Chapter 35: Monsters Emerge in Times of Chaos

...

"You've actually seen ghosts?"

Lin Zheyu asked.

He had been in this world for quite some time, yet he had never encountered a ghost.

There were no such experiences in his predecessor's memories either, though there were plenty of various folk legends regarding gods and ghosts.

"Of course. When you go to guard the mountains in the future, you might run into one yourself."

"Every mine has a pile of dead people in it. When the resentment builds up, ghosts are bound to be spawned."

Jia Yanyong said nonchalantly, "It looks a bit terrifying—a wisp of a soul that you can't hit or touch, and it can even drain a person's essence."

"But our martial artists have abundant essence; we can hold out for a few days without issue."

"If you encounter a phantom, just run toward the campfire immediately."

"Those things are afraid of fire and explosives. Just use gunpowder to blast the area where the ghosts appear. After a few rounds of heavy shelling, everything will be fine."

Lin Zheyu: "..."

Wu Yinghe: "..."

Lin Zheyu and Manager Wu exchanged a glance, somewhat speechless.

How did this thing become something so trivial in their mouths?

"However, if you encounter a reanimated corpse, then you run as far away as possible."

"A few years ago, when I was guarding the mountains with the previous boss, someone dug up a coffin from a cave. When we opened it—good heavens—the flesh hadn't even decayed."

"The moment the coffin opened and touched the living breath, the corpse suddenly sat up. It would bite anyone it saw; it was terrifying."

Jia Yanyong said with lingering fear, "That thing has skin like copper and bones like iron; gunpowder can't kill it. You can only deal with it by calling in an expert from the Blood-Qi Realm. When we see one, we can only run."

"Brother Yong's knowledge is so vast; I am truly enlightened!"

Manager Wu was stunned by the story and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

He had spent almost his entire life in the city and had rarely wandered outside. Most of the rumors he knew were heard from others.

Lin Zheyu was equally astonished.

"You still have much to learn."

"The world outside is very chaotic. When armies clash and the times turn turbulent, even the inside of the city might not remain peaceful in the future," Xie Jiang said with a pout.

Manager Wu thought for a moment and said, "I heard the elders say that whenever there is chaos, monsters appear. If things continue to be this unstable, demons and ghosts will surely emerge."

"I've heard my grandmother say that too. When I was little, she always used monsters and demons to scare me," Xie Jiang said with a smile.

The group chatted idly.

At that moment, a man came running in from outside. He scanned the area and ran straight toward Lin Zheyu and the others.

"Brother Yong, Brother Jiang, Brother Yu, something bad has happened!" The man was panting heavily from exhaustion.

"What is it?"

Lin Zheyu handed him a cup of tea to let him recover.

"The people from the Wuding Gang are causing trouble again. This time, the leader is Xing Jinglong," the man said.

"That bastard Xing Jinglong! Coming to cause trouble on our Feihong Gang's territory again!"

Jia Yanyong slammed the table and stood up abruptly, a hint of anger rising on his face.

"Lead us there."

Lin Zheyu stood up and handed the manuscript to Manager Wu. "Manager Wu, please find someone to take over the storytelling today. Here is the script."

"Alright, be careful."

Manager Wu took the manuscript. This had been pre-arranged between him and Lin Zheyu. To prevent any issues during the storytelling, Lin Zheyu had discussed a contingency plan with Manager Wu beforehand.

"What is this Xing Jinglong's strength?"

On the way, Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

He had never been in a group fight before, so he felt quite intrigued.

"A bit stronger than me. The last time I fought him one-on-one, I lost by a single move," Xie Jiang said somewhat solemnly.

Jia Yanyong curled his lip. "Don't go patting yourself on the back. It was more than just losing by a single move."

Following the messenger, the group arrived at the end of Baiwei Street.

"They're inside."

The man pointed toward the restaurant ahead, which was surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.

"Make way, make way."

The group pushed through the crowd and entered the restaurant.

"Young Master Xing, quite the display of power, coming to act unruly on our Feihong Gang's territory?"

Jia Yanyong's voice arrived before he did.

Hearing the voice, Xing Jinglong looked toward Lin Zheyu and the others with a cold sneer.

...

"What, are people not allowed to eat here anymore?"

"If the food in this restaurant is bad, are people not allowed to say so?"

Xing Jinglong said with a cold laugh.

He was a burly man, about 1.9 meters tall and estimated to weigh over 150 kilograms; standing up, he exerted a massive sense of pressure.

Xing Jinglong was dressed in fine silk and looked even younger than Lin Zheyu, appearing to be a young master from some aristocratic family.

"Is it necessary to wreck the place just because the food isn't good?"

"Besides, you find it bad every time you come to eat, yet you keep coming back. That doesn't make sense, does it?"

Jia Yanyong's expression was unfriendly as he led several brothers to surround the man.

"Relying on numbers, are we?"

"I just wanted to see if their food had improved today. I didn't expect it to be as terrible as ever."

"Food this bad wouldn't even be fed to a dog, yet they dare to run a restaurant?"

"It's better if this restaurant is trashed."

Xing Jinglong picked up a plate of food and smashed it onto the ground, scanning Lin Zheyu and the others with an indifferent gaze.

...

"Is this guy from some aristocratic family?" Lin Zheyu whispered.

"Yeah, a young master from a branch of the Xing family. It's not a big deal," Xie Jiang said.

They had dealt with Xing Jinglong several times before. Whenever this guy felt slighted or unhappy elsewhere, he would find a place to cause a scene.

"I reckon he was slighted by some young master from the Xu, Chen, or Ren families, so he came to the Feihong Gang's territory to pick a fight and vent his anger on us," Xie Jiang whispered.

The Xu, Chen, and Ren families were the three aristocratic families backing the Feihong Gang.

Among the young masters of these families, there were all sorts of messy affairs; every once in a while, they would encounter someone coming to cause trouble because of it.

If the opponent had a powerful background—like a direct descendant of one of the families—they couldn't afford to provoke them and could only report it to their superiors.

But a branch family young master like Xing Jinglong was nothing special; they could handle him directly.

"Don't we need to tell Lord Qiu?" Lin Zheyu asked.

Lord Qiu, named Qiu Gaoxuan, was their direct supervisor, with strength reaching the peak of the Viscera-Refining Realm.

"No need. A fight to vent the anger will suffice."

"These young masters are extremely concerned with face. If they come to act wild and then lose a fight, they'll be ridiculed if they keep pursuing it."

"I've dealt with this fat Xing several times before, though I lose more often than I win."

"You don't need to step in later. Just let Jia Yanyong handle it. That guy is thick-skinned and very durable."

"We'll just block the others to prevent them from sneak attacking," Xie Jiang said, gesturing for Lin Zheyu to keep an eye on the men accompanying Xing Jinglong.

"Understood."

Lin Zheyu nodded. If he could avoid fighting, he didn't want to.

Soon, Xing Jinglong and Jia Yanyong began to clash.

Although Xing Jinglong looked young, his strength was quite impressive, having reached the Bone-Forging Realm.

He grabbed a stool and swung it directly toward Jia Yanyong's head.

Jia Yanyong was undaunted. Being a brute by nature, he completely ignored the incoming stool and charged straight forward like a fierce bandit, exceptionally ferocious.

He swung his right fist, unleashing the Black煞 (Black Fiend) Punch, meeting the stool head-on and shattering it with a single blow.

"This guy fights really brutally."

Watching Jia Yanyong fight with such reckless bravery and ferocity, Lin Zheyu felt somewhat speechless.

...

(End of Chapter)