The instant the surrounding city changed from illusory to reality, Ji Yuan immediately withdrew his Transformation of Heaven and Earth technique, and his inner world dissipated in that same moment, a process faster than the blink of an eye.

To Yan Fei, the scene he had just witnessed was merely miraculous, but to Niu Batian, it was beyond shocking.

Even if it was only for a moment, the impression of changing the world from day to night, of a world transformed, was simply too powerful.

The Old Bull suddenly recalled a memory of that night outside Nandao County: the moment the stinky woman recognized Mr. Ji, her demonic aura was in disarray, and she didn’t even dare to move.

Now, Niu Batian could somewhat empathize and understand her reaction. That stinky woman undoubtedly understood Mr. Ji’s abilities far better than he himself did. After realizing who he was, she was practically paralyzed with fear.

The Old Bull’s thoughts were fleeting. Despite the intensity, he also knew that it was not appropriate to question Mr. Ji directly.

The trio’s attention then turned to the surrounding city sights.

It was a gloomy daytime light. They currently stood in a place similar to a backyard stable. From the architecture to the surrounding sights, it was identical to an ordinary city, aside from the fact that the carriage had not come with them when they entered the city.

“It’s incredible! Aside from the strong Yin Qi, everything else is indistinguishable from a real city!”

Niu Batian praised. Yan Fei was naturally speechless, but Ji Yuan thought for a moment, then said:

“To a certain extent, this is indeed a real city. Let’s go find our people first. It shouldn’t be too hard to find living people in a city of the dead, if nothing happened to them.”

As Ji Yuan spoke, he opened his supernatural eyes wide, and channeled his spiritual energy to assist his vision, observing the ebb and flow of the vast Yin energy in the city.

As they exited the backyard and walked out into the street, they could already hear the sounds of a bustling city. Before them lay a sparsely populated street. In Ji Yuan’s vision, he could make out individuals’ real appearances and causes of death, while Yan Fei saw them as ordinary people.

Even without Niu Batian’s help, Yan Fei could clearly see the people and objects in this city. This was because the Yang fire of his body was suppressed by the yin energy in the city, making him temporarily partly Yin.

“Mr. Ji…they won’t notice our differences, will they?”

Yan Fei asked cautiously. Ji Yuan answered calmly.

“Warrior Yan, please don’t worry. I have applied a technique on you. Ordinary ghosts won’t be able to see through it.”

Yan Fei nodded, but still tightened his grip on his sword. After all, no matter how brave he was, knowing that all the people he saw in front of him were ghosts, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

Ji Yuan glanced at Yan Fei’s sword, and spoke again.

“The sword you wield has takne countless lives. It holds within it a hidden ruthlessness, a sharp, life-reaping blade. Even a ghost would be injured if struck by it. Warrior Yan, you should be familiar with the story of the swordsman Du Yutian slaying ghosts while drunk, no?”1

Yan Fei’s eyes immediately lit up at Ji Yuan’s words. His greatest fear was for his swordsmanship to be completely ineffective against ghosts, tantamount to fighting an unbeatable foe. Since Mr. Ji claimed that he could harm ghosts, his spirits naturally lifted.

Niu Batian glanced at the passersby, and then into the distance. Even during the day, the place was still festooned with lanterns. There were vibrant lights and decorations everywhere.

“It looks like it should be very lively here…”

“It’s daytime at the moment!”

With Ji Yuan’s words, Niu Batian suddenly understood.

. . .

In an inn in the city, four people were struggling to get out of bed. They were two men and two women, but since the inn was short of space, they had only booked two separate rooms.

One of the men struggled out of bed, rubbing his forehead as he glanced as his friend sleeping on the other side, who also appeared to be listless.

They had slept so badly this past night that their back ached. They woke up feeling groggy and dizzy, and it took them a while to recover.

“Phew… What a lousy inn! I slept so poorly, we might as well have slept in the carriage in the wilderness.”

“I thought I was the only one who didn’t sleep well, but you feel the same?”

“Let’s go, let’s get up and find a good restaurant to eat at. We’ve been on the road in teh wilderness for a long time, and I’ve been craving a good meal.”

After getting dressed, the two men walked to the door of their female traveling companions’ room, and knocked on the door.

“Knock, knock, knock…”

“Third Sister, Fourth Sister, are you up yet? It’s time to eat!”

“Knock, knock, knock…”

“We’re going to eat, let’s go get a good meal. We need to find some good horses later.”

After they had suddenly discovered a city last night, this group, which had been traveling through the wilderness for quite some time, were overjoyed, and hurriedly steered the carriage over to see if they could enter. To their surprise, this city’s gates were actually open at night.

Moreover, after entering the city, they found that it was very lively and bustling with activity, with a dense crowd, making it difficult for the carriage and horses to maneuver. The horses, however, seemed to be frightened upon entering the city, lurching and jerking, making it impossible for them to navigate the streets.

Thus, the group left their carriage and horses at a stable near the city gate. Unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived and untied the reins, the normally docile horses suddenly bolted like mad, bursting out of the stables, unable to be stopped.

This incident could be considered nothing less than an unforeseen disaster. The startled horses disappeared without a trace, costing them their purchase, but they fortunately didn’t hit anyone. The group could only conclude that they were unlucky. Exhausted, they found an inn in the city to rest.

Naturally, they would have to buy new horses today, as their chances of finding the frightened horses were slim.

The two men waited outside for a long time before the women finally emerged and greeted them.

“Good morning, Second Brother. Good morning, Young Master Zhou.”

“Good morning, ladies!”

Zhou Xing immediately returned the greeting.

“Oh, you’re dragging on! Stop the formalities, let’s go find a nice restaurant.”

Ke Yudong, the man outside, urged repeatedly. He led the three of them out of the inn. As they went downstairs, the innkeeper was still flipping through the account book. Seeing them come down, he smiled and asked:

“Gentlemen, did you sleep well last night?”

“What shitty nonsense, it was horrible!”

The innkeeper didn’t take it seriously, but instead offered a kind reminder.

“At first, I was surprised when you said that you would sleep overnight. What kind of sleep could you even get? No wonder you didn’t sleep well!”

His words left the four people currently walking down the stairs somewhat baffled.

“You don’t sleep at night, but sleep during the day? That’s very strange, innkeeper!”

“If course I do, but there are plenty who don’t. Guests, what are you doing…”

The innkeeper looked the four of them over, but they didn’t bother to pay him any more attention, and simply walked out of the inn together.

Outside, the overcast weather made the scenery gloomy and unpleasant. Glancing around outside, they saw that the streets were practically deserted.

“How strange! There were so many people last night, how come there aren’t that many during the day? Could it be that people here really sleep during the day?”

Zhou Xing couldn’t help but wonder.

“Maybe it was some kind of folk festival last night, and everyone stayed out late, so they all slept in today?”

One of the women suggested.

“Perhaps. Let’s go, let’s find a restaurant to eat at!”

The four of them didn’t bother much with anything more. Without further ado, they set out to search the city. Before long, they found a place called Tengyuan Restaurant.2

It looked decent, but there weren’t many diners inside, and not even a handful of waiters. However, this meant that the kitchen could prioritize cooking for them, so the four of them didn’t mind.

However, after the food was served and they tried a bite, Ke Yundong couldn’t help but grow angry.

The six dishes came out quickly, as if they had been brought directly from the kitchen. They tasted the dishes immediately after their names were announced, but they found every single dish hard to swallow.

With a bang, Ke Yundong slammed his chopsticks on the table.

“Shopkeeper, what are you doing? Are these dishes even edible? This wine is bland as water, these dishes are full of strange smells, and it is almost like this food has gone bad. Do you lack money, or ingredients? You have the nerve to keep your shop open and do business after serving these kinds of things? No wonder no one comes to your door!”

Seeing the guests growing angry, the diners at a few of the other tables glanced over to this side. The shopkeeper and the waiter hurried over, but merely frowned at some of the language the guests used, without thinking too deeply about it.

Hey, sir, calm down, calm down. This dish is indeed quite different from what ordinary people would cook, but we don’t have anyone here to pay us tribute. The really good chefs would all be with the nobles in the city. You will just have to make do with this. In fact, the taste is not bad!”

The shopkeeper smiled widely, bowed, and apologized.

Ke Yundong was irritated. What was this nonsense the shopkeeper was saying?

“Pay tribute? Do you think your small restaurant is an imperial city, or the grave of some newly deceased? Someone would pay you tribute? Are you kidding me?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the shopkeeper’s smile slowly disappeared. The diners around them who were originally ignoring this table all turned their heads in unison. All the “people” in the building, including the waiter, stared at the four people at the table. The look in their eyes gave Ke Yundong and the others chills.

“What is this, what? Are you some kind of shady shop? In broad daylight, you’re still trying to bully customers? Be careful, I will report you to the police! Brother Zhou, Fourth Sister!”

“Don’t worry, I’m here!”

Zhou Xing clenched his fists, frowning as he stared around. Ke Yunqin, the fourth daughter of the Ke family, also tensed. The two of them were both martial artists, and in situations like this, everyone relied on them.

The shopkeeper said nothing, but instead walked over to the table, picked up Ke Yundong’s chopsticks, and brought them to his nose, sniffing them. A half-smiling, almost sinister expression appeared on his face.

“Hehehehe… Hey, hey… they are living people!”

“Living people!?”

“They’re alive?”

“How did the living get in?”

“From their words just now, that does seem to be the case!”

“Hehehehe, living people…” Google seaʀᴄh NoveIꜰire.net

“It’s been a while…”

The comments from the surrounding diners were chilling. Many of the diners had stood up.

“Really, how funny… Are you really going to joke about you all being dead?”

Ke Yundong stammered, but as soon as he finished speaking, the four of them paled.

They watched the shopkeeper lick his lips with a foot-long tongue and laugh.

“Sir, it is you who must be joking. We truly are all dead…”

“Hehehehe…”

“Hahahahaha…”

“The yang energy of a living person!”

“The blood of the living is wonderful!”

“And the heart and liver!”

“I want a taste too!”

These diners, who would come to this restaurant to eat during the day, could be considered “foodies.” Now, their faces had turned horrifying. Some had cracked mouths, others had unnaturally long tongues, some had withered faces, and others had long, black nails.

“What is all this killing intent over here? Do you dare to disobey the law of this city?”

A man in black robe had just walked into the restaurant when he saw this scene, and immediately gave an angry roar.

The shopkeeper hurriedly approached and whispered an explanation, pointing to the four pale-faced people at the table. The more the black-robed man listened, the more his eyes gleamed.

“They are actually alive? Perfect! Since they have stumbled into the city, they cannot blame us. I will take these four people away. They will be perfect as the main course for the City Lord at tonight’s banquet!”

“Run!”

Bang!

Zhou Xing roared and immediately overturned the table.

But in the very next moment, the black-robed man transformed into a dark shadow and wrapped around Zhou Xing, instantly making him feel as though he had fallen into an icy cave. One of the long-nailed hands had already pinched his neck, rendering him unable to move, while the other hand stretched out several feet and also pinched Ke Yunqin’s neck.

“Hahahahahahaha… Wonderful, wonderful! This body temperature, this breath, they are indeed alive, and two are martial artists at that! Hahahahahaha…”

The black-robed man opened his mouth wide, revealing his teeth and pale cheekbones.

Ke Yundong and Ke Yunxin were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground. They couldn’t even walk, let alone try to resist.

1. This does not appear to be a folktale or story from our world, I couldn’t find any references.

2. 腾 (téng): to soar/to hover/to vacate, 远 (yuǎn): far/distant/remote OR 远 (yuàn): to distance oneself from – “Flying Far Away Restaurant,” suitable name for a city of the dead