In the night sky, snowflakes continued to fall softly.
“Follow me.”
With those words, the Divine Lady rose into the air.
Silver bells chimed softly.
From near to far, she gradually drifted forward.
In the blink of an eye, the Divine Lady was already dozens of feet away, her sleeves fluttering as her figure merged with the moonlight.
The students of Yecheng were all believers of the Divine Lady, so they followed her out of the city without a second thought.
【Fang Shuo Shock Value +100】
【Xu Miao Shock Value +100】
【Lan Yi Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 4,650,800】
At the city gates, everyone exchanged bewildered glances.
The coffin remained where it was. Although the black mist had stopped spreading, it still swirled around the bottom of the coffin like a ferocious beast whose rage was temporarily suppressed, ready to lash out again at any moment.
The legs of the coffin-bearers were trembling. They looked at one another, but no one dared to make the first move.
“What are you standing there for?”
Xu Miao was the first to snap out of it. His voice was tight as he forced himself to remain calm. “The Divine Lady has given her command. Hurry up and follow!”
As he spoke, he took the first step forward.
After all, he had been an official for decades. No matter how terrified and anxious he was inside, he managed to keep up appearances.
His subordinate officials quickly followed.
Each of their steps was more unstable than the last.
The coffin-bearers exchanged glances.
They lifted the coffin onto their shoulders.
The moment the coffin rested on their shoulders, everyone's face turned pale.
They did not know if they were just overthinking, but they felt the coffin was much heavier than before. It was as if it were filled with thousands of pounds of iron, pressing down so hard that their shoulders felt like they were about to shatter.
Yet, no one dared to put it down.
Fang Shuo picked up the memorial tablet again and walked in front of the coffin. His eyes were red and swollen, and the tear tracks on his face had not yet dried.
Supported by her maid, Lan Yi walked in the middle of the procession. Her face was pale as paper, and her handkerchief was crumpled tightly in her hands.
She looked at the coffin, then at the Divine Lady ahead, her eyes filled with an unreadable, complex emotion.
With various thoughts weighing on their minds, the funeral procession stumbled along behind the Divine Lady, leaving the city gates.
The path grew more remote, and the lights grew sparser, until eventually, only the moonlight and the glow of the white lanterns remained.
They did not know how long they had walked.
The moon-white figure ahead finally came to a halt.
Only then did everyone realize they had reached a wasteland.
The surroundings were overgrown with wild grass and tangled weeds.
Nearby, several crooked old trees stretched their branches like clawing talons against the night sky, casting an unspeakably eerie atmosphere.
The Divine Lady said, “Bury him here.”
Xu Miao quickly stepped forward and asked cautiously, “May I ask, Divine Lady, is there any special significance to this place?”
Yun Shu did not answer, nor did she even look at him.
In truth, there was no significance at all. This was just a random wasteland she had found to buy time for her next plans and to properly lay Governor Fang's body to rest.
After all, she did not have a skill to preserve a corpse from rotting, so it was best to let the deceased rest in peace in the ground as soon as possible.
Xu Miao did not dare to ask further.
He quickly called upon everyone to start digging the grave.
The sound of shovels digging into the earth echoed in the quiet night, one after another, exceptionally clear.
While everyone was busy digging the grave, Yun Shu asked the system in her mind, “Has that auction hosted by your big brother, the Cultivation System, started yet?”
Originally, she had not planned to spend any more Shock Value because she needed to save it to upgrade the Rainbow and Feather Garment. However, the system had mentioned that the Cultivation System was auctioning a portable divine temple tonight.
An essential item for travel and living.
How could she possibly miss out on it?
“Host, it has started, it has started!”
The little fox, invisible as it followed beside Yun Shu, gestured for her to look at the auction interface displayed on the system panel.
Celestial Jade Palace, starting bid: 1,000,000 points, with a minimum increment of 50,000 points.
Yun Shu: “...”
1,000,000 points was equivalent to 1,000,000 Shock Value.
She knew it would be expensive, but she had never expected it to be this expensive.
But looking at the exceptionally luxurious preview model of the palace, she felt it might actually be worth the price.
Honestly, if she brought this palace out, the shock factor would definitely be off the charts. It was only a matter of time before she made her investment back.
Thinking of this, she clicked to place a bid of 1,000,000.
In just a few short minutes, the bidding price for the Celestial Jade Palace had already been driven up to 1,500,000.
Yun Shu gritted her teeth secretly and decided to wrap things up quickly. She raised her bid to 2,000,000.
After successfully winning the Celestial Jade Palace, her Shock Value shrank from over 4,000,000 to over 2,000,000.
It had been cut in half all at once.
Next, she needed to find more opportunities to manifest before the people.
While she was pondering how to turn this “resolving resentment” business into a grand performance to milk as much Shock Value as possible, Fang Shuo and the others had finished burying Governor Fang.
Fang Shuo walked up to the Divine Lady, stood straight, bowed respectfully, and said haltingly, “Divine Lady, this place is desolate. Why don't you return to the Fang family home with me first?”
“No need.”
The Divine Lady slightly tilted her head, her gaze passing over Fang Shuo to land on the new grave. Her tone was as indifferent as ever.
“An immortal reincarnate underwent a tribulation in the mortal realm and died with unresolved grievances. This matter involves both realms, and I will not show bias toward either. You have only three days to uncover the truth of this matter and resolve his resentment. Otherwise, when a malevolent ghost manifests in the world, it will be the karmic retribution Chaoyang City deserves.”
Hearing this, Fang Shuo was stunned. Before he could even speak, he saw the Divine Lady raise a hand.
The hand slowly emerged from her moon-white wide sleeves, her fingers slender and long, her fingertips flushed with a faint pink.
With a gentle wave of her hand.
Without any warning, the moment her sleeve fluttered.
On the barren, empty ground not far from the graveyard, a majestic and magnificent palace appeared out of thin air.
The entire palace was a pristine, translucent white, built of some unknown stone that resembled grease and jade. Under the cold moonlight, it glowed with a warm, gentle luster, so beautiful that one could not look away.
Just as everyone was marveling at the palace's grandeur.
The palace doors suddenly swung wide open, revealing a brilliantly lit interior. Warm light spilled out from within.
The surroundings were illuminated as bright as day.
【Fang Shuo Shock Value +100】
【Xu Miao Shock Value +100】
【Lan Yi Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 3,020,000】
Having harvested another wave of Shock Value, Yun Shu turned toward the palace with satisfaction.
Her moon-white figure stepped onto the white jade stairs, the silver bells chiming softly under the eaves as if welcoming their master's return.
Upon reaching the palace doors, the Divine Lady paused and left behind a calm, unruffled remark.
“In three days, you may come here to seek me.”
With those words, the palace doors slowly closed behind her.
The crowd stood in place like a row of wooden stakes driven into the ground, unable to move for a long time.
The wild grass rustled in the night breeze, and the white paper money on the new grave was blown everywhere by the wind. Meanwhile, that dreamlike palace stood quietly not far away.
None of this was a dream.
After entering the palace, Yun Shu sized up the luxurious modern Chinese decor inside. It was fully furnished with all the necessary furniture; she didn't need to add a single thing and could move right in.
“This divine temple was really worth the purchase.” She lay down on the long-awaited sofa, its comfort far surpassing that of any wooden bed.
“It's just a pity there aren't many people tonight. Otherwise, this temple would have definitely farmed even more Shock Value.”
The little fox also slumped on the sofa.
It comforted Yun Shu listlessly, “Host, we can farm more tomorrow just the same.”
It had to comfort her; it was truly afraid that its host's workaholic nature would flare up again, dragging it out to work in the middle of the night.
Rate on N.U.
