Zixuan Dynasty, Emperor Yi Year, July, the eighth day.
Penniless and reluctantly setting up a stall to make ends meet, I never expected to encounter malicious spirits causing trouble. Left with no choice and to avoid further difficulty, I reluctantly read their fortune, telling them they had only one life to live.
They all believed it.
But I didn't.
However, they were right, and I was wrong.
Zixuan Dynasty, Emperor Yi Year, July, the ninth day.
Today, I encountered only one malicious spirit whereas yesterday there were three. Why was there only one today?
So I changed locations.
Unexpectedly, I discovered a very peculiar door here. Since the door was firmly shut, I had no choice but to break in.
...
A place inhabited by both humans and ghosts, consisting of three levels.
The third level is the Street of Forgotten Dwellings.
On this street, powerful malevolent spirits act as patrol guards.
Today also marks the third day Tan Shuchang set up his stall on this street. Having captured four fierce ghosts in two days filled him with hope for his days as a street vendor.
Yet, Tan Shuchang was puzzled about one thing. Normally, the eerie game instance that came every two days hadn't shown up for three days now. Why hadn't it sought him out to enter again?
Although this place of humans and ghosts provided extra earnings, Tan Shuchang was reluctant to give up his regular job.
After all, as meager as the income from his regular job was, it was dependable!
At that moment, Tan Shuchang suddenly noticed several blurry figures carrying a terrifying malice, rushing toward a particular place. He was initially tempted, but quickly suppressed the impulse in his heart.
Because there were too many ghosts.
Each of these powerful malevolent spirits with a domain of evil, together, their combined aura had already surpassed some of the Yin Gods. This malice made Tan Shuchang uncomfortable.
Near Tan Shuchang, at that moment, three or five figures groaned softly and then vanished into thin air.
These were players of the eerie game.
Unable to withstand this evil force, they immediately chose to leave this place inhabited by both humans and ghosts.
However, Tan Shuchang could still bear it.
This discomfort was somewhat akin to the feeling of someone who doesn't like but doesn't hate cilantro, seeing it in their dish.
They could just pick it out with chopsticks or choose not to eat it, it was inconsequential.
Thus, Tan Shuchang withdrew his gaze, knowing where these fierce ghosts were headed.
In that direction, there was a magical door, the one he had discovered the day before. However, there was actually nothing behind the door, and even the space behind it was too cramped to allow a person to turn around.
It was unclear why these fierce ghosts cared so much about a place that clearly had nothing.
Tan Shuchang felt surprised but didn't take it to heart, as such matters were common in the royal court. Some big rats would empty the warehouse and then engage in activities to divert people's attention.
Seeing the increasing number of fierce ghosts around, Tan Shuchang decided to leave and return the next day to set up his stall, hoping to do a few more fortune-tellings.
However, the next day, when Tan Shuchang wanted to enter the area where humans and ghosts coexisted, he was informed that the rules had changed, and Ding-level Players could now only enter once a year.
The uncanny game explained the reason, stating that a mysterious evil ghost had appeared on Street of Forgotten Dwellings—a place where Ding-level Players had a high chance of survival—which even the ordinary patrol guards couldn't handle. Thus, to reduce unnecessary casualties among Ding-level Players, such a restriction was enforced.
However, in return, Ding-level Players would get one resurrection opportunity when they entered Street of Forgotten Dwellings.
That is, if they died accidentally on Street of Forgotten Dwellings, they could be resurrected by this uncanny game.
This compensation was undoubtedly thrilling news for other Ding-level Players. Although the number of entries was limited, how many Ding-level Players dared to venture into the area where humans and ghosts coexisted?
This restriction seemed to specifically target Tan Shuchang.
"Could it be that my act of capturing fierce ghosts was discovered?"
Upon thinking this, Tan Shuchang inevitably felt a bit uneasy because it had been three days since the last bi-daily uncanny game instance, but there was still no sign of him being pulled into the "game".
"How did he come back?" Suddenly, Tan Shuchang expressed a look of surprise.
He sensed that one of his junior brothers was walking up Black Heart Mountain, followed by two others.
"One has cultivated, but his skills are not deep, and he has also trained in martial arts, but also mediocre. The other, though cultivating a lower-grade Cultivation Technique, has accumulated a considerable amount of power over seven or eight years '"
As Black Heart Mountain had already been marked by Tan Shuchang with the Blood Refining Lotus Technique's lotus seals, his mark was invisibly triggered when someone approached.
Consequently, Tan Shuchang went to the only mountain path leading up from the foot of the mountain and patiently awaited the arrival of the trio.
His junior brother was clearly taking the lead for the two behind him, frequently stopping to wait for them.
Although this junior brother had only cultivated for three years, the Seven-Fold Demonic God Scripture, being a supreme scripture, made his three years of divine skills far more formidable than those cultivators who had accumulated seven or eight years of power through lower-grade techniques.
As for the other, it's better left unmentioned.
They didn't keep Tan Shuchang waiting for long. Soon, the figures of the three appeared within Tan Shuchang's line of sight.
"Mister Qiu, I've brought you to the place. There you see my senior brother Tan Shuchang. You should be able to give me the Pardon Order from Qitian Pavilion now, right?" As soon as Tan Shuchang's junior brother saw him, his eyelid twitched involuntarily, so he quickly spoke loudly. After saying this, he hurriedly cupped his fists towards Tan Shuchang, "Senior brother, this is the son of Qitian Pavilion's great master, Qiu Junlin."
Upon hearing this, Tan Shuchang immediately understood why his junior brother had brought people here, gesturing with his hand indicating that he did not mind the issue.
"Thank you, senior brother!" Tan Shuchang's junior brother immediately showed joy, then bowed deeply, stood up, and turned to Qiu Junlin.
It was time for the other party to hand over the Token.
"Rest assured, when have I, Qiu Junlin, ever broken my promise? Here, your sister is held in Zi Rat Tower, after all, she only offended Miss Ning from the Ning family, not really committed any serious wrongdoing," Qiu Junlin said somewhat impatiently as he tossed a token.
Seeing the token, Tan Shuchang's junior brother treated it as a treasure.
He then hurriedly left.
At this moment, Tan Shuchang, hearing Qiu Junlin's words, finally understood how his junior brother's sister had offended the special agency of the Zi Xuan Dynasty—Qitian Pavilion.
This incident had happened two months ago. Upon hearing the news, his junior brother had been desperate to seek help from the Heartless Old Man but naturally couldn't even see his face.
"Hey, Tan Shuchang!" Qiu Junlin called out at this point.