Chapter 137: Chapter 136: Sitting in the Ghost Realm as if in a Bright Hall

The moon was half-hidden, and dark clouds filled the sky.

The moonlight was dim tonight, which made the lanterns on Spring Street seem all the brighter.

Xiuyue County was, after all, a major county with a population in the tens of thousands. The several-hundred-meter-long Spring Street was home to more than a dozen brilliantly lit brothels, their colorful curtains hanging low amidst a clamor of voices.

Besides the brothels, the businesses still open at night were taverns, inns, gambling dens, and street vendors selling late-night snacks like noodles and rice cakes.

A steady stream of customers came and went, from local officials, wealthy squires, and Scholars to traveling merchants passing through. The street, though not long, was even livelier than it was during the day.

Gu Zhao and Zhuo Qingyan stood in the shadows not far from Zhenxiang Courtyard, staring at the scene before them in a slight daze.

"Looks like we came early," Gu Zhao said, stunned. "Way too early."

Zhuo Qingyan turned to look at Gu Zhao’s dumbfounded profile, an unconcealable smile in her eyes. "Brother Gu," she asked softly, "have you never been to Spring Street before?"

Gu Zhao was speechless. "What kind of decent person comes to a place like this?!"

In his modern life, he had never even been to a nightclub. He was as straight-laced as they come.

He knew that places like bars and nightclubs were bustling at night, and he figured it would be similar in ancient times, but he never expected it to be *this* bustling.

He had waited until almost the end of the Hour of the Pig, which was nearly 11:00 PM, yet this place was like a popular restaurant in a business district during the weekday lunch rush.

Sure enough, not even a world of demons and ghosts could stop perverts from pursuing their carnal desires.

Zhuo Qingyan pointed to a few Scholars and merchants who had just walked out of a brothel. "Welcoming guests, sending them off, calling on friends... Many people enjoy coming to places like this."

Gu Zhao shook his head. He was a Dao practitioner, after all. While he appreciated beauty, he saw that as part of human nature, in accordance with the natural way of the Celestial Dao. He had no interest in places of pure debauchery like this.

"When does this place quiet down?" Gu Zhao asked. "At 1:00 AM?"

Zhuo Qingyan replied, "The Hour of the Tiger. Right before sunrise, it finally gets quiet."

"Jeez, they really have stamina," Gu Zhao sighed. Just as he was thinking about going home to sleep, his expression shifted and he turned to look at a man in green clothes emerging from an inn.

Zhuo Qingyan turned as well. Her eyes flashed when she saw the man, but her gaze swept past him without lingering before returning to Gu Zhao.

She saw that Gu Zhao was also looking at her. Catching the deep meaning in his eyes, Zhuo Qingyan nodded to show she had noticed, too.

The man in green was wearing clothes identical to the ones worn by the man they had killed yesterday in the Ghost House west of the city.

He left the inn and walked into an adjacent tavern. After ordering a few small dishes and some alcohol, he sat down at a low table by the entrance, eating and drinking while observing the brothel across the street.

"Another disciple from Stone King Cave," Gu Zhao clicked his tongue. "Two of them showing up isn’t a coincidence."

"He’s watching Zhenxiang Courtyard, but he isn’t going in." Zhuo Qingyan shifted her position slightly and asked, "What is he waiting for?"

Gu Zhao caught the man in green glancing west out of the corner of his eye. "He couldn’t be waiting for that ghost who already died once, could he?"

Zhuo Qingyan froze for a moment. After thinking about it, she realized it was entirely possible.

’In that case...’

"Could his target be that woman from today?" Zhuo Qingyan said. "Elder Yan Song’s Dao Practice is profound. He wouldn’t have missed anyone, unless that person wasn’t there at the time."

Gu Zhao nodded and pulled Zhuo Qingyan a step further back. "Let’s keep watching then. Neither side is good news. If they really do end up together, we can just take them all out at once."

...

As the moon grew dimmer and the time approached the Hour of the Rat, the man in green frowned frequently, his expression growing more and more agitated.

After a moment, he reached up to touch his chest, finally put down his chopsticks, stood up to pay, and walked into Zhenxiang Courtyard.

Gu Zhao opened his folding fan and fanned himself lightly, gazing at Zhenxiang Courtyard. "If they start fighting in there, I’m afraid Zhenxiang Courtyard is going to be out of business!"

The next moment, sinister Ghost Qi erupted from the fourth floor of Zhenxiang Courtyard.

"Qiao Yunyao! Hand over the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner!"

"Hee hee, Third Senior Brother, long time no see. Why didn’t Master come himself?"

"You bitch! You stole a treasure and fled while Master was in seclusion! He has bestowed the Soul-Stabilizing Seal upon me and ordered me to capture you and drag you back to the cave!"

The voices of the man and woman were not quiet. They echoed through the building as Yin Qi shrouded the surroundings.

How could the patrons of Zhenxiang Courtyard not realize they were caught in the middle of a battle between Mages? They all cried out, screaming for their parents as they fled for their lives.

Fortunately, the two were focused on each other and didn’t involve the ordinary people, allowing them all to escape.

But Gu Zhao and Zhuo Qingyan had already slipped into Zhenxiang Courtyard unnoticed. They walked into the front hall and sat down. Gu Zhao gently waved his folding fan, making no move to intervene, and Zhuo Qingyan also held back from trying to rescue anyone.

"The Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner, the Soul-Stabilizing Seal... Stone King Cave really has some treasures!" Gu Zhao glanced at the White Wolf Fan in his hand. "Looks like Stone King Cave is richer than Three Extremes Mountain."

’The Black Bear King’s treasure was the Nine-Ring Saber he had left behind on Three Extremes Mountain, which is now part of Daluo Palace’s collection. This folding fan from the White Wolf King is also forged from fine steel, and its Pack of Wolves Skill is good for crushing weaklings, but it’s a bit lacking against truly powerful opponents.’

Zhuo Qingyan frowned. "They’re fighting." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The next moment, endless, sinister Ghost Qi enveloped Zhenxiang Courtyard, transforming it into a Ghost Realm. It became so dark inside the building you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Then, countless gusts of ghostly wind swept through as the wails of ghosts rang out, shaking one’s very Divine Soul.

Gu Zhao’s brows knitted, his face darkening. "Mortal souls!"

Zhuo Qingyan nodded slightly. She didn’t speak, but her eyes were ice-cold.

Just then, a cry of "Freeze!" came from upstairs. The Ghost Realm enveloping the building seemed to fade slightly. Candlelight and lamplight flickered faintly through the black mist, and the ghostly winds and wails began to dissipate.

But only two or three breaths later, the ghostly winds rose again and the wails returned. The same crisp laughter from before echoed from upstairs. "The Soul-Stabilizing Seal isn’t easy to activate. It looks like it’s a bit much for you to handle alone, Third Senior Brother."

At that moment, a loud CRASH came from upstairs. A room door suddenly shattered, and a dark figure was seemingly knocked out of it. Black smoke gathered and dispersed before coalescing on the second floor to reveal a form—it was the man in green.

The man in green was pale, holding a small seal no bigger than half an inch in his hand, but the hand holding the seal was trembling uncontrollably.

The next moment, a graceful figure appeared on the fourth floor. She looked down on the man in green and said with a playful laugh, "Third Senior Brother, how could you..."

She didn’t even finish her sentence before her voice abruptly cut off.

The woman, who had met Gu Zhao that afternoon and even given him a handkerchief, suddenly saw Gu Zhao and Zhuo Qingyan in the main hall.

Ghostly winds howled and Fierce Ghosts shrieked all around them, yet the pair sat as if they were in a sunlit courtyard.

The woman couldn’t help but stare, her pupils shrinking.

Gu Zhao snapped open his folding fan and nodded with a smile. "You extended such a warm invitation, miss. I have taken the liberty of calling on you. Please forgive my forwardness."