Chapter 360: You See, Trouble Is Afoot

Because they had sent word ahead, their arrival at Lanlou Mansion went off without a hitch.

Upon arrival, they were received by the Mansion Master and Bureau Chief of Lanlou Mansion. The two didn’t recognize Nangong Yuan or Qi Suian, but they knew Yan Jingxing.

However, after learning Nangong Yuan’s identity, their reception became even more enthusiastic.

As for the Ghost Person that was captured earlier, it had been killed long ago. Why would they have kept it until now?

It’s not a good thing to keep around. The sooner it’s killed, the better.

Qi Suian didn’t throw an unreasonable fit, though. He had them prepare a quiet room for him, and then went to dissect that Ghost Person on his own.

The Bureau Chief of Lanlou Mansion’s Exorcism Bureau looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue. With Yan Jingxing and Nangong Yuan backing Qi Suian, he ultimately endured it.

However, he did increase security and surveillance to prevent any... incidents.

Qi Suian noticed this but didn’t make a fuss. As long as it didn’t interfere with his dissection, their reaction was perfectly normal.

What Qi Suian was doing was basically like bringing a bomb into someone’s house to dismantle it. If they *didn’t* react, now *that* would be a problem.

Still, this unusual behavior forced the Mansion Master of Lanlou Mansion to contact the Celestial Capital for confirmation.

It was mainly because the situation defied logic and common sense.

Fortunately, the Celestial Capital gave a timely and affirmative reply, which finally put the minds of Lanlou Mansion’s Master and Bureau Chief at ease.

While they didn’t relax their precautions, they became much more flexible.

After Qi Suian moved into that quiet courtyard, the surroundings became a lot less quiet.

The reason was simple: the wails of that Ghost Person went on from morning till night, rarely ever stopping.

And even when it did stop, it wasn’t because Qi Suian had let up, but because the creature had passed out.

It howled for three days before Qi Suian finally called someone to come deal with it.

Qi Suian didn’t take the ghost from inside its body. Without proper processing, the Melting Furnace wouldn’t be able to contain it if he simply removed it directly.

The Hanged Ghost and the Golden Body Ghost had both been captured by Qi Suian from the Truth Layer first, which is why they were so docile when stuffed into the Melting Furnace.

But the ghost inside a Ghost Person was not only "wild," it also existed in the Reality Layer. It possessed a powerful connection to the rules of reality, making it impossible for the Tai Sui God’s Melting Furnace to imprison it.

It was like, if its killing rule was triggered, it might just ignore the spatial confinement and break out.

This involved the reduction of its human aspect, restraints on its rules, and so on.

’In a way, the Ghost Person and the ghost have reached a state of symbiosis.’

’But there’s a problem with the Spirit. Due to the symbiosis, it’s been completely twisted by corruption.’

’And the source of that corruption is the ghost’s human aspect, which resides in the Truth Layer.’

’The Ziyue Dynasty doesn’t seem to have realized this.’ Qi Suian suspected that the Ghost Control Technique modifications made to the Ghost People involved the Truth Layer.

That would explain this completely different type of mutation.

’It’s just that Nangong Yuan is too tight-lipped. She’s completely unwilling to tell me about the Ghost Control Technique.’

’Yan Jingxing was showing signs of cracking before, but after the Ghost Person incident, he clammed up. He must have been warned by Nangong Yuan.’

In every respect, Nangong Yuan was no decorative vase. Her appearance was just a disguise; in reality, she had sealed countless ghosts and showed not an ounce of mercy toward people.

So, if you were fooled by her looks, you’d be truly screwed. She’d play you for a fool, no doubt.

She was using the secrets of the Ghost People and the Ghost Control Technique as leverage to prevent Qi Suian from running off.

You want them? Fine. Go to the Celestial Capital. Emperor Zhiyue won’t be stingy with a few secrets.

But before that, he had to cooperate with them to figure out the patterns of the Doomsday Game.

In short, the rewards were all interlinked.

If Qi Suian wanted to get his hands on it, taking it by force was the most direct path.

But they had already considered that. Sure, he could get it by force, but he could forget about any future benefits.

They weren’t stingy with the current benefits, though—things like all sorts of special treatment and answering any questions he had.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK~

A knock came from the door. It was Yan Jingxing.

He hadn’t wanted to come. He’d originally tried to trick the Bureau Chief of Lanlou Mansion’s Exorcism Bureau into coming instead, but the man was wary and dodged the task.

Yan Jingxing’s behavior had been just too strange; the chief was afraid it was a trap.

"Good news! The Lanlou Mansion Exorcism Bureau caught another Ghost Person!" Yan Jingxing shouted from outside the door without coming in.

He’d actually been worried these past three days that Qi Suian would cause a scene, since the Ghost Person meant for him had been killed.

Qi Suian opened the door and said slowly, "I know it’s good news. But it’s one thing for *me* to shout it. When *you* shout it, people might think you’ve betrayed the Ziyue Dynasty and sided with the ghosts."

Yan Jingxing’s eyes bulged, and his face turned a little green.

’Sooner or later, I’m going to rip that mouth of his right off,’ he thought. ’The guy doesn’t understand a thing about social etiquette.’

The guards were already starting to look at him strangely.

Before Qi Suian said anything, it was fine. After all, it was common knowledge that he enjoyed "tormenting" Ghost People.

But with those words, the atmosphere changed.

"If you don’t know how to talk, then next time, don’t—" Yan Jingxing was forced to swallow his anger in the end. "Do you want the Ghost Person or not? If you don’t, I’ll have them kill it."

"I’ll take it. Why wouldn’t I?" Qi Suian had just been worrying about running out of test subjects.

The last Ghost Person’s value had been completely squeezed dry; he was in dire need of a new one.

"Then I’ll have someone bring it over." After speaking, Yan Jingxing turned to leave, but Qi Suian grabbed him.

"Don’t be in such a hurry to leave. Let’s chat some more," Qi Suian said.

However, Yan Jingxing refused very sternly, stating that he still had official business to attend to.

It was mainly because Qi Suian’s status was special, and on top of that, his mouth was practically coated in poison. A conversation with him would only end in his own ruin and disgrace.

"Don’t you find it strange?" As Qi Suian said this, Yan Jingxing’s footsteps faltered.

"A minor place like Lanlou Mansion has actually had three Ghost People."

"How often does your Shengshi Mansion encounter a Ghost Person?" Qi Suian said.

The corner of Yan Jingxing’s eye twitched. He really wanted to remind Qi Suian to watch his wording, but then he figured the guy wouldn’t change even if he knew, so he let it go.

"In the Shengshi Mansion I *oversee*, we haven’t encountered a single Ghost Person since I took office," Yan Jingxing corrected him earnestly, putting heavy emphasis on the word "oversee."

"Right? So how is it that a place like Lanlou Mansion gets three of them? Usually, even one is a rarity. Three have shown up, and you people still aren’t on alert," Qi Suian pointed out.

’Protagonists, I swear. Walking disasters, every one of them.’

Qi Suian normally had the Seven Elements Relief effect, so this sort of thing was triggered less often.

But this time, it even coughed up a beauty. Triggering a major incident on top of that wasn’t unacceptable.

"What have you found out?" Yan Jingxing asked hurriedly.

"What could I have found out? I haven’t even stepped out the door. It’s just a guess."

"Besides, it’s not like I need to be the one to remind you. I bet the Mansion Master and Exorcism Bureau of Lanlou Mansion are already investigating like mad."

"But you’re an outsider, so they probably didn’t dare bother you. You need to remind the Grand Commander of Hell," Qi Suian said, pointing him in the right direction.

"It’s Grand Commander of Celestial Capital now..." Yan Jingxing couldn’t help but correct him again, then added, "I’ll go right away. You just focus on tormenting the Ghost Person and don’t leave the protected area."

After speaking, Yan Jingxing turned and left, his speed countless times faster than before. He was clearly using the power of a ghost.

Qi Suian returned to his room and continued to tinker with his experiments.

But not even two minutes later, a wave of drowsiness washed over him.

’You’ve got to be kidding me. Again?’

’It’s a seven-day cycle...’ Qi Suian decisively had his AI use the Tai Sui God to perform a deactivation on him.

After reviving, he felt refreshed and clear-headed, not the least bit drowsy.

But soon, mist and darkness appeared.

’You don’t even need to anesthetize me, so why do you have to make me sleep...’ Qi Suian grumbled.

He watched the environment change around him, actively collecting the data he needed.

’I can’t understand it, but I’ll copy it down for now. I’ll study it later when I’m strong enough to understand.’ Qi Suian was quite optimistic.

’I just wonder if this Grand Commander from the Celestial Capital can detect that I’ve entered the Truth Layer.’

If she could, it would mean she was also involved in the Ghost Control Technique experiments related to the Ghost People. If not, then the Ghost People were likely an accidental creation.

Of course, after they were created, they probably served some unknown purpose for the Ziyue Dynasty; otherwise, they would have been eradicated long ago.

After all, he could tell from what was said that they were artificially created, not naturally born.

-----------------

"This matter is indeed strange."

"Survivors are indeed sensitive to crisis. He didn’t survive this long just by relying on that bizarre summoned creature of his." Nangong Yuan’s expression didn’t change much after hearing Yan Jingxing’s report.

As a Grand Commander, she had suspected as much long ago. It was just that she had a mission and couldn’t conveniently get involved.

Besides, this wasn’t a matter of fighting and killing, but one centered on investigation.

"Report this to the provincial commandery first. Our mission concerns the Survivor. Let’s not create unnecessary complications," Nangong Yuan offered as a solution.

In other words, kick it up the chain of command.

Compared to the problems in Lanlou Mansion, she placed more importance on Qi Suian, the Survivor. After all, it was His Majesty the Emperor’s decree and had a higher priority.

"You... don’t know about the situation with the Ghost People?" Yan Jingxing hesitated before voicing his confusion.

Nangong Yuan understood at once that he had misunderstood.

"This matter involves the inner court. I am only the Grand Commander; I don’t know much either." Nangong Yuan wasn’t lying. The Ghost People were connected to the dynasty’s hidden secrets, and her duty was to maintain order in the Celestial Capital, so she had little knowledge of the matter.

And the Imperial Palace was not under her jurisdiction as the Grand Commander of Celestial Capital; there was an Imperial Guard Commander for that.

Once Yan Jingxing heard it involved the inner court, he didn’t press the matter further.

"If you want to know more, you could..." Nangong Yuan hadn’t finished speaking when a shout came from outside the door.

"Lord Nangong, Lord Yan, something’s happened! The person you had us watch has disappeared!" a voice called from outside.

Yan Jingxing decisively opened the door, let the person in, and asked, "What happened? Explain in detail."

The person then began to explain the situation. They weren’t sure when he had disappeared, only that when they arrived with the Ghost Person, the room was already empty.

The two of them exchanged a look. In their minds, both calculated that it had been seven days.

"Alright, I understand. Have the Bureau Chief of the Lanlou Mansion Exorcism Bureau come see me," Nangong Yuan said.