Chapter 245 – The Ghost Street Judge, Layer Upon Layer of Traps, Breaking Free - Part 2
Night fell over the clandestine market street of black stones and white tiles, a place where no living being normally tread. Near a bench on the street, a man sat quietly until a white silhouette emerged from the shadows along the wall.
She called softly, “Husband, sorry to keep you waiting.”
Li Yuan looked up and smiled. “I wasn’t waiting long,” he replied, his eyes settling on his wife—a woman in a flowing black robe, her skin a deathly pale, yet free of decay, exuding a mysterious kind of beauty.
Li Yuan spoke at length, “Cui Huayin told me she suspects the Emperor and the Four Lotuses share the same goal, which is why they’ve joined forces.
“They aim to expand the ghost domains, thereby improving the quality of the meat fields and acquiring more resources to cultivate higher rank martial experts.
“The Four Lotuses believe that once they have powerful martial artists, they can suppress the ghost domains. The Emperor believes that having such fighters will allow him to revive the Great Zhou.
“Both sides think that if the ghost domains are bound to grow anyway—causing more and more chaos—they’d rather take the initiative and guide the expansion themselves.”
Li Yuan visited the ghost street every so often, so it wasn’t the first time these two were having this discussion. So he patiently waited for her opinion.
“So that’s how it is.” Yan Yu mulled it over, then went on, “The undying husks from the Clock Mansion have long noticed my presence. They’ve come to me many times, asking me to cooperate. They won’t explain the details, just warn me not to act rashly, claiming there’s someone far stronger out there who will notice if I do. But I suspect they’re merely afraid I’ll make a move that ruins their real plan.
“Now it all makes sense. The Emperor, the Imperial Tutor, Apparel Atelier, and even those undying husks you encountered in Northriver Prefecture...they’re all in on this together. And since the Four Lotuses chose to work with them, they definitely know about me too. That’s why they’re worried I might interfere.”
Li Yuan’s eyes flickered thoughtfully. He suddenly asked, “Yan Yu, how does a ghost domain become stronger, exactly?”
Yan Yu rose to her feet. Her black robes twirled in a faint swirl of netherlight. “Husband, look. My clothes used to be white. Now they’re black. That’s proof I’ve grown stronger.