The city of Buwenchen was unknown to the world.
Its features could only be glimpsed through fragments mentioned by the Ghost King of Dark Candles—a place where humans and ghosts roamed freely, shrouded in thick fog, somewhat different from common perceptions.
After much inquiring without results, Xing Shuishui remembered there was a Xishan near Buwenchen. It originally belonged to General Fu Qi.
While staying at an inn in the mortal realm, she had heard tales about Xishan. Someone had accidentally wandered in and been saved. When they returned to that inn to ask around, they actually learned something.
After General Fu Qi’s death, the mountain became a ghost mountain. The ten-mile peach forest remained, and the Peach Valley’s jade wine became famous across nations. Yet as time passed, no one knew what lay at the end of Xishan’s peach forest. The mountain seemed bewitched—outsiders who entered would only walk from foot to foot, or starve to death in the peach forest, becoming fertilizer.
The carriage driver spoke of this mysteriously, pulling the reins and turning his head to warn: “That forest is quite strange. Since you’re outsiders, I’ll kindly remind you—don’t wander in by mistake!”
Inside sat two men and a woman. One man and woman were clearly a couple, both strikingly beautiful, a perfect match. The other man in black sat with folded arms, his face sour as if he’d eaten several rotten eggs, seemingly eager for them to tumble out of his sight.
Xing Shuishui ignored Du Dizhu and smiled at the driver: “Thank you, uncle.”
They hadn’t come for Xishan anyway, but for Buwenchen beneath it.
When Du Dizhu heard about General Fu Qi, he wanted to make a big deal of it, but seeing He Liansheng’s hand on the Taoyuan sword, he stammered and fell silent.
Noticing the driver still studying him, Du Dizhu sneered: “Didn’t you say we’d reach Buwenchen after one more post station?”
The driver replied: “But Buwenchen only allows entry after sunset. If you go now, you’ll just have to wait outside.”
Du Dizhu responded maliciously: “Wait? Who does he think he is? Does your city gate grow legs and walk? I’ll enter whenever I want!”
Xing Shuishui nearly grabbed his neck to shut him up. This wasn’t Wuxiang Mountain. She controlled her impulse and asked the driver with a smile: “Is this the city lord’s rule?”
The driver didn’t take offense: “Doesn’t seem to be the city lord’s rule. The city gates only appear after sunset. Many people enter then, so you should hurry to wait!”
Upon arrival, he let them off. He Liansheng stayed quiet, Xing Shuishui glanced at Du Dizhu, who looked bewildered, and the driver held out his hand.
Du Dizhu gritted his teeth: “Why should I pay?” He Liansheng replied coolly: “You talked the most.”
Du Dizhu sneered, pointing at Xing Shuishui: “Could I talk more than that little flower spirit beside you?”
He Liansheng also sneered: “How is that your business? Got a problem? If you do, leave.”
Du Dizhu held back repeatedly, finally deciding not to argue with these kids for the sake of more important matters. He tossed a money pouch to the driver, not forgetting to leave some harsh words: “Wait until this is over—you’ll all get what’s coming!”
Xing Shuishui ignored his words completely, turning to observe the people guarding the city walls. There were men, women, young and old, all crowded together. She tried to move forward but was quickly pushed out, knocking over a peddler’s basket.
The peddler looked at the mess on the ground and pointed at her angrily: “You little girl, are you blind?”
He Liansheng coldly grabbed the man’s finger. The peddler felt intense pain, as if his finger would be crushed, and looking up to see it was just a youth in his early twenties, he broke into a cold sweat. Suddenly Xing Shuishui tugged at He Liansheng’s clothes, sending him a mental message: “Don’t alarm the people here, look below—”
The basket had tipped, spilling its contents. A quick glance showed these weren’t the usual items peddlers sold like chamber pots or sickles and flints, but rather erotic art, fertility secrets, and twenty-eight methods for safe pregnancy.
Were Buwenchen’s customs really this open?
The peddler knew he couldn’t win this fight. He grudgingly picked up his scattered goods, dusted them off, and stuffed them back in his basket.
“I… I’m in a bad mood today, please excuse my offense.”
Just as he tried to slip away, Du Dizhu grabbed him back.
Du Dizhu asked: “You normally sell these things? Aren’t you afraid of starving?”
Seeing Du Dizhu’s martial arts expert appearance, the peddler dared not lie: “You don’t know, but in our Buwenchen we value having many children. Everyone’s desperate to have kids, so many people buy these things!”
It was now sunset, the gorgeous evening sun shining on the thick fog like falling flames. The crowd naturally formed several long lines, and a vermillion door appeared in the previously empty city wall.
Xing Shuishui’s voice was almost drowned out by the bustling crowd.
She muttered: “Why—why is everyone so desperate to have children?”
The peddler explained: “Because the city lord’s mansion recruits spirit children under ten each year to serve the Buwen God. If chosen, it brings wealth and glory to the whole family.”
Xing Shuishui stared at the city gate, wondering if Buwenchen was still ruled by the same city lord after Guan Wushan left.
She probed: “What does your city lord… look like?”
Peddler: “Elegant and unmatched in the world.”
She continued: “What’s your city lord’s… surname?”
Peddler: “Guan.”
Xing Shuishui now understood.
Guan Wushan. Heh heh heh heh.
While the peddler was still lost in beautiful dreams of the future, the city gate opened. As the crowd moved forward, Du Dizhu gave the peddler a meaningful look without saying a word.
By dusk, the fog had thinned considerably. Red lanterns on the city walls glowed like beast eyes, and through the narrow red gate, the city’s prosperous lights could be seen.
The peddler, eager to befriend them, talked endlessly about the city lord’s mansion: “Buwenchen’s city lord wasn’t originally surnamed Guan, but Lin. Lord Lin wasn’t as involved as Lord Guan—we rarely saw the Lin family. Only after Lord Guan came did strict laws begin.”
He Liansheng asked: “Was selecting spirit children a previous practice?”
Peddler: “Only started after Lord Guan came.”
Xing Shuishui asked: “So do you prefer Lord Lin or Lord Guan?”
Peddler: “Guan. Lord Guan gives us wealth and glory. Lord Lin just ignored our poverty.”
Xing Shuishui asked again: “Where is Lord Lin now?”
The peddler shrugged: “Don’t know. No one cares anymore. As long as life is good, we don’t really mind which lord rules.”
So his whereabouts were unknown.
Xing Shuishui didn’t believe Guan Wushan took the city lord’s mansion without schemes. The previous Lord Lin was probably imprisoned somewhere by Guan Wushan, just like Xue Sansi.
The peddler led them to his home—a dilapidated house with a simple interior. In one shabby room were four girls and a gray-haired woman.
He pointed at the woman, showing yellow teeth: “My wife’s womb isn’t good. Had six kids—four girls, and two boys sent to the city lord’s mansion. The only bad thing about selecting spirit children is that kids sent to the mansion never return, chosen or not. But it’s fine, the mansion is a good place.”
Xing Shuishui wouldn’t tell him his precious sons couldn’t return because Guan Wushan had used them to cultivate blood parasites.
Guan Wushan needed to continuously create blood parasites, which required an endless supply of living people. Selecting spirit children was a perfect excuse—it wouldn’t cause panic in the city and could trick ignorant people into sending their children over.
Xing Shuishui observed the four identical girls, all with varying degrees of bruises on their arms, messy hair covering half their faces, only showing pairs of watery eyes. One look at the scattered wine jars told her everything: their father was worthless.
Since she wasn’t a good person anyway, Xing Shuishui was about to find an excuse to act when Du Dizhu grabbed the peddler’s neck like a chicken’s: “I’ll just ask one thing—where’s the city lord’s mansion?” The peddler, terrified, answered: “In… in the south city, you’ll know when you get there.”
Du Dizhu said “Oh” and strangled him to death.
He turned to look at the stunned Xing Shuishui, irritably saying: “What are you looking at? Want our whereabouts exposed? Or have you both turned into good people?”
Xing Shuishui comforted the children and told him: “Then be thoroughly evil—eat his corpse too. A violent death here in the middle of the night isn’t creepy enough?”
Du Dizhu stammered: “I… I only eat pure youths, not dead people!”
One of the girls timidly asked: “Benefactor, are you going to the city lord’s mansion?”
Xing Shuishui nodded: “Not through the front door.”
The girl said: “I have a friend who knows a secret passage to the city lord’s mansion. He can guide you!”
He Liansheng pondered these words, his gaze mocking: “Your friend… knows about the mansion’s secret passage?”
The girl turned pale.
Xing Shuishui stepped forward, patting her head: “You can tell us safely. We’re not bad people, except for that man in black.”
Du Dizhu: “…”
After hesitating, the girl said: “My friend’s surname is Lin.”
Xing Shuishui quickly understood. Lord Lin, the Lin family, surname Lin…
The girl spoke shakily: “He’s Lord Lin’s surviving child. That night when something happened at the mansion, only he escaped. I was out buying oranges and hid him behind the cabinet. The mansion’s people are still looking for him.”
The sisters led them to the inner room. Du Dizhu casually moved the cabinet, revealing a large hole gnawed by rats. A young man lay inside with only a thin, stained blanket, as if something had drained his blood and flesh. His skin clung to his bones, ribs clearly visible, looking nearly dead.
The girl told him what had just happened and their purpose.
Light gradually returned to the young man’s lifeless eyes as he muttered: “I’ll take you, I must take you. You must save Buwenchen, save the people! He wants! He wants—”
He suddenly coughed violently, spitting blood.
The girl panicked, patting his back: “Young Lord! Speak slowly!”
The young man smiled bitterly: “I… haven’t been a young lord for long.”
He crawled out of the rat hole. Though his clothes were tattered, he still dusted them off and told Xing Shuishui’s group: “Let’s go! I’ll take you there! That villain destroyed my whole family like that—I’ll haunt him even as a ghost! Spirit children selection… it’s nothing but a complete conspiracy!”
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