From a distance, they could already hear the raised voices and shortly afterwards they reached a steep cliff overlooking the entire Blood Bazaar. The cave was so huge that even the city of Chaisang would have easily fit inside.
Stalls, booths and even entire houses had been built, offering a wide variety of goods. Zhi Cheng covered his face with his fan when he spotted a stall selling spirit creatures that resembled pigs. Next door were huge cages that resembled birds. With beaks and feathers.
But not only ghosts, yao and humans were also being pushed across the counter like steamed buns. Qing Lai turned away.
"Where is your camp?" he asked Bo Chao. He pointed to a house. It was multi-storey, well guarded and, of course, the largest in the whole market. Servants advertised their wares and invited the guests to linger.
"We'll approach from behind," Qing Lai decided and pushed Bo Chao along. Zhi Cheng took his eyes off the trapped spirits. Even though he had been a miserable ruler and had not attended to his duties for centuries, this sight was difficult for him.
A faint feeling of doubt and guilt sprouted in him. Back then, he had not led the Valley of the Spirits into a war for no reason. He had become king because..., he followed Qing Lai with heavy steps. Because he wanted to build a place for the outcasts. For those who could find no way back.
They mingled in the hustle and bustle as a matter of course and looked at the goods on offer. From illegal drugs, to living creatures and their individual parts, to artifacts that even the Ghost King had never seen before, everything was there.
Zhi Cheng stopped in front of a leathery parchment in a glass case. Qing Lai peered over his shoulder.
"It looks old, I can't read the writing," he remarked. Zhi Cheng nodded. He had been able to once, a long time ago, but the characters were so faded that they were almost indecipherable. A fragile, barely visible spell circle adorned the background.
"It's an explanation of what the mark in the background does," he explained curtly. Qing Lai pushed Bo Chai out of the way so that he couldn't ask others for help.
"So, what does it do?" asked Qing Lai curiously. It is a protective circle that can protect everything under it from any evil and misfortune, Zhi Cheng thought and melancholy filled his heart for a moment. But he only took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders.
"I can't read it either, Brother Qing, I'm sorry," he only said.
Qing Lai's shoulders slumped in disappointment, but then he reminded him why they were actually here. The hustle and bustle at the market was so colorful that the trio didn't stand out at all, just as it didn't stand out that one of them hadn't come along entirely voluntarily.
They entered the house through the servants' entrance and, while the hubbub of voices and bustle in the store was deafeningly loud, they crept up to the warehouse unnoticed. Qing Lai placed Bo Chao on one of the many crates and paralyzed him from the waist down so that he could not escape.
The warehouse took up an entire floor and was stacked to the ceiling with crates, display cases, fabrics and spices.
"Which one is it?" asked Qing Lai. Bo Chao snorted angrily, but then pointed to a medium-sized crate in the middle of the room, standing on a table. It was a long way away from the other goods. Qing Lai approached cautiously.
Zhi Cheng felt the pure flow of his spiritual aura as Qing Lai carefully scanned the box. Then he opened it. Zhi Cheng stepped beside him as Qing Lai carefully lifted one of the bags and opened it. Zhi Cheng's breath caught for a moment.
"Night herb?", he gasped involuntarily. Qing Lai looked at him.
"You know the plant?" he asked skeptically. Zhi Cheng regained his composure. His heart was beating up to his throat. What was the night herb doing in the mortal world? It only grew in Duifang, it could only grow in Duifang. It only sprouted in the shadows of the obsidian rocks, feeding on the black magic and dark shadows of the Spirit Valley.
"I ... uh ... glimpsed it," Zhi Cheng evaded and was with Bo Chao in a few steps.
"Where did you get it? How did you get it? And why and what the hell are you using it for?" he asked the merchant. He grabbed him roughly by the chin and glared at him with red eyes.
"For every lie, I'll remove one of your top layers of skin!" he hissed angrily. Qing Lai carefully put the bag back. Bo Chao's eyes darted back and forth, then he gritted his teeth.
"About a year ago, a messenger from Duifang approached me with a request," he began. Zhi Cheng gripped so hard that Bo Chao's jaw cracked. Qing Lai carefully released his hand from the man and held it firmly so that he no longer hurt the merchant and he could talk.
Zhi Cheng felt the warmth of the hand holding his, and everything in him tensed so tightly that he did not involuntarily grip. Bo Chai rubbed his aching face.
"As I said, I was asked if there was a way to refine the herb so that it could be administered undetected. It took a while, but eventually I found a way to dry it, refine it and turn it into a kind of tea infusion," he explained.
Zhi Cheng exhaled deeply. He had already wondered where Weijie had gotten the know-how to administer the night herb to him so insidiously. Of course, he would have swallowed it any way he could to keep the farce going. Yet he had sought help from the mortal realm?
"For what?" Qing Lai asked. His expression had changed. His brain was working again, tying up loose threads. Bo Chao snorted.
"Haven't you heard yet? The ghost king has fallen? Who do you think was responsible?" he asked defiantly.
Zhi Cheng jerkily released his hand from Qing Lai's. How brazen to show off in front of him like that. Yet it was his fault? He had given Weijie the idea of using the night herb, so it was his fault that it entered the mortal world? So the countless deaths because of it were also his fault? All the women, children?
Zhi Cheng was so angry that he completely missed the look Qing Lai gave him.
"So the Ghost King was poisoned and ultimately defeated?" he asked Bo Chao instead. The corpulent man laughed and nodded.
"And now I'm the only man who trades with Duifang," he announced proudly.
"Who is the new Ghost King?" asked Qing Lai. Bo Chao puffed, the odyssey had exhausted him.
"The revered Weijiezhu!" he replied. Qing Lai thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Never heard of him, no," he finally said. Bo Chai's eyes bulged out of his head.
"You will, soon enough, because Weijiezhu won't sit around as idly and uselessly as the former Ghost King Chengzh..." he gurgled and slumped down as the metal fitting of the fan hit his throat.
"Enough now, what do we do with the information?" asked Zhi Cheng. Qing Lai opened his mouth when suddenly a huge crash startled them both.
Hollow, shapeless hooded figures fell from the ceiling. They straightened up and their limbs snapped back into place. Two dozen puppets had surrounded them and the trampling of feet outside suggested more of them.
"What's this?" asked Qing Lai, bracing himself for a fight. Zhi Cheng shook off the unpleasant feeling of memories.
"The reigning Ghost King Weijiezhu is also known as the Puppet Master," he replied.
Qing Lai's eyes widened in realization. Of course he had already heard of the puppet master. The demon who stole the bodies of the fallen from the battlefield, the devil who came at night to kidnap you, hollow you out inside and turn you into a puppet without a soul and free will.
They all knew the puppet master. They rushed forward. Qing Lai, who no longer had to worry about the living, swatted them down like flies. Zhi Cheng, who had to be careful not to use black magic too obviously and too much, looked more foolish.
Several of these puppets rushed towards him. They struck at Zhi Cheng, trying to sever his acupuncture points and shred his meridians. Unlike Qing Lai, they had recognized the Ghost King immediately.
Zhi Cheng was panting. Qing Lai rushed to help him, but just as they cut a swath, the whole room lit up ominously.
"A trap!" shouted Qing Lai. The room was secured. Of course it was, but with Bo Chao by his side, he hadn't expected it to be activated.
He looked at the crate where he had placed the man. He was still unconscious and was being dragged out of the spell circle by several puppets. Zhi Cheng was about to attack, after all, he could not allow even one of these puppets to run to Weijie to tell him who he had found alive and kicking. Several finger-thick nails flew towards him.
Each one hit a spiritual point and he slumped down with a groan as the room turned, everything tilted and the two were carried far away.
They were hit by the cold, damp cave air and just as Zhi Cheng was about to pick himself up again, he was pressed to the ground with a sweeping movement.
Qin Lai crouched over him, unabashedly, without shifting his weight, he sat on Zhi Cheng's lower abdomen and examined his chest. He ran his fingers along his meridians, checked the acupuncture points and frowned intently.
"Am I making you uncomfortable?" He asked as he caught Zhi Cheng's gaze. The Ghost King smiled mischievously. He would certainly have cut anyone else in four. But Qin Lai's presence, no matter how close it was, did not make him uncomfortable at all.
On the contrary, Zhi Cheng was lying on the floor, all fours stretched out and patiently letting Qin Lai's fingers explore him thoroughly. He shook his head slightly.
"Not at all. Am I seriously injured?" he asked with mock concern. He realized that such an attack aimed at destroying the meridians was no trifle. But he was different, his body was different. He had died a long time ago, the circulation of his spiritual energy no longer flowing through his veins.
Qin Lai seemed to notice this. He breathed a sigh of relief. Although he could not make sense of Zhi Cheng's condition, he realized that his life was not in immediate danger.
Zhi Cheng swung himself to his feet, in the blink of an eye the two had switched positions and now it was Zhi Cheng who was leaning over the white-clad pacifist. Due to Qin Lai's audacity to squat on him, Zhi Cheng knelt between his thighs. He gently ran his hands over the torn Daoist clothes. Qin Lai blinked, but he did not resist.
"Am... am I seriously injured?" he asked, mimicking Zhi Cheng's tone and looking at him from his bright eyes. Zhi Cheng suppressed a laugh.
"I'm afraid so, my dear," he replied. Qin Lai was not physically injured. But someone like him, with his physical strength, skill and alert mind, was certainly no ordinary, failed soldier. Something must have happened that had struck this fighter and caused him to collapse. Zhi Cheng tapped his fan against Qin Lai's forehead.
"What was it?" he asked, now leaning down dangerously close to him. Their upper bodies touched and they could feel each other's heat. Qin Lai raised a brow questioningly.
"Was it a treacherous love?". At the words, Zhi Cheng couldn't help but feel a little twinge in his heart. Qin Lai laughed out as he freed himself from under Zhi Cheng and straightened his robe.
"I've loved a few women before, but never in a way that could break my heart," he replied. Zhi Cheng's grip on the fan tightened. He didn't know why, but the idea of Qin Lai with other women annoyed him. He stood up.
"And you?" Qin Lai asked back. It was obvious that he was aiming for a casual conversation. Zhi Cheng shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't like women!" This nonsense was out faster than he could think, and inwardly he slapped his forehead with the flat of his hand. Qing Lai paused for a moment, then changed the subject.
"We flew from the Blood Bazaar!" he said. Zhi Cheng nodded. I urgently need to stop spouting such nonsense, he groaned inwardly. He could still feel Qing Lai's weight and his fingers on his body. He straightened his robe and looked around.
"And now?" he asked. Qing Lai frowned.
"We can't just leave it like this. We have to destroy this night weed before it gets into circulation!" he replied firmly.
"So we're going back?" Zhi Cheng followed up. Qing Lai nodded resolutely.
"We're going back!"