Chapter 365: Some Minor Assistance

As an experimental product, Ji Yuan was trying it almost without regard for the consumption of spiritual energy. After all, there were hundreds of sheets of paper coins in this stack, and he was not at all wary of this trickle of spiritual power consumption.

Before he knew it, evening had arrived. More and more paper coins had turned to ashes in Ji Yuan’s hands, and he had wasted a considerable amount of spiritual energy. He had finally reached the limit of what he could currently achieve.

What remained in his hand were coins of the same thickness as a normal five-wen coin, much smaller than the previous paper money, but still larger than ordinary copper coins, similar in size to the cross-section of an egg.

The coins had a thick, rich texture, and were beautiful, as if gilded in gold. Each felt like it weighed three or four taels in weight.

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Ji Yuan picked one up and played with it in his hand. The words “Yin Yang Coin” on its side looked almost as though they had been carved into the side, and the feel was excellent. The key was that, apart from the fact that it was made of paper money, it was supported by spiritual power and vital energy, giving it a restrained, weighty impression.

He reached out and lightly flicked the coin.

“Ding…”

The coin did not tremble, but a clear sound lingered around it for a long time.

Beautiful, tangible, imbued with the vital energy of spiritual life—this was Ji Yuan’s own sensory assessment.

He only had a little over fifty of these coins, but because they were so heavy, it felt almost as though he had hundreds, the same amount as he had of the paper coins before.

“Not bad, it looks pretty good. If I want to improve it further, I can only start with the materials and deducing the technique.”

With the wolf-hair brush in hand, and Ji Yuan’s current familiarity with the unique method of writing and technique deduction, he felt that he could improve further by synthesizing what he had learned today. However, he was already quite satisfied with today’s results.

At this moment, Ji Yuan stroked the coin as if it were a new toy. As if suddenly thinking of something, he picked up one of the coins and held it in his palm. After looking around, he spotted a tattered straw mat and two rotten pieces of wood lying atop on it.

“Well, then…”

He murmured to himself, then waved his hand.

In an instant, a gust of wind arose.

“Whoosh… whoosh…”

The wind whipped Ji Yuan’s clothes, blowing past the tattered straw mat and rotten wood and sweeping them into the sky. They flipped a few times before disappearing quickly from sight towards the horizon.

Gazing at the wind that still blew powerfully in the sky, Ji Yuan had a thoughtful expression on his face.

He had used too much force and didn’t stop, so the coin in his hand turned to dust and scattered, but the effect was still quite good.

Ji Yuan hadn’t used any of his own spiritual energy at all, nor did he use a wind control technique. It was simply a burst of raw Qi and spiritual energy that created the surrounding wind, carrying the items away. Although it wasn’t wind control, it achieved the same effect. The series of events was exactly as Ji Yuan had just envisioned; the spiritual coins had manifested his idea.

The vital energy of the sacrificial coins came from Ji Yuan, making it naturally very pure. The spiritual energy also came from Ji Yuan and had been transformed through the Five Elements Qi in his body, resulting in a formless and incomparably pure essence.

This allowed anyone who obtained the spiritual coins to use them smoothly, making it an excellent aid for anything they wished to accomplish. Even if someone already possessed supernatural abilities or techniques, using this spiritual money was roughly equivalent to having one half of Ji Yuan assisting them when performing a technique.

Moreover, if one had both spiritual coins and a divine talisman, the effect would be even more extraordinary. Depending on the vital energy and spiritual power contained in the magic coins, the surrounding spiritual environment, and the intensity of the talisman’s imbued divine power, in the best case scenario it might be almost equivalent to Ji Yuan performing the supernatural technique himself.

Ji Yuan thought about it for a moment and realized that, in a way, this was quite a terrifying prospect. He didn’t underestimate others’ capabilities, and he also understood himself very well.

To put it another way, even if one didn’t possess any spiritual energy or supernatural powers, but was merely a ghost or even a mortal, just knowing how to use elemental control techniques could still produce miraculous effects. For example, Ji Yuan just now had done it simply and directly, conjuring a gust of wind with nothing but a thought.

If there had been a candle in front of him, that action be transforming it into a raging fire. Of course, this was not a fire control technique; it was more like a much more powerful version of wind fanning the flames. Even after someone used the spiritual money, they wouldn’t be able to control the fire, and would be burned to death if they stood near it.

“In that case, I’ll have to be very careful about how many coins to give Dong Bicheng…”

Ji Yuan muttered to himself. It wasn’t that he was stingy, but rather that, while the coins he had on hand weren’t perfect, if used well, they might cause some trouble in the the underworld Ghost City. Although there would be underworld gods and underworld officials around to prevent any major chaos, the ghost messengers might not be able to control it after a while. If Dong Bicheng’s ghostly conduct were questionable, it would be like handing weapons to a prisoner.

As he put away the spiritual money, Ji Yuan took out a pasty and took a bite. With a thought, he calculated a divination on his fingers and realized that Lu Shan Jun seemed to be preparing to make a move.

Inside a private room on the third floor of the Lifu Grand Restaurant in the city, a large table for eight was being set up. Upon it lay a variety of dishes, from chicken, duck, and fish, to wild game and shark fin, braised, poached, steamed and boiled. The table was filled with exquisite and tempting dishes, each one a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate.

Lu Shan Jun sat alone in the private room, chopsticks and a plate in hand, eating in a seemingly refined manner, but actually picking up large chunks of food and taking large mouthfuls of meat. He occasionally raised his wine glass to take a sip.

“Tsk tsk tsk, aah~”

Swallowing the food in his mouth, Lu Shan Jun downed the glass of wine in a single gulp, savoring the taste while smacking his lips and making appreciative sounds.

“Back in the mountains, I never knew there could be such delicious food. Even vegetarian dishes can turn out so delicious. No wonder you care so much about maintaining order in this world. With food like this, how could the world be in chaos?”

Lan Ningke quickly picked up the wine pot and poured Lu Shanjun a full glass, echoing his sentiments.

“What Lord Lu says is absolutely right! The world must not be in chaos, it must not be in chaos!”

“You are absolutely right, sir!”

“Yes, yes, yes, you are absolutely right, sir!”

Lan Ningke dared not utter a single objection, nodding repeatedly in agreement, while occasionally taking a careful breath of the food’s aroma to savor the dishes that, for him, were once merely a casual feast, but had now become a luxury.

Although Lu Shan Jun told Lan Ningke to eat as much as he wanted, the latter didn’t dare to really eat freely, since Lu Shan Jun was still enjoying his meal.

Before long, all the dishes on the table were gone. Lu Shan Jun picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, while Lan Ningke, quite tactfully, immediately left the private room and went downstairs.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs on the first floor of the Lifu Grand Restaurant, Lan Ningke called out to the manager.

“Have someone clean the upper room, and bring another table of the exact same dishes.”

“Yes, yes, of course! Oh, by the way, sir, would you like to add a few of our signature dishes?”

Lan Ningke nodded.

“Add more, add whatever good stuff you have, don’t worry about the price!”

“Very well!”

The shopkeeper nodded hurriedly, but after Lan Ningke went upstairs again, he secretly tsked, clicking his tongue in amazement. The waiters next to him also looked at each other in bewilderment.

“How many times has this happened?”

“This is the third time!”

“I’ve seen people who can eat a lot, but I’ve never seen anyone who can eat like this.”

“Won’t that man’s stomach burst from overeating?”

“Who knows…”

“What are you talking about? Hurry up and get things ready so the kitchen can prepare the dishes.”

At the shopkeeper’s command, the people nearby immediately sprang into action. The main reason for their alacrity was the large ingot of silver on the counter; there was no worry that the other party would dine and dash.

Upstairs in the private room, when the third table of dishes was served, Lu Shan Jun only ate a little bit before telling Lan Ningke to eat the rest of it.

Lan Ningke felt extremely grateful, and he stopped restraining himself and started eating. Although it looked like he was eating with chopsticks, he didn’t eat a large portion of the food. He mainly ate his fill of the Qi, and also drank the alcohol.

Now he feel so comfortable and at ease. Only after becoming a changgui who lost his freedom and spent most of his time in darkness did he realize how precious the decadent life he once had was.

Lu Shan Jun sat to the side watching the ghost of Lan Ningke eat with such a happy expression. He only smiled and spoke when the ghost had almost finished.

“Lan Ningke, I need to go somewhere, but I can’t enter directly. I need your assistance, and it will require a small sacrifice from you.”

Lan Ningke froze, feeling a chill creep over him, even though he was already dead.

“Wh-where?”

He had no power to refuse, so he only dared to ask where they were going.

Lu Shan Jun’s smile widened. Come to think of it, it was the matter of Monk Jueming that gave him inspiration. He didn’t necessarily need his complete body to go to the Ghost City in the underworld; his monstrous soul could go as well.

However, even with Lu Shan Jun’s arrogance, a monster’s soul venturing into the Underworld was tantamount to suicide. Therefore, he needed someone to draw the fire, or a method of substitution.

“Hey, no need to be nervous. We’re just going to a place where ghosts are supposed to go: the Underworld of Laoyang Prefecture.”

Lan Ningke shuddered, his face extremely grim. He now understood a little about these kinds of matters. How could a wicked ghost like him possibly fare well in the underworld?

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. You’re not from Laoyang Prefecture, so they won’t know much about you. Of course, you have a lot of bad karma, and that’s hard to erase, so you’re bound to be perceived as a vengeful spirit, and you’ll be subjected to extreme punishment. Just endure it, and after you’ve suffered the tortures of the underworld, they’ll release you to the Ghost City!”

Lu Shan Jun’s plan was simple: his monster soul would leave his body and use his supernatural powers to hide inside his changgui spirit. He would then have Lan Ningke pretend to “accidentally” be discovered and captured by the underworld officials, and then sent to the underworld to be tortured before being released into the Ghost City. This would complete his infiltration.

After careful consideration, this plan was extremely feasible. After all, Lu Shan Jun was very aware of the characteristics of the relationship between the changgui and himself, and he also knew that he was no ordinary tiger spirit; his supernatural abilities ere quite mysterious.

Lan Ningke was now somewhat terrified.

“Yes, I am naturally willing to help Lord Lu, but, but what if I can’t endure the torture and my soul is scattered to the winds…”

“Don’t worry, with me there, I’ll use Yin energy to help you. You won’t die! If you die, I’ll be exposed too. I’m not so stupid as to be exposed in front of the City God in the sacred halls of the underworld! Come, let me explain the plan in detail!”

Lu Shanjun leaned close to Lan Ningke and whispered a long string of words in his ear.

“Don’t blame me. You deserve to be punished. Even Monk Jueming knew he was going to the underworld, and he didn’t have me to protect him. So what’s wrong with you going? After saying all this, do you understand what to do?”

Lu Shan Jun was naturally aware of his accomplice’s resentment, but this time he did not call him out on it.

“I understand, I understand…”

Lan Ningke’s complexion was ashen, but he was completely powerless to resist, and could only give a weak agreement.

At this moment, on the street outside the Lifu Grand Restaurant, Ji Yuan smelled the aroma of the dishes on the third floor, looked at the pastry in his hand, shook his head helplessly, and smiled.

T/n: LSJ: you can eat…

LNK: *oblivious* YAY GOOD FOOD–

LSJ: …it very well may be your last meal 🙂

LNK: … QAQ

1 tael in weight is ~50g