"A dragon vein?" Chen Zhou's heart stirred.
"Indeed. A province must have dragon veins converging; they are where the essence of the earth veins gathers," Wu Gou explained. "Many people know the rumors of the dragon carp. It's said that this auspicious beast from the heavens is the manifestation of the great prosperity of the way of humanity. It even has the potential to transform into a dragon, so it's naturally excited upon sensing a dragon vein."
"However..." Wu Gou's tone shifted, and a strange smile appeared on his youthful face.
"As you know, the world is different now, and the dragon vein of this provincial capital is much the same. It's not exactly a good thing."
"A normal dragon vein possesses imperial righteous qi, which no evil can penetrate."
"But from this dragon vein underground, I smell the stench of rot."
"The provincial capital is built upon the dragon vein, seemingly to borrow the dragon qi to suppress the national fortune. In my eyes, it looks more like they are using the qi of this dragon vein to suppress some incredibly foul thing deep underground."
"Or perhaps..." Wu Gou narrowed his eyes. "They are using the dragon vein to nourish ghosts? Or corpses?"
Chen Zhou understood.
Wu Gou was well-traveled, and the things beneath the earth were his area of expertise. His suspicion was definitely not without reason.
"But the dragon carp is so excited. Perhaps this mutated dragon vein is exactly the opportunity it needs to transform into a dragon," Chen Zhou mused.
Wu Gou curled his lip. "Who knows? Wealth is sought amidst danger."
"You should be careful, though. There are plenty of foul things underground, and the filth exceeds your imagination. I've seen quite a bit of it before."
"But then again, the Golden Buddha's descent is indeed related to this. The place chosen for the Golden Buddha's arrival is also atop a dragon vein—it's not necessarily the provincial capital, it's just that the provincial capital happened to be built on one."
"A place that draws the essence of an entire province and gathers great fortune will naturally attract powerful experts from the surrounding areas."
As they spoke, the sedan came to a halt.
"My Lord, we have arrived."
Yin Wudao's voice drifted in.
Chen Zhou stepped out of the sedan and found himself standing before a magnificent hall.
The hall was named the Taihe Hall, which should have been the place where the hundred officials paid their respects.
At this moment, the hall doors were wide open, and the interior was brightly lit.
But as Chen Zhou looked inside, he saw the civil and military officials lined up on both sides. Each was dressed in court robes and held jade tablets, their heads bowed submissively.
Under Chen Zhou's perception, they were hardly living people.
They had no life force, only death qi.
Some were ghost generals wearing human skin, with black qi swirling beneath their husks. Others were like Zhao Gao, being pure soul bodies.
They all relied on the imperial fortune to barely mask the death qi and distortion on their bodies, maintaining their human sanity.
This was a court of ghosts and gods.
"Ministers, why have you not greeted the honored guest?" Yin Wudao stood atop the high steps and spoke indifferently.
"Greetings to the Bone God—!"
The civil and military officials knelt in unison, their voices perfectly synchronized yet carrying an indescribable chill.
Yin Wudao walked down and invited Chen Zhou to be seated.
"My Lord, the palace is simple. Please stay for a few days."
"Prince Cangming of the Eastern Region will arrive in a few days. Then, we can discuss the great matter together."
Chen Zhou did not object. He had his own plans and intended to use this chance to probe the truth of the dragon vein.
During the banquet, Chen Zhou tested him. "Crown Prince, your civil and military officials are quite unique."
Yin Wudao raised his wine cup, took a light sip, and smiled. "You must be joking, My Lord."
"Living people are mostly ignorant and afraid of death. How could they ever be as useful as ghosts and gods?"
"They don't need salaries, they don't need rest days, and they are more than willing to lay down their lives for me."
Chen Zhou also smiled. "So, the provincial capital is a place where your word is law?"
"You could say that," Yin Wudao replied with complete honesty.
"As for Imperial Father..." He pointed toward the bottomless darkness at the back of the hall.
"Imperial Father is unwell and has been bedridden for many years. He stopped caring about the affairs of the world long ago."
There was no reverence for imperial power in his words; instead, they carried a hint of mockery.
Having said that, he leaned closer to Chen Zhou and lowered his voice. "What? Is My Lord also interested in that seat?"
"If My Lord wants this throne, I can offer it with both hands."
"The Crown Prince must be joking. I am a free-roaming spirit; I cannot be a bird in a cage," Chen Zhou declined calmly.
Yin Wudao was not disappointed. He poured himself some wine, amusing himself.
It wasn't until a person dressed as a palace maid approached his side and whispered a few words in his ear that Yin Wudao frowned slightly.
He set down his wine cup, stood up, and cupped his hands toward Chen Zhou, apologizing.
"My Lord, there are some trivial matters in the palace that I must handle personally. I'm afraid I cannot accompany you further."
"Please make yourself at home in the palace. If there is any lapse in hospitality, I hope you will be magnanimous."
After speaking, he seemed to remember something, and a smile once again tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"As for those sightless fools from the Ministry of Justice who offended you, I have already prepared a compensation. It will be delivered to your bedside shortly."
"Then I shall take my leave first."
Chen Zhou nodded slightly. "Please, Crown Prince."
Yin Wudao said no more, turning to follow the palace maid as they hurried toward the depths of the darkness behind the hall.
With the host gone, Chen Zhou had no interest in acting for the hundred ghost-like officials.
He casually summoned a eunuch to lead the way and took Wu Gou and the others out of the Taihe Hall.
After the banquet concluded, the eunuch arranged for Chen Zhou's group to stay in a side hall.
Just as they entered the room, Song Zi'an, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly grabbed Chen Zhou's sleeve.
"Lord!"
Song Zi'an looked agitated, his nostrils twitching incessantly.
"I smell it. It's the scent of crane feathers."
"It's nearby—very potent. I absolutely cannot be mistaken."
Chen Zhou was stunned. "Are you sure? What crane feathers?"
"I'm absolutely certain," Song Zi'an said with conviction. "They are from the cranes raised by my master. My master fed them spiritual medicine year-round, so their feathers carry a unique medicinal fragrance. I've smelled it for over a decade; I couldn't possibly be wrong."
As he spoke, he pulled a piece of yellow paper from his robe and quickly folded it into a paper crane.
He bit his finger and touched the blood to the paper crane's eyes.
The blood-stained paper crane soon began to flap its wings and take flight. It circled once in the air before flying straight toward a high wall outside the side hall.
"Over there."
Song Zi'an was overjoyed and immediately gave chase.
The paper crane flew extremely fast, and it was about to crest that red palace wall.
However, at the exact moment the paper crane reached the top of the wall...
The originally smooth red palace wall suddenly writhed as if it were alive.
A massive gap tore open on the wall's surface, like a giant mouth, and swallowed the paper crane whole.
The palace wall sniffed around but found no other unruly things. The gap then slowly healed, returning the wall to its original state.
"This..."
Song Zi'an was startled, stumbling back repeatedly.
"Lord, this wall..."
Chen Zhou and Wu Gou also walked out.
Looking at the wall, Chen Zhou sighed inwardly. "As expected, nothing in the imperial palace is a dead object."
"A hungry ghost is sealed inside the wall," Wu Gou glanced at it, showing little interest. "The provincial capital is a dynasty of ten thousand ghosts. This is normal."
But Song Zi'an was beyond caring about fear. He looked at Chen Zhou anxiously.
"Lord, the paper crane was definitely flying that way just now. Master's cranes must be inside."
Looking at his anxious expression, Chen Zhou's heart suddenly stirred.
Cranes?
Nourished with spiritual medicine?
Medicinal fragrance?
He suddenly remembered something.
Not long ago, in the Gathering Fortune Pavilion of the City of the Wrongfully Dead, hadn't a flock of red-crowned immortal cranes arrived?
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