Stranger Danger

“Ghost bride? Who on earth is trying to kill me?”

A steely glint entered Ye Qing’s eyes as he racked his brain for an answer.

Was it the Intelligence Department?

Or maybe Chu Wangsun?

He quickly discarded the possibility though. Looking back, his would-be assassin had probably afflicted him with the Ghost Marriage while he was staying at the Hill of Services. That was a good enough reason to eliminate the Intelligence Department and Chu Wangsun from the equation, not to mention that they didn’t even know if he was still alive. No, it had to be someone from the Hill of Services.

Could it be Ancestor Greenwood? He had accidentally screwed over the old man back at the Hill of Services. Maybe the old man was petty little fuck who couldn’t let trivialities slide.

He shook his head almost immediately after the thought crossed his mind, however. He had dreamed of the ghost bride even before he attended the Treasure Appreciation Auction. There was no way Ancestor Greenwood could predict the future and afflict him with the Ghost Marriage beforehand.

Using the same logic, he could eliminate the master of the mysterious hand as well.

So who was it?

He had kept a very low profile since entering the Hill of Services. Not counting Ancestor Greenwood, he had started no trouble and offended no one, so it couldn’t be a case of petty grievances. He had neither exposed himself like an idiot nor revealed his wealth in the open either, so it couldn’t be because someone was plotting to rob him.

But if this wasn’t a crime of passion or greed, then what could it be? Who would want to harm him, and why?

Ye Qing rubbed his nose when suddenly, an inspiration struck him.

He had a different dream before he dreamed of the ghost bride. He had dreamed of the time he killed Huo Hao and took Nanke.

Generally speaking, someone of his cultivation level and spiritual power would fall into the deepest stage of sleep when they were resting, and at this stage, one normally did not dream.

But that night, he had experienced two dreams in a row. If the second dream was deliberate, then there was no way the first dream was an accident.

With that in mind, could this have something to do with Nanke and the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas?

He could not think of any reason why he would dream of that time, at least not normally. It was far likelier that someone was spying on his memories using dreams as a medium.

It wasn’t surprising. If the caster could afflict the Ghost Marriage on him without him noticing, then spying on his memories through his dreams was nothing at all.

All things considered, it was extremely likely that the caster was a member of the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas. As for why they did it, that was very simple. One, they were going to take revenge for Huo Hao. Two, they were here to reclaim Nanke.

But how did the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas manage to track him down? Assuming his guess was correct, it was probably because of Nanke. Nanke’s ability was founded in dreams, and the caster who spied on his dreams and afflicted him with the Ghost Marriage was clearly an expert in dreams as well. It was not impossible that the caster did some dream bullshit and found him using Nanke.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Huo Hao or his men’s death had left some sort of imprint on his person, but that wasn’t important anymore. What was important now was: how should he deal with his pursuer?

If he wasn’t mistaken, they would be knocking on his door very soon. Therefore, his first priority would be to survive this attempted murder.

After all, he never noticed the Ghost Marriage even with his prodigious spirit. It wasn’t until he asked the Annon Sutra that he realized that he was in danger. Clearly, the caster was no small fry.

Moreover, it was highly likely that the caster wasn’t alone?

So, how was he going to survive this?

There were two options. One, he could run and try to escape. Two, he could try and kill all of them.

“Should I run? Or should I fight?”

Ye Qing tapped his brow while his thoughts raced.

Running would be the safest option. He already knew who his enemies were and what their objective was. He also had the Annon Sutra. He had everything he needed to avoid detection and make a break for it.

Of course, the flaws of the option were just as obvious. It was a temporary solution at best. Besides, considering how little time he had, there was a chance he might fail to eliminate the Ghost Marriage and escape his enemies even with all the tools he possessed, and if he failed to shake off his enemies, then he would be the one in deep trouble.

Even if everything went well, he couldn’t run away forever. He had to face his demons eventually.

On the surface, fighting looked like the lousiest and riskiest option. One misstep, and he would die like a moth to fire. He had never been one for suicides, and he didn’t intend to start now.

However, that was only if he looked at it from an ordinary warrior’s perspective. He wasn’t.

For starters, his pursuers probably had no idea about his true strength. They might know that he was an early-stage Spirit Master, and that his spirit was unusually strong for his cultivation level. However, he doubted that they knew just how special his spirit was or the fact that he possessed many powerful trump cards such as the “Boundless Heart Demon Tribulation”. Besides that, they definitely didn’t know that his body had reached the level of a Half-Step Grandmaster.

Second, his pursuers did not know that he had already figured out their identity and objective. They were the ones in the dark right now, not him. He absolutely possessed the advantages necessary to take a certain amount of risks.

With that in mind, he absolutely could duke it out against his enemies and even kill them all even if he was outnumbered. If he succeeded, then he would never have to worry about them again—at least in the short term.

Even if he failed to kill all of them, he would have done some damage at least. It would weaken them and buy him more time to grow stronger.

Rather than watching his back all day and night, he would rather kill all of his enemies in one go and never have to worry about them again.

Of course, this option was only viable if his enemies weren’t overwhelmingly stronger than him. If you threw a rock at a rock, chances were the rock would be usable even if it failed to crush its target. But if you threw an egg at a rock, then it was going to shatter no matter what. Not even the most perfect plan could make up for an impossible gap in strength.

Therefore, he needed to figure out how strong his enemies were first before doing anything. If there was a Grandmaster among his pursuers, then forget that he said anything. He was going to run like his life depended on it, because it was.

Was this cowardice? Of course not! Only an idiot would run headlong toward death!

Having made up his mind, Ye Qing unfolded the Annon Sutra once more.

……

“Have you found him yet, Dream Master?” Slaughterer asked in an impatient tone.

“He’s been moving non-stop,” Dream Master replied, “but I can feel that the distance between us is getting shorter and shorter.”

“Moving? Did he notice us? Maybe he’s running for his life right now,” Dancer asked.

Dream Master shook his head. “That is impossible. He is only an early-stage Spirit Master. His spirit is strong, but there is no way he can sense us from such a distance.”

“Besides, the man is moving erratically. Sometimes he’s moving east, sometimes he’s moving west, sometimes he’s sprinting straight ahead, and sometimes he even backtracked. Rather than running away, I’m more inclined to believe that he’s avoiding something.”

“Who cares? The sooner we find him, the sooner I’ll be able to rip him to pieces!” Slaughterer snarled while clenching his fists tightly.

“Don’t worry. We will reach him very soon,” Dream Master replied unhurriedly.

The group of four continued to chase after Ye Qing for a time until they encountered an old, abandoned city.

The city was buried in sand a long time ago. There were broken walls, piles of rubble, yellow sand and dead grass everywhere. It looked as desolate as it was bleak.

Ruins like these were, in fact, a dime a dozen in Bei Mo. Several thousand years ago, Bei Mo was a famous plain with extremely fertile lands. Many towns and cities had been built on it to support countless people’s dreams. Unfortunately, the plain was beset by so many natural disasters, man-made calamities, and sand that it eventually crossed the point of no return. As a result, the towns and cities were eventually abandoned and left to wither away in the sand.

Not only that, Bei Mo’s numerous abandoned settlements functioned as excellent shelters for travelers, but any hunter, wanderer, or traveling merchant who roamed the wilderness of Bei Mo would tell you to follow this rule: if you encounter a city, stay away. If you see a village, do not enter.

To put it in simpler terms, it meant that one should avoid ancient cities and abandoned villages as much as possible, or grave danger might befall them.

The reason such a rule existed was because ancient cities and abandoned villages were among the easiest places to give birth to all kinds of powerful Strangers and Anomalies. It was not unusual for such a place to be more dangerous than the wilderness, which was why most Bei Mo travelers would rather sleep out in the open than take shelter in such a place.

Dream Master, Earth Walker, Dancer and Slaughterer clearly didn’t heed the warning, however. Either they didn’t know, or they didn’t care.

“He’s inside!” Dream Master declared while staring at the ancient city in front of him.

“Hahaha! Finally!” Slaughterer let out a savage laugh and broke into a run.

Dream Master, Earth Walker and Dancer exchanged a glance with each other, smiled, and followed right behind him.