The red thread was filled with the vitality of humans, which was naturally alluring to the already-deceased ghosts.
Seeing the ghost bride uncontrollably approaching the red thread, Yu Nian quickly reached out to stop her.
If the ghost bride were to come into contact with what was inside the red thread, she would degenerate into a fierce ghost.
She reached out and gently tapped the ghost bride on the forehead. Yu Nian didn't use much force, but the ghost bride still felt as if her forehead had caved in.
She came to her senses, gave Yu Nian a resentful look with her small eyes, and whispered complainingly, "Boss, you're really strong."
Yu Nian didn't know that her gentle tap had caused harm to the ghost bride. She said calmly, "Hide behind me."
Then, Yu Nian stretched out her hand, unhesitatingly grasped the red thread, and then tightened her grip. Like in a tug-of-war, she slowly pulled the thing on the other end of the red thread towards her.
When she saw what was at the end of the red thread, the ghost bride couldn't help but let out a soft "ew".
"It's so disgusting."
Tied to the other end of the red thread was a meatball.
Its uneven surface was covered in blood vessels. It greedily absorbed energy through the red thread.
Around the red thread were many little ghosts that Yu Nian had seen outside the gambling house. Each ghost was staring longingly at the meatball, and their saliva was "plopping" onto the ground, looking extremely covetous.
Even so, none of the ghosts dared to step forward. They seemed to be very afraid and only dared to wait on the periphery.
When the meatball was absorbing the energy all at once, some excess energy escaped. The nearby ghosts immediately rushed forward one by one and started to fight over the energy.
"Is this... the Ghost King?"
Qi Rongsheng was stunned for a while and said in a low voice, "After the Ghost King was defeated by the Demon King, it was severely injured. Everyone thought it had been banished, but unexpectedly, it hid in the darkest corner of the Ghost Market with its remaining followers, trying to bide its time and wait for an opportunity to rise again like King Goujian of Yue.
It knew that the Demon King hated human Taoists and would often beat the Taoists severely and then throw them aside. So it sent its subordinates to secretly collect these cultivators and lock them in a small dark room, absorbing their essence and spirit for its own use."
Just thinking about so many people from the Xuanmen dying at the hands of this evil thing made Qi Rongsheng extremely angry. He was just about to step forward when Yu Nian stopped him.
Qi Rongsheng was puzzled. "The Ghost King is currently in the recovery period. Don't you understand the principle of striking while the iron is hot? What are you waiting for?"
Yu Nian smiled slightly. What she wanted to do was not only to subdue the Ghost King but also to kill two birds with one stone and drag the Demon King, who had been harming the Taoists, into the water.
..................
Yu Nian exchanged all the jewels she had won from the Paradise Workshop for silver notes. She casually stuffed them into her pocket as if she was afraid others couldn't see them, with a dazzling corner sticking out. Then she pulled Feng Chengyuan and slowly walked towards the venue of this auction - the Star-Picking Tower.
The Star-Picking Tower was imposing, with blue bricks and green tiles, showing a magnificent and antique charm.
Just as Yu Nian and Feng Chengyuan stepped onto the steps, they were stopped by a female demon in a light yellow long dress. She stared at Yu Nian expressionlessly. "The auction hasn't started yet. Idle people are not allowed to enter."
With a turn of her wrist, Yu Nian took out a dark golden invitation card from her bosom and naturally handed it to the female demon.
"I have something important to discuss with the Demon King. If you delay it, can you bear the consequences?"
The yellow-clothed female demon was stunned for a moment and then quickly sized Yu Nian up and down. She saw that Yu Nian had an elegant temperament and obviously wasn't an ordinary person.
Since the Demon King had held the auction, capable people and strange people from all walks of life had flocked in. Judging from the aura of this woman in front of her, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was a divine official from the Heavenly Court. If she offended some big shot and the Demon King blamed her, as a small demon, she really couldn't bear the responsibility.
She wavered but still had some doubts. "You said you're a divine official from the Heavenly Court. Why don't you have any spiritual power on your body?"
Yu Nian didn't say a word. She reached out and intertwined her fingers with Feng Chengyuan's. In the blink of an eye, Yu Nian's spiritual power surged, almost blinding the yellow-clothed female demon.
"You should keep a low profile when you're out. I'm a low-key person and don't like to show off."
The female demon then pointed at Feng Chengyuan. "Everyone who enters this auction needs an invitation card. Where's his invitation card?"
Suddenly, Yu Nian reached out and patted Feng Chengyuan's solid chest twice.
Feng Chengyuan: ...?
Yu Nian's eyes narrowed slightly, with a glint of ambiguous light in them. "I'm a rich woman, and he's my little darling who serves me personally... Understand?"
The yellow-clothed female demon was briefly confused for a moment and then stared at the two of them suspiciously.
It was all because Feng Chengyuan's temperament was too aloof. No matter how you looked at it, he was clearly a high-ranking person. How could he be a gigolo who depended on others?
Even if the two of them really had that kind of relationship, it seemed that Feng Chengyuan was the rich one...
Yu Nian sneered. "You just don't understand." Yu Nian reached out and played with Feng Chengyuan's tie, and with a flick of her hand, she undid the top two buttons.
"This is called fun. I just like to dress him up like this, making a well-dressed person have to take off his disguise and step on his proud self-esteem into the dust bit by bit... Isn't it fun?"
Yu Nian slightly pursed her lips, stood on tiptoe, and kissed Feng Chengyuan on the cheek.
Feng Chengyuan's pupils dilated in shock. He turned his head away shyly. "Yes, mistress."
Feng Chengyuan's voice was deep and magnetic. The word "mistress" made the yellow-clothed female demon blush.
She didn't stop them anymore and immediately took a step back. "I was blind just now. Please come in quickly."
As soon as they entered the door, two good-looking male demons surrounded them and kept winking at Yu Nian.
The steward said with a smile, "This is our way of treating guests. Miss, you can enjoy them to your heart's content."
Yu Nian twitched the corner of her mouth. She really didn't expect that the customs in the Ghost Market under the rule of the Demon King would be so bold. She immediately grabbed Feng Chengyuan. "No need. I'm afraid my darling will be jealous. Please inform the Demon King for me and say that I have something very important to tell him."
The steward didn't dare to delay. He sent a little demon to lead Yu Nian and Feng Chengyuan to the guest room and then went to ask the Demon King for instructions himself.
Yu Nian closed the door of the guest room. The moment she turned around, she was enveloped by Feng Chengyuan's tall figure.
Yu Nian smiled nervously. Then she heard Feng Chengyuan's voice ringing in her ear, with a hint of teasing.
"Weren't you quite powerful just now? Why are you not saying a word now?"
The distance between the two of them was too close, so that the fragrance on Feng Chengyuan's body surrounded her completely.
For a moment, Yu Nian didn't know where to look. She glanced down slightly and saw Feng Chengyuan's open buttons. His chest rose and fell with his breathing...
The heat rushed to her face belatedly. Yu Nian coughed twice and reached out to wipe off the lipstick mark she had left on Feng Chengyuan's cheek. "Well, I had no choice. I was just playing along..."
"Really? But I took it seriously."
Feng Chengyuan raised his eyebrows slightly. He was about to say something when suddenly there came a sound of footsteps behind them.