Chapter 36: Meeting a Chess Rival

Cang Ming turned and whispered to Wu Lu, "Can you still borrow the key to the underworld?"

Wu Lu said sadly, "The previous customers were all frozen away. Where can we borrow money now? If there's no rush, we can wait until the next group of customers arrives in the morning."

Tian Xinshu insisted, "I can't wait."

Wu Lu crossed his arms and said, "I can only spread the message to the little demons and ghosts I know. There's no guarantee it will work. I'm not as powerful as you, the Snow Sculpture King."

Cang Ming said helplessly: "Alright, alright, how does Lord Tian Xinshu usually travel between the human world and the underworld? Can you take us with you this time?"

Tian Xin said angrily, "Of course I'll use my magic. Do you think I can do it in my current state?"

Xisheng said quietly, "We can also wait until you recover before setting off again."

Without waiting for Tian Xinshu to explode, Cang Ming said, "Then, is there any way to get to the underworld, such as... floating there along the Spring and Autumn Ferry?"

Her proposal was immediately rejected by a chorus of voices. Tian Xinshu said impatiently, "Can't you just find the nearest entrance? Isn't that antique shop okay?"

Cang Ming felt a chill on his back: "How do you know where it is?"

Tian Xin sneered, "Who in the world doesn't know about Feng Yan City's antique shop?"

"..." Cang Ming said, "I didn't know that before."

Tian Xinshu said contemptuously, "The owner never shows up, so he might think highly of you. Just blow the door open and we'll break in and find the entrance!"

Wu Lu touched his chin and said, "I think this is the way to go. Brother Huo is on night watch over there. Let's go and beg him to let us into the underworld. If he doesn't agree, we can sneak in in the middle of the night!"

Cang Ming then learned that Wei Ci's ancient building was a well-known entrance to the underworld, but it was never open to the public and was reserved for the owner's personal use. So, she stopped hiding it for Wei Ci and said, "Yes, we can give it a try. But since the antique shop owner is so secretive, he definitely doesn't want too many people to see the entrance."

Wu Lu took the jar from her hand, patted it twice like a watermelon, and said to Tian Xinshu, "Excuse me, can you go back into the jar?"

Tian Xinshu cursed, "Get out!"

Cang Ming said seriously, "To be honest, I am worried that you will discover the mechanism of the ancient building, and I am also worried that you will suddenly abandon us and run away."

Tian Xinshu, on the other hand, didn't feel offended and snorted, "When you broke into my cave, why weren't you afraid of seeing my trap?"

Wei Qiang pulled out a piece of red silk from his bosom and said, "How about this, Your Majesty, just cover your eyes."

Tian Xinshu was about to open his mouth to curse again, but Xisheng was suddenly awakened from his deep thoughts. He stretched out his hand and conjured up a Thousand Realms Pipa. He plucked the strings a few times with exquisite fingering and clear sounds.

Tian Xinshu stood there, drifting off into a slumber. Xisheng put away her pipa, the lullaby lingering on the beams for a moment before gradually fading away.

Wu Lu waved his hand in perfect harmony, and several paper figures jumped down from the ropes. They stretched out their short legs in the air, rustled around Tian Xin Shu, grabbed her sleeves and lifted them up gently, floating her towards the door.

Xisheng picked up Cang Ming's cloak and put it on, then fastened the hood, leaving a shadow covering most of her face. She said coldly, "Let's go."

Cang Ming suddenly remembered something and touched her earlobes with both hands, discovering that the sound-transmitting earrings were still on her ears. She reached into her Xisheng cloak and rummaged around, "Oh, I need to find some lipstick..."

Xisheng laughed suddenly: "Haha."

Wei Qiang was surprised and said, "Zou Chaoxian, you actually laughed."

Xisheng said, "Itchy."

This strange group set off towards the ancient building. Wu Lu and Wei Qiang looked at Cang Ming with disgusting expressions. Cang Ming applied a thin layer of lipstick on his lips as he walked.

He wanted to send a message in his mind, but couldn't speak. While grumbling about the Silver Hair Crown and the Top 100 Score, while also trying to borrow someone else's entrance to the underworld, Cang Ming hesitated for a long time, and before he could send a message, he had already reached the back door of the ancient building.

The others stood at a distance, a sign of respect. The rustling paper figures in the air grasped Tian Xinshu, lifting her feet an inch off the ground. Cang Ming stepped forward, intending to knock on the door.

The moment her hand touched the knocker, the door suddenly flew open. Silver light poured out like water, and a sharp gust of wind blew towards her, carrying a hint of murderous intent.

Before he could even consider it, his instinctive reaction and exquisite skills, cultivated over the years, allowed Cang Ming to leap high backwards, performing a graceful somersault like a trailing cloud, like a dancing ribbon forming a circle. Though he had just retreated, he thrust forward again. With a flash of cold light, the longsword was unsheathed.

With a ding, a slender and strong finger flicked the sword blade away.

Cang Ming's sword nearly slipped from his grasp, but fortunately, he managed to twirl it a few times, dissipating the force. The fight ended in a draw, neither gaining the upper hand. Upon seeing each other's figures and features, both were startled.

The person who made a big move as soon as the door opened was Wei Ci.

Cang Ming's legs were still hanging in the air, his lower back was bent, and his upper body was stretched forward with the sword, just like hanging upside down to grab the moon.

In a flash, before Wei Ci could even speak, Cang Ming suddenly smiled and launched his second attack, like a dancing ice snake. Wei Ci dodged it, then charged forward, meeting it head-on. Each punch and palm strike was filled with endless variations, seemingly showing no mercy.

The corners of his mouth also had the same interesting smile as Cang Ming.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them exchanged hundreds of moves, fighting from the door to the edge of the forest, and from the edge of the forest to the edge of the river. When the moon was setting in the west, they stopped with a sense of unfulfilled desire.

Cang Ming was still dancing like a blooming lotus, with a vast and majestic aura. Suddenly, he fell to the ground and calmed down. Only the sky and the earth were shaking, but his body did not move.

Before he quit, his body was strong and he slowly closed his posture, exuding an aura of overwhelming power.

I heard Wu Lu shouting from the side: "What's going on? Why are you two fighting with each other? Are you arguing?"

Wei Qiang explained, "Music Fairy, for those of us who practice martial arts, it's common to make friends through martial arts."

Xisheng was guarding Tianxin Shu, who was being held up by a paper man, and watching the fight silently without making any comment.

Wei Ci didn't even look at them. He just stood there with his hands behind his back, looking at Cang Ming, his eyes gleaming. He said, "It's been a long time since I've had such a good fight with someone."

Cang Ming smiled proudly and said, "It has been a long time since I practiced martial arts with others like this." Thinking back to the days when the disciples of the Wangxian Sect practiced martial arts diligently and often fought in pairs, Cang Ming rarely had the pleasure of meeting a rival.

He added, "The last time was a thousand years ago."

Cang Ming waved his hand politely and said, "No, no, there's no need to praise me as the best swordsman in a thousand years, haha."

There was a hint of melancholy mixed in Wei Ci's joyful eyes.

When he raised his eyes again, he said, "General, I just noticed Tian Xinshu's evil aura lingering behind the building. I thought she was here to provoke me, but I didn't know it was you."

Cang Ming patted his shoulder cheerfully: "It's my fault for not informing you in advance. I don't blame you for admitting your mistake."

Wei Ci looked at the top of her head and asked, "Have you taken off your hair crown?"

Cang Ming said: "Yes, I took it off when I took a bath."

"No wonder I thought you were still in the inn." He said lightly, then turned and walked into the door, leaving only his back.

"Wei Ci, we're disturbing you so late because we want to go to the underworld." Cang Ming said with a stiff upper lip, "I'm really sorry that I always use this place as a passage. I wonder if you can let us pass?"

"Are you going to throw her back to the underworld?" Wei Ci glanced at Tian Xinshu and said with a hint of frustration, "General, why are you being so polite? I will naturally take you there."

Cang Ming repeatedly declined, claiming it was dark and asking Wei Ci to have a good rest while he and his group returned soon. Wei Ci said, "General, I also happen to be going to the underworld to collect a debt, as you know."

Without waiting for Cang Ming to say anything else, Wu Lu squeezed in through the door and said, "Let's go."

Xi Sheng and Wei Qiang each stretched out a hand, holding the Tianxin Shu and following closely behind. The paper figures swished away from the Tianxin Shu and retreated backwards with a rustling sound. Although the night was cold and windless, they seemed to be blown back to the inn.

Cang Ming said to Wei Ci, "I've been thinking of something these past two days. I wonder if the Weiyang Crown in the Black Mountain Cave dungeon was stolen by Old Ghost Lian?"

Wu Lu continued, "It's quite convenient for Dad to go in and out of his daughter's cave. Seeing how they fought, it's hard to say, hard to say."

Cang Ming said: "So this time we go to find Old Ghost Lotus, not only to..."

"So you're going to look for him?" Wei Ci's expression changed subtly. "General, if you want to go to the underworld and grab a ghost and beat them up, that's fine. You can also apologize to your Mr. You and reminisce about the past. But as for capturing Old Ghost Lotus, that's not necessary."

Cang Ming said in confusion: "What do you mean? It's my duty to be a hero and do good. Old Guilian has hurt countless people, and Miss Li..."

Wu Lu asked, "Hey, Brother Huo, are you going to leave or not?"

Wei Ci said simply, "I'm not leaving."

To say she wasn't embarrassed at all would be a lie. In front of her three friends, Cang Ming felt a little humiliated. There was also a hint of anger and annoyance, which she herself was unaware of.

Wei Ci lowered his eyes and stared at Cang Ming, then sighed deeply. Cang Ming opened his mouth and said, "Don't sigh, I won't live with you anymore."

Before he left, he waved his hand and closed the back door. Xisheng and the others were in an awkward position, not knowing whether to leave or stay.

Cang Ming didn't understand why she was so irritable and relentless. In the past, when she was catching ghosts for others, sometimes people would refuse to pay her, and sometimes people would complain about this and that, but she never took it to heart.

Living in an abandoned village house and then being suddenly driven out was a common occurrence. Since the fifth year of his wanderings, Cang Ming had realized that even as an immortal, he could only experience the good and bad things in the world and could not control anything.

Cang Ming lowered his head and didn't dare to look at him. He said to Wei Ci with some shame: "Sorry, it's me..."

A familiar big hand holding two misshapen pottery figures silently extended to Cang Ming's nose, which scared her instead.

"This is something Li Xianzhen asked you to take care of. She has hidden it on Xianzhen Island all these years." Wei Ci's voice was cold, and there was a faint echo in the empty ancient building.

Tian Xinshu's white pupils were spinning wildly in her white eye sockets, and there was a chaotic look in her eyes as if a storm was about to come.

Wei Ci said, "General, these two puppets are the real murderers who killed your parents."

Cang Ming suddenly raised her head and stared at him with her eyes wide open, not knowing what he meant. Her heart began to beat wildly again, and the air in her chest was pumped out, as if she could no longer breathe in.

Wei Qiang asked, "What? Ghost Buster's parents are gone, or were they murdered?"

Xisheng glanced up and down at Weici and Taoren, then Wulu crossed his arms and spoke. He pointed his crutch at Taoren, then at Weici, and said, "Brother Huo, you two can argue, but why bring up the tragic fate of my uncle and aunt? How could those two ugly, burnt dolls kill people?"

"General, if Li Xianzhen's parents killed yours, would you still wade into this mess to help her deal with Old Ghost Lian?" Wei Ci's thick brows furrowed. "General, I know you won't believe me, so let the people who were there tell you."

A gust of wind blew, shimmering with silver light. Everyone's hair flew wildly, the shelves behind the counter rattled, and a locked cabinet door suddenly burst open with a bang.

A puppet stumbled out of the cabinet door, jumped to Wei Ci's feet, and rolled all over the ground.

Cang Ming stared at the doll for a while and found that it was the clay figurine of fortune teller Li, old lady Li, which Wei Ci had taken out for her to look at and play with last time.

Then, the clay figurine of Fortune Teller Li exploded softly, becoming enveloped in white smoke. When the smoke cleared, a hunched old woman stood there and said respectfully to Wei Ci, "Sir, you summoned me."