Volume 16 - CH 2

Chapter 2: Third King Taifu

Location: Atlantis Time: 11:23 AM

The surrounding noise suddenly stopped for a moment.

“Hey hey! If the Ghost Tribe has appeared, this uncle will be the first to kill, of course. Why did you push this uncle in together!?” That full-of-fighting-intent chicken protested.

“Then kid, good luck to you.” Following this voice, I actually saw the owner of the miscellaneous goods shop kick him out.

Are you allowed to do this!?

After the five-colored rooster head was kicked out, I stood here watching many shops do the same thing, except that they clasped their fingers together and chanted an incantation. Then as if all the shops united, silver-blue array barriers appeared on every door, cutting themselves off from the paths outside.

Once the shops completed their defenses, the other people remaining outside simultaneously pulled out their weapons. As soon as the Ghost Tribe realized the situation was amiss, their faces turned ferocious, no longer pretending to be passerby at all.

Upon being exposed, the Ghost Tribe’s numbers suddenly increased as well, appearing everywhere on the street. Seems like it wasn’t as simple as a dozen.

This scene felt familiar to me…Once I was also surrounded by so many Ghosts in the original world. Although I can somewhat resist them, I still feel a bit afraid after seeing them now.

Standing not far from us, Ryan and Chifuyu took out their Illusionary Weapons at the same time. Like the others, they didn’t even have to say anything and directly began attacking the nearest Ghosts.

Of course they naturally countered when being attacked. In just a short time, the entire left shopping street was thrown into chaos. But as this group of people aggressively fought the Ghost Tribe, I noticed something, which was that some of the Ghosts were actually moving toward the same direction while fighting, though they hadn’t moved far when they were struck down. When killed, most of them turned to dust and disappeared. There were black marks of death everywhere, which looked a bit sickening.

The direction they’re moving in is…

“They want to go to *Third King Taifu’s store?” Being very familiar with the left shopping street, Miao Miao also noticed where the Ghost Tribe was advancing to, and then her expression changed completely: “This is bad.”

[T/N: First appeared in V3C8]

I didn’t know why it was bad, but I could still tell that something was wrong from Miao Miao’s expression.

Moving swiftly, a teleportation array appeared beneath Miao Miao’s feet. As soon as I saw it, I knew she was going to Third King Taifu’s store, and without thinking, I immediately jumped on after her.

“Yah! Yang Yang, it’s dangerous!” Before Miao Miao could finish protesting at me, the entire array began to turn at once.

The surrounding scenery changed in only an instant.

Before the new scenery finished taking shape, Miao Miao and I first heard a strong explosion sound, followed by a large swath of dust and fragments that flew over our faces and bodies. A tremendous force with an eye-watering gas almost knocked us flying.

Moving quickly, Miao Miao held onto me and we both managed to not fall only after steadying each other.

The explosion sounds stopped in a few seconds. Then a black shadow blocked in front of us like a wall. Looking closer, it was a completely unfamiliar man, tall but with no expression on his face and a strange totem on his forehead.

“A shikigami?”

[T/N: I’m using the Japanese translation of the word here because it’s more well-known]

Miao Miao immediately knew what that man was, pulling me back two steps and glancing around.

The whole store was already wrecked. The Third King Taifu’s old man whom we were looking for was at the other side of the store, desperately gesturing at us to be careful.

“Chu, Mikayla, be careful.” Appearing in front of that shikigami was Senior Gasai, whom I heard went out with Senior and the others early in the morning. He was still wearing his mask and it was clear that he was right in the middle of his mission.

Then I saw a very dramatic scene. An unusually familiar face appeared from the other side of the wrecked shop.

That thing came out from a marsh-like place. She was very tall; even senior Gasai was shorter than her. Grayish-white hair covered the scaled parts of her body and her turbid-yellow eyes had two pupils.

I know who she is.

“The deep water aristocrat…” Looking at that Ghost King subordinate, who was once beaten back by Senior, with wide eyes, I found that I was beginning to tremble.

[T/N: She appeared in the hard copy version of volume 1]

The Evil Ghost aristocrat, who once faced Senior but didn’t get killed, stood just before us. The surroundings were full of those undead underlings, and their numbers seemed to be greater than what I’d seen on the street before. The entire store’s barrier was already broken through, and there were sounds of fighting coming from outside. It was obvious that there were also people who wanted to come closer to help but couldn’t because there were too many things in the way.

Why did senior Gasai appear here?

“Your Highness Third King Taifu, please withdraw at once to the return boundary.” Looking straight at the deep water aristocrat, senior Gasai said, before he pulled out a white talisman with his right hand. After shaking it off, a shikigami like the one just now appeared once again, but it was a kimono-wearing woman with a long-handled sword in her hand.

That old man shook his head. His tone carried no fear and was as calm and firm as when I first met him: “No, these things dare to come into the left shopping street to cause trouble. Apart from targeting me, there must be other reasons. Mr. Purple Robe, please be careful.”

Senior Gasai nodded, and after making sure the person he was protecting didn’t intend to leave, he instructed that female shikigami to guard the old man. That male shikigami stayed near us: “Chu, Mikayla, be careful of your surroundings.” Saying that, he pulled out his Illusionary Weapon and stared at the Ghost King’s subordinate before him.

Once he said that, Miao Miao and I noticed that there were still many Ghosts around us, though we didn’t know how that explosion just now came about.

“What’s going on?” Miao Miao shouted. Looks like her trip to buy flowers today has gone up in smoke.

“I’ll explain later.” No time to waste talking to us, senior Gasai abruptly brandished his iron whip. That deep water aristocrat seemed to still be in a daze, but as soon as she sensed something flying over, she quickly grabbed the iron whip and turned her head at the same time. Her four pupils all looked toward the shop owner.

“Where did you hide the barrier ?” The voice from my memories rang out, causing my whole body to break out in goosebumps.

While they spoke, the surrounding Ghosts also increased in number. Even I had to take out Minas and fire again and again at the things around us. Then that male shikigami pulled out the same long-handled sword as the female shikigami’s, trying to cut the Ghosts rushing over in half. For a while, the sounds and scene became more chaotic.

“Deep water aristocrat Lylin. This isn’t a place you should appear in. If you don’t return now, don’t blame us for killing you.” Saying the same thing Senior said before, senior Gasai pulled out a sword and flung the seized iron whip out of the Ghost’s hand back onto his arm, where it automatically settled as if alive.

“Ha…You guys are the ones who should die…”

This time negotiations broke down quickly. Lylin let out a strange laugh, then the entire ground trembled and many holes appeared on the ground. Soon muddy water rose up from the holes and filled them.

Although I’ve seen this Ghost King expert once before, I’m not too clear on her attributes and only know that her bunch of kids are all undead. But now that I think about it, since she is the deep water aristocrat, based on the ways the others appeared and their abilities, she must also have a special attacking style, except that she was beheaded by Senior before she could even start last time.

As if to confirm what I was thinking, the muddy water on the ground began to rise up and up, quickly spreading to our feet. Miao Miao shouted and climbed onto the nearby weapons table while pushing me. On the other side, the female shikigami also set up a barrier around the old man. Not a drop of the muddy water could touch the old man, and it formed a circle around them.

I thought, last time Senior seemed to have used an explosion charm to rid the undead…but I don’t dare to use this thing at all!

It was very spacious last time. If another bomb explodes here, it wouldn’t be a matter that can be solved by paying a park’s repair fees!

“Kids, come over here please.”

At this time, the old man beckoned at us.

Miao Miao was the first to rush over.

“Aiya, I had to let you two to see this sort of scene.” The old man told us: “I didn’t expect the Ghost Tribe to charge in halfway through the store opening. It’s been a long time since something like this happened.” It can’t be that this happened here often before?

“Why did the Ghost Tribe target here?” I looked at the old man in front of me and asked my most immediate question. Think about it, there are at least a hundred shops in the left shopping street, but why did they choose this one?

Glancing at me, Miao Miao spoke: “Because Third King Taifu’s shop is one of the left shopping street’s barriers. Half of the street’s magic cornerstone is hidden here.”

I understand, so that’s how it is.

“Then the other half…”

Before I could finish my words, the old man already pointed to a direction. That place was the location of the hundred-year-old shop.

With a boom, a huge sound of destruction also came from there, and then countless Ghosts were thrown into the air.

“Icy Flame has already gone there to restrain another Ghost King expert. The barrier stone will not be destroyed, please rest assured.” Senior Gasai, who faced off Lylin, heard the sound of us talking and told us this.

Following that, no one was in the mood to keep chatting.

The muddy water on the ground had flooded up to our ankles, from what I could see. Then it abruptly began to boil as if someone below opened a gas stove. Because the broken idol that fell during the explosion just now kept turning and sinking as if it was being pushed out of the water, the whole scene looked quite strange.

“Hand over the barrier stone…” Stretching her long limbs, Lylin said this in an outstretched pose as if she was exercising, and while she spoke, her arm grew longer and longer and her seemingly-shrinking scales all stood upright. It looked quite sickening.

“Please return at once.” Narrowing his eyes, senior Gasai, who noticed that his iron whip wasn’t that effective against this type of thing, immediately withdrew his Illusionary Weapon before pulling out a red talisman and holding it up: “Otherwise, don’t blame us for not holding back against you.” After saying that, that red talisman instantly turned into a Japanese sword. The entire blade was deep red with a few flame diagrams, which looked a bit astonishing.

I know that talisman; it’s a fire charm. Because of how similar it is to explosive charms, I rarely see people using it.

Almost at the same time, without waiting for the weapon to finish taking shape, Lylin’s long arms suddenly sprang over, directly clawing toward senior Gasai’s shoulder.

Without dodging or even moving half a centimeter, senior Gasai turned his wrist and the blade in his hand sliced a red semicircle and blocked those long hands. The blade issued a strange muffled sound, before the small flames hovering on top of it abruptly ignited and coiled around that scaly hand.

Lylin let out a resentful growl. Her two hands rose and her entire body charged forward. The muddy water below churned nonstop and actually began emitting bursts of white smoke.

Just as the white smoke appeared, I saw the idol that had been tumbling in it issue a strange sound, then start to melt completely and sink. Not even a fragment was left.

Lylin was originally a sulfuric acid person?

Now I suddenly felt glad that Senior acted quickly before. Otherwise, if Lylin took out the same thing that time, that park probably would have become very spectacular.

Watching the sulfuric mud below continuously surging toward him, the Japanese sword in senior Gasai’s hand became even more fiery red. Before the approaching mud could touch him, it already evaporated. He waved the blade and directly cut down at the Ghost King expert rushing over; because of the momentum, he was knocked back a considerable distance.

Similarly being knocked back, Lylin grinned and a whole row of sharp teeth that I’d seen before appeared.

The eyes behind the mask narrowed. Likewise not waiting for her to finish grinning, senior Gasai moved at once, instantly piercing his sword into Lylin’s fanged mouth.

In that instant, I saw the wide-mouthed Ghost King expert breathe fire.

Turning over, senior Gasai kicked Lylin in the stomach, throwing her outside the store.

After seeing Lylin fall outside, the Ghosts inside the store suddenly raised a fierce commotion. Every single eye bulged out, viciously pouncing at each person they saw. The two shikigami protecting in front of us couldn’t cope with so many all at once, making every effort to chop down the suicidal things rushing over. Miao Miao and I also desperately wanted to help them knock a couple more down, but no sooner did we knock a few down, another batch crawled out of the mud on the ground as if never-ending.

“There is a Spirit Door here.” Not joining the fight, the old man looked around and observed the sulfuric mud on the ground, then told us.

“Where?” Standing at the store door, senior Gasai swiftly laid down another barrier. The Ghost King expert who had already gotten up outside was a step too slow. When she charged over, she slammed into the finished barrier array and made a huge noise, abruptly bouncing back a distance, unable to break in.

“In front of here.” The old man pointed in a direction, just a few steps away from us, so I didn’t hesitate either. Holding Minas, I fired several shots at that place.

When the first shot hit the muddy water, the marsh exploded as if a torpedo was thrown in. As soon as it cleared, sure enough, we saw a blood-colored array. The next couple of shots all hit it.

I don’t know if it was because I really improved. After those few shots landed, the array beneath the marsh actually did stop moving, then turned light and started to face. All of a sudden, the marsh covered it again.

Senior Gasai gave me a thumbs up, which made me slightly happy, but this happiness lasted less than three seconds. An enormous explosion noise suddenly sounded behind him, exactly the same as what we heard before. It was the sound of the door barrier breaking; but this time, the shikigami helped us set up the barrier, so the explosion had little impact.

Ghosts left and right were being blasted and crashed into the walls.

After the door barrier broke, the unkillable Lylin appeared as expected. Her face looked furious, and more than half of it was burned off. The Japanese sword was gone too, and the mouth where it was originally stuck in had a big hole. A large amount of black blood continued to flow out from it.

Turning back quickly, senior Gasai pulled out his iron whip and swung it at her head at lightning speed. The Ghost King expert being attacked tilted her head at the sound. Half of her head was smashed, but she actually didn’t collapse. A hand reached out to grab the whip, and that half of a head had already regenerated.

“Lylin is the Ghost of Marsh Water. No attack can effectively eliminate her.” Watching the rapidly-regenerating Ghost, the old man’s voice contained a bit more concern.

“Then the only way is to directly send her back to the Prison World.”

Senior Gasai made the same decision as Senior at that time.

“Wait, please let me try.”

Just when senior Gasai seemed like he was about to do something major, the old man suddenly spoke and interrupted his movements. Miao Miao and I turned our heads and saw the old man stepping out of the shikigami’s barrier without hesitation, miraculously stepping on the muddy water. That marsh water with the efficacy of sulfuric acid couldn’t touch the soles of his shoes at all, “After all, it is my store. If I don’t properly teach the presumptuous a lesson and retrieve some expenses, it would really be unpleasant.”

Glancing at the old man, senior Gasai stepped back slightly.

After walking a few steps, the old man’s body seemed to double in size and his walking speed slowed, to the point where he was already big enough to nearly reach the ceiling by the time he reached the door. His body, which originally looked like it was simply healthy, burst out with large muscles, and even his amiable face had tangled veins that gave him a ferocious feeling.

I felt as if I was watching the Ghost King or Bull Demon King appearing in some cartoon.

[T/N: The “Ghost King” is a character from Chinese mythology while the latter is from the Journey to the West.]

Close to breaking through the ceiling, the old man’s huge hand directly seized Lylin and slapped the renewed Ghost outside the store, in the process trampling on quite a number of Ghosts running wildly below.

“You think the left shopping street is a place you can come when you please!?” The huge ferocious face issued a loud sound, then walked out of the store. The entire street was full of that bellowing boom, and the passerby, who had begun to clear away the Ghosts, all turned toward here. Upon seeing the old man, they didn’t have any particularly scared reactions.

Miao Miao ran out of the store pulling me along. Senior Gasai, who was a step ahead, took a few steps into the air and flipped onto the roof, swiftly eliminating the remaining Ghosts on top as well.

Lylin, who was slapped out, had crashed firmly into the other side of the street, completely stuck in the wall. Half of her body was smashed and bubbles like the ones before were currently reforming her.

Seeing the enormous old man, I suddenly remembered that I didn’t seem to know what race he was. No matter how I looked at him, he still seemed to have the feeling of a demon king. The huge sense of oppression made one scared.

Dropping his hand and brushing his finger on the other half of Lylin’s body, the old man began chanting a strange incantation, before an array appeared behind Lylin.

Although it wasn’t quite the same, I have seen that array before. It was used in succession previously, an array that sends foreign objects back.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, Lylin sank back into the array, being eliminated without the chance to do anything.

After making sure that the left shopping street’s threat had vanished, the old man immediately returned to his original size as if he deflated. Those muscles and whatnot were all gone too.

I was thinking…if those Alis students who caused trouble in his store early on had been slapped like this, it probably would have been resolved very quickly…

From above, senior Gasai jumped down and after withdrawing his weapon, he walked in front of the old man and bowed slightly: “I am very sorry to have disturbed you.” Pausing, he glanced at Miao Miao and I before withdrawing his gaze, “While my partner and I were investigating the whereabouts of the Ghost King, we accidentally saw two of the Ghost King’s experts about to do harm to the left shopping street and tailed them here. We assisted too slowly, allowing them to move first. I hope it didn’t cause too much damage to you.”

Those few words immediately explained why senior Gasai appeared here.

But I still think it’s strange. Why would the Ghost Tribe suddenly want to attack the left shopping street, which is outside of our school?

It can’t be that they lack civilian supplies and decided to capture it as a granary?

After hearing him explain, the old man “hehe” laughed: “It doesn’t matter. These damn things have coveted the left shopping street’s barrier cornerstone for a long time. It’s not the first time they attacked like this. Mr. Purple Robe, don’t be too nervous. My store is full of some ordinary things and can be replenished. Besides, I just vented my anger for myself. That Ghost King’s expert likely wouldn’t recover that quickly in a short time, which is enough for them to properly reflect on it.”

Senior Gasai raised his head and removed his mask, directing an apologetic smile at the old man: “We’ve already reported this matter back to the Guild. There will be people from the Guild coming here soon to help clean up.”

The old man patted his shoulder and, after telling him it wasn’t a big problem, he turned toward us, “You two kids made us worried. Were you hurt just now?”

Upon hearing him ask us, Miao Miao and I shook our heads at the same time.

That pair of male and female shikigami vanished after confirming there was no danger, leaving only two papers that senior Gasai took back.

“We weren’t able to help…” Miao Miao wrung her hands, and her voice was very small.

“Hehe, I’m just happy you have such intentions.” The old man parted Miao Miao’s head. It was as if that huge ferocity just now was an illusion. Now he looked no different from usual: “To thank you two kids, I have no choice but to give this to you.” Saying that, he brought out his hand from behind his back. A bundle of transparent flowers appeared in his hand that had nothing before. I couldn’t tell what kind they were. They were all transparent, about seven or eight of them, and were beautiful.

Miao Miao widened her eyes and her entire face lit up: “Thank you Your Highness Third King Taifu.” After saying that, she rushed to give him a big hug.

The old man was still smiling happily.

The surrounding atmosphere had settled down, and the stores that had originally sealed up were also unlocking their barriers one after another. The number of people on the street started to increase, and there were voices discussing the Ghost Tribe everywhere.

I turned my head and saw that senior Gasai, who should have relaxed as well, had a bad expression.

Suddenly noticing my gaze, senior Gasai turned to smile at me and quickly put away that mood, which seemed to be worry.

I don’t know what went wrong on his and Senior’s mission, but he gave me a serious feeling, as if something bad happened on this mission.

Just when I was about to go up and nosily ask him, an array suddenly appeared next to senior Gasai. A second later, Senior emerged out of there.

“It’s been resolved at the Hundred-Year Store too.”

These are the words I heard.