Chapter 2699 The Mad City Lord's Love-Hate Relationship 21
Noon.
Side hall of the city lord's mansion.
Although it was a banquet, the atmosphere inside the hall was so oppressive that it was suffocating.
The long dining table was laden with all sorts of delicacies, yet everything exuded a chilling aura, making it unappetizing to look at.
Yin Chaosheng leaned lazily against the main seat, toying with a white jade wine cup with his fingertips, his eyes vacant, indifferent to everything in the hall.
He didn't even glance at Fu Lingjing, who was sitting below him, trying to get his attention.
Fu Lingjing felt a sense of pride, believing that he had made the right move and had successfully gotten close to the city lord.
But when he looked around, he found that Chu Jiushan, Liu Shuoyue, Zang Huai'an, and even Zhao Tian, Zhao Di, and Hei Yi had all come, but Jin Chen, whom he feared the most, was missing!
The group of six entered the hall one by one, and Yin Chaosheng quickly scanned their faces.
No.
There was no ordinary face after the disguise, nor the face he wanted to see.
Jin Chen did not come.
The nonchalance on Yin Chaosheng's face vanished completely, replaced by a terrifying gloom.
The white jade wine cup in his hand was smashed to the ground with a piercing cracking sound, and terrifying ghostly energy crashed down.
Everyone in the hall except Yin Chaosheng let out a muffled groan, their blood surging as they knelt on the ground.
"Where's Jin Chen?" Yin Chaosheng's figure appeared in front of Chu Jiushan like a ghost, his cold hand gripping Chu Jiushan's throat and lifting him off the ground.
His scarlet eyes were fixed on him, filled with almost overflowing rage and frantic urgency. "Why didn't he come?! Tell me!"
Chu Jiushan kicked his legs wildly as he was being choked, managing to squeeze out a voice from his throat, "I don't know, Master... he... he went out early this morning, without saying where he went..."
Yin Chaosheng's eyes flickered; that person...
Jin Chen went to rescue people.
He abruptly shook off Chu Jiushan, transforming into a red shadow and disappearing from the hall, leaving behind a crowd of people who were still in shock and disoriented from the oppressive aura.
Fu Lingjing struggled to his feet, looking at the empty main seat and the wide-open door, and cried out in resentment, "City Lord!"
However, Yin Chaosheng is nowhere to be found.
The Left Protector stood frozen to the side, his face filled with disbelief and terror.
He muttered to himself, his voice trembling, "...Who?"
"Who is the city lord looking for?!...That fiend...is back?!"
-
Ghost town, deep in the dungeon
Water droplets seeped from the damp stone wall, and the heavy iron door slid open silently, revealing a trailing crimson figure who slowly walked in.
Gu Baibai squatted in the corner of the corridor, pouring pearl powder from a small porcelain bottle, and using his white finger bones to apply it little by little to his ribs.
Hearing the door open, it jumped in fright, its hand trembled, and pearl powder spilled all over the floor.
It hurriedly looked up, and upon seeing the person who had arrived, the eerie light in its eyes flickered with fear. "...City Lord!"
Yin Chaosheng: "He really is here."
Gu Bai opened his mouth, but before he could think of a reply, Yin Chaosheng's figure was already standing outside the cell door where Liu Zhou was imprisoned, and he walked right through it.
Inside the cell, Liu Zhou huddled in a cold corner. His soul, weakened by prolonged imprisonment and the corrosive influence of Yin energy, appeared even more transparent and frail. Upon seeing Yin Chaosheng, his soul trembled violently, like a candle flickering in the wind. He buried his head deep in his knees, barely daring to breathe.
"Where is he?" Yin Chaosheng asked.
Liu Zhou raised his head blankly. Having been imprisoned for too long, his mind was somewhat sluggish, and he spoke slowly, "...Who? City Lord...who are you asking about?"
Gu Baibai mustered his courage and poked his bald head through the crack in the door. "Lord, Lord Jinchen... he's waiting for you in the cell next door!"
Upon hearing this, Yin Chaosheng's suppressed violent aura paused slightly, and he immediately headed for the next cell.
As soon as he left, the oppressive atmosphere in the cell dissipated, and Liu Zhou was overjoyed. "Lord Jinchen! Lord Jinchen is here! That's wonderful... I... I can go home! I can go home!"
Seeing him like this, Gu Baibai quickly slipped in, "Shh! Keep your voice down! Hurry up and eat this!"
It unfolded its palm bone, upon which lay a pill emitting a faint fragrance, the very one Jin Chen had given it earlier.
"Lord Jinchen has instructed that you take this pill before midnight tonight, and your soul will return to its rightful place in the mortal realm!"
He also said that your body is kept in a house outside the capital, and travel expenses have been prepared for you. Take the money and hurry home, your mother is waiting for you at home!
Liu Zhou was stunned, as if he had been walking in darkness for too long and suddenly saw the light of day. After a long while, he trembled as he reached out and took the pill.
Bone White scratched his smooth skull with his finger bones, embarrassed. "Brother Liu Zhou, when you return to the mortal world, could you burn some pearl powder for me... or even rouge and face powder? I've been dead for too long, and no one in my family remembers me anymore, no one burns anything for me..."
Liu Zhou nodded hurriedly, carefully memorizing the birth date and time that Gu Baibai had told him, and solemnly said, "Brother Gu, don't worry! I will definitely remember! On the first and fifteenth of every month, I will burn the best rouge, face powder and pearl powder for you!" After saying that, he swallowed the pill that was radiating vitality without hesitation.
The cell next door was even more sinister, with a stone platform in the middle that rose above the ground, and behind the platform stood a pillar that bound ghosts.
At this moment, Jin Chen was standing on the stone platform.
Jin Chen smiled as she looked at Yin Chaosheng. He was dressed in a long, elegant blue robe, exuding a gentle and noble air. A red ribbon was still wrapped around his left hand, with one end hanging down to his waist. He was still in the most ordinary disguise, yet he still attracted attention. She lowered her eyes to look at Yin Chaosheng below the steps. "Who is the city lord looking for?"
Yin Chaosheng walked into the prison step by step, his eerie eyes glowing red, shimmering with an extremely beautiful yet dangerous hue, staring intently at the person on the stage.
"How dare you come back."
He chuckled again, "You think you don't know who I'm looking for?"
Jin Chen watched him slowly approach until he reached the foot of the prison platform, where the two were only three steps apart.
Jin Chen looked down at Yin Chaosheng, reaching out his hand and gently stroking Yin Chaosheng's cold ear with his fingertips in an intimate gesture. "The city lord's intentions have always been as unfathomable as the abyss of this ghost city."
Yin Chaosheng turned his head away from his touch and said coldly, "Don't put that fake face on me!"
He felt annoyed just looking at that ordinary face; the disguise seemed to remind him that the other person had been deceiving and hiding things all along.
"Alright," Jin Chen replied good-naturedly.
He raised his other hand and gently covered Yin Chaosheng's eyes with his palm.
The slightly warm scent of sandalwood wafted around him, and Yin Chaosheng's eyelashes trembled slightly as he closed his eyes, his expression unreadable.
When Jin Chen moved his hand away again, what appeared before Yin Chaosheng was that familiar yet hateful face—handsome, lazy, and wicked.
Yin Chaosheng grabbed the other end of the red silk ribbon hanging around Jin Chen's waist, clenched it tightly in his hand, looked up at Jin Chen, his eyes and brows filled with resentment and grievance.
"You lied to me."
“You’re human…you’re not a ghost at all! What do you want to do in Ghost City? I hate you, I want to kill you…”
He seemed to be choked by something, suddenly stopped, and dared not utter the rest of his words.
His murderous intent surged, but beneath the overwhelming hatred, he ultimately felt a reluctance that even he himself despised.
Yin Chaosheng then stomped hard on the steps, approaching Jin Chen. The latter, however, raised his hand and lightly lifted Jin Chen's chin with his fingertips, gently stroking the jawline with his fingertips, his tone playful.
"You want to kill me again? If that's the case, why did the city lord go to all this trouble to find me?"
"Your city lord's mansion is filled with ghost servants, each one of them exceptionally beautiful. Why then do you covet me?"
Yin Chaosheng was further enraged by his frivolous actions and words. He wanted to lean in and kiss him, but Jin Chen pressed his fingertips against his lips, preventing him from getting close.
"Why can't I kiss you!"
Yin Chaosheng's eyes seemed to be able to bewitch souls, burning with anger and desire. He didn't listen carefully to what Jin Chen was asking, only feeling that this mad dog was toying with him again, which was extremely disgusting.
