The shopkeeper felt as though the man was a corpse that had been wrapped in those crimson robes for a long time, only just now unearthed to catch a breath of air.
"I am Zhao Gao, a close attendant to His Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhao Gao bowed slightly toward the mist in the lobby, his tone relatively respectful.
"I have come by His Highness's command to pay my respects to the Lord of the Two Regions."
Zhao Fu listened, his heart racing. The Lord of the Two Regions?
Could the benefactor who saved them last night be such a legendary figure?
The lobby was deathly silent; no one responded.
Zhao Gao maintained his bowing posture, his body stiff, quietly waiting.
After a long while, the gray-white ghost domain slowly parted a sliver.
A young child walked out in a boisterous manner.
He held half of an unfinished braised pig hock in his hand. His mouth was covered in grease, and his face was full of impatience.
"Alright, alright, I heard you."
Wu Gou waved the pig hock in his hand and pointed at Zhao Gao, shouting, "You messenger eunuch have no manners at all, making such a racket so early in the morning."
"Can't you see our Master is still taking a nap?"
"Disturbing one's dreams—what should your punishment be?"
Zhao Gao's eyes twitched slightly. Looking at this little monk who wasn't even as tall as his leg, a trace of gloom flashed in his eyes.
As a favorite of the Crown Prince, he was effectively above tens of thousands in the provincial government, second only to one. When had he ever been scolded like this by a green child?
But remembering the Crown Prince's instructions before he came, he suppressed his dissatisfaction.
Wu Gou walked to the door, first glanced at the shopkeeper and gestured for him to get out of the way, and then sized Zhao Gao up from head to toe.
Earlier in the ghost domain, he had been too far to see clearly. Now that he was close, Wu Gou wrinkled his nose and understood.
"I was wondering why there was such an earthy stench."
Wu Gou curled his lip. "So you're a dead person."
Wu Gou and Su Xue had discussed life, death, and reincarnation in the Northern Region, and they had even personally created living dead. They were most sensitive to things caught in the cracks between life and death.
"The little master has a keen eye."
Zhao Gao didn't get angry, saying with a fake smile, "To those of the Ghost Dynasty, whether one is dead or alive is not important."
"I have long since offered this remnant body to His Highness. In life, I am His Highness's man; in death, I am His Highness's ghost."
"As for you, little master, to speak so harshly at such an age, aren't you afraid of shortening your fortune and longevity?"
"I have come to see the Lord of the Two Regions. I must trouble you to relay the message."
"Relay a message?"
Wu Gou let out a cold laugh. He suddenly reached out with his greasy hand, which had just been holding the pig hock, and wiped it directly onto Zhao Gao's crimson python robe.
Zhao Gao instinctively tried to dodge, but for some reason, his body stiffened for a split second, and he was squarely wiped by Wu Gou.
A large grease stain instantly defiled his bright clothing.
"Oops, my hand slipped."
After Wu Gou wiped his hand clean, he conveniently snatched the invitation tucked under Zhao Gao's arm. Ignoring the eunuch's face, which had turned as black as the bottom of a pot, he turned and walked back inside.
As he walked, he tossed a sentence back.
"What status do you have to be qualified to see my Master?"
"Haven't you learned enough of a lesson from last night? Were the eyeballs not loud enough when they exploded?"
Hearing this, Zhao Gao froze, his lips twitching.
The commotion last night had indeed been too great.
For some unknown reason, the Crown Prince's eyes had been injured and were still bleeding incessantly.
Several elite squads of Yinsi Guard had completely lost contact, and even their soul lamps had been extinguished.
Even the State Preceptor had performed a divination overnight to find the culprit. Before the result could manifest, the State Preceptor himself exploded, splattering flesh and blood all over the Crown Prince's face.
This series of events had shaken the entire provincial government.
The Crown Prince, however, did not fly into a rage. He only ordered Zhao Gao to deliver an invitation today.
Before he left, the Crown Prince had said that in the entire Gloomlight Province, only the mysterious Bone Temple Master—who had recently risen to fame and conquered both the Southern and Northern Regions—could possess such divine abilities and dare to cause such a scene in the provincial government's territory.
The provincial government hadn't intended to provoke him so soon, but the other party had come uninvited.
Then again, with the descent of the Golden Buddha being such a major event, no powerhouse would remain unmoved.
The Crown Prince had specifically instructed him not to neglect his manners.
Zhao Gao took a deep breath, forced a smile, and shouted toward the interior.
"Regarding the matter of last night, it was due to the ignorance of the subordinates who offended the distinguished guest. His Highness the Crown Prince is already aware and has expressed that he does not mind."
"His Highness said that powerhouses have their own privileges. If they were killed, then so be it."
"His Highness sincerely invites your Excellency to the Ghost Dynasty of the provincial government for a chat, to attend the Red Rain Night Banquet and discuss the matter of the Golden Buddha. We hope your Excellency will grace us with your presence."
The shopkeeper on the side was already dumbfounded.
He had seen the people from the provincial government act arrogant and overbearing many times, but when had he ever seen them act so lowly and submissive?
Especially since this was the Crown Prince's close associate, representing the face of the royal family.
So many bailiffs were killed last night, yet the Crown Prince not only didn't blame them but actually said, "If they were killed, then so be it"?
Zhao Fu gripped the bone token in his hand, a storm of emotions raging in his heart.
Was this the world of the powerful?
If this benefactor truly possessed such vast divine abilities that even the provincial government had to show respect, then his trip to Thousand Isles County and Lantao City might truly have a glimmer of hope.
Wu Gou found the noise annoying. He picked his ear and said without looking back, "Alright, alright, our Master already knows. Do you think we're afraid of you if we don't go?"
"Messenger eunuch, you may excuse yourself. Stop standing there like an eyesore."
Zhao Gao was choked up, his chest heaving with anger.
He had long heard that the Southern Region was full of toxic miasma and the Northern Region was a place of drifting snow—both were uncivilized, barbaric lands.
Seeing it now, it was indeed so.
Even the subordinate of a regional hegemon was so uneducated and crude.
Ultimately, he couldn't help himself. As he turned to leave, he lowered his voice and muttered a sentence in the ghost tongue that only he could hear.
"Vile mountains and treacherous waters indeed breed unruly subjects. Just a pack of uncivilized wild dogs."
However, Wu Gou's hearing was incredibly sharp.
He paused in his steps and looked back slightly, his gaze cold.
The cinnabar mark on his forehead was now so red it looked as if it were about to drip blood.
"Vile mountains and treacherous waters? Unruly subjects?"
Wu Gou turned around, looked at Zhao Gao's back, and smiled.
"Benefactor, those words are incorrect."
"You are used to seeing peace from your golden tiles and jade steps, so naturally, you find the sight of those rolling in the mud to be eyesores."
"Survivalists do not fear for their lives, and nest-protectors do not fear death."
"So what if they are wild dogs from the miasma and bitter cold? Even wild dogs know to protect their masters, know gratitude, and know how to fight to the death."
Zhao Gao's heart skipped a beat. He spun around suddenly, only to see that Wu Gou had already raised a hand vertically in front of his chest.
His lips parted slightly, and a burst of obscure Sanskrit drifted from Wu Gou's mouth.
He began to chant the Rebirth Mantra.
The Sanskrit was faint at first, but in an instant, it became like the tolling of a great bell, vibrating through heaven and earth.
A string of golden Sanskrit characters drifted from his mouth, rapidly enlarging and spinning in the air, finally converging into a massive swastika symbol.
The golden light of the symbol flickered, and then it crashed down with a roar.
"You dare—!"
Zhao Gao was terrified. He tried to manifest death qi to resist, but the golden Buddhist light was too fast and too heavy.
It was like Mount Sumeru was pressing down on his head, carrying the weight of all living beings.
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