Chapter 28

Xue Ming woke up when the night was falling. The time in the Rakshasa Ghost Market was opposite to the outside world; they work at sunset and rest at sunrise. When the sun sets, various shops open one by one, and the streets become lively. Xue Ming was still unused to this reversed schedule and sat at the table, slowly eating breakfast. She allowed Nie Xiaoqian and Ning Caichen to roam around. Like keeping two pets, Xue Ming always felt that keeping them locked up would stifle them.

After being nourished by incense and paper money yesterday, Nie Xiaoqian looked completely different today. As soon as she appeared, the room was filled with yin energy, as if she had leveled up significantly. Even the wounds on her face showed signs of healing. She knelt beside Xue Ming, eagerly asking, “Do you have any more incense from yesterday?”

“Not that much.” Seeing her subordinate had leveled up, Xue Ming was happy and smiled, “But if I get the chance, I’ll definitely get you more.”

Nie Xiaoqian, having reconciled with Xue Ming, no longer held a grudge about her digging up her bones. She hovered around Xue Ming. Ning Caichen, on the other hand, stayed in the corner, occasionally crying softly over sad memories, his sobs pitiful like a mosquito’s buzz.

Xue Ming sympathized with his plight and could tolerate it, but Nie Xiaoqian couldn’t. She often rolled her eyes and yelled at him to shut up when annoyed. The couple, who should have been together, now couldn’t stand each other and ignored each other.

Not long after, Lu Man arrived, holding a piece of paper, and said, “Yan Chixia has indeed used the Ghost King’s power to search for you. Now, there are notices everywhere outside.”

The paper was handed to Xue Ming, and she saw a portrait on it. Although the lines were simple, they accurately captured various features, making it a complete likeness. Xue Ming looked at it closely and was immediately confused, asking, “Wait, is this supposed to be me?”

Not expecting such a question, Lu Man was momentarily stunned before replying, “You committed a grave mistake and fled down the mountain, so naturally, you wouldn’t show your true face. This is the mask you use to disguise yourself.”

Xue Ming touched her face, pinching it several times, feeling something was off. She scanned the room and noticed no mirror, so she asked Lu Man, “Do you have a mirror?”

Lu Man, not understanding why, still took out a round bronze mirror and handed it to Xue Ming.

She took it and looked at her reflection, seeing a round face with narrow, long eyes like slits in a walnut, a wide and large nose, thick lips like sausages, and a high hairline. It was an ordinary face, hard to distinguish as male or female, precisely like the portrait.

Xue Ming screamed in shock, touching her face all over. The face in the mirror mimicked her actions and expressions, and she realized that this was, indeed, her current appearance. There were no mirrors where she lived, and the fake Ning Caichen gave her the previous mirror she had. She couldn’t tell if the previous mirror was enchanted to show her true face or if her face had changed in the past few days. She flipped the mirror over, unable to accept her current face. It wasn’t particularly ugly but so plain and featureless that it was completely forgettable. It was a face that couldn’t be distinguished by gender, vastly different from what she had seen in the previous mirror.

Xue Ming pondered that the previous mirror given by the fake Ning Caichen might have had some enchantment showing her true face, while this ordinary mirror showed her disguised face. She had been showing this face to others all along; no wonder her original self’s disguise as a man went unnoticed. This face didn’t invite much attention. Suddenly, she thought Yan Yuhe must have a problem with his eyes. Could he have a fetish for ugliness?

“This face won’t do anymore. I’ll change it for you.” Lu Man took out a pill and smiled smugly, “Take this, and they definitely won’t be able to find you.”

Xue Ming was now extremely cautious and didn’t dare to eat anything carelessly. After receiving the pill, she looked at Lu Man warily several times. Lu Man explained that the pill would only change her body shape and age and assured her that there were no other issues. She also expressed her loyalty to Xue Ming, who then reluctantly took the pill.

Shortly after taking it, Xue Ming’s body began to shrink, and in the blink of an eye, she turned into an eleven or twelve-year-old girl. She moved her limbs, tugging at her loose robe, feeling amazed, and asked, “Is there a time limit?”

“Of course, one pill lasts 24 hours, but I have plenty more, enough for you to use.” Lu Man lifted her face and said, “I’ll change your face now, and then we’ll find a new place to stay.”

Xue Ming closed her eyes and obediently let Lu Man work on her. After a while, she heard Lu Man say it was done. She didn’t feel anything on her face, but when she picked up a mirror, she saw an ordinary face that looked young and not too ugly. Xue Ming couldn’t judge the face, so she put down the mirror, took out a small plant from her sleeve, and showed it to Lu Man.

To her surprise, Lu Man stared at the plant and immediately exclaimed, “Where did you get this?!”

Xue Ming then told her about You Yin coming to her crying for help. She originally wanted to discuss with Lu Man whether to rescue him, but Lu Man slapped her thigh and said repeatedly, “Rescue! Rescue! Of course, we must rescue! I can’t believe you’re so lucky to have met him!”

Seeing her reaction, Xue Ming became curious, “Who exactly is this child?”

Lu Man twirled the plant before her and said, “Don’t underestimate this little thing. If an ordinary person eats it, they will live a long life and stay healthy and free from illness. It can even revive the dead and heal bones. If a cultivator eats it, their cultivation will greatly increase. Even gods and demons would benefit from it.”

Lu Man said, “This is the root of a thousand-year-old ginseng.”

Xue Ming was shocked and thought it was no wonder she had fully recovered after drinking a sip of the water You Yin gave her and felt full of energy. She had also exchanged the small plant he gave her for a Yang Gathering Talisman. So, the child had such a significant background?

“Is a thousand-year-old ginseng very rare?” Xue Ming asked.

“Rare is an understatement. It’s practically unheard of,” Lu Man said.

“Ginseng that has become a spirit is already one in a million. Hundred-year-old ginseng is even rarer, and there are probably only a few thousand-year-old ginseng spirits in the world. The older the ginseng spirit, the closer it is to pure white. The one in your hand is flawless, as white as snow, and definitely a thousand years old.”

“He seems to have been captured by the Hundred Crow Ghost King,” Xue Ming said hesitantly. “Can we rescue him?”

Lu Man immediately showed a troubled expression, frowned, and thought momentarily before saying, “It’s hard to say. No wonder Hundred Crow is boasting about capturing something rare. It coincides with the arrival of Liu Li and Bai Duo, who are both vying for the position of Ghost King. Although they will sit down and drink amicably, Hundred Crow probably wants to show off at that time. Yan Chixia will definitely be there, and going there would be like walking into a trap.”

Xue Ming hesitated, “Then…”

“But a thousand-year-old ginseng spirit is highly valued by the heavens. If you save it, it will be a great merit. Moreover, ginseng spirits are always elusive, traveling thousands of miles. If you can successfully rescue him, you will surely be able to leave the ghost realm with him. Ginseng spirits are also very grateful; if you save his life, he will repay you a thousand times over,” Lu Man added. “This is a risky move, but the benefits are endless if it succeeds. If it doesn’t… well, at least, you won’t die immediately.”

After weighing the pros and cons, they decided to rescue the unfortunate child, You Yin.

Xue Ming knew that Yan Yuhe was searching for her everywhere, and she was nervous, fearing that she would be caught and unable to escape if she walked into a trap. But Lu Man repeatedly assured her that with her current appearance, even if she stood right in front of Yan Yuhe, he wouldn’t recognize her.

Xue Ming looked in the mirror repeatedly, and as she saw the increasingly unattractive face, she slowly agreed.

After three days, Xue Ming, led by Lu Man, left the Heaven and Earth shop and went to a town. This was the town Xue Ming had reached after escaping from the temple and walking for a whole day. The ghost realm connected the human world and the ghost world, and ghosts didn’t entirely inhabit the town; some people didn’t want to live in the human world or had accidentally entered the ghost realm. In this place, day and night were reversed. Xue Ming relied on the effects of the pills to calculate time. She had taken three pills, representing three twenty-four-hour periods, and her body began to show signs of fatigue and shortness of breath. She knew very well that this was a sign of her yang energy weakening. Although she had been very confident in her dream with Yan Yuhe, boasting that she could get yang energy from anyone, in reality, Xue Ming had no other way to obtain yang energy. Finding a living person in the ghost realm was difficult enough, and with her current appearance as an eleven or twelve-year-old girl, any gaze that fell on her quickly moved away, and no one paid attention to her.

Lu Man commented on the situation, “The only proper way to replenish yang energy is through the art of dual cultivation. Other methods are too sinister. As a cultivator, I can’t use those ways to replenish your yang energy.”

“But it’s strange,” she continued. “Why is your yang energy depleting? Even though you have an extremely yin constitution, you still have a normal human body. Why is your yang energy depleting?”

Xue Ming had no idea. She lay on the bed, feeling listless like a salted fish.

Lu Man patted her shoulder and comforted her, “Maybe it will get better once we leave the ghost realm. Don’t worry. Once we rescue that thousand-year-old ginseng spirit, you can leave.”

Xue Ming was indeed comforted by these words and began to think about her carefree life after escaping the ghost realm. Lu Man said that the whereabouts of the thousand-year-old ginseng were the most secretive. Unless it wanted to show itself, no one in the world could catch it. Xue Ming planned to follow You Yin after leaving and never be caught again.

Fortunately, Xue Ming had some luck. Before her body weakened to the point where she needed a cane to walk, the ghost banquet was held. Lu Man brought her a set of clothes to change into, disguising her as her maid to blend in. It was late at night, the moon hanging in the vast sky, and the streets were bustling with people discussing the four great ghost kings. When Lu Man brought her to the banquet venue, Xue Ming saw that the banquet was extremely grand, with various lanterns floating in the air, illuminating the path with colorful lights. As they walked further, the lanterns used for lighting became more elaborate, with various large decorations on both sides. Brightly dressed men and women shuttled back and forth, and in the distance were huge palaces and platforms suspended in mid-air. Flying fish swam in the air, and dancers performed on the clouds, occasionally sprinkling a rain of pearls. Upon closer inspection, they were different sizes of mermaid pearls, making it feel like they had entered a fairyland.

Xue Ming thought this setup was comparable to a state banquet. These ghosts really know how to enjoy themselves.

On the way, Xue Ming learned a few things. Besides the Hundred Crow, whom she had seen before, and the Jade Face disguised by Yan Yuhe, the other two ghost kings were Liu Li and Bai Duo.

Liu Li was a female ghost who was said to have died of poverty, so she was very greedy. She did all kinds of business between the human and ghost realms, and the Heaven and Earth shop was under her name. Due to her extensive business, she accumulated a huge fortune. She founded many sects in the human world, spreading wealth and establishing statues of herself, resulting in a very prosperous incense offering and a large number of followers. With this, she gained very high cultivation and power.

Bai Duo was a famous drunkard and was said to have loved a type of wine called Bai Duo so much that he drank himself to death. His story after death was quite legendary. He was initially captured by the underworld officials but caused a great commotion in the underworld, releasing tens of thousands of souls, and eventually escaped. This made him a hero in the ghost realm, and thus, he had the most followers among the four ghost kings.

In fact, Little Golden Immortal’s identity was more complex than being a favored concubine. According to her own introduction, she was actually adopted as a foster daughter by the Ghost Emperor, although the rumors outside were not very flattering. Once, by chance, the Jade Face Ghost King liked Little Golden Immortal and asked the Ghost Emperor for her hand in marriage. Little Golden Immortal, who had been a proper cultivator abstaining from meat and lust in her previous life, naturally refused, giving him no face at all. Later, the Jade Face used some trick to injure the Ghost Emperor severely, causing internal strife. Unfortunately, they ran into Yan Chixia, who killed the Ghost Emperor, throwing the ghost realm into chaos.

Afterward, Little Golden Immortal held a grudge against the Jade Face and planned to stay by his side to seek revenge. Before she could carry out her plan, Yan Chixia appeared again and killed the Jade Face, so Little Golden Immortal fled.

After hearing this, Xue Ming joked, “Do you have a Yan Chixia tracker on you? Wherever you go, Yan Chixia follows?”

Of course, this was a joke. Yan Yuhe’s appearance was not a coincidence. In the retelling, words like “ran into” or “unfortunately” might be used, but in reality, Yan Yuhe was not the type to wander aimlessly. He appeared before the Ghost Emperor and the Jade Face Ghost King to kill him. There was no coincidence. By extension, Yan Yuhe, now disguising himself as the Jade Face, must have a purpose. Xue Ming guessed that he intended to eradicate the ghost realm, capturing all the evil ghosts in one fell swoop, and in the process, kill Jiang Ruoming, who had betrayed their sect. This would be a good thing, provided she was not on the list of those to be killed.

Little Golden Immortal was also a prominent figure in the ghost realm, so Lu Man was not stopped when entering the banquet hall. Xue Ming obediently followed behind her, wearing a dress that was neither pink nor yellow. With a blank expression, she looked like someone who would be completely lost in a crowd.

After entering the splendid hall, Xue Ming quietly raised her head and observed carefully. The hall was extremely spacious, with people sitting densely on both sides. Four golden seats were at the top of the steps upwards, looking grand and luxurious. Three seats were already occupied, and Xue Ming first saw Yan Yuhe. Today, he wore more formally, wearing a robe interwoven with black and white, his long hair tied into a high ponytail with a jade crown, his eyes downcast, and his handsome face still showing a cold expression. He was fiddling with something in his hand. The Hundred Crow said a few words to him but got no response, looking very much like don’t-bother-me. Last time, ghost concubines were sitting on his left, right, and behind him, but today, there were none, indicating he was in a terrible mood.

The Hundred Crow, on the other hand, seemed very enthusiastic. This time, he wore clothes, but his collar was open, revealing a large part of his muscular chest with a black crow perched on his shoulder. He sat in the middle, chatting with the left and right, very busy. Next to him was a face Xue Ming had never seen before. She looked about thirty years old, her features barely passable as pretty, but her attire and accessories were almost blinding. Her hair was full of golden hairpins, and her clothes seemed to be woven with gold threads. The gold threads reflected light under the lamps, making her look like a big yellow light bulb. Her neck, wrists, and fingers were adorned with numerous decorations, making her look like a human-shaped rack adorned with various gold and jewels. This person should be the Liu Li Ghost King. The Hundred Crow was dazzled several times while talking to her, so even though Yan Yuhe ignored him, he still turned his head towards Yan Yuhe more often.

Lu Man walked in boldly, raising her voice with a smile, “I finally caught the excitement! The four great ghost kings gathered here, a scene rarely seen in a hundred years.”

“Hey, Little Golden Immortal!” The Hundred Crow’s face lit up joyfully, “You came just in time! The Jade Face had just lost a favored concubine and was in a bad mood. Go cheer him up.”

Few people knew that the Jade Face Ghost King was an imposter, and Lu Man was one of them. She glanced at Yan Yuhe, and even with ten times the courage, she didn’t dare approach. She laughed twice and said, “Your Highness Hundred Crow, don’t tease me. I’m not here to rekindle old feelings. I heard you caught a treasure, so I came to see it.”

The Hundred Crow was quite proud and laughed heartily, “I know you’ve seen all kinds of rare treasures by the Ghost Emperor’s side, but I guarantee you’ve never seen this one.”

Liu Li pouted and said to Lu Man, “I don’t know what rare treasure he caught, keeping us in suspense. Little Golden Immortal, it’s been a long time since we last met. I have nothing to say to these two men. Come sit by me, and let’s catch up.”

“No, no, you can’t sit there,” the Hundred Crow immediately objected, waving his hand, “Add a seat next to the Jade Face.”

Xue Ming broke into a cold sweat, thinking that the Hundred Crow must have been a matchmaker in his previous life. It’s a pity he’s a ghost king now; he should have applied for the position of Yue Lao in the heavens. She needed to find a chance to slip away later. If she aroused Yan Yuhe’s suspicion, things might not go smoothly.

Lu Man’s expression changed slightly, but she kept smiling and walked to the newly added seat next to Yan Yuhe. Xue Ming followed behind, keeping her head down and barely breathing. As they approached, before Lu Man could sit down, Yan Yuhe coldly said, “Get lost,” without looking up.

Lu Man was overjoyed inside but pretended to be troubled, saying to the Hundred Crow, “Your Highness, see, he still holds a grudge against me.” She covered her mouth, laughed, and approached Liu Li Ghost King.

At this moment, Xue Ming glanced at Yan Yuhe. He had his head down, his long hair draped over his shoulders, slightly covering his fair neck. He wore beautiful black and white jade earrings that resembled crane wings. He wasn’t fiddling with anything but was engrossed in a book.

Xue Ming, with her excellent eyesight, quickly scanned the book and saw words like “straddling,” “woman on top,” and “maid shook alone.” She realized he was reading something inappropriate.

Xue Ming was shocked, her eyes almost popping out, thinking Yan Yuhe’s thirst for knowledge didn’t consider the occasion. However, as she passed him, he didn’t react, indicating that Lu Man’s disguise was excellent, completely hiding her aura. Yan Yuhe couldn’t detect her, which slightly eased Xue Ming’s mind.

Lu Man had just sat down next to Liu Li and hadn’t said a few words when the Hundred Crow suddenly said, “Little Golden Immortal, your maid is quite rude, not pouring wine for her master. Where did you find her? She’s ugly, and her eyes seem closed.”

Xue Ming didn’t expect the meddlesome ghost king to pick on her again and was startled. She lowered her head even more and hurried forward to pour wine. The Hundred Crow was dissatisfied and clicked his tongue, “You only act when I say so? Raise your head and let me see.”

As soon as he finished speaking, an unknown force lifted Xue Ming’s head, revealing her small eyes. Whether it was a subconscious reaction or just a coincidence, her gaze fell on Yan Yuhe. He seemed finally interested, raising his eyes and casting a casual glance at her, suddenly locking eyes with Xue Ming from a distance.

Xue Ming’s panic was evident, and in that instant, Yan Yuhe’s gaze changed from indifferent to severe, tightly fixed on her.