Chapter 39: Thunderstruck

Chen Shi flushed crimson at the red-clad woman’s teasing. He stammered, struggling to respond, but Xiao Wangsun coughed lightly, interrupting him.

“Be mindful before answering,” Xiao Wangsun reminded. “This is Wu Wang City. A careless lie will cost you your tongue.”

The warning sent a chill down Chen Shi’s spine. He cast a wary glance at the woman, silently labeling her as a danger.

“If I had pretended indifference and denied her question, I’d have lost my tongue for sure. No dishonesty is tolerated here,” he thought.

Xiao Wangsun addressed the woman with a faintly annoyed tone. “Jin Hongying, must you trouble the younger generation?”

Jin Hongying smirked and leaned provocatively on the tea table, her elbows pressing into it, causing her chest to rise. “Xiao Wangsun, you’re bold to snatch from the Divine Mechanism Battalion. Hand it over, and I’ll consider forgiving your audacity.”

Chen Shi’s ears perked up at the mention of the Divine Mechanism Battalion.

He’d heard of it before—renowned for its elite soldiers who served directly under the emperor. A villager from Yandang once joined their ranks after passing the imperial exams, a feat that brought so many matchmakers to his door that they wore down the threshold.

The Divine Mechanism Battalion was synonymous with wealth, prestige, and immense skill.

Xiao Wangsun appeared unmoved by Jin Hongying’s charms. “I took it, so it’s mine now. Do you expect me to return it?”

Jin Hongying traced circles on the table with a fingertip, smiling faintly. “This meeting isn’t a negotiation? What else would we discuss? I’ll give you two options. First, return it willingly, and the Battalion will let bygones be bygones. Second, we’ll kill you, loot your corpse, and take it back ourselves.”

Her eyes glinted dangerously. “I hear you haven’t fully recovered from your last injury. If we clash again, it won’t end with you merely wounded. We might even send you off for good.”

Chen Shi’s heart skipped a beat.

“Injured? Xiao Wangsun was hurt? But why would someone of his strength need to recuperate in a place like the Yin Burial Grounds?”

He thought back to their first meeting when Xiao Wangsun had seemed perfectly composed while visiting a sinister mountain estate.

“Grandfather sent me there too... Why would he send me to a place meant for corpses to recover?”

Xiao Wangsun’s expression didn’t change. “My injuries are healed.”

Jin Hongying’s confidence faltered slightly. She leaned back, her chest trembling as she laughed lightly. “Then there’s nothing more to discuss?”

Xiao Wangsun nodded.

Jin Hongying’s gaze sharpened, but her voice remained teasing. “I’ve heard tales of your extraordinary talents, Xiao Wangsun. It’s a pity I was born too late to see them. Perhaps tonight, I’ll get the chance. If you survive, I may reconsider my grudge.”

She rose gracefully, casting Chen Shi a coquettish look. “Little brother, don’t follow him. It’s a death sentence.”

With that, she swayed her hips and strode out.

As she vanished from sight, Xiao Wangsun asked, “Did you enjoy the view?”

Chen Shi hesitated, then quickly shut his mouth. “Xiao Wangsun is just as dangerous—he nearly tricked me into lying!”

Xiao Wangsun drained his tea and stood. “Stay here. I’ll return shortly. If I don’t come back before sunrise, leave Wu Wang City immediately. Do not linger.”

Chen Shi asked anxiously, “What if I don’t leave in time?”

“You’ll vanish along with the city,” Xiao Wangsun said as he descended the stairs. His voice echoed back, “None who disappeared with the city have ever been seen again. Whether they live or die, no one knows.”

A shiver ran down Chen Shi’s spine.

He watched Xiao Wangsun leave the city on foot, disappearing into the moonlit wilderness. Left alone, Chen Shi sipped his tea and nibbled on dried fruits, his thoughts swirling.

After some time, he chuckled softly.

“What’s so funny?” a voice asked from nearby.

“My night’s been absurd,” Chen Shi replied, amused. “I killed someone on the post road, nearly died from an illness, escaped from malevolent spirits, ran into Xiao Wangsun, and now I’m in this strange ghost city, drinking tea and waiting for a battle between him and the Divine Mechanism Battalion. It’s ridiculous!”

As he spoke, realization struck. Xiao Wangsun wasn’t there—so who was speaking to him?

Chen Shi turned sharply, only to find the four-armed waiter replaced by a massive toad-headed creature. Its bulbous head, streaked with green and white, was comically oversized compared to its thin legs. It held an equally oversized teapot, from which steam rose lazily.

But the voice didn’t belong to the toad.

“Why laugh?” the voice repeated.

Chen Shi looked closer and realized the words came from the teapot. Its lid moved like a mouth, revealing two tiny eyes underneath.

The toad whispered, “Don’t answer it. That cursed pot’s gotten several customers’ tongues ripped out today.”

Alarmed, Chen Shi pressed his lips tightly shut.

The teapot posed several more questions, but when Chen Shi refused to respond, it lost interest and moved to another table.

A piercing scream followed as another guest lost their tongue.

Chen Shi clenched his fists, determined to remain silent. He now understood that Wu Wang City was another Domain of Ghosts and Gods, one where lies invited disaster.

Suddenly, lightning flashed outside, illuminating the sky and striking the peak of a distant mountain. Thunder boomed as fiery explosions lit the night.

Chen Shi rushed to the window and saw bolts of lightning streaking upward from the ground, arching through the air like crimson ribbons before slamming into the mountain.

Each strike was accompanied by a fiery blast, and the mountain’s silhouette burned against the night sky.

On the summit stood a lone figure, barely visible against the chaos. A faint, razor-thin glimmer spun rapidly around them, moving so fast that even from this distance, it blurred beyond recognition.

“What is that?” Chen Shi whispered, awestruck.

The glimmer intercepted the lightning bolts, causing them to explode in midair. Yet as the barrage intensified, some strikes broke through, slamming into the mountain and shaking the earth.

The spectacle lasted over an hour. The once-proud peak was reduced to a smoldering ruin, its glow visible for miles.

As dawn approached, shouts echoed through the city: “It’s almost morning! Leave now!”

The streets filled with a chaotic exodus of humans, ghosts, and monsters. Amid the frenzy, the four-armed waiter appeared, guiding Chen Shi to Xiao Wangsun’s carriage.

Chen Shi climbed aboard as the driver cracked his whip. The horses surged forward, their hooves generating wind that carried the carriage above the panicked crowd.

Once outside the city, the carriage descended, speeding along the road toward the devastated mountain.

The sulfurous scent of gunpowder filled the air as Chen Shi spotted several shattered Red Barbarian Cannons, their barrels sliced cleanly as if by an impossibly sharp blade. Nearby, piles of massive, rune-inscribed cannonballs lay abandoned.

“Those cannons…” Chen Shi thought, eyes wide. “That wasn’t natural lightning—it was an artillery assault! The Divine Mechanism Battalion tried to bring down Xiao Wangsun with their enchanted weapons!”