On a street in Mingning City, a man wearing loose sportswear was walking alone. His figure was tall and straight; even though the sportswear was rather unappealing, he still exuded an air of elegance.
"Lord Qi, business has been picking up lately, hasn't it?" Suddenly, someone appeared beside him out of nowhere and spoke in a lazy voice.
This person was dressed in casual wear, an ambiguous half-smile playing on his face, giving off a cynical and irreverent vibe.
Qi Jingtao glanced at him sideways and said nothing.
The two of them continued walking side by side, entering a bustling commercial street.
By this time, the sky was gradually beginning to brighten. The shops on both sides of the street were opening for business one after another, and the crowds of pedestrians coming and going were steadily increasing.
They walked all the way toward the small building located right at the center of the commercial street, passing numerous stalls along the way—some selling breakfast food, some selling fruit, and others offering various daily necessities...
Yet, that small building stood out as entirely unique.
It was a guesthouse, its antique architectural style forming a striking contrast with the surrounding modern commercial street, instantly catching the eye."Lord Qi! Have you eaten yet? Shall I have something prepared for you now?"
Qi Jingtao waved his hand, walking straight inside.
Reaching the carved wooden door, he finally spoke: "A kid around twenty years old will be here shortly to hand over some lesser ghosts. They’ll either be wearing sunglasses or colored contact lenses. One is Upper-Yi, the other is Lower-Jia. Let me know when they arrive. Detain them until I get there."
"One Upper-Yi and one Lower-Jia?"
The group froze. Someone handing in both of these types of lesser ghosts at once...
The authorities had classified lesser ghosts into grades, ranging from Ding to Jia, and then upward to Earth, Mountain, and Heaven. The higher the grade, the more troublesome and dangerous the ghost was.
To professional ghost catchers, these grades were synonymous with money.
However, for most ghost catchers working in the city, managing to catch a Lower-Yi was considered an achievement. Firstly, they lacked the necessary strength. Secondly, the dense human energy in the city meant that lesser ghosts rarely reached a more ferocious level.Of course, for Mingning City, the most important factor was that Lord Qi held the seat of power here. Lesser ghosts of a higher level understood the difficulty of cultivation and would never be foolish enough to come inside and provoke him.
"Lord Qi, then shall we..." Wujin started to say, but then he felt that, given their Lord Qi's level of cultivation, he might not even think much of such things.
"The payment is set by the higher-ups; if there's any discrepancy, go ask them for it," Qi Jingtao said, before opening the door and entering the house.
The door slammed shut with a bang, and Wujin nearly lost his nose from following too closely.
However, he was already used to this.
Lord Qi was an enlightened master who had lived for who knows how many years. And masters, well, they were bound to have eccentric personalities; that was perfectly normal.
"Hello, I'm here to hand over some ghosts."
A young man wearing sunglasses stood face-to-face with Wujin, holding a plastic bottle in his hand.
Many ghost catchers lacked proper magical artifacts and often used makeshift bottles and jars, sealed with a piece of paper on the outside.
But Wujin knew this man. He used a grimy, well-worn plastic bottle that could hold four ghosts ranked below Upper-Yi, and he never showed up until it was packed full.
"Shang Xiaoyu, what did you catch this time?"
Shang Yu gave a light cough. "Do you have enough money?"
Wujin replied, "Don't be ridiculous! When have we ever failed to pay you?"
After all, they were just a few low-level C or D-grade ghosts; how much could they possibly be worth?
Even with Wujin's firm assurance, Shang Yu said in all good faith, "But the ones I caught this time seem a bit formidable."
"How formidable can they be? You couldn't have possibly caught an Heaven-grade one, could you?"
"That... well, I certainly wouldn't dare to dream of such a thing."
Still, Shang Yu couldn't help but fantasize for a moment—a Heaven-grade ghost would be enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life!
If he really could catch one...
Pah, pah, pah! If he ever ran into a Heaven-grade, he would be lucky to run away in time, let alone try to catch it!
That Lower-Jia one from yesterday—if he had known it was a Lower-Jia, he certainly never would have chased after it."I’m not bragging, but if it’s anything below the Heaven rank, I’ll pay whatever you want for ten thousand of them!" Wujin had a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he gestured toward the plastic bottle. "Come on, let Brother Jin see—what did you catch this time?"
"Be careful, Brother Jin," Shang Yu said, handing the precious plastic bottle to Wujin.
The moment the two lesser ghosts felt they were no longer under Shang Yu’s suppression, they began to stir violently. The instant the bottle touched Wujin’s hand, frost began to creep up his arm at a pace visible to the naked eye.
"Brother Jin!"
The ghost energy was already beginning to erode Wujin’s body. Shang Yu was startled—they had been so docile just a moment ago! Even as he thought this, he reached out to help.
At that same moment, the wooden door swung open from the inside, and a dark shadow flashed out. The moment Shang Yu gripped the bottle, the frost quickly dissipated. However, a familiar aura lingered around him.
Shang Yu looked at the fair hand that had suddenly appeared before him and felt a jolt of alarm. The hand was unnaturally pale and was gripping the bottle tightly. Because the newcomer was so eager, their palm pressed against Shang Yu’s little finger, causing it to go slightly numb. He could feel that the hand’s temperature was lower than a normal person’s, though it was still within a reasonable range.
Shang Yu suddenly recalled feeling this same familiar aura on the island yesterday. Yet, the person before him clearly had a shadow, which meant he had to be a real human being.
Just then, Qi Jingtao spoke. "It’s you."
His voice was devoid of inflection, making it impossible to gauge his mood. Wujin watched as Lord Qi and Shang Yu both gripped the same bottle, the atmosphere growing tense and confrontational.
Qi Jingtao glanced at Wujin and asked coldly, "Wujin, what did I just say?"
Wujin felt as if he had been paralyzed, his entire body frozen for twenty seconds. Every word Qi Jingtao spoke carried a lethal edge. Wujin shuddered, finally snapped back to reality, and shouted, "Upper-Yi or lower-Jia, wearing sunglasses... Men, seize this kid for me!"
As soon as his order fell, the surrounding henchmen moved quickly, surrounding Shang Yu.
*What is this? It’s not my fault he couldn’t hold onto it!*
Just as Shang Yu was about to pull his hand away and bolt, Qi Jingtao grabbed his wrist as well, rendering any resistance moot.
"He... I... Can I just not take the money? Would that work?"
Qi Jingtao let out a cold laugh and tightened his grip. A wave of pain shot from his wrist. Shang Yu looked at the man in the tracksuit, desperately trying to remember if he had offended someone.
*Right! He was there yesterday too!*
"Brother! Can I give you this lower-Jia one instead?"
"Watch your mouth! This is our Lord Qi!" Wujin spat viciously. Using a lower-Jia to talk about such things was an insult to Lord Qi! With Lord Qi’s cultivation level, was money even the point? And a mere lower-Jia? Lord Qi was a Heaven-rank master who could take out one of those with a single hand—who was he trying to insult?
"Lord Qi!"
Shang Yu had heard this name before: Qi Jingtao! Whenever he had chatted with the lesser ghosts he captured, they all referred to Qi Jingtao as the "Ghost Nightmare," the Master of Ghost Extermination! In short, he was someone Shang Yu absolutely could not afford to provoke.
As an expert in slacking off, Shang Yu was someone who knew how to bend and stretch; he was eloquent and exceptionally good at adapting to the situation. He brought his free hand up toward the hand that was holding his wrist. Everyone tensed up, assuming he was about to counterattack. They weren't worried that Lord Qi was in danger, but rather that the house might be destroyed.
Qi Jingtao was on the verge of declaring that the kid was courting death, but Shang Yu had already knelt, clutching the man’s hand.
With the piety of a pilgrim, Shang Yu pressed his forehead against the back of Qi Jingtao’s hand. "Lord Qi! My idol, my god! I’ve finally met you!"
Qi Jingtao: "..."
*There really are people who rush to their own deaths.*
Wujin and the others held their breath. Anyone who knew Qi Jingtao knew he hated being called a god more than anything else.
"Lord Qi! It’s all just a big misunderstanding!"