Sun Tiecheng forced Gui Jianchou to go to Sage Peak, threatening to smash his balls if he refused.
A Xiong stood by, urging Gui Jianchou, "Just go. You've got to keep your balls."
Left with no alternative, Gui Jianchou gave in. "Castellan, I'll go. Please release the technique."
Sun Tiecheng smiled, set down the red lotus, and said, "I didn't use any technique. Move whenever you want."
The moment the words left his mouth, Gui Jianchou found he could indeed move. In front of Sun Tiecheng, he was utterly helpless.
After hastily packing his bags, Gui Jianchou set off. Sun Tiecheng escorted him out past the courtyard gate.
"Castellan, there's no need to see me off."
Sun Tiecheng adopted a grave expression. "I must. Sage Peak is so perilous. Once you go, you might never return, and I might never see you again."
Gui Jianchou gave a bitter smile. "Thank you for your kind intentions, Castellan, but you really shouldn't see me off."
Sun Tiecheng looked genuinely reluctant to part. "We've spent so many days together; I truly feel some affection for you. I definitely have to see you off."
Gui Jianchou looked up at the sky, his face stricken with dread. "Castellan, please, truly, don't see me off."
"What's wrong?" Sun Tiecheng looked up. A beam of bright light plunged from the heavens, striking him square on the body.
He had been bathed in heavenly light.
Terrified, Gui Jianchou fled several zhang away, while Sun Tiecheng remained standing rooted to the spot, utterly dazed.
Before long, the halo faded. Sun Tiecheng tucked his hands into his sleeves and squatted on the ground. "There really is heavenly light. This red lotus is the genuine article."
He had only just touched the red lotus, and in the blink of an eye, he had been struck by heavenly light.
"Blame my carelessness," Sun Tiecheng said, slapping his forehead. "One shouldn't touch this red lotus directly. I always used special measures before—how did I forget today?"
With Sun Tiecheng's cultivation, a single strike of heavenly light was not enough to claim his life. Gui Jianchou said, "Castellan, you should quickly rest a bit and purge the Dao affinity from your body."
"Purge Dao affinity?" Sun Tiecheng felt his own flesh and bones. "I can't say there's much Dao affinity, but this inner fire is blazing fierce. I really do need to vent it."
As he spoke, Sun Tiecheng stretched his waist and turned his gaze toward Gui Jianchou.
Gui Jianchou's expression stiffened. Taking several steps back, he stammered, "Castellan, you want to vent your fire?"
"Mm!" Sun Tiecheng's eyes shone bright, fixed unwaveringly on Gui Jianchou.
"Castellan, I'm heading to Sage Peak right this second! If I don't finish the task, I swear I won't come back to face you!" Gui Jianchou bolted at top speed.
"What's the rush? Wait until I vent my fire, then it won't be too late for you to leave!" Sun Tiecheng moved to give chase, but his body suddenly shuddered.
"This fire is truly ferocious. I need to find a lover to take care of it." With a flick of Sun Tiecheng's sleeve, the red lotus returned to its drawer on its own. Clasping his hands behind his back, he strode out of the courtyard gate and vanished in the blink of an eye.
***
At Jingde Village in Jianrengang, several daolao ghosts were rolling dice and gambling at the village entrance.
Gui Jianchou was bewildered. By all rights, daolao ghosts didn't possess such high intelligence—how had they learned to seek amusement?
Daolao ghosts were a peculiar sort of creature. Though called ghosts, they were not truly ghosts, and the methods of Demonic Cultivators had little effect on them.
Gui Jianchou summoned a Sleep Cultivator ghost servant. The ghost servant silently approached the daolao ghosts and placed a bet of two silver dollars. The daolao ghosts looked first at the ghost servant, then at the two silver coins. Soon, their eyelids grew heavy, and one by one, they fell asleep.
Taking advantage of their slumber, Gui Jianchou trapped them using spiritual items.
Beside him, A Xiong said, "Master, why not just kill them off? They're nothing but pests!"
Gui Jianchou frowned. "That's why I say you don't know how to handle business. We came to find peaches, not to conquer a mountain. If anything goes awry, we need room for leeway; we can't tie a knot that can never be undone."
Once inside the village, they settled into a peasant household. Gui Jianchou then summoned a ghost servant spliced from an Opera Cultivator and a Thief Cultivator.
The art of splicing ghost servants was known as soul-vein splicing, an above-the-clouds technique. Spliced ghost servants came in two varieties: Maimaitong, where a single servant carried multiple consciousnesses, and Yimaisheng, where the servant retained only a single consciousness.
This particular ghost servant had only one consciousness and was named A Zhong.
Gui Jianchou instructed, "A Zhong, disguise yourself as a daolao ghost, go up Sage Peak, and fetch me the golden-thorn peach."
A Zhong stared at Gui Jianchou. "Master, you're sending me alone?"
Gui Jianchou replied, "More people bring more chances for a slipup. I'm sending you because I trust you!"
"I can't do it alone—"
A Xiong barked, "What do you mean you can't? To train an army for a thousand days is to use them for a single hour! When the time comes, you make excuses and shirk duty—is that how you repay Master's nurturing?"
A Zhong glared at A Xiong. Earlier, he had called A Xiong useless, never expecting A Xiong to seize this moment to settle the score.
Seeing Gui Jianchou on the verge of losing his temper, A Zhong had no choice but to head to Sage Peak on his own.
***
On the main peak of Sage Peak, at what was once the residence of the Sage.
Under Critic's direction, the daolao ghosts had demolished the Sage's estate and constructed a colossal altar.
The altar enshrined three deities: on the left stood the Ancestor of Disease Cultivators, on the right the Daolao War God, and in the center the Lord of Plague.
Critic first led a group of daolao ghosts to pay homage to the Ancestor of Disease Cultivators on the left. The statue of this ancestor looked identical to Lü Shuigong.
After worshiping the Ancestor of Disease Cultivators, they paid homage to the Daolao War God on the right. The war god's statue looked identical to Wan Jinxian.
Did the daolao ghosts possess such sublime sculpting skill?
Naturally not. Those two statues were the actual Lü Shuigong and Wan Jinxian.
Neither of them was willing to sit obediently as a statue, but they had fallen victim to Critic's petrification sickness. Most of their bodily structures had turned to stone, leaving only a handful of organs still functioning.
Critic presented offerings to the two deities. Both gods were attended by dedicated priests who routinely fed them and washed their bodies.
Having worshiped the two subordinate gods, it was time to venerate the chief deity.
The chief deity's statue was shrouded in dense mist. Critic took out a folding fan, waved it twice, and dispersed the vapor.
The chief deity's statue emerged, and every daolao ghost bowed their heads.
This statue had been carved by Critic himself, composed of six triangular pyramids and six spheres.
No one could accurately describe its shape. With every additional second one looked upon it, its form shifted once; gaze at it for more than five seconds, and one would contract petrification sickness.
Any daolao ghost infected with petrification sickness would be placed beside Lü Shuigong and Wan Jinxian to become a follower of the two subordinate gods.
The ritual adhered to the traditional etiquette of Puluo Province: three kneelings and nine kowtows, amounting to more than seventy kneelings and over two hundred kowtows.
Critic had designed the ceremonial rites himself because he discovered that Puluo Province's rituals were far stricter and carried greater binding power.
Attempting to rein in such an enormous horde of daolao ghosts posed a severe challenge to Critic, and the rituals of Puluo Province proved distinctly more effective.
Once the rites concluded, the daolao ghosts needed ample space to unwind.
Critic had built a vast dance hall and purchased a mountain of musical instruments. Having finished their farming and hunting duties, the daolao ghosts commenced their daily three-hour revelry to wild, unrestrained Amikan western music.
The dance hall was divided into two camps: one faction venerated the Ancestor of Disease Cultivators, while the other believed in the Daolao War God. Clashes frequently erupted between the two groups during the carnival, and Critic generally turned a blind eye to these skirmishes.
Conflict kept within bounds was a boon for Critic. If the two sides ceased fighting each other, trouble would follow, as they would unite to rebel against their recently installed chieftain.
Today's revelry featured an additional segment: welcoming a new member—a spirit who looked very much like a daolao ghost, yet was not one.
This newcomer had concealed himself so thoroughly that neither Critic nor the other daolao ghosts could tell him apart at first.
It was only when the revelry reached its final stage—where male and female daolao ghosts embraced and danced together—that A Zhong, disguised as a daolao ghost, finally faltered, betrayed by his ignorance of the carnival's rules.
In the early phase of the revelry, each camp entertained itself; in the mid-phase, the two factions provoked one another; in the late phase, fierce brawls erupted. Yet in the final stage, the daolao ghosts broke through factional lines, embracing and dancing together.
A Zhong had no idea this was the rule. He refused to dance with women from the opposing faction, declining several in a row.
Critic noticed the anomaly and ordered the daolao ghosts to seize the spirit, bringing him before the Lord of Plague for judgment.
The so-called judgment meant looking directly upon the statue.
Petrification sickness could infect spirits as well, and A Zhong could feel the immense power radiating from the idol. Standing before it, his chest puffed out and his eyes squeezed shut, he hollered at Critic:
"I'm a tough bastard! Fierce in life, and a vicious ghost in death! My master sent me here to fetch golden-thorn peaches! He's waiting down in Jingde Village at the foot of the mountain! Aside from that, I won't breathe a single word!"
Critic commanded, "Go to Jingde Village and meet our guest."
A Zhong marched proudly ahead of the group. "Don't think I'm leading the way for you! I just want to return to my master's side as fast as I can!"
A Zhong got his wish and soon found himself back before Gui Jianchou.
Seeing the daolao ghosts surrounding them layer upon layer, Gui Jianchou longed to reduce A Zhong to ash, yet he held back.
Craving life and fearing death was human nature. Sending A Zhong on such a perilous assignment, Gui Jianchou had already anticipated that the moment the mission failed, A Zhong would surrender immediately.
Besides, executing A Zhong now would solve nothing. The pressing matter was how to fight their way out of the encirclement.
Gui Jianchou had a ghost servant skilled in flight scout the perimeter. Pinpointing a relatively weak position, he prepared to break out.
Critic stood outside the farmhouse. He knew a figure like Gui Jianchou was not one to be trifled with; an all-out assault would inflict heavy losses on the daolao ghosts. Of course, if Gui Jianchou could be captured alive, Sage Peak would gain another formidable fighting asset.
Weighing his options, Critic initiated negotiations first: "Stranger, what is your purpose in stealing golden-thorn peaches? Do you intend to use them to brew poison to harm people?"
Critic recognized Gui Jianchou from their past encounters on Sage Peak, but in Critic's current form, Gui Jianchou had no idea who he was.
Judging from the question, this chieftain of the daolao ghosts seemed to possess some moral standard. From inside the farmhouse, Gui Jianchou replied, "I came seeking golden-thorn peaches not to harm anyone, but to use them as medicine to treat illness."
The moment they heard the word 'treat,' the daolao ghosts who worshiped the Ancestor of Disease Cultivators grew incensed, letting out low, unified hisses outside the farmhouse.
Gui Jianchou felt a tingling itch spread across his chest. Knowing the formidable power of that roar, he realized he could delay no longer; he would have to fight for his life to break out.
Critic shouted the daolao ghosts down, then called toward the farmhouse, "I will give you some golden-thorn peaches. Take them and brew your medicine. The next time you come, show me your concoction, and let me see what therapeutic effect it truly has."
Two daolao ghosts tossed a sack of golden-thorn peaches into the courtyard. Gui Jianchou had a ghost servant retrieve them.
Golden-thorn peaches were precious supplementary ingredients for alchemy and valuable medicinal herbs. Gui Jianchou had seen them before and naturally could not mistake them.
Critic ordered the daolao ghosts to part, clearing a path for Gui Jianchou to depart.
Gui Jianchou walked out of the farmhouse and cupped his hands toward Critic. "Green mountains do not change, and clear waters flow forever. I will remember this kindness today. When we meet again, I shall not be lacking in courtesy. Farewell!"
With Gui Jianchou gone, Critic led the daolao ghosts back to the main peak. Because the ghost servant had dampened their spirits earlier, Critic extended the revelry by an extra hour.
***
In the office, Li Banfeng sipped his tea, quietly watching Du Wenming.
Du Wenming had previously taken an unyielding stance, agreeing to meet only one of Li Qi's terms: waiving freight charges.
Now, however, Du Wenming's attitude had shifted.
Because Li Qi kept dragging his feet, prolonging matters any further threatened to let his promotion slip through his fingers.
"Five thousand," Du Wenming named a new price. "I'll immediately submit a request to my superiors. As long as it's confirmed that the Inner States won't go to war, this matter is practically guaranteed."
"Five thousand won't do, and 'practically guaranteed' won't do either," Li Banfeng stated plainly. "Ten thousand is my bottom line. I see the people first before I handle the business."
Du Wenming intensely disliked Li Qi's negotiating style, yet in the end, he agreed.
According to their agreement, Li Qi would first travel to Qishuiyao to negotiate. Once he obtained their intent for a ceasefire, he would notify Du Wenming.
Du Wenming would submit the request and hand over the ten thousand laborers to Li Qi, after which Li Qi would secure a substantive commitment to peace.
With terms settled, Li Banfeng departed immediately for Qishuiyao.
Negotiations were hardly necessary; Li Banfeng had settled things with Luo Lijun long ago and already possessed the covenant deeds. His trip to Qishuiyao this time was primarily to hand over a piece of newland to Ma the Fifth.
Li Banfeng had long intended to give a plot of newland to Ma the Fifth, but a newland with complete covenant deeds was extraordinarily dangerous. Even He Yuxiu, with her above-the-clouds cultivation, struggled immensely to hold her territory; with Ma the Fifth's current cultivation, even if he brought every guard his family possessed, he would have had no chance of defending the land.
Fortunately, Ma the Fifth had Feng Daiku. Li Qi and Ma the Fifth had offered generous terms, but Feng Daiku had initially declined, citing that managing Kudaikan and Qishuiyao already consumed too much of her energy, leaving her none to spare for newland.
Energy was not the real issue; the crux was that a newland with intact covenant deeds would attract too many covetous eyes, and Feng Daiku feared she could not defend it.
Now that three-headed people were available, Feng Daiku felt somewhat more confident. She agreed to lend Ma the Fifth a hand, so Li Banfeng left one parcel of newland and five thousand three-headed people to the two of them.
The remaining five thousand laborers Li Banfeng intended to take to Qiqiu City.
***
Qiu Luoye was at home eating pumpkins, devouring them one sweet, fragrant bite after another.
The tiger gave a warning: "A guest has arrived!"
Qiu Luoye instantly put away the pumpkin, grabbed a leg of mutton from the table, and began gnawing on it.
Seeing that it was Li Qi, Qiu Luoye was overjoyed. He told the tiger to arrange a feast at once so the two could eat and talk.
When Li Qi brought up the three-headed people, Qiu Luoye chuckled. "No need to consult me on that. Just send them right over."
"Brother Qiu, I have another piece of newland that I'd like to entrust to you as well."
Qiu Luoye looked over the map and asked, "Is this land similar to the one your lover holds?"
"Which lover?"
"The sturdy one who looks like she'd bear good children!"
"You mean He Yuxiu?" Li Qi nodded. "It's the same. Both covenant deeds are complete."
Qiu Luoye shook his head. "Then I can't help you there. Old Seven, I treat you like a brother of my own blood, so I'll give it to you straight. This parcel of land is fine stuff, but it's different from ordinary newland. You can't just leave it unattended, or someone will snatch it away. Qiqiu City's territory is too massive; I can barely keep up with the daily chores on my own land. If I watch over this newland for you, I won't be able to look after Qiqiu City."
Qiu Luoye spoke the honest truth. The first batch of pioneers enjoyed the protection of the local spirit; even after the territory became proper land, that protection remained intact, and Qiu Luoye truly had far too much to handle.
Li Qi asked, "What if I handed this land over to Brother Shui?"
Qiu Luoye pondered for a long while before shaking his head again. "Shui Yongquan won't do."
"Are you afraid he can't defend it?"
Qiu Luoye knew Shui Yongquan inside and out. "The man has great ability, but he's too timid. If you offer him the land, he won't dare accept it. Even if he does, a little intimidation from the Inner States might make him hand it right over. So this place absolutely cannot go to him."
"Then who else is suitable?"
After thinking for a long time, Qiu Luoye said, "Don't you have another lover, the one who can read so many words? That girl can be trusted!"
"You mean Xiao Yeci?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "She's only at the second tier of Earth Skin, far from becoming a local spirit!"
"She is a bit far off," Qiu Luoye agreed. He thought for another moment, then looked at Li Qi. "Old Seven, with such fine land, why don't you keep it for yourself?"
Li Banfeng said, "I'm currently in the Outer States, and I truly have no time to manage it."
"Then there's no other way; you can only give it to that good-for-nothing lover of yours."
Li Banfeng laughed. "Do I really have that many lovers? Which one is the good-for-nothing?"
"The crazy one."
"You mean Chu the Second? Her cultivation doesn't seem very high either."
Qiu Luoye chuckled. "Her cultivation might not be high, but her foundation is rock-solid! Her master is Granny Ku, and her father is Chu Shaoqiang. Not many people would dare cross her."
Li Banfeng frowned slightly. "Chu Shaoqiang is from the Inner States."
Qiu Luoye shook his head. "Old Seven, no need to worry about that. We're giving the land to the girl, not to Chu Shaoqiang. To tell you the truth, I genuinely can't stand that wench—she's shrewish, vicious, and venomous. If you ever took her as your principal wife, your elder brother would be thoroughly displeased. But toward you, she's beyond reproach. For your sake, she fought her own father with her life on the line; I saw it with my own eyes. Leaving the land in her hands gives me real peace of mind."
Thinking it over, Chu the Second truly was the most suitable candidate.
Every time he drank with Qiu Luoye, Li Banfeng found it immensely gratifying. The two traded toasts and drank heavily, yet Qiu Luoye merely held onto the leg of mutton, barely putting any meat into his belly.
"Brother, eat up," Li Banfeng said, somewhat concerned. "Have you not fully recovered yet?"
"Fully recovered, long ago! I'm eating, I'm eating!" Qiu Luoye took a bite of the mutton leg. He genuinely despised eating the stuff.
With the destination of the newland settled, Li Banfeng inquired about the Inner States: "Brother Qiu, you mentioned before that purebred Inner States folk come in all shapes and sizes—some resemble chickens, ducks, geese, or dogs, while others look human. If those who look human come to Puluo Province, wouldn't they be hard to distinguish?"
Qiu Luoye waved his hand. "Easy to spot. They look human, but their whole bodies are covered in thick hair, and they're massive—at least as tall as that tree out there."
Li Banfeng glanced into the courtyard. The tree Qiu Luoye pointed at stood at least five meters tall.
"In other words, we can recognize any purebred Inner States native?"
"Without a doubt," Qiu Luoye said, lowering his voice slightly. Even though he was now the local spirit of proper land, he remained deeply circumspect whenever the Inner States was mentioned. "Let me tell you, brother, if you see a purebred Inner States native in Puluo Province, don't rush to fight him. Go straight to the Peddler. The Peddler kills every single one he finds."
Li Banfeng asked, "What if an Inner States native used an illusion technique to disguise themselves, making it impossible to tell, so they looked just like someone from Puluo Province? How should that be handled?"
"There's no such method!" Qiu Luoye waved his hand repeatedly. "Whether illusion arts, mind arts, or disguise techniques, no sorcery can turn an Inner States native into a person of Puluo Province. Even if they mimic seventy or eighty percent of the likeness, the flaws show in the blink of an eye. The bloodline of the Inner States is simply too far removed from ours."
Li Banfeng pressed, "What if there were a kind of Inner States native capable of turning themselves into someone from Puluo Province without leaving any flaw? What then?"
"That would be a disaster! Wouldn't that mean the Inner States had infiltrated us?"
"If they did infiltrate, what would the consequences be?"
Qiu Luoye set down the mutton leg. "I can't say for sure what the consequences would be. Back when my cultivation was still at the Earth Skin tier, I remember a purebred Inner States native turned into a house and slipped into a deserted village in Puluo Province.
"That deserted village was haunted and had been abandoned for years. At first, it was just a single tile-roofed room and a small courtyard; sitting in a deserted village, nobody paid it any mind. But after less than a month, that one room became two.
"There was a fierce ghost who had lingered in that village for years. Because her bones were buried there, she couldn't stray far. Seeing that something was amiss, she went everywhere trying to tell people. But when folks saw a fierce ghost, they ran for their lives—who would believe her ghost story?
"A couple of days later, the two rooms turned into a quadrangle courtyard, and the quadrangle turned into a grand mansion. At first, only that one house changed, but later, every house in the village began transforming along with it. It scared that fierce ghost into becoming a good ghost!
"She knelt at the village entrance, kowtowing and begging passing travelers to take her bones away, but no one was willing to help her. Until one day, the Peddler passed by the village entrance. The ghost finally found her savior.
"At the time, I happened to be buying medicinal plaster from the Peddler and heard the ghost explain the situation. The Peddler was furious. He said the Inner States folk had come to drop their spawn. Pushing his cart, he marched straight into the deserted village.
"I wanted to follow and watch the excitement, but the Peddler wouldn't let me, telling me to hide far away. After hiding for less than half an hour, the Peddler emerged, carrying the ghost's bones, and told her to leave at once.
"My curiosity got the better of me. Once the Peddler left, I went to take a look at the village, only to find the entire village was gone. Every house had vanished, and even the foundations had been scraped clean. It scared the life out of me; I never went back to that village again."
Listening to Qiu Luoye's description, Li Banfeng found the life forms of the Inner States even more baffling.
A house suddenly appearing in Puluo Province was still something one could guard against. But an ordinary human appearing in Puluo Province—how could one defend against that?
He had to tell the Peddler about this at once.
***
According to Qiu Luoye's calculations, the Peddler should currently have reached Iron Gate Fort.
Li Banfeng was thoroughly familiar with the place. He ran at full tilt to Iron Gate Fort and inquired around the stronghold, only to learn that the Peddler had not visited in the past two days.
"Brother, did the Peddler really not come, or did you simply not notice?"
Wu Yongchao didn't dare make guarantees; he rarely stepped outside. "Fort Master, don't worry just yet. Let me ask around."
After asking high and low throughout the fort, several House Cultivators who were also waiting to buy goods from the Peddler confirmed that they had not seen him either.
House Cultivators rarely traveled far, so it was possible the Peddler simply had not reached the immediate vicinity of the fort.
Li Banfeng quickly contacted Luo Zhengnan. Back when Chen Weixin was causing trouble at Iron Gate Fort, Li Banfeng had instructed Luo Zhengnan to plant scouts there.
"Seventh Master, by my estimates, the Peddler should indeed have reached Iron Gate Fort. I'll get in touch with our man right away. Please wait for my word."
Not long after hanging up, Luo Zhengnan called back. "Seventh Master, we can't reach our man!"
Li Banfeng frowned. "When was the last time you were in touch with him?"
"Just yesterday. A few roving bandits passed near the fort causing trouble, but Wu Yongchao and his men drove them off. Today, there's been no word."
"What is this brother's name?"
"His surname is Mao, named Mao Caoye. In his early twenties, a second-tier Martial Cultivator. He usually poses as a rice vendor doing daily business in the fort, living just outside in Dongjing Village."
The Peddler had vanished, and now Luo Zhengnan's planted scout had disappeared as well. Were the two incidents connected?
Regardless of whether they were connected, one of his subordinates had gone missing, and he could not leave the matter unattended.
Li Banfeng first headed to Dongjing Village and located Mao Caoye's residence.
Mao Caoye rented a room there, sharing a courtyard with his landlord. Li Banfeng questioned the landlord first, who replied, "The lad is diligent. He pushed his cart out early this morning, likely off to sell rice."
Li Banfeng returned to the fort and summoned Wu Yongchao. "Brother, did you see Mao Caoye today?"
"Who is Mao Caoye?" Wu Yongchao looked completely bewildered.
"The rice vendor."
"Man or woman?"
"A man, in his early twenties."
With that description, Wu Yongchao knew who he meant. He often bought rice from Mao Caoye; the young man was amiable and never skimped on weight. Wu Yongchao had a good impression of him, though he had never known his name.
"He was here this morning. Arrived past eight o'clock. Plenty of folks were waiting to buy rice from him, and by ten, he was completely sold out."
Having sold out his rice, Mao Caoye had left the fort. Where could he have gone?
Another elderly rice vendor in the fort said to Li Banfeng, "He probably went to the surrounding villages to buy up more rice. Since the nearby villages have none left to spare, he most likely headed to Songling Village."
Songling Village was quite a distance away. Li Banfeng trekked more than twenty li along mountain paths until he reached the village entrance.
The village was dead silent. Across every household, paddy, and dry field, not a single soul was in sight.
Walking up to the gate of a peasant courtyard, Li Banfeng spotted someone inside. Taking a closer look, he realized he recognized the man.
"Ah Gui?"
Clutching his chest, Gui Jianchou sat in the courtyard and looked up at Li Banfeng.
Li Banfeng entered the yard and asked him, "What happened?"
Gui Jianchou's face was deathly pale. He pointed to his mouth, gesturing that he could not speak.
A ghost servant beside him, with one hand clutching his chest, produced a sheet of white paper with the other and wrote four characters upon it: *We are sick.*
"What sickness?"
Gui Jianchou shook his head; he had no idea what sickness it was either.
The ghost servant wrote another line: *This sickness is contagious. Speak, and it spreads.*
What kind of illness worked like that?
Before Li Banfeng could wrap his mind around it, the ghost servant continued writing: *Find Castellan Sun. Save us.*
Having finished writing, the ghost servant bowed deeply with hands clasped toward Li Banfeng.
Gui Jianchou, leading the group of ghost servants, bowed deeply in supplication to Li Banfeng alongside him.
Chapter 542