..."