The two-headed shopkeeper's intelligence gave Chen Yi a rough understanding of this ghost town. Everywhere was undoubtedly eerie, but no matter how formidable the strangeness was, it had its limits. As long as they didn't provoke anyone, no one would dare covet them with their abilities.

Still, Chen Yi considered that investigating the seal might be fraught with danger. To play it safe, he turned around and asked the Mad Scripture Master:

"Do you want to come along?"

The Mad Scripture Master, having seen Chen Yi's swift and brutal killings in the Joyful Sect, held a favorable impression of him. He nodded his head erratically for a moment before saying:

"Sure, but I have a condition."

"What condition?" Chen Yi asked, puzzled.

"I want to sing." No sooner had he spoken than he began:

"Talking of Lu Zhishen drunkenly causing havoc at Wutai Mountain, beating the temple gate, the trees wild, the peaks picturesque, delightful as they are—hmph! But there's no wine to drink. It's killing me! Such annoyance overwhelms me, won't the skies bring…"

His demeanor was utterly madcap.

Chen Yi pressed his forehead but said nothing more, stepping over the threshold with Yin Weiyin.

The Mad Scripture Master followed behind, singing his tune to himself, and trailing after him were the two four-legged Daoists.

.........

Massive mountain ranges towered imposingly, yet their central section was an unbroken expanse of desolate openness. Only a slightly elevated mound stood there, as if it had been cleaved apart by a sword.

A dense cluster of stone forests loomed ominously. Along the path lay white bones, accompanied by the ethereal red flowers of the other shore, their slender petals cascading down—these Manjusaka blooms, one of the Four Holy Flowers of Buddhism.

Director Du Wei of the Division of Rewarding Virtue descended from the overcast sky. As King Chujiang's right-hand man, he had attained the fifth realm—Refining Spirit—and traveled through mist and clouds with ease. However, being a yin creature, the clouds beneath his feet were condensed from baleful energy.

A monumental stone gate stood before him, like the severed corpse of a great dragon. Du Wei reached out to touch the stone gate, his eyes lifting to scrutinize the intricate, profound patterns carved upon it.

"Horse-face, you've followed me this far,"

Du Wei spoke in an even voice.

General Horse-face wore a grave expression, hesitating before saying:

"Director Du, are you truly going to unseal this alone?"

"Six to operate the Array and gather souls, one to defend the ghost town, two to guard against attacks from the direction of the ghost city, three fled the battlefield… That leaves only me to activate the Array."

Du Wei stated flatly, as though he had long resigned himself to the plight of the Division of Rewarding Virtue.

Before the Yama King went mad, the Underworld had always been dominated by the Division of Punishing Evil, overshadowing the Division of Rewarding Virtue. The reason was simple: punishing evil is easy, rewarding virtue is hard.

You punish evil by punishing wicked souls in the underworld. But to reward virtue, we must account for so much more.

"Now, with the Division of Punishing Evil rising in power, it won't take long for their plan to overturn the balance of Yin and Yang to succeed. They're searching everywhere for the Array's key point, allegedly someone called Yin Weiyin. When I learned this, I tried to check her origins in the Records of Life and Death, only to find them deliberately obscured.

After that, came the battle when we fled the ghost city Yin Capitol. My Records of Life and Death were split in two—half of the book was stolen by the Division of Punishing Evil. Otherwise, given my methods, finding that woman would be no challenge."

General Horse-face listened attentively, nodding as he recalled the cataclysmic battle during the Division of Rewarding Virtue's escape from the ghost city, the memories still vivid.

Seeing General Horse-face's solemn expression, Du Wei sighed deeply and said:

"I must ask you to head toward the ghost city. As for the ghost town, with Attorney Jueyin there, everything should be fine."

General Horse-face responded earnestly:

"I will not fail my mission!"

"Good."

Du Wei felt a surge of heroic determination at the officer's words. Pressing both hands against the stone gate, the baleful energy on his body surged violently.

"Activate the Array!"

.........

One incense stick later.

Traveling through the ghost town, the surroundings remained dim and melancholic. Only a scant few buildings had lit lamps, an implicit invitation to enter.

Yet an invitation didn't mean anyone would dare step out and beckon them inside.

"Searching for tears of heroes, departing the recluse's home."

No matter how the Mad Scripture Master belted out his song, his voice seemed imbued with some exorcising power, warding off any grotesque spirits from manifesting in their path.

Occasionally, something shadowy flitted in the darkness, but just one glance from their group—whether from the prominent members or even the two scratch Daoists—was enough to silence it completely.

However, in the distant valleys, one could see more and more mist coiling upward. The winds picked up fiercely, and the vividly red other shore flowers seemed to sway and flutter amidst the tempest.

Meanwhile, the ghost town itself resembled a tranquil eye in the storm.

"Thank you for your mercy, tonsured beneath the lotus dais.

No destiny, a fleeting parting comes."

Of course, the Mad Scripture Master's singing was the only exception to the quiet.

Though the old madman's antics were unhinged, his melodies were surprisingly good. Chen Yi still remembered his past life, when he had traveled with the Mad Scripture Master and Di Guan. The two monks had sung back and forth nearly the entirety of "Water Margin" on their journey.

This experience made Chen Yi realize that monks seemed to favor "Water Margin" over the Buddha-glorifying "Journey to the West," claiming it contained the truest enlightenment of Buddhist Law.

Deep in the street, everything remained cold and deserted, not a soul to be seen.

Suddenly, a faint and chilly breeze swept by.

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow and looked over,

only to see a figure emerge from the shadows, clad in a teal bejeweled skirt, styled in the Goryeo fashion with a square neckline and cropped upper sleeves that reached down to the waist. Her lengthy hair was tied with a red ribbon from a page of the "Guanyin Scripture," though the almost-floor-length locks still couldn't conceal her curvaceous hips. The faint glimmer of the light highlighted her graceful curves, giving a hint of her fair and supple skin beneath her clothes.

Goryeo women were famed for their exquisite hair.

But aside from her appearance, Chen Yi noticed the intricately patterned and elegantly curved saber at her waist—a weapon used by women who practiced asceticism while keeping their hair unshorn.

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