Chapter 244 – The Ghost Street Judge, Layer Upon Layer of Traps, Breaking Free - Part 1

Deep within Hidden River Province’s ancient ghost street, a winding path lined with twisting alleys, a humble general store glowed with a warm light.

From outside, it was impossible to see anything clearly, but from inside, one could make out everything perfectly.

By the large crystal window, a beautiful woman with ashen skin sat in a dark robe, her head turned to watch the scene outside.

The door to the shop opened and closed, over and over again, welcoming many

customers

each day.

The woman silently observed these visitors, each with their own story. From within these walls, she could see their entire

life

.

As for those coming in, all they saw of her was an indistinct silhouette—a cloud of dark mist they couldn’t quite discern.

“Hello?” A new customer outside called out warily—a tall, slender man dressed in white. “Is anyone here?”

Beside him stood a short woman dressed in black.

From her seat, the woman by the window cast a glance at the newcomers. Their pasts flashed through her mind.

After stepping inside, both the man and woman moved carefully about, watching their surroundings. When they finally noticed the white-robed clerk behind the counter, they grew so frightened they hardly dared to breathe.

The woman in black dashed to the door, ready to flee. She grabbed the handle and tugged with all her might, but it was as if the door had been welded shut; it wouldn’t budge.

The tall man in white hurried after her, holding her back. “Something’s not right here,” he whispered. “Don’t panic.”

Panting, the woman in black glanced uneasily toward the chair by the window. From her perspective, it was nothing more than an impenetrable shroud of darkness.

At that moment, a clattering sound came from behind them. The door opened again, and in rushed a grinning peddler in blue robes.

“Take a look, take a look! My rouge and powder are fair for all, no cheating here!”

Wearing a shifty smile, the peddler ran straight behind the counter.

The man and woman exchanged anxious looks, at a loss for what to do. Meanwhile, a heavy, eerie presence spread through the shop. In a place like this, if too much time passed without buying something, one would pay a different sort of price.

Then a cold female voice echoed through the store—

“Fan Chouwan—since childhood, you’ve done good deeds, traveled as a roaming hero, hated evil with a passion, and killed 326 villains. Passing through the region of Silver Creek, you were suddenly seized by madness. Rather than harm others, you jumped into the water hoping to regain your senses. Wrought with guilt, you tried to end it yourself.

“Xie Qing’an, Fan Chouwan’s elder brother. Also a hero, but one who holds fast to a no-kill creed. You saved 326 innocent lives. Late one night, while staying at an inn in Southsky County, you were suddenly driven to a frenzy and nearly drew your sword against innocent people. You fought it, tried to hang yourself with a rope, then staggered out of the inn. You, too, carry heavy guilt, and sought death by your own hand.”

The man in white and the woman in black shuddered as the memories came rushing back.

Just then, the mass of black mist at the window rose. In a flash, the pair found themselves each holding several strange pieces of paper money...three bills apiece—one worth one mace, one worth three cash, and one worth one crash.

That cold voice spoke again—

“Take the 1- note to buy a black pouch from the white-robed shopkeeper. Then use the four cash to purchase a gray rouge compact from the peddler. Once you leave, follow the road back the way you came. Don’t stop.”

With that, the voice fell silent, retreating to the window.

Clutching at this lifeline, the two hurried to make their purchases. When they reached the door again, it opened without resistance. Stunned, they returned inside to bow deeply toward the dark silhouette, offering no more than a polite nod before hastily retracing their steps.

Once again, the dark-robed beauty settled down by the window, gazing outside as though lost in thought. She seemed lonely, as if thinking of someone far away.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

This woman was none other than Yan Yu. Her clothes, which she used to wear in white, had long since turned black.

In truth, over the past few years, the ancient ghost street had grown several times busier—much like how it was once bustling in Northriver Prefecture. The people arriving now were burdened with dreadful sins and guilt, and almost all had committed these sins on the very day they wandered into the ancient ghost street.

Yan Yu could read people. If she saw they were genuinely good at heart, she couldn’t bear to watch them die. Quietly, she would guide them, having them spend ghost money to buy the items in her shop before sending them away.

From Feng’er at the counter, they would buy back their own lives. From the peddler, they would purchase cheap rouge compacts that would allow them to leave the ancient ghost street in one piece. That was Yan Yu’s kindness.

As for the wicked, she left them alone. Feng’er would capture them and sell them for coin.

Not long after that brother and sister departed, the door swung open again, admitting yet another customer. A scholarly-looking man walked in, promptly took out two mace, and used them not for a black pouch or rouge compact, but for a pair of manacles. Then he turned toward the black mist at the window and spoke respectfully.

“Yu Wen of the Black Lotus Cult pays his respects to the Ghost Street Judge.” The man continued, “We’ve looked into the people you’ve set free, and they were all good folk. This proves your compassion. We would rather entrust the future of this world to someone like you. Please, work with us.”

“What’s your plan?” Yan Yu asked.

“Our arrangement is confidential,” Yu Wen said. “You should know that aside from you, there is a far more powerful, far more terrifying being who’s also working with us. Yet it’s not one of our own, and we know it’s devoid of human kindness. Between you two, we’d prefer if it were you holding the reins of the future. However, within our cult, most still revere that entity because it’s strong...because it alone holds the power we need to make our plan a reality. Forgive my bluntness; you don’t currently possess that kind of power.”

“And what do you want from me?” Yan Yu pressed.

“You don’t need to do anything. If you remain as you are, we won’t draw its notice. When the time comes, we’ll guide you and help you...obtain more.”

Yu Wen’s deference was clear.

“So I’m to do nothing,” Yan Yu mused. “Which means, I suppose, you’re worried I might do something to interfere with your plans?”

Yu Wen nodded. “Precisely. If you’re not planning to interfere, then please keep it that way. We’ll bring you good news soon enough.” He bowed low again, then smiled. “If possible, please produce more pairs of those manacles. They’re quite an excellent item.”

With a final, courteous bend of the waist toward the black mist, Yu Wen retreated.

Outside, on that snaking path like the carcass of a serpent, dimly lit by ghostly lanterns, his figure shrank into the distance.

Yan Yu watched him go, then turned her gaze to the open space not far from the store, the place where Sheng’er once played.

The door creaked open again, revealing a new arrival. Yan Yu cast a single glance and saw the customer’s entire life, judging him to be

evil

.

Since he was evil, she left him to his fate. Whether or not he spent money here, he would ultimately end up sold off by Feng’er.

Meanwhile, Yan Yu’s mind lingered on Yu Wen’s words. She murmured to herself, “A greater, more terrifying being. Its power is what the Black Lotus Cult needs.”

That power, it seemed, was the force that drove people mad, burdening them with sin before a ghostly lantern revealed an underworld path, leading them into the netherworld... The ghost in burial clothes, the human-head lanterns, and the pool of ghosts... That was the only clue so far about the entity behind Apparel Atelier.

“So they want me to do nothing, afraid I’ll derail their plans? In other words, I am indeed capable of thwarting them. Their smooth talk was to keep me in check,” Yan Yu immediately concluded.

Her gaze returned to the empty space where a warm family gathering had once taken place. That memory was something she wished to protect. And the sights of the living world...with children crying in the cold beneath bridges, the starving lying in ditches by the roadside, and the anguished wails drifting on the wind...those tear-stained faces also pained her heart greatly.

A single thought stayed firmly in her mind. The mortal realm and the twinkling lights of countless homes...that was what she wished to protect.

In an ideal world, the good would be rewarded and the wicked punished.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Within the Clock Mansion, a secret conversation was taking place...

“So, she’s still making no moves? She’s not planning on interfering with us?”

“No signs of it. Even if she does suspect something, we have ways to keep her in check. For now, we’ll play along until the time is right. Ultimately, she’s just another source of nourishment. Only one underworld god is needed for this world’s future.”

One of the speakers was Yu Wen, who had just left the general store.

A different voice piped up from the side. “If she’s truly more humane, why don’t we choose her instead?”

Hearing that, Yu Wen and the others started laughing. Yu Wen glanced at a man robed in red, surnamed Zhong—Zhong Wuming, the very master of the Clock Mansion, a Black Lotus Cult member himself.

“Old Zhong,” Yu Wen said, “after all these years, have you learned nothing?”

Another voice teased, “Must be from hiding in this mansion for so long that you’ve gone soft. We’ve allied with the imperial tutor and the emperor. We share the same goals now—and a number of the tutor’s own undying husks are stationed here.

“Are you telling us to break ranks with them and side with her instead? She’s no match for that other being. If she had appeared a century ago, or even decades earlier, we might have considered it. But now, all we can do is deceive her to ensure she doesn’t interfere.”

“Ohhhh...” Zhong Wuming let out a long sigh of realization, nodding like a fool who’d finally grasped the situation.