Chapter 117: Greetings, My Lord!

Upon hearing this, Ling Qiu laughed.

He looked at Xing Mantang with the gaze one might reserve for a person of limited intellect.

Noticing the look, Xing Mantang stroked his beard and said, "What? Are you saying that while you are allowed to be both student and friend to Lord Ksitigarbha, I am not allowed to be brothers with Lord Yama?"

Ling Qiu chuckled. "But... why is it that I don't recall ever having a sworn brother like you?"

Xing Mantang: "???"

After a brief moment of hesitation, Xing Mantang grew slightly displeased. He had originally intended to chat casually to probe Ling Qiu’s background, but he hadn't expected it to accidentally turn into a contest of who could tell the tallest tale.

This kid... he was really laying it on thick.

"So, by your logic, you are King Yama?" Xing Mantang smiled.

Ling Qiu corrected him, "Strictly speaking, the previous one."

"..."

Xing Mantang suddenly regretted continuing this tedious bragging session with Ling Qiu. Therefore, in the next moment, he appropriately reined in his smile and released an aura filled with oppressive intensity.

"Let’s end this boring conversation," Xing Mantang said coldly. "Since you refuse to reveal your origins, let’s return to the previous topic. That Zhao Dezhu is perfect material for a living corpse puppet; his fate is already sealed. I can see you have some skill, but... with your meager ability, you cannot save him."

As he spoke, Xing Mantang slowly removed a string of Buddhist prayer beads from his wrist and rubbed them gently. With every rub, several sinister, malevolent ghosts emerged from them!

After rubbing them five or six times, a full twenty or more ghosts, wreathed in black miasma, swirled above and behind Xing Mantang!

The entire study instantly plunged into a bone-chilling cold. Chilling winds whistled; though it was a sunset with colorful clouds outside, inside the room, it felt as though they had fallen into the depths of a terrifying, frozen winter night!

Ling Qiu squinted and scanned the room. Among these twenty-some ghosts, there were actually six fierce ghosts and one powerful, malevolent specter!

He hadn't expected this old man to have such a substantial collection.

Seeing Ling Qiu remain silent, Xing Mantang assumed he was afraid and said slowly, "Now, do you see clearly? It is not that I am helpless against you, but as a Ghost Official, I am bound by many rules and would rather not resort to lethal force against you. Young man, never think that just because you know a few tricks for exorcising ghosts, you can act arrogantly in front of me."

Ling Qiu smiled. "Should I take that as... a threat?"

"Exactly."

Xing Mantang’s voice turned grim. Suddenly, the twenty-odd ghosts, accompanied by gusts of ghostly wind, charged straight at Ling Qiu. They circled him, baring their fangs and claws, filled with such intense malice that even Ling Qiu felt a slight, excessive chill.

"I am threatening you."

***

Xing Mantang’s voice was filled with boundless confidence.

Ling Qiu, however, shook his head lightly. "Officer Xing, these ghosts must have cost you a great deal of effort, right? What a pity."

Xing Mantang: "???"

He narrowed his eyes, momentarily failing to understand the meaning behind Ling Qiu’s words.

However, in the next moment, Ling Qiu rotated the Yama Ring on his finger. *Swish!*

A ghost-striking whip appeared in his hand!

"Huh?!"

Xing Mantang’s expression changed instantly. Seeing the whip, he exclaimed in shock, "You... you are also a Ghost Catcher?! Didn't you just say... you weren't a Ghost Official?!"

"Who told you that only a Ghost Official is allowed to use a ghost-striking whip?"

"No... that’s impossible." Xing Mantang lost his composure, frowning. "...If you are not a Ghost Official, you are strictly forbidden from using Yin-realm magical artifacts! Do you have any idea... that unauthorized possession of such an artifact is a severe violation of the rules?! If Lord Yama finds out, you... you will be cast into the eighteenth layer of hell for all eternity!"

Ling Qiu laughed. Honestly, why was it that in this day and age, no one believed the truth? He had already told him that he *was* King Yama. Why would he go out of his way to throw himself into the eighteenth layer of hell?

"In that case, I have even more reason to strike you today!" Xing Mantang barked. "I was originally respecting the rules and hesitant to attack a mortal, but since you have so flagrantly violated the laws, I... I am now justified in destroying you!"

With that said, Xing Mantang spun his prayer beads rapidly and shouted, "Tear his soul to pieces!"

Upon hearing this, the ghosts let out sharp, piercing shrieks. With green faces and sharp fangs, they lunged at Ling Qiu. The sheer force of their malefic energy was so potent that even Ling Qiu felt it was bitingly cold.

But... unfortunately for them... a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. Let alone... a starving dragon.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

Ling Qiu rotated the Yama Ring again. Following this, ghost-striking whips sprouted like bamboo shoots after the rain, appearing in his hands!

He held ten whips in each hand, a total of twenty whips. They rose up like the hair of a giant born from hell, vibrating and emitting a faint, eerie blue light!

"Huh?!!!"

Xing Mantang was dumbfounded!

This... this... were these whips free of charge?! Such powerful artifacts, which only qualified Ghost Catchers could possess... when did they become so cheap? Was this Ling Qiu running a wholesale smuggling business for Yin-realm artifacts?!

However, before he could think further, an even more shocking scene occurred.

In Ling Qiu’s hands, the twenty whips rapidly intertwined. Within moments, with a flash of dazzling light, they condensed into a pure white... feather duster!

Well, yes... it sounded rather cheap... but Xing Mantang recognized it all too well. This was an artifact that only a Ghost Official of the [Impermanence] rank was qualified to use!

My god... could this young man... actually be a Lord of [Impermanence]?!

At this moment, feeling the power radiating from the feather duster in Ling Qiu’s hand, which glowed with a ghostly blue light, all the ghosts shrieked in terror! The black miasma collided as they scrambled in panic, desperate to flee for their lives!

But Ling Qiu would not give them the chance. He formed a seal with one hand and pointed the feather duster forward with the other, squinting as he chanted: "Sweep the wandering souls, cleanse the evil ghosts; destiny is in the cycle, one thought of impermanence!!—Extinguish!"

He opened his eyes!

Two sharp, icy blue glints shot from his gaze!

*BOOM!!!*

A brilliant, eerie blue light erupted instantly throughout the study!

Following that came the incomparably shrill, miserable screams of the ghosts!