Stranger Danger

Chapter 370: We Meet Again

“Phew... that man is terrifying.”

On a street, Ye Qing was wiping away the blood on his face with lingering trepidation.

That man had felt stronger than even Gu Suitang. There was absolutely no way he could defeat him as he was.

“He’s Mister Nine. Of course he’s powerful.” Greenlake produced a handkerchief and gently aided Ye Qing with his efforts.

“Mister Nine? Who’s that? He sounds pretty familiar for some reason,” Ye Qing replied without thought until realization struck him. “Wait... you’re not talking about that Mister Nine, are you?”

“There may be more than one Mister Nine in the world, but as far as I know, the only one who possess such power is him.” Greenlake’s eyes twinkled. “The one who scored first place in both the martial and civil examination of Chu and the disciple of the Chief Libationist of Jixia Academy, ‘Mister Nine’ Chu Wangsun.”

“You gotta be kidding me! It can’t be him!”

Ye Qing waved his hands in denial. He just couldn’t believe that the top scorer of Chu and the disciple of the Chief Libationist could be such a person. But when Greenlake continued to watch him in silence, he gradually lost his smile and asked, “He really is Chu Wangsun?”

Greenlake nodded. “In the flesh.”

“That guy is the ‘Mister Nine’ Chu Wangsun? But that’s...” Ye Qing was torn and in disbelief. The legend and pride of Chu... was a madman?

“It’s unbelievable, isn’t it?” Greenlake smiled understandingly.

“To put it mildly, yeah.” Ye Qing nodded in agreement before asking, “How did someone like him manage to become the top scorer of both the civil and the martial examination of Chu and the disciple of the Chief Libationist?”

Did the emperor and the Chief Libationist of Jixia Academy had a screw loose in their head as well? Or was there some sort of scheme that he wasn’t seeing here?

Greenlake explained patiently, “Chu Wangsun may be like this, but he is a true genius, one so extraordinary that it garnered even the envy of the heavens.”

“From the moment he was born, Chu Wangsun was already extraordinary. When he was born, Literary Birds descended from the heavens to celebrate it. He was literate at the age of three, capable of singing poems and making couplets at the age of five, grasped the Hundred Schools of Thought at the age of ten, and cultivated a Literary Heart at the age of fifteen.”

“He wasn’t just a genius in the ways of literature either. He was born with all of his bodily points already unlocked, and he could grasp any martial art in a single glance. He’s not even twenty yet, and he’s already a Spirit Master—a Half-Step Grandmaster to be exact.”

“As you’ve seen at the Ghost Tower, he has also cultivated the Dharma of the Wise Sage. If he wanted to, he could’ve become a Grandmaster already. He’s probably holding back just to refine his cultivation even further.”

Ye Qing: “...” Is this what they mean by, “There is a fine line between genius and madness”? Well, they were right.

Greenlake continued, “I also heard that Chu Wangsun was born with a Saint’s Heart, and as far as I could tell, the rumors are correct. His behavior and actions are the spitting image of the saints of the old. He follows a perfectly straight path that will accept no deviation. If he encounters a mistake, he would strive to correct it, and if someone does something wrong, he would mete out the appropriate punishment. He is perfectly impartial, righteous, and selfless.”

“Him? A saint?” Ye Qing sneered.

“Don’t you think so?” Greenlake smiled. “Do you really think what he said and did earlier was wrong, husband?”

Ye Qing frowned but didn’t say anything.

“If we look at the matter regarding the Duckweed Flower alone, then he would be perfectly right. It is true that we play a small but undeniable role in the student’s death. We aren’t at fault, but we do bear some measure of responsibility.”

Greenlake continued, “To correct a mistake when he sees a mistake, to punish a wrong if he encounters a wrong. Not even he himself is exempt from his own rules. He is perfectly impartial, righteous, and selfless, is he not?”

“Heh. You may be right, but there is no absolute right or wrong in this world, is there?”

Ye Qing let out a cold chuckle. “From his point of view, we are part of the reason his student died, and he would be correct. But from our point of view, we were just obeying the Ghost Tower’s rules. Are we wrong to do so? In fact, from the Ghost Tower or anyone else’s point of view, we definitely aren’t in the wrong.”

“Killing is wrong, but is killing one to save many wrong as well?”

“You are correct, husband.” Greenlake nodded. “I don’t believe we were wrong either. We were wrong only because the student happens to be his student.”

“Now that, is a rationale I can accept.” Ye Qing shrugged.

Suddenly, Greenlake let out a wistful giggle. “Do you think we’re stupid, husband?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Ye Qing shot her a confused look.

“Chu Wangsun is the disciple of the Chief Libationist of Jixia Academy. There are countless people who dreamed of becoming his student and servant. However, we rejected the opportunity even though it was delivered right into our lap. It’s quite the stupid decision, isn’t it?” Greenlake explained.

“Now that you mentioned it, it kinda is. It’s too late for regrets though.” Ye Qing shrugged again. They had fought the guy and called him crazy to his face. There was no chance of a reconciliation at this point.

Suddenly, a terrible realization struck Ye Qing. Wait a second... Chu Wangsun is attending the Hidden Dragon Meet too, isn’t he?

Is it too late to apologize to him and make up for past mistakes?

What am I gonna do?!

Ye Qing was still trying to think of a solution when Greenlake called out to him, “Before I forget, this is yours, husband.”

“Hmm?” Ye Qing accepted the Nature’s Shell and poked his demonic thought into it. He found the Duckweed Flower, the Dark Overlord Token, and some of the treasures Greenlake had bought on the first and second floor.

“You’re giving all these to me?” Ye Qing asked incredulously.

“Yep.” Greenlake nodded.

“But most of these... aren’t the stuff I ordered.” The Duckweed Flower and Dark Overlord Token were his, sure, but what about the rest of the treasures? Did she seriously think of him as her husband? Do I have a sugar momma now?

“True, but it is what you deserve,” Greenlake said smilingly.

“It’s what I deserve?” Ye Qing suddenly had a bad feeling about this. “What do you mean by that?”

“I wouldn’t have bought these items if not to show that shop assistant that you’re not poor. Naturally, you deserve these items, don’t you agree?” Greenlake grinned.

“Haha, I think not.” Ye Qing said with obvious suspicion.

“I’ll take it if he doesn’t want them,” A feminine voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. Then, an incredibly attractive woman stepped out of the darkness.

“I’m taking the items. In fact, I’m taking you two with me.”

“Who are you?” Ye Qing watched the approaching woman warily. She—or he—was none other than Seventh Young Master.

“That’s a tricky question.” Seventh Young Master giggled. “Eight hundred years ago, I was a man. Now? I’m just a ghost.”

“Are you from Ghost Tower?” Ye Qing asked.

“Oh? And how did you figure that out?” Seventh Young Master asked curiously.

“I guessed,” Ye Qing replied, though it wasn’t that difficult a guess. The Ghost Tower’s teleportation array was supposed to teleport them to a completely random location. However, this guy had tracked them down just minutes after they left the Ghost Tower. The only one with the capabilities to do so was the Ghost Tower, though he wouldn’t deny there was a small chance that this was just an unlucky coincidence.

“You guessed? Can you guess what I’m going to do next?” Seventh Young Master giggled.

“Can you guess whether I’m going to make a guess?” Ye Qing smirked and tapped the space in front of him.

“Heavenly Demon Captures The Soul”

There was a soft knock, and Seventh Young Master abruptly froze in place. At the same time, Ye Qing appeared behind him and threw a mighty punch.

Seventh Young Master popped like a bubble and dissolved into a gust of yin qi, but Ye Qing did not relax his stance. In fact, he was wearing a severe expression on his face.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

As expected, a series of slow claps broke out from an alley. Another Seventh Young Master stepped out of the darkness.

“Not bad, not bad at all! Your body looks perfectly balanced and firm, so I bet your flesh must be very chewy. Your vigor is like a flood, so I bet your blood will taste just as sweet...”

He sounded like a food connoisseur making remarks about a delicious-looking dish before he sank his teeth on it. “Now, all that is left is a despairing soul.”

“If a soul is like a cup of wine, then despair is the passage of time. Without despair, a soul just isn’t as tasty as it could be.”

“Now... please struggle to your heart’s content, my delicious souls! Hahahahaha!”

Seventh Young Master slowly removed his mask, but instead of a feminine, exquisite countenance, it was a mouth; a mouth that occupied his whole face.

“A Soul Devourer?” Ye Qing uttered in a dark tone.

A pair of arms appeared out of the mouth as if they were trying to pry it open. Then, more and more arms appeared until the mouth was fully open, and countless ghosts and souls surged out of it. They were all rushing toward Ye Qing and Greenlake.

The world was even darker than normal as yin wind blew, and the ghosts howled.

“I’ll keep these ghosts at bay. You go find his true body!” Ye Qing yelled at Greenlake.

These ghosts were the unfortunate humans and ghosts Seventh Young Master had devoured. They were controlled by him, but they weren’t his true body. So long as his true body wasn’t destroyed, the tide of ghosts would never end.

That was why the only way to kill a Soul Devourer was to destroy their true body.

Ye Qing stepped toward the incoming tide and threw out a punch. Burning Wind roared, and the world turned into a furnace.

“Cloud Vaporization Style”

It was like a mountain was erected in front of Ye Qing. All the ghosts did by slamming into it was to bowl themselves over and dissolve into ash.

Right after that, a golden Buddha appeared behind Ye Qing and release its purifying light.

“Boundless Mara Buddha”

While the Buddha’s light stymied the tidal wave of ghosts, Ye Qing sucked in a deep breath and jumped right into it. He ripped through the ghosts like nothing and crushed all who would stand in his way. It wasn't long before he was face to face with Seventh Young Master once more.

The duo stared at each other for a moment. Both men were stunned by how easy Ye Qing had defeated the tidal wave of ghosts.

“Hi! We meet again!”

Ye Qing grinned and threw a punch at Seventh Young Master’s face. He didn’t know if the one before him was the real thing, but there was also no reason to leave him alive.

“Heavenly Demon Captures The Soul”

“Hellfire Red Lotus Saber Art”

Realizing that the attack would most likely kill him, Seventh Young Master activated his secret art and escaped—or at least, he tried to. He was in the middle of channeling his energies when all of sudden, they vanished into nothing.

Seemingly sensing something, he looked up and saw a red umbrella floating above his head. He had no idea when or how it got there.

“I see,” Seventh Young Master murmured. He finally understood everything.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The unholy flames of the Red Lotus hellfire consumed him.

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