Jin You, Lingyun, and Ying Chuang split up into action, with the three picking different directions to circle around Mount Lanfen to search for the weak points of the array, intending to send a signal after finding one so the three could pool their strength to attack.
Jin You did not have a deep understanding of arrays, but could rely on his own advantages to perceive where the array posed the smallest threat to himself, thereby judging whether it was a weak point of the array.
Before leaving, Jin You specifically took a glance at the layout of the grave mounds, as the extending direction seemed to be the back mountain of Mount Lanfen, which might be the official-robed ghost’s old lair. Jin You decided not to provoke it for the time being, but to quietly approach from the side instead.
There were no living things on Mount Lanfen, and Jin You walked forward carefully stepping on the withered branches and fallen leaves on the ground, the surroundings being so silent that only his own footsteps could be heard.
The surroundings were dead silent, with only the slight sound of wind seeming to shake the tree leaves into rustling.
The sound of wind?
Jin You raised his head abruptly, as a hanged ghost holding a lock chain in hand was about to loop it around his neck. Jin You hurriedly dodged aside, his right hand raising a stream of water to slap toward the hanged ghost, slapping him down from the tree without hesitation.
In that instant just now, Jin You subconsciously felt that the lock chain in the hanged ghost’s hand carried a dangerous aura, so his dodging action was almost subconscious. Taking advantage of the fact that the hanged ghost had not climbed up yet, Jin You used another stream of water to strike the ghost to dispersion directly, only then walking up to the hanged ghost’s side, picking up the lock chain in his hand to examine it carefully.
“Sure enough, there is a problem, this lock chain actually possesses the ability to detain souls.” Jin You played with the extraordinary Soul-Detaining Lock in his hand, kindly keeping it for the hanged ghost.
The situation was urgent just now, so Jin You had no time to examine it carefully. The clothes worn by that hanged ghost just now seemed not to be the clothes of ordinary commoners either, but the uniform style of a Yamen constable, so it was hard to say whether this Soul-Detaining Lock was used by him during his life, thereby becoming stained with some ability to detain souls. If ordinary humans and ghosts approached here and encountered the hanged ghost without preparation, there would be only death awaiting them.
Jin You pocketed the Soul-Detaining Lock, as it might come in handy in the future.
Since this hanged ghost blocked the way here, it indicated that there must be something strange ahead, and he wondered whether it was related to the array.
Jin You stood up, summoning the Yellow Spring Water inside the Water-Gathering Bead to protect his sides. While Lingyun was immersed in refining her artifact, Jin You was not idling in wait either, but injected ghost power into the Water-Gathering Bead daily to speed up the condensation time of the Yellow Spring Water. Counting it up now, Jin You had already accumulated over forty drops of Yellow Spring Water. For something that could even harm Yan’e, it would only be stronger against ordinary ghosts and monsters, so it was enough to use right now.
Judging by the hanged ghost’s strength, such ghosts and monsters might still appear up ahead, so he needed to be even more careful.
Jin You continued walking along the previous direction, and except for a few ordinary ghosts carrying marks, there was nothing else special, so Jin You scattered them without even using the Yellow Spring Water. Walking like this for almost half an hour, just as Jin You began to doubt his direction a bit, the scene before his eyes underwent a new change.
The building before his eyes was dilapidated in appearance, looking like a Yamen in form, with a plaque hanging in the center. Jin You thought it would say something like ‘A Bright Mirror Hanging High’, but leaning closer to look, he discovered that what was written on the plaque was not ‘A Bright Mirror Hanging High’, but ‘Judging Both Ghosts and Gods’.
“Judging both ghosts and gods, what immense tone.” Jin You let out a cold laugh, guessing that the official-robed ghost usually used that ghost official seal here, and even specially placed a plaque saying ‘Judging Both Ghosts and Gods’ in the middle, his ambition being extremely obvious.
The moment Jin You stepped into the Yamen, two sounds of breaking through the air came from the left and right sides. Jin You was prepared long ago, swinging the Soul-Detaining Lock to flick away two long swords, the deflected sword energy leaving two deep sword marks on the pillars on both sides.
This kind of sword technique was not the strength that previously encountered ghosts should possess. With two slashes of sword energy missing, two ghosts charged toward Jin You together, and only then did Jin You see the appearance of the two clearly, his heart sinking, “These are cultivators?”
The two ghosts before him wore cultivators’ clothes, both their eyes and the backs of their heads revealing an ominous red light, so there was no need to ask to know that it was certainly from the hands of the official-robed ghost again. The two cultivator ghosts were very fast, and the water arrow condensed by Jin You shot through the shoulder of one of them, yet that cultivator ghost seemed completely unable to perceive pain, his attacking movements showing not the slightest pause.
The two cultivator ghosts were likely from the same sect, cooperating with great tacit understanding when dealing with Jin You. Jin You dared not lose focus, shifting his steps back and forth while scattering ghost power to gather a large amount of water flow on the ground, rapidly entangling their soul bodies while the two ghosts withdrew their moves, shooting out two drops of Yellow Spring Water while they struggled, hitting right in the center of their eyebrows, as the two cultivator ghosts were burned away completely by the Yellow Spring Water amidst painful screams.
Jin You panted slightly, able to spare mind and spirit to identify which sect their attire belonged to only before the two cultivator ghosts vanished. But it was a pity that Jin You did not recognize the attire on these two cultivators, expecting that they likely strayed into Mount Lanfen, fell for this official-robed ghost’s trick, and had to stay here after death to be manipulated by him to harm others.
Even the souls of cultivators existed in this mountain, so it inevitably made one wonder how many innocent people must have perished here over the years.
Jin You calmed his consumed ghost power, perceiving that a place in this Yamen had an extremely strong yin energy, which seemed to be underground?
Jin You walked a few steps along the direction he perceived, finding a low house located on the side of the main hall. Breaking open the door, the side room was filled with ashes, which were all raised by the shock of the broken wooden door. Pinching his nose with his hand, he searched inside the room for a while, finally discovering a hidden secret door right behind the screen.
Jin You opened the secret door, walking down all the way along the steps, and what was presented before his eyes was surprisingly row upon row of jail cells, with ghosts packed tightly inside.
The only difference was that these ghosts all seemed to still retain sanity, and the backs of their heads did not emanate red light like the ghosts encountered earlier.
Seeing someone coming down from above, the ghosts in the jail cells suddenly shrank back, exhibiting an appearance of extreme fear. There were even ghosts shouting inside, all being some meaningless curses, and since they were not cursing himself anyway, Jin You did not take them to heart either.
As Jin You’s figure gradually became clear, the ghosts in the jail cells froze for a moment, and a brave ghost mustered up courage to ask, “Are you… a newly arrived ghost? How come they were not seen escorting you here?”
“Pah, do not talk to him, maybe he is that dog official’s accomplice again!” Jin You looked at the speaking ghost, saying with calm composure, “Do not lump me together with him. My coming here is to figure out how to break the Soul-Locking Spirit-Snatching Array, as well as what on earth happened here.”
“You truly are not that dog official’s accomplice? How to prove it?” The speaking ghost hid in the shadow of the jail cell, a pair of vigilant eyes vaguely visible looking at Jin You, waiting for Jin You’s answer.
Jin You did not want to waste time, directly explaining the current situation to them, including the matter about Yan Baichuan. In order to make the crowd of ghosts believe, Jin You also spoke of the matter regarding the cultivator ghosts encountered at the entrance, “You should know those two sword-using cultivators keeping watch at the door, and they have already been dealt with by me.”
“They are so powerful, how could you possibly kill them!” Jin You felt this person was annoying to death, directly condensing a drop of Yellow Spring Water to approach him, “By virtue of me being powerful. Do you believe it now? If you believe it then hurry and speak out everything you know, I am still rushing to save someone, having no time to answer your questions slowly here.”
That person subconsciously retreated a few steps, his intuition telling him the water drop before his eyes was not something he could touch easily, saying carefully, “That dog official has quite a few ghosts under his command, many of whom are our family members. As for us, we are merely useless trash he looks down upon.”
“Not only that,” seeing him speak, many ghosts also opened their chatterboxes, telling Jin You the bitterness in their hearts one after another, “He locked us up here, and only lets us out when going to trick others into straying into Mount Lanfen, even sending people to guard us!”
“Many disobedient ghosts were stamped with that official seal, and no longer recognize us either.”
“At least we can still talk like this right now, but once turned into that appearance, one even forgets who oneself is.”
“Every month on the fifteenth he also forces us to slaughter each other, and the ghosts that survive will be stamped with the official seal to work for that dog official!”
The crowd of ghosts babbled for a long time, and Jin You listened for a long time, finally capturing a useful sentence from it, “You said he forces you to slaughter each other every month on the fifteenth, in what place?”
The speaking ghost was a delicate woman, saying sorrowfully upon hearing this, “Right on the west side of Mount Lanfen, there is an enclosed hunting ground, and I heard that usually other ghosts are not allowed to approach.”
Other ghosts are not allowed to approach either? Why was this?
The ghost with many questions earlier suddenly spoke up, “If you want to break that dog official’s Soul-Locking Spirit-Snatching Array, I think that over there should be a weak point of the array. If you want to ask why, those two sword-using cultivators you killed just now are my fellow disciples.”
He revealed his presence from within the shadows, the clothing on his body indeed being identical to the two cultivator ghosts at the door, his eyes filled with sorrow and anger at this moment, “My name is Mu Qing, a disciple of the Sword-Song Sect. The two men outside the door were my senior brothers, who died precisely to protect me. As for that dog official keeping me, it is merely wanting to refine me into a stronger puppet.”
Jin You understood, no wonder this person harbored such great resentment toward the official-robed ghost. But as for the Sword-Song Sect, Jin You truly did not know about it.
Seeing this, Mu Qing knew Jin You had not heard of his sect, explaining, “The sect’s disciples are scarce, and located deep in the mountain forest, rarely entering the world, so it is normal that sir has not heard of it. Without hiding from sir, the three of us fellow disciples were traveling outside on this trip, never expecting.”
The strength of this official-robed ghost was not to be underestimated, so it was truly lamentable that these three people, lacking worldly experience, perished here.
Jin You reached out his hand to unlock the lock on the jail cell door, only to hear Mu Qing cry out “Must not!”, snatching back his hand in an instant, yet his hand was still burned by the lock on the jail cell.
“What kind of ghost thing is this!” Jin You rolled up a stream of water to sweep across the back of his hand, the burned place immediately becoming whole as before.
“That dog official forced us to press our fingerprints onto the confession and stamped the official seal. Opening the lock without an official decree is regarded as a prison break and will cause burns, which is why I hurriedly stopped sir just now.”
Jin You had not expected this Yamen to actually be so proper and formal, even pulling off pressing fingerprints, feeling a bit troublesome in his heart, but still asked patiently, “Then how to open it?”
Mu Qing replied, “There are two methods. One is for that dog official to hold court himself and judge us innocent, but right now that is impossible. The remaining method is to steal out the confessions where we admitted guilt, using the water drop in sir’s hand to burn them. Without confessions, we are naturally innocent, and the jail cell doors can be opened as well.”
Jin You was somewhat doubtful of this method, “You said just now that official seals were stamped on them, so I am afraid they might not be easy to burn, right?”
Mu Qing shook his head, “The ghost official seal is a tool for governing ghosts, so its efficacy on dead objects will be greatly discounted, sir can feel free to try. Our confessions are all stored in the small room behind the main hall, so we trouble sir for help.”
Jin You responded with a headache, “Got it,” resigning himself to head toward the main hall.