Young Master Xu could not understand the attendant's spoken words, yet he inexplicably grasped their meaning. Worse, he discovered to his horror that he was dressed in an official robe of dark cyan, and every single person who had accompanied him had vanished without a trace!
Panic surged through him, accompanied by a deep, gnawing dread from the bottom of his heart. He had no idea what was happening, yet the figure ahead kept urging him along without pause.
He wanted to turn and flee back the way he had come, but an implicit intuition told him that if he refused to follow right now, something terrible would occur. Thus, he could only brace himself and press forward.
After ascending a slight incline, the attendant flicked his horsetail whisk as if shooing livestock, driving him forward. Young Master Xu took two paces ahead, but noticing the attendant had not followed, he considered turning back. Yet on either side of the ramp stood two warriors with obscured facial features; one rested a golden melon hammer over his shoulder while the other gripped a short-axe, both seeming to glare down at him.
Swallowing hard, he passed through a side door of the palace gate and proceeded along the long corridor. Midway through, many figures carrying lanterns joined the procession.
Terrified, he kept his head bowed, not daring to glance left or right, let alone speak. He simply forged ahead. Past the first palace gate, further along the path, rows upon rows of warriors bearing ceremonial polearms stood across the plaza, completely motionless, silent as statues.
He stole a wary glance and hastily withdrew his eyes. After continuing for a distance, a large ascending ramp appeared ahead. The line suddenly slowed to a crawl, seemingly because someone ahead was inspecting the entrants, which at least gave him a moment to catch his breath.
Yet before he could feel at ease for long, a furious shout rang out from above: "This man is impersonating an imperial official! Behead him!"
A moment later, a shrill, piercing voice sounded: "Another impersonator of an imperial official! This is contempt toward His Majesty! Drag him off and execute him!"
"Behead!"
"Behead!"
"Behead!"
The shouts echoed one after another from above. Young Master Xu looked on in stunned disbelief as person after person was shoved down the steps by the warriors. Looking closely at their faces, they were all companions who had entered alongside him. Strangely, however, none of them screamed; they were all completely expressionless.
Once pushed beneath the terrace steps, the warriors raised their blades and brought them down. In an instant, a familiar head tumbled to the ground, sending a violent shiver through him.
Immediately afterward, the dozen-odd people kneeling there were decapitated in a flash, their heads severed from their bodies as they collapsed into pools of blood.
The reek of blood reached Young Master Xu's nose, making his stomach churn violently. Not daring to make a sound, he clutched his mouth, desperately fighting the urge to vomit.
At that moment, as the line shifted forward again, he realized with a jolt that there was no one left ahead of him. It was his turn to step up.
A voice called down from above: "Why do you not step forward for inspection?"
Everyone present turned their eyes toward him in unison—a spectacle grotesque and chilling to the extreme.
Young Master Xu trembled violently. Just then, two thumping beats sounded from outside, like the rumble of drums, and the surrounding figures all seemed to glance toward the main hall.
Seizing the moment, he dared not linger a second longer. Abandoning everything, he bolted backward. Those people watched him coldly, yet none gave chase. Only the warriors on the plaza began marching toward him. But before they took more than a few paces, their formation was smashed open from the middle. A figure charged in and grabbed the panicked, flailing Young Master Xu. The young master wildly kicked and thrashed, shouting in terror, "Get lost! Get away! Get the hell away from me!"
The man held him firm and said, "Young Master Xu, it's me."
Hearing the voice, Young Master Xu looked up. The person before him was actually Mr. Qiao! Weeping tears of overwhelming joy as if reuniting with kin, he cried, "Mr. Qiao! Mr. Qiao, it's you! Thank goodness, thank goodness...!"
"Pardon me," Mr. Qiao muttered, scooping him up by the waist into his arm. He sprinted toward the outside at blistering speed, yet his gait was remarkably steady, causing Young Master Xu no discomfort and even allowing him to speak.
"Mr... Mr. Qiao, wh-what on earth is all this?!"
Mr. Qiao replied, "Abroad, this sort of thing is called a medium realm; domestically, it seems to be referred to as a 'ghost domain.' What we're witnessing is likely a reenactment of past events, except that we've been pulled in as participants. Young Master Xu, do you know what a simulated realm is?"
"Y-yes, I do. I've seen one." Young Master Xu had stayed in simulated environments generated by field organisms before, and this felt somewhat similar.
"A ghost domain is similar, but it doesn't rely on field organisms. It's more like a combination of an anomaly and an esoteric ritual. Here, certain things defy all logic. If something wants to kill you, you might not even be able to resist."
Recalling the scene from earlier, Young Master Xu couldn't help shuddering again. Anxiously, he asked, "Mr... Mr. Qiao, we escaped, but wh-what about the others?"
Mr. Qiao shook his head. "Let's look out for ourselves first." The others lacked mental power comparable to his and could only remain trapped within the ghost domain.
However, he wouldn't abandon Young Master Xu. While this young master's grand-uncle claimed not to care whether his grand-nephew lived or died, if Qiao left him behind and made it out alone, the elder would likely have no qualms about holding him accountable for dereliction of duty.
Still, he remembered to offer a few words of comfort: "Don't worry, Young Master Xu. Not everyone necessarily fell into this trap. For instance, Teacher Fan is a capable man. I didn't see him; either he never entered this place, or he most likely found a way to hide."
"I-is that so...?"
Young Master Xu wanted to say more, but horror suddenly flooded his face. "Mr. Qiao... ah-ahead!"
Mr. Qiao looked ahead and saw a mounted squad of five armored warriors clad head to toe in iron armor. His expression changed sharply.
"Valiant Cavalry Guards—"
These were equivalent to third-limit elite experts. Within this ghost domain, every single one of them was a match for him, and now there was an entire squad.
Acting decisively, he said, "Young Master Xu, get far away and hide. These fighters are formidable, and I won't be able to protect you in a moment."
With a swing of his arm, he flung Young Master Xu far clear. The young master rolled across the ground, scrambled to his feet, and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.
Mr. Qiao adopted a serious stance and locked his eyes on the cavalry squad. Illusions though they might be, dying here meant real death.
The squad of warriors spurred their mounts forward at once, charging toward him in a wide horizontal line. When stationary, they had seemed imposing enough, but once they charged, a mere five riders unleashed the momentum of a ten-thousand-strong host, seemingly capable of grinding anything in their path into paste.
Mr. Qiao's breathing grew ragged. Just as he was preparing to fight for his life, a tremendous boom shattered the air. A burst of brilliant radiance flashed through the night, instantly tearing the five cavalrymen apart and blasting mounts and riders into countless flying fragments.
Mr. Qiao shielded his face as scattered debris slammed into his body along with fierce wind pressure, then drifted outward.
Once the violent turbulent airflow subsided, he looked ahead again. Where were the Valiant Cavalry Guards? There was only a scattered heap of charred bones across the ground.
He snapped his head up and looked forward.
A tall, upright figure cloaked in an overmantle was walking toward him, a red scarf knotted at his neck fluttering in the swirling drafts. And as he approached, the magnificent palaces around them gradually lost their solemn, splendid facade, decaying into rot and ruin.
Young Master Xu found himself sprawled atop a heap of withered bones. Cursing, he shoved them aside, but the kicked-up dust covered his face, sending him into a fit of coughing.
Watching the figure approach, Mr. Qiao drew a deep breath, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "I am Qiao Qianli of Longyou Dao. Thank you for the rescue. May I ask who you are...?"
Chen Chuan drew near. On his way over, he had realized other people had entered here as well, likely because their entry had disturbed the ritual. He said, "My surname is Chen. Where did you enter from?"
Hearing this, Mr. Qiao immediately knew the man before him had likely come through the proper entrance. Uncertain of his disposition, Qiao hesitated to answer.
Seeing this, Young Master Xu immediately stepped forward. "We came in through a path opened by the Longyou Dao Expedition. Sir, did you happen to see my grand-uncle along the way? He's the chief inspector of Longyou Dao, and he's here too."
Chen Chuan glanced at him. The youth possessed a bit of street-smart wit; fearing Chen Chuan might harbor ill intentions, he had preemptively declared his backing. Still, Chen Chuan did not mind others being here. The depository did not belong to him anyway; if others had the ability to enter, that was their own business.
Before coming, he had researched Longyou Dao's circumstances. There was only one martial artist there, named Xu Mutang, who held no formal post—chief inspector was merely an honorary title.
He said, "Mr. Xu came as well? I did not see him on my way in."
Mr. Qiao explained, "I am security hired from Longyou Dao by Young Master Xu. My role was to escort them on this expedition, but we never anticipated running into something like this."
Chen Chuan questioned them a bit more, learning that roughly three hundred people had entered with them, all of whom were now scattered and missing. He advised, "You two, there are plenty of dangers in here. Don't wander about recklessly. Find a place to hide for now."
Mr. Qiao immediately replied, "Thank you for saving us just now, sir. We won't wander around, nor will we touch anything here."
Chen Chuan gave an affirmative sound and walked toward the main hall that had now revealed itself ahead.
Watching his figure recede into the distance, Young Master Xu murmured, "Mr. Qiao, who was that...?"
Filled with reverence, Mr. Qiao whispered, "He should be a martial artist as well." He pondered for a moment. So young, and surnamed Chen... could it be...?
His heart skipped a beat. Could it really be that man?
Not long ago, news concerning Jibei Dao Center City had dominated the headlines, and the Security Defense Department Chief of Jibei Dao had become widely renowned along with it—especially his feat of single-handedly suppressing the Municipal Council's active conscious entity. That incident had put the Municipal Council of Longyou Dao on extreme alert, scrambling to find ways to upgrade their own active conscious entity, causing quite a stir.
He thought to himself: *If it really is him, I hope he doesn't clash with Old Master Xu... I wonder which of the two is stronger?*
Chapter 959