Food gives me an entry, I will be invincible if I stay alive

Chapter 292 Old Friends, Past Events, Secrets (Two-in-One)

In the Long Tongue Ghost Market, a cry of "Refine the Flood Dragon!" instantly startled all around.

The Taoist soldiers controlled by Chen Xu and the tray ghost stood silently to the side.

The ghosts were piled up in layers, huddled together, their excited shouts almost blowing the lanterns floating above the ghost market away.

The paper lantern swayed, making a strange creaking sound.

The ghosts howled, and a cacophony of sharp voices questioned them:
"How can a dragon be forged? You're spouting nonsense and making things up. You think you can make us believe you? Impossible!"

"Old Black Tongue Ghost, in my opinion, you're complaining that you have too much lifespan left and want to give some to everyone, isn't that right?"

"Hee hee hee!"

"Jie Jie Jie..."

They were yelling and laughing, all mixed up in a chaotic mess.

The old ghost with the black tongue stuck out his long tongue, but his eyes rolled around as he chuckled and said, "If you don't believe me, how about we make a bet?"
If I can produce evidence of refining a dragon, you will all give me your lifespans.

If I cannot produce any evidence, you may take my lifespan, you old ghost.

Once you enter this long-tongued ghost market, no one will ever leave unscathed, hahaha…”

The phrase "don't even think about leaving intact" means that you will either lose your own lifespan or bear the lifespan of other ghosts.

There is no way to get out of the ghost market without losing or gaining anything.

Of course, this is only the opinion of Black Tongue Old Ghost.

The facts remain to be discussed.

However, the emotions of the ghosts had been completely ignited by the words of the Black Tongue Ghost.

"Let's gamble! Anyone who doesn't gamble is a ghost!"

"Absolutely! Absolutely! Anyone who doesn't gamble will be reborn as an animal in their next life."

"What's the point of being reborn as an animal in the next life? If I'm going to be reborn, I'll be a human, but I'm being treated like an animal my whole life! Worse than pigs and dogs, hehehe..."

"Hahaha, hehehe..."

Ghostly laughter accompanied by ghostly howls, and a chaotic dance of ghosts.

In the Long-Tongued Ghost Market, madness is the norm, and calmness is rare.

A little devil screamed and pulled out his tongue.

His tongue was so long that it fell directly to the ground with this pull.

Beside them stood a tall, thin male ghost with a sinister look on his face. He immediately raised his foot and stepped on the little ghost's tongue.

It looked like the little devil's tongue was about to be stepped on, and he was about to suffer a great loss.

Unexpectedly, a smug smile appeared on the little devil's lips. The next moment, a thinner and tougher long tongue suddenly grew from the tip of the tongue that had been stepped on.

The long tongue, like a venomous snake, suddenly grew from the feet of the thin male ghost and coiled around his ghostly body several times in an instant.

Finally, the sticky, long tongue slid down the thin male ghost's neck and suddenly pressed against his face.

It reached towards his mouth again!

With a hissing sound, it uttered a high-pitched voice: "Brother, are you stepping on me? But you can't step on me, hee hee hee..."

"Ahhh!"

The skinny male ghost who had been secretly stepping on the tongue felt something sticky on his neck and saw the tongue making a sound near his mouth. He was so frightened that he let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Then, amidst screams and screams, the long tongue asked in a sinister tone, "Are you scared? Are you wrong? Is my tongue powerful?"

The tall, thin male ghost screamed, "I'm scared! I was wrong! You're the one with the longest tongue! Please, sir, move aside... Ah!"

boom!
Before the tall, thin ghost could finish speaking, his entire ghostly body suddenly withered and collapsed to the ground with each pleas for mercy.

With a whoosh, the deathly blessing dissipated.

Most of them were absorbed by the invisible beings in the Long-Tongued Demon Market, while a small portion transformed into a string of blue numbers and merged into the Long-Tongued Demon's body.

The blue number was very eye-catching; it was clearly "Eleven"!
In other words, the tall, thin male ghost had a total of thirty-three years of remaining lifespan. Now, two-thirds of it has dissipated in the Long-Tongued Ghost Market, while one-third has been swallowed by the Long-Tongued Little Ghost.

This conspicuous scene immediately caused the screams of the ghosts to pause for a moment.

A moment later, however, the howling became even more excited.

"Death, death, another one has died!"

"Hee hee hee……"

Another old ghost scoffed and said, "A mere eleven years? What a poor wretch!"

"Sigh, what can we do? Being poor is still better than having nothing at all."

The ghosts gathered around whispered amongst themselves, showing no sign of empathy or grief for the death of the lanky male ghost, nor any of them displaying the slightest panic or surprise.

In short, "human nature" seems to have no place in this ghost market.

Although this is a ghost market, and one shouldn't have "human nature" in the first place, one should know that the dead were originally living beings, and it is normal for them to retain some humanity even after becoming ghosts.

Such a situation is something that has never been seen even in the Ghost Market of the Underworld.

The most terrifying thing was that the ghosts in front of them seemed to have put themselves in the shoes of the long-tongued little ghosts who had received the Yin lifespan. They complained that the Yin lifespan was too short, while smacking their lips as if they were enjoying the food.

This scene left the tray ghost speechless.

The tray ghost couldn't help but steal a glance at the Taoist soldier beside him.

It actually had many things it wanted to say to Dao Bing, but thinking of the strange characteristics of the Long-Tongued Ghost Market, it dared not utter a single word of those thousands of words when they reached its lips.

The tray ghost could only nervously look at the Taoist soldier.

But the Taoist soldier remained calm and unmoved.

He floated among the ghosts, gun in hand, glancing briefly at the long-tongued imp who had caused the commotion before turning his attention back to the black-tongued old ghost.

For some reason, seeing the Taoist soldier so calm, the tray ghost's panicked mind instantly calmed down.

Furthermore, the water mochi he had just eaten had not been in vain; the tray ghost felt even more clear-headed and his spirit pure.

It suppressed its urge to be talkative and urged the short ghost to stand close to the Taoist soldier, and together with the Taoist soldier, looked at the black-tongued old ghost.

The old black-tongued ghost glanced at the long-tongued imp without any emotion, then chuckled and began to recount his experiences in the human world:
"As for the matter of refining a dragon, you will naturally not believe me if I just say it casually, but if I mention a certain person, I'm afraid you will not be able to disbelieve me."

"Who is it? Which one is it?" the ghosts immediately cried out.

"What kind of person do you think we should believe is capable of creating dragons just because you mention them?"

"Such arrogance! Well then, say it!"

The ghosts chattered excitedly, each one talking at once.

The life-or-death struggle in the Long Tongue Ghost Market unfolded imperceptibly amidst these endless arguments.

Having observed this from the sidelines, Chen Xu already knew that even if the ghosts hadn't wagered their lifespans beforehand, the battle for lifespans had already begun due to the progress of the debate.

This is the characteristic of the Long-Tongued Ghost Market.

To remain silent in such an atmosphere would be incredibly difficult. At this moment, the old ghost with the black tongue, facing a multitude of ghosts, seemingly only tells stories and debates truth and falsehood, is actually gambling with his life against them.

But the old ghost with the black tongue remained calm. He waited until the ghosts finished shouting before saying, "I am sure that most of you do not know the person I am referring to. I will first tell you his name and then his identity."

This person's name is Xie Huaizheng.

As soon as Xie Huaizheng uttered those three words, the ghosts fell silent for a moment.

A moment later, the ghostly voices began to chatter and clamor again:
"Xie Huaizheng? That name sounds familiar! Who is he?"

"Old Black Tongue Ghost, you've got quite the big talk, but the names you've mentioned aren't even people we know. What are you trying to impress us with this mystery?"

Even more ghostly creatures sneered: "What Xie Huaizheng? What a strange name. Black-tongued old ghost, don't think you can fool people with a name you just made up. We don't believe it at all..."

Black Tongue Old Ghost calmly said, "Speaking of Xie Huaizheng, do you not know who he is? He was the Imperial Commissioner of the River ten years ago, Lord Xie. Do you all still remember him?"

The moment the words "Imperial Envoy for the Waterways" were uttered, the atmosphere around them instantly changed.

The mere mention of the title "Imperial Envoy Xie" immediately sent shockwaves through the ghosts, as if struck by lightning.

The Taoist priest watched closely from the side and instantly saw an incredibly rich array of expressions on the faces of the ghosts.

How rich is it?

An old ghost with a face full of wrinkles suddenly shuddered when he heard the words "Imperial Envoy Xie".

Then his eyes widened, as if he had recalled something he would never remember again.

Fear, terror, pain, shame, anger, and twisted emotions assaulted his face, causing the wrinkles on his face to bunch together and suddenly appear cracked.

Then, the cracked wrinkles rubbed together and began to fall off in a soft rustling sound.

rustling --

Wrinkles rolled down his face, and the old ghost remained silent for a moment before suddenly letting out a loud shout.

"what!"

With that scream, the ghost's body went limp to the ground.

His entire ghostly body softened into sand.

Gravel scattered and rolled down, and the ghost vanished on the spot.

Two blue numbers floated into the body of the Black-tongued Old Ghost, which became "twenty".

In other words, the old ghost who just screamed and died had a total of sixty years of remaining lifespan.

Once this ghost dies, its forty years of lifespan vanishes into thin air, while its twenty years of lifespan are absorbed by the Black Tongue Old Ghost.

The old black-tongued ghost licked his lips with his jet-black tongue, producing a sucking sound that was almost tangible.

He chuckled and said, "Ha, just the words 'Imperial Envoy of the River' were enough to kill a ghost brother on the spot."

I wonder what this ghost is feeling guilty about?
So you're willing to admit defeat now? Hehehe... Gentlemen, do you now admit that what I, Old Ghost, said was true?
"Gentlemen, do you still want to gamble with me, Old Ghost?"

He asked a series of questions, each one seemingly carrying an invisible dagger, stabbing forward one by one.

In such a situation, under normal circumstances, some ghosts would usually back down.

But the truth is, not a single ghost at the scene managed to escape.

Even more so, many ghosts stubbornly insisted:

"What kind of Imperial Envoy for the Waterways? He's already admitting defeat with just such a simple title. That old man is useless! What an idiot, scaring himself to death just by hearing a name!"

"Indeed, sixty years of lifespan in the underworld! This old fellow actually has so much lifespan remaining. What a waste! Such a terrible waste!"

"Black Tongue Old Ghost, don't think that just mentioning a name proves that this 'refining of a dragon' is truly feasible. Stop talking nonsense!"

"That's utter nonsense. What river commissioner, what Minister Xie? Didn't that person die more than a decade ago?"
"What? You saw the ghost of Xie, the Imperial Envoy? Is he trying to refine a dragon in the River of the Underworld?"

When the ghost asked this question, it immediately drew a burst of laughter.

The ghosts laughed loudly: "Refining dragons in the Nether River? Why don't you say we can all become ghost immortals?"

On the River of the Underworld, even a true dragon would be reduced to dust; how could it possibly be refined into a flood dragon? Hahaha… How laughable!

The old ghost with the black tongue is just waiting for the ghosts to laugh.

Only the sound of ghostly laughter could be heard, its echo lingering, before the old black-tongued ghost said, "Have you all finished laughing? Now that you're done, would you like to hear more of my words?"

The ghosts stopped laughing, and only pairs of ghostly eyes stared at the old black-tongued ghost.

The old ghost with the black tongue then said unhurriedly, "Gentlemen, I never said that a ghost wanted to refine a dragon. What I have always said is that someone wants to refine a dragon."

That person was certainly not Xie Huaizheng, who had been dead for many years, yet that person had an extremely close relationship with Xie Huaizheng!

"Impossible!" A ghost in the horde exclaimed, "Those closely associated with Xie Huaizheng were all killed by the Emperor many years ago."

Exterminate three clans, and what about teachers and students, classmates, close friends from the same department, and superiors and subordinates...?

Hey, on that line, who among those connected to Xie Huaizheng hasn't died?
Do you think we ordinary folks are ignorant of the ways of the world?

Back then, who in the seven prefectures of Tiannan didn't know about this?

As soon as this ghost spoke, it was met with a chorus of echoes from the other ghosts.

The old ghost with the black tongue glanced at the ghosts, not in a hurry to refute them, but waiting for them to finish their responses before speaking:

"What's on the surface is indeed common knowledge. But what are Xie Huaizheng's hidden connections? Are you all sure you know everything without missing a single detail?"
So that you may all know, this person closely associated with Xie Huaizheng is actually Xie Huaizheng's daughter!

"What? Xie Huaizheng's entire family has been exterminated, so his daughter must have been killed long ago. How could there be any survivors left in the world?"

"You're talking nonsense! He doesn't have a daughter at all. I've heard that Xie Huaizheng is only interested in becoming an official and has never been married!"

"Xie Huaizheng is an old widower; his wife passed away many years ago..."

"No, he was never married and remained single until his death..."

The ghosts chattered and chattered, and all sorts of fragmented messages flew around in all directions.

The ghosts recounted seven or eight different versions of Xie Huaizheng's pre-death marriage.

It's truly indescribably bizarre and absurd.

Black Tongue Old Ghost said, "Xie Huaizheng was indeed unmarried during his lifetime, but when he became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he had a romantic relationship with a courtesan."

Although she was a courtesan, she was actually from an official's family, well-educated, and loyal.

After her affair with Xie Huaizheng, she redeemed herself and went to Jiangdong incognito.

She did not ask Xie Huaizheng for a formal title because she knew that her status was different, and that if she forced Xie Huaizheng to marry her, it would only affect his reputation and official career.

If she were to become a concubine, she would have a proud spirit and would not be willing to do so.
Not wanting to put her beloved in a difficult position, she simply left without saying goodbye and quietly departed.

In this way, their affair remained a secret from outsiders. Even an emperor, who wanted to exterminate Xie Huaizheng's entire family, could never have imagined that he had a fleeting affair more than a decade ago.

The old man with the black tongue sighed softly and said, "More than ten years have passed, and now Xie Huaizheng's daughter is twenty-six or twenty-seven years old!"

The ghosts fell silent for a moment, except for one ghost who still protested, "Even if Xie Huaizheng's daughter is still alive in the mortal world, what right does she have to refine a dragon?"

(End of this chapter)