FCRCG Chapter 5

The chill of the night completely dissipated and the malicious energy and resentment in the air became nearly impossible to detect during the day.

While caution couldn’t be fully abandoned, ghosts favored the night and rarely dared to act during the day, making it generally safer.

The talisman shop operated as usual. By early morning, a line had already formed at the entrance, filled with people picking up free ghost-repelling tools.

On the second floor, Lin Jiu was reporting the situation via a communication screen.

He was a senior Celestial Master, a rank second only to the Chief Celestial Master, and currently in charge of all operations in this region.

“As of today, we’ve captured 261 second-tier or higher resentful spirits, all sent to the nearest Tower of Karma,” Lin Jiu paused briefly before continuing. “Out of these 261, 78 have been confirmed as escapees from the Qibei Tower of Karma. The Ghost King remains unaccounted for.”

The Qibei Tower of Karma had inexplicably collapsed from within, allowing most of the resentful spirits that hadn’t yet been fully refined to escape. Celestial Masters everywhere were working tirelessly to track them down.

“Perhaps due to the death of the local Earth Spirit, the Underworld has been appearing more frequently in this area,” he added.

However, more frequent appearances didn’t mean increased strength. Each time the Underworld appeared and issued a premonition to the Inner Court, it still required the assistance of Celestial Masters to successfully feed.

Given their lack of manpower, it seemed more efficient for the Celestial Masters to handle things directly rather than supporting the Underworld.

In short, the frequent appearances of the Underworld had provided no real benefit.

Lin Jiu spoke tactfully as he inquired whether it was still necessary to send personnel the next time the Underworld manifested.

“Assisting the Three Gods is the foremost duty of the Inner Court Celestial Masters,” Wang Ping Ran replied sternly. “Do you think this is your first day as a Celestial Master?”

Lin Jiu lowered his head. “This student understands his mistake.”

Since the establishment of the Inner Court, this duty has always been an unconditional requirement.

However, times have changed. In the past, the Three Gods frequently responded to the summons, Earth Spirits were abundant, and ghostly entities like the Underworld weren’t as weak as they were now.

Over a decade ago, the Mountain God and Chaos God had mysteriously vanished. Without the Mountain God’s protection, the Earth Spirits gradually weakened, malice proliferated, and the number and strength of resentful spirits increased exponentially.

More and more resentful spirits escaped, leaving the Underworld with less food.

Even gods needed sustenance—especially when food was the sole source of the Underworld’s power.

To this day, the situation has not improved.

Nonetheless, the one remaining Ghost God willing to manifest deserved attention and care.

Wang Ping Ran sighed silently, his expression softening. “Lian Yi is still stationed in your area. If anything arises, you can seek his assistance. Otherwise, proceed as usual, but don’t overexert yourself.”

Lin Jiu hesitated before speaking. “I sent a message to Chief Lian the day before yesterday, but he hasn’t replied.”

Lian Yi was a particularly unique figure. During his time here, he had only acted once. Given his rank, higher than Lin Jiu’s, it wasn’t unusual for him to ignore such messages.

“Don’t concern yourself with that,” Wang Ping Ran said, shaking his head. “Elder Gu Xu has already contacted him.”

With an elder involved, Lian Yi was unlikely to refuse.

Despite this reassurance, worry lingered in Lin Jiu’s eyes. “Understood.”

—

In the Inner Court’s council hall, the communication screen in front of Elder Gu Xu was active, but the display showed only darkness.

“Did you receive all of my messages?”

Occasionally, static flickered across the screen before a cold voice responded, “My communicator was damaged. I only managed to repair it this morning.”

So, he had received the messages that morning but hadn’t had a chance to reply yet.

Whether it was true or not, Gu Xu didn’t bother to dig deeper. Lian Yi was always like this—refusing to say more than a few words.

“Do you have any news about Elder Zhuo Qing?” Gu Xu asked directly. “Students in Xiang Nan reported seeing you traveling together.”

“No.”

“You didn’t return together?”

“No.”

Gu Xu’s expression darkened, his tone growing harsher. “What kind of attitude is this? Elder Zhuo Qing is your teacher, and now he’s missing without a trace. How can you show no concern at all?”

The communication line went quiet for a moment before Lian Yi’s cold voice replied, “My teacher’s spiritual skills are unparalleled. Those with great fortune will find their own protection.”

Gu Xu’s face grew even more grim as he stared at the pitch-black screen.

He quickly composed himself and said evenly, “One more thing: the area you’re in is heavily afflicted by ghostly disasters. Until Elder Zhuo Qing returns, stay there and assist in purging the resentful spirits.”

Simultaneously, a mission directive was sent to Lian Yi’s communicator.

As the Chief Celestial Master, Lian Yi was powerful enough to undertake tasks alone. However, whenever a distress signal appeared nearby, he was required to investigate.

Even if he was unwilling to assist, he couldn’t leave the area during this period.

Gu Xu’s words hung in the silence, which stretched longer and longer.

Losing patience, Gu Xu was about to consider his next move when Lian Yi finally responded. “Understood.”

The communication cut off, and Gu Xu tossed the device onto his desk.

From the side, someone remarked, “I think Elder Zhuo Qing’s disappearance must be related to him.”

“If he harbors disloyalty, the Inner Court must prepare in advance.”

Others echoed their agreement, and Gu Xu said pensively, “There’s no time to waste. I’ll come up with a plan as soon as possible.”

Lian Yi was too powerful and far too dangerous. Under controllable conditions, he needed to be imprisoned and eliminated.

Otherwise, if he became a resentful spirit—a former Celestial Master skilled in spiritual techniques—and found a way to break the soul-binding restrictions, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Previously, Zhuo Qing’s presence had barely kept him in check. But now, with Zhuo Qing missing, immediate action was necessary.

Even if they didn’t deal with Lian Yi right away, they had to extract Zhuo Qing’s whereabouts from him. If Zhuo Qing were truly dead, his soul would need to be immediately refined.

As a Celestial Master, one had to handle such matters even more cautiously than ordinary people.

—

Night fell once again.

The ghost-purging missions had lasted for several days. Many lower-level resentful spirits had been dealt with, but a considerable number still remained.

Patrol teams continued their usual rounds, leaving no anomalies unchecked.

At 3:00 a.m., a distress signal came from the northwest.

Behind an apartment building, three Celestial Masters were locked in a standoff with a resentful spirit in a corner.

The spirit’s strength hovered between the third and fourth tier. Initially, it feigned weakness to lure the Celestial Masters into a false sense of security. Once the pursuit began, it struck with full force, catching them off guard—a cunning tactic.

Realizing they had fallen into a trap, the team found themselves suppressed by the spirit. All three were injured.

The spirit had a clear goal: it wasn’t trying to escape. It was targeting the Celestial Masters directly.

The team attempted to retreat, but one member was cornered by the spirit.

“Hold on!” the squad leader shouted. “Reinforcements are almost here!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the resentful spirit suddenly abandoned the cornered Celestial Master and turned its gaze in another direction.

In the next instant, a streak of silver light shot through the air.

Bang!

The resentful spirit reacted swiftly, dodging aside just as a small Bagua ring smashed into the ground near its feet. The impact cracked the pavement, leaving a deep dent.

The three Celestial Masters caught sight of the Bagua ring and visibly relaxed.

Two streets away, Lin Jiu, who was rushing to the scene, abruptly stopped.

He checked the latest signal and raised a hand to halt the team following him. “Chief Lian has gone.”

He had assumed… well, this was better. With Lian Yi present, their mission would inevitably become easier.

Lin Jiu sent a message to the patrol team, asking about the situation on their end.

About ten minutes later, the squad leader replied: “The resentful spirit has been dealt with. It was indeed Chief Lian.”

“But he didn’t show himself… he left quickly.”

They had only seen that signature silver Bagua ring. Although Lian Yi was nearby, he hadn’t appeared in person.

The number of Chief Celestial Masters was so small that most people had no concrete understanding of their capabilities.

Lian Yi had severely injured the third-tier resentful spirit using only the Bagua ring, allowing the team to capture it with ease.

The squad leader’s tone was filled with awe, mixed with a tinge of complex yearning. Even if the rumors about Lian Yi being a cold-blooded, irresponsible recluse were true, his strength undoubtedly justified his title as Chief Celestial Master.

—

Meanwhile, Nan Deng lingered in front of a familiar house.

The rabbit plushie was gone—picked up or thrown away? He’d even checked the street-side garbage cans but found no trace of it.

Logically, when a ghost’s aura lingers on a living person, the ghost should be able to sense it.

But Nan Deng felt nothing. A single rabbit plushie wasn’t enough of a connection.

What puzzled him more was that the protective talisman on the door had disappeared.

“Huh?”

Nan Deng frowned, carefully circling the house twice to confirm.

No talisman? That couldn’t be possible unless the homeowner had removed it themselves. Most likely, it hadn’t been secured properly and had been blown away by the wind.

The house’s lights were off, suggesting either the residents were not home or had gone to bed early.

Nan Deng saw this as an excellent opportunity. Once the homeowner realized the talisman was gone, they’d surely replace it with a new one.

He approached a side window, gripping the edge of the frame and pushing with all his might.

The window was too heavy for him. Even the rabbit head jumped up to help, lending its weight to the effort. By the time Nan Deng finally climbed through, he was exhausted.

The interior was dark and eerily quiet, resembling an unoccupied house.

Nan Deng perked up, cautiously pushing the door open and stepping out.

He searched the entire house, confirming that no one was home.

In other words, tonight’s attempt had failed again.

Still, managing to enter the house was significant progress.

Unwilling to give up, Nan Deng began rummaging around, hoping to find something edible.

The rabbit head twitched its nose, seemingly catching a scent. It leaped from Nan Deng’s head and hopped away on its own.

“Don’t run off!” Nan Deng chased after it and found it stopped in front of an unknown object covered with cloth in a corner.

The rabbit head bit down on the cloth and pulled it aside. The moonlight streaming through the window revealed a small basket underneath. Inside were two tiny paper dolls, huddled together as if asleep.

The commotion startled the paper dolls awake. When they saw the enormous rabbit head looming above them, they opened their mouths to scream.

The rabbit head acted swiftly and decisively, snapping them both up in one bite.

Nan Deng froze for a few seconds, then silently picked up the cloth from the floor and covered the paper basket again.

The rabbit head licked its lips and jumped into Nan Deng’s arms.

“It’s over…” Nan Deng muttered, feeling conflicted. “You didn’t eat someone else’s pet, did you?”

The little girl had mentioned before that she didn’t know what the paper dolls were and the rabbit head had eaten them without any apparent issue, so they might not have been things related to Celestial Masters.

The more Nan Deng thought about it, the more he felt his guess might be right. The homeowner had even prepared a little bed for the paper dolls to sleep in, though it looked rather simple.

Previously, Nan Deng had planned to just eat a few of the homeowner’s life souls—enough to feed the fog-shrouded specter without causing any harm.

But paper dolls were different. Once eaten, they were gone forever.

There was nothing he could do now, so he hoped the homeowner wouldn’t be too upset when they found out.

Nan Deng whispered, “Sorry,” and, holding the full rabbit head, stood up and left.

He had initially considered staying the night in the house but feared that if the homeowner returned and saw the talisman was gone, they might replace it, leaving him no time to escape.

Before leaving, Nan Deng placed a leaf in front of the door and pressed a stone on top of it.

There were no residents nearby. After searching through the trash cans without finding anything useful, he carefully selected the prettiest leaf he could find.

Once done, Nan Deng returned to his iron barrel and curled up inside.

He hadn’t slept well in the past few days. Tonight, he didn’t want to go anywhere else.

Nan Deng yawned twice and slowly fell asleep, leaning against the side of the barrel.

In the middle of the night, Lian Yi returned from outside.

He walked to the door and immediately noticed the leaf pressed down by the stone.

It seemed a bit careless.

Lian Yi picked up the leaf and opened the door to enter.

He placed the leaf in the drawer of a low cabinet by the door, alongside a small ceramic jar.

Inside the jar were a dozen or so third-tier resentful spirits, enough to last for a while.

He didn’t turn on the lights, silently entered the living room, and scanned the area.

Sure enough, there was a faint trace of a strange presence, so subtle it was almost imperceptible.

The two little paper dolls that had been in the corner of the living room were also gone, but Lian Yi wasn’t surprised.

He stood in front of the empty paper basket, raised his hand, and summoned a water mirror.

The paper dolls had been eaten, and the lingering spiritual energy remained for a short while. The water mirror glowed faintly and projected everything that had happened.

“Did you eat someone else’s pet?”

Nan Deng hadn’t hidden and his voice was captured by the spiritual technique.

He looked slightly unsure, holding the rabbit head in his hands, his delicate brows furrowed as if he were pondering what to do.

In the end, he rearranged the paper basket and lowered his lashes, trembling slightly.

“Sorry…”

The water mirror suddenly faded. Lian Yi stood still, staring at the paper basket for a moment before turning and heading to the bedroom.

—

Around 4 or 5 in the morning, Nan Deng was still fast asleep in the iron barrel. The rabbit head, lying in the crook of his arm, suddenly opened its eyes.

It perked up its ears, then quietly jumped out of the barrel and silently headed in one direction.

At this time of night, the streets were empty, and the ghosts were looking for places to hide from the daylight.

Most of the patrolling Celestial Masters had already returned to rest. The rabbit head moved through the streets without obstruction, eventually reaching a secluded spot.

It stopped in front of a dark corner, twitching its nose.

“Who?”

A voice came from the shadows and half of a face emerged.

“It’s you?” The little girl raised an eyebrow, looking around. “Where’s your useless master?”

The rabbit head silently watched her, hopping forward to get closer.

Dawn was approaching, and not seeing Nan Deng, the little girl lost interest in the strange rabbit head. She waved her hand, dismissing it. “Don’t bother me, go away.”

The rabbit head was struck by her, rolling “gulu gulu” and crashing against the wall.

Crack—

The rabbit head’s eyes turned red and a crack appeared in its skull, releasing a wisp of black smoke.

The little girl, sharp as ever, sensed something was wrong. She frowned and stared at it. “You…”

Her eyes grew increasingly terrified as she started trembling.

Under the moonlight, the small shadow expanded, filling the narrow passage, until the original shape was unrecognizable.

The soft rabbit ears on top of the head vanished, replaced by three huge, blood-red eyes.

The little girl couldn’t even scream before she was swallowed whole.

On the nearest street, Lin Jiu and his team were about to turn back when suddenly, the compass in his hand began to spin wildly, capturing an intense surge of malevolent energy. The value indicating the level of the resentful spirit continuously climbed.

Lin Jiu tightened his grip on the compass and said in a deep voice, “It’s the Ghost King!”

Such a level of malice could only be the Ghost King, possibly the one that escaped from the Tower of Karma.

It had hidden for so long, but now it couldn’t hold back any longer.

Lin Jiu immediately sent the message and led his team toward the direction indicated by the compass.

Not only they, but nearby ghosts also felt the powerful aura.

“It’s the Ghost King…”

“Hehehe, those Celestial Masters are doomed…”

When Lin Jiu and his team arrived at the location, there were no resentful spirits to be found.

Only faint traces of malevolent energy remained in the alley, indicating that the ghost had been there but had already fled.

Several Celestial Masters meticulously searched and traced the remnants of the malevolent energy, but by dawn, they had found nothing.

The clues were scarce and the Ghost King seemed to have appeared out of thin air and disappeared just as mysteriously.

—

Outskirts, the rabbit head silently jumped into the iron barrel.

It seemed exhausted, lying down in the arms of the sleeping Nan Deng and closing its eyes to sleep.