Chapter 10 010 It's said that the Ghost Realm has exceptionally strong abilities in that area...

Yun Tianjiao was led forward by Zhiwei's hand. At first, all they could see was the hazy candlelight, which was the light inside the Chang Le Palace.

Gradually, the lights went out, and the surroundings plunged into bottomless darkness. Yun Tianjiao felt surrounded by cold, damp air, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end uncontrollably.

Zhiwei clenched her fist even tighter in the darkness.

"Your Highness, don't be afraid."

Yun Tianjiao didn't say anything, but unconsciously squeezed Zhiwei's hand back.

The god in the darkness gently curled the corners of his lips, revealing a smile that no one paid attention to.

The place where humans and ghosts meet is commonly known as the Yellow Springs Road, where ugly and evil ghosts often appear. This is because most ghosts are in a daze before entering the ghost realm, and eight or nine out of ten still retain the miserable state they were in when they died.

At this moment, within a radius of a hundred miles centered on the two of them, not a single wandering soul could be seen. Even when remnant spirits occasionally drifted towards this place, they all changed course far away, as if they were avoiding something.

Thus, on the dark and desolate Yellow Springs Road, only that weak god led his eldest princess along the way.

Finally, just as Yun Tianjiao was wondering if she had gone blind, the light returned to her eyes, gradually growing stronger. As she adjusted to the light, the surroundings suddenly became noisy and bustling, as if the sound of vendors shouting and hawking had been released, making it feel like she had entered a market.

In the end, the red silk covering Yun Tianjiao's eyes revealed the outline of the brightly decorated buildings, which, when viewed against the bright red background, gave off a lively and splendid atmosphere, like a joyous wedding.

The red silk was untied, and Yun Tianjiao looked around with surprise in his eyes.

"This...is this the Ghost Realm?"

She had never seen such a bustling street before; even the most central area of ​​the Yun Chi Kingdom's imperial city paled in comparison.

There were hardly any low-rise houses on either side of the road; most were two- or three-story buildings, with lanterns lit and colorful gauze hanging, and decadent music mixed with unrestrained singing and laughter.

The streets were crowded with pedestrians, and apart from the occasional glimpse of a few ox-headed or horse-faced figures, or people with faces as pale as paper, it was almost no different from the mortal world.

"Young man, why don't you buy your sweetheart a flower? Mine is made with special medicinal herbs and has the power to ward off evil spirits and immortals!"

A flower vendor approached, all smiles, and tried to sell his flowers to Zhiwei.

Yun Tianjiao rummaged through the flower seller's basket, glanced at the deity beside him, and asked for confirmation, "These flowers, can they really exorcise spirits?"

"Of course! Don't underestimate this little flower. If any foolish god touches it, even if his divine essence doesn't dissipate, he'll collapse and vomit three liters of blood, and his brain will swell up like a pig's brain!" The flower seller boasted eloquently, but unexpectedly, a burly pig demon happened to pass by and glared at him fiercely.

Hey! Watch your mouth!

The flower seller shrank back, watching the pig demon disappear into the distance, and continued his boasting, spittle flying everywhere—

"Young lady, please don't doubt it. My goods are absolutely genuine. I'll compensate you a thousandfold for any fakes. You can buy with confidence! Look how beautiful you are. Although the security in our Netherworld has been good these past few years, we never know when a god might sneak in. Buying a flower to wear on your head is both beautiful and protective. Isn't that great!"

"Who knows when one might sneak in... right?" Yun Tianjiao asked Zhiwei.

“Yes, it’s very dangerous.” Zhiwei nodded seriously, her expressive peach blossom eyes looking innocent and naive.

Yun Tianjiao suppressed his laughter until his stomach ached, and picked out a purple magnolia from the flower basket.

"Alright, I'll buy this one." She reached for her purse, then suddenly remembered that this was the ghost realm, and money and goods from the mortal world shouldn't be allowed to circulate here.

Just as she was about to look up at Zhiwei, her hand went empty. The purple magnolia flower had already been taken by Zhiwei and gently placed on the top of her hair.

"Yes, it looks good." Zhiwei smiled at her.

Seeing that the flower seller had already left happily, Yun Tianjiao asked in confusion, "You've already paid him? What did you use to pay him?"

Zhiwei handed over a yellow paper crane.

Yun Tianjiao opened it and exclaimed, "Isn't this the paper money burned in the human world?"

So this thing actually works...

Perhaps the flower seller set a good example, for at that moment a group of merchants smelled the money and gathered around with their own goods, selling all sorts of things, causing chaos in the process.

To prevent Yun Tianjiao from being bumped, Zhiwei pulled her into her arms.

Yun Tianjiao could smell the faint scent of peach blossoms on him, and his black hair, which fell to his chest, was as cool as ink.

"Young master, the Shangsi Festival on the third day of the third lunar month is almost here. Aren't you going to buy a bottle of magic oil for the young lady beside you? Let me tell you, my magic oil is incredibly potent! After using it, you'll be... ugh! ugh ugh ugh!"

A vendor with a hairy face and a thunderous mouth, who looked like a monkey, overcame all difficulties and squeezed to the front of all the vendors, ready to introduce his wares with great enthusiasm.

Zhiwei had already picked up a peach from the fruit vendor's basket next to her, stuffed it into his mouth to stop him from saying anything more, and then took Yun Tianjiao's hand and left.

After walking quite a distance and leaving the group of demon and ghost merchants behind, Yun Tianjiao was still curious: "What is this 'divine oil'?"

Zhiwei replied, "Useless things."

Yun Tianjiao didn't pursue the matter further. Soon, he was attracted by the clanging of gongs and drums. Looking in the direction of the sound, he found that they had just arrived in front of a theater.

"The ghost realm has theaters too? It looks so lively."

Zhiwei asked, "Would you like to go in and take a look?"

"But aren't we in a hurry to find someone?"

"No rush, Your Highness, if you like it, we'll go in."

Yun Tianjiao really wanted to go in and see what rare plays would be performed on the stage in the Ghost Realm, plays that he knew he couldn't see in the mortal world.

Zhiwei was very generous, throwing two large bills of paper money to the waiter at the door and booking a private room on the second floor.

Once the two were seated, Yun Tianjiao was quickly drawn to the performance on stage.

The Kingdom of Yunchi reveres gods, so the plays on stage mostly sing praises to the gods. But now, in this ghost realm's theater, the opposite is true. The plays praise the demons and ghosts, while the gods are portrayed as clowns and villains.

At this moment, a play called "The Ghost King Slays the Gods" was being performed. The Ghost King was surrounded by the gods, but he fought against them all and killed them all without leaving a trace, which drew cheers from the audience.

Yun Tianjiao glanced at the celestial being beside him with feigned concern and whispered, "It seems you need to be careful here. If you are exposed, you may suffer a terrible fate."

Zhiwei noticed that she was teasing him, raised an eyebrow slightly, leaned closer and asked, "If I were to suffer such a tragic end, would Your Highness feel sorry for me?"

The theater was lavishly decorated, filled with warm fragrances and cozy tents, creating an atmosphere even more ambiguous than a brothel. In the dim light, a pair of peach blossom eyes looked over, seemingly full of tender affection, enough to steal one's soul.

Yun Tianjiao turned his face away, his eyes fixed straight ahead, "If you are so miserable, it means you are useless. If you are useless, why should I feel sorry for you?"

Her seductive skills were all ineffective. Zhiwei stared at her for a moment, and seeing that the princess refused to even glance at her, she lazily withdrew her seductive powers and began to watch the show seriously.

At this moment, the performance on stage reached its climax. The white-robed celestial being, representing the supreme commander, was suspended in mid-air by the Ghost King, his skin peeled off and tendons pulled out, and subjected to the torture of being cut into a thousand pieces.

"Our Ghost King is truly formidable! During the war between gods and ghosts a hundred years ago, he personally slaughtered a deity, causing that deity's divine essence to dissipate!"

"Isn't this play about that matter? I heard that our Ghost King and that deity have an irreconcilable personal feud."

"Huh? What personal grudge? I've never heard of that before..."

"I only heard this through rumors, you know, right? Our Ghost King was born a lustful ghost, the lowest and most unwelcome lustful ghost. He has suffered countless hardships along the way. I heard that the reason our Ghost King became a lustful ghost was because he was harmed by that deity..."

"Is that so?! In that case, that deity truly deserves to die! Even being torn to pieces wouldn't be too much!"

A murmur of conversation came from next door, and Yun Tianjiao realized that the soundproofing in the private room was not very good. He was glad that the two of them had kept their voices down. If they had been talking as loudly as the people next door, their identities would have been exposed long ago.

"What does 'desire ghost' mean?" Yun Tianjiao waited for a while, and seeing that the person next door did not continue, he gently tugged at Zhiwei's sleeve, making him come closer, and whispered in his ear.

Zhiwei's eyes flickered slightly, a dark glint flashing across them.

"A demon of desire... is one who transforms desire into a demon."

Seeing that Yun Tianjiao still didn't understand, he raised his hand, gesturing for her to lean closer.

Yun Tianjiao leaned closer and heard Zhiwei say slowly, word by word, "It was... dying in bed."

"..."

He lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on that small, delicate, white earlobe.

Yun Tianjiao remained oblivious and continued watching the play, but he could no longer look directly at the Ghost King on the stage.

This ghost king looks quite young. What kind of lecherous man must he have been in his previous life to have himself killed by such things?

Just then, the sound of conversation came from the next private room—

"Our Ghost King is said to have extraordinary abilities in that area! He can control several women in one night!"

"What do you mean 'several women'? He's clearly dozens! He's a lustful fiend!"

"No, it's hundreds of women!"

"It should be several thousand women!"

puff--

Even the most flawless and perfect god was choked by a cup of tea.

This was the first time Yun Tianjiao had seen Zhiwei in such a disheveled state, and she handed her handkerchief over.

“The gods are noble and pure; they surely cannot tolerate such lewd words.” Her eyes revealed a hint of schadenfreude.

When Zhiwei took the handkerchief, she deliberately grabbed her hand.

Yun Tianjiao's body stiffened.

"Is Your Highness surprised that the Ghost King has such a background?" His peach blossom eyes, glistening with moisture, looked at her, but the depths of his pupils were as black as ink.

Yun Tianjiao didn't expect Zhiwei to care about this. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Heroes don't care about their origins. Since he has become a regional lord, he must have extraordinary abilities. His background is not that important."

"So that's what Your Highness thinks."

Zhiwei slowly released her hand and looked back at the stage.

"However..." Yun Tianjiao suddenly became curious, "Is the Ghost King really that powerful? How could he be so capable in just one night?"

A faint smile appeared on her face.

After a long pause, he said dryly, "Public opinion is a fearsome thing, and most people like to exaggerate. It's probably just a matter of spreading rumors."

Yun Tianjiao agreed wholeheartedly, also feeling that the two ghosts next door were exaggerating, but Zhiwei's choice of words needed to be corrected at this moment.

It shouldn't be "public opinion is a fearsome thing," it should be "ghostly opinion is a fearsome thing."