Chapter 465: Chapter 429: Unending Upheavals
Suo Yike, carrying Mo Yan Shu, walked up to Sang Que and gestured for Sang Que to carry the old man on the ground, without offering any explanation or clarification, and only said three words.
"Stay close to me."
"Where’s Zuo Jinye?" Sang Que asked Suo Yike while picking up the old man, presumably the Old Gu Master, from the ground.
Morning is approaching fast, and it’s not far from the time of Chen. She must find Hua Qianmian and cannot leave her here.
Suo Yike remained silent, swiftly walking forward.
After just a few steps, dense footsteps suddenly came from all directions, soldiers wielding firearms surrounded them from all sides, instantly encircling the Evil Ghost Bureau in layers.
Every few soldiers included a Day Traveler or Night Traveler in the regular uniform of the Evil Suppression Bureau, among them not lacking Yin Walkers.
A mist gradually shrouded the surroundings; some sort of Ghost Realm was sealing this place.
Qiu Wanjun parted the crowd and walked forward, his face full of anger, staring at Suo Yike and cursed, "The Prime Minister was truly blind to save your life before, and yet you still betrayed the Prime Minister!"
Suo Yike retreated to Sang Que’s side, giving her a glance.
In the moment their eyes met, Sang Que realized that given the current situation, going into the Evil Ghost Bureau was actually safer.
Suo Yike was able to take someone out of the Evil Ghost Bureau, indicating that the Corpse Slaves inside wouldn’t harm Suo Yike. Perhaps the orders Zuo Jinye left for them were to listen to Suo Yike’s commands or trust him.
Moreover, Sang Que still had a way out; the Evil Ghost Bureau couldn’t trap her.
But this series of changes happened too quickly for Sang Que to process, always feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
Suo Yike didn’t allow Sang Que time to think, nor did he wait for Qiu Wanjun to call for action. The shadows under their feet suddenly lifted off the ground and turned into a barrier; Suo Yike and Sang Que seamlessly turned around, rushing down the steps within a few strides.
Seeing this, Qiu Wanjun immediately instructed those around him, "Seal the Evil Suppression Bureau. Until I come out, all of you stay put here, don’t leave under any circumstances, don’t let even a fly escape!"
Qiu Wanjun had just gone to muster his troops and discovered many were missing, suddenly realizing why Shengjing City had been peaceful these past few days without the infiltrators emerging.
Starting the day before yesterday, Shengjing City had experienced various small disturbances; yesterday, those infiltrators even emerged directly, likely intending to divert the main forces of the Evil Suppression Bureau, pretend to be captured, and collaborate internally and externally to rescue people from within the Evil Suppression Bureau.
In the urgency, Qiu Wanjun disregarded much else, decisively taking out the white paper from the Mourning Stick and setting it ablaze, which could surely notify the true Prime Minister, without error!
Watching the white paper turn to ash, Qiu Wanjun pressed on the item in his chest and, despite his recovery not being complete, directly charged into the Evil Ghost Bureau, determined to capture the two in person.
The underground Evil Ghost Bureau was pitch black, Suo Yike led Sang Que inside, and the Corpse Slaves at the prison door quickly gathered around.
"Stand back!"
Suo Yike shouted, and the Corpse Slaves indeed followed his command, returning to their positions at the prison door and standing still.
The Evil Ghost Bureau in Shengjing does not hold any ghosts, only serving as a transitional place. Any ghost caught must be transferred within three days to the Evil Ghost Bureau in other cities in Jingzhou for detainment, ensuring no hidden dangers remain in Shengjing City.
"Is there another way out here?" Sang Que asked.
"No!"
Sang Que’s heart sank, the Evil Ghost Bureau was chillingly cold, everything around was made of Ten Victory Stone, the prison bars were crafted from exquisite Thunderstruck Jujube Wood, etched with Taoist talismans, vermillion lines crossed overhead, suspending golden bells and talisman papers.
The Yin Child transmitted painful emotions to Sang Que; this place made the Yin Child very uncomfortable, like being burned by raging fire, and Sang Que, affected by it, began to emit wisps of black smoke from various parts of her body.
Suo Yike surely had some method, allowing him to stay here for long periods, but now he couldn’t afford to attend to Sang Que, as she would certainly endure this in the short term.
Footsteps came, Qiu Wanjun descended slowly from the stairs, blocking the entrance of the two heavy stone gates of the Evil Ghost Bureau, overhead hung a giant stone. As soon as the internal mechanism was triggered, the giant stone would drop; by then, the Evil Ghost Bureau would be sealed.
Once sealed, neither people nor ghosts inside would be able to leave, unless someone broke it from outside.
"You no longer have a way out, Miss Sang. It’s best to persuade him to surrender with you, given your relationship with the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister will certainly spare you a way to live."
Qiu Wanjun tried to persuade; the battle in Jianshui City had impacted him greatly. If he really fought fiercely with the assassins, he was bound to suffer ghostly counterattacks.
Sang Que hesitated at this moment whether to directly open the gate and leave; if she closed the gate quickly, Qiu Wanjun wouldn’t be able to catch up.
But the problem is, the strange feeling in her heart never disappeared from start to finish; she couldn’t completely trust the raincoat.
After being influenced by modern movies, she had seen too many plots where intentional assistance is used to gain trust while actually being undercover.
Just as Sang Que hesitated, another figure appeared behind Qiu Wanjun; Qiu Wanjun turned to see the person clearly, and his spirit was lifted.
"Prime Minister!"
The torchlight on both sides of the stone door gradually illuminated the middle-aged man with a scholarly aura and proper appearance. Sang Que’s heart sank, and she couldn’t tell whether this was Hua Qianmian or really Zuo Jinye. The clothes were different, and the Ghost Eye couldn’t see through Hua Qianmian’s disguise.
Even though the Qian Trigram Eye Opening could help, but in case this was really Zuo Jinye, she feared using the power of the Mountain Ghost Coin recklessly would expose its existence and location.
After all, Zuo Jinye had already half-stepped into the Ghost God Realm, different from them, the Ghost Level Yin Walkers. Sang Que didn’t know, nor dared to gamble.
The Mountain Ghost Coin must be used at the most critical moment.
Sang Que stealthily observed the raincoat next to her, who showed no expression, his eyes always the same, as if born with a poker face.
Qiu Wanjun moved away from the door position, secretly scrutinizing the Zuo Jinye before him, who was different from the previous prime minister, possessing an even stronger aura and an intimidating pressure with every movement, recalling the burned white paper earlier. Qiu Wanjun confirmed that this was indeed the real Zuo Jinye.
The previous one was indeed false, audacious beyond belief, an unforgivable crime!
Zuo Jinye didn’t even glance at Qiu Wanjun but stood there staring intently at Sang Que.
That gaze was like a father who had never seen his daughter before, seeing his daughter up close for the first time, a complex look difficult to interpret, creating immense psychological pressure on Sang Que.
Zuo Jinye chuckled, "I knew you’d show up on your own; it’s really hard to see you for a chat! Do you want to check again, see what you’ve actually rescued?"
Upon hearing this, Sang Que immediately put down the person on her back, and the raincoat beside her also placed Mo Yan Shu down.
Mo Yan Shu and the old man unexpectedly began to melt at this moment, eventually turning into puddles of wax.
Sang Que instantly understood that it was all fake; the person was not in the Evil Ghost Bureau. The information was given to her by He Buning, who claimed he had talked with Mo Yan Shu in the Evil Ghost Bureau and confirmed the Old Gu Master was detained here.
Did He Buning deceive her? Or did Zuo Jinye even deceive his own son?
Sang Que intuitively believed it was the latter; from the start, Zuo Jinye was using He Buning, knowing she would come to the rescue and seek He Buning for information, so he arranged for He Buning to see Mo Yan Shu and the Old Gu Master in the Evil Ghost Bureau ahead of time.
Anger rose in Sang Que’s eyes as she glared at Zuo Jinye.
Zuo Jinye looked disappointedly, sweeping over the raincoat and returning his gaze to Sang Que.
"I know I can’t trap you, just like I couldn’t trap your mother back then. If you want to leave, you can do so at any time. There’s no father-daughter affection to talk about between us; let’s talk directly."
With that, Zuo Jinye raised his hand, palm up, extending it in front of Qiu Wanjun.
Qiu Wanjun understood, immediately taking out a red cloth package from his chest and respectfully placing it in Zuo Jinye’s hand.
Sang Que’s breath hitched, even the Yin Child felt it, and she could clearly feel that was the heart she had been searching for, the key item to make the Yin Child complete, giving her a chance to attempt to break through the Ghost Level and reach the Ghost God Realm.
Zuo Jinye continued, "All I seek in this life is the peace and prosperity of the world, people living in comfort without being troubled by ghostly disasters. I’m already under a Blood Curse, and I can’t go far anymore. As a descendant of the witch, you indeed have more opportunities than me. The person you want, I can release. The thing you want, I can give to you."
"I only want you to promise me two things: first, before your death, clear the world of ghosts. Second, during this period, take all people to the Immortal Country to temporarily avoid disaster. If you can achieve these two things, your life is mine right now."
As his words fell, Qiu Wanjun’s heart shook, tears filled his eyes, "Prime Minister, you must not do this; think twice!"
The raincoat remained a poker face, standing there unmoved.
Though it should be a tense moment, Sang Que suddenly felt like struck by lightning, a sense of the script playing out again!
Originally, the script was Zuo Jinye making a deal with Sang Que to help him; now it was to make a deal for the world’s people.
Compared to the original script, this version of Zuo Jinye appeared grander, deeper, more layered, with motivations more in line with his consistent character and outsiders’ perceptions of Zuo Jinye, as seen from Qiu Wanjun’s reaction.
Good thing, Sang Que called it a good thing!
