Chapter 359: Ghost People, the Flaw of the Ghost Control Technique

The three of them set out in the afternoon. Shengshi Mansion’s Mansion Master came out to see them off, his face a picture of misery.

His gaze, when it landed on Yan Jingxing, was filled with resentment, as if he felt he’d been tricked.

’Why does he get to go instead of me?’

But because of Grand Commander Nangong Yuan of Celestial Capital, he ultimately didn’t dare to say a word.

"There won’t be any idiots like that, don’t worry. The officials of our Ziyue Dynasty aren’t that corrupt..." Yan Jingxing felt a headache coming on.

On the way to Lanlou Mansion, Qi Suian had described a whole slew of potential scenarios they might face.

These included everything from some hedonistic young master lusting after Grand Commander Nangong’s beauty to Qi Suian getting challenged for stepping into a room with his left foot first.

"It’s better to be safe than sorry. I’m experienced in these matters." Qi Suian’s "experience," however, came from reading trashy, brain-dead novels.

It had never happened to him before because he’d never had a beautiful woman with him. This time was different; it was a real possibility.

"Sigh. Just how insane was that other world you came from?" Nangong Yuan was rendered speechless by Qi Suian’s words.

In all her life, she’d never met a single person who lusted after her for her looks.

Plenty of people coveted her martial prowess and authority, hoping to win her over to their side, but her looks? Not a single one.

And don’t even get started on being mocked for trivial things.

"Nonsense. If you hadn’t shamelessly insisted on tagging along, I wouldn’t have these worries."

"If it were Master Yan instead..." Before Qi Suian could finish, Yan Jingxing cut him off.

"Don’t. I’m not nearly as intimidating as the Grand Commander." Yan Jingxing could understand Qi Suian’s dislike for Nangong Yuan, but he couldn’t fathom why the man always put him on a pedestal.

He reasonably suspected Qi Suian was trying to kill him with flattery, deliberately drawing Nangong Yuan’s ire toward him.

It seemed innocuous at first glance, but it was actually remarkably malicious.

Thankfully, Grand Commander Nangong Yuan was worldly and experienced enough not to misunderstand. Otherwise, even if he wasn’t "settled with" later, he would have been skinned alive.

"Is that a person up ahead?" Qi Suian said suddenly.

The other two paused, their gazes following the direction Qi Suian pointed, but they saw nothing.

"Where? I don’t see anything." Yan Jingxing’s body tensed, and a Ghost Head Lock Chain slowly materialized in his hand.

"Three more seconds." Just as Qi Suian spoke, a figure appeared on the distant horizon, rapidly closing in on them.

"Looks like a person, not a ghost."

Qi Suian took another careful look and came to that conclusion.

Meanwhile, countless eyes opened all over Nangong Yuan’s body. They weren’t just on her skin but on her clothing and accessories as well.

They looked unnervingly lifelike, blinking from time to time as if they were truly alive.

"You know him?" Seeing their reactions, Qi Suian knew the newcomer meant trouble.

So he casually summoned Fei, having it block ahead while shielding himself behind the other two.

"A pack of madmen. The best way to deal with them is to kill them on sight." Nangong Yuan’s voice was cold, and a biting killing intent emanated from her.

In a way, Nangong Yuan and Yan Jingxing were actually quite good-tempered. Qi Suian had been doing his best to sow discord between them, yet neither had gotten angry.

But upon seeing this person, their anger was real.

"Master Yan, protect him. I’ll deal with this Ghost Person." Nangong Yuan felt a pang of relief. It was a good thing she’d brought Yan Jingxing along; an extra pair of hands was a big help.

With that, the eyes on Nangong Yuan’s body began to squirm. Her form flickered, and she vanished.

When she reappeared, she was already in front of the figure she called a Ghost Person, her attack already underway.

"Ghost People are human, technically. But they are traitors to humanity," Yan Jingxing began to explain. "You should be aware of the Ghost Control Technique."

"If two ghosts are deliberately fused during the transplantation process, it causes a mutation that leaves the host neither human nor ghost."

"Even their minds are altered. They come to revere the ghost within them, calling themselves its servant."

"They’re also masters of disguise and possess an incredible power of persuasion."

"Everything they do, every plan they make, is aimed at releasing the ghosts we have sealed. They even commit murder to trigger the reawakening of latent ghosts within ordinary people."

"Most of the ghost awakenings within the dynasty are the handiwork of Ghost People."

"But because of their unique nature, they don’t band together to form factions."

"When two Ghost People meet, their first instinct isn’t to cooperate, but to try and release the ghost from the other’s body. They’re ruthless not just to outsiders, but to their own kind as well."

Yan Jingxing finished explaining the nature and peculiarities of the Ghost People to Qi Suian.

Hearing this, Qi Suian spotted a critical blind spot.

"’You said they’re fused ’deliberately’? Isn’t the Ghost Control Technique exclusive to your Ziyue Dynasty? So how can it be ’deliberate’..." Qi Suian grumbled.

’No matter how you look at it, the emergence of Ghost People is a problem, and it seems the problem lies with the Ziyue Dynasty itself.’

Qi Suian still hadn’t gotten his hands on the Ghost Control Technique. In that respect, the Ziyue Dynasty’s monopoly and secrecy were quite impressive.

But Yan Jingxing just shook his head. "I don’t know the details."

The unspoken message was, ’You’ve guessed correctly,’ but he was only the Master of the Exorcism Bureau in a single mansion, far from a high-ranking figure in the Ziyue Dynasty.

"Perhaps the Grand Commander knows something," Yan Jingxing said, clearly having no intention of digging any deeper into the matter of the Ghost People.

For him, his domain was Shengshi Mansion, and that was all he cared about. He never thought about leaving or getting promoted.

He was telling Qi Suian that if he wanted answers, he should ask the Grand Commander, not him.

Qi Suian, of course, understood his meaning. His mind was already turning over the ’why’ of such a mutation.

’The Grand Commander really is formidable. She finished him off that quickly.’

The two of them had only been talking for a moment before Nangong Yuan had already subdued the Ghost Person and was dragging him back toward them.

As for killing him, you don’t kill what you can capture alive.

After all, Ghost People were still human. If he died, the ghost inside him would inevitably reawaken.

"To become a Grand Commander, one must have at least six ghosts in their body. It’s a core Companion Ghost, supplemented by five other ghosts that work in concert with it," Yan Jingxing explained.

That kind of ghost combination allows a person to unleash immense power, but by the same token, the risks are also immense.

"But from the looks of it, she won’t live much longer," Qi Suian added.

’The more she uses her power, the faster the ghosts fuse. The Ziyue Dynasty would never allow that to complete. In the end, she’ll just be euthanized so they can extract and seal the ghosts before the fusion is complete.’

’If I’m not mistaken, Nangong Yuan hasn’t been Grand Commander for long, and her remaining time in the position is short.’

"Don’t worry. I can still live for another three years. It won’t affect your business," Nangong Yuan said.

She was well aware of her own situation. In the Ghost World, most people had a casual attitude toward life and death.

Not because they were enlightened, but because that’s just the way things were.

Life was cheap, and so was death.

"Well, congratulations," Qi Suian replied flippantly, his attention shifting to the Ghost Person.

"His body is showing signs of ghostification."

Qi Suian crouched down to examine the body. Normally, two ghosts wouldn’t cause ghostification.

’That’s right, the Ghost Person only had two ghosts, and they were fused together—you could almost call it a single entity.’

"This is the Venerable..." The Ghost Person, seeing Qi Suian pawing at him, opened his mouth to speak.

Fei’s hoof lashed out, caving in the man’s face on the spot.

Qi Suian had no interest in hearing his ramblings and began to dissect him directly with polymorphic energy.

"Such rapid regeneration. You two don’t have this, do you?" Qi Suian noted as he dissected, watching the indentation on the man’s face mend itself.

The speed was incredible; it would be fully healed in five minutes at most.

"We don’t. The mutation gives Ghost People a measure of a ghost’s indestructibility." Nangong Yuan, who had clearly dealt with them before, answered his question without hesitation.

Yan Jingxing, on the other hand, had only heard stories and had never witnessed it firsthand.

"So, what’s the origin of these Ghost People? Care to share?" Qi Suian asked as he slit the Ghost Person’s belly open.

The moment he opened the abdominal cavity, a savage maw was revealed. Deeper inside, chunks of flesh were intertwined with the internal organs.

This was clearly the fusion-type ghost that had altered the Ghost Person.

’A pity. It wasn’t the type he was looking for. He wanted the ability *to cause* fusion, not a being created *by* a fusion of ghosts.’

He left it untouched, stitched the man’s abdomen back up, and then proceeded to open up his skull.

"If you want to know about the Ghost People, His Majesty will tell you." Nangong Yuan watched Qi Suian’s work without intervening. "We’re on a tight schedule. If you want to torture this Ghost Person, you can do it after we get to Lanlou Mansion."

For a traitor who willingly became a ghost’s slave, Nangong Yuan wasn’t about to start preaching about human rights.

If they weren’t out in the open where it was difficult to seal the fused ghost inside him, she would have killed this Ghost Person long ago. He wouldn’t have been allowed to live this long.

"I’ve already opened his skull, and you’re telling me to wait? Not a chance!" Qi Suian refused flatly.

’If I agreed, I’d have to stitch him up again. What a hassle.’

"I heard Lanlou Mansion captured a Ghost Person, too."

"Just pause for now. When we get there, we can have the Grand Commander pull some strings and get that other Ghost Person for you, too," Yan Jingxing said, resorting to direct bribery.

Qi Suian was clearly the type who won’t loose the falcon without seeing the hare; empty promises weren’t going to make him stop.

But if there was something in it for him, things became much simpler.

"Can you do it?" Qi Suian looked at Nangong Yuan.

’Yan Jingxing’s words were useless. He had authority in Shengshi Mansion, but in Lanlou Mansion, only Nangong Yuan had that kind of power.’

"Yes. If he’s not dead, I’ll have them give you the captured Ghost Person," Nangong Yuan agreed.

What else could she do? Qi Suian was just squatting there, refusing to budge.

Using force was out of the question; the Ziyue Dynasty was counting on cooperating with Qi Suian to obtain the power to fight ghosts. A small request like this was something she just had to accommodate.