Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 105 - 96: Ghost Seven (Combined) - Part 2

Chapter 105: Chapter 96: Ghost Seven (Combined) - Part 2

"The Prime Minister, who currently has no power beyond the Golden Throne Hall, is actually so sorrowful, hehe...."

Xu Yinhè did not take issue with the other’s words but simply said softly:

"Not many of the friends from those days in the Imperial Capital are left alive today."

Jiang He sneered: "You and Li Yaoxuan killed them all, naturally, there wouldn’t be many left."

"...." Xu Yinhè.

Li Yaoxuan, the current Emperor.

As Jiang He watched the other’s graying temples, he said with a soft chuckle:

"After so many years, even if you didn’t kill them, those people might not have lived to see this day. I’m almost like dust now, yet you still look like this, I’m really curious how long you can live with your current cultivation level?"

Xu Yinhè cast a glance at the old man and after a brief contemplation, he said in a low voice:

"If I make no further progress in this lifetime, probably around one hundred and twenty years."

A look of envy appeared on Jiang He’s aged face:

"That’s really nice."

Xu Yinhè showed little emotional fluctuation and merely retorted:

"Is living a long life meaningful?"

"Of course, it is."

Jiang He snorted lightly: "If I could live a bit longer, have a little more time to penetrate the grand truths of the Formation Path, then this journey in the human world would not be in vain."

The corner of Xu Yinhè’s mouth curled into a smile:

"What you seek is different from mine, but if you wanted to live longer, you should have listened to Prince Xiang back then."

Upon hearing this, Jiang He didn’t immediately respond. He leaned back against the chair and fell silent for a long time, finally he sighed deeply and muttered softly:

"Cultivation?"

Jiang He thought of his father, who had become a blur in his memory, and shook his head:

"If I had chosen to cultivate back then, that would have been putting the cart before the horse. There’s only so much time, and the more of it that’s devoted to cultivation, the less there is for researching the Formation Path.

"Besides, I wasn’t really interested in the path that old man laid out for me. My current level of cultivation is only for the sake of the Formation Path."

Speaking of which,

Jiang He seemed to think of something, and his aged face suddenly took on a firm expression, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he said in a low voice:

"Right, Xu Yinhè, the grand formation I told you about four years ago is almost complete now. It’s at least twice as powerful as the protective formation in the Imperial Capital."

At this point, Jiang He coughed lightly:

"That Hua Hong old man won’t provide the silver, what do you think about this..."

Xu Yinhè listened carefully, a hint of amusement in his eyes, but he didn’t budge:

"Hua Hong will handle the accounts of the Tian’an Commerce Assembly himself. I won’t interfere."

The Geometry Institute was very expensive to maintain, especially since most of the investments yielded no visible returns.

Four years ago, Jiang He first mentioned this supremely powerful grand formation to him and Hua Hong.

The proposition back then was almost identical to now.

Just one more billion, with one more tiny bit of investment, their Geometry Institute would immediately be able to produce results.

And then Hua Hong invested,

And then four years passed.

Upon hearing this, Jiang He’s face immediately tightened, and with a cold snort, he picked up his cup, ready to dismiss his guest.

Seeing his old friend’s character was the same as ever, Xu Yinhè chuckled and shook his head, then suddenly said softly:

"Jiang He, there’s a problem with the Soul-Sucking Grand Formation you created."

When Jiang He heard this, his stern face paused, gradually turning grave.

But he wasn’t surprised that there was an issue with the formation.

A complete formation is naturally subject to thousands of calculations before being put into use, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Many things change with time, and the myriad variables of reality can cause discrepancies between the formation’s performance and test results, so it needs to be perfected step by step in practice.

Just as the human race initially domesticated Demonic Beasts, the techniques and formations related to taming the Ghost Mist also had a long way to go.

After a brief thought, Jiang He shook his head and said:

"I knew you, Prime Minister, would not visit the Three Treasure Hall without a cause. Tell me the specifics."

Xu Yinhè pondered for a moment and then said:

"Changge had to make another trip to Jingjiang Prefecture because of some matters."

Jiang He frowned slightly: "Jingjiang Prefecture... the Ghost Mist near those mountains by Wuyuan City?"

"Yes." Xu Yinhè.

Jiang He paused slightly, hesitation on his worn face:

"I remember there are three Third Grade Great Masters guarding that Ghost Mist, right?"

"Yes."

Xu Yinhè nodded, and then calmly uttered three words:

"They’re all dead."

"Impossible!"

Jiang He’s hands, clasped in his white beard, clenched tightly, his tone lowered: "My formation couldn’t possibly allow a Fourth Grade or higher Demonic Beast to emerge within the Ghost Mist."

Xu Yinhè calmly stared at his old friend for a few breaths, his voice very soft:

"The Demonic Beast wasn’t born within the Ghost Mist."

"...."

Upon hearing this, Jiang He’s aged face suddenly turned somewhat pale, his wrinkled hands trembling slightly, he asked with a hint of hesitation:

"Is it... ghostification?"

"Um," Xu Yinhè gave a positive reply.

Jiang He’s breathing was slightly rapid.

To have such an oversight on the formation he created himself was something he couldn’t tolerate.

He clenched his hand into a fist and thumped it hard against his brow.

After a long while,

Jiang He suddenly raised his eyes and asked,

"Not right... not right! If such an anomaly has occurred, under the control of the formation, Jiuyuan City should have been engulfed by that Ghost Mist by now, the court above..."

"Ghost Seven is there," Xu Yinhè interrupted, his voice very even.

"Ghost... Ghost Seven?"

Jiang He was taken aback and asked in a slightly hesitant, low voice, "The guard who accompanied you when you entered the Imperial Capital? He... hasn’t turned into a ghost?"

The warm sun of winter, a gentle breeze.

"He has turned into a ghost."

Xu Yinhè stared at Jiang He, his voice still without any fluctuation,

"Changge said,

’He has been guarding that formation all along.’"

....

....

Organs, accompanied by chunks of corpses and viscous blood, trailed down along the corridor as if there was no end.

"Drip..."

"Drip..."

"Drip..."

The sound of boots tapping against the ground echoed unhurried in the spiraling downward corridor.

All the way down, Xu Changge observed everything around him with a calm gaze that carried a hint of contemplation.

Lou Ji said that there seemed to be some problems with the Ghost Mist here.

Although the soul crystals in the Ghost Mist Formation had been delivered on time for nearly three months, the people who took turns entering every month had never come out again.

Now it seems that the anomaly in this space is not as simple as a few problems.

While thinking this, Xu Changge stepped out of the long tunnel.

Beyond the tunnel, his eyes met a hive-like cave full of dense stone chambers imprisoning thousands of ferocious ghosts.

Besides these, there were almost a floor full of human cadavers.

Among these people, he saw two acquaintances.

Two Third Grade Great Grandmasters, whom he had met once in the Imperial Capital.

But now, the life force of the two was long gone, and the incorruptible bodies of the Third Grade Great Grandmasters seemed exceptionally eerie at this moment.

After a glance, Xu Changge withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward. In the northeast direction of the cave, he spotted a "living person."

Lean and withered, the figure was silently kneeling in a corner, not saying a word.

The vast hive-like cave, the frail old man hidden in the darkness, was eerie and profound.

"Drip..."

"Drip..."

"Drip..."

In the midst of silence,

Xu Changge came to a stop three meters behind the withered old man, silently drew the Three-foot Green Blade from the Sumeru Ring, but did not immediately swing it.

Beside the withered old man was a whole box of neatly stacked "soul crystals."

This should be the soul crystals that were to be supplied to Tian’an Commerce Assembly this month.

Xu Changge’s eyes flashed with confusion, but soon became complex, and he silently put the sword away.

He stood there in silence, his azure robes making him seem out of place, almost like a banished celestial amidst the hellish scenery around him.

In the pitch-black cave,

the withered old man kneeling in the northeast direction finally seemed to sense something, turned his head one-hundred-eighty degrees, and looked back at Xu Changge.

After staring blankly for a long time.

The withered old man’s eyes seemed to regain some clarity:

"Chang... Young Master...?"

Xu Changge stared at the old man, feeling the thick ghostly aura on him, almost tangible:

"You... are Ghost Seven?"

"Ghost.. Seven?"

The withered old man murmured, then after a long pause, he nodded:

"Old... servant... has seen the Young Master...."

In the hellish cave, all was silent.

Who knows how much time passed,

the withered old man shakily pushed the box beside him forward:

"These... these are this month’s soul crystals...."

"The old servant... has failed... the Prime Minister."

"Please.. Chang.. Young Master, kill.. the old servant....."