Dingshan County, a mountain valley in Dingshan, an abandoned mountain god temple from the previous dynasty.
Six unconscious young boys were laid out in sequence on the altar table. Two minor ghosts guarded the temple entrance, chatting sporadically.
“This time the great king awakens, the spectacle is truly grand: a feast of a thousand children, a frenzy for ten thousand ghosts!”
“Heh heh heh! Who knows, we might get to enjoy some too.”
“No rush to drool. The proper thing is to safely bring these children back to the netherworld.”
“Rest assured. Lord Lian is ever so cautious. Others may meet misfortune, but Lord Lian will not.”
“Exactly! Exactly! Only one child per village or town, and we even left beast tracks. Surely it will not attract the Anomaly Suppression Department’s notice.”
“Lord Lian is truly talented!”
“You know, since we have been sent to the yang world on business… why not grab a few extra and suck some yang qi for a snack?”
“Tch! Raw sucking like that, how can it compare to the great king’s blood curse steam basket preparation?”
“Something is better than nothing!”
“Relax. When has Lord Lian ever shortchanged his subordinates? There will be benefits for you.”
“Heh heh heh…”
Lu Zheng and Shen Ying exchanged a glance.
“There really is a mastermind behind this?”
“A feast of a thousand children. The scale is considerable. The opponent is probably no pushover.”
“Wait for this Lord Lian.” Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes. “We should be able to get some information out of them.”
“Yes!” Shen Ying nodded.
So the two waited at the entrance. Before half a day passed, a gust of yin wind rolled in from outside the valley, soon arriving at the temple.
The yin wind dispersed, revealing a seductive woman in a black dress.
Her skin was pale as snow, lips red as blood, pupils black as ink. She carried an unconscious boy in each hand. She scanned the surroundings coldly, then nodded.
“Lord Lian!”
The two minor ghosts hurried to greet her, reaching to take the boys.
“No need! Take the other six. We leave here at once.” the woman said.
“Eh? What is wrong?” one minor ghost asked, puzzled. “We have only taken eight. That is not enough for the great king’s task!”
“Humph!” the woman snorted. “That old Wu ghost was used to rampaging in the netherworld. Coming to the yang world, he shows no restraint, grabbing over thirty children in Yuhe County in just two days. Does he think the Anomaly Suppression Department and the extraordinary people of the yang world are all dead?
“He was discovered and slain in these past couple of days. We are too close to him. It is not safe. I have no wish to die with him.
“We head south to Rong Prefecture, circle the counties near Ling Mountain Range. As soon as we have a hundred children, we return to the netherworld immediately!”
“Ah? No extra snacks?” one minor ghost blurted.
Under Lord Lian’s cold gaze, the ghost shivered involuntarily. “This little one was just speaking idly. I will never delay matters!”
“You had better…”
“Heh heh, want to go to Rong Prefecture? You have abducted so many children in Yi Prefecture. Do you think you can leave safely without asking us from the Yi Prefecture Anomaly Suppression Department?”
With a cold voice, two figures strolled into the valley.
“Anomaly Suppression Department?”
Lord Lian whipped around, not expecting to be found so quickly.
“That ghost-headed infant was slain back to the netherworld a hundred years ago, yet it was not eliminated by other ghost kings and has lived peacefully until now. Truly unexpected.”
“Since it is alive, it should stay quietly in the netherworld. Even if it wants to eat people, let it come to the yang world itself if it has the ability. Sending subordinates like you to die, what kind of ability is that?”
“A feast of a thousand children, a frenzy for ten thousand ghosts. What grand words. Once we eliminate the ten ghostly beings you have sent out, we will see how many more it can dispatch.”
“Come as many as it likes, we will slay them all. If it truly angers us, the department head probably would not mind going directly to the netherworld to exterminate that ghost-headed infant.”
The two spoke back and forth, walking as they talked, soon reaching the temple front.
These two were old acquaintances of Lu Zheng: one You Che, one Du Huanzhen, both experts at dealing with ghosts.
You Che wore a black robe and hood, shrouding his entire body. Previously Lu Zheng could not see inside, but now he could: he had practised ghost methods with a living body, turning himself neither human nor ghost, yet his strength was undiminished.
Du Huanzhen was as ever: starry eyes captivating the soul, vermilion lips seeming about to speak yet silent. Upon entering the valley, she had already cast mental secret arts on the female ghost and the two minor ghosts.
Lord Lian was fine, but the two minor ghosts were already entranced, dazed.
“This… Lord Lian?” Du Huanzhen said with a grin. “Will you come with us willingly, or shall we send you on your way?”
The female ghost narrowed her eyes, then flung the two children towards Du Huanzhen and You Che. She herself rolled into black smoke and shot into the temple.
“Humph!”
Du Huanzhen reached out, catching the two children while suppressing the hidden hands the female ghost had left on their bodies.
These hidden hands were meant to ambush them, but the experienced Du Huanzhen saw through it instantly.
You Che moved like lightning, closing on the black smoke in an instant. From under his black robe extended a pale, jade-like hand, thrusting straight into the smoke.
“Ding!”
A light ring. You Che’s probing hand withdrew like lightning, sprinkling blood.
“A flying sword?”
Then the female ghost reappeared from the smoke, a greenish curse seal flickering in her hand, aimed at the six children on the altar.
“Spirit Extinguishing Seal?”
You Che was startled and moved to snatch the children.
“Too late!”
The female ghost sneered coldly. “Taste the power of spirit-extinguished ghost children!”
Next moment, six greenish curse seals shot towards the brows of the six children.
“Bad!”
You Che reached out, but the female ghost countered with a bone sword, stabbing straight at his throat.
You Che dodged urgently, too late to save the children.
Du Huanzhen rushed in too, eyes focusing. A mental wave surged towards the six seals, but could only delay them momentarily.
“Hurry!” Du Huanzhen shouted.
“This female ghost is stronger than that old corpse. Hold on a bit longer.” You Che said helplessly, then drew an iron plaque from his sleeve, emitting hazy green light towards the bone sword.
The female ghost, seeing she could not hold both off, paled further. The Spirit Extinguishing Seals suddenly broke through Du Huanzhen’s block, shooting at the children.
“Bad!”
Du Huanzhen was shocked, but saw a thin layer of white cloud qi suddenly appear on the children’s bodies.
The cloud qi was light and thin, almost illusory, yet the seals met it like an iron wall, unable to advance.
The female ghost’s face changed dramatically. Then a clear, bright voice rang in the mountain god temple.
“Sister Du, Lord You, hello there!”
