Chapter 183 – The Ghost Tiers, Observing the Situation, Entering the Game - Part 3

A faint red glow shimmered over Spring Breeze, like a door to the underworld cracked open just enough to spill out blood-tinged light. In the chill of winter, a damp fog rose steadily, mingling with that eerie crimson hue and cloaking the entire ward.

“Don’t go out. We have enough supplies down here to last us a while.”

In an underground cellar, Fang Jianlong and the young woman in green sat facing each other in the darkness. Aside from a cleverly designed peephole that looked out at the world above, they were completely cut off from the outside.

“My surname is Zhu, Zhu Qiao’er.”

“Fang Jianlong.”

Zhu Qiao’er sighed softly. “You came at such a bad time, Young Master Fang...”

“What exactly happened here?” Fang Jianlong touched a letter he was carrying, still hoping to complete the task Li Yuan had given him.

Zhu Qiao’er propped her chin on her hands, looking troubled. “The uprising of the undying husks, naturally. My father posted me behind the lines, thinking the turmoil wouldn’t spread to a little place like Spring Breeze, but...turns out he was wrong.”

Fang Jianlong hesitated. “I’m sorry about earlier, my subordinate who attacked you...”

“It’s not your fault. He was just under the influence of something beyond his control,” she said.

He gave a self-deprecating smile. “You’re very understanding, Miss.”

Zhu Qiao’er responded with a quiet laugh, and Fang Jianlong tried to reassure her. “Things will get better, you know.”

They both fell silent. After a while, she said in a small voice, “I-I was definitely afraid being down here alone. It’s good you showed up.”

She grew quieter by the word, but Fang Jianlong heard it all. He chuckled wryly. “We might end up dying here. Still, if I have to die, spending my final moments at your side isn’t the worst ending I can imagine.”

Even in the dim light, Zhu Qiao’er’s cheeks burned at that remark. She hurried over to peer through the peephole. “Let me check outside.”

She pressed her face to the tiny opening, though all she could see was the back alley of the tavern. It was half lost in swirling mist, making it impossible to see anything clearly. Fang Jianlong scooted closer, equally anxious to catch a glimpse of whatever might lie beyond.

Just then, in the darkness, that man and woman accidentally brushed up against each other, and as if jolted by an electric shock, both jumped back.

Afterward, they fell silent for a long time.

Finally, Zhu Qiao’er asked in a soft voice, “Where are you from, Young Master?”

“Gemhill.” Fang Jianlong’s heart was racing for reasons he couldn’t quite name; maybe it was the tense situation, maybe something else.

Zhu Qiao’er continued, “You’re part of the martial world, aren’t you?”

“And why would you say that?” he asked, curious.

They spent a while trading the sort of questions one might ask a stranger at a checkpoint, each testing the waters. At length, Zhu Qiao’er confessed, “My father...he’s just a low-ranking disciple of the Sacred Fire Palace. He thought it would be safer if I stayed here when the Central Plains got messy. These past few days, I felt down, so I came to the tavern to distract myself. I never imagined things would go so wrong.

“My servants will come looking for me when they find out what’s happening. They’ll rescue us. And once we’re out, I can ask my father to introduce you to the Sacred Fire Palace...if that’s something you’d like.”

Fang Jianlong’s eyes lit up in genuine delight.

There’s fortune in calamity,

he thought.

Zhu Qiao’er hesitated, then blurted, “So...are you, um, engaged, Young Master?”

Fang Jianlong felt his pulse quicken once more. After a moment he answered, “No, I’m not. What about you?”

She gave a shy little laugh. “I’m not engaged either.”

For a moment, the damp cellar’s gloom felt less oppressive, tinged with a faint warmth and softness.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Above ground, Li Yuan’s white finch soared on outstretched wings, scanning the area below. He had searched for a long time, hoping to discover the source of that red glow. If the same phenomenon ever happened in Gemhill, it would help to know exactly where to look.

But the fog only grew thicker, and the crimson glow spread like fresh blood across the murk. Through the finch’s keen eyes, Li Yuan could just make out a few silhouettes—some by the river, others in hidden alleys or courtyards—kneeling in worship to something invisible.

Li Yuan didn’t want to risk an open confrontation, so he directed the finch to fly higher. Right then, a ripple in the fog flashed across his view, and in the next instant, the finch lost all sense of balance, plummeting into an outstretched palm.

A chilling voice rang out, “I told you to go find the prefecture lord, not spy on us. If you still won’t listen, don’t blame me for what happens next.”

Boom!

The connection went dark. Li Yuan blinked and felt a jolt of cold anger, but forced himself to stay calm.

He sent a mental command to his other white finch he had left near Tiger’s Back County, ordering it to fly to Spring Breeze. That would take at least a day or two. Rising from his bed, he tugged on his clothes.

“Master...?” Xiao Mei murmured sleepily.

“Go back to sleep, Xiao Mei. I’ll be right back,” he said gently.

Stepping into the courtyard, he opened a simple birdcage and took out a small green bird, its combat power only around 1~2. He established a mental bond and released it into the night. Ordinary birds strong enough to match higher-level threats were nearly impossible to find. His beast taming skill was also stuck at seventh rank. Without the special resource known as blood gold, he had no way of advancing it to sixth rank and no way of controlling flying demonic beasts.

If only he had that upgrade. Then he could tether himself to a ninth rank flying beast and wouldn’t have to resort to having someone else ferry his birds across the river; those demonic beasts could simply fly on their own.

Returning to his room, Li Yuan found Xiao Mei waking again and curling up against him, sharing her warmth with his cold skin. As she loyally fulfilled her role as a personal maid, Li Yuan let her continue. For the moment, he could do nothing to observe the situation in Little Willow County; his second white finch was still far away in Tiger’s Back County.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Meanwhile, in the red-tinged alleys of Spring Breeze...

“Damn it! Damn it!” a scrawny man cursed through clenched teeth, his voice brimming with spite. He casually flung away the finch he had crushed in his palm, stretching his neck.

“Chang Qi, so we lost the ghost thread. Big deal, at least we got 10 mace out of it. That’s plenty to buy whatever we want.” A woman’s voice sounded from behind him.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

“You don’t get it, Shu Niang. That ghost thread was a rare item. Even in the deepest part of the ghost street marketplace, you’d have to risk your life and have amazing luck to find something like it. We only managed to get it by chance. I couldn’t care less about 10 mace compared to that.”

“Listen, Chang Qi. Once we finish our business in Spring Breeze, we’ll head into the depths of the ghost street marketplace to shop properly. Maybe we’ll come across something even better than that ghost thread,” Shu Niang comforted. “And don’t forget, you’ve still got that Ghost Spider Silk. That’s powerful in its own right.”

Chang Qi sighed, unwilling to dwell on the subject further. Glancing at the mangled white finch, he asked, “Where’d it come from, anyway? That’s a pretty rare ability.”

“Not our concern,” Shu Niang replied curtly.

A large, silent brute trailed behind them, carrying a lantern. Inside it, a half-rotted human head drifted in and out of sight. From that decaying visage came the same crimson radiance that bled out over the streets, painting every building and tree a haunting shade of red.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Two days later.

At long last, Li Yuan’s second white finch drifted near Spring Breeze in Little Willow County. This time, he was careful not to send it inside; instead, it perched in a nearby tree, watching from a distance.

And he arrived just in time for a spectacle.

At the township’s main gates, a squad of armored soldiers clashed with a band of mounted martial artists. At their head was none other than Yan Mu.

“Open the gate! Let them out!” Yan Mu’s furious shout could have shaken the pages of a book from miles away.

The soldiers held their ground at first, but their nerves were clear. Soon, a commander stepped forward from their ranks.

He swept his gaze around, then turned not to Yan Mu but to the man standing behind him. “Elder Tian, what brings you here?”

Elder Tian was from the Farmstead Sect, and the commander knew him well enough from local dealings.

The elder inclined his head. “Commander Zheng, our superior has come here in person and sees things plainly. Stop aiding tyranny. You mustn’t go on like this.”

“Aiding tyranny?” said coolly. “What do you mean?”

Yan Mu raised his riding whip and pointed it toward the ward. “You’re trapping these people inside, helping the undying husks harm the common folk.”

“Undying husk?”

“Your new prefecture lord is an undying husk!” Yan Mu roared, eyes ablaze. “He’s ordered you to confine Spring Breeze just so he can feed its people to evil ghosts!”

Commander Zheng scoffed. “Right and wrong? That’s a matter for your superiors up top. We’re just soldiers doing our imperial duty. Whether the prefecture lord is an undying husk or whether you’re lying, I don’t know. If I open this gate on your say, I’ll be thrown in prison, at best.”

Yan Mu cast his eyes over the troops. “Look around you, Commander. These soldiers, these people...they’re all locals. They share the same homeland, the same roots! And that includes you.”

The commander remained silent, his expression conflicted.

Yan Mu pressed on, voice resounding, “Our nation is in peril. undying husks hold high office and use it to bring disaster upon the world. Will you stand by, helping him murder your own kin?”

“That’s just your side of the story,” Commander Zheng said, though doubt flickered across his face.

Yan Mu countered, “You’ve been posted here for days. By day, it’s calm, but come nightfall, the township descends into chaos, isn’t that so? If you want to test whether I lie, just let these people out. Keep them under guard in a separate spot, and when night comes, see if any of them go insane. That alone will prove the truth.”

The commander hesitated. Then a voice behind him, one of the officers, shouted, “Commander, you can’t! This man is obviously the prefecture lord’s sworn enemy. If we help him—”

Before he could finish, a blade flashed pale as falling snow. Yan Mu’s sword, unsheathed at some point, swept through the air, and the officer’s head went flying.

Yan Mu flicked the blood from his blade. Urging his horse forward, he pressed down on the remaining soldiers, who shrank back under the pressure.

Looking down at Commander Zheng, Yan Mu said grimly, “It seems there’s no turning back for you now. From this day on, join our Holy Tree Temple.”

Commander Zheng’s throat bobbed nervously. “You...you’re sixth rank?”

Elder Tian, standing close by, spoke up. “This is our envoy from the Holy Tree Temple, indeed a sixth rank expert. Commander, don’t bring ruin upon yourself.”

The commander’s voice trembled. “So...you plan to rebel?”

Yan Mu paused, then answered in a ringing voice, “I merely do what must be done!”

Commander Zheng hung his head, muttering, “...Stand aside.”

From his distant vantage point, Li Yuan’s white finch witnessed the scene. Li Yuan felt a spark of relief, and a trace of pride.

Looks like my nephew’s finally broken out of his slump. He’s quite formidable now, and has a decent sense of justice, just like his aunt.

Then Li Yuan noticed a soldier among the ranks discreetly lifting a hand to his face, eyes fixed on Yan Mu with suspicious intent.

Sensing danger, Li Yuan commanded the white finch to swoop down at once. In a streak of feathers, the bird hurtled into the man’s face, drawing a startled cry from him. The soldier dropped a small sugar figurine, shaped like a rabbit, into the mud.

The finch shot away again just as fast, and the soldier, cursing, bent to retrieve his candy. But a boot pinned his hand to the ground.

He looked up, blinking into the sunlight to see Yan Mu towering over him, eyes cold. At the same time, the Holy Tree Temple envoy tilted his head, glancing after the fleeing white finch with a thoughtful gleam in his gaze.

Author’s Note

Yes, the ghost domains might have seemed a bit too

supernatural

before, but going forward, they’ll become part of the established power system. After all, this isn’t pure horror, it’s

xuanhuan

. There’s no need for ghosts to be utterly unbeatable.