The skinny monkey, after cornering us against the wall, didn't continue his attack. Instead, he stood there with a smug grin, looking like a petty villain who had achieved his goal.
If I hadn't been wary of his strength, I would have spat a face full of floral water at him, just to show him that I wasn't to be trifled with.
"Now do you believe I'm the City God?"
I frowned, remaining silent, completely bewildered by his intentions. At the same time, I was astonished by his power. Judging by the halo he had emitted earlier, he could have easily annihilated all three of us and the tiger, leaving not even a speck of dust. Yet, he hadn't.
Was it merely to prove he was the City God?
I tried to move my body, only to find it immobile. A chilling cold current was slowly circulating within me. The cold wasn't intense, but it was just enough to suppress the Xuan Yang Qi in my body, leaving me numb and unable to mobilize it.
I glanced at Zhang Dabiao and Xu Yi, who also had furrowed brows. It seemed their situation was similar to mine.
As for Xu Yi's little tiger, it had been so frightened that it had shrunk to the size of a pug, hiding behind Xu Yi's legs and peeking at the skinny monkey from time to time.
I truly couldn't fathom what the skinny monkey wanted. If he was toying with us, it didn't seem like it. If he needed our help, that was even more impossible. None of us, not even the tiger, were a match for him. Asking for our help would be a joke.
"What exactly do you want?" After a moment of thought, I asked.
The skinny monkey ambled past us, his steps measured, and finally stopped in front of me. He looked at me with a smile and said, "I told you I'm the City God, do you believe me now?"
Hearing him ask the question again, my first thought was that this guy was crazy, or at least had a screw loose. Who would insist on others believing they were the City God?
My second thought was that he had a specific purpose in saying this. Was he seeking validation? But wasn't that something the Northeast Immortals did?
Before I could respond, Zhang Dabiao couldn't help but curse, "You damned ghost, if you have the guts, let me go, and we'll fight a hundred rounds. Using such despicable means against us, aren't you afraid of having no descendants?"
Facing Zhang Dabiao's curses, the skinny monkey continued to smile at me, as if he hadn't heard the insults. He merely raised his hand and gestured towards Zhang Dabiao.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort reached my ears, and instantly, Zhang Dabiao became as silent as a duck with its neck squeezed.
"Brother Zhang..."
Turning, I saw Zhang Dabiao's face was pale, his lips trembling, and a wisp of white smoke rising from his head. He looked like he was freezing from the skinny monkey's Yin energy.
Seeing that his life was not in danger, I breathed a sigh of relief. My expression turned grim as I looked at the skinny monkey, "What exactly do you want?"
"I need your help with something."
"Help?"
I looked at the skinny monkey with confusion. With his strength, he could walk freely in this City God's domain without anyone daring to oppose him. Asking for our help was utterly preposterous. Who had ever seen a tiger ask a rabbit for help?
"Lord City God, stop joking. You could suppress all three of us with just a finger, making it hard for us to breathe. Asking for our help is like making fun of us!"
Seeing that we didn't believe him, the City God said seriously, "I truly need your help, why don't you believe me?"
"Believe... believe your ghost! When have I ever seen you ask for help like this?" Zhang Dabiao stammered, his words coming out one by one. Although his speech was not fluent, his resentment was palpable.
Zhang Dabiao's words made the City God realize something. He slapped his forehead and quickly apologized. With a wave of his hand, the chilling force that was pressing me vanished, and the cold sensation within my body also dissipated.
"You can't blame me entirely. It's because you didn't believe I was the City God, so I had to show you some of my strength..."
*Thump—*
Seeing Zhang Dabiao sitting on the ground, I quickly went to check on him. If anything happened to him, I would fight the skinny monkey to the death, even if it cost me my own life.
"He's fine. I merely suppressed his Yang Qi with Yin energy. A few cycles of circulation will fix it."
After Zhang Dabiao sat cross-legged and began to expel the Yin cold force with his Xuan Yang True Qi, I turned my attention to Xu Yi on the other side. He was looking at the City God with a strange expression, his face filled with fear.
"Lord City God, the three of us are just ordinary people who stumbled in here. If we weren't looking for our companions, we wouldn't have come to your domain. If you have nothing else, please let us go like we're nothing. We still need to find our friends!"
No one visits without a reason, especially a City God who had attacked the three of us. Whatever he wanted would surely be no easier than climbing to heaven.
Seeing that I hadn't agreed, he stated with certainty, "You are looking for the two men and one woman who entered not long ago, aren't you!"
Upon hearing that the City God knew about Fang Huixin, Xu Yi completely forgot the City God's fearsomeness. He excitedly grabbed the City God's hand and asked, "Lord City God, do you know where they are? Can you take us to them?"
"Yes, I can, but..." He then looked at me.
Needless to say, he was forcing me to make a decision. It seemed that if I didn't agree to help him, he wouldn't tell us where Fang Huixin and the others were, let alone help us rescue them.
With the previous display of strength, I had somewhat come to believe he was indeed the City God, though I didn't know why he had become so downcast.
However, to save Fang Huixin and the others, I had to brace myself and say, "Lord City God, saving them is the priority. They are all ordinary people, and staying here for too long will harm them."
"So, you mean you agree to help me?"
I nodded, acknowledging his words. I realized that if I didn't agree to help him, he wouldn't let us leave easily. I would only agree to help him rescue Fang Huixin and the others first, and then we could discuss whether to fulfill his request later.
"Where are they now? Are they in any danger?"
Since I had agreed to help him, the primary task now was to ascertain the whereabouts of Fang Huixin and the others, and whether they were in any danger. If they were all dead, what was the point of saving them? It would be best to find a way to leave immediately.
The City God pondered for a moment before replying, "There is no immediate danger, but if it drags on, I cannot guarantee it."
Hearing that they were not in immediate danger, I breathed a sigh of relief, but then my heart leaped into my throat again.
"What do you mean? Are they already facing danger?"
The City God nodded and replied, "You could say that. They were deliberately led here by someone. That's why I said they are temporarily safe, but I don't know the purpose of the person who led them here. Perhaps they intend to possess their bodies."
He said this with a serious expression, but I saw a hint of amusement in his eyes. This indicated that Fang Huixin and the others were not in danger, and he was likely saying this to force our compliance, to make us help him first.
"Lord City God, you don't need to put on an act. Just tell us, what is it you want us to do."
The City God burst into laughter, "I like straightforward people like you. My request is very simple: help me retrieve my City God Seal from the City God's Mansion."