Chapter 27: Big Commotion

Ji Yuan was currently hesitant about whether to interact with the underworld official in the courtyard across from him. In his traditional view, such a figure was, after all, a part of the immortal, Buddhist, and divine hierarchy.

In fact, at this moment, that underworld official was also looking at Ji Yuan.

Previously, the discovery had been quite important, but now, upon reflection, the underworld official felt that the new resident of Ju'an Study also seemed a bit off.

After all, it was late at night, and the person was just standing at the main house's entrance, looking at the courtyard. One couldn't possibly say he was enjoying the cool air in early spring.

"He must be someone with keen intuition, right?"

This underworld official had encountered such people before, and even if he wasn't, living in Ju'an Study meant the Yin energy after midnight was terrifyingly dense, making it difficult for normal people to sleep soundly and causing frequent nightmares.

After much hesitation, Ji Yuan finally decided against getting involved for now. If he wanted to worship the City God, he could always go offer incense during the day.

So, Ji Yuan walked as naturally as possible to the eaves of the house, looked up at the night sky, and half-sincerely, half-fakingly, sighed softly.

"Such a clear starry sky... I haven't seen one like this in a long time..."

There wasn't much he could see clearly. He hadn't noticed it last time on Niu Kui Mountain, but now he realized the stars in the sky were among them.

With no cloud cover or smog pollution, the sky was dotted with countless stars, and the Milky Way shone brightly. It was truly beautiful!

Now that there was an underworld official present, and the lingering courage from his previous "finger pointing" incident remained, Ji Yuan simply sat down on a small, broken chair next to the house. He looked at the sky, then at the courtyard, occasionally sighing, like an ordinary person suffering from insomnia.

Of course, Ji Yuan's attention was mostly focused on the movements in the courtyard. During his quiet sitting, he had also tried to visualize the chess piece, but perhaps due to extreme physical exhaustion, his limbs felt weak, and his mind was a bit painful. Yet, that sensation was still there, which gave Ji Yuan the confidence to continue sitting there.

*Seriously, I just sent that thing back with a single move. Didn't the underworld official say it was severely weakened? And now there's an underworld official right here, so why shouldn't I be a bit bolder?*

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, Ji Yuan began to feel something different.

A faint, strange scent was gradually becoming stronger. If he had to describe it, it was a bit like the sandalwood his grandfather used to burn in his study.

Then Ji Yuan suddenly realized: it was the scent of sandalwood from a temple.

His heart involuntarily quickened again. It seemed a significant figure was about to arrive. Would it be the City God of Ning'an County himself?

As the sandalwood scent drew closer, Ji Yuan straightened his posture. Unlike other ghosts, Ji Yuan could hear exceptionally unique footsteps, as if they possessed a certain rhythm, and there was more than one person.

Whoosh~~ Whoosh~~

A faint, Yin-laden breeze carrying the scent of sandalwood seemed to sweep through the courtyard. Figures crossed the gate of Ju'an Study and entered the compound. Besides more underworld officials, there were also four official-like beings who clearly weren't simple. They wore cloaks or official robes of different colors.

"Gulp..."

Ji Yuan couldn't help but quietly swallow. This was quite a display.

"Greetings, Lord Martial Judge, Lord Reward of Good, Lord Punisher of Evil, Lord Inspector!"

The underworld officials in the courtyard respectfully bowed to the four imposing, tall figures.

These four were clearly not the City God of Ning'an County, but they certainly received incense offerings from the common people. At the very least, they had clay statues in the City God Temple, making them far from ordinary underworld officials; otherwise, they wouldn't carry that sandalwood scent.

Ji Yuan had no idea what official departments existed under the City God, but he could infer a clue from the underworld officials' titles.

The newcomers paid little attention to Ji Yuan, who was sitting idly in the courtyard; their focus was entirely on the well.

"Just as expected. The malicious energy here has sharply decreased. What happened?"

"According to the City God, this malevolent ghost roared ceaselessly tonight. Though we don't know why, it must have been severely wounded!"

The figure referred to as the Martial Judge turned his head to look at Ji Yuan in front of the house, causing Ji Yuan to feel a slight tension in his heart.

"Is this the new mortal resident of Ju'an Study? Is there anything unusual about him?"

The underworld official who had been on duty immediately replied.

"Reporting to Lord Martial Judge, this person is merely a mortal who finds it difficult to sleep due to the invasion of malevolent energy. There is nothing unusual."

"Hm!"

While the four City God subordinates, superior in both aura and attire, had a brief exchange, underworld officials patrolled both inside and outside the courtyard, presumably investigating something.

Not long after, several underworld officials came to report.

"Reporting to all lords, there is nothing unusual near Tianniu Lane!"

The City God subordinates exchanged glances, contemplating.

"Could it be that some esteemed expert passed by here and incidentally lent Ning'an County a hand?"

"No more speculation. Let's subdue this fiend first, then investigate thoroughly!"

"Time waits for no one; delay might lead to complications!"

"Precisely!"

The Martial Judge waved his large sleeve, and a dark black judge's brush appeared in his hand. His gaze swept across the courtyard, inside and out.

"Officials of all departments, prepare the Soul-Binding Array! Soul-Reaping Envoys, heed my command! Prepare the Soul-Binding Chains!"

"Understood!" "Understood!"...

The four City God subordinates walked to the four corners of the courtyard. One stood with sleeves hanging low, another took out an iron pen, one held a book, and the last held a steel whip.

*It's coming, it's coming! They're going to act! But does the thing in the well really require such a grand effort? And isn't anyone going to tell me, a bystander, to leave?*

Ji Yuan was half-nervous, half-anticipating, unsure of what would happen.

It wasn't until several underworld officials holding black command flags vanished into mist that Ji Yuan noticed the courtyard in front of him was covered by a thin, inky black layer. It seemed to be the Soul-Binding Array. The eaves of the main house, where he was sitting, were just outside its boundary, not encompassed within the array.

Inside the Soul-Binding Array, the Martial Judge, seeing that everything was ready, snorted coldly towards the well.

"You still have the nerve to hide? Or perhaps you're too gravely injured to show yourself? Tonight is your doom! Soul-Reaping Envoys, act!"

At the Martial Judge's command, the nine black-robed underworld officials with long staffs, who were surrounding the well, suddenly reached for their waists. A faint, dark glow appeared at their waistbands, transforming into dark black chains.

"Seize!"

The nine Soul-Reaping Envoys roared in unison, and the Soul-Binding Chains shot towards the well entrance like lightning, sinking into the ground beside the well.

Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh-whoosh…

In an instant, a chilly Yin wind arose, swaying the branches and leaves of the old jujube tree in the courtyard. Even outside the array, Ji Yuan felt a chill all around him, and goosebumps erupted on his skin beneath his clothes, like tiny bumps!

"Ah~~~~~~~~~ Erh~~~~~~~~~"

"Hmph, merely screeching and wailing. Everyone, lend the Soul-Reaping Envoys a hand and pull it up!"

As he spoke, the four City God subordinates decisively acted, extending their left hands (which weren't holding magical artifacts) forward. Streaks of Yin energy emanated in the courtyard, encircling the Soul-Reaping Envoys.

Instantly, the Soul-Binding Chains glowed with an intense dark light!

"Rise!"

"Ah~~~~~~~~~~"

Dense masses of hair surged out of the well, writhing wildly in the courtyard. Countless strands immediately wrapped around the nine Soul-Reaping Envoys. The nine envoys instantly leaped backward, pulling a significant portion of the Soul-Binding Chains with them.

"Sever!"

The surrounding underworld officials, who had been standing ready, drew their sabers and chopped at the hair pursuing the Soul-Reaping Envoys.

"Haaah-erh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

A hoarse, wailing ghostly shriek grew louder and louder. A large mass of filthy hair was dragged out of the well by the Soul-Binding Chains, twisting and transforming in mid-air.

Ji Yuan's pupils contracted sharply, and his teeth chattered slightly. Was *this* the thing from before?

The ghost, trapped by the Soul-Binding Chains, seemed to have its limbs and flesh constantly churning. Bloodshot eyeballs and pale faces kept shifting, and malevolent Yin energy continuously poured out.

The intense sense of fear, stemming from both sight and the primal instincts of the soul, was suffocating, utterly incomparable to any fake horror from a movie.

"Vile creature! Tonight, your soul shall be scattered!"

The Martial Judge roared, pointing his judge's brush forward. The other three City God subordinates also launched their attacks simultaneously.

Boom~ Boom~ Boom~ Boom~

It was as if Yin energy exploded within the courtyard of Ju'an Study...