Chapter 181 – The Ghost Tiers, Observing the Situation, Entering the Game - Part 1

Li Yuan toyed with a length of transparent silver thread. It twined around his fingers like a living thing. Curious, he asked, “Yan Yu, do you know what this thread does?”

Yan Yu studied it for a moment. “Some ghosts fixate on people and can reach them in an instant, no matter how far they run. This thread represents that ghost’s ability to pursue its target across a thousand miles. Even more interesting, it can bind two people together at the same time. But because it’s brimming with Yin energy, don’t use it more than twice a day.”

“Is this something sold in the shops?”

“No, it’s beyond what normal shops carry, something on par with the exotic beast park.”

“Exotic beast park...” Li Yuan closed his eyes briefly.

Ever since his wife became trapped in a ghost domain, he had spent a lot of time there and learned bits and pieces of how they were structured. Once he grasped that these domains had power tiers, their hold on his imagination began to fade. They were still eerie, but at least they followed certain rules of strength and could be subdued in theory.

The first tier consisted of newly formed ghost domains, such as the carpenter’s workshop, mass grave, black market, and rouge shop. They were basically sole proprietors.

The second tier was made up of older ghost domains, also called dual-entity ghost domains. When a place has steeped in Yin energy for long enough, it might spawn a second ghost. Alternatively, two ghosts could fuse and hasten this process.

According to Yan Yu, that little flower-selling girl was part of a dual-entity ghost domain. She was able to wander out and peddle her flowers because there was a flower shop in her domain, which housed a second ghost. It was similar to having an

employee

or

partner

ghost.

The third tier was exclusive to ancient ghost domains, or multi-entity ghost domains. These occupied the far ends of the ghost street marketplace and could sustain multiple ghosts. The exotic beast park was one such domain.

Beyond the third tier, not even Yan Yu knew what lay ahead.

“Business on the ghost street marketplace has been booming,” Yan Yu said with a pleased smile. “A month ago, that peddler was lucky to make six mace, but these past few days he’s earned plenty. Whatever profit he makes, I can still take half.”

She was delighted to bring in money from even the most vicious ghosts, knowing it would help her husband. Because that vendor sold cheap goods in large volumes, like the gray rouge compact priced at just four cash, he could easily attract ordinary folk burdened with minor sins.

Meanwhile, nothing had triggered Feng’er’s grudge lately, and she hadn’t managed to produce any goods herself, so she was earning next to nothing.

“All right, I’m off to check on Sheng'er,” Yan Yu said. She turned to leave, and Li Yuan called after her.

“Yan Yu, I’ll make sure—”

But before he could finish, Yan Yu drifted right back to his side. Rising on tiptoe, she peered up at him. “No rushing, okay?”

Li Yuan nodded. “I know my limits.”

Close to dawn, not long before Yan Yu’s

awake

time ended, Li Yuan took Sheng'er home.

By now, Xue Ning was used to the father and daughter arriving so late. She tucked the already-sleeping little Ping’an into bed, then took Sheng'er to wash up.

Li Yuan yawned as he headed back to his own room.

He figured Xiao Zhu knew about his usual schedule. After all, the room was already warmed, and he could feel the heat even through the door. But when he pushed it open, he found Xiao Lan instead of Xiao Zhu.

If Xiao Zhu’s build was reminiscent of Yan Yu, then Xiao Lan was taller, more akin to Xue Ning.

“Master, it’s my turn to serve you tonight,” Xiao Lan said, both nervous and eager.

Li Yuan glanced at her. He couldn’t be intimate with Yan Yu, and he felt it would be unfair to burden the overworked Xue Ning, so letting a maid attend him was simply the way of things here.

He asked, “Is Xiao Zhu all right?”

Xiao Lan grew flustered. “She’s not feeling well today, so...I came in her place.”

Li Yuan took the hint. “I appreciate it.”

Her eyes lit up, and she stepped forward to help him out of his clothes. He neither resisted nor protested.

He was just an ordinary man, one among the common folk. There was no need to feign loftiness over such matters.

Petals drifted across steaming bathwater as Li Yuan sank into the tub, letting the day’s fatigue melt away. At first, Xiao Lan worked behind him. But soon she circled to the front, her thin robe clinging to her figure, her shy fingers pressing against his sturdy frame.

Li Yuan leaned back, letting his mind wander toward the best way to use the thousand-mile thread. After a while, he closed his eyes and viewed the events unfolding in Little Willow County in Northriver Prefecture.

One of his white finches was perched on a rooftop, unwilling to enter any buildings, so he could only glean the bigger picture.

The entire area where Fang Jianlong was living in had been locked down.

Spring Breeze, that was the name of this township. A pleasant name, though it had now turned from a spring breeze into a bitter gale.

Armored troops were rushing to seal off every entrance and exit. They wore soft armor and shouldered long spears, each squad hustling into position. Most of them hovered around 8~9 in combat power, similar to the menial workers of any sect. But there were over 2,000 of them, which was far more than any sect’s usual complement of menial workers. Within their ranks, Li Yuan also glimpsed some ninth and eighth rankers, and even three seventh rankers.

It confirmed a running truth. This imperial court was nothing more than a grand, powerful sect-like entity. Its organizational structure wasn’t all that different from the average martial clan.

From a bird’s-eye view, courtesy of his white finch, Li Yuan saw that order was gradually being restored within Spring Breeze. The eerie red glow that had blanketed the area during the day had vanished by night.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Early the next morning, golden light streamed through a window, and Li Yuan woke with a start. A soft body unfamiliar to him was nestled against his chest.

“You’re awake, Master?” Xiao Lan’s voice was warm with satisfaction.

Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju were the four maids of the household, all originally taken on as personal attendants. They knew many of the residence’s secrets and could never be casually married off elsewhere. Besides, the young and powerful master had always been the focus of their daydreams. Last night, one of those dreams had come true, and Xiao Lan was clearly pleased.

Li Yuan murmured something in reply, then suddenly asked, “Xiao Lan, you all came with Xue Ning from Beam Dragon Mountain, didn’t you?”

“Yes, back then we were still just girls,” Xiao Lan answered.

“It’s quite a journey from Beam Dragon Mountain, which is in the heartland of the empire,” Li Yuan mused. “It must not have been easy to get here.”

She shook her head. “You’d hardly recognize those times, Master. The Great Zhou was still stable then, and ghost domains were rare. Unless you were truly unlucky, you never ran into one. It’s not like now.”

Li Yuan nodded. It seemed to confirm his earlier suspicions. Something had happened to trigger the sudden, widespread emergence of new ghost domains. Most of these newly sprung ghost domains were probably on the weaker side, while established powers like the exotic beast park remained few and far between.

After a while, Xiao Lan got out of bed. As she left, Li Yuan pulled out the thousand-mile thread and affixed one end to her.

Xiao Zhu showed up shortly after to help Li Yuan wash up, and by midday, he purposely stepped out of the Hundred Lotus Manor to go for a stroll. When he reached the area near a corner watchtower, he tested the thread. With a small tug in Xiao Lan’s direction, he felt himself pulled into a pitch-black tunnel. An instant later, the surroundings snapped back into focus. He stood not far from Xiao Lan again.

He slipped away quietly, so as not to disturb her, feeling a surge of excitement. “

What a remarkable item,

” he thought. “If I’d had this earlier, I could have stuck one end to Fang Jianlong when he left Gemhill, and attached the other end to Xiao Zhu or one of the other maids. Then I could’ve traveled back and forth between Northriver Prefecture and Gemhill every day.”

He made a mental note to try something like that in the future.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

In the afternoon, Li Yuan visited the Martial Lodge. It had been three years since its founding. Zhao Chunxin and several other budding talents from different sects had all advanced to eighth rank and were working their way toward seventh rank. Everything was going smoothly.

By evening, he was back home, reclining in a rocking chair while keeping tabs on Little Willow County in Northriver Prefecture through his white finches. Perhaps because Xiao Lan and Xiao Zhu had already served him recently, it was now Xiao Mei’s turn to appear in his courtyard.

If Xiao Zhu was demure and sweet, and Xiao Lan tall and long-legged, Xiao Mei was somewhere in between. She was fresh-faced, neither stunning nor plain, but with a pleasing look and a distinctly shapely figure. Perhaps wanting to leave a good impression, she’d dabbed on a bit of floral essence, giving off a light plum blossom scent.

“Master, I’ll be serving you tonight,” she said shyly, then hurried to add, “It was the Mistress’ idea.”

“We’ll follow her arrangements,” Li Yuan simply replied, not pushing the matter further. This was just the usual routine between a master of the house and his personal attendant. There was no need to make it more complicated.

Xiao Mei glanced at him—handsome, strong, and still young. She’d already heard her sisters’ stories, so her heart was pounding like a fawn trapped in a thicket.