Gu Qingqiu rushed back to the Chujiang King's Palace in a flurry of activity, shouting, "Daddy—"
"You silly girl, what's the matter that you're in such a hurry?" King Chujiang put down the brush he was using for writing and frowned. "You still remember I'm your father! You never even send me a message of concern. When I send you a message, you only reply with a few words. It's like a married daughter who's been poured out... No! You're not even married yet!"
Gu Qingqiu could only express her concern for her elderly father until a smile appeared on King Chujiang's face. Only then did she reveal the purpose of her visit, explaining the incident of Chujiang's misfortune and the issue of the secret gate.
King Chujiang's smile faded. He had already sent ghost messengers to investigate the situation, but they all mysteriously disappeared and never returned. As a result, ordinary ghost messengers no longer dared to go to this dangerous place.
Gu Qingqiu thought for a moment, "Daddy, since the people disappeared within our Chujiang territory, can we find their whereabouts in the Book of Life and Death?"
King Chujiang immediately summoned his advisor.
The clerk, sweating profusely, opened a thick book of life and death and presented it with both hands. "My lord, I was just about to report this matter to you!"
King Chujiang's expression also turned serious upon seeing this.
The four names in the Book of Life and Death turned blood red, clearly proof of great misfortune!
King Chujiang was furious. "Since they are dead, why didn't you report this? Where are they? Are they still in the mortal realm?"
"N-no, I don't know..." The clerk was sweating profusely. As one of the personnel officers in the underworld, he also bore a great responsibility for not discovering this abnormal situation in time. If Gu Qingqiu hadn't returned in time to mention this matter, he didn't know how much longer these vengeful ghosts would have been allowed to stay outside.
Gu Qingqiu quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Daddy, now is not the time to start a fight. Solving the problem is the most important thing!"
The clerk quickly bowed and said, "My lord, please give me a chance to redeem myself. I will definitely find out the cause of the incident as soon as possible."
King Chujiang snorted, "Hurry up and go!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" The advisor bowed and backed away, quickly disappearing from the Chujiang King's palace.
Gu Qingqiu slowly stood up, "Daddy, then I'll..."
"Sit down!" King Chujiang glared. "Where are you going in this dangerous situation?"
Gu Qingqiu chuckled awkwardly, "Go find your son-in-law."
King Chujiang sneered, "Son-in-law? Has he come to pay his respects to his father-in-law? I don't acknowledge him!"
Gu Qingqiu thought to herself, "Qi Huaijin hasn't even responded to my declaration of love yet, so why is he coming to pay respects to his father-in-law?"
However, if Qi Huaijin knew about his relationship with King Chujiang, he might actually keep his distance from him even more.
Seeing Gu Qingqiu's sullen expression, King Chujiang became angry. What kind of male ghost couldn't his precious daughter have? Why did she have to fall for someone else?
With such an outstanding daughter, how could there be someone who doesn't like her?
King Chujiang was utterly exasperated. "Honestly! If you were a man, I might have even encouraged you to force yourself on her and make it happen! But you're a girl, and if you keep chasing after her like this, won't she look down on you?"
"That's right!" Gu Qingqiu clapped her hands, suddenly realizing, "Forced sex is great!"
King Chujiang's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He'd only said it casually, how could this brat take it so seriously? "Don't be ridiculous! Do you not care about your reputation? Do you not care about your innocence? Are you not going to get married if he doesn't take responsibility?"
“Daddy—the Qing Dynasty has been gone for many years!” Gu Qingqiu said helplessly, “And why is it always me who’s at a disadvantage! What’s wrong with wanting to sleep with someone I like? Besides, my reputation in the underworld is already bad.”
"Are you in such a hurry?" King Chujiang said helplessly, "Can't you wait for decades? Once he reaches the underworld, your father will arrange your wedding. At that time, he will be completely under my control, and I will be able to control him. He is a person now, and I can't interfere with anything."
Even if it can't be decades, Gu Qingqiu sighed inwardly, but said aloud, "Daddy, I still hope he wants to be with me willingly. That's called free love."
Speaking of this, King Chujiang became even angrier. "Look at you, your sister-in-law was a marriage I arranged for your eldest brother. She's from a prestigious family, a perfect match, and they've gotten along harmoniously for so many years without ever having a fight. Your second sister, on the other hand, initially claimed it was a free choice of marriage. Your brother-in-law, besides being somewhat handsome, has absolutely no career, and he even wants a divorce from her. If it weren't for..."
"Alright, alright, alright." Gu Qingqiu was about to go crazy if she was nagged a few more times. "Second sister is quite happy now! I'm leaving, Daddy!"
King Chujiang's thousand words could only be summed up in one sentence—"Get out!"
So Gu Qingqiu obediently rolled away.
Upon returning to the mortal realm, Gu Qingqiu's first action was to contact her advisor using the Tomb Mountain Bell: "Where are you? Did you go to Chu Jiang's secret gate?"
The advisor replied quickly, "Young Miss, the yin energy here is gathering and ghostly energy is surging. It's really eerie. Young Miss, please don't go near! I will take care of everything!"
Even the advisor said the problem is serious, so it must be very serious!
Therefore, Gu Qingqiu could no longer ignore it. It was dark, and the patrolling guards could not see her. She drifted straight towards the depths of the Chu River.
After drifting for several nautical miles, they felt the river surface surging with dark currents, the water an unnatural dark black, and a black whirlpool at the bottom. The clerk was guarding the edge of the whirlpool with several ghost messengers.
"Master!" Gu Qingqiu called out.
The advisor was shocked. "Miss, didn't I warn you not to come?"
Gu Qingqiu put her hands on her hips with a straight face and said, "I'm already here, you can't possibly kick me out."
The advisor shook his head helplessly. "Miss, once the ghost array is set up, the spell cannot be interrupted. I don't have time to worry about your safety. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to explain to the King."
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of myself." Gu Qingqiu repeatedly assured him that she wouldn't act on her own, and only then did the clerk relent and not send Gu Qingqiu away.
However, during this time, Gu Qingqiu also took a look at the whirlpool in the deep sea. The black mist inside was too thick to see clearly, but there were hundreds of white and swollen limbs that looked like they were tied together by something, swaying in the black mist with the movement of the water.
Gu Qingqiu was horrified by what she saw and felt like vomiting. She wondered where all these dead people had come from, their limbs severed and bound here. No wonder they were filled with resentment. If this wasn't dealt with soon, something terrible would definitely happen.
The advisor took out a brush and fiddled with it near the vortex, muttering incantations. A seal faintly appeared above the vortex.
The swaying limbs seemed to sense that they were trapped, and the swinging became even more intense, accompanied by mournful howls, the source of which was unknown.
Suddenly, the sound of breaking chains rang out, and a severed limb clenched into a fist and smashed towards the clerk's seal.
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