The voice suddenly stopped, and when it rang out again a moment later, it was as cold as ice: "What do you mean?"
The Ghost King chuckled softly and said, "What I mean is, the Dragon King at that time was no longer human; at most, he was only half a ghost."
Xiao Zuo fell silent, silent for a very long time, before suddenly speaking.
This sentence, though only five words long, was enough to make me jump up in surprise.
"Do you know Li Qing?"
"Just a brief encounter." Surprisingly, the Ghost King answered immediately, his voice tinged with amusement. "She was quite a beautiful woman, wasn't she?"
Xiao Zuo nodded and said slowly, "Not bad."
After a long pause, he nodded again and said, "Not bad."
Then, I felt a white lightning bolt suddenly flash before my eyes, but it was from below... Yes, from below, striking the palanquin where the Ghost King was hiding at a speed that is absolutely indescribable in language.
A gasp rang out, followed by a muffled groan. I blinked, but when I looked again, Xiao Zuo was already standing there, dressed in snow-white robes, as if he had never left... I blinked again. He was still standing there, but a faint color appeared on his back. At first, it was just a very faint spot, but it quickly began to deepen and expand, soaking the white fabric. The color became more and more vivid—red! A glaring red!
In that instant, it seemed as if only my heartbeat remained in the world. Then, I heard my own voice, filled with fear and panic, cry out—"Xiao Zuo! What's wrong with you?"
Volume 1, Chapter 9: Returning Home (2)
Chapter Two: Your Heart Is Unfathomable
I slowly woke up and heard a panicked voice shout, "Xiao Zuo! What's wrong with you?"
"Grand Steward, you're finally awake!"
My vision was still blurry, and it took a while for the scene to emerge. Not far ahead, Yu Cui was looking at me with a face full of anxiety, but her body was not moving, and her face was flushed red, which showed that she had been acupunctured.
Looking around, I saw that all the ghosts were unsteady on their feet and staggering about, looking dejected. Only Xiao Zuo stood out like a crane among chickens in front of the Ghost King's sedan chair. My throat suddenly tasted sweet, and I spat out a mouthful of blood. My chest was churning with blood and qi, and I was in excruciating pain.
The sound of the flute just now has damaged my heart meridian. Even if I recover in the future, I'm afraid I'll suffer from a heart ailment. Xiao Zuo! How dare you hurt me like this!
With this thought in mind, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stand up. My body was still swaying, but my mind was finally clear. It was only then that I noticed the bloodstains spreading on Xiao Zuo's back—he was injured too?!
Seeing that the Ghost King was still hiding in the sedan chair, they quickly understood what was going on.
"A masterpiece of craftsmanship, truly deserving of its reputation." Xiao Zuo smiled leisurely.
A shrill voice chuckled, but the laughter was even more hearty than his: "It took me seventeen months to make this sedan chair. I was just looking for a top expert to test the mechanisms inside. The famous adopted son of Baili, oh no, the new city lord of Baili City, would be perfect for me to test it. Does the city lord still want to come in?"
Xiao Zuo narrowed his eyes slightly. A round-faced woman in white hurriedly approached him and asked, "Young Master, what's wrong with your injury?"
Xiao Zuo gestured to her, his gaze still fixed on the sedan curtain. A breeze blew, but the curtain remained still. "Neither human nor ghost, you didn't become famous early, but in these past few years you've risen to prominence, leading a band of ghosts to run rampant in southern Henan, with no one able to resist you. Whenever the words 'Ghost King' are mentioned, people in the martial arts world turn ashen-faced and fear you like a venomous snake."
A soft laugh came from inside the sedan chair, but no reply was given.
So Xiao Zuo continued, "The lustful ghost is stunningly beautiful, the female ghost is voluptuous, the water ghost is a master swimmer, and the little ghost is childlike. So what about you? You are neither human nor ghost. What abilities do you possess that allow you to surpass all other ghosts and earn the title of king?"
After a long silence, a person staggered to his feet, his lips blue and his face pale.
"You brat!" I saw the look in his eyes and knew something was wrong. Sure enough, a figure flashed, two white lights touched and separated instantly, and a woman's sharp cry rang out. When I looked again, he was already standing on the top of the sedan chair, while the round-faced girl in white flew to Xiao Zuo's side, clutching her arm, and said aggrievedly, "Young Master..."
The brat said coldly, "You dare to mock me? Who is it that's overestimating themselves?"
The round-faced girl raised her eyebrows, looking like she was about to get angry, but Xiao Zuo smiled at her and said softly, "Liu Yun, don't be angry, I have my own way..."
Before he could finish speaking, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he grabbed her injured arm, staring at the wound, his face suddenly turning very gloomy.
He slowly raised his head, stared intently at the little devil, and said softly, "The little devil under the Ghost King's command, wielding a flute and wielding a sword, is a peerless master in the martial world. I have finally witnessed it."
My heart sank. The scar on Baili Chenfeng's brow seemed to reappear before my eyes, bursting open in an incredibly terrifying manner!
Before the little devil could answer, the white robe suddenly billowed in the wind, and Xiao Zuo flew onto the top of the sedan chair. He quickly played his flute in response, but the figure moved and in an instant, Xiao Zuo returned to the original spot, holding his silver flute in his hand.
Among the hundred ghosts, the little ghost had the highest martial arts skills, but even he couldn't last ten moves against Xiao Zuo! A terrible feeling suddenly rose in my heart, and I felt my hands and feet turn cold, as if I had fallen into an ice cellar.
Xiao Zuo stared at the short flute for a long time, then slowly pulled a short sword from it with both hands. The flute was originally very bright and dazzling, but the moment the short sword appeared, it stole all the light. The blade was like a pool of clear water, or a ray of moonlight, so bright that it hurt my eyes and made me want to cry.
"Flute, sword!" Xiao Zuo said, enunciating each word clearly, looking at the pale-faced little ghost on the sedan roof. "It really is you!"
The little devil stomped his foot and leaped down, heading straight for Xiao Zuo. Everyone thought he was going to take back the silver flute, but instead he did a backflip in mid-air and flew into the sedan chair with a "bang" and hid inside.
The Ghost King's gentle, soothing voice rang out with unparalleled elegance: "Why are you so surprised? Since the Dragon King opened the mechanism in the bracelet for you, how could he not have told you the details of the hundred ghosts?"
Xiao Zuo's eyes blazed with fury, but the Ghost King remained unhurried and said, "As for your question about what abilities I possess that allow me to surpass all other ghosts... Yu the Great used his axe to cleave out the three gates of humans, ghosts, and gods when he controlled the floods. I am neither human nor ghost, so I can only be the remaining god. What's wrong with being king of gods?"
Xiao Zuo laughed angrily: "Gods? Fine, since you like to play the god, then today you will all leave your lives behind!"
I couldn't help but reach out and cover my chest, coughing up blood again. Just then, a gust of wind rose up, and the large sedan chair carried by twenty people suddenly took off into the air. The lights in the night made the sedan chair look even more eerie. I really didn't know whether the sedan chair was carrying the people carrying it, or whether the people below were using their lightness skills to carry the sedan chair.
Amidst the howling wind, the Ghost King laughed loudly: "If you want to learn from Zhong Kui how to catch ghosts, you must have real skills. If you are not afraid of the traps in the sedan chair, then follow me!"
Seeing all the ghosts fly away with the sedan chair, Xiao Zuo waved his hand and said, "Chase them!"
The disciples of Baili City immediately surged forward, streaking across the night sky like shooting stars. However, suddenly, a loud bang exploded in the air, and thick fog immediately rose up. The disciples of Baili City were hindered by the fog, and their movements slowed down. The fog not only did not dissipate, but grew thicker and thicker, until nothing in front of them could be seen.