Chapter 1230: Hauntings?
“Shifu, if you’re so rich, why did you still join the Thief Sect?” Fang Ning was puzzled. “Is it a hobby?”
Fang Ning had never been wealthy, but he had heard that rich people often did things ordinary folks couldn’t comprehend when bored.
The Thief King sighed. “Hobby, my ass. I was the Thief King first, then forced to become the merchant guild president.”
“What do you mean?” Fang Ning was perplexed.
“You should’ve heard plenty of legends about me. I won’t bore you with my early life experiences.”
“Mmhm.” Every member of the Thief Sect had heard of the Thief King’s legends.
Tales such as “Night Visit to the Imperial Palace,” “Sky and Day Swap,” and “The Missing Meal” were some of the numerous tales. But ever since the Thief King announced that he would rob the Luodi Merchant Guild’s headquarters, no one heard of him again.
“Back then, I had just reached the Transcendent Tribulation Stage. I was conceited, thinking there was nowhere I couldn’t go and nothing I couldn’t steal. Especially after successfully sneaking into the Great Xia imperial palace and leaving without a hitch, I looked down on everyone. I’d even announce my intentions to steal in advance. Those factions would tighten their defenses, but they could only helplessly watch as I took their treasures away.
“One of the Thief Sect’s ancestral precepts is that every member of the Thief Sect is forbidden from making a move on the Luodi Merchant Guild. By then, I was already the world’s number one thief. I paid no mind to the ancestral teachings.
“I snuck into the Luodi Merchant Guild to steal and ran into the old man.”
“Who’s the old man?”
The Thief King couldn’t help but cover his face. That was probably the most embarrassing and most unlucky thing that ever happened to me in my life.
“The Thief Ancestor. After earning the title of Thief Ancestor, he decided to wash his hands clean and retired from thievery, establishing the Luodi Merchant Guild.
“Had I known the Luodi Merchant Guild was his, I’d have to be out of my mind to steal from there!”
Fang Ning. “...”
I can imagine Shifu’s feelings.
Everything Shifu knew was what the Thief Ancestor had played with long ago. Stealing under the Thief Ancestor’s nose is like displaying one’s mediocre skills before an expert.
No wonder the ancestral precept forbade targeting the Luodi Merchant Guild. This was a rule left by the Thief Ancestor.
“The Thief Ancestor saw potential in me and made me the president to manage the merchant guild for him.”
“I see... Wait, Shifu, isn’t the Thief Ancestor a figure from sixty thousand years ago? How is he still alive?” Can Transcendent Tribulation cultivators live that long?
“Transcendent Tribulation cultivators can’t live that long, of course. But the thing is that he’s a half-immortal, and he even wields a Speed Incipient Dao Fruit.”
The Thief King wanted to bash his head against the wall every time he thought about it. Sure, I specialize in speed, but can any speed compare with a Speed Incipient Dao Fruit? My own acceleration was no different from slow motion before the Thief Ancestor.
“What’s an Incipient Dao Fruit?”
“I’ve told you too much. Your cultivation realm is not there yet. Saying too much would make you too ambitious. Focus on mastering my skills first.”
~~~
“We’ve been constables for almost a month. It should be about time some ghosts show up, right?” Meng Jingzhou was dutifully patrolling Quyi County.
Although the two constables had been promoted to the commandery with Man Gu, they remained true to their original intentions and persisted in patrolling the streets.
“Say, could it be that the ghosts were at the graveyard and got eaten as snacks by the female Hanba?” Lu Yang speculated.
“It can’t be, right? Do jiangshi have a habit of eating little ghosts?”
“I have no idea. That’s why I’m asking you. I know nothing about jiangshi.”
“How about we ask the female Hanba at the Corpse-Driving Sect after work?”
“Sure.”
While conversing, Lu Yang suddenly signaled with his hand. Meng Jingzhou tacitly fell silent and switched to communicating with auditory messages.
“What’s wrong?”
Lu Yang pointed ahead. “Something’s up.”
The streets were empty late at night, but not far away, several indistinct figures stood in small groups, chatting among themselves.
Meng Jingzhou was stunned, looking baffled as he gazed at the figures.
“Ghosts? No, if they’re ghosts, I would sense their yin energy. Why can’t I sense anything?” Meng Jingzhou was most sensitive to yin and yang energies, yet he sensed nothing from them at all.
Could they be neither human nor ghost?
Sensing something unusual, the two dropped their playful attitude and concealed their auras as they crept closer.
“The ritual is nearly complete. Don’t slip up at the critical moment.”
“Rest assured, Your Excellency. When have we let you down? There’ll absolutely be no problem.”
“Good.”
Hearing the exchange, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou wondered, What ritual?
The two removed their concealment and questioned these figures with a frown. “Who are you, people?”
However, the figures acted as if they couldn’t see the two as they continued their discussion.
Lu Yang reached out to touch them, but his arm passed right through.
“What’s this? An illusory figure?” Meng Jingzhou furrowed his brows. Despite having traveled far and wide for so many years, I’ve never encountered a situation like this.
Lu Yang shook his head. “No. Remember what my cultivation technique is? No illusion can fool me.”
That said, even Lu Yang didn’t know what this was. It was as though these people weren’t here.
“Immortal Fairy, what’s going on?” Lu Yang admitted his knowledge was limited and consulted the Everlasting Immortal Fairy.
“Oh, this? It’s a spatial projection.” As expected, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy knew the answer.
“Spatial projection?”
“When a crack forms in space, if someone inside happens to stand at the crack, a part of them will be projected. Since their original forms are in another space, you naturally can’t touch them.
“Are spatial projections rare?” Lu Yang had explored numerous secret domains and seen many spaces. Even his Qingfeng Sword had its own small world. However, he had never encountered spatial projections.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy nodded. “It’s very rare. This immortal has only seen it a few times.”
Lu Yang was taken aback. That’s indeed rare.
“It’s mainly because only unstable spaces with cracks produce projections, and the instability stems from the cultivator who built it not being skilled enough. Normally, cultivators know their worth.
“Those skilled in spatial arts build spaces, while those who aren’t don’t. Few are so unaware of their own abilities that they’d build such shoddy spaces.
“The hauntings Barbarian Tribe boy mentioned are probably these spatial projections. They’ve been appearing for four months.
“It’s been four months, yet the space’s owner doesn’t even know that there are cracks. That tells you their skill level.”
The projected figures were still chatting.
“Rest assured. Nothing will go wrong with the official ritual. We’ve rehearsed it every month, and it’s already been four times. Didn’t it work out successfully every time?”
Lu Yang was silent. I don’t think your rehearsals have been very successful.