Chapter 314: Not Enemies, Yet Fate Brings Us Together

In the middle of the night, Luoping City's famous pleasure quarter was still brightly lit. From the buildings lining the street, the noisy yet pleasant sounds of women filled the air.

"You're truly impressive, sir!"

"Brother Niu, you're so generous and know how to please people; the more I look at you, the more dashing you seem!"

"Mr. Niu, why don't you stay the night?" "Yes, Mr. Niu, how can you bear to leave us behind!"

Four or five charming women, dressed in their finest, surrounded Niu Batian. With an arm around each, his face glowing, he was escorted by these women towards the building's exit.

"Oh, no, no, I can't," Old Niu said, clearing his throat. "I have an important appointment tomorrow; I must visit the renowned Wei family outside the city. If I stay here overnight, my attendants will be frantic if they can't find me first thing in the morning!"

Old Niu chuckled as he answered the women, finding it difficult to refuse their repeated pleas for him to stay.

"Wow, Mr. Niu is so busy!" "Brother Niu, don't forget about us!"

"Have a good night, sir!" "Brother Niu, please come again!"

"Hahahahaha... Of course, of course, I'll definitely come again next time!"

Old Niu, with a beaming smile, reluctantly disentangled himself from their embraces and walked out of the building. Once outside, he looked back at the brothel he had just left; its name plaque hung high, and even the red flowers adorning it seemed pleasing to his eye.

"Ruanyu Tower, what a place. I really wish I could have stayed the night, but alas..."

Niu Batian reached into his garment, pulled out a shriveled money pouch, and shook it. The few remaining copper coins inside made a sparse clinking sound.

"Sigh," he murmured, "next time, I won't ask for so many popular girls... The ordinary ones inside are quite good too, you know, tsk tsk tsk..."

Niu Batian, smacking his lips, jovially left the pleasure quarter. He looked back every few steps as he walked down the street, bathed in the night.

For ordinary people, visibility ahead gradually decreased, but for Niu Batian, it was as clear as day.

"Warm Fragrance, Soft Jade," he muttered. "Wenxiang Pavilion, Ruanyu Tower... the names are quite fitting."

This calm and composed voice suddenly rang out from an alley he was passing, startling Niu Batian.

"Oh, Mr. Ji, what are you doing here? You scared me to death!"

Niu Batian patted his chest and looked towards the alley entrance. Ji Yuan, dressed in white, stood there watching him, his pale eyes seemingly devoid of any ripple.

Seeing that Mr. Ji was just looking at him without speaking, Niu Batian chuckled awkwardly.

"I, Old Niu, enjoy night walks, so I just came out for a stroll," he stammered. "Um, you're not here to catch me, are you?"

Ji Yuan glanced at Old Niu's hidden money pouch, then at the lipstick marks on his face, and shook his head.

"I'm not here to catch you," Ji Yuan said. "Your indulgence in pleasure quarters is no concern of mine. Come with me to a place."

"What for?"

Old Niu was a bit confused.

As Ji Yuan spoke, he looked towards the south of the city.

"It's rare for a large city to have no roaming deities patrolling its streets in the middle of the night. Don't you find that strange?"

"Huh?"

Niu Batian was startled for a moment. He would never pay attention to such things; besides, for him, having no ghosts or deities around was a good thing, saving him from potential trouble. Furthermore, he had just been inside the brothel and couldn't have noticed what was happening outside.

But hearing Mr. Ji say this, Niu Batian naturally understood what he meant.

"That's right," he mused, "Luoping City isn't small either..."

"Let's go," Ji Yuan said. "Since I've run into you, if we encounter anything tricky, perhaps you can be my strong arm."

Ji Yuan said this quite seriously, which amused Old Niu.

"Hehehe," Old Niu chuckled. "Mr. Ji, what are you saying? If you tell me to go east, I, Old Niu, will never go west! By the way, where's Brother Yan?"

"I let him sleep."

"Oh."

Old Niu responded, and seeing Ji Yuan had already walked out of the alley and was moving forward, he quickly followed suit.

In a bustling area south of the city, which during the day was a hub of activity with bustling crowds and traffic, it was extremely quiet at night. At its center stood a City God Temple. The temple's eternal lamp was still lit, but the temple priests and workers had long since retired.

Ji Yuan and Niu Batian walked from the pleasure quarter all the way to this spot. Standing on the plaza in front of the temple courtyard, they looked inside. The divine aura was faint, and the power of prayers was dispersed, not concentrated.

Ji Yuan opened his spiritual sight to observe. In his vision, wisps of faint white smoke rose from above the temple before him.

"Let's go inside and have a look."

The two took a few steps forward, lightly leaped over the temple courtyard, then entered the temple as if a gentle breeze, bypassing the side halls and going directly to the main hall.

"Creak..."

Pushing open the main door, the temple's eternal lamp lit up the main hall. In the dim light, the City God statue still appeared majestic, but in Ji Yuan's eyes, it completely lacked any spiritual presence.

"Hehe, how interesting," Niu Batian chuckled. "I, Old Niu, a demon, have entered the main hall of a City God Temple. How interesting!"

Niu Batian chuckled beside him, but Ji Yuan's expression was somewhat somber.

"The divine fire in the shrine has extinguished," Ji Yuan said. "The Underworld's Ghost Gate has vanished. This temple has been empty for at least several months. Naturally, no City God or other deities would emerge to question you. I didn't expect that even Luoping City would be without divine protection..."

This was indeed something unexpected for Ji Yuan. Given the size of Luoping City, if its City God were still present, his spiritual cultivation should not be weak.

Niu Batian also noticed the issue with the temple, but waited for Ji Yuan's words as the final judgment.

"So, are you saying the City God here truly perished a long time ago?"

"Whether the deity perished or simply severed their ties with the divine path," Ji Yuan explained, "with the City God gone, the foundations of other deities and spirits are greatly damaged. They must have hidden themselves in the Underworld and sealed the Ghost Gate, awaiting the City God's return."

"Return?"

Ji Yuan nodded.

"Matters of the divine path are extremely mysterious," Ji Yuan explained. "If sentient beings offer sacrifices, deities and spirits do not truly die. Even if Luoping City's City God perished, as long as the city's inhabitants continue to worship him, in a decade or several decades, this deity will naturally draw its spirit back from between heaven and earth and resume control of its divine office."

Although Niu Batian was a demon with considerable cultivation, this was truly the first time he had heard of such a thing. For him, it was a secret of sorts.

"So, doesn't that mean deities and spirits can never truly die?"

"Heh heh," Ji Yuan said. "Each rebirth is a new beginning. They only remember their so-called 'pre-deity life' as recorded in the hearts of their followers and the temple records, not their previous existence as a deity. Their cultivation, magic power, and golden body all start from scratch. Is that truly immortality? Furthermore, if the City God Temple collapses, or if the emperor bestows a new title, or if a new virtuous individual emerges in the town and the locals appoint them as City God, the possibility of rebirth ceases once people begin worshipping a new figure."

Ji Yuan looked at Niu Batian, who seemed to be deep in thought, and sighed.

"They rely on the human world, and they are harmed by it," Ji Yuan said. "Otherwise, why would City Gods be so afraid of worldly turmoil? Being a virtuous being is one reason, and concern for their own existence is another."

However, Niu Batian was clearly not sighing with emotion, but thinking about something else entirely.

"Mr. Ji," Niu Batian asked, "if the City God is gone and the Underworld has vanished, wouldn't all deceased mortals become lonely wandering spirits?"

Niu Batian imagined this scenario: so many people in the city, all becoming ghosts after birth, old age, sickness, and death. Wouldn't that be similar to the Boundless Ghost City?

Ji Yuan had already turned and walked away. Niu Batian quickly followed, not forgetting to close the main door of the City God's hall.

"Without deities, there is a different way for the dead," Ji Yuan explained. "Those with families who offer sacrifices are not considered lonely wandering spirits. During their funeral, they will follow the soul-summoning banner carried by their relatives to their grave and the ancestral tomb. The local earth spirits will still provide some care, and their ancestral tablets at home also maintain a connection; it's just that they are difficult to connect with the Underworld."

As they spoke, the two had already left the City God Temple. However, Ji Yuan clearly had no intention of returning directly to the inn, but instead led Niu Batian on a walk through the city.

From the streets and alleys in the south of the city, they walked steadily towards the north, seemingly without any particular destination.

In the silent night, they were accompanied by the clapper and gong sounds of the night watchman, the occasional crow of a rooster and bark of a dog from the streets and alleys, and even spotted a few burglars roaming about.

After about half an hour, Niu Batian couldn't help but speak.

"Mr. Ji, what exactly are we doing?"

Ji Yuan kept walking without stopping, facing forward with his eyes fixed straight ahead.

"There's not much I can do," Ji Yuan replied, "but I can walk the streets and alleys on behalf of the Night Patrol Deity, and see this Luoping City..."

Niu Batian scratched his head, feeling that Mr. Ji was somewhat meddling.

As the two walked to a street with several gambling houses, both Ji Yuan and Niu Batian stopped. A faint demonic aura pervaded the area.

"There really is one?" Niu Batian exclaimed. "Mr. Ji, I, Old Niu, will handle it."

"No rush."

Ji Yuan raised a hand to stop his eager and competent brawler, who was about to charge. The two waited on the street for a moment, then saw a carriage drive out. A demonic aura also lingered over the carriage.

In Ji Yuan's ears, he could also hear intermittent crying.

Inside the carriage, two vicious servants were guarding three or four children and two women. All of them had tears streaming down their faces and looked terrified.

"What's all this noise about?" snarled one servant. "Your men have already gambled you all away!"

"Whining and crying! Cry again, and we'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!"

One of the vicious servants raised the short whip in his hand. After cursing, he looked ingratiatingly towards a corner of the carriage.

"Heh heh," he chuckled, "Sixth Master, please forgive their commotion. Are you satisfied with these ones?"

"Hehehehe... Satisfied, of course I'm satisfied!"

As he spoke, the Sixth Master licked his lips, and his gaze scared the children so much that they stopped crying.

On the street outside the gambling house, Ji Yuan's eyes slightly narrowed, and he clearly heard the sounds from inside the carriage.

"Hmph," Ji Yuan scoffed. "Enemies always meet again! Remember the demon in Boundless City who wanted to serve young boys and girls to Gao Tianming? He's in that carriage. Let's pursue!"

Niu Batian's nostrils snorted a wisp of white gas, and he also revealed a sinister grin.

"Moo..."