Chapter 8 Iron Sword and a Ghost Cultivator
Shu Shangjin obviously didn't want to waste time arguing with Zheng Hongqiao, so he said coldly, "Excuse me."
Then, she was about to go upstairs when Zheng Hongqiao suddenly grabbed her wrist and said, "Shu Changli! If you dare to leave, I will break off the engagement with you!"
She spoke in a loud voice, and the monks in the restaurant stopped talking and looked over here. Zheng Hongqiao's face turned even redder, but he still stubbornly held Shu Shangjin's hand and refused to let go.
Shu Shangjin's expression was cold: "In that case, after the Spring Competition is over, I will personally apologize and let the marriage arranged by the elders be cancelled."
Zheng Hongqiao really didn't expect Shu Shangjin to say that. She stood there in a daze for a moment. The people around her looked at her with fiery eyes, and people around her kept laughing and talking. She felt a fishy and sweet taste in her throat. She wanted to get angry, but it was like punching cotton. She breathed heavily and finally sneered loudly.
She slowly loosened Shu Shangjin's sleeves, held her head high, and seemed to show no loss at all: "Okay, I'll do as you say."
After she said that, she left without looking back, having long forgotten about Hua Wanwan.
Wow, it turns out the two of them are really having an affair?
Ji Lingche watched silently, then looked at Shu Shangjin's expression, and said nothing.
She went upstairs and a waiter came to greet her immediately. Ji Lingche ignored him and went straight to the window room where she had seen the ghost figure just now. She pulled the curtain and went in.
The waiter hurriedly said: "Xiaoxian's house, which one is——"
Seeing this, Shu Shangjin tossed a few copper coins to the waiter and said, "We know each other. Go on with your business."
The conversation in the private room suddenly stopped, and everyone stared at the golden-robed monk girl who suddenly appeared at the door.
There was no monk in the private room, only men, all dressed in long robes, with pearls and jade on their wrists, and crowns and scarves on their heads, dressed like traveling merchants, and they were toasting each other.
Ji Lingche glanced around and finally set his sights on a young man.
The man was dressed in a black robe, but without a crown. He was standing by the window, gazing outside. He turned back when he heard the noise. He was about thirty years old, with a handsome face and dressed like a merchant. He looked quite wealthy, yet had a bit of a gangster air. His eyes were narrowed in a restrained yet shrewd smile. His gaze fell on people, but it was sinister and stirred a chill. When he met Ji Lingche's gaze, he was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "What can I do for you, little immortal?"
Ji Lingche looked around and said, "Hiss, I came to this private room to drink tea this morning and lost a ring——"
The man laughed and said, "You're lying."
"I've reserved this private room all year round. It's impossible for anyone else to come in."
Ji Lingche raised his eyebrows: "So, you have been here the whole time?"
The man smiled: "It's true."
Shu Shangjin stood behind Ji Lingche holding a sword, and looked at everyone in the room. He didn't see any clues, but just felt that the man was shrouded in a layer of faint black mist. However, Tiejian Town is opposite Fengdu Ghost City, and the residents of the city have more or less carried some yin energy on their bodies over the years, so it is not a big deal.
Ji Lingche clasped his fists and said, "I misremembered that. I'm sorry for disturbing you all."
The man slowly walked over from the window and said with a faint smile: "It's okay, meeting is fate."
He bowed and saluted. "My name is Chen Ran, a native of Tiejian Town. I've lived here for generations. I've admired the immortals since I was young, but unfortunately, my fate with immortality is shallow, so whenever I see cultivators, I'm always envious. If you, the little immortal, don't mind, I'll have someone prepare this meal again to cheer you two on for the Immortal Trial Competition. Would you be so kind as to do me the honor?"
The friends present also followed suit, with a flattering look on their faces, smiling and raising their glasses to toast them.
Shu Shangjin frowned slightly and glanced at Ji Lingche. He knew that these merchants in Tiejian Town were trying their best to establish a relationship with the Immortal Sect so that they could extend their business outside. Especially since the two of them were well-dressed and looked like powerful disciples, merchants valued profit and naturally would not let them go easily.
If the merchants are not short of money, they will be more difficult to deal with. They want more than just business. As mortals, they also want to reach out to the Immortal Alliance and stir things up.
Shu Shangjin, as the beloved disciple of the Immortal Alliance's leader, was used to seeing flattery. Like his master, he was aloof and aloof, and he always hated such behavior. He said coldly, "Junior sister, we have to leave."
Ji Lingche stared at Chen Ran with a smile, his meaning difficult to understand: "Mr. Chen, from the first moment I saw you just now, I felt that we were like old friends. We must have been destined to be together in our previous lives!"
Chen Ran smiled and said, "It is a great honor for me to have the favor of this little immortal."
Ji Lingche smiled slyly and said, "If I wasn't busy, I wouldn't have given you the honor. Just consider this meal as something you owe me. I'll come find you after the Immortal Trial Tournament is over."
Chen Ran was overjoyed and clasped his fists, saying, "My dear Immortal, I would be grateful for your kindness..."
…
Ji Lingche chatted with the group of merchants for a few more words, then left the Baiyu Tower with Shu Shangjin, eating a duck leg as he walked.
Shu Shangjin hesitated to speak, but finally couldn't help but whispered, "Junior sister, is there anything wrong with those people?"
Ji Lingche laughed and said, "Ah, it seems that your master is busy seeking fame and reputation every day, but he doesn't teach you anything?"
Shu Shang Jin: ...? !
Huh? Is this right, Junior Sister?
"He has an evil ghost in his house." Ji Lingche raised his head and looked at Shu Shangjin, his eyes shining.
"We won't eat at his table, we'll go and rob his house." Ji Lingche raised a finger and waved it in front of Shu Shangjin. "Do you dare to go?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Shu Shangjin was stunned, thinking that this junior sister's words and actions were crazy and confusing. He really didn't know whether her words were true or not. Shu Shangjin could only smile bitterly: "Junior sister, if it is really as you said, we can't act rashly. We need to report to Master before making a final decision."
Ji Lingche: "If you don't dare to go, just say you don't dare to go. Stop talking nonsense."
Shu Shangjin smiled: "I am not a competitive person, it's useless for you to provoke me."
Seeing that appealing to his emotions wasn't working, Ji Lingche reasoned with him, "Let me ask you, what's the difference between ordinary Yin Qi and the Yin Qi carried by ghost cultivators?"
Shu Shangjin thought about it and told the truth: "Changli doesn't know."
Ji Lingche smiled and said, "People in Tiejian Town have been facing Fengdu Ghost City for a long time, so they are more or less contaminated with Yin Qi. However, this Yin Qi only attaches to the surface of the body and conflicts with the person's Yang Qi, so it will be a little distance away from the skin."
"As for ghost cultivators, they transform Yin Qi into their own use, channeling it into their Dantian and circulating it throughout their bodies. They've already been marinated, so the Yin Qi emanates from within. From the outside, it appears to be tightly adhered to the skin."
Shu Shangjin suddenly realized something and turned to look at Ji Lingche: "So, that Chen Ran is a ghost cultivator?!"
Ji Lingche remained noncommittal: "It's hard to say. Although there is Yin Qi flowing in his Dantian, he is not a cultivator himself, so this is very strange."
Ji Lingche continued, "Ghost cultivation is harmful to nature and is easily backfired. It also requires a very high physique from the cultivator, so there are very few ghost cultivators in the world. Over the years, there is only one person who has made a name for himself by relying on the ghost path.
She said quietly, "But that man...doing too much evil will eventually lead to his own downfall. Many years ago, he was nearly killed, and then he disappeared for many years. I'm afraid this incident is closely related to him."
Shu Shangjin thought for a moment, then uttered a name: "Yan Jinchen."
Ji Lingche raised his eyebrows: "You know him?"
Shu Shangjin said seriously, "The foremost person in the Ghost Dao, he unleashed ghosts to slaughter people across the fourteen states, causing bloodshed and cholera throughout the world. In the Immortal Alliance History, the chapter on disasters, his biography took up four full pages!"
Ji Lingche: “Oh?”
"But..." Shu Shangjin seemed a little hesitant. He finally said, "His senior sister Ji Guanlan is even more vicious. Even our master has suffered greatly from her..."
"It takes up a full twenty-one pages in the 'Cause of Misfortune' chapter!"
Then he changed the subject and said seriously, "But evil cultivators are still evil cultivators after all. No matter how powerful they were in the past, they cannot escape the fate of a miserable death..."
Ji Lingche sneered silently: Child, you'd better be careful in what you say and do.
…
"Mr. Chen—"
The man gave a thumbs-up and said, "What a filial son! They say there are no filial sons by the bedside of a long-term patient, but this Mr. Chen is sincere and filial in caring for his sick mother, doing everything himself..."
"Mr. Chen is not only extremely wealthy, but also very kind and generous. Look, his porridge stall is right there. If you are homeless and jobless, he will not only give you porridge, but also find you a job! In our Tiejian Town, no one disobeys him!"
"Chen Ran, eh, my cousin. His family was so poor they were practically bleeding from the toilet, but he's a smart guy. See? He's experienced ups and downs, and now he's the richest man in Tiejian Town. He's also close friends with the Immortal Alliance, and he's always busy with weird stuff. For a guy like him, everything he does is going to be a success. Let me tell you, my cousin's fortune is yet to come..."
…
Ji Lingche stood outside the Chen Mansion, looking up at the tall red wall. He reached out and patted the stone lion's head, saying with a smile, "All show is gold and jade, but the inside is rotten."
Shu Shangjin was standing outside the door when he sensed a faint trace of Yin energy. If he had walked here alone, he would not have noticed it at all. He looked at Ji Lingche and felt even more puzzled. This man clearly had not yet established his foundation. He had just barely drawn the Qi into his body, which meant he had only one foot in the immortal world. How could his sense be so sharp?
She smiled slyly, "Brother, you've reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core. You're truly gifted and promising at a young age. No one of your peers in Taihua Yuxu can compare to you, right? Let alone dealing with evil spirits, even killing a few demons is no problem. Let's charge in right now and see what this guy is up to at home!"
Hua Wanwan's body hadn't yet established its foundation, and its spiritual power was weak. She needed Shu Shangjin to clear the way for her, so she continued to urge him, "How about we go in and take a look, Senior Brother?"
Shu Shangjin looked at the high wall, clenched his fists, and said in a moment: "If anyone wants to go in, it's me. You can't take the risk."
Ji Lingche said: "How can that be possible? We fellow disciples must share hardships together——"
Shu Shangjin was hesitating when he heard a loud commotion not far away, as if someone was fighting.
At the gate of the Chen Mansion, a young monk in a red robe with golden patterns was standing there, looking very arrogant. He was grabbing the collar of a man dressed as a servant and slapping him hard on the face. He was cursing as he beat him, "Where did you come from, you idiot? You even dare to steal my things!"
The boy was just an ordinary person. He was severely beaten several times by the monk who infused him with spiritual power. He almost fainted and blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth. If he was beaten a few more times, he would probably die immediately.
Shu Shangjin quickly stepped forward, grabbed the cultivator's hand, and sternly said, "According to the laws of our Immortal Alliance, cultivators who bully mortals will be flogged fifty times. Young Master Yin, please don't break the law knowingly."
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
