The black-robed man laughed heartily. Stumbling across a few living people today really solved his urgent problem.

Zhou Xing and Ke Yunqin were pinched by the ghost’s claws, and immediately passed out. The black-robed man looked at the two people who had collapsed on the ground. Both of them had been frightened to the point of incontinence, both by him and by the ghosts around them. However, he did not feel disgusted.

“Haha, at least their flesh is tender and delicate!”

The black-robed man was very satisfied with the four people, and was about to take them away.

“Sir, sir, these people came to eat in my restaurant. We found them first. Can’t you leave those two on the ground to us? You can’t just take them all…”

The shopkeeper of the restaurant couldn’t but want to fight for them, but before he could say anything more, the black-robed man glared at him with dark eyes.

“You dare to argue with me? Beware, lest your soul be rent asunder!”

With these words, the black-robed figure abandoned the argument, not even attempting to teach the surrounding ghosts a lesson. Instead, his arms stretched out like serpents, wrapping around the group of four, binding them and directly dragging them out of the restaurant before walking away.

Inside the restaurant, everyone, from the shopkeeper to the other diners, could only watch helplessly, the expressions on their face contorted into hideous grimaces.

Seeing the black-robed figure lead his mortal bodies away without any scruples, the shopkeeper’s rage erupted, and he instantly transformed into a thin, green-tinged, fanged demon.

“Even if you are a Dark Minister,1 that doesn’t mean you can be so arrogant, right?”

The echo of the ghost’s roar rattled the inn’s cups. The black-robed figure on the street outside sneered back at the group of ghosts in the building.

“Okay, I’ll give you a chance. Come out and rob me.”

Many of the ghosts in the inn revealed murderous expressions, their eyes fixed grimly on the black-robed figure in the street. In this city of the dead, where they could only enter but never leave, the allure of four living people was too great.

The black-robed figure waited with a cold gaze. He flung the four unconscious figures into the street. A few breaths passed, but the ghosts within the restaurant still hadn’t burst out. The black-robed figure lifted his robe, revealing a special, jet-black soul-binding rope wrapped around his waist.

“Hmph, a bunch of trash dare to make such a fuss!”

With a cold snort, the black-robed man grabbed two people in each hand, lifted them up, and transformed into a ghostly shadow, disappearing down the street.

The group of ghosts within the restaurant were enraged. The shopkeeper, furious, roared, his hair and beard flying in all directions.

“Aaargh— Abusing the position of Dark Minister to bully us ghosts far too much!”

. . .

Elsewhere in the ghost city, Ji Yuan, Niu Batian, and Yan Fei had just finished their visit to one inn, and were preparing to move on to the next.

The two inns closest to the stables from which they had emerged were the most likely candidates to find the carriage’s owners.

But at this moment, Ji Yuan suddenly heard an echoing roar.

“Aaargh— Abusing the position of Dark Minister to bully us ghosts far too much… bully us ghosts far too much…”

The moment he heard these words, it was like a ripple passed through his mind, and he froze in his tracks. Following this sudden thought, he stretched out his hand and briefly pinched his fingers together. His brow furrowed.

“Mr. Ji, what’s the matter?”

“This way, they’re in trouble!”

At that, Ji Yuan’s feet moved as fast as lightning. He turned and swiftly headed elsewhere, and Niu Batian and Yan Fei quickly followed.

This city of the dead was much larger than expected, far larger than cities like those in Nandao County. Countless old ghosts lingered here, and there were likely a number of ghost cultivators lurking about. Ji Yuan even felt the sense that it was far more powerful than any underworld he had visited before, akin to a sacred ground for ghost cultivation.

Therefore, even with a bull demon with a high level of cultivation, Ji Yuan didn’t dare to stand out too much, let alone rashly perform his flight technique.

In a one-on-one fight, Ji Yuan could handle all kinds of immortals, demons, and gods without fear. However, if the number of opponents exceeded a certain limit, it would become very dangerous for him.

When Ji Yuan and the other two arrived outside of Tengyuan Restaurant, they could see a fierce and resentful aura in the building, even though they were still out on the street. The waiter in the inn was propping up an overturned table. There were some dishes and scraps of vegetables on the ground, as well as two small puddles of urine that exuded a faint stink.

“Mr. Ji, it seems that we are a little late?”

Niu Batian leaned closer to Ji Yuan and whispered. The latter nodded, but continued to walk towards the restaurant. His voice rang out before he even arrived.

“Ooh… what happened here? Was there a fight?”

The shopkeeper’s appearance had returned to normal, but his resentment still lingered. When he heard the voice outside the door, he replied coldly.

“The Lord Dark Minister has such an inflated arrogance! Four living idiots came to the restaurant today. We discovered them first, but he snatched them away by virtue of his power. He didn’t even let them settle their bill!”

The shopkeeper sighed as he spoke, gathering his composure and trying to put on a smile.

“However, if the guests wish to eat, please come in.”

“Oh? How could that be? How can living people come here? That’s quite unusual. Did the Dark Minister kidnap them to absorb their vital Yang energy himself?”

Ji Yuan spoke with a surprised tone, and entered the room to chat with the shopkeeper.

“Ah, it’s indeed unusual, but this time he didn’t snatch it away to eat it himself. Tonight is a grand celebratory banquet held by the City Lord in honor of his successful milestone in cultivation. The Dark Minister planned to offer these living people to the City Lord first. Now I don’t even know where he hid those living bodies. Hmph, it is precisely out of respect for the City Lord that we stay our hand, otherwise, we would have fought with this Dark Minister without fear!”

The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes to reveal a faint light. After uttering some harsh words, he thought of something.

“Oh, by the way, the guests, you wish to eat, we… uh…”

The guests he had been talking to had vanished.

“Where are they? When did you see them leave?”

Several waiters around shook their heads.

“I didn’t notice. They disappeared in the blink of an eye.”

On the street, Ji Yuan and his companions naturally went to look for the so-called Dark Minister. However, the Dark Minister, apparently fearing that someone else might be targeting him, had done an excellent job of concealing himself. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

At least, Ji Yuan’s divinations were unable to pinpoint his exact location. It was even more difficult to pinpoint any possible sources of Yang energy within the city.

‘This is getting a little tricky! ‘

In the current situation, there were only two options: the first was to turn the City of the Dead upside down and forcibly find the Dark Minister and his unfortunate captives; the other was to wait until the Ghost City Lord’s banquet and demand the release of those individuals.

The former was like giving a slap in the face: one misstep, and the entire city of the dead would turn hostile. The latter was equally humiliating: one misstep could still make the entire city of the dead turn hostile.

Yan Fei was a mortal: although he realized that things are going badly, he still couldn’t fully grasp the situation. Niu Batian, on the other hand, had already grasped the complexity of the current situation.

“Mr. Ji, what should we do? How about we just go wild!”

The Old Bull now had a kind of blind faith in Ji Yuan. He even felt that if Mr. Ji wished to, he could use his immense supernatural power to directly alter the world, allowing the heavenly celestial righteous Yang2 to directly flood the ghost city, or even directly sever the ghost city’s foundation. Who would dare to provoke such a dangerous person?

“Go wild? Who would we go wild at? The whole City of the Dead? Wouldn’t it be difficult for you, a barbaric bull, to take them all on?”

Ji Yuan asked back. Niu Batian scratched his head and said.

“Although this Old Bull might be a bit conceited, I am aware that I do not know the depth of power of the ghosts in this city, and likely would not be able to handle it. But with your abilities, sir, I don’t believe that anyone in this ghost city could stop us!”

“You…”

Before Ji Yuan could say “have such a glib tongue,” he suddenly saw a monstrous aura rising from the direction of the city gate.

“Someone has come knocking at the gate?”3

Niu Batian asked excitedly, but Ji Yuan shook his head to refute.

“No. This monstrous aura, though strong, is not aggressive. It seems to be just a means of showing status. I remember that the shopkeeper mentioned that tonight was some kind of celebration. They may be guests attending the banquet!”

Ji Yuan explained to his two companions as the three of them headed over, intent on seeing what kind of monster had arrived.

Judging from the current situation, if the guest’s monstrous aura was so strong, then this City Lord was definitely no simple individual, which made Ji Yuan even more cautious.

A special carriage shrouded in mist and covered in fish scales slowly drove along the city’s main road. The vehicle was not pulled by horses, but rather by a four-legged aquatic demon beast. The vapor from its breath drifted to the rear, making the entire procession appear as if shrouded in a haze.

In addition to this large carriage, the procession was accompanied by several attendants to the front and back, some carrying weapons, and others carrying boxes. Each exuded a demonic or monstrous aura, making the scene quite ostentatious.

It was currently daytime, so there weren’t that many ghosts wandering the city. Many ghosts had originally wanted to approach, but the strong monstrous aura kept them at bay.

Inside the carriage sat a handsome man and woman. After entering the city, each of them peered through the beaded curtains to either side to observe the passing sights.

“I must say, this Wuya Ghost City does have some secrets. I wonder how much Old Ghost Wuya has improved after this breakthrough?”

“He is still a ghost, after all!”

“You can’t say that, it’s true that a ghost body has flaws, but even then…”

The man’s paused at this point.

“Even then what?”

The woman on one side turned to look at him curiously, only to find his eyes wide open, staring blackly ahead, gaze shifting with the carriage’s progress.

“Stop!”

The man suddenly shouted, startling the woman next to him.

“Get out of the carriage with me, get out of the carriage with me! I didn’t expect Old Ghost Wuya to invite even him!”

The man grabbed the woman’s hand with an impatient voice and dragged her out of the carriage with him.

To the side of the procession, Niu Batian frowned and looked at the nearby carriage, tilting his head to ask Ji Yuan.

“Mr. Ji, why did this carriage stop so abruptly?”

The Old Bull had barely finished speaking when a man and a woman in brocade robes disembarked the carriage and hurriedly strode over towars him. When they were about ten zhang away from him, they bowed respectfully at a ninety-degree angle4 in his direction.

“Honored Sir, I am Gao Tianming of Tianshui Lake, accompanied by my wife Xia Qiu. I pay my respects to Mr. Ji!”

Ji Yuan frowned, pondering for a moment, before a look of realization dawned on his face. He simply bowed with cupped hands in return.

“So it was Mr. Gao of Tianshui Lake. I remember you attended the Old Dragon’s birthday celebration at the Tongtian River in Dazhen?”

“Indeed! Mr. Ji, you actually still remember me, I am truly honored! I wouldn’t dare be presumptuous to you, sir. Please, just call me by my name. This is my humble wife, also an aquatic creature, not yet transformed into a flood dragon!”

Niu Batian suddenly felt his scalp tingling, and Yan Fei to the side felt similarly.

‘Hey… just who exactly is Mr. Ji?’

1. 黑 (hēi): black/dark/sinister/secret/concealed, 令 (lìng): to order/to command/government position. Literally like the Men in Black!!! 😀

2. T/n: One heck of a mouthful

3. i.e. come looking for trouble, like asking “is there going to be a fight?”

4. Deep, very respectful bow