Chapter 230 - 230 228 Possessed by a Ghost

Words : 1523 Updated : Oct 3rd, 2025

230: Chapter 228: Possessed by a Ghost 230: Chapter 228: Possessed by a Ghost Above the Tianyao Continent, years of famine were not uncommon, so the Mortal World was always adrift with bands of Starving Ghosts who couldn’t be reborn or move on to the next life. When the resentment of hunger accumulated to a certain extent, these Starving Ghosts would bring chaos to the Mortal World, starting to devour humans. These particular types of Starving Ghosts, having suffered too much in life and died a horrible death, with deep-seated grudges, could not even be saved by some locally acclaimed highly-cultivated monks. Therefore, in the Central Netherworld, every year chefs of the departed were sent out, wielding their ladles in the Mortal World, preparing all kinds of delicious foods to help the dead spirits pass on. While everyone feared the name of the Heroic Spirits of the Central Netherworld, no one took much notice that, year after year, the chefs of the departed truly spared the kingdoms far and wide from many ghostly calamities. A calamity with man-eating ghosts. Difficult to resolve by chanting scriptures. Sometimes, a bowl of hot soup could bring peace to the dead spirits and tranquility to the Mortal World. Thinking of this, Fang Geyu couldn’t help but take another look at the old woman. But under that stove, a dim little withered shadow was sitting quietly amidst the firewood, eating a bowl of hot soup noodles without making a sound. The elderly woman stood under the candlelight, peeling garlic. The shadow in the darkness ate the noodles. Beside the candlestick stood two sticks of incense, one long and one short, as if dividing the world of the living from that of the dead. There was a subtle warmth. It was then that she finally understood why this small Bashu noodle shop, with so few customers, was still diligently managed by this old woman who had aged considerably. Up at dawn, hard at work every day. She said that her old man would always be in Xianling City, so she might as well stay here and keep him company. She didn’t want to move because she couldn’t bear leaving him behind — he was old and had poor eyesight, and if she moved, he would never be able to find his way back home. The chefs of the departed are those who provide life through food, taking charge of the meals of those who have passed. Each scoop delineates the line between life and death. For some reason, watching Baili An quietly eating the hot spicy soup noodles, the usually cold and fearless Fang Geyu felt an unexpected surge of tender sorrow piercing her heart. She tapped Baili An’s head with her chopsticks, speaking in a half-hearted tone, “Did I say I don’t eat noodles?” She pulled the bowl of noodles closer, picked up a strand twined with greens, and slurped a mouthful. It was so spicy that her eyes turned red and she could not hold back her tears. She snorted twice, refusing to admit defeat and said, “The food of Bashu is no big deal.” Baili An coughed gently, his lips slightly reddened by the heat. He wiped away the tears from her eyes for her and stooped. Tugging at his collar, he revealed several bottles of sweet bean milk hidden inside, laughing as he said, “I still have quite a few bottles of sweet bean milk, all for you to drink.” For some reason, Fang Geyu found it exceedingly funny to see him crouching down like he was offering treasure. Despite it not being anything precious. Seven copper coins a bottle of sweet bean milk, she didn’t really fancy it that much. Despite her inward scorn, Fang Geyu did not hesitate to take all the bottles of sweet bean milk out, neatly lining them up on the table, while her two little boots playfully tapped against each other under the table. Judging by the look of things, these sweet milks were meant for the young girl in the courtyard, but now he had taken them all out for her. She was about to throw some sharp everyday teasing remarks when Fang Geyu raised her head and saw her own reflection, her eyes and brows curved like the moon, in the clean, pure black eyes of Baili An. Smiling like a cat that stole a fish. The hell! Who was this?! How did she end up wearing Fang Geyu’s face, and smiling in such a… annoying way! Stunned for a long time, Fang Geyu felt that this noodle shop that kept ghosts was just too terrifying, could it be that she was possessed by something dirty? Hastily trembling, she took out a silver-grey pendant mirror from her Qiankun Bag and looked at herself in it — her eyes were black, not red. This meant she wasn’t possessed by any ghosts. The one who just laughed, it really was her. Fang Geyu found it unimaginable. She was the young mistress of Shifang City, the richest woman in the whole world, and here she was, so simply… delighted by a few bottles of sweet milk. Since when did she become so poor and easily pleased by such simple things? “Eat your food, don’t look in the mirror, the food will get cold with this cold weather,” Baili An reminded her. Fang Geyu put away the mirror, and the bowl of steaming soup with floating red oil was clear now, as Baili An had drunk the soup with a spoon; the broth turned a bright yellow and didn’t seem as spicy as before. She also scooped a spoonful, sipped it slowly, and asked, “What do you want to tell me in detail?” As she spoke, Fang Geyu pushed a fried egg from the small dish toward Baili An’s direction, “I don’t like this, you eat it for me.” Baili An’s lips curved into a smile as he took a bite of the fried egg without refusing, savoring the taste. “Fang Geyu, has the selection of the City Lord for Xianling City ever been announced three months in advance before?” he asked. Fang Geyu soaked a piece of deep-fried dough in the hot soup and put it into her mouth; it was spicy and crispy. She exhaled a couple of times to cool the hot vapors and replied, “Xianling City rarely changes its City Lord. As you know, those on the path of cultivation often have very long lives. The last City Lord lived for nine hundred and thirty-one years, and he was buried ten years ago. “Now that it’s time for the selection again, with the Empress’s Seal Keeper overseeing the Immortal City, it’s not urgent to select a new City Lord. As for whether there was an announcement made three months in advance for the grand trial five hundred years ago, I suppose no one really cared about that. What about it?” Baili An spoke in a low voice, “I suspect the grand trial of Xianling City, which is said to officially begin in three months, is not as it seems. Invitations were sent out well in advance, the Immortal City is already overcrowded with candidates, and I’m afraid the test of the trial has already quietly begun the moment each person entered the city.” Fang Geyu was initially surprised and wanted to ask more, but as she pondered deeply, she slowly furrowed her brows and said gravely, “That really does seem like the Empress’s style, twistedly amusing.” Baili An said, “I think this three months is just the first round of tests. As for how to successfully get through this round, there are too few clues to know for now.” Fang Geyu laughed, “All I know is, doing nothing and burying one’s head in the house for solitary cultivation, this first round of the test would probably be equivalent to handing in a blank paper.” Baili An nodded and replied, “That’s why it’s good to walk around the city when you have time; you might find some unexpected gains.” Fang Geyu clicked her tongue in annoyance, “What kind of status do I, Miss Fang, have? It’s unbefitting for someone like me to wander around the city aimlessly like a country bumpkin.” Baili An was busy dealing with the pan-fried eggs and beef in the bowl. He quite enjoyed the old woman’s cooking skills, but more importantly, he could taste the flavor of the Mortal World’s food, which was very touching. After hearing what Fang Geyu said, without thinking much, he casually responded, “What’s the problem with that? Miss Fang is certainly not a country bumpkin, but the corpse demon who just came out of the mountains can struggle to play the part of a bumpkin for a while. Please, Miss, would you kindly take pity on me and show me around to see the world?” Fang Geyu burst into laughter, unable to resist kicking his leg under the table, “You’re managing to struggle, picking up Miss Fang’s tone and manner of speaking.”

Chapter 230 - 230 228 Possessed by a Ghost

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