Chapter 39: Mr. Liu!

The Righteous Path Alliance truly lives up to its reputation as an official institution.

Three hours later, everyone who had been identified was brought before Chu Tian and Wang Dali. At this moment, the alarm devices on these individuals no longer detected any trace of ghost energy. In fact, if Wang Dali and his team hadn't discovered the anomalies earlier, no one would have suspected that these people had been surreptitiously replaced by ghost foxes.

Only Chu Tian, who had attained the status of a Ghost Official, could clearly see that the bodies and souls of these individuals did not match. It appeared that this "cuckoo in the nest" situation was likely voluntary on the part of the original owners. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for these spirits to possess their bodies so easily, even absorbing their memories and daily habits with such gradual precision.

"This is truly fascinating," Chu Tian remarked, looking through the one-way mirror at the restless crowd outside. Among them were urban office workers, corporate elites, disheveled drifters, and college students with clear, innocent eyes. Under the watchful eye of the Righteous Path Alliance, they managed to remain somewhat composed.

"Brother Wang, that man in the suit and tie over there," Chu Tian said, pointing to a man in his thirties. "Bring him in."

"Did you notice something, brother?" Wang Dali asked.

"Yes." Chu Tian nodded. Through his Ghost Official eyes, these souls had nowhere to hide. Among the three hundred or so people, only this man’s soul carried a sense of vastness and detachment—the aura of righteous integrity cultivated by a scholar. If anyone here was the mysterious "Mr. Liu," he was the most likely candidate.

"Understood." Wang Dali signaled for the man to be brought in.

"I wonder what you need me for?" the man asked with remarkable composure upon entering. He walked straight to an empty chair, sat down, and even took off his glasses to clean them before putting them back on. "You’ve brought us here without any explanation. Are you an official agency? If this is important, feel free to speak plainly. Of course, if it’s going to take a long time, may I make a phone call? I need to ask for leave from the university; I have a class this afternoon."

"It sounds like you're a teacher?" Chu Tian observed the man. He was in his thirties, in the prime of his life, well-groomed, and dressed in a perfectly tailored, immaculate suit.

"Yes, I am a lecturer in the Department of Chinese Literature at Shangshi University," the man replied. "My name is Yan Ming. Here is my business card." He produced a card from his pocket and handed it to Chu Tian.

This natural performance made even Wang Dali doubt whether this person had truly been possessed.

"That’s enough. I only called you in from that crowd because I believe you are a smart man," Chu Tian said, staring at him. "Don't you agree, Mr. Liu?"

Chu Tian’s words caused the man’s movements to falter. After a moment of thought, he placed the business card on the table and sat back down with a smile. "It seems someone among us has already spilled the beans."

"We learned a few things, though not much—just enough to know you existed," Chu Tian replied.

The man chuckled. "What is it you wish to know?"

"You don't seem afraid of being exposed," Chu Tian noted.

"It has been eight hours and twelve minutes since I took over this man's body," Mr. Liu said calmly. "That is enough time for me to absorb his lingering memories and gain an understanding of this new world. Although it has been over a millennium since my own era, I presume you are the practitioners of this age."

"You can remain this calm even after guessing our identity?" Wang Dali asked from beside Chu Tian.

"Because there is nothing you can do to me," Mr. Liu stated. Wang Dali grew indignant and was about to intervene, but Chu Tian pressed a hand on his arm and signaled him to hold back.

"Could you explain in detail?" Chu Tian asked.

"Do you know where we escaped from?" Mr. Liu asked in return.

"The others mentioned it was... a Ghost Domain," Chu Tian said.

"Correct, a 'Peach Blossom Ghost Domain,'" Mr. Liu said, a touch of nostalgia in his voice. "It is truly a place that makes one sink into deep indulgence."

Seeing the man’s expression, Chu Tian gestured for him to continue.

"The master of the Ghost Domain is a Ghost King," Mr. Liu continued. "No one knows her true strength. She is the Matriarch of the Peach Blossom Ghost Domain, and she likes us to call her 'Grand Ancestor.' Though her power is mysterious, I calculated the time: she was already a Ghost King when I first entered the domain, and that was at least seventeen hundred years ago."

"A Ghost King that has existed for seventeen hundred years? Can she still be considered a mere Ghost King?" Wang Dali exclaimed, standing up from his chair.

"Who knows?" Mr. Liu shrugged. "The Grand Ancestor created the Peach Blossom Ghost Domain to house spirits like us. She let us live as if we were alive—working at sunrise, resting at sunset, far away from war and strife. Year after year, we lived without concern for the world, lost in a drunken stupor."

"We married, had children, and everything was arranged for us by the Grand Ancestor. We only needed to live honestly and do what we enjoyed," Mr. Liu added.

"That sounds like a good life," Wang Dali remarked. "Why would you want to leave?"

"That is exactly what Yan Ming, the man who agreed to trade bodies with me, said," Mr. Liu replied with a smile. "And so, he took my place inside."

"Stop with that smirk," Wang Dali snapped, slamming his hand on the table.

"Brother Wang, stay calm and listen," Chu Tian said. "I am curious, too—why did you want to come out?"

"Because our souls are nearly exhausted," Mr. Liu said softly. "Every few hundred years, the Peach Blossom Ghost Domain opens to release a batch of spirits and take in a new one. The Grand Ancestor does not allow us to cultivate, fearing that if we gained power, we might resist her and shatter the peace she created. Without cultivation, even with the Ghost Domain’s support, how long can a soul last? Some souls can endure for centuries, and scholars like me, bolstered by our righteous energy, last a bit longer. But eventually, we dissipate. When we dissipate, the population of the domain drops, necessitating fresh replacements. The Grand Ancestor lets us out so we can find people to take our place. They fill our spots, and we... we borrow a corpse to return to life. It is merely an equivalent exchange. Unless they are willing to return, killing me is no different than killing this body, is it?"

Mr. Liu spoke with measured, deliberate calm, his words dripping with indifference.