Chapter 129 The Ghost Soldiers, Part 12

They were having a good talk when suddenly the King of Poison pulled Shinju aside and forced him back onto the bed, leaving Shinju completely bewildered.

The King of Poison covered Shinju's mouth with his hand and glanced sideways at the door.

Just then, two greetings came from outside the door: "Lord Zhen, are you alright? Please feel free to ask us if you need anything."

The King of Poison didn't want to pay any attention to them. He knew they were the two courtesans who followed Mr. Bai. Feng Ling had already left, so he didn't know why they had come to visit.

Shinju gently brushed away the King of Venom's hand, cleared his throat, and replied, "I'm fine, no need to serve me." After saying this, a suspicious blush appeared on Shinju's cheeks.

Upon hearing this, Xue Li and Qian Mo exchanged a glance. Qian Mo shook her head in disapproval, and Xue Li had no choice but to take her leave.

Meanwhile, inside the room, the Poison King finally realized what was happening. He raised an eyebrow and telepathically asked Zhen Su, "The 'Lord Poison' they're calling, is that Qing'er?"

"..." In order not to reveal his true surname, Shinju had previously claimed to be surnamed Zhen in front of Mr. Bai and the others. He never expected to run into the real person this time!

Even without Shinjuku's confirmation, the King of Poison gleaned the answer from Shinjuku's evasive gaze.

The King of Poison looked deeply into Shinju's eyes, making Shinju's embarrassment impossible to hide.

As if throwing caution to the wind, Shinju suddenly took the initiative, pressing the back of the King of Blades' head down and pressing his petal-like lips against it.

The two were deeply in love, and Masahiro thought he had let the matter slide. However, the King of Zhen, with a deep laugh, suddenly confronted them with accusations.

The Poison King said in a sinister tone, "Those two vixens seem to be quite familiar with Qing'er?"

Unaware that they were being "watched," Xue Li and Qian Mo did not return directly to the main building after leaving Zhen Su's residence. Instead, they went to a secluded spot one after the other.

Qianmo said with annoyance, "We've definitely offended the Ghost King now. Sister, why did you have to go and bother him? You're clearly not that kind of person, so why did you feel sorry for that boy?"

Xue Li couldn't answer. When she overheard the Ghost King and the Demon Lord discussing how to deal with Zhen Su, especially when they mentioned humiliating him, their tone was so casual, as if they were deciding not on a person's fate, but on the ownership of an inanimate object. At that moment, she felt a chill run down her spine, yet she couldn't stop anyone in the room…

That makes sense! She should be used to this kind of thing by now. Whether in the Hehuan Sect or in the main courtyard, it's so common, even more common than the sunrise and sunset in the mortal world. Even when it happened to herself or her younger brother Qianmo, she couldn't remember if they had initially resisted it or felt such fear.

But that person is always different.

From the very first encounter, her awkward reaction of pulling the blanket over herself and wrapping herself up like a spring roll, and her wide, unexpected eyes, were more lively and adorable than even her pet raccoon.

She couldn't imagine what it would be like if, after he suffered such humiliation, his rare purity was shattered, scattered on the ground, and could never be pieced back together.

“…It’s my sister’s fault.” Xue Li’s large, flower-like tail drooped.

"It's not my fault, sister." Qianmo sighed and hugged his sister. They were twins; how could he not know what his sister was thinking? They always thought the same thing, and their hearts were always drawn to the same person. So, although he seemed to be questioning Xueli, he was actually questioning himself.

As for Shinjuku, who was truly on the minds of the siblings, he couldn't understand where the King of Poison's jealousy came from.

Seeing the utter confusion etched in Shinju's eyes, as bright as the setting sun, the gloom that had been building in the King of Venom's eyes was easily dispelled. He lowered his head and deepened their kiss, lingering on Shinju's lips for a long time, as if deliberating whether to leave his mark, yet unwilling to truly hurt Shinju. In the end, his kiss was unusually gentle, merely a light caress.

The ten-petaled horse was pulled back from the precipice, unable to take another step.

.

Shinjuku realized that he was now a married man, and a sense of novelty washed over him. He had never before maintained such a close connection with anyone. Even though immense challenges lay ahead, the overwhelming pressure did not deter Shinjuku; instead, it became a driving force.

For example, he was currently very motivated and eager to earn some Earth Crystals. His three corpses needed the nourishment of Yin Sha Qi, and although the Yin Sha Qi on the Poison King's body was nearly inexhaustible and domineering, the enemy was unknown and the road ahead was treacherous, so it was always good to have a backup plan. At the very least, Earth Crystals could be used to exchange for money.

Therefore, the mineral crystal mine is undoubtedly the most needed resource at present.

As the night passed, to avoid being seen by Mr. Bai and his spies from Feng Ling, the Poison King controlled the black mist, transformed it into a human figure, rushed out of the door, entered the Black Tower to activate the teleportation array, and pretended to leave.

In reality, the Poison King was a divine being who hid inside the Three Corpses of True Monk. He was only released when True Monk left the Earthly Fiends Courtyard.

As the ten petals faded, the Poison King used a little magic to transform into the form that Zhen Su was most familiar with. His phoenix eyes were dark, his skin had returned to a cold white, and his hair was tied up with a crown. However, he was not wearing a dragon robe, but a red and black cloak temporarily woven with baleful energy. The style was exactly the same as the one Zhen Su wore, except that his was black as the base color, which was the exact opposite of Zhen Su's red.

Both of them were tall and handsome, and they looked like a perfect match.

In this form, no one in the underworld recognizes him. Even if someone sees the two of them walking side by side, he is not afraid that anyone will recognize his identity as the Ghost King.

Facing the familiar Zhenwang, Shinju felt that what he saw was completely different. Now he no longer needed to look up at the other party, and because of the small triangular ears on his head, he now looked a little taller than Zhenwang.

I wonder if His Majesty will become a demon if he stays in the underworld. If so, I wonder what he will be like? This is what Shinju thought to himself, and he also said it aloud.

The King of Poison smiled. He could roughly guess what would happen to him, but he didn't intend to tell Shinjuku.

He wanted Masakura's gaze to linger on him a little longer out of curiosity, the longer the better.

Entering the Earth Crystal Mine requires inside connections. This wasn't the first time for Shinju, so he was quite adept at it. However, it was a bit of a problem for the King of the Dead. Without the identity of a ghost soldier, even with Shinju's guarantee and introduction, he was not allowed to enter.

"It's alright, I can manage on my own." Shinju didn't want to trouble the King of the Poisonous Mines to mine with him; he could do the work of dozens of people by himself.

King Zhen lowered his brows, his displeasure evident on his face.

After pondering for a moment, Shinju realized that perhaps the King of Poison was unhappy that he hadn't considered them as one. Therefore, Shinju suggested, "You go first into the Three Corpses realm, and once we're at the mine, His Majesty can find a secluded spot to emerge?"

The King of Zhen did not agree, saying only, "I need an identity."

This reminded Zhen Su. Indeed, having the identity of a Yin soldier makes everything much easier in Fengdu. Before he was a Yin soldier, it was extremely inconvenient for him.

"Then I'll take you to the Soul Reaper's Office." Since mining could be done again at any time, Shinju left without looking back, taking the Poison King with him and heading straight for the Soul Reaper's Office.

Shinju couldn't find Agui, but Ox-Head and Horse-Face were there, though they were stationed in front of the Yama King's Palace at the back. Helpless, Shinju had no choice but to follow his memory and find the Yin Soldier who had given him the Yin Soldier Talisman, and ask if he could apply for a Yin Soldier status for the Zhen King beside him.

Unexpectedly, the on-duty ghost soldier with two huge fangs hanging from his mouth and a body covered in coarse black fur, was picking his teeth with a wood-chopping knife. Without even glancing at Shinju and the King of Poison, he clicked his tongue. The sound was so loud that all the ghosts passing by turned their gazes to him.

Shinju revealed his Yin Soldier Talisman, a bright smile on his face, and politely said, "Brother, we're colleagues, could you do me a favor?"

The wild boar soldiers shook their enormous bellies, seemingly amused, but still didn't give them a second glance, only mocking, "Don't you even understand 'compromise'? Or do you lack even this much sincerity? You're probably just trying to get something for nothing!"

Shinju immediately clenched his fist on the waist token.

It seems that he only managed things so smoothly before because of Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and because of his status as a ghost soldier. Now, he is still just a lowly ghost soldier, not as powerful as the ghost soldier in front of him who is handling documents. It is normal for the other party to look down on him.

Unfortunately, he is currently short of money, so even if he really wanted to make an exception, he couldn't.

Shinju felt annoyed and thought to himself that he should go to the mine to earn some money first, and that staying there would only result in humiliation. Just as he was about to turn and leave, the King of Poison beside him was surrounded by purple aura, and then slowly raised his hand, his palm pointing at the wild boar soldiers.

Immediately, Shinju felt an aura suddenly appear in the surrounding area, invisible and colorless, inexplicably pressing down on him so much that his spine felt like it was about to fold, and a feeling of submission arose in his heart. Shinju immediately and keenly mobilized all the spiritual power in his body, his muscles bulging, so that he could withstand the pressure and not kneel down.

The wild boar-like ghost soldier suddenly knelt down and crawled out from under the table, kowtowing incessantly until his head was covered in black blood, but he didn't stop, muttering, "Please forgive my ignorance! My apologies, my apologies! With me here, I will certainly handle this matter properly for my master!"

The others who had been watching the spectacle from the sidelines fell silent. It wasn't that they dared not ridicule, but rather that they too were affected by the aura. They all prostrated themselves on the ground, heads bowed, too afraid to look. Just resisting that strange force of submission had exhausted their strength.

Shinju was merely more presentable than the others, but in reality, his gaze had become unfocused, his lower dantian was in chaos, and his mind was filled with cries of "Submit to him, submit to him!" Fortunately, suddenly, the pressure on Shinju vanished, his body felt light, and his vision cleared.

Shinju looked down and saw that the King of Poison had taken his hand.

Before the monk could ask what had happened, the Poison King was already being ushered into the back of the yamen by the wild boar-like ghost soldiers—an area the monk had never set foot in before, and which was heavily guarded.

Before leaving, the King of Zhen patted the back of Zhen Su's hand and gave him a look that said, "Wait for me."

Shinjuku had no choice but to suppress his temper and wait where he was.

He waited for more than an hour, during which time Shinju repeatedly considered whether he should go to the mine to dig and wait, since the King of Poison would appear before him as soon as he summoned him.

But even as the officials in the government office changed batch after batch, Masakatsu didn't leave. He would occasionally glance in the direction where the King of Poison had left, waiting quietly.

Finally, the King of Poison walked out, his tall figure casting a huge shadow on the ground behind the lamplight of the yamen, completely enveloping Shinju.

Shinju glanced at the King of Venom's empty waist, then at his bare hands, and noticed the absence of the boar-like ghost soldiers behind him. Shinju's ears drooped immediately, but he still managed a sweet smile, went to meet him, and comforted him, "It's alright—"