Chapter 455

Chapter 455: Following the Clue

Li Hui exchanged words with Wheel Ghost, whose intelligence was questionable. The guy kept rambling on, completely oblivious to the deeper conversational techniques that were unnecessary for him.

“Oh? You’re a local ghost in An Yun City? I couldn’t tell; I thought you were just a country bumpkin Wheel! Your bragging has reached the skies! Have you really seen Horse King? Does he truly have three eyes?”

“You’re the real country bumpkin! Your whole family is made up of country folk. I’m the gold riveted wheel from Xu’s Carriage Company, and before attaining my power, I crushed several people to death. Their souls intertwined to evolve into the rare Wheel Ghost. Hmph, dare to question me? Horse King truly has three eyes; you seldom see the third one, and when you do, all the cultivators die.”

“Alright, enough of your nonsense.” Li Hui searched for his next target, thinking to himself, “I need to be cautious; a ghost king who can command the elements in the city must have exceptional abilities. I must act carefully to avoid mistakes.”

Two hours later, a small girl was placed on a platter, and virgin blood wine was poured into a skull cup. Eyeballs and ears were steamed three times, and the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were sliced, with large amounts of blood and flesh mashed together in a big bowl for the ghostly beings to enjoy.

“Horse King has arrived!” Ghost mist swirled in the courtyard as a Cow Cart emerged!

Li Hui learned that Horse King rode in the cow cart, while Bull King drove a horse cart. These two ghost kings belonged to the East City and West City and often battled each other, both in public and in secret.

“Hahaha, welcome Your Highness!” The ghost welcomed him eagerly.

The cow cart shook violently, and out jumped a horse-headed ghost, towering thirteen zhang high. With each step he took, he shrank by a zhang, and after twelve steps, he was only a zhang tall as he settled onto a large wooden chair, nodding and saying, “I did not come to feast today. A major event has occurred in the city; besides me and that old cow, it seems other ghost kings have infiltrated.”

Though claiming he had no intention to feast, as soon as Horse Head saw the girl on the platter, he grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth, crunching loudly. Before he could swallow, he frowned, sensing something was off.

“Pah, what is this?” Horse King raged, spitting out a mouthful of Yin Thunder, startling him as he looked at the ghost, choking, and shouted, “You dare to harm me?”

“No, it wasn’t me.” The ghost felt as if he could die from despair, looking at the table to discover all the blood food was fake. What was going on?

Of course, it was fake. Li Hui had used replacement talismans to switch out critical items for the ghostly beings and confused them with phantoms, heavily seasoning the food on the main table. The Yin Thunder Gu needed a ghost king’s body as a warm bed, and since he had encountered Horse King, it was fate. If not harming him, who else?

“Boom, boom, boom…” With the thunderous noise, talismans rose from the courtyard, quickly linking into formations, creating visible ripples, and the next moment, light and shadow flickered.

“Teleportation… it’s a teleportation talisman.”

“Who is the bastard who harmed us?” All the ghosts were shocked, and upon realizing their surroundings, they were terrified; the talisman had teleported them to Zhuque Temple, and they hurriedly transformed into black smoke to escape.

Monks and Taoists were holding their evening prayers. After the previous bean incident, the Dragon Gate Taoists had not returned and were still preparing for the upcoming ritual at Zhuque Temple.

“It’s ghosts! Valiant Tiger Arhat Fist!” A monk noticed the ghostly intrusion and quickly struck to kill.

“These ghosts are so bold to directly invade the Buddhist temple.” The head priest shouted, "Activate the Buddhist pagoda to summon the elders. Watch this head priest use the convenient linked shovel!”

Inside the temple, a fierce battle ensued.

Li Hui had transformed into a hospitality monk at Zhuque Temple, so he naturally could not become the plump monk. After the previous bean incident, he might really get beaten to death if he showed up.

He observed the reactions of Abess Cuncao and the little nuns. The monks killing the ghosts evoked some change in their expressions, making him silently curse, “Goodness, the three abbesses and over twenty little nuns are surely compromised, which means the entire Cuncao Temple is essentially finished. Even Qianyun has been possessed, with hardly any genuine ones left.”

Looking at the Cuncao Temple and then at Zhuque Temple, he realized that some monks were also off; they didn’t reveal any Buddhist light while attacking. Instead, they relied solely on brute strength to throw their staves to deter.

“Damn it! At least thirty monks and over twenty Taoists are in cahoots with ghosts! And the head priest has the right idea, but the elders he’s summoned are a joke. Sigh! It’s not that they didn’t notice ghosts mixed in; it’s just that these ghosts are too cunning. I didn’t see it before either, and those ghosts haven’t exposed themselves yet. Their facial expressions hint at something amiss, clearly handpicked ghostly beings.” Li Hui noted every subtle anomaly, suddenly hearing a roar as Horse King began to unleash his wrath.

With a "whoosh," Horse King opened his third eye on his forehead, releasing a gray ray of light that swept outward, shattering the spirits. Fortunately, Li Hui had prepared in advance, invoking ten Buddhist incantations to shield himself and maintaining clarity over his spiritual platform.

“Indeed, this Horse Head has a third eye; Wheel Ghost truly is an honest brother! If my true self were here, the Dao Rhythm Residual Talismans would merge with my spiritual sense, and no one could shake my heart. Controlling my External Transformation is different; being impacted by the primordial spirit ghost law would sever the connection. Of course, there is Jieyin to continue, but this guy isn’t very reliable, and his talisman methods aren’t as good as my true self.”

Li Hui pretended to stumble and fall to the ground, groaning, causing many monks to clutch their heads and collapse. This allowed Horse King to carve a bloody path, bursting out of Zhuque Temple, with a dozen monks and Taoists chasing after him.

The ghost and his subordinates suffered heavily, with some dead and some wounded.

In the city, it wasn’t only Zhuque Temple and Dragon Gate that had cultivators; many rushed to the commotion and began to exterminate the restless ghosts, resulting in yet another casualty round.

Big-Headed Ghost, Smoky Ghost, Bored Ghost, Sad Girl, Seam Ghost, and the Yama Master were all accounted for at the temple entrance. Wheel Ghost didn’t charge out; instead, he messed up a cow cart inside the temple, tumbling it nearby and narrowly escaping disaster.

After this battle, at least two-thirds of the ghosts in the city were eliminated. The next day, the temple was filled with wails, Horse King’s third eye was indeed fearsome; many monks were in a daze, likely needing half a year to recover.

Li Hui had already left and was not in a rush to clean up the “trap.” He took out a few pinches of ash and sprinkled them on a solid talisman, sticking it to his forehead.

With a puff, green smoke swirled, and when he reappeared, he had transformed into the ghost that assists the tiger, with an aura almost identical to the original.

“Hehe, with the Yin Thunder Gu in your body, I refuse to believe I can’t find the entrance to the Yin Moon Dynasty.” Li Hui moved quickly, soon arriving outside a mansion and seamlessly melding into the outer wall.

As he stepped into the inner courtyard, a furious roar echoed, “Is it you? You shameless thing still dare come to my prince’s residence?”

“My king, we’ve suffered heavy losses this time! I sent a clever ghost to investigate, and it seems that old cow colluded with outside ghosts to plot against us.”

A pale-faced man with triangular eyes walked out from the room, glaring furiously, "Bastard, that bold cow! It was agreed he’d handle the West City while I’d handle the East City. I usually just keep him under half control, and he actually colluded with outside ghosts; this matter is far from over.”

“That’s right, this matter isn’t done yet.” Li Hui stepped forward and said, “My king! For now, we should seek assistance. Do you know any ghost kings who can deal with that cow? We’ve suffered heavy losses, and I fear that in a few days we won’t be able to maintain our territory. At that time, we will be expelled, and without a city full of blood food, are we to end up lost in some remote corner? It takes hundreds of miles just to catch someone…”