Chasing after her husband? Is it even possible to win him back?

Chu Xunfeng stared intently at Jiang Zhou, whose smile remained unchanged, and after a moment of silence, he spoke, "I'm not surprised at all that someone like you could become a ghost."

Jiang Zhou was also surprised by Chu Xunfeng's evaluation of him. His smile paused briefly, then he couldn't help but smile even more broadly. "It seems that Young Master Chu has already gotten quite used to the Ghost Clan."

"I wouldn't dare. Compared to a mentally disturbed person like Young Master Jiang, I'm far from being one."

The slightly sarcastic comment only elicited a shrug from the Broken Bone Scholar.

Chapter Thirty-Six, The Madman

"It seems that Young Master Chu does not approve of what I have done." Jiang Zhou, or rather the ghost of the Broken Bone Scholar, shrugged indifferently after hearing Chu Xunfeng's evaluation.

"You can continue." Chu Xunfeng had no desire to comment on the actions of the Broken Bone Scholar. After all, a normal person could not understand what a madman was thinking, and Chu Xunfeng did not want to delve into the Broken Bone Scholar's actions before his death.

That would corrupt his spirit.

"Alright, the question I asked earlier was from my faction. Now, on behalf of the Foreigners' Council, I'd like to ask Young Master Chu a question." The Broken Bone Scholar tapped his folding fan against his palm. "Young Master Chu, do you find the Black Forest safe?"

An unexpected question was abruptly thrown at Chu Xunfeng.

The senior disciple sitting opposite Jiang Zhou had a furrowed brow and his deep gaze was fixed on Jiang Zhou's face.

“If Young Master Jiang has any advice, please speak frankly.” Chu Xunfeng looked at the Broken Bone Scholar. “I think someone like you would not speak without reason. However, since I have agreed to answer your question, I will also share my thoughts.”

"The Black Forest isn't exactly safe for me, but it's at least a bit safer than the territory of Xu Kingdom," Chu Xunfeng said, looking at Jiang Zhou.

"Young Master Chu may have misunderstood me." Jiang Zhou unfolded his folding fan, concealing the words "Integrity" within, and turned the words "Righteousness" on the back of the fan towards Chu Xunfeng. "I have already explained how I view good and evil."

Chu Xunfeng was taken aback for a moment, then raised an eyebrow in surprise. The thoughts churning in his mind were so outrageous that Chu Xunfeng couldn't help but ask in a questioning tone, "Could it be that Young Master Jiang sees me as good, the kind of good you think of?"

“At least Young Master Chu has not done anything evil, has he?” Seeing that Chu Xunfeng finally understood what he meant, Jiang Zhou couldn’t help but laugh. “My good and evil as the Broken Bone Scholar do not depend on my heart, I only care about how I act.”

"Young Master Chu's life trajectory can be said to have started to live like a human being only after you left Bianzhou. As far as I know, you have never done anything evil, not even a bad thing, and you have never killed anyone."

Mo Xun fell silent. To be honest, even though he was one of the main forces that surrounded and killed the Broken Bone Scholar twenty years ago, he felt that he knew Jiang Zhou to some extent. But when he heard Jiang Zhou's evaluation of Chu Xunfeng, he also fell silent.

Unexpectedly, but if one thinks about what the Broken Bone Scholar said, Mo Xun finds that what he said was actually true, completely true.

"On the contrary, Young Master Chu, it is a miracle that you have been able to maintain what I consider 'goodness' throughout your life to this day." The Broken Bone Scholar chuckled, whether in admiration or sarcasm, it was unclear. "After all, from birth until now, you have had enough reasons to take 'revenge' against everyone and everything you have encountered, so much so that you now have enough power to do so, but you haven't."

Mo Xun remained silent, but his face darkened slightly.

"Young Master Jiang, please stop flattering me. Since your view is to judge by actions, not intentions, then I don't need to explain to you. Let's get back to the main topic." After being criticized by Jiang Zhou, Chu Xunfeng had a helpless smile on his face.

“Of course.” Jiang Zhou nodded. “The Foreign Council can probably guess what Young Master Chu is going to do. You are now qualified to enter the inner city.”

As Jiang Zhou spoke, he gestured to the cloth bag on the table, “No matter where this bag of Yin Sha Pearls came from, it is special, extremely special Yin Sha Pearls. The foreigners have been fighting openly and secretly in the inner city over who can do this deal with you.”

“I’m here today to remind Young Master Chu that you are now independent.” Jiang Zhou smiled. “The Ninth Seat only introduced you to the Black Forest, but that doesn’t mean you are now part of the Ninth Elder’s faction.”

"Although those two idiots did some foolish things, at least now I'm sitting here talking to you, Young Master Chu, while the Ninth Elder's men... are still holed up in the inner city." Jiang Zhou gently tapped his palm with his folding fan. Seeing Chu Xunfeng frown slightly, he smiled and shook his head, continuing to add.

"Of course, these are all minor details. I've heard that Leng Junzi is an upright person and doesn't intend to impress you with these things."

“I can’t make any factional promises to you on behalf of the Fifth Seat above me.” Jiang Zhou stared at Chu Xunfeng. “However, personally, I am very interested in Young Master Chu, your experiences, your thoughts, and… your enemies.”

Chu Xunfeng narrowed his eyes. "I never wanted revenge, otherwise I would have done it myself."

Jiang Zhou just smiled, a bright and cheerful smile. "But I think that when I see something I dislike, I can't help but step on it and torment it."

Chu Xunfeng had no intention of having any more discussions about values ​​with the madman. "Young Master Jiang, let's change the subject. You want me to switch sides to another faction, but I made a deal with Elder Jiu, which is why he sent someone to send me to the Black Forest. I don't need to explain the significance of a deal in the Ghost Clan's eyes, right?"

Jiang Zhou's expression froze, and the action of tapping his folding fan inadvertently stopped. After a long while, Jiang Zhou gently tapped his forehead with the folding fan. "It's rare to see someone like you, Young Master Chu."

"Let's get down to business." Chu Xunfeng responded calmly to Jiang Zhou's slightly manic expression.

He has figured out how to deal with this madman.

There's no need to follow his rhythm. He tries to influence others with his divergent thinking and madness, but coincidentally, Chu Xunfeng really doesn't care about Jiang Zhou's madness.

The calmer he remained, the more anxious the Broken Bone Scholar became.

"Transactions are of paramount importance, and I cannot refute that. However, I will reiterate what I said earlier: Young Master Chu's decision to complete the transaction with Gui Lao Jiu does not mean that you must join Gui Lao Jiu's faction, unless the terms of your transaction are exactly as stated, in which case I have nothing to say."

As Jiang Zhou spoke, he stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to Chu Xunfeng, seemingly preparing to take his leave. "Young Master Chu, you said earlier that the Black Forest is at least safer than Xu Kingdom."

"That's true, but also false."

"The Black Forest is a mixed bag of people. For a wanted criminal of the imperial court, the Black Forest is actually different from the territory of Xu Kingdom, but it is only the difference between the general situation on the surface and the dark hand in the shadows."

"Young Master Chu, please be extra careful when venturing into the Black Forest."

"This is advice from the Westerners' Council."

"As for myself, I only have one sentence to say to you."

"Beware of the bronze beast. Farewell."

Chu Xunfeng watched Jiang Zhou turn and leave, remaining silent.

Of course I know I need to be careful of the bronze beast.

After all, we are gradually developing the structure of two brains, so we can never look at only one side of the picture.

Chapter Thirty-Seven, River Drowning

"What are your plans now, junior brother?"

After seeing off the Broken Bone Scholar, Mo Xun looked at the thoughtful young man on the head seat and deliberately kept his voice very soft.

The words of the Broken Bone Scholar were not only directed at Chu Xunfeng, but also at Mo Xun, who was in a somewhat awkward position as the White Emperor City, whose past actions were essentially tantamount to betrayal.

Although Mo Xun knew that Chu Xunfeng had let go of what happened during the autumn hunt, Bai Dicheng's actions remained a thorn between Chu Xunfeng and Bai Dicheng.

“This Jiang Zhou, or rather, the Broken Bone Scholar, is a very dangerous ghost.” Chu Xunfeng raised his eyes and glanced at his senior brother. “When he was alive, he was mentally abnormal. Although I don’t want to say it, the fact is that the more obsessive or crazy a person is, the more successful they are in the ghost race.”

Mo Xun had also traveled through the Ghost Clan, and he nodded helplessly in agreement with Chu Xunfeng's words.

"To be honest, I don't want to join any of the Westerners' factions, and I don't really need to. At the latest, the demon race will come to the ghost race by tomorrow. As long as Ao Ning hasn't misunderstood me, the power I can control will be enough to contend with a seat in the Westerners' council." Chu Xunfeng raised his hands, comparing the left and right sides. "Only when the scales are balanced will I have the confidence to do business with the Westerners' council openly and honestly."

"As for the bronze beast and Prince Zou..." Chu Xunfeng was silent for a while, "Of course I have to be careful. After all, even Prince Zou doesn't dare to talk to you directly in public. What he has to be careful about, I need to be even more careful about."

Mo Xun nodded slightly. "What do you need me to do next?"

“We need to wait,” Chu Xunfeng said, squinting. “We need to wait for someone or something that can help us break through this situation.”

Meanwhile, outside the Ghost Market, at the edge of the Ghost Forest, in the Guiding Village, the demon race member that Chu Xunfeng was waiting for to break the deadlock had not yet arrived. But perhaps, the arrival of the three people who entered the Guiding Village at this moment could trigger the event that Chu Xunfeng desired.

"This is... the Ghost Market?" The maid walked between the young lady and Zhu Han'e, looking around at the rather shabby village. "Young lady, have we come to the wrong place?"

Ning Qiu Ning, who was walking ahead, shook her head. "Didn't I tell you to study the information the Cultivator Alliance gave us carefully? Didn't you look at it?"

The maid swallowed hard. "I did look at it, but this place is clearly different from what the document said. The document from the Cultivator Alliance clearly stated that Ghost Market should resemble a town."

“That means you didn’t look carefully. This should be the reception village on the outer edge of the Ghost Market, responsible for receiving the newborn ghosts from the Ghost Forest. We need to complete the procedures here to enter the Ghost Market, so we won’t be stopped outside the gate.” Ning Qiu Ning frowned slightly, glanced back at the maid who seemed quite frightened by the surrounding environment, and pointed at her with a hint of disappointment, “Be more careful in the future.”

The maid nodded hurriedly, "I understand."

"Ahead," Zhu Han'e, who was bringing up the rear, spoke, her words cold and indifferent.

The master and servant looked toward the main road in the village, where a red light was gradually approaching them.

Ning Qiu Ning became alert, and the maid trembled three times, forcing herself to stand up straight.

The three of them stopped in their tracks. As the red light drew closer, the master and servant realized that it came from a large red lantern, which was held in the hands of a middle-aged man with a stiff expression and a livid face.

"Where do you three come from?" The middle-aged man's voice was extremely hoarse, with a bubbly quality.

The maid could clearly hear the sounds, but she couldn't see the man's mouth moving. Coupled with his drowning-like expression, she gritted her teeth to keep from screaming.

"I came from Bianzhou, carrying a token, and I'm going to the Ghost Market to find someone, or rather, a ghost." Compared to the maid, Ning Qiu Ning was relatively calm. Her voice trembled slightly, but at least she spoke in complete sentences.

Do you know the rules for entering the ghost market?

"I know." Ning Qiu Ning nodded.

"Follow me, I'll take you to see the inspector." The man turned and led the way.

The three followed silently behind the drowned male ghost. Qi Jiancha, who had met Chu Xunfeng once before, was slightly taken aback when he saw the three humans the male ghost brought. A stiff smile appeared on his face.

The ghosts who can serve as inspectors in Jieyin Village don't need to be very strong, but keen eyesight and tact are necessary test conditions. If it were just the master and servant, they would definitely be ripped off by the inspector. However, with Zhu Han'e, a Heavenly Profound Realm expert, in charge, Inspector Qi naturally went through the formalities for the three of them and had the drowned male ghost Jieyin lead them to the main road leading to the ghost market.

"This is really strange, why are so many humans coming here lately..." After seeing off the three from the Supreme Sword Sect, Inspector Qi muttered to himself behind the counter, "And they're all big shots that I, the Inspector, can't afford to offend..."

"Bad luck." He spat out a complaint, but no one could hear him.

On the main road outside the ghost market, the drowned male ghost stopped halfway and said, "Three of you, follow the main road and keep going. You will see the gate of the ghost market. Next to the gate is the gatehouse. Take your documents to the gatehouse to complete the procedures. The ghosts at the gatehouse will teach you the rules of the ghost market."

The drowned male ghost gave a brief explanation, then turned and left, carrying the red lantern in his hand.

The three members of the Supreme Sword Sect naturally followed the male ghost's instructions and headed towards the Ghost Market along the main road. However, none of them noticed that the male ghost had not actually gone far. The drowned male ghost had only walked a short distance before extinguishing the red light of the lantern.

In addition, the pervasive murky Yin energy in the Black Forest stimulated the senses of cultivators, so even Zhu Han'e did not notice that the male ghost had not gone far.

"Those three people must be from the Supreme Sword Sect."

"Chu Xunfeng's ex-wife, Bingxin Sword of the Supreme Sword Sect, and a servant of the fourth realm..." The male ghost pondered for a moment, then silently followed behind the three, gradually approaching the Ghost Market.

He watched as the three walked through the archway, entered the gatehouse, lingered for quite some time before leaving, and gradually ventured deeper into the ghost market.

The male ghost watched from outside the gate until the three members of the Supreme Sword Sect disappeared from his senses before turning around and entering the gate.

"Where are the three women who just came to complete their paperwork? What are their names?" The male ghost's gaze swept over the ghost clerks behind the counter.

Upon seeing the drowned-looking male ghost, all the clerks behind the counter immediately stood up and bowed in respect.