Chapter 2680 The Mad City Lord's Love-Hate Relationship 02

As darkness fell that day, the four were placed in the top-class room of the Imperial Merchant Inn in the capital.

The Imperial Preceptor, along with ten disciples and five dignified and accomplished monks, set up numerous arrays inside and outside the room.

"When midnight arrives, the formation will guide your souls to the Ghost City. Remember, the rules of the Ghost City are different from those of the mortal world. The first night is for exploration. Unless absolutely necessary, do not clashed with the ghosts and monsters in the city. At dawn, the formation will guide you back."

The Imperial Preceptor's voice was cold and clear, and he gestured to his disciples to place the four glass beads and the gray wood powder to one side.

"The glass bead must be carried at all times. If you get lost in the city, you can use this bead to contact your companions. The ghost powder is used for disguise. Sprinkle it around your body to cover up the presence of living people. One bag should be enough to last you one night."

The disciple placed the tray containing the two items on the table in the room, bowed, and left, gently closing the door behind him.

The door closed, isolating the outside world.

Jin Chen divided the glass bead and ghost powder equally among the three people, then lay down on the bed and went to sleep.

Seeing this, Chu Jiushan happily grabbed a quilt and spread it on the footstool next to the bed. He lay down comfortably, muttering, "It's good enough to have a bed to sleep in. It's more peaceful next to my senior brother..." He also prepared to fall asleep without a care in the world.

Liu Shuoyue and Zang Huai'an exchanged glances, knowing that Jin Chen's strength was unfathomable, and now was not the time to concern themselves with formalities.

The room was spacious, so the two of them each found a grand chair against the wall, sat down, adjusted their breathing, and closed their eyes to concentrate.

As the night deepens, everything becomes silent.

The candlelight in the room quietly went out; midnight was approaching.

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind rushed into the room, causing the bed curtains to sway slightly.

-

When the four opened their eyes again, they found themselves in the middle of an unfamiliar street.

The sky was overcast, like both dawn and dusk, shrouded in an indistinct gray.

Jin Chen was the first to adjust to the change in light, lazily squinting her amber eyes as she subtly surveyed her surroundings.

Shops lined both sides of the bluestone path, with signs and banners hanging like funeral banners.

At first glance, it looks no different from ordinary streets and alleys in Beijing.

Chu Jiushan curiously peeked out, "Senior brother, are we... entering a ghost town? It looks pretty normal though?"

The ghost town he imagined should be a hellish scene of hundreds of ghosts walking at night, skeletons everywhere, and resentment rising to the sky. The overly ordinary street in front of him made him feel uneasy.

"Something's strange." Liu Shuoyue's voice was cold, and her yin-yang eyes glowed in the dim light.

She raised her hand and pointed to the flags fluttering in front of the restaurant not far away.

Logically, the flag should have the characters for wine or tea written on it, but the surging ink on it was twisted and tangled, forming extremely strange and unusually narrow runes, rather than any kind of writing they knew. Staring at it for a long time, they felt that the characters were wriggling like living things, inexplicably eerie.

Chu Jiushan looked in the direction she was pointing and immediately shuddered, fully realizing where he was. "Ahhh! We're really in!"

He exclaimed in surprise, frantically reaching into his robes to search, "The glass bead...the glass bead is still here! The ghost powder...where's my ghost powder?!"

Chu Jiushan frantically searched every pocket, sleeve, and even boot he had on him, his face growing paler and paler. "It's gone! It's gone! My ghost powder is gone!"

Liu Shuoyue frowned, quickly examined herself, and her expression darkened.

"Mine isn't here either."

Zang Huai'an's face turned even uglier. He shook his head silently, his face ashen. "I didn't bring mine in either."

Without ghost powder to mask their presence, they could be devoured by countless demons and monsters in this ghost town at any moment.

The three of them turned their gazes to Jin Chen, who had remained silent, with their last hope.

Jin Chen slowly reached into the hidden pocket of his robe behind him, fumbled for a moment, and pulled out a small cloth bag.

"I'm here, thankfully. If I use them sparingly, there's enough to go around."

Although Liu Shuoyue couldn't recall when the ghost powder had been lost, seeing that there was still a chance, she felt somewhat relieved. "Thank you, Brother Jin."

Zang Huai'an clasped his hands in a deep voice and said, "I am deeply grateful. Tonight, we can only try to get through this night cautiously."

The four carefully separated the bag of ghost powder and applied it to the acupoints where the yang energy was strongest.

As the cool air seeped into his skin, Jin Chen sensed that his vibrant yang energy was being temporarily suppressed, and the subtle aura of rejection that had been present upon entering the area gradually dissipated.

Just then, a cold wind swept through the empty streets and alleys, followed by the distant sound of a wooden clapper being struck.

Tap, tap, tap—

"The sky is dry and things are dry, be careful with the candle..."

The night watchman's shouts grew louder as they approached, leaving only a hollow echo.

"There are still night watchmen in the ghost town... oh, night watch ghosts." Chu Jiushan muttered softly, cowering behind Jin Chen and the tall Zang Huai'an, peeking through the gap between their shoulders.

A hunched figure carrying a lantern and striking a clapper slowly walked from one end of the street to the other, his silhouette gradually disappearing into the distance.

Chu Jiushan exclaimed, "This ghost looks almost exactly like a living person. How are we supposed to tell who's the ghost and who's the person? This is too dangerous!"

Jin Chen glanced at him sideways, flicked his forehead with her finger, and said, "Use your brain, Chu Jiushan. This is a ghost town. Besides the four of us, where else would we be?"

"...Oh, right!" Chu Jiushan winced and covered his forehead, chuckling sheepishly, "I got so nervous I forgot."

"Don't make a sound." Zang Huai'an suddenly lowered his voice to remind him, his muscles tensing and his ears twitching slightly. "The night watchman has disappeared."

Jin Chen said calmly, "It hasn't disappeared."

Zang Huai knew that this person's eyesight and hearing were far superior to his own, so he hurriedly asked, "Where?"

Jin Chen's slender fingers emerged from his sleeve and pointed upwards, "On your head."

Zang Huai'an's pupils contracted sharply, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

Slowly raising their heads, they saw that the night watchman, who should have been gone, had somehow silently appeared behind the four of them.

The night watchman was short, but his neck seemed boneless, eerily stretching upwards by more than three feet. His bluish-gray head hung low, and his empty eyes, with only whites and no pupils, stared straight at them.

Chu Jiushan closed his eyes, refusing to open them again.

Zang Huai'an instinctively tried to make a move, but Jin Chen held his wrist down.

Jin Chen looked up and calmly met the gaze of the upside-down ghost face. "What brings you here?"

The night watchman tilted his head, his voice hoarse.

"It's late at night, why don't you go back inside and rest? It's not safe on the street."

Jin Chen raised an eyebrow and followed up with the question, "Where is it unsafe?"

The night watchman thought about it seriously, but was stumped by the question. He shook his head blankly and said, "I don't know, it's just not safe."

Jinchen: "..."

"We're heading back. Could you tell us how to get to Tongyun Inn?" Liu Shuoyue asked at the opportune moment.

She gave the name of the inn where she had stayed during the day, with a hint of testing in her heart. If there was an inn with the same name in this ghost town, then the rumors of humans and ghosts living in the same city and the alternation of day and night would have more evidence.

The night watchman's outstretched neck slowly twisted again, making a sickeningly faint sound. He pointed with his chin in one direction on the street. "Go straight, go around this street, and you'll get there."

After giving directions, the night watchman sniffed their heads again, then shrank back, knocked on his clapper, and left.