“Hey, is there something by the window?”
The incessantly chatty young man inclined his head, following Wu Rong’s gaze, then suddenly moved and strode to the window, yanking the curtains open abruptly. “Ah-ha, clearly there’s nothing.” His exaggerated movement drew strange looks from the others. But the young man remained indifferent, returning to Wu Rong’s side as if he hadn’t just drawn attention to himself, smiling brightly and teasing, “Or is it that only you can see such things?”
Wu Rong glanced at him, noticing that the bandage that made a heart gesture outside the window had disappeared at some point. Observing Wu Rong’s gaze, the smile on the young man’s face widened. His smile was charming, very capable of winning the favor of others, and seemingly harmless. But when he smiled like this, it scared those who passed by Wu Rong, causing them to shiver and hasten their steps while moving away.
“I haven’t introduced myself yet, I’m Qin Qing. Qin from Qin Shi Huang, and Qing from the great hero Di Qing.”
Out of the corner of his eye, seeing the government officials approaching, Qin Qing picked up the black backpack he had set aside during the inspection and casually waved to Wu Rong, “You’re really interesting, buddy.”
“See you later.”
In his black backpack was a long knife, with half of its blade and handle visible. Qin Qing turned away and waved casually, and then disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“Qin Qing is still as eccentric as ever.” A gloomy voice sounded beside Wu Rong, it was from a melancholic man wearing a black windbreaker, with bandages wrapped around his hands, and a tumor the size of a rubber ball on his neck. He glanced bleakly in the direction Qin Qing had left, then scrutinized Wu Rong and chuckled:
“If I were you, I’d stay far away from him.”
“Don’t end up being played to death without even realizing it.”
As he spoke, he stared closely at Wu Rong, observing his reaction. …. But Wu Rong remained expressionless.
Seeing his indifference, the tumor on the man’s neck let out a cold snort, changing from a deep red to a purplish hue: “You—”
Suddenly, both the tumor and the man fell silent at the same time. The tumor, originally on the side of the man’s neck, twisted around and hid behind his neck. At the same time, the slightly noisy hall fell silent.
“Is the test over?”
Master Ling Yun, who had caused all of these changes, walked over slowly, his white hair neatly tied up. He wore a crane white overcoat and a kind smile. He casually took Wu Rong’s backpack, his movements natural as if he were a parent waiting to pick up their child from school. Although the two weren’t particularly close, the subtle familiarity between them was evident in this casual gesture.
The people in the room seemed petrified, only coming back to themselves after Ling Yun and Wu Rong’s figures disappeared from the corridor for a while.
“The final assessment will be in the miniature Tiankeng later.”
After leaving the hall, Master Ling Yun immediately began to chatter, “Inside, there will be some ghosts, and finally, a candle from the Lantern Ghost King. As long as you can withstand the pressure, you can come out when you touch the candle. Oh, by the way.”
“I’ve contacted Longhu Mountain, Fu Qing had a bit of an accident during the summoning, so his departure has been delayed by three days, which is why he missed the assessment.”
Master Ling Yun reassured, “It’s nothing major, he should be able to arrive by tonight.”
Something went wrong with the soul summoning?
Wu Rong had previously wondered whether the Big Ghost would react when Fu Qing summoned his soul at Longhu Mountain. They had a contract between them, so if there was any reaction, he should have felt it too. But over the past few days, everything with the Big Ghost had been normal, leading Wu Rong to deduce that Fu Qing’s summoning had failed.
Was it because of the contract between him and the Big Ghost? Or was it because the golden needles and thread seals hadn’t completely unraveled? Or was it related to the fact that the Big Ghost was Fu Qingnan’s residual soul, and not fully compatible with the reincarnated Fu Qing?
While Wu Rong was contemplating, Master Ling Yun was yapping nearby. Who would have thought that the once silent and ruthless military strategist would now talk incessantly over trivial matters?
For Wu Rong, participating in the trial in the miniature Tiankeng was a minor matter. Master Ling Yun simply reminded Wu Rong not to eat all the ghosts inside, suggesting that he leave at least half. After all, the ghosts in the miniature Tiankeng had been accumulated over the years by the Ministry of Public Security, and with their large numbers, if Wu Rong, still in his human form, ate all of them, it could lead to indigestion.
There was also another matter.
“The officials think you could do a live broadcast.”
Master Ling Yun said, “Broadcasting the assessment process.”
The imminent danger of the Lantern Ghost King crossing over had spread throughout almost all the major Safe Zones. Yangjiaping was completely sealed off, with no news flowing through except for official announcements. Plus, with the recent anomalies in various Tiankengs, the increase in the number of ghosts in the Ghost Territory, coupled with the upcoming Hero Memorial Day, there was a need to appease the public and other such reasons.
Rather than keeping everything tightly sealed, the higher-ups decided to moderately disclose some information about the preparations in the Safe Zones, promoting the strength of the Federal Special Police. This trial in the miniature Tiankeng was a great opportunity.
Among the fifteen Federal Special Police officers participating in defending Yangjiaping, eight of them had their own live streaming channels. Among them, Wu Rong had the most fans and the highest popularity. If he agreed to do the live broadcast, the official central channel would directly feature it at the top.
This was almost like gaining fame and earning money for free. Hardly anyone would disagree. It was only because some people, like Major General Lu, knew about Wu Rong’s special identity that they were extra cautious and sought his opinion first.
“Sure, why not.”
Wu Rong didn’t care.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Ktf olcji jrrfrrwfca klii ajxf qijmf lc atf wlcljaegf Kljcxfcu.”
Ca fzjmais rfnfc b’mibmx lc atf fnfclcu, bc atf atlgaffcat ecvfgugbecv oibbg bo atf Zlclrags bo Ueyilm Vfmeglas, Zjpbg Xfcfgji Oe ibbxfv rafgc jr tf beailcfv atf geifr bo atf aglji, rlwlijg ab ktja Zjrafg Olcu Tec tjv abiv Qe Ebcu yfobgftjcv: “Qlatlc olnf tbegr, ub atgbeut atf utbra alvf, jcv olcv atf tlvvfc Ojcafgc Xtbra Blcu’r mjcvif. Qtbfnfg fcmbecafgr la jeabwjalmjiis qjrrfr.”
“Be careful, many ghosts will gather near the Lantern Ghost King to form a ghost tide. Working together is more effective than fighting alone…”
Wu Rong looked at his surroundings while listening to him. Many others were doing the same. The thirteenth underground floor of the Ministry of Public Security had always been a mysterious and eerie place in the eyes of the public. Under the special purple lighting, visibility was very low, and it was incredibly dim. The fleshy, soft walls and floor resembled human skin.
Perhaps they really were made of human skin, Wu Rong remembered the human skin responsible for identity authentication that was draped on the shelf when he first left the elevator
It smells so good.
Wu Rong wouldn’t remember meaningless things, but he couldn’t forget ghosts that, for him, have a special fragrance. He still remembered what happened a long time ago, when he was called to the Ministry of Public Security for questioning about the Liu Hu Factory incident and stayed for one night. At that time, he felt waves of the aroma of rice wafting up from underground, but it seemed like something was blocking it, making it difficult to perceive clearly.
Now he could smell it clearly. This rich and fragrant aroma wasn’t singular, nor was it emanating from a specific ghost. It permeated from the entirety of his surroundings. It was like stepping into a bakery, where the air was filled with the fragrance of baked bread and butter, enveloping everything.
This meant that they were likely almost inside the ‘body’ of a ghost. These humanoid materials made of human skin were all part of the ghost. While Director Zhou and Major General Lu remained unchanged in their expressions, the Federal Special Police officers who were here for the first time were all tense. Some of their faces had become even paler, and a few faint ghostly shadows appeared on their skins.
Being surrounded by ghosts was not a pleasant experience. They were like a group of startled cats, spreading out and being on guard, wary, and hostile. Except for two oddballs.
Qin Qing stood at the back, secretly touching the human skin walls while Major General Lu was speaking, almost rubbing against them, his face full of excitement, as if he were extremely thrilled. And Wu Rong…
Wu Rong took a deep breath, and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Seeing his appearance, Major General Lu paused and Master Ling Yun hissed subconsciously.
Then he saw Wu Rong take out a bottle of chewing gum from his pocket.
‘Be patient!’
Wu Rong had no expression as he chewed the special chewing gum that Master Ling Yun had given him in advance. The cool lemon taste overpowered the ghost’s aroma while he remembered Master Ling Yun’s sincere words when he handed him the chewing gum just now.
‘Please bear with me, you can’t just eat whatever you want now——’
Master Ling Yun acted as if Wu Rong didn’t even have this little patience. However, Wu Rong did not refute it. He found his reaction interesting, and from all his reactions so far, he could indirectly see what kind of personality “Ghost King Wu Rong” had.
Seeing Wu Rong quietly chewing gum, as if a fierce beast had been pacified, Major General Lu breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to continue speaking, a scream interrupted him.
“Ah!”
“He-he’s being sucked into the wall!”
A slender, bony youth, hurried away from the wall in panic, and at a loss as to what to do, he rushed into the crowd. Trembling, he pointed shakily towards the wall behind him, his eyes reddened, resembling a startled little rabbit. “Qin-Qin Qing, he’s been eaten by the wall!”
The crowd burst into an uproar, and those closest to the wall reflexively moved away. But then, in full view of everyone, the ground suddenly softened like marshland and engulfed the young man who had just screamed. Caught off guard, several Federal Special Police officers who had made a commotion also found themselves sinking as they tried to summon their ghosts, but the human skin seemed to have a special inhibitory effect.
Almost half of the people on the scene disappeared in an instant, and those remaining all looked at Major General Lu and the others. As expected, there was no hint of surprise on their faces, as if they had anticipated everything.
“The assessment has begun.”
Major General Lu solemnly took out a gold alarm clock, tossed it casually, and let it be swallowed up by the rolled up human skin: “The five-hour timer’s starting.”
Before he even finished speaking, the situation in front of him had completely changed. The originally flat surface of human skin seemed like turbulent waves, its rising and falling comparable to a stormy sea, drawing people into it. At the same time, a pair of bone claws protruded from the walls on both sides, snatching up every opportunity to grab the Federal Special Police officers and pull them into the wall. After knowing that this was the signal for the assessment to begin, none of the Federal Special Police officers wanted to waste time. They did not resist anymore and were swallowed up by the human skin one after another.
Amidst all this, Wu Rong, who was still standing firmly in place, appeared particularly out of place. While the human skin surged and roiled around him, his perimeter remained calm and undisturbed. Even when the bone claws grabbed the others, they preferred to avoid him, even if it meant breaking their bones. After “the storm calmed down”, Wu Rong remained in place, calmly chewing gum.
This…
Major General Lu glanced at Master Ling Yun, and the smile faded from Master Ling Yun’s face as he sighed and walked over to Wu Rong.
“My apologies.”
Master Ling Yun whispered softly, grabbing the hem of Wu Rong’s clothes and murmuring. Suddenly, he pointed his fingers in a sword-like motion towards the ground and shouted, “Open!”
The human skin on the ground churned reluctantly, opening a gap and swallowing Wu Rong and Master Ling Yun. Soon after, Master Ling Yun returned alone.
“Did he go in?”
“He did.”
Master Ling Yun nodded, his expression calm. But his inner turmoil was not as relaxed as his outward expression.
Subtle changes were occurring in Wu Rong’s body. Master Ling Yun had faintly noticed these changes since Wu Rong woke up from unconsciousness, but they had never been as prominent as they were now. Wu Rong’s body, which miraculously maintained a balance between Yin and Yang, seemed to gradually no longer be able to function.
Master Ling Yun knew that Wu Rong’s soul body was special. His pure black soul body was highly tempting for all ghosts and would spontaneously attract lower-level ghosts. It was a natural body for a Ghost King, capable of even suppressing and intimidating other Ghost Kings, but it also had flaws. Ghosts below the level of a Ghost General had no rationality and would only be strongly tempted. When Wu Rong was powerful, it was fine, but if he were still weak, he would be like ” Tang Sanzang’s meat” in the eyes of ghosts.
But as he was still human, the temptation of his pure black soul would not manifest whatsoever, thanks to his body acting as a barrier.
However, now, this “barrier” was gradually losing its effectiveness. Yet Master Ling Yun’s concern wasn’t about this point; with Wu Rong’s current strength, he was more than capable of dealing with the ghosts in the assessment. What he cared about was what this situation itself implied. Originally, Master Ling Yun believed that so long as Wu Rong didn’t die in this lifetime, he wouldn’t follow the path of his previous Ghost King self. After all, Wu Rong was currently a successful Gu Master and Ghost Keeper, and was considered one of the most outstanding young talents.
However, if things continued to develop as they were now, his soul’s traits would manifest, attracting an endless stream of ghosts. The ultimate result would be that he wouldn’t be able to stay in the Safe Zone and would have to go to the Ghost Territory. Even if he still had a human body, what meaning would that have? Achieving the status of a Ghost King with a human body, although he would not truly die, wouldn’t that still be following the path of his previous life?
Was it a problem with Wu Rong’s body, or is it that the abilities originating from the Ghost King deep within his soul are gradually awakening?
As Master Ling Yun pondered, the elevator had reached the third-floor control room above ground. He and Major General Lu led the Federal Special Police officers to the assessment, while Grandmaster Kuchan, Director Zhou, and others stayed in the control room. The large screen was divided into more than a dozen sections, clearly displaying various areas of the miniature Tiankeng.
When Master Ling Yun and the others arrived, they saw Director Zhou and the others gathered in front of the screen, discussing something intently, unaffected by Major General Lu and Master Ling Yun’s arrival.
“Ling Yun, come take a look.”
Grandmaster Kuchan beckoned, and Master Ling Yun went over, wondering what they were discussing.
Could it be that the incident where Wu Rong wasn’t swallowed by the human skin just now attracted attention? It shouldn’t have, although few here knew about Wu Rong’s future identity, they all knew he was very special—this was also a public statement. Those who can be specially protected by him, Master Ling Yun, are undoubtedly special.
Vagueness breeds speculation, and merely stating the word “special” allows smart people to infer what they believe to be the correct answer.
“Take a look here.”
One area of the large screen was magnified, but it wasn’t a scene from the miniature Tiankeng; instead, it was a section of glass in the outer hall. It had been sprayed with a special reagent, revealing a twisted and distorted trail, like that of a crawling worm. This sight was terrifying upon close examination, sending shivers down one’s spine. During the Federal Special Police officers’ test, something had quietly crawled past the window, evading the detection of all the capable individuals in the Public Security Bureau.
“It pauses here.”
Director Zhou’s expression was solemn, and the red dot from the laser pointer lingered in the chaotic center of the window. “And then it disappeared.”
There were no traces of it continuing to climb upward, nor any signs of it retreating along the path of overlapping Yin Qi. The most skilled veteran in ghost tracking, a Special Police officer in the Public Security Bureau, had confirmed that the unidentified object that had once crawled outside the window had indeed disappeared into thin air.
“Just this morning, the manager of the Red Star Training Hall, Xue Pengfei, reported that fragments of the shroud of the Five-Star Ghost King Mummy mysteriously disappeared from the safe, while the seal inside the safe remained intact.”
“You can lose anything, it’s a wonder you haven’t lost your head.”
A thin old man grumbled discontentedly, his face grim. Director Zhou shook his head and said solemnly, “The mummy was sealed by the Pope of the Vatican decades ago, and its power was greatly diminished. Most of the remaining shrouds left outside have lost their efficacy and are only carrying a bit of the Ghost King’s aura. That’s why they were purchased by the Red Star Training Hall.”
“But it seems like the situation has changed now.”
Grandmaster Kuchan’s gentle tone eased the tense atmosphere. “May the Buddha bless us, the missing fragment of the shroud has been found.”
Another area on the large screen was magnified, revealing an abyss-like darkness with a flickering, dim yellow candlelight. It was a white candle, as thick as a finger, placed on a dark silver candlestick. Under the illumination of the candlelight, delicate golden threads shone brightly like a bird’s nest, wrapped around the white candle, resembling a luxurious decoration. But in actuality, they were a seal.
The white candle was very short and was about to burn down, with only a finger joint’s length remaining—it was the white wax derived from the Lantern Ghost King. When the candle burned to its end, the Lantern Ghost King would come to the Safe Zone.
The assessment had just begun, and no Federal Special Police officer had arrived there yet. In the monitor’s footage, the white candle should have been burning quietly, but in reality, its flame flickered, and the entire candle desperately leaned to the right, almost at a forty-five-degree angle with the candlestick. A droplet of wax hung in mid-air, vaguely revealing a distressed ghost’s face within the translucent wax.
Apparently, feeling like the white candle had leaned too extremely and very likely to attract attention, something suddenly extended from the darkness from the left side where the candlelight didn’t reach. It ruthlessly slapped the white candle with lightning speed, arrogantly and violently. The slap caused the white candle to instantly straighten up again, its flame trembling as if it had been ravaged and left shaking in fear, and a few more droplets of wax formed, dripping with sorrow and helplessness.
“This was discovered after the surveillance was activated,” Director Zhou said with a grave expression. “To avoid attracting the attention of the Lantern Ghost King prematurely, monitoring of the white candle was originally in a dormant state.”
Humans could predict the arrival time of the Lantern Ghost King based on the degree the white candle had burnt, and of course, the Lantern Ghost King could sense what was happening to the white candle. Although there was a seal, the authorities still treated it with caution. The white candle in the miniature Tiankeng was its incarnation, possessing only a basic deterrent power equivalent to the Lantern Ghost King’s, but no combat capability.
Of course, the real white candle was also in the miniature Tiankeng. Only when the seal was combined with the miniature Tiankeng could the Ghost King’s perception be fully blocked. If it weren’t for the sudden discovery of something suspected to be a Ghost King’s item that may have attached itself to the window, the police wouldn’t have activated monitoring of the real white candle.
“Master-shishu, I speculate that the anomaly in the appearance of the Ghost King’s item is very likely due to being attracted by an item of a Ghost King of the same level,” a venerable old celestial master respectfully said to Master Ling Yun. Although in terms of age, celestial masters could be Master Ling Yun’s grandfathers, they didn’t go by age but by seniority.
“However… the behavior of this item is quite peculiar,” the old celestial master guessed correctly. Under normal circumstances, when items of a Ghost King’s level showed anomalies, it was because they sensed a ghostly creature of the same level or even a higher-level. So when the incident of a suspected Ghost King-level item probing around occurred, their first reaction was to go to nearby places where there were Ghost King-level items. Although they found what they expected, the item’s actions surprised everyone. It neither devoured the ghost wax nor showed any other normal behavior. It just lazily stayed by the ghost wax, and when the ghost wax leaned, it would even correct it.
What’s its purpose?
It was precisely because of its incomprehensible behavior that these powerful figures were cautious and didn’t act rashly, fearing to provoke this item. After all, the ghost wax was right next to it, and there were still Federal Special Police officers in the miniature Tiankeng.
But this stalemate couldn’t continue.
After a moment of contemplation, Major General Lu finally decided to take the lead: “I—”
“I’ll go.”
A cold male voice sounded, and Major General Lu subconsciously turned his head to look. His sharp intuition as a soldier was faster than his brain’s reaction, making his hair stand on end and his whole body tense. Everyone who looked towards this person instinctively kept silent. They saw that Master Ling Yun’s always gentle smile had faded away, and had become as cold as ice. He only said this brief phrase before turning around and walking away, leaving behind only a sinister figure filled with murderous intent.
……..
“Master-shishu, he rarely gets angry.”
After a while, the old celestial master couldn’t help but sigh, “But when he does get angry occasionally, it’s… quite imposing.”
Indeed.
Most of the people present nodded in agreement.
Once someone who always smiles gets angry, it’s indeed terrifying.
“So terrifying, truly terrifying.”
From the depths of the staircase, where the darkness was murky and the walls were covered with mildew stains, there came faint, intermittent sobs, like those from classic scenes in various horror games. A faint glow, not much brighter than ghost fire, lit up, getting closer and closer to the staircase’s exit, and finally, the dim light revealed the silhouettes of two people, one in front and one behind.
“I was the only one in the elevator, but it indicated that I was overweight. Waaah, it’s so terrifying.”
The youth who lagged behind was as thin as a quail, with prominently anxious eyes scanning the surroundings, as if a ghost might suddenly appear from the darkness and kill him at any moment. What he had seen wasn’t apparent, but the youth suddenly shrank back, his tears flowing even more violently, and hastily caught up to the person in front of them. Displaying fear and helplessness to the extreme, he was like a withered white flower in a storm.
“The elevator is full of ghosts, ghosts everywhere. I escaped from the elevator to take the stairs, but the stairs never seemed to end… It scared me to death, luckily I ran into you.”
[With such a timid personality, how did he become a Federal Special Police officer?]
The scene of the youth tearfully expressing gratitude to Wu Rong, captured diligently by the live paper man, was broadcasted live in its entirety, with the barrage flooding the screen.
[So terrifying 37x, scared me to death 41x]
[Counting staff, you’re working hard!]
[My goodness, he’s been crying for over ten minutes. To be able to cry so much, is he made of water?]
[Tsk, don’t underestimate him. He ranks in the top 100 elite members of the World Federation of Special Police. He was recently hired by the European Union and completed an S-class mission!]
[Oh, he’s a big shot, but this performance… emmmm]
[No way, is there still someone who looks down on scaredy-cat ghosts?!]
[?? What, am I ignorant? Scaredy-cats are ghosts too??]
[Of course! You don’t know? When he cries, even the ghosts below a Ghost General’s level start crying. With this type of battlefield-sweeping ghost, ask yourself if you’re scared!]
[…Being able to raise a scaredy-cat ghost to the level of Ghost General, and that the Ghost Keeper hasn’t been scared to death, he’s indeed strong to some extent…]
[What’s the use of being strong? We’ve been walking up these stairs for over ten minutes, why haven’t we reached the top? They can’t even break through a ghost wall?]
[They’re almost there, look, the host has stopped, he’s probably about to take action!]
Author’s note:
Yun Zhongke: Ghost King, endure!
Shan Rong: I can’t bear it anymore. From now on, I will die as the Ghost King.
Yun Zhongke/the Coffin Old Man/Hongxiu, etc.: Ghost King—!!
Shan Rong: No need to see me off. I’ll go to Longhu Mountain to become a good son-in-law. Remember, unless absolutely necessary, do not expose my identity.
The Citizens of the Ghost Country: Yes!
—From the preview of “Shan Rong: The Strongest Son-in-Law.”
Part 2
While typing, there were some typos—
The Coffin Old Man: Preserved meat, coffin preserved meat.
Cloud Chip Cake
Thank you for the chapter ❤❤❤
our dear Coffin Old Man is going to get a beeeaaaaatiiiiinggg….
Thanks for the chapter!!! ❤️❤️❤️