Chapter 53: The Locksmith

"Are you telling me the City God's Temple has a back door?" I originally wanted to grab him by the collar to interrogate him, but Ling Tong was tall and wore a tattered hemp sack outfit, making me almost feel sorry for him.

"Master Xia, do you think the City God's Temple could possibly have a back door... If we want to take the path back to the living world, we still have to enter through the main gate." Ling Tong hunched over. For someone who used to be a proper and dignified official, striking such a posture was no easy feat.

"Who's we? Since when am I in the same boat as a dog like you!" Without a second thought, I kicked him right in the rear. Just a moment ago, he had been beating me until my soul was smoking; when on earth did I become partners with you?

I turned my head to ask Song Wanyi: "Does that mean we just have to fight our way through?"

Song Wanyi nodded calmly. Xijun hooked her arm around my neck and said yes. She had already locked her gaze on the blue-armored general guarding the gate, baring her little fangs.

"Xijun wants to eat that one!" Xijun dangled behind my back, pointing her finger at the shackle-wielding general and calling out to me cutely.

My ears went numb. It seemed Xijun was itching to try. I had already killed one ghost runner, making me utterly unforgivable; if I let her eat all dozens of ghost runners escorting me now, what would that make me? I had no idea anymore.

Ling Tong widened his bovine eyes, looking at Xijun apprehensively, as if hoping she was just joking: Who was this blue-armored general? That was the Great Shackle-Wielding General! Although the County City God was a sparrow of an institution, it was fully equipped with all five viscera and six bowels. Not a single one of the twenty-four bureaus was missing, and the City God's six great military officers were at full establishment capacity! To sneak in here, one had to have powerful connections!

Big ghosts and small ghosts, Lord Shackle and Lord Lock, the Golden Shackle and the Silver Lock—the one guarding the entrance was none other than General Silver Lock, Chen Dahang! A hero who stood upright between heaven and earth! You little pipsqueak of a girl, and you want to eat him? Delusional!

The more Ling Tong thought about it, the angrier he became, and his fierce tiger eyes glared even more sharply at Xijun. However, until Xijun slowly twisted her head from my shoulder with a creaking sound, revealing a split, blood-filled maw, it instantly shocked this extradition officer back to reality, forcing him to put on a flattering expression.

"You'd better not harbor any malicious thoughts, otherwise... hehe." Without turning my head, I knew what he was thinking, so I sneered, mimicking his earlier tone.

"Big brother, Xijun wants to eat him. He glared at Xijun just now!" Xijun said with displeasure, turning her head back and instantly transforming back into the image of an obedient little girl.

"This dog is still somewhat useful and needs to lead the way. If you're unhappy later, we can eat him first," I warned Ling Tong with a gloomy face.

"Master Xia, I will definitely lead... the right way! If I lead you wrong or intentionally take a detour, you can eat me immediately!" Ling Tong's face turned a mottled shade of blue and green with fright, almost choking on his breath.

"Would I eat you? I'm not..." I wanted to mention Xijun, but then I thought about it—this was also an innate supernatural ability, wasn't it? Eating ghosts so cleanly and growing in strength so fast, just how heaven-defying would she become in the future?

"Wanyi, what are your chances of breaking away once we enter the City God's Temple? We won't be able to get out once we go in, right?" I leaned in close and whispered to Song Wanyi.

Song Wanyi pressed right against me, her scarlet lips almost touching my old face, and said sweetly and intimately, "Master, if Madam were here, wiping out the entire City God's Temple would be as effortless as lifting a hand."

"Well, she's not here, is she!" Hearing this felt quite cloying. Did this little girl Song Wanyi want to steal her master while the madam was away? I needed to discipline her—discipline her hard. I put on a displeased expression: "Hurry up and answer, stop messing around with irrelevant things."

"Oh." Song Wanyi covered her mouth and snickered before saying, "I am, after all, a mountain deity, governing a territory tens of miles around. Although in terms of subordinates I certainly don't have as many as the County City God, in terms of pure strength, I certainly won't lose to any big or small ghosts."

"You're not a mountain deity, you're just a mountain ghost." Upon hearing this, Xijun curled her lips, wearing an expression that seemed to say, *Oh, so you're the only capable one here?* Just a moment ago, *I*, Xijun, could tear ghosts apart with my bare hands!

Song Wanyi's expression turned awkward as she shot her a look. This little girl was relying on being favored and was acting completely lawless!

"Big ghosts and small ghosts? What are those?" I didn't take up Xijun's thread, as the two of them never got along anyway. After glancing at Song Wanyi, I turned back to look at the hunched-over Ling Tong.

"Big ghosts and small ghosts... they are Lord Shackle and Lord Lock, the Golden Shackle and the Silver Lock... the six major military officers of the City God." Ling Tong stared at Song Wanyi in a daze. This was a mountain deity? Are you kidding me? Can a mountain deity serve as a ghost general for a human? What a joke!

"Alright then, let's go in and ask around first. If that doesn't work, we'll resort to force." I thought for a moment, figuring that the longer I stood here, the closer my physical body back above would come to spoiling, and by then returning to the living world would be out of the question.

Moreover, speaking of a County City God, it was equivalent to a county town in the living world. The most formidable figure in a living county town was at the level of Uncle Hai. Although this County City God's domain was imposing, not all of them were necessarily ox-heads and horse-faces, right? If we couldn't beat them, we could just outlast them. If I killed some important connections of the City God, maybe he'd have no choice but to send me back.

Thinking this way, my mind eased up. I waved my hand and walked toward the gates of the City God's domain.

That shackle-wielding general spotted our group of four ghosts from afar. Seeing that I was wearing the official robes of an extradition officer yet completely unfamiliar to him, he immediately let out a loud roar, hoisted a massive lock, and slammed it onto the ground, causing the earth to rumble and shake: "I am General Silver Lock Chen Dahang, one of the six great ghost generals under the City God! State your origin, state your official rank, and state your name!"

"Are you talking about this one? Isn't he your extradition officer Ling Tong? Surely you haven't forgotten him already, have you?" With a kick, I sent Ling Tong, who was dressed like a beggar, sprawling onto the ground.

Taking the opportunity, Ling Tong scrambled to his feet and bolted away as if his soles were fitted with flying wheels.

"Brother Heng! Save this little brother! This Xia Yitian is the heinous criminal I was sent to escort! He somehow found two powerful helpers and slaughtered more than thirty ghost runners I brought with him! Even your Third Uncle, who came along with me, was eaten by the helpers he brought!" Ling Tong scurried and crawled behind Chen Dahang. He probably had never been so grateful for the kick I gave him just a moment ago; if not for that kick, he wouldn't have made it back alive.

"Third Uncle?" I let out a dry laugh. It seemed negotiation was out of the question. Among this group of eaten ghost runners, there was actually a relative in high places? And it was none other than the Third Uncle of General Silver Lock Chen Dahang?

"Waaaah! My Third Uncle is gone?! Ghosts, assemble!" Chen Dahang's face turned beet red. With a grand wave of his large hand, over a hundred ghost runners poured instantly out of the wide-open city gates. Every single one of them gleamed in bright armor—completely unlike the small-time lineup that mere extradition officers like the one before could bring.

Over the years, the Underworld had apprehended quite a few heinous criminals. Chen Dahang had originally thought this would be an easy and pleasant assignment, so, following the example of officials in the other twenty-four bureaus, he had forcefully squeezed his Third Uncle into the team. He figured that by quickly helping his recently deceased Third Uncle rack up some merit points, the old man might soon secure an official post and enjoy a life of ease. But how much time had passed since then? His own Third Uncle had already been turned into someone else's appetizer?!

How could he possibly accept this? Back in the living world during the great famine when people starved to death, his Third Uncle had been the kindest to him, always stuffing steamed buns and wild vegetable roots into his mouth. Though he eventually choked to death after growing up, Chen Dahang would never forget the debt of gratitude he owed his Third Uncle.

This was the first time I had ever encountered a situation where a fight broke out the moment we met, without even a chance to negotiate. Fortunately, I still held the soul-crying mourning staff in my hand, so I wasn't too terrified. This mourning staff was specifically used to capture souls; it was also the symbol of Ling Tong's status in the City God's domain and a precious weapon specialized in beating minor ghosts.

"Can Xijun eat this one?!" Xijun hopped down from my shoulder, turned around, and pointed at the Silver Lock General while asking me, her expression resembling that of a child shopping for candy in a supermarket. I was somewhat speechless, but I could only nod.

This Silver Lock General was truly an exceptionally massive fellow, standing well over two meters tall. Xijun couldn't even reach his belt line in front of him. There was no way I could defeat him myself, so if Xijun wanted to eat him, she might as well go ahead.

"Song Wanyi, go take care of those underworld soldiers, and cover Xijun while you're at it." In truth, my heart was still beating fast; a hundred underworld soldiers were no laughing matter. When I encountered them previously in Carrying Dragon Village, Xiao Xue and I had been reduced to running for our lives.

Before long, however, Song Wanyi showed me just how terrifying her true strength was. Without even making any elaborate moves, she simply waved her hand, and the underworld soldiers vanished in patches like harvested grass. It felt as though snuffing out an underworld soldier was an utterly effortless task.

I immediately became excited, picked up the mourning staff, and quietly strolled over to target a straggler. I rained a flurry of random strikes down on his head and face, and sure enough, the underworld soldier was sent rolling on the ground, wailing in ghost-like agony.

Yet after I thwacked him for a good while, the underworld soldier simply refused to die. This made cold sweat break out all over me. Looking back, Song Wanyi had already wiped out more than half of them; it seemed the mourning staff wasn't all that reliable after all.

The underworld soldier's entire body erupted with a greenish haze as he glared angrily at me. Wielding a soul-slashing blade, he charged straight at me, causing me to stumble and fall flat on my back.

Song Wanyi whirled around and unleashed a blade of wind, cleanly cleaving the body of the underworld soldier in front of me and turning him directly into flying ashes.

I sighed. It seemed I still wasn't cut out for killing ghosts myself; professional matters were best left to the professionals. Although Song Wanyi, the mountain ghost, had never received an official imperial appointment as a mountain deity, she possessed the strength of one all the same, making dealing with a group of underworld soldiers a breeze.

Amidst my sighing, Song Wanyi had already slaughtered the entire pack of underworld soldiers. Looking completely unruffled and free of care, she stood there watching Xijun and the shackle-wielding general fight, having completely forgotten about her job of providing cover.

Seeing that Xijun was in no immediate danger, I grabbed Ling Tong by the scruff of his neck, tossed him onto the ground in front of me, and beat him with a few blows of the staff, sending him rolling in the dirt.

"Master Xia! I was wrong! I was truly wrong this time! Please stop hitting me, any more and my soul really will shatter!" Ling Tong hugged his head and begged for mercy, throwing all his dignity as an official to the winds. Seeing that he was already half-dead, I kicked him aside.

The County City God's domain was quite large, roughly comparable to a county town in the living world. It was filled with wandering souls that had arrived continuously from the mortal counties. Finding the City God himself didn't seem particularly easy, especially since there were very few landmark buildings and no one was guiding the way. Moreover, time was running out for me.

I looked toward the battlefield. True to form, the Silver Lock General was unlike ordinary underworld soldiers; he swung his heavy lock as effortlessly as if it were a hula hoop.

That lock had its own reputation; it was a formidable Underworld weapon specifically designed for subduing ghosts. Once an ordinary ghost was locked up by it, after walking a certain distance, their entire waist would twist and break apart segment by segment due to the unbearable weight, becoming permanently paralyzed. Eventually, the locked ghost would be reduced to crawling on all fours, taking on the fierce and terrifying appearance and gait of a grievance-filled wraith.

Xijun's movements were extremely agile. Just as the massive lock was being raised, she instantaneously appeared on Chen Dahang's other side. Opening her blood-stained jaws wide like a wild beast, she bit a huge chunk of flesh straight out of Chen Dahang's thigh.

Though Chen Dahang regenerated immediately after being bitten, the repeated attacks were painful, and his entire spiritual body began to grow translucent. It seemed that rather than being unable to defeat him, Xijun was merely toying with him like a cat playing with a mouse.

I had heard that certain people who ate donkey meat loved to slice fresh meat straight off a live donkey while it was still moving for the ultimate tender flavor. Looking at Xijun, I wondered if she had developed a similar preference.

*Clang, clang, clang! Clang, clang, clang!*

A rapid burst of warning bell tolls echoed from deep within the city. Startled, I quickly looked toward the interior of the City God's domain, and my jaw dropped in shock!