New Arc: Gluttony
Chapters 124-147
Huo Wei has been so busy lately that she was running around in circles. She had not even slept through a single night.
She had not suffered like this since taking the college entrance examination.
A huge disaster had occurred in the Xuangu Mountain Range. The Cui Xing Gate was destroyed, and the resentment inside it escaped, scattering and crashing about outside the gate. The barrier established by the Spirit Supervision Bureau and the surviving spirit masters from the Zhuge family was completely unable to withstand it.
Just as the barrier was on the verge of collapsing, with the resentment about to break through and wreak havoc on the human world, the seventh-rank Crimson Evil beside Fu Sang stepped into the Cui Xing Gate in full view of everyone and offered himself as a sacrifice. Only then was the disaster barely brought to a halt.
Would a seventh-rank evil ghost really be willing to sacrifice his life for the human world?
Zhuge Fusang jumped into the Cui Xing Gate after him, was he still alive?
No one knew, and no one had time to investigate.
After all, the mess left behind by the Zhuge family was simply too enormous. It would take a long time to clean it up.
After the two of them entered the gate, the storm of resentment surging out from the gate calmed down considerably. However, many still slipped through and spilled outside, providing a splendid feast for the group of underworld spirits Zhuge Lin had brought in. Now, several troublesome high-level underworld spirits wandered around inside the family estate, and they were genuinely difficult to deal with. Because of this, the Spirit Supervision Bureau brought out all its most precious magical artifacts and set up a massive barrier, covering the entire family estate.
As long as nothing else happened with the Cui Xing Gate, the remaining high-level underworld spirits would not be able to break out anytime soon. They could only patiently wait and eliminate them in successive rounds. There would always be a day when all the filthy things were thoroughly cleaned up.
Thus, the matter with the ghosts was settled, but things among the living were still a complete mess.
After the disaster caused by the Cui Xing Gate was temporarily quelled, people from the Spirit Supervision Bureau entered the barrier and searched several more times.
They would never have known if they had not searched, but there were actually three living people still hidden inside the barrier.
One was Liu Dongfeng, who was still unconscious beneath a pile of rocks. The other two were Zhuge Buyi and Zhuge Mingyun.
The personnel from the Spirit Supervision Bureau were arranged in advance by Liu Dongfeng that night. Before the incident, he had already given them a general report of the case. Therefore, once Zhuge Mingyun and Zhuge Buyi were found, they were taken directly to the Spirit Supervision Bureau for questioning.
Zhuge Mingyun was very cooperative. She revealed everything, from the causes and circumstances of the incident to the details of the destruction of the Cui Xing Gate, including all the secrets of the Zhuge family.
No one would deliberately help conceal these things, and there was no way they could be kept hidden anyway. As a result, the Zhuge family found itself in an extremely awkward position. Rumors spread like wildfire. Some said that the Zhuge family achieved its current size by trading the lives of the women in its own family. Others said that the family had built such a gate because it was preparing some earth-shattering conspiracy. Still others said that the disaster at the family estate had been staged by the Zhuge family itself so that it could eliminate dissidents within the Nether Path…
In short, there were all kinds of stories. The once incomparably prestigious family, which always had the final say, had now fallen into a storm of public opinion. Many people even secretly remarked that karma was a circle.
But no matter what people outside said, the matter still had to be handled according to the rules internally.
The masterminds behind this catastrophic disaster were now all dead, leaving only Zhuge Mingyun as someone who knew the truth.
It seemed Zhuge Mingyun had made her plans long ago. When she brought Zhuge Buyi into the scheme, she did not reveal any of the truth to him. She told him nothing about those sordid past events or her vicious plans. Therefore, although Zhuge Buyi was involved and had cooperated to some extent, he was completely unaware of the real situation. The ignorant are not guilty, so he could not be held responsible. He was only taken to the Spirit Supervision Bureau, asked a few questions, and then released without further incident.
However, after muddling through so many filthy family affairs without really understanding what was going on, he ultimately could not escape a serious illness.
As one of the masterminds, Zhuge Mingyun naturally could not escape punishment. Once she stepped through the doors of the Spirit Supervision Bureau, she never came out again.
Zhuge Qianyi, who had been missing for many days, also reappeared the day after that night.
According to her, she learned about the Zhuge family’s secrets by chance and, worried that the matter might implicate her, left the Xuangu Mountain Range overnight. She had indeed run away on her own initiative, and no one had forced her to do so.
Later, she travelled all the way to Chifeng Pass, where she met Huo Wei and Fu Sang. She then went with them to Ganlan City, where she encountered Li Guizhen’s ex-husband, Zhao Yong’an, at a hotel.
After that, everything descended into chaos. Zhuge Qianyi was trapped somewhere by a magical artifact in Zhao Yong’an’s possession. It was not until the night the incident occurred in the Xuangu Mountain Range that she was inexplicably released. It seemed the magical artifact Zhao Yong’an used was also made by Zhuge Lin. At that time, Zhuge Lin died, and his divine soul was completely destroyed. Naturally, his magical artifact became useless, allowing her to regain her freedom and return to reveal the truth.
After an investigation by the Spirit Supervision Bureau, it was confirmed that Zhao Yong’an was coerced by Zhuge Lin to attack Zhuge Qianyi. In any case, nothing had happened to Zhuge Qianyi, and she had not even lost a single strand of hair. Since she herself was willing to let the matter rest, that was the end of it.
Days passed. As one of the people involved, Huo Wei helped Zhuge Buhuo and the others deal with the aftermath for the Spirit Supervision Bureau. She worked nonstop for several days, and before she knew it, another week had passed.
There were things to do everywhere these past few days: handling the bodies, counting the casualties, preparing the first round and even several subsequent rounds of extermination plans for the barrier around the family estate… The one thing they lacked most was manpower.
Although Huo Wei was not a member of the main family, she still carried the title of an outside disciple. She was also Zhuge Buhuo’s friend, and she had stayed with the main family for so many days before. Now that something had happened, she was certainly going to do everything she could to help.
So she stayed in the Xuangu Mountain Range for another seven days. Seeing that she could barely get enough sleep each day, Zhuge Buhuo planned to let her rest properly today and not ask her to help that morning. Who would have thought that Huo Wei would get up early on her own, drive outside the mountain, and return with a trunk full of paper ingots and joss money?
When Zhuge Buhuo saw her, she was burning offerings outside the barrier surrounding the family estate. With two enormous dark circles under her eyes, she silently burned the paper once the fire had caught.
“You…” Zhuge Buhuo stared at her in bewilderment.
He crouched beside Huo Wei and lowered his voice.
“What are you doing so early in the morning? Everyone who died in the disaster that night has already been buried in the ancestral graves behind the mountain. If you want to pay your respects, go there. Who are you burning these offerings for here? They’ll all end up as food for those wandering ghosts inside.”
“Who am I burning them for? Today is Zhuge Fusang’s seventh-day memorial. Who do you think I’m burning them for?!”
It would have been better if he had not asked. The moment he did, Huo Wei’s tears nearly fell.
“You moved all the bodies you found and buried them behind the mountain, but what about those without bodies? What about San You? Just because you can’t find his body, does that mean he doesn’t deserve a proper resting place? If I don’t burn some paper for him here, where am I supposed to burn it? He has no family or relatives. If I don’t burn offerings for him, who else will? It’s all your fault! It’s all your family’s fault! If your family hadn’t caused such a disaster, how could the Young General have entered that damned gate? How could San You have been so distraught committed suicide? I raised him from the time he was small, feeding him and cleaning up after him! And just like that, he died without anyone knowing why, without even leaving behind a body! Who am I supposed to go to for justice?!”
Huo Wei cried so bitterly that people around them kept turning to look.
Cold sweat immediately broke out on Zhuge Buhuo’s forehead. He hurriedly fumbled in his pockets for a tissue.
“My dear lady, since his body hasn’t been found, have you ever considered another possibility…? Maybe he isn’t dead at all?”
“Nonsense! Go! Go into the barrier right now. Go through that gate yourself. If you can come back with all your arms and legs intact, then I’ll believe you! How much resentment has accumulated in a place like that? Anyone who enters would be torn to pieces in a second. How could there be a body left…? Poor San You. It’s already his seventh-day memorial, and no one is thinking about him or remembering him. What, if his body is never found, are you going to spend the rest of your life thinking he’s hiding somewhere, living carefree?”
“That’s right.”
A voice suddenly interrupted from beside them while Huo Wei was lamenting.
“How pitiful. Zhuge Buhuo, you’re so cruel.”
“Exactly. At least there’s someone here who can see things clearly…”
Huo Wei grabbed Zhuge Buhuo’s long coat and casually wiped her tears on it. Halfway through, her entire body suddenly stiffened.
Because she finally realized who that voice sounded like.
She sniffled, widened her eyes, and secretly pinched herself. Only after confirming that she was not dreaming did she slowly, little by little, turn her head.
It was a cloudy day, and the sky was a gloomy gray. The person standing behind her was just as gloomy and somber as the weather.
Long hair, pale skin, a dark red left eye, and dark circles under his eyes. His appearance and temperament were both cold and sharp…
Wasn’t this the person who had leapt into the Cui Xing Gate seven days ago in front of everyone?
“…San You!!!”
Huo Wei practically sprang off the ground and rushed over to Fu Sang, throwing her arms around him.
Like a cannonball, she knocked Fu Sang half a step backward.
“You really are still alive!!!”
“I’m not that easy to kill.”
Fu Sang let Huo Wei cling to him and wail for a while before pushing her away. Then he turned to look at Zhuge Buhuo, who was still standing beside them in a daze.
Meeting his gaze, Zhuge Buhuo opened his mouth wide. It took him a long time to look Fu Sang up and down before finally speaking.
“Holy shit, Brother, you’re really not dead?!”
Saying that someone whose body had not been found was still alive was half meant as consolation. Although Zhuge Buhuo had long suspected that Fu Sang was not human, he still felt that this was too bizarre and rather unlikely. Now, seeing with his own eyes that Fu Sang had entered a place even more vicious than the Asura Hell and returned completely intact, there was no way he could not be shocked.
“I’m dead. I’m a Crimson Evil now.”
Fu Sang made a joke cold enough to freeze the North Pole. Standing was tiring, so he found a nearby stone block and sat down.
“Don’t rush to make fun of me. First, hurry up and tell me what exactly happened. Why did you insist on jumping into that gate that day? Were you really going in there to die for love? What was inside the gate? And how did you come back perfectly fine?”
Fu Sang opened his mouth, seemingly willing to show mercy and answer his questions.
But when the words reached his lips, perhaps because he felt that everything he had experienced was too difficult to explain and did not particularly want others to know, he changed his answer to just one sentence:
“It’s a long story.”
After a pause, Fu Sang spoke again, changing the subject.
“First, tell me how many days I’ve been dead.”
“Hey, since you’re alive, stop saying such unlucky things… Uh, seven days. Today happens to be your seventh-day memorial.”
Huo Wei gave Zhuge Buhuo a hard elbow in the arm.
Fu Sang, however, did not take his choice of words to heart. He merely said:
“What happened during these seven days? Have the people we were looking for been found? Have the necessary matters been dealt with? What’s the situation now? Tell me everything.”
Hearing him ask about serious matters, Huo Wei and Zhuge Buhuo hurriedly pieced together the major and minor events of the past seven days, each adding something to the story. Fu Sang listened while raising his eyes to look at the scene inside the barrier. Only after they finished did he respond casually.
“Ah… Speaking of which, we really ought to thank your Crimson Evil. Given the situation that night, if not for him… the consequences would have been countless times more tragic than what we’re dealing with now, and who knows how many people would have been affected. By the way, when you followed him into the gate that night, were you going in to look for him? If you’ve come back, then he…”
Before he could finish, Huo Wei elbowed Zhuge Buhuo again, making him shut his mouth in pain.
“He’s dead.”
Fu Sang gazed through the barrier at the stone gate that had risen from beneath the ground and stood amid the ruins of the family estate. His voice was cold as he added:
“He’s completely dead.”
“…”
After hearing this, Huo Wei and Zhuge Buhuo exchanged a glance, but neither said anything.
Zhuge Buhuo regretted it a little and wanted to slap himself.
Although they had never said it aloud, who couldn’t see the relationship between Fu Sang and that Crimson Evil? Who couldn’t see that Fu Sang loved him? They also knew what kind of person Fu Sang was. His beloved ghost had sacrificed himself right before his eyes. Who knew what kind of madness he would fall into? Perhaps he had really gone in there to die for love last time, but had failed to do so. Now that he had returned, what was he thinking? What would he do?
Would he make everyone who had been saved by the ghost he loved pay the price?
While the two of them were anxiously turning this over in their minds, Fu Sang narrowed his eyes slightly and abruptly changed his tone.
“…Though that may not necessarily be the case.”
“?”
The two exchanged another glance.
Huo Wei rubbed her red, swollen eyes.
“W-what do you mean?”
Fu Sang did not explain it to them.
When Qi Changying entered the Cui Xing Gate, he intended to gather up all the resentment inside the gate, then sacrifice himself and make both himself and that resentment disappear from the world completely.
A seventh-rank Crimson Evil could rightly be called the King of Ten Thousand Ghosts. Everything in this world that was hatred and resentment, every ghost and every soul, had to bow before him.
Under the circumstances at the time, with a barrier trapping everything outside and another barrier pressing down from within, as long as Qi Changying took action, there was no way a single wisp of resentment would remain in the human world.
But now, it seemed… That was not the case.
No matter how much resentment or how many underworld spirits were still wandering inside the barrier, Fu Sang could not see any of them. However, he could sense a little. After hearing everything the two people before him said, he more or less figured out the situation.
Although the resentment inside and outside the gate had weakened considerably compared with that night, its quantity and concentration were still extremely terrifying. Otherwise, the Spirit Supervision Bureau would not have put up another barrier here, one that was larger and thicker, to guard against it, nor would they have prepared so many rounds of extermination operations.
Judging from this situation, it’s illogical that the situation inside is still so troublesome even after the sacrifice of a Crimson Evil.
So there were only two possibilities now.
Either there was something else inside the gate, something at least on the same rank as a Crimson Evil, which meant that even the Crimson Evil’s sacrifice could not completely eliminate it.
Or Qi Changying had not…
Just as his thoughts reached this point, a sudden commotion broke out nearby, drawing Fu Sang’s attention.
He turned to look and saw a group of people approaching in the distance.
At first, Fu Sang thought they were a patrol team from the Spirit Supervision Bureau. But on closer inspection, he realized they were wearing the Zhuge family’s clothes, surrounding a tall, slender person in their midst.
The person was dressed in black and wore a bamboo hat covered with a thin veil.
That was…
Fu Sang narrowed his eyes slightly.
He had seen this person before.
But that was at night, in the ancestral hall, where dim candlelight was burning. The person was kneeling before a pile of ancestral tablets, and the veil hanging from the hat obscured his figure, so Fu Sang was not able to make out his height or build.
But now…
“Who is that? What a grand procession.”
Huo Wei also noticed the commotion and asked curiously.
Zhuge Buhuo glanced in that direction. He did not find it strange and casually began to explain.
“Oh, that? That’s…”
Before he could finish, he suddenly saw Fu Sang walking straight toward that person with a sour expression.
His face was so gloomy that it seemed as though icy water could drip from it. It was obvious he was not going over to exchange pleasantries or do anything good. It would not be surprising if he was going there to kill someone.
Zhuge Buhuo’s heart leapt into his throat. He hurriedly called out:
“Hey! Where are you going? …That’s the family’s Shaosi!”
Fu Sang acted as though he had not heard him.
He strode toward the person.
Perhaps sensing the killing intent coming from him, the people surrounding Zhuge Qi looked at him warily. Seeing that he was approaching directly and had no intention of stopping, they all stepped forward and blocked the Shaosi.
But these few people were no match for him.
Fu Sang took out the Snake-Bone Nail, twirled it in his hand, and swept it sideways. The several burly men staggered and fell to the ground like sheets of paper.
Fu Sang did not take a single step around them. He simply strode over them with his long legs and approached the young man dressed entirely in black.
The other person just stood there, without moving or doing anything.
Fu Sang’s steps stirred up a little wind, making the black veil around the edge of the hat flutter gently.
He tossed the Snake-Bone Nail into his left hand, freeing his right. Once he was close enough, he reached out and lifted the other person’s bamboo hat in one swift motion.
A sudden gust of wind swept through. The hat, carried by Fu Sang’s movement and the wind, floated lightly away.
Through the fluttering thin veil, Fu Sang finally saw the face beneath it.
Compared with the ghostly figure he often faced, the person before him actually looked more like the living Qi Changying whom Zhuge Suli had known, though there were still some differences.
He was neither the pale, cold ghost nor the spirited young general in red robes and silver armor, with his hair tied in a high ponytail.
The person before him was a little thinner and much quieter. His half-long hair almost reached his shoulders, with half of it tied back behind his head. His skin was pale, as though he had not seen sunlight for many years. His face was completely clean, without any blood-red runes, and his eyes were like obsidian, reflecting Fu Sang’s image.
He looked at Fu Sang with a slightly dazed expression. Even after having his hat lifted just now, he showed no other reaction. He simply stared at him, somewhat absent-mindedly.
Fu Sang raised an eyebrow slightly.
He narrowed his eyes, his gaze devoid of any emotion, only filled with the long suppressed anger that was growing more intense.
After a moment, he let out a cold sneer, and the hand hanging at his side slowly curled into a fist.
When Zhuge Qi finally came back to his senses, he looked at Fu Sang hesitantly.
“You…”
He did not get to finish.
Because the next moment, Fu Sang gave him his answer first.
It was a heavy punch, delivered without a word or warning, landing hard on the corner of Zhuge Qi’s mouth.
