Chapter 1317: Numbers Two, Three, and Four on the Golden Core Ranking

"Very good," Xu Bang said.

The old, deep voice inside the carriage asked, "May we go now?"

"Let them through!" Xu Bang called to the soldiers guarding the gate. Once they cleared the way, he extended a hand toward the carriage. "Please."

The driver flicked his whip, and the carriage resumed its unhurried pace.

As it passed him, Xu Bang took another look at the driver in the conical hat. There was a strange odor about the man. Xu Bang had no idea who he was, but the effortless steadiness with which he remained seated despite the carriage's movement made it obvious that he was no ordinary person.

The two riders followed behind and gradually disappeared into the city. Xu Bang beckoned a disciple over. "Notify the Sect Leader immediately."

"Yes!" The disciple flashed away.

A burst of noisy chatter rose behind him. Xu Bang looked back and saw a group of soldiers clustered together, talking about something. "What's all the noise?"

The soldiers immediately fell silent. A junior officer reported, "During the inspection just now, one of my men saw the driver's face and was frightened." He pointed toward the soldier in question.

Xu Bang stepped closer. "Oh? Why?"

The soldier answered nervously, "Elder, that driver's face was very strange. It looked almost like a ghost. Seeing it without warning was... frightening."

Xu Bang frowned and looked back in the direction the carriage had gone. He could not recall anyone like that in the cultivation world.

...

Not long after the carriage entered the city, a man hurried up from the roadside and walked alongside it, cupping his hands. "Sir, we've confirmed it. They're still in Fufang Garden."

The old, deep voice from inside said, "Then notify everyone to go wait outside Fufang Garden."

"Yes!" The man accepted the order and continued walking beside the carriage.

...

Inside a lakeside pavilion, Hao Yuntu was discussing affairs with the Sect Leaders of the three great sects.

Outside, Bu Xun exchanged a few words with a messenger, then quickly entered to report. "Your Majesty, three Sect Leaders, Elder Xu Bang at the western gate sent word. The Ghost Doctor has entered the city through the western gate."

"Oh!" The three Sect Leaders rose one after another. Hao Yuntu also slowly stood.

Yuwen Yan asked, "Did he manage to invite him here?" They too wanted to see this legendary Ghost Doctor.

Bu Xun said, "Elder Xu invited him, but the other party said that well water does not mix with river water, that he had come over a private matter, and refused to enter the palace..." He then relayed the details of the report.

San Qianli asked, "Where is he now?"

Bu Xun replied, "According to the report, he's circling through the city."

Hao Yuntu said, "Keep watching him. Report immediately if anything unusual happens."

"Yes!" Bu Xun acknowledged the order.

Hao Yuntu then turned to the three Sect Leaders. "This Ghost Doctor has summoned a group of cultivators to gather in the capital, and now he himself has arrived. Let's hope nothing happens."

It was a reminder that the three great sects should make preparations.

...

In the basement beneath Fufang Garden, Yucang was still watching Ximen Qingkong's interrogation.

The result remained both disappointing and infuriating.

The Spirit-Torment Pill could destroy Ximen Qingkong's body, but it could not destroy his resolve. His will was terrifyingly powerful. His flesh could be ravaged, yet he would not submit.

And precisely because of that, Yucang was all the less willing to let him go. A man like this would inevitably become a future calamity if released.

"Master!" Guo Xingshan hurried into the basement and cupped his hands. "Master, the Ghost Doctor is here!"

Yucang spun around. "He's already entered Fufang Garden?"

Guo Xingshan immediately realized he had misunderstood. "He's entered the city. We just received word. He's already inside the capital. Zhu Jian and You Peipei are serving as his guards."

The Ghost Doctor had finally come. Yucang's nerves were already taut, and hearing that Zhu Jian, third on the Golden Core Ranking, and You Peipei, fourth, were serving as the Ghost Doctor's guards only tightened them further. Both ranked above him.

A ranking might not prove everything about an individual's strength, but it certainly demonstrated the Ghost Doctor's influence.

Yucang's eyes shifted uncertainly. "Where is he now?"

Guo Xingshan said, "His movements are unclear. At present he's still circling around the city."

Yucang said grimly, "Keep watching. Report the instant anything unusual happens. And if you discover where he settles, tell me immediately."

"Yes!" Guo Xingshan quickly left.

Yucang looked back at the man rolling across the floor in agony. Gritting his teeth, he ordered, "Give him the antidote!"

Now that the Ghost Doctor had arrived, he was no longer in the mood to continue the interrogation. He stopped it and administered the antidote because he could not allow Ximen Qingkong to die from the poison yet.

This was how the previous rounds had gone as well. Whenever the poison pushed Ximen Qingkong close to death, they immediately gave him the antidote. Once his body recovered somewhat, they triggered the poison again and resumed the torture and interrogation.

After leaving the dungeon, Yucang raised a hand and warned Dugu Jing, "Strengthen the guard. There must not be the slightest negligence."

"Yes!" Dugu Jing replied, his expression equally grave.

Yucang returned to the main hall and paced, waiting for the Ghost Doctor to come to his door. Waiting like this was deeply unpleasant, especially when he did not know whether the Ghost Doctor would actually appear.

"Ding-didi... ding-didi..."

The bell on the carriage continued giving off its strange sound as the vehicle circled the broad streets of the capital instead of heading toward Fufang Garden.

The bell seemed to be an agreed summons. Cultivators repeatedly emerged onto the streets, approached the carriage, and cupped their hands in greeting. "Mr. Hei Li."

The man walking beside the carriage answered on his behalf. "Go wait outside Fufang Garden first."

"Mr. Hei Li."

"Go wait outside Fufang Garden first."

As time passed, word that the Ghost Doctor had arrived in the Qi capital gradually spread throughout the city's cultivation circles. Many people who heard the news came out simply to watch the spectacle.

Wherever the carriage went, even ordinary residents began to sense that something was wrong. Men and women carrying sabers and swords stood beneath the eaves of shops lining both sides of the streets, all eyes fixed on the passing carriage.

From time to time, armed cultivators would approach the moving carriage, exchange a greeting and a few words, then depart.

At the mouth of one alley, an old woman leaning on a cane waited quietly.

When the carriage drew near, she suddenly tossed the cane aside and tore the disguise from her head, revealing a beautiful face before stepping forward.

"Yan Baoru!" You Peipei exclaimed in surprise.

It was indeed Yan Baoru. She nodded, then walked alongside the carriage and cupped her hands. "Mr. Hei Li, I am Yan Baoru, an attendant serving Young Sir Wuxin. When disaster struck Young Sir's residence, he ordered me to escape first. After I got away, I could no longer contact him. I've been waiting until now..."

The old, deep voice inside cut her off. "Sit."

Sit? Yan Baoru looked left and right while walking, uncertain what he meant. For a moment, she thought she had misheard.

Tap, tap.

The driver in the conical hat struck the carriage shaft twice with his whip.

Yan Baoru immediately understood. A trace of delight appeared in her eyes. He was treating her as one of his own. She flashed up onto the shaft and sat sideways beside the driver with one leg folded beneath her.

Zhu Jian and You Peipei exchanged a glance. Both saw the same peculiar feeling in the other's eyes.

The experts ranked second, third, and fourth on the Golden Core Ranking were now all guarding the same carriage.

Apart from the Nine Saints, even the great sects beneath Heaven would probably find it difficult to gather the three of them together and have them obey orders.

It was only one carriage and a handful of people, yet whispers had already begun spreading among the cultivators watching from both sides of the street.

Some expressions turned solemn. Others showed open envy.

...

At Prince Ying's residence, Che Buchi of Daqiu Sect hurried inside and went directly to Hao Zhen, who was in a pavilion playing with his young child.

"Your Highness, the Ghost Doctor has arrived. He's entered the city."

Near a rockery, Gao Jianhou of Tianhuo Sect and Xie Longfei of Xuanbing Sect, who had been chatting, both turned at the sound and walked over.

Shao Liuer, who had been beside Hao Zhen, froze. She ventured, "Mr. Wuxin's master has come?"

Che Buchi gave a slight nod.

Hao Zhen handed the child to Shao Liuer, and she quickly summoned a wet nurse to carry the child away.

"So the Ghost Doctor has personally come to rescue Mr. Wuxin?" Hao Zhen asked.

Che Buchi said, "What worries us is that rescuing him may not be the whole of it. Yan Baoru, second on the Golden Core Ranking; Zhu Jian, third; and You Peipei, fourth, have all appeared and are serving as guards beside the Ghost Doctor. Cultivators throughout the city keep going to pay their respects to him, then heading for Fufang Garden. Large numbers have already begun gathering around the place."

Hao Zhen said, "With such a display, what does he intend? Is he really planning to fight inside the capital?"

Gao Jianhou said, "Rumor has it that the Ghost Doctor never lets a grievance go unanswered."

Xie Longfei nodded slightly. "Yucang never thought much of the Ghost Doctor in the first place. That would have been one thing, but he even seized the Ghost Doctor's direct disciple. He's probably regretting it now."

Shao Liuer ventured, "Wouldn't releasing him and settling the matter peacefully solve it?"

Che Buchi shook his head. "He's already riding a tiger and finds it hard to dismount. Even if he releases the man, he needs a reason to do so. Under this kind of pressure, how is he supposed to release him without losing face? He can't release him, and he can't leave either. The Ghost Doctor never tried negotiating with him from beginning to end. He simply came straight at Xiaoyue Pavilion head-on, plainly intending to teach Yucang a lesson. Yucang miscalculated this time. He probably thought a powerless, uninfluential physician wasn't worth taking seriously and never expected the Ghost Doctor to be this forceful. Now he's trapped himself between advance and retreat."

Hao Zhen folded his hands over his abdomen. "So from beginning to end, the Ghost Doctor never intended to negotiate with Yucang over releasing the prisoner. He's simply going to clash head-on with Xiaoyue Pavilion. Quite a temper. What stance are the three great sects taking at present?"

The three sect cultivators exchanged looks. Che Buchi answered for them. "They seem inclined to wait and watch. Sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight is the safest course."

Hao Zhen nodded slightly. "Father seems somewhat dissatisfied with Yucang over Old Seventeen's death as well."

Shao Liuer was worried about something else. After listening to them discuss the matter, she asked tentatively, "Now that the Ghost Doctor has come in person, can he rescue Mr. Wuxin?"

Hao Zhen glanced at her. "Whether he can rescue him is no longer important. This isn't something we can concern ourselves with, and you mustn't involve yourself either."

...

More and more cultivators gathered around Fufang Garden until the entire compound was essentially surrounded.

Guo Xingshan hurried into the main hall, looking troubled. He cupped his hands and reported, "Master, more and more people are gathering outside. By our preliminary estimate, there are probably no fewer than five thousand. They've surrounded Fufang Garden completely!"

In truth, the Ghost Doctor had not summoned that many people. Even more had simply heard about the commotion and come to watch.

But Yucang's side had no way of knowing that. No one could tell who had come because they owed the Ghost Doctor a favor and who had not. By the Ghost Doctor's rules, people who owed him favors normally kept quiet about it.

Now so many people had suddenly appeared that no one knew what to make of it.

[End of Chapter 1317]