Chapter 245 – The Ghost Street Judge, Layer Upon Layer of Traps, Breaking Free - Part 2

Night fell over the clandestine market street of black stones and white tiles, a place where no living being normally tread. Near a bench on the street, a man sat quietly until a white silhouette emerged from the shadows along the wall.

She called softly, “Husband, sorry to keep you waiting.”

Li Yuan looked up and smiled. “I wasn’t waiting long,” he replied, his eyes settling on his wife—a woman in a flowing black robe, her skin a deathly pale, yet free of decay, exuding a mysterious kind of beauty.

Li Yuan spoke at length, “Cui Huayin told me she suspects the Emperor and the Four Lotuses share the same goal, which is why they’ve joined forces.

“They aim to expand the ghost domains, thereby improving the quality of the meat fields and acquiring more resources to cultivate higher rank martial experts.

“The Four Lotuses believe that once they have powerful martial artists, they can suppress the ghost domains. The Emperor believes that having such fighters will allow him to revive the Great Zhou.

“Both sides think that if the ghost domains are bound to grow anyway—causing more and more chaos—they’d rather take the initiative and

guide

the expansion themselves.”

Li Yuan visited the ghost street every so often, so it wasn’t the first time these two were having this discussion. So he patiently waited for her opinion.

“So that’s how it is.” Yan Yu mulled it over, then went on, “The undying husks from the Clock Mansion have long noticed my presence. They’ve come to me many times, asking me to

cooperate

. They won’t explain the details, just warn me not to act rashly, claiming there’s someone far stronger out there who will notice if I do. But I suspect they’re merely afraid I’ll make a move that ruins their real plan.

“Now it all makes sense. The Emperor, the Imperial Tutor, Apparel Atelier, and even those undying husks you encountered in Northriver Prefecture...they’re all in on this together. And since the Four Lotuses chose to work with them, they definitely know about me too. That’s why they’re worried I might interfere.”

Li Yuan’s eyes flickered thoughtfully. He suddenly asked, “Yan Yu, how does a ghost domain become

stronger

, exactly?”

Yan Yu rose to her feet. Her black robes twirled in a faint swirl of netherlight. “Husband, look. My clothes used to be white. Now they’re black. That’s proof I’ve grown stronger.

“Though I’m still the owner of the dual-entity general store, I’ve gained power since the time I wore white. It’s because more and more

customers

have been showing up lately, and the greater the death toll here, the more I grow in strength. On top of that, the peddler draws a steady stream of people every single day.”

Li Yuan understood well the connection between a ghost’s clothing color and its power. If single entity, dual entity, or multiple entities were considered major tiers, then the color of one’s attire marked the smaller steps within each tier.

At the single-entity tier, color wasn’t obvious enough to cause disruption. So the dark-green robed peddler remained balanced by the white-robed Feng’er. But starting from the dual-entity tier onward, every shift in hue was significant—gray, white, yellow, black, red, and finally blue, each level stronger than the last. Yan Yu’s shift from white to black indeed indicated a dramatic gain in power.

He laughed. “All because you made the peddler look like a charming beauty...”

Yan Yu said, “At least here, there’s still a sliver of hope for decent folk. Elsewhere, it’s near-certain death. I let good people go when I can.” She then added, “For a ghost, more killing means more strength—a direct way to feed off the dead. Another way is fusion, merging single-entity ghosts into dual entities, dual-entity ghosts into multi-entity ghosts. That method is even faster.”

“So they’re boosting Apparel Atelier,” Li Yuan said. “And also strengthening the ghost domains around Gemhill County.” He paused, then murmured, “That flower shop...”

He trailed off, shaking his head uncertainly. Yan Yu spoke in a calm voice, “I get it. They’re afraid I’ll actively make myself stronger. Since I’m fully self-aware, I’m a massive threat to whoever’s controlling Apparel Atelier. And because the Four Lotuses have joined forces with the Emperor, they want to keep me from taking action—at least until the Apparel Atelier’s

owner

can cross over and swallow me whole.”

Husband and wife fell silent, each turning over the possibilities in their mind. Seeing the pieces align, they realized it wasn’t just a possibility; it was the plain truth.

“I want to fight,” Yan Yu finally broke the hush. Her voice hardened, and she clenched her fists. “I have to fight. They’re not really trying to suppress the ghost domains or revive the Great Zhou for the greater good. They’re all out for themselves; all of that is just window dressing. I refuse to let my child grow up in a world like that. I will fight.”

Li Yuan found himself at a loss for words. He had no illusions about those lofty justifications the powers-that-be spouted, but the truth was obvious. If they merged all the ghost domains and she didn’t fight, she’d just end up devoured. There was no option but to fight.

And if the domains did converge, they’d yield more powerful martial artists—and Li Yuan wouldn’t be able to escape the chaos either. With a soft sigh, he asked, “How do you plan to fight?”

“By fusing more single-entity ghost domains. The others haven’t done so because they must be worried about something—maybe the risk of losing control. But I have no such reservations.”

Li Yuan nodded. “I see. Then...let’s start with the carpenter’s workshop. Yan Yu, you won’t mind adding a carpenter’s corner to your general store, right?”

“Not at all,” Yan Yu answered. “Go ahead. Buy whatever you need from the carpenter’s workshop, then use it on me.”

“But the carpenter’s items are for self-preservation, like Feng’er’s wares. I can’t just use them on you, unless...” He placed a hand on a wooden door’s handle. “If I open this door, on the other side is the carpenter’s workshop.”

Yan Yu said, “Then open it.”

A sudden thought seemed to strike Li Yuan. He hesitated. “Let’s hold off for a moment.”

“Husband?”

“Once you start doing what they don’t want, you’ll break the existing balance, and they’ll likely strike first. They could send wave after wave of undying husks armed with items from other ghost shops, unleashing other malicious ghosts to attack you. With enough assaults, you could be hurt.”

“But there aren’t that many corpse-walkers. Using a ghostly artifact costs them their lives. They need time and conditions for each use—time I can spend killing them first.”

“They might unleash something truly lethal, or ambush you while you’re busy merging with another domain,” Li Yuan countered. “It could get complicated.”

Yan Yu considered his words for a while, then said coldly, “Then maybe I’ll go to the Clock Mansion tonight and wipe it out. And any unknown undying husk who sets foot on the ancient ghost street...I’ll kill on sight. If they so much as touch me, Feng’er and the peddler will tear them apart. Sure, they could still attempt some suicide tactic with other ghost items, but better to strike first and reduce their numbers than wait for them to come knocking.”

Li Yuan stared at her in surprise. He hadn’t expected Yan Yu’s style to be this...direct.

“That won’t work.” He immediately rejected the plan. Charging headlong like that left no room for retreat. Seeing how intent she was, Li Yuan hurried to add, “Let me think it through, all right?” He sat on the ground, legs crossed, pondering.

Before, when Li Yuan and Yan Yu knew nothing, it seemed they were living in peace. But as soon as they saw the truth, the threat felt like it was right at their door—one that would boil them like frogs if they didn’t act.

“It might be best to kill them all preemptively,” Yan Yu said, her voice chilling to the bone.

Li Yuan looked her squarely in the eyes. “You’re being affected by the ghosts within you. Ghosts always respond with aggression the instant they’re provoked, never caring about the enemy’s power. But humans know when to seek advantage and avoid disaster.”

Yan Yu fell silent. At length, she sighed. “Husband, then I’ll do as you suggest. Tell me what to do.”

Li Yuan stood up and began pacing back and forth, eventually asking, “You once said that if you fuse with other ghost domains, you can use it as a chance to relocate, right?”

She nodded.

“Then, when the time is right,” he said, “I’ll help you get out of here.”

“Where would we go?” she asked.

“Cloudpeak Province, a hidden and desolate corner of the world,” Li Yuan replied.

With the situation worsening by the day, the Holy Tree Temple no longer felt like a place they could stay. Li Yuan had decided to trade vast amounts of his blood gold for resources and then relocate his entire family. Otherwise, they’d face too many battles. Conflicts with the Black Lotus Cult’s martial experts, turf wars between ghost domains...they’d be forced to fight on all fronts. They’d become mired in a maze of shifting alliances and confront an endless parade of powerful enemies and unexpected twists.

Unless Li Yuan got insanely lucky—with some huge windfall that gave him just enough strength at just the right moment, or the enemy made a series of idiotic mistakes—he and Yan Yu would almost certainly die.

“Sometimes, you have to move to stay alive,” he said. “We’ll vanish the moment it’s feasible, slip out while they’re all busy and avoid becoming anyone’s pawn or smashing ourselves to bits against them.”

Turning to Yan Yu, he set both hands on her shoulders. “We have to pretend we don’t know anything. Then, as soon as we see our opening, we disappear.”

“All right...” she agreed quietly. “I’ll follow your lead.” She forced down the icy, murderous urge roiling inside, an impulse arising from her nature as a ghost.