Chapter 56: The Way Out

I really have no idea who this City God is, nor why his entire being exudes such a bizarre and eerie aura. Could it be because he uttered the words "Feng-Guiding Town"? Or is there truly someone I am familiar with hiding behind that human-skin mask?

Yet, I cannot recall when exactly I might have seen him in Feng-Guiding Town.

Actually, I have no desire to unravel any of these doubts, because his strength is certainly not something I can currently withstand. As the old saying goes: if you lack the diamond drill, do not take on the porcelain job. Meddling in matters that do not concern you will only get you killed.

"It seems we have not met in Feng-Guiding Town after all... Then, what do you know? Why are you trying to avoid me?" The City God's chilling voice rang in my ears once more.

I did not dare to answer him at all. In truth, he must have misunderstood something; my instinct a moment ago was simply to run.

Xi Jun was still before my eyes, baring her teeth and letting out a low growl, while the deities of Impermanence, Black and White, waited for an opportunity to strike. Everything seemed to be frozen in time.

"I'll slaughter the lot of you!" Chen Zhili forced his way out from behind Black and White Impermanence, hurling the golden shackles toward Xi Jun like a flying missile!

This time, Xi Jun had no intention of toying with him the way she had toyed with Chen Daheng. With a swift whoosh, she flew straight onto Chen Zhili's shoulder, crouching halfway atop it, and bit right through his neck in a single motion. Taking advantage of the momentum, she lunged at Black Impermanence at lightning speed!

She was as fast as a flash of lightning. Black Impermanence extended a hand, chanted a few incantations in a blur, and instantly split into several black afterimages, miraculously appearing in an entirely different spot.

Xi Jun pounced on empty air, whipped her head around, and immediately lunged at White Impermanence!

White Impermanence stretched out its wide sleeves, from which numerous chains inexplicably projected. The iron locks ground against one another, emitting a harsh, grating metallic screech.

I knew these were the Soul-Detaining Hooks. Their tips were entirely barbed hooks; once they locked onto a soul, they would pursue it relentlessly as if endowed with eyes of their own!

Xi Jun moved like an agile beast, flashing from one location to another with a series of whooshes. Although the chains also split into several strands to chase her, they ultimately missed by the narrowest of margins and slammed deep into the ground!

Pressured by the situation, Xi Jun retreated and landed not far from me. This sudden assault had ended in failure!

I felt that this was a battle with zero chance of victory.

The City God approached to a spot not far in front of us, his cold, expressionless eyes fixed entirely upon me.

Black and White Impermanence had already stepped to the side. Although Chen Zhili's neck had been bitten clean through, he instantly restored to his original state. Like his younger brother, he could not be killed unless his energy was completely exhausted, though that single bite had certainly given him a bitter taste.

"Do you truly believe this is the Path to Return to the Living? In truth, how could the Path to Return to the Living be in such a conspicuous place?" The City God spoke.

"Call it the Path to Return to the Living or the mortal road, it matters little. Open this great gate and let us leave. Whatever you wish to do is none of my concern. Otherwise, even if it costs me my life, I will not make it easy for you!" I said coldly. In any case, I could not afford to show weakness now.

"You know nothing at all?" The City God narrowed his eyes slightly, as if attempting to glean something from my expression.

"Nothing! If your minions hadn't come to summon my soul, I wouldn't have ended up here." I figured this City God was undoubtedly tied up in the affairs of Feng-Guiding Town, with some sort of conspiracy brewing beneath the surface.

Yet none of this was my business. As long as my own vital interests were not compromised, I saw no need to stick my oar in.

The City God suddenly wore a sinister smile and said, "Kill by mistake rather than let any escape."

Black and White Impermanence exchanged glances and instantly lunged forward together! Chen Zhili also charged ahead like an iron tower. A host of ghost generals swarmed forward in a dense, dark mass, seemingly unafraid of acting as mere cannon fodder.

This was precisely what I had been dreading. It seemed this City God had no intention of letting us go under any circumstances. He must be plotting some grand scheme; otherwise, he would not have resolved to silence us permanently.

***

Boom!

Just as I was sinking into utter despair, the entire gate was blasted open by Song Wanyi. I was immensely grateful that she had given it her all!

"Master, the gate is broken! Even if it is not the path back to the living, it is at least a way out." Song Wanyi said to me, then pulled me along as she prepared to flee.

Having beaten back a wave of enemies, Xi Jun quickly followed in our retreat.

"Hmph, you are far too naive if you think you can leave right under my nose!" Seeing that his host of underworld soldiers and ghost generals could do nothing against us, the City God extended his own hand!

An invisible, massive hand instantly materialized, lunging to grab my body while shoving all the underworld soldiers and ghost generals in its path completely aside!

Song Wanyi rapidly unleashed three blades of wind, but they struck as though hitting solid rock, utterly failing to block the giant hand as it continued to lunge toward me!

"Hold on!"

At the very brink of peril, an aged voice echoed from the direction of the mortal road. Accompanied by the voice came three blue talisman papers. Defying all natural laws, they pierced downward like decree arrows, burning rapidly along their trajectory to form three walls of roaring flames. With a deafening crash, they intercepted the colossal hand!

The space right in front of me flared with a blinding, scorching glare!

"Elder Hai!?" I was both shocked and overjoyed. I had no idea why Elder Hai's voice would appear here at such a moment, but clearly, the situation had taken a favorable turn!

In the mortal road ahead of me, light and shadow flickered elusively amidst a blanket of swirling white mist. Two figures hurried in from the outside—one carrying a peach-wood sword and holding paper talismans, while the other clutched a paper figurine.

The one holding the paper figurine was undoubtedly Elder Hai.

As for the person carrying the peach-wood sword, the moment I laid eyes on him, I froze in stunned disbelief!

"Zhang Yidan!!" I was so startled I nearly bit off my tongue!

How could this be?! It was impossible! Zhang Yidan was already dead! He was dead; even though his corpse had vanished into thin air, he couldn't possibly still be alive! Who on earth was this person?!

"Little brother Xia? What nonsense are you muttering? Are you alright?" Seeing that I was unhurt, Elder Hai asked a question. When I failed to respond, he pulled out a blue paper figurine and hurriedly pressed it into my hand. "No time to explain! Take this! Return to the living!"

The moment I grasped the paper figurine, a wave of warmth surged from within my body. With a sharp start, my vision turned completely blank.

When I woke up, I felt overwhelmingly weak and sore all over, lying on the bed unable to so much as twitch a muscle. I opened my eyes, only to find a layer of white cloth draped over my face for reasons unknown.

Outside the door, a commotion echoed noisily, sounding just like a bustling vegetable market.

However, I was in no mood to listen closely to these sounds.

After struggling for several moments, the blood in my body finally resumed its circulation. With a forceful jerk, I tore the white cloth away, followed by a clumsy, stumbling roll that sent me crashing heavily to the ground.

The two soul-urns beside the bed rolled off to one side. Regaining my alertness, a sudden memory flashed through my mind: Xi Jun and Song Wanyi were still trapped in the underworld.

Could that all have been nothing more than a dream?

"Di... Jun... Wan... Li..." I parted my lips, but my tongue felt swollen and clumsy, failing to articulate their names clearly. Even after calling out a few times, neither of the two entities appeared anywhere in sight.

***

After pondering for a moment and regaining my composure, I laboriously drew two talismanic scripts. Sitting on the floor and gasping for breath, I wiggled my tongue, and feeling that my articulation should now be fine, I chanted: "Xi Jun, Wanyi, return... immediately."

A hazy mist clouded my vision, and I still felt a horrifying emptiness in my vital energy. The Goddess-wife showed no trace of her presence either.

Just as I hovered between hope and disappointment, Xi Jun and Wanyi materialized right before me. The two of them seemed to be in fine shape; the moment Xi Jun caught sight of me, she scurried over and embraced me. Disregarding the cold sweat covering my entire body, she rubbed her cheek affectionately against mine in a display of endearment.

I was too exhausted to speak. Song Wanyi knelt beside me, lifting her sleeve to wipe away the cold sweat beading on my forehead. Her gentle touch slightly appeased the lingering anger I felt toward her earlier willingness to leave Xi Jun behind.

Moreover, I was still doubting whether I had merely been dreaming just now. What on earth was going on? How could Elder Hai have appeared in a dream?

Elder Hai aside, even Zhang Yidan had shown up—how was that even possible?

Yet, upon second thought, Zhang Yidan had died an unjust death, and since I had failed to save him, it was inevitable that I would dwell on him day and night, eventually conjuring him up in a dream.

I turned my head with great difficulty to look at Xi Jun. This single glance left me utterly stunned, as if I were finally bridging the boundary between dream and reality to confirm this undeniable truth.

Prying open one of her eyes, I discovered a distinct ring of red flush around her pupils, which proved that Xi Jun and I had indeed journeyed to the underworld!

My memories might still be scrambled in a few places, and I might have mistaken that high-level expert carrying the peach-wood sword for Zhang Yidan. Sighing, I began to recover my physical vitality.

Song Wanyi thoughtfully picked up the cup of tea I had left unfinished earlier and handed it to me. I drained it in a single gulp, yet still felt parched with thirst.

How long had I actually been asleep? A few hours? Judging by the speed at which my body was regaining its vitality, and checking whether any post-mortem lividity had appeared on my skin, I calculated that the time could not have been overly long.

I began to ponder: now that I had returned to the living, would the City God drag me down to the underworld once again? If he hauled me back down there another time, I wouldn't be able to handle it; I had to find a way to save myself no matter what!

I gathered several sheets of talisman paper and some cinnabar, rapidly scribbling out a few soul-stabilizing talismans. Although I had no idea whether they would work, they at least offered a measure of psychological comfort.

Picking up a lighter, I ignited the talisman papers, dropped them directly into the cup of tea, pinched my nose, and drank the concoction down in one breath.

Without the Goddess-wife there to hold down the fort, I realized I was truly utterly useless. If not for Elder Hai and that formidable Daoist priest this time, I likely would never have made it back alive.

"Please show some respect! The deceased are to be revered, so I beg you not to harass Brother Tian anymore! If you have any grievances, direct them at me! Whatever compensation is required, I will pay it all!" Vaguely, I heard Zhao Qian's weeping voice coming from outside the door.

What did she mean by "the deceased are to be revered"? Hesitating for a moment, I glanced at the piece of white cloth I had just pulled off my face, breaking out in a cold sweat. Was that white cloth draped over the face meant to make Zhao Qian think I was dead?

I cast a glance beside me, where a neatly tailored set of red paper mortuary garments lay discarded. Following my line of sight, Xi Jun also spotted the exquisite attire and scampered over excitedly to stroke it.

"Brother Tian is already dead, why are you still acting like this?! Wuwu..." Yu Xiaoxue wept pitifully, kneeling outside and pleading with Zhang Xiaofei and the others.

"Dead or alive, what nonsense! Do you really think we'll fall for just any fabricated excuse? You're dragging out a clumsy trick like pretending to be dead? Am I, Zhang Xiaofei, that easy to fool? Didn't we see him running and jumping around just this morning?! Every debt has its debtor, every grievance has its author—if you two don't give us a clear explanation today, we'll smash up your villa on the spot!" Zhang Xiaofei bellowed loudly.