Chapter 14 A Debt of Gratitude

Wei Yuan was jostled forward by the swarm of ghosts, his expression subtly changing.

Only when he got closer did he see that the one being bound was someone he knew, the owner of the folk custom shop.

Two half-naked demons threw the owner directly onto the stone platform.

"Originally, we couldn't get any new goods today, but this guy is a traitor. He dared to talk to living people in private and even hid red cloth. Hmph, today we should devour him alive, then find the one who killed Yi Muwu. If you see any new faces, remember to report them. You'll be rewarded with top-quality livers and hearts."

The demon who brought the man spoke loudly, and the ghosts echoed with angry condemnations, their eyes fixed on the owner, almost turning green with hunger, constantly swallowing their saliva. But upon hearing the last sentence, those ghosts subconsciously looked at Wei Yuan, the only unfamiliar face.

Wei Yuan's expression remained unchanged.

In his heart, however, he understood why the owner had been captured.

Most likely, someone had seen him asking the owner questions earlier today, and he had been implicated.

The folk custom shop owner, who had given the red umbrella to Wei Yuan, was originally expressionless, but the movement of the ghosts caused him to see Wei Yuan among them. He was slightly stunned, then seemed to understand something. His eyes widened, and he suddenly struggled violently.

Then, as if finally collapsing in the face of death, he abandoned his previous indifference and began to curse loudly:

"Come on, come on!"

"You filthy ghosts!!"

"You've made me into this half-dead state! I've long wanted you all to die! Eat me, ha ha, eat me, eat me all you want! Even if I'm killed, I'll curse you, I hope you all disappear completely and never be reincarnated!!!"

He spat fiercely, the saliva flying towards Wei Yuan's direction.

His expression was crazed, as if he deeply hated these ghosts.

The surrounding demons and ghosts, who had been curiously and suspiciously staring at Wei Yuan's unfamiliar face, also shifted their gazes, dismissing their suspicions. They felt their previous thoughts were ridiculous. It seemed this new face not only had no connection with the owner but was actually an enemy.

Faced with the folk custom shop owner's struggles, the ghosts immediately piled on top of him.

The gaunt man was suppressed by two ghosts, gasping for breath, his body instinctively struggling, but how could he break free? His eyes were wooden, shifting away from Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan knew what the owner meant; he wanted him to leave quickly. Wei Yuan lowered his eyes slightly.

The ghosts stepped forward.

Wei Yuan glanced around at the surrounding ghosts, smiled silently, and decisively raised his hand, drawing his sword.

With a clang, the sword sang.

A cold sword light exploded like thunder, sweeping horizontally.

The ghosts were still focused on their food and couldn't defend against this ruthless sword. By the time they reacted, the screams of the wounded ghosts had already begun.

In the blink of an eye, a figure crashed into the midst of the ghosts, using his shoulder as a battering ram. The ghosts, already injured by the sword, were horrified and panicked, being knocked back. Suddenly, that person soared into the air, the sword light chilling, as if a cloud of white snow had fallen from the sky, leaving wounds on the bodies of the ghosts in front.

Then, this icy, snow-like sword light suddenly scattered, transforming into an extremely fast and sharp sword light that pierced the air.

The ghosts vaguely heard the sound of the wind whistling across the surface of the vast sea at high speed.

The heads of the two demons who were suppressing the folk custom shop owner vanished in an instant.

*Thud.*

Wei Yuan stepped onto the stone platform, crouching slightly, his knees bent to dissipate the force. His left hand pressed against the stone platform to stop his movement, while the sword in his right hand emitted a low hum due to the high-speed movement.

Two hideous ghost heads fell from either side.

The ghost with the deathly pale face was almost stunned by the scene before him. In the blink of an eye, the ghosts had been scattered like waves parting. He sniffed the air, his expression changing. "A living person?!"

Before the words could fully leave his mouth, a sword pierced his heart. Darkness fell before his eyes, and his soul collapsed due to the power of the talisman. The sword light flashed, and with nimble steps, Wei Yuan stood before the folk custom shop owner in the blink of an eye, slicing through the ropes that bound him with his broken sword.

"You..."

The folk custom shop owner's eyes widened as he looked at Wei Yuan, wanting to say something, but he merely sighed heavily.

Wei Yuan held his sword horizontally, looking at the grotesque ghosts with a peaceful expression.

Repay kindness with kindness, repay hatred with hatred.

That was all.

……………………

Wei Yuan's sudden attack from behind caught the ghosts completely off guard.

By the time they planned to surround him again, Wei Yuan had already grabbed the gaunt folk custom shop owner, carried him on his back, and wielded the Eight-Sided Han Sword, its sword light chilling, stirring the cold light. The objects in the hands of the ghosts in front were blocked and repelled by the long sword.

No matter how strong a person was, they would surely die if they were held back by so many ghosts.

Wei Yuan still vividly remembered being surrounded by the Huapi slaves in the Moon Dew Shadow.

He was fast enough, and the restaurant wasn't that big, so he almost rushed out.

But as soon as he stepped out, Wei Yuan felt a pulling force, nearly staggering and falling to the ground. Turning his head, he saw the Hanged Ghost, its tongue like a rope, directly wrapped around Wei Yuan's ankle, a sinister and terrifying expression on its face.

The ghosts were overjoyed and immediately pounced forward.

Wei Yuan's expression didn't change. He drew his gun with his left hand, the firearm modified specifically for cultivators roaring like thunder. The first shot blasted a large hole in the Hanged Ghost's tongue, and the second shot went straight for its brow. The Hanged Ghost's body trembled, its tongue loosening, and Wei Yuan strode out.

The ghosts followed, and as they stepped out of the restaurant, Wei Yuan turned and fired a shot.

The armor-piercing bullet pierced the restaurant's signboard, and with a crack, the wooden signboard, which seemed to be quite old, split in the middle and fell to the ground. The second shot pierced the lantern emitting a faint green light, and a burst of fire exploded, about to burn the signboard. The ghosts were so terrified that their hair stood on end, and they rushed forward to put out the flames.

Even though they were burned by the ghost fire, they didn't dare to let the flames burn the signboard. After this flurry of activity, by the time they turned around, Wei Yuan was nowhere to be seen. Each of them gritted their teeth, but looking at the ghosts collapsed in the room, they felt a pang of fear in their hearts.

Only the Hanged Ghost, whose tongue had almost been shot off, was indignant. Seeing that Wei Yuan had already left, he continued to curse.

"What a living person, running so fast!"

"If I ever catch you, I'll skin you alive, tear you apart, and gouge out your heart, liver, lungs, spleen, and kidneys!"

……………………

Wei Yuan mobilized the Jinyun Bird demon power, his feet seeming to step on the wind, his running speed extremely fast.

The ghosts seemed to be extremely afraid of the restaurant being damaged and were hindered, allowing him to escape easily. Arriving at a slightly safer place, Wei Yuan put the folk custom shop owner down, looked at the gloomy and desolate scenery around him, and sighed with a smile:

"I didn't expect to meet again in such a situation."

The gaunt man shook his head, his face wooden, and said, "You should leave."

"In two days, the Ghost Realm Master will have his wedding. By then, even you won't be able to escape. If he can really forcefully marry the Celestial Maiden, this Ghost Realm won't be an illusion anymore."

"If it's not an illusion, then what is it?"

The folk custom shop owner hesitated for a moment, then said, "...Maybe a small piece of the underworld."

"The underworld?"

Wei Yuan looked at the edge of the Ghost Realm. It seemed he could still walk out from here, but once he left, he wouldn't be able to come back in. There were at least twenty or thirty ordinary tourists in the entire Ghost Realm village. If he just left like this, he felt that although he wasn't particularly selfless, he couldn't do such a thing.

At least he should try his best. If he was unable to succeed and had to retreat, then he could be at peace with himself.

Moreover, since he was already listed in the Sili Xiaowei files, then this was probably a mortal enemy.

If he didn't solve it now, they would actively come to his door in the future.

Wei Yuan shook his head and said, "Then I won't leave for now."

But if he didn't leave, what should he do now? Behind him were a bunch of angry demons and ghosts in the restaurant, in front of him was the entire Ghost Realm of monsters and demons, and there was also the Ghost King and evil Taoist priest somewhere. Wei Yuan also found it troublesome.

After thinking about it, one hand couldn't clap. If there was anyone he could find to help him now, one was hoping that Shen Jifeng could contact the action team and see if they had any ideas, and the other might be the Celestial Maiden who was about to be forced into marriage.

Wei Yuan suddenly muttered to himself, "The Celestial Maiden, is she of the clear and spiritual energy of heaven and earth?"

The folk custom shop owner was stunned and asked, "What?"

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "It's nothing."

The roar of a tiger echoed in his ears, and before his spiritual platform, words slowly flowed past. The merits he had gained from killing Yi Muwu earlier, and from charging out of the group of ghosts, appeared one by one, but it was still a little short. Wei Yuan thought for a moment, smiled at the folk custom shop owner, and said, "Then you rest here for a while. I happen to have something else to do. I'll be right back."

……………………

Thirty steps away from the restaurant, the Hanged Ghost had been cursing for a long time, finally feeling relieved.

It wasn't just to vent his anger, but also to show it to the other ghosts. Otherwise, he had almost had his tongue shot off earlier and had been scared away. If he didn't do anything, wouldn't he lose face? Still feeling unsatisfied, he cursed again, "If I ever catch you again, I'll skin you alive and tear you apart!"

"Why wait for another day."

Just after finishing his hearty curse, he heard these words. The Hanged Ghost suddenly felt a tremor in his heart. Looking up, he saw the black-clothed, sword-wielding youth. He immediately felt his scalp tingle. Just as he was about to shout, the youth smiled and said, “Now is the best time," and had already drawn his sword. The wind surged, and the ghost only saw a blur before his eyes, a sword light occupying his field of vision, and then he fell into eternal sleep.

Wei Yuan sheathed his sword and once again set off on a night run to behead his enemies.

All of his merits were exhausted, transforming into a new divine ability.

[Receive cash red envelopes for reading books! Follow the WeChat public account [Book Friends Base Camp] and receive cash/coins!]

[Searching for the Divine]

Divine beings, the clear and spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

This divine ability was grand in name, but its actual effect might not live up to its title.

It could find those spirits called gods, but that was all. As for whether one could communicate with them on equal terms, it depended on the Sili Xiaowei's own strength. If his strength was insufficient and the other party had a bad temper, then they would likely fight. Therefore, it was called a divine ability, but in reality, it was a kind of a formal invitation.

This talisman appeared on Wei Yuan's left hand.

He joined his fingers and tapped into the void.

Faint ripples appeared, then quickly spread out -

'Sili Xiaowei Wei, requests to see the Celestial Maiden.'