Chapter 2699: The Love-Hate Rules of the Mad City Lord 22

Yin Chaosheng couldn't reach him in person, his temper flared, and Jin Chen stopped teasing him, lowering his head to kiss the corner of Yin Chaosheng's tightly pressed lips. In that instant, the red silk ribbon in Jin Chen's hand seemed to come alive, nimbly winding up and instantly binding Yin Chaosheng's wrists.

Jin Chen wrapped one arm around his supple waist, ambiguously kissing his sensitive ear, causing a shiver, and said, "City Lord, haven't you long suspected I'm human?"

"If so, why... do you still feel stirred for me?"

"You're dreaming!"

Yin Chaosheng's eyes were unfocused, shimmering with rippling light, yet his body honestly went limp.

The red silk ribbon seemed like a living thing, slipping beneath his crimson robe, clinging to his skin as it wandered, leaving waves of unbearable tingling and itch wherever it passed, wholly under Jin Chen's control.

He stubbornly retorted, his voice hoarse, "This seat merely has a bit of interest in your body, and... and just a little interest, that's all!"

Jin Chen's fingertips lightly traced his beautiful spine, his control irresistible; lowering his gaze at the bewitching ghost king in his arms, he seemed a born superior, his tone low and enticing: "Really? Just interest? City Lord, do you have no sincerity toward me at all?"

Yin Chaosheng's breathing fell completely into disorder, his cheeks flushing with an abnormal blush, his icy soul soaked through, making his bones go weak in waves.

Yet proud as he was, as if admitting first meant losing, he clenched his lips, refusing to say that word, burying his face in Jin Chen's neck crook like a sulky kitten, lightly rubbing, exhaling cool breaths, then unable to help opening his mouth to nibble and vaguely gnaw at Jin Chen's shoulder flesh, leaving damp traces.

In his dazed, enamored state, Yin Chaosheng's fingertips gathered a point of dark red light, once again aiming it at Jin Chen's brow.

A chill touched Jin Chen's brow; he slightly shifted his kiss and asked softly, "What is it this time?"

"Seek Ghost Seal."

Yin Chaosheng wrapped both arms around his neck, his gaze like a hook that could pull out a person's soul, an almost obsessive possessiveness.

"As long as your soul remains intact, whether you are in the Yang Realm or the Ghost City, this seat can... find you."

Just moments ago he stubbornly refused to admit his true feelings, yet this almost curse‑like mark now simply laid bare his bloody sincerity and held it up before Jin Chen.

Jin Chen's Adam's apple gave a slight roll.

At some point the red silk ribbon binding Yin Chaosheng was soaked by some liquid, turned slick, and silently slipped to the floor, where no one paid it any heed.

Yin Chaosheng's crimson robe hung half‑open, his exposed shoulder and neck limp in Jin Chen's embrace; the icy ghostly aura at his brows and eyes melted entirely into spring water, soft and bone‑deep, stunningly beautiful.

Tangled and tender, hard to part, hard to separate.

【Villain Heartthrob Value +10, total 48!】

【Villain Blackening Value -10, total 76!】

Spring filled the prison cell, while in the adjacent cell, Liu Zhou, having swallowed the pill, saw his soul vanish and embark on the road back to the Yang Realm.

Gu Bai Bai squatted in the cell, chin resting on his palms, the faint light in his eye sockets flickering with anticipation; perhaps soon he would receive the fragrant rouge and powder sent up from the Yang Realm.

——

Having shed that ordinary disguise, Jin Chen reappeared at the City Lord's Mansion with his original appearance, a newly added dark red ghost seal on his brow lending an extra touch of eerie mystery.

Wherever he went, it was truly ghosts fleeing ghosts; whether patrolling ghost generals or sweeping low‑rank ghost attendants, all retreated three paces, wishing to shrink into the walls just to avoid drawing the notice of this killing god.

Deep in the mansion lies a secluded garden; though lacking the vitality of Yang Realm flora, it is planted with peculiarly shaped dark plants, with jagged rocks and artificial hills standing thick, yet it holds a strange, intriguing beauty of its own.

At the garden entrance, Gu Bai Bai crossed his smooth pelvic bone, faithfully guarding his post, allowing no idle ghosts to approach.

Around the black stone table in the garden sat five people; Black Wing, this Maoshan successor, was utterly convinced by Jin Chen's strength and conduct.

The stone table held several cups of clear tea, the liquid a deep brown; though such yin tea brings no benefit to the living, the few cultivators present could sample it without serious harm.

Zang Huaian furrowed his brows, staring blankly at the garden's claw‑like strange tree, his mind heavy with worry.

Chu Jiu Shan, unable to keep his thoughts to himself, came over and nudged him with his elbow, "Zang Dage, what's wrong? You've been out of sorts since just now."

Liu Shuoyue lifted her teacup, "Just now while patrolling the outskirts, he ran into an old acquaintance."

"Here?" Jin Chen sounded a little surprised.

Chu Jiu Shan exclaimed in surprise, "Zang Dage's junior disciple is also a ghost‑catcher—how could..."

Zang Huaian withdrew his gaze, sighed, unable to let go, "He is my youngest junior disciple; three years ago he took on a mission alone to track a century‑old fierce ghost, and thereafter never returned, leaving no remains."

"I never imagined... he would actually be here, serving as a guardian ghost general of the City Lord's Mansion."

"I spoke with him briefly; he was clear‑minded, remembered past events and recognized me. He said that when he fought that fierce ghost, both were wounded, his soul about to dissipate when he was swept into this place; for some reason he failed to enter reincarnation, but he now feels quite well. Though the City Lord's temperament is unfathomable, he does not mistreat his subordinates, and the chilly Ghost City is tolerable in its own way."

Having said that, Zang Huaian suddenly lifted his head to look at the leisurely sipping Jin Chen opposite, "Brother Jin, I am not unwilling to fulfill the National Teacher's commission to investigate the truth of the Ghost City; but... if the truth is not the black‑and‑white we imagined, and destroying the Ghost City would not save these souls but instead cut off their refuge... then what are we to do?"

"It's fine if you're unwilling."

Jin Chen set down his teacup, tapped his knuckles lightly on the stone table, and cut him off.

He glanced over the few present, his tone calm, "The Ghost City's existence certainly has its dark, eerie, strange aspects, but you have also seen that most of those gathered here—like Liu Zhou, like the junior disciple of the Zang brothers—are wandering souls and wild ghosts unable to enter reincarnation and with nowhere else to go."

"At least here they can maintain form and have a shelter; if we rashly obey the National Teacher's order to demolish this place, yin‑yang will collapse, these homeless souls will flood into the Yang Realm, then resentment will surge to the heavens, ghosts will roam the night—truly a living hell for mankind, a human purgatory."

【Exactly!】Ling Gun Gun perched on Jin Chen's shoulder, waving its little paws in agreement, 【Those old fogies only know how to fight and kill; if the Ghost City is gone, the human world will be finished!】

Liu Shuoyue's eyes glimmered slightly as she looked at Jin Chen with added depth, "So you agree with our view, Brother Jin? That the urgent task is not destruction but to uncover the Ghost City's origin and find a way to guide these souls to rest or settle them properly."

She curled the corner of her lip with teasing, "After all... you and the City Lord are soon to be wed, so you must consider your own household."

Jin Chen: "……"

Chu Jiu Shan let out a muffled chuckle, his shoulders shaking.

He jabbed his elbow into the upright Black Wing beside him, "Black Wing Brother, what do you think—follow the National Teacher's orders, or hehehe, tag along with my senior brother to marry a ghost and follow ghosts?"

Black Wing's dark face showed little expression, his words brief: "But I will obey Brother Jin's commands."

He is straightforward, convinced of Jin Chen's ability and loyalty, and thus decided to follow.

As they were discussing, the garden entrance suddenly heard Gu Bai Bai's rude expulsion cry.

"Scram! Get far away! City Lord Sir is inside discussing important matters; you idle ghosts, keep your distance!"

"Take another step forward and I'll tear you apart for firewood!"

Faintly mixed in was Zhao Tianqi's angry shout, "What's with your busted bone frame acting all high and mighty! We're also guest ghosts invited by the City Lord! By what right do you keep us out?"

"Exactly! Sneaky and shady, you're surely up to no good!" Zhao Di's voice joined in.

Fu Lingjing stood to the side, his face dark as iron.