Chapter 119: Retirement Day 119: Seeking the Skin of a Tiger, He Will Be...
For the next half hour, Sang Qiqi relied on her newly recovered memory to count on her fingers all the stupid things Duan Sui had done in those eleven years.
Including but not limited to falling and breaking one's front teeth, slipping and falling into the River Styx after the rain, drinking Meng Po soup by mistake, being bitten on the butt by a vicious dog in Evil Dog Ridge, etc.
The Lord of Fengdu's face disappeared completely at this moment.
In the silence, a slightly rough voice, seemingly soft but actually loud and clear, echoed in my ears: "Wow, I didn't realize that the eldest brother had such a colorful childhood. I heard that the vicious dogs in the vicious dog ridge bite people very viciously, and the marks last for a hundred years. I don't think there are still teeth marks on the eldest brother's buttocks."
Duan Sui: “…”
He turned around, stretched out his hand in the air, formed a claw with his five fingers, grabbed a big guy, then raised his wrist and threw it towards the gate of Fengdu City.
Wei Ying somersaulted several times in mid-air, struggling to steady himself when he felt a powerful force bearing down on him. The aura of that force was all too familiar. His expression changed slightly, but he was powerless to resist. In the end, he could only wail and cling to the door like a fly.
Then slide down slowly.
Han Yan folded his arms and stepped out of the transparent air. Seeing the miserable appearance of his companions, he couldn't help but sigh twice.
As a ghost, how could you do such a thing?
It's bad enough that you interrupted the boss when he was talking to his sweetheart, but you also interrupted when his sweetheart was recounting his embarrassing moments... It's fun for others to look back at you, but your comments are just an eyesore.
Having gotten rid of his troublesome subordinate, Duan Sui felt the need to salvage his image: "If it weren't for me, you would have been the one to get bitten on the butt."
Sang Qiqi pretended not to hear with an innocent look on her face: "What? You said your butt was pecked by a golden rooster?"
Duan Sui: “…”
He was both angry and amused. He raised his hand and placed it on Sang Qiqi's head, rubbing the bun vigorously. Sure enough, Sang Qiqi, who often complained about the effort required to tie a perfect bun, was completely furious and stepped hard on the man's instep.
"Are you itching to fight me after not having me fight you for so many years?"
“A little.”
"Just wait. After I kill Jintian, I'll keep you bedridden for three days."
When talking about Jintian, the relaxed atmosphere between the two quickly turned tense. Duan Sui led his men towards the Fengdu Hall, whispering to Sang Qiqi the news they had learned.
"When the earthquake in Yegui Village occurred, Shan Xuelin and Chao Song seemed to have received the news and headed to Dangzhong Mountain."
Sang Qiqi remembered Xin Ji and his group's suspicions about the commotion in Yegui Village, suspecting that Jintian, missing for years, had been hiding underground, recovering his presence. This time, Jintian might have been forcibly breaking his retreat after learning of the impending destruction of the Nine Nether Gods. He seemed to be acting with a reckless abandon. Perhaps he knew he had no escape route, that Duan Sui would soon discover his location, so he simply surfaced and seized the opportunity to devour all the wandering ghosts in Yegui Village.
The Ghost King of Dangzhong Mountain, Jiang Yushan, was Jintian's lackey back then, and he reunited with Shan Xuelin and Chao Song at such a critical moment... It's hard not to wonder whether Jintian went to Dangzhong Mountain after leaving Yegui Village.
Thinking of the prying gaze when passing by Dangzhong Mountain, Sang Qiqi was lost in thought.
-
Jizhong Mountain.
The huge Dangzhong Mountain is traversed by the Styx River. The faint black fog enveloped the air, brushing against the cheeks, bringing a chill.
The hall located in the mountains is like an isolated island, but at this moment, the situation inside the island is tense, with angry ghosts baring their fangs and claws, shouting wildly, and the sound is extremely harsh.
Jiang Yushan, the Ghost King of Mount Dangzhong, sat on a high seat with a solemn expression. There was a phantom under his feet. The phantom was like a magnet, constantly attracting the wandering ghost energy around to his side. The ghost energy that belonged to him opened its bloody mouth and swallowed all the wandering ghost energy into it.
"Jintian, that's not what we said back then." Jiang Yushan uttered a deep voice, his sharp eyes gleaming with a sharp edge and hidden hatred. He pursed his lips, his cheeks twitching with anger slightly puffing up as he stared at the shadow and spoke word by word, "You used my daughter to threaten me, and successfully used my name to buy yourself some breathing space. But now, you've fallen behind in the battle with Duan Sui. It's because of your own lack of ability, which is enough to prove that you're not worthy of the position of Lord of Fengdu. You should surrender, instead of using my life and my daughter's life to pay for your stupidity and waste!"
"Surrender?"
As he heard those words, the shadowy figure suddenly expanded and shrank. Jintian let out a low, muffled laugh, as if he had just heard a ridiculous joke. He said, "You should have known back then that I would never surrender. Otherwise, why would I have used your identity to hide? I could have just let Duan Sui kill me."
A pair of terrifying scarlet eyes slowly emerged from the shadow, and blood-like mist flowed out of his eyes. The atmosphere in the hall was suddenly filled with a strong smell of blood.
Jintian stared at Jiang Yushan with a half-smile and said slowly, "You may not know that during the decades I was in seclusion, your daughter was like a mouse, huddled in a small corner every day. She seemed very afraid that I would eat her. As soon as I opened my eyes and looked at her, she would tremble with fear. After so many years, she seems to have been scared stupid."
Jiang Yushan's facial expression became increasingly grim. His hands on his knees clenched into fists, and the crackling sound of his joints was extremely piercing.
But Jintian regarded this as the most beautiful music.
He described the scene that had brought Jiang Yushan to his knees. "A few days ago, I saw her talking to herself like an idiot. One moment she said her father would save her, and the next moment she banged her head against the wall, saying her father had abandoned her. So... have you decided? After holding on for decades, do you choose to watch your daughter die in indifference, or do you choose to sacrifice your own life for hers?"
Jiang Yushan was trembling all over, his eyes were red, and he stared at those equally bloodshot eyes.
The malice flowing from those eyes almost suffocated him.
Time passed minute by minute, and when Jintian's patience gradually disappeared, Jiang Yushan closed his eyes, and his straight body seemed to lose its strength and suddenly collapsed.
He covered his face with trembling hands, and his hoarse voice became muffled.
He said, "You can devour me, but I don't believe you. I haven't seen my daughter in all these years. I'm not sure if she's still alive, and I can't be sure if you can keep your promise."
Hearing Jiang Yushan's reassurance, Jintian slowly raised his lip and said, "That's easy. Find a confidant to go to Wen Dan. Once you're in my hands, Wen Dan will hand your daughter over to your confidant. Of course, as a partner of many years, I can be kind and leave a wisp of your consciousness so you can see your daughter again."
When he mentioned the words 'partners with whom we have cooperated for many years', Jintian deliberately emphasized the ending tone.
Full of irony.
However, having been accused of being a lackey of Jintian for many years, Jiang Yushan has been able to face such ridicule calmly.
His emotions remained stable, except when his attention fell on the word 'Wen Dan', he couldn't help but sneer: "It's Wen Dan."
Jiang Yushan was somewhat surprised that the Ghost King of Baodui Mountain, who had sworn not to be loyal to any lord of Fengdu and only to the underworld, was also a disaster laid by the previous one.
It seems that...
"Shan Xuelin and Chao Song were just your ploy to attract Duan Sui and his group's attention. How pitiful! Shan Xuelin betrayed Xun Cang, and in the end, he could only cower in his palace like a turtle, and you used him as a pawn."
Until now, it has become the nourishment of Jintian.
Jiang Yushan remembered clearly the moment the tremors in Wild Ghost Village erupted, a terrifying aura rapidly filled a corner of Dangzhong Mountain. Unprepared, Jintian appeared, revealing his still-unrecovered demonic form. He was an extremely ugly demon, slender and gaunt, with wide eye sockets and horns sprouting from his forehead. No one could have guessed that such a demon once controlled the entirety of Fengdu and the underworld.
Less than three minutes later, two more shadows came from afar and landed in the hall.
At the head of the table, Jiang Yushan watched coldly as the ghostly mist lingering around the phantom dissipated, revealing the faces of Shan Xuelin and Chao Song. To be honest, Jiang Yushan wasn't particularly surprised to see them, even though no one besides Xun Cang, Shan Xuelin, and Jintian knew what had happened in the mortal realm. But in Jiang Yushan's mind, Xun Cang was significantly stronger than Jintian. Even if Jintian had wreaked havoc in the mortal realm, killing so many and consuming so many resentful souls, he still wouldn't have been able to stand a chance against Xun Cang.
Xun Cang will lose, the only variable is Shan Xuelin who will go to the world of the living with him.
Unfortunately, Shan Xuelin is a person of contradictions.
He was so bold as to choose to betray his master, but he was so cowardly as to not dare to reveal the fact of his betrayal under Jintian's rule.
Jiang Yushan couldn't understand why he chose to be a powerless Yama Luo after betraying his master. What's more, when he was following Xun Cang, he had far more power than he did now that he was following Jintian.
Jiang Yushan didn't care that his doubts were not answered.
He simply watched in silence as Shan Xuelin and Chao Song, originally pleasantly surprised, changed their expressions slightly upon seeing Jintian's condition. Clearly, they'd noticed Jintian's current state was failing. In his prime, Jintian and Duan Sui had fought to a draw, but in his current state... he was likely to be pinned to the ground and pounded into a pulp by Duan Sui once again. Perhaps this time, Jintian wouldn't have a chance to escape.
"Lord Jintian, you..." Chao Song opened his mouth, a little at a loss.
Shan Xuelin stood aside in silence, his eyes dim, and a sense of foreboding arose in his heart.
But compared to the two of them, Jintian, the person involved, appeared extremely calm and composed. He even smiled and said, "Don't panic. Although the Nine Nether Gods' plan to forge evil spirits has failed, we are not in dire straits yet. I still have a few trump cards."
A smile appeared on Chao Song's face, but Shan Xuelin became more and more uneasy.
This unease became a reality when he sensed the surging ghostly energy around him. Shan Xuelin quickly realized that the Nine Nether Gods' plan to create evil spirits had failed. Jintian couldn't use the evil spirits to fill his empty stomach and regain his strength, so he could only devour other "food" that had the same effect as the evil spirits.
Obviously, in addition to the little ghosts in the Wild Ghost Village, he and Chao Song are also on Jintian's menu.
Upon realizing this, Shan Xuelin's face darkened like the bottom of a pot. While Chao Song was still pleasantly surprised by Jintian's deception, Shan Xuelin's entire body tensed up, darting out of the hall like a sharp arrow. But Jintian's reaction was even faster, and the ghostly energy whizzed past his shoulder and yanked the doors and windows in the blink of an eye. After the thumping sound, as if to further block the escape route, the ghostly energy was like glue, sealing every crack.
The hall of the Ghost Emperor from Dangzhong Mountain became a tightly closed box, and Shan Xuelin and Chao Song became prey in the box.
"You're running so fast." Jintian stood there, a smile on his face, a hint of interest in his scarlet eyes. "But no matter how fast you run, this is your end."
Shan Xuelin stared at Jintian with wary eyes, and for a moment he seemed to have returned to a hundred years ago.
Knowing that he had no hope of becoming the Five Ghost Emperor, he accepted Jintian's instigation in a daze.
He said, "Xun Cang is indeed a qualified Lord of Fengdu, but it's precisely because he's too qualified that he seems inferior. None of the Five Ghost Emperors are willing to give up their positions, and you, a brother who has been by his side for many years, don't get any preferential treatment at all. You can only serve as your own Ten Courts of Hell day after day. Don't you think it's ironic?"
"If you ask me, if none of the Five Ghost Emperors are willing to give up their positions, then the Lord of Fengdu can also give up his position. Then, I will be the Lord of Fengdu, and you will be the Ghost Emperor of Baodui Mountain. What do you think?"
But he is not a qualified evil ghost after all.
The glance that Xun Cang gave him before his death became his nightmare. Whenever he closed his eyes, whenever he had free time, he would think of that scene over and over again as if he was cursed.
So, when power was within his reach, he retreated again.
Jintian laughed at him for being stupid, useless and ridiculous, but he also agreed with him and told him that in return for his help in killing Xun Cang, he would always keep the position of one of the Five Ghost Emperors for him.
Similarly, he would not tell anyone what Shan Xuelin paid in usurping the throne.
Jintian was quite faithful to his promise in this regard, and Shan Xuelin's tense mood relaxed.
He thought he could protect his reputation and wait until Xun Cang's death was a thing of the past before asking Jintian to hand over the position of Ghost Emperor of Baodui Mountain to him. However, he never expected that Duan Sui's revenge would come even before the position of Ghost Emperor of Baodui Mountain came.
It was also at that time that Shan Xuelin was extremely grateful for his indecisiveness and hypocrisy.
Duan Sui couldn't get any evidence that he was aiding and abetting the evil, and Jintian didn't give him up even though he was injured in order to make a comeback.
He was like a coward, hiding in the Fourth Hall for many years.
Until this moment——
He finally understood that if he tried to get the skin of a tiger, he would be eaten by it one day.
"Jintian, I've done enough for you."
"For me?" Jintian sneered, crossing his arms with a look of sarcasm. "You're clearly doing this for yourself. Back then, you betrayed Xun Cang for your own power and status. Later, you retreated to the palace for your own reputation. And in recent years, you're doing this for your own life."
Jintian's simple words pierced through Shan Xuelin's hypocritical facade. Shan Xuelin was furious, but ultimately remained rational. To appear harmless to Duan Sui, he had neglected his injuries, which hadn't fully healed. Consequently, facing Jintian at this moment, he was completely powerless to fight back.
Of course, the prerequisite is that Jintian’s strength has recovered.
...Do you want to give it a try?
This thought flashed through Shan Xuelin's mind. Then, his gaze quickly turned to Chao Song, who had stiffened after learning of Jintian's plan, and Jiang Yushan, who sat in a cold and indifferent position. He shouted, "Chao Song, Jiang Yushan, you saw how Jintian was so ruthless. He wanted to devour me, so he naturally wants to devour you too. Why don't we join forces—"
Before he finished speaking, Jintian raised his weird and ugly ghost hand with a smile on his face.
His voice sounded nonchalant: "Jiang Yushan, let me see your sincerity."
With a loud bang.
Shan Xuelin, caught off guard and even attempting to seek help from Jiang Yushan, was blasted away by the powerful ghost energy. As one of the most powerful of the Five Ghost Emperors back then, Jiang Yushan's simple attack left Shan Xuelin sprawled on the ground, wailing weakly.
Shan Xuelin felt the intense pain spreading throughout his limbs and bones. The ghost energy in his body surged rapidly, trying to wrap up his broken body, but what he never expected was that at this moment, a powerful suction force sprang up from Jintian's body, sucking his body madly.
Shan Xuelin's face turned pale and he wanted to stop it, but the suction was so exaggerated that it sucked his body clean in just a few tens of seconds!
“No, no!”
His eyes were filled with fear, and he frantically tried to get up from the ground and struggle, but his legs disappeared first.
Without the support of his legs, his body, which had just stood up with great difficulty, fell down again.
The waist was eaten, followed by the chest and arms.
"Don't be sad. When I return to a high position, I will announce your contribution."
Jintian stretched out his exaggeratedly long arms and took a deep breath.
Countless ghost auras were like flowing black mist. With a scream from Shan Xuelin, his head exploded with a bang. The scattered ghost auras subconsciously wanted to escape everywhere, but were sucked into Jintian's stomach.
After devouring Shan Xuelin cleanly, Jintian moved his body.
The Ten Kings of Hell are truly worthy of being called the Ten Kings of Hell. Even if they are injured, they are almost as powerful as one-third of the wild ghosts.
So……
His gaze gradually turned to Chao Song, whose face was pale and body was stiff, and he smiled slightly.
Alternatively, nest pine can be half as good.
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