Chapter 349 - 166: Gui Duel

Chapter 349: Chapter 166: Gui Duel

He had to pick up the pace.

"Time to go."

He put down his teacup, left the private room, and headed downstairs. His mission was to scout the coastal defense situation on the Guandong Plain.

He needed to travel south the entire way.

He had to gather as much relevant information as possible.

Then, he had to return to the Mortal Realm to report before this year’s rainy season.

...

As time passed.

More and more information about the Mortal Realm was also making its way to the Guanxi Plain.

Among this information was news of Zhao Shengping, the Artifact Pavilion Master of the Mortal Realm—the same man who was once nicknamed the Guanxi Master of Braised Food.

"..."

The Sect Leader of the Divine Artifact Sect looked at the intelligence report his disciple presented. After confirming that this Zhao Shengping was indeed the same Outer Elder his Sect had expelled, he couldn’t help but scoff.

"So the braised food that’s all the rage across the Guanxi Plain now is made by that guy?"

"Just as I thought."

"He’s still not focused on his proper duties, no matter where he goes."

"Expelling a black sheep like him from the Sect back then was absolutely the right decision."

But his words were tinged with a hint of regret.

Back then, he had expelled Zhao Shengping mainly because an Artifact Refiner was spending all his days making braised food instead of focusing on his duties. It damaged the Sect’s reputation and even dragged down the public perception of all their Artifact Refiners.

Mainly...

Mainly, he just didn’t know that the braised food would sell for such a high price, and people would actually buy it!

Those people were like a pack of madmen.

A single serving of braised food sold for over a thousand Ghost Stones, and people were still buying it! It was even in short supply. If he had known it would be this popular, he would have started selling braised food back then too. The ingredients could only cost a few Ghost Stones at most.

...

Another month passed.

Shao Qiu and his group traveled for several days straight and finally arrived at Zhen Ghost Pass. This was the dividing line between the Guanxi Plain and the Guandong Plain, the ruins of a defensive line left over from the Ancient Battlefield. Unlike the Jiangbei Defense Line from the Ancient Era, it hadn’t been completely obliterated.

"My ass is about to split in two."

Shao Qiu grumbled as he jumped off his Skeleton Horse. He looked ahead at Zhen Ghost Pass. Beyond it lay the Guandong Plain.

He found himself missing the high-speed rail back in the Mortal Realm.

If the Mortal Realm’s high-speed rail could reach this far, he wouldn’t have had to travel for a whole month, no matter how vast the Guanxi Plain was.

Zhen Ghost Pass was the ruin of a defensive line.

It was impossible to tell how many meters tall the City Wall had once been. Now, at a glance, it was only about two or three meters high and in a state of utter disrepair. Most sections had suffered heavy damage and been reduced to flat ground.

On both sides of the ruins,

there were numerous street vendors.

These vendors exchanged local specialties from the two regions to take back and sell, while also providing rest and food for passing travelers. There were rest stops here as well; he could see several Ghost Fires.

"Come on, let’s find a place to rest."

He led his Skeleton Horse and strode toward a rest stop nestled among the ruins. The members of the Dark Pavilion behind him hurried to keep up.

On this trip, they weren’t flying the Mortal Realm Banner. They were dressed in plain clothes, making it impossible to tell which faction they belonged to.

They were traveling in secret.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have needed to ride Skeleton Horses.

They could have just taken a Flying Ship, which was fast and comfortable, but it would have been far too conspicuous.

"This way, sirs, please! As the saying goes, once you pass Zhen Ghost Pass, you’re in Guandong. It’s still a ways to the nearest city in Guandong, so please, come this way, sirs..."

The Xiao Er who greeted them was quite enthusiastic.

It had to be said, the rest stops on the Guanxi Plain were generally more enthusiastic than those in Jiangbei. After all, the competition here was fierce. The stops were packed together, one right next to the other. If you didn’t go to one, you’d just go to the one next door. Under these circumstances, the staff were usually quite warm.

The services offered by the rest stops were all more or less the same.

So, they had to differentiate themselves through their service attitude.

"Three pounds of beef and three jugs of white liquor. Right away!"

The Xiao Er led Shao Qiu’s group into the inn, then gave them a suggestive look. "So, sirs... care to have a little fun? Looking for some entertainment?"

"..."

Shao Qiu sighed helplessly. ’The service here really is different. A temporary rest stop is even competing with brothels for business.’ "Do you guys want to play? I can get two for you. Tell me, do you prefer them young or old?"

"Er, you’ve misunderstood, sir. We don’t have that here. It’s not that kind of fun."

"Then what kind of fun is it?"

"Sirs, please follow me to the backyard."

"Alright, let’s go have a look."

...

Soon—

The group followed the Xiao Er to the backyard. A clamor of noise soon reached them. The backyard was huge and connected to the backyards of the other inns; surprisingly, all their backyards were linked together.

On a platform stood an octagonal cage.

Nearly a hundred people were gathered below the platform, cheering and shouting encouragement.

Inside the cage, two Ghost Objects were baring their teeth, snarling and threatening each other. Both creatures were covered in blood and grievous wounds, clearly on the verge of death.

"Sirs, this is called a Ghost Fight."

"Before it starts, you can place a bet on which Ghost Object you think will win," the Xiao Er explained from the side.

Shao Qiu, however, was completely dumbfounded. He looked up at the sun hanging high in the sky. It wasn’t dusk, and the things in the cage weren’t Fake Human Ghosts. The Domain Lord had sent him to check on the war situation in the Guandong Plain.

’From the looks of it,’ he thought, ’the Guandong Plain is winning one victory after another! They’re capturing Ghost Objects for gladiatorial combat. At this rate, aren’t they about to launch a counterattack?’

"Eternal Night hasn’t fallen yet."

"These Ghost Objects... what’s going on with them?"

He was completely baffled.

Although he was originally from the Guanxi Plain, the plain was vast, and he had never been to this area before. He had truly never seen anything like this in his entire life.

"Hehe..."

The Xiao Er chuckled smugly. "It’s one of a kind. You won’t find another place with Ghost Fights in the entire Eternal Night Continent. Many of our customers travel here from far and wide just for this."

"What do you think?"

"Pretty amazing, huh?"

"How about placing a bet? I can find you a table and have someone bring the meat and liquor over. You can eat and watch at the same time."

Shao Qiu didn’t say anything.

He just silently took out a small notebook from his robes.

"Early in the second month of the Eternal Night Calendar, year 380, I witnessed a Ghost Fight at an inn in Zhen Ghost Pass. Eternal Night had not yet fallen."

This was all information he had to report when he returned.

’The world outside is too chaotic.’

...

ps: I just realized that the boss "Kong Ling" gifted an Alliance Lord. Thanks for the support, sob sob, there will be an extra Chapter tomorrow. Love you.