Chapter 643: Ye Qing’s Decision

“Ghost bride? Who on earth is trying to kill me?”

A steely glint entered Ye Qing’s eyes as he racked his brain for an answer.

Was it the Intelligence Department?

Or maybe Chu Wangsun?

He quickly discarded the possibility though. Looking back, his would-be assassin had probably afflicted him with the Ghost Marriage while he was staying at the Hill of Services. That was a good enough reason to eliminate the Intelligence Department and Chu Wangsun from the equation, not to mention that they didn’t even know if he was still alive. No, it had to be someone from the Hill of Services.

Could it be Ancestor Greenwood? He had accidentally screwed over the old man back at the Hill of Services. Maybe the old man was petty little fuck who couldn’t let trivialities slide.

He shook his head almost immediately after the thought crossed his mind, however. He had dreamed of the ghost bride even before he attended the Treasure Appreciation Auction. There was no way Ancestor Greenwood could predict the future and afflict him with the Ghost Marriage beforehand.

Using the same logic, he could eliminate the master of the mysterious hand as well.

So who was it?

He had kept a very low profile since entering the Hill of Services. Not counting Ancestor Greenwood, he had started no trouble and offended no one, so it couldn’t be a case of petty grievances. He had neither exposed himself like an idiot nor revealed his wealth in the open either, so it couldn’t be because someone was plotting to rob him.

But if this wasn’t a crime of passion or greed, then what could it be? Who would want to harm him, and why?

Ye Qing rubbed his nose when suddenly, an inspiration struck him.

He had a different dream before he dreamed of the ghost bride. He had dreamed of the time he killed Huo Hao and took Nanke.

Generally speaking, someone of his cultivation level and spiritual power would fall into the deepest stage of sleep when they were resting, and at this stage, one normally did not dream.

But that night, he had experienced two dreams in a row. If the second dream was deliberate, then there was no way the first dream was an accident.

With that in mind, could this have something to do with Nanke and the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas?

He could not think of any reason why he would dream of that time, at least not normally. It was far likelier that someone was spying on his memories using dreams as a medium.

It wasn’t surprising. If the caster could afflict the Ghost Marriage on him without him noticing, then spying on his memories through his dreams was nothing at all.

All things considered, it was extremely likely that the caster was a member of the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas. As for why they did it, that was very simple. One, they were going to take revenge for Huo Hao. Two, they were here to reclaim Nanke.

But how did the Eight Legions of Devas and Nagas manage to track him down? Assuming his guess was correct, it was probably because of Nanke. Nanke’s ability was founded in dreams, and the caster who spied on his dreams and afflicted him with the Ghost Marriage was clearly an expert in dreams as well. It was not impossible that the caster did some dream bullshit and found him using Nanke.

Was this cowardice? Of course not! Only an idiot would run headlong toward death!

Having made up his mind, Ye Qing unfolded the Annon Sutra once more.

......

“Have you found him yet, Dream Master?” Slaughterer asked in an impatient tone.

“He’s been moving non-stop,” Dream Master replied, “but I can feel that the distance between us is getting shorter and shorter.”

“Moving? Did he notice us? Maybe he’s running for his life right now,” Dancer asked.

Dream Master shook his head. “That is impossible. He is only an early-stage Spirit Master. His spirit is strong, but there is no way he can sense us from such a distance.”

“Besides, the man is moving erratically. Sometimes he’s moving east, sometimes he’s moving west, sometimes he’s sprinting straight ahead, and sometimes he even backtracked. Rather than running away, I’m more inclined to believe that he’s avoiding something.”

“Who cares? The sooner we find him, the sooner I’ll be able to rip him to pieces!” Slaughterer snarled while clenching his fists tightly.

“Don’t worry. We will reach him very soon,” Dream Master replied unhurriedly.

The group of four continued to chase after Ye Qing for a time until they encountered an old, abandoned city.

The city was buried in sand a long time ago. There were broken walls, piles of rubble, yellow sand and dead grass everywhere. It looked as desolate as it was bleak.

Ruins like these were, in fact, a dime a dozen in Bei Mo. Several thousand years ago, Bei Mo was a famous plain with extremely fertile lands. Many towns and cities had been built on it to support countless people’s dreams. Unfortunately, the plain was beset by so many natural disasters, man-made calamities, and sand that it eventually crossed the point of no return. As a result, the towns and cities were eventually abandoned and left to wither away in the sand.

Not only that, Bei Mo’s numerous abandoned settlements functioned as excellent shelters for travelers, but any hunter, wanderer, or traveling merchant who roamed the wilderness of Bei Mo would tell you to follow this rule: if you encounter a city, stay away. If you see a village, do not enter.

To put it in simpler terms, it meant that one should avoid ancient cities and abandoned villages as much as possible, or grave danger might befall them.

The reason such a rule existed was because ancient cities and abandoned villages were among the easiest places to give birth to all kinds of powerful Strangers and Anomalies. It was not unusual for such a place to be more dangerous than the wilderness, which was why most Bei Mo travelers would rather sleep out in the open than take shelter in such a place.

Dream Master, Earth Walker, Dancer and Slaughterer clearly didn’t heed the warning, however. Either they didn’t know, or they didn’t care.

“He’s inside!” Dream Master declared while staring at the ancient city in front of him.

“Hahaha! Finally!” Slaughterer let out a savage laugh and broke into a run.

Dream Master, Earth Walker and Dancer exchanged a glance with each other, smiled, and followed right behind him.