Chapter 200: Chapter 172: Slaughtering the Pig

Inside a pitch-black gambling den, the soul lamp, previously extinguished, reignites after the Gambling Ghost is imprisoned, emitting a faint red halo.

Lu Da nails a peach wood nail into Wei Wu’s head to prevent any abnormal changes, seeing that the door has reappeared. He glances at Sang Que and Thousand Faces, carries Shi San out for treatment, and calls others in to handle the coffin.

Sang Que and Thousand Faces slump against the coffin, sliding to the ground. Having narrowly escaped death, they both exhale, exchange glances, and laugh simultaneously.

Sang Que’s smile doesn’t show teeth, while Thousand Faces exposes two sharp teeth in her grin.

After laughing, Thousand Faces suddenly remembers something, glancing at the coffin behind her.

“Shoot! You said earlier this guy would pay me. Now he’s dead, you won’t renege on my payment, right? I’m telling you, no one can scam my money! Be careful, or I’ll report your Evil Suppression Bureau to Shengjing!”

Just moments ago, Thousand Faces was talking about offering Sang Que a half-price discount; now, she’s being stingy and uncompromising, arguing that she’s lost her informant identity, her ’mother’ is gone, and her incense offerings have decreased significantly. She claims it’s too much of a loss to offer a discount and suggests discussing it next time.

Upon mentioning this, Sang Que frowns in frustration, rummaging through her bag before finally retrieving two Ghost Soldier Talismans.

After acquiring the Hundred Victory Saber, she rarely uses the Ghost Soldier Talisman and still has four left. These items are worth three hundred Merit Points each within the Evil Suppression Bureau, and she isn’t sure if they can be sold on the black market.

“Give me seven days, and I’ll gather together one thousand gold. These two Ghost Soldier Talismans will serve as a deposit for now.”

Sang Que wouldn’t contribute this money herself, letting the Day Traveling Envoys figure out a solution. If not, they might raid Wei Wu’s home?

“Fine, fine, fine! No problem!”

Thousand Faces snatches the Ghost Soldier Talisman. It’s highly sought after on the black market, and rarely anyone sells them. Thousand Faces feels she’s not only avoided a loss but struck it rich, really rich!

Sang Que asks with concern, “Will your Evil Spirits retaliate?”

Thousand Faces carefully smooths the Ghost Soldier Talisman and places it inside her jacket, “Of course they will, but no worries. Later I’ll dig up two faces in the Chaotic Burial Mound, and it’ll be fine. Remember to call me when there’s work, whether it’s retrieving a lost chicken or catching a ghost, count me in as long as there’s pay.”

Thousand Faces looks around and softly tells Sang Que how to reach her.

Sang Que also provides her address, indicating that Thousand Faces should come by in seven days to collect her money.

Outside, there is a clatter of footsteps as Thousand Faces supports herself on the coffin to stand up; she doesn’t want to be seen by too many people.

“I should get going.”

“Wait, can you tell me your real name? I’ll find a way to repay your incense.”

Given today’s urgent circumstances, Sang Que acknowledges it was wrong of her to use means that damaged Thousand Faces’s incense and believes she should compensate her.

Looking at Thousand Faces, Sang Que reflects that, in her mother’s novel, the only modern friends are Kou Yushan from the Deceit Dynasty, and Xia Chan is a real name.

Since joining the Evil Suppression Bureau, Kou Yushan has learned the Observation Method, enabling a visualization of the Nine Netherworld and his Heart Lamp. She asked Kou Yushan, who roughly estimated that the incense he absorbed from her mother’s novel was not much, yet indeed there was some.

This correlates with Kou Yushan’s lackluster portrayal in her mother’s novel, resulting in few fans.

Upon initial interaction with Thousand Faces, Sang Que perceived her as a likeable girl, not a bad person, and considered suggesting to her mother to write her into the novel, provided she absorbs some incense to offset Thousand Faces’s losses.

Sang Que’s sincere gaze embarrasses Thousand Faces somewhat, as she hadn’t thought it through so deeply, believing straightforward relationships in the Jianghu should be based on honesty and sincerity. With Sang Que today having heroically saved her and helped her hide her identity, how could she respond with deceitful deception?

She couldn’t let sincere intentions be met with ingratitude!

“My surname is Hua, given name Qianmian, as in the cotton in cotton plant.”

“My name is Sang Mulan.” Sang Que also shares her name, which in the Deceit Dynasty is her real name, allowing her to separate modern life from the Deceit Dynasty.

Hua Qianmian nods, vanishes into the darkness, disappearing through the rear door of the gambling den.

Sang Que sits alone beneath the coffin to rest; her cadaverous blotches have yet to fully fade, and her body remains cold, edging fearfully close to the Ghost Level. Currently, her number of Heart Lamps isn’t enough to stabilize her spirit.

Consequently, she’ll become especially prone to alluring Deceits and Ghost-Level entities, with her emotions becoming unstable. Heightened vigilance is crucial.

Yu Da, Xue Er, and their crew swarm into the gambling den, witnessing the corpses of Ding Yuan and Ma Zi, alongside Wei Wu’s head, which is leering widely next to a corpse. A shiver of dread ripples through them all, and they collectively retreat half a step.

Wei Wu’s previously arrogant demeanor remains fresh in everyone’s mind. In less than half an hour, all that’s left of him is his head—he’s gone.

Having always been by Wei Wu’s side, Xue Er experiences the greatest shock, being most familiar with Wei Wu, knowing he would go to any lengths to stay alive. Many times, he had let others take the fall to save his own skin.

Xue Er never expected Wei Wu’s retribution to come so quickly. He’s both relieved and afraid, thankful that he wasn’t dragged into it by Sang Que. His fear lies in having deeply offended Sang Que, worried she’ll unexpectedly drag him into another Deceit scene next time, ending up like Wei Wu.

Even Wei Wu couldn’t resist Sang Que’s pull; he certainly wouldn’t stand a chance.

Moreover, a fourth-layer Gambling Ghost was detained by Sang Que. This kind of power matches that of the Night Traveler’s other Golden Travel Captains, and she’s barely grown up—much like He Buning back in the day.

The entire Evil Suppression Bureau once thought that Sang Que, still young, was arrogant and presumptuous. But now, it seems that if they possessed the same skill, they might be even more arrogant and presumptuous than Sang Que.

Sang Que, on the contrary, has been quite restrained and low-key, even presenting herself for check-in punctually each day, working dutifully, digging ditches.

He Buning back then cared about none of these trivialities, never checking in. If there was a major case, he’d deal with it; if not, he’d practice at the Evil Suppression Bureau’s headquarters or seek guidance from Granny Zhuang.

Should Sang Que live long enough, once He Buning gets a promotion, it would likely be Sang Que’s turn to become Colonel—the prospect looks promising!

In that instant, everyone who once dismissed Sang Que felt chills down their spines, overwhelmed with an inner terror, newfound respect, and awe toward Sang Que; the astute ones even began contemplating how they could foster a good relationship with her.

The respect from these twenty-odd people floods Sang Que with a faint, warming sensation that helps stabilize her spirit, little though it amounts to.

Upon returning, she’d check by how much this ’jump’ detraction reduces, and how lacking her Heart Lamps still are.

Sang Que stands, pats the coffin, and tells Yu Da, “I’ll leave the rest to you guys. I need to go home and sleep.”

Sang Que’s pallid appearance, akin to a corpse, unnerves Yu Da, and he senses that she paid a heavy price to restrain the Gambling Ghost.

Yu Da steps forward with concern, “Is your Evil Spirit about to retaliate? If needed, shall I fetch two death row prisoners from jail for you?”

Sang Que picks up her Night Traveler mask from the ground, feeling the warmth coursing into her from the mask.

This is undoubtedly due to her identity as a Night Traveler gaining more recognition, augmenting the incense the mask provides her.

“No need for death row prisoners.”

Sang Que doesn’t currently need death row prisoners to satisfy the Yin Child, though she indeed craves to find a pig now. Lining up her knives, she imagines herself dismantling and de-skinning the pig, and the picture excitedly sends chills down her spine.

Other than that, she also desires blood curd.

Swallowing her saliva, Sang Que stows the mask in her bag and tells Yu Da, “In the morning, send a pig to my courtyard. Also hire a cook; I’m craving pig-killing dishes.”

Yu Da is astounded. He’s encountered several Yin Walkers retaliated against by Evil Spirits, all choosing murder as an outlet. This pig-killing… it’s his first time encountering such a case.

What kind of Evil Spirit only needs a pig slaughter for the retaliation to ease, with a powerful Evil Mist? Perhaps in life, it was a pig killer, trampled to death by a pig, hence its great fixation on pigs?

Kou Yushan and Xia Chan accompany Sang Que back to the small courtyard. Xia Chan gently covers Sang Que with a quilt, patting her and urging her to sleep quietly without creating a ruckus.

Xuan Yu curls on the table with his paws folded, standing watch for Sang Que so she can rest peacefully.

The ticking countdown in her mind will take twelve hours to dissipate, making it difficult for Sang Que to fall asleep during that time.

With Xia Chan being unyielding, demanding her rest, she can only close her eyes, tallying this venture’s gains and losses.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep