Those chaotic fools were indeed foolish and malicious, but they stared at Lin Zhi and Jing Jiujiu for a long time.
They watched as Lin Zhi tried to hug Jing Jiujiu, only to be coldly and mercilessly stopped by Bai Yuhuai.
Then they saw their king, with snot and tears, reach out towards that beautiful youth. ... Was he craving? We also felt very tempted looking at them. Oh no, it doesn't seem to be craving.
The chaotic beings struggled to process this unfamiliar emotion.
It wasn't craving.
It was crying.
Why was the king crying? Was it tears of joy?
The strict hierarchy among the chaotic beings meant that with the king standing there, they naturally didn't dare to act freely.
They could only quietly wait for the king to make the first move.
But they waited and waited, and in the end, the king did nothing but cry.
Oh, maybe the king couldn't quite recognize what these things were.
The chaotic beings hurriedly spoke up all at once: "They are tributes for the king."
"The energy in their bodies is very pure. The king can swallow them whole, one at a time, and quickly become even more powerful and fierce..."
After hearing this, Lin Zhi said dryly to Jing Jiujiu: "How could I possibly eat Jiujiu?"
He was more worried that Jiujiu would eat him.
Jing Jiujiu pointed to the palace in the distance: "Is that yours?"
Lin Zhi quickly replied: "Yes, yes."
Jing Jiujiu unceremoniously turned the tables: "We've been standing for a long time. Why don't you take us inside to sit down first?"
Lin Zhi: "Of course, of course!"
After saying this, Lin Zhi turned to look at the other chaotic beings, suddenly adopting the demeanor he had when acting before.
He slightly raised his chin, imitating Bai Yuhuai's aura, with a cold and arrogant expression, pointing at Jing Jiujiu: "He is my boss."
The chaotic beings looked confused, clearly not understanding what "boss" meant.
Lin Zhi had to demonstrate on the spot, kneeling before Jing Jiujiu, bowing, and saying: "He is the king."
The chaotic beings first had a look of sudden realization, then became puzzled again.
How could there be a king above their king?
Seeing them still looking dumbfounded, Lin Zhi couldn't help but say urgently: "You're supposed to listen to Mr. Lake first, right? Then I'm above Mr. Lake, right? He... he's even above me! Do you understand now?"
They're really stupid, even stupider than me!
Who is whose tribute? Don't they have any sense?
They don't even know who they're standing in front of! That Mr. Bai could probably tear them all apart and feed them to Jiujiu!
Master Zhou listened with his mouth twitching. These chaotic things even had several social classes?
Kings and lords and whatnot.
But after this performance, Master Zhou truly wasn't afraid anymore. He could even stand beside the young master and act like an arrogant henchman.
At this point, the chaotic beings finally put away the ferocious look in their eyes. They followed behind Lin Zhi, stumbling as they knelt down and kowtowed to Jing Jiujiu. It really had the flavor of an ancient feudal dynasty now.
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
Looks like they're a bunch of brainless things.
Seeing this, Lin Zhi was suddenly satisfied.
This way, Mr. Bai wouldn't let Jiujiu eat them... very good.
"Mr. Bai, Jiujiu... and you." Lin Zhi pointed at Master Zhou, "Please follow me."
Jing Jiujiu followed behind Lin Zhi as they walked forward.
The chaotic beings' eyes flashed with a predatory gleam, looking longingly at Bai Yuhuai and Master Zhou.
Although one of them was quite old, the energy in his body was both abundant and pure!
They weren't the king's king, so why couldn't they be eaten?
The chaotic beings followed sparsely behind, almost escorting them as they walked across the barren ground devoid of any life, then across a bridge, through the blood-colored sky, stepping onto ground that felt like mud and sand... leaving footprints with each step.
Sigh.
What a hassle.
I'm a ghost! Why do I still need to use feet to walk?
Jing Jiujiu: "Bai Yuhuai."
"Hmm?"
Jing Jiujiu suddenly reached out and wrapped his arms around Bai Yuhuai's waist.
Bai Yuhuai was startled for a moment, then raised his hand to pat Jing Jiujiu's neck.
How could there be such a clingy little ghost... Hmm?
Bai Yuhuai's mood suddenly changed.
Jing Jiujiu, while hugging him, took flight, heading straight for the palace.
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
He never imagined that in his lifetime, he would be picked up and flown by a little ghost.
Actually, in the past, when Jing Jiujiu didn't want to walk, he would definitely ride on Bai Yuhuai's back, letting him carry or hug him.
But now, Jing Jiujiu felt he was in a romantic relationship, so he should be good to his boyfriend!
Master Zhou behind them: ?
What about me???
Lin Zhi turned his head, reluctantly looked at Master Zhou, and imitated the action, hugging Master Zhou, this wrinkle-covered old tangerine, and flew into the palace.
Master Zhou: ???
In his lifetime, he had never received such treatment!
"Alright." Jing Jiujiu gently let go.
The palace was extremely majestic, with a faint smell of decay emanating from within.
Jing Jiujiu turned his head to look and saw that beneath the ornate exterior, the inside was empty, with barely any furniture.
Clearly, when they stole it, they only remembered to steal the palace itself.
Bai Yuhuai hooked Jing Jiujiu's wrist from behind.
Jing Jiujiu, not to be outdone, grabbed back.
Their fingers tangled together in a flurry, finally interlocking.
Lin Zhi watched, covering his eyes and exclaiming.
Master Zhou's feet also touched the ground.
Looking at the scene before him, he clicked his tongue in admiration: "In my lifetime, I never imagined I'd enter a place like this..."
As he spoke, Master Zhou lowered his voice and asked quietly: "Are we... safe now? If we've entered the palace, could it be a trap, like sheep entering a tiger's den or fish in a barrel?"
Lin Zhi, hearing this from behind, smacked his lips, thinking to himself that this old thing was even more cultured than him.
He could even use two idioms!
Is this why he could stay by Jiujiu's side, while I had to be fattened up here?
Lin Zhi began to speak: "Don't..."
He had already infiltrated the chaotic beings, he would help Jiujiu!
Before Lin Zhi could finish, Jing Jiujiu spoke first: "Bai Yuhuai is incredibly capable! You can go in without worry."
The corners of Bai Yuhuai's mouth curved slightly upwards as he softly replied: "Mm."
Master Zhou thought about it and realized it was true. In this world, he hadn't yet seen anything that could truly trouble Bai Yuhuai...
Master Zhou quickly volunteered: "I'll go in front. If we really encounter any danger, young master, run quickly."
Lin Zhi unhappily strode in: "This is where I sleep. What danger could there be? Don't you trust me?"
Master Zhou followed closely behind.
They saw that inside the hall, there were also many "people" without faces, some even missing arms and legs.
They all bowed to Lin Zhi in unison, scaring Master Zhou so badly he almost vomited on the spot.
Jing Jiujiu, looking at this, also felt his scalp tingle a bit.
It wasn't exactly terrifying.
After all, there was no eerie background music like in movies, no atmospheric build-up... they were simply ugly, that's all!
Jing Jiujiu walked behind Lin Zhi and asked in a low voice: "Who is Mr. Lake?"
"I don't know," Lin Zhi replied, slightly confused, trying hard to recall. "I've only been here for about ten days or so... This Mr. Lake they refer to, I've never seen him. Apparently, he was fished out of the lake. There's... there's a large expanse of black water outside, did you see it? They call it the River of the Netherworld."
Jing Jiujiu responded: "We saw it."
Lin Zhi hurriedly moved an antique chair for Jing Jiujiu to sit on. Jing Jiujiu sighed lightly and pointed at the chair, saying: "This is very expensive. Do you know how much they'd have to pay if they stole this?"
The chaotic beings were dumbfounded: "H-how much?"
Jing Jiujiu: "This looks like an item from the Song Dynasty. It would cost at least several million..."
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhi nearly fainted on the spot.
Lin Zhi: "Wuwu, Jiujiu, you really need to save me..."
Jing Jiujiu asked in a low voice: "Do you know anything else about Mr. Lake?"
Is Mr. Lake a person?
How could he mix in among the chaotic beings?
It's really strange.
Lin Zhi nodded quickly: "Although I haven't been doing well every day, I haven't been idle either. To save myself, I asked them many questions..."
Hearing this, Bai Yuhuai's lips tightened slightly.
The little ghost had learned to bluff and interrogate.
How cute and clever.
Lin Zhi: "For example, this so-called king was mentioned by Mr. Lake to them. Mr. Lake also created some kind of system, saying that this way everyone would have clear divisions of labor, distinct social classes, rewards based on merit, encouraging everyone to produce actively..."
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
Mr. Lake seems quite skilled, clearly well-versed in the systems of various dynasties throughout history.
Master Zhou couldn't help but interject, "Active production? Where are they supposed to produce anything? They're just snatching living people from outside. Isn't that kidnapping?"
Lin Zhi listened.
That's pretty bad.
It seems illegal too.
Afraid that Jing Jiujiu might turn his anger on him, Lin Zhi quickly agreed, "Yes, yes, it's kidnapping... They haven't produced anything. They're too stupid."
Lin Zhi still felt angry talking about it: "Look at those missing arms and legs, they can't even pour me tea... oh, there's no tea here either... sigh, it's too miserable..."
The corner of Master Zhou's mouth twitched.
You're not much better yourself...
Jing Jiujiu didn't care who was stupider, he asked Lin Zhi, "Was it Mr. Lake who told them you were the king?"
Lin Zhi: "Mm-hmm. Mr. Lake told them to find a king. I could be king, probably because..." Lin Zhi trailed off.
Jing Jiujiu stared at him.
Lin Zhi couldn't withstand such a gaze and sheepishly said, "Because my true form is very fat, fatter than all of them combined... and irregularly fat too."
Lin Zhi was on the verge of tears as he spoke.
He never imagined that chaos would consider fat to be beautiful and strong.
Jiujiu already thought he was ugly, now he probably thought he was even uglier.
Jing Jiujiu let out a soft "Ah": "What does it look like?"
Lin Zhi shook his head repeatedly: "I can't show you..."
Bai Yuhuai lifted his eyelids slightly and said coolly, "It can't show you. We're currently inside a chaos creature's mouth, see how big this mouth is?"
Master Zhou said hazily, "This place... seems like a small world of its own."
Bai Yuhuai: "Mm, so you can imagine how enormous Lin Zhi must be, bigger than all of them combined. If it revealed its true form, it might envelop an entire province, or even several provinces."
Master Zhou: !
Jing Jiujiu: "Wow."
Hearing this "wow," Lin Zhi didn't detect any disgust, but rather it seemed quite amazed. Lin Zhi couldn't help but wiggle his body, finally showing a hint of a smile on his face.
Lin Zhi: "Well... it's just average..."
Bai Yuhuai's voice grew slightly cold: "They're still continuing to feed Lin Zhi, how enormous will it become in the future?"
Master Zhou felt anxious hearing this: "...Then, then in the future, wouldn't a single bite swallow an entire continent?"
Lin Zhi still thought they were praising him, wiggling his body and lightly humming, "No, no, it's just average. Not that big of a mouth."
Master Zhou felt a chill run down his spine: "Then in the future... wouldn't it be invincible? The whole world, the entire Earth..."
Bai Yuhuai spoke coldly and indifferently: "So, what does this Mr. Lake intend to do?"
Jing Jiujiu also couldn't help but feel slightly worried listening to this.
The chaos's tolerance was too strong, not just for people, but for inanimate objects, a lake, ghosts... it swallowed everything.
Jing Jiujiu raised his face to look at Lin Zhi: "Have you eaten people?"
Lin Zhi hurriedly said: "No. I just didn't know at first and absorbed the energy of two evil ghosts, turning their energy into part of my chaos..."
As he spoke, Lin Zhi even took off his mouth to show Jing Jiujiu: "Look, there's no human flesh stuck between my teeth... I don't eat people."
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Master Zhou: "Ugh."
That's really not necessary!
Jing Jiujiu touched his numb scalp and frowned, saying: "Put it back quickly."
Lin Zhi sheepishly said: "Okay."
Jiujiu didn't even look closely.
At this moment, Bai Yuhuai reached out his hand and gently stroked the top of Jing Jiujiu's head before speaking: "You haven't seen Mr. Lake, but he should also be living inside the chaos's mouth. Do you know exactly where he is?"
Lin Zhi shook his head.
Bai Yuhuai: "Then go ask."
Lin Zhi was afraid of him, so after hearing this he immediately nodded and slipped out to ask the other chaos creatures.
The transmission of messages between chaos creatures should be very fast. The chaos in the palace saw Jing Jiujiu and all showed fearful expressions, while still drooling profusely, slurping it back as they flowed. They swayed and limped out with their missing limbs and twisted bodies.
Seeing this, Master Zhou felt much more at ease.
Lin Zhi returned soon after: "He lives on the other side of the River Styx, where the sky is reddest. But they say we can't go find Mr. Lake, he'll get angry."
Bai Yuhuai said coldly: "What does his anger have to do with us?"
Lin Zhi: "...That makes sense."
Jing Jiujiu: "Then let's go over there now."
As soon as he finished speaking, Master Zhou's stomach let out a gurgling sound.
Master Zhou laughed awkwardly: "Well, it seems I'm ready for dinner."
Jing Jiujiu immediately changed his tune: "Right, Bai Yuhuai and the others haven't eaten yet... Let's eat before we go."
Lin Zhi was extremely proactive: "I'll have them go find food."
As he spoke, he was about to step out the door.
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Jing Jiujiu: "Wait."
This active production is equivalent to kidnapping. Finding food is probably equivalent to stealing.
Jing Jiujiu reached into Bai Yuhuai's coat pocket, fumbled around for a while, and pulled out a wallet.
Bai Yuhuai just stood there, letting him take it.
Master Zhou watched in amazement.
Only the young master could so casually put his hands all over Mr. Bai like that, right?
Jing Jiujiu took out a stack of hundred-yuan bills from the wallet and handed them to Lin Zhi, earnestly instructing: "Have them use money to buy things, understand? No stealing."
Lin Zhi pinched the money in his hand, nodding happily as he left.
The chaos creatures had indeed internalized a strict class system. Although they found it strange why they needed to find food for food, they obediently took the money and left.
Two chaos creatures with faces each took some money and went out.
Lin Zhi turned back and busied himself again.
He arranged sleeping places for them, and since there were no blankets, he had the chaos creatures light bonfires so they wouldn't get cold easily.
"Mr. Lake's place looks close to us, but it's actually very far... I'll have them bring in a car... Then we can drive over there."
Master Zhou: "..."
Ah.
So you can even drive a car inside a chaos creature's mouth.
This is truly a new life experience!
Bai Yuhuai lowered his head and took out his phone.
There was actually still a signal in here, just a bit weak.
Seeing this, Master Zhou also took out his phone and exclaimed: "Mobile signal towers are amazing!"
Meanwhile, Lin Zhi sent out several more chaos creatures to steal—no, to get a car.
Bai Yuhuai provided the location, saying they could get the car by mentioning his name.
7:30 PM.
The night market in this city was just starting to get lively, with the aroma of hot pot, skewers, and barbecue permeating the entire street.
White-collar workers who had just gotten off work gathered in small groups.
"Here, add some dumplings!"
"One roasted lamb leg!"
A delivery driver picked up a meal box and turned to get on his motorcycle, but suddenly froze when he looked up.
"What is that?" the delivery driver said in a daze.
A large mass of gray, smog-like substance enveloped the area, instantly covering the entire street.
Everything went dark.
Everyone was frightened.
"What happened? Did the power go out?"
"Damn, did I go blind?"
"Is it a solar eclipse? No... I didn't see any news alerts, damn..."
"A m-monster?"
After a brief commotion, their vision quickly returned, accompanied by what felt like a gust of wind passing through them.
They strained their eyes wide open, discussing in panic.
The whole street was still the same as before, not a single person missing.
"Damn, where are my dumplings?"
"Where's my lamb leg?"
"Where's my pot!"
A dozen or so hundred-yuan bills slowly fluttered to the ground.
"Should we... call the police?" Everyone was in a daze.
What exactly... had they experienced?
What kind of monster could this possibly be?
On the other side, the chaos creatures stared at a small car lot, chirping and muttering, and finally took away a bright red and green car that looked particularly nice.
When they returned, the chaos creatures stood in front of Jing Jiujiu and cautiously opened their mouths.
Ah-woo, out came a spicy hot pot.
Ah-woo, out came a cheese milk tea.
Ah-woo, out came a stove with a roasted lamb leg still hanging on it...
Jing Jiujiu: ?
When it came to the last chaos creature, it opened its mouth and spit out a three-wheeled convertible carnival ride.
Jing Jiujiu: ??
Lin Zhi scolded them: "You're really stupid." He sent them away.
Then he turned and sat down with Jing Jiujiu and the others to eat spicy hot pot.
Master Zhou held his chopsticks, feeling dazed and confused.
What kind of "dragon's pool and tiger's den" was this? He had thought there would be a big fight...
Everyone finished eating quickly.
Jing Jiujiu assigned Lin Zhi to Master Zhou, saying, "This way he won't be scared."
Master Zhou felt quite touched hearing this.
Although there was no real danger anymore, he still couldn't sleep well with all these man-eating things around...
After giving instructions, Jing Jiujiu went with Bai Yuhuai to a side hall next to the main palace.
The side hall was even emptier, with just a lone fire pit lit.
Jing Jiujiu smacked his lips: "If only we'd known to have them buy some bedding to bring back..."
Bai Yuhuai took off his coat and spread it on the ground. He sat down and opened his arms to Jing Jiujiu: "Come here."
Jing Jiujiu didn't know why, but he felt oddly happy. He dove straight into Bai Yuhuai's embrace, hugging his waist, and rolled them both down to the ground.
Bai Yuhuai swallowed the words that had been on the tip of his tongue.
He had wanted to tell Jing Jiujiu, "I can't sleep."
Then Jing Jiujiu would ask, "Why?"
And Bai Yuhuai could say, "I'm a bit cold."
Then Jing Jiujiu would hug him...
But now they had skipped all those steps and gone straight to the result.
Bai Yuhuai held Jing Jiujiu's waist tightly, his heart softening.
Though Bai Yuhuai had lost his chance to act it out, Jing Jiujiu spoke up from his embrace: "Are you cold?"
Now that Jing Jiujiu had actually asked, Bai Yuhuai didn't want to worry him anymore.
Bai Yuhuai: "I'm not cold."
But Jing Jiujiu didn't believe him.
He felt a bit chilly even as a paper person, let alone Bai Yuhuai who was a real human.
Jing Jiujiu snuggled deeper into his embrace, pressing against Bai Yuhuai with almost no space between them: "Are you still cold?"
Then Jing Jiujiu immediately contradicted himself: "I'm a ghost, I'm not warm at all. You shouldn't be hugging me..."
But Bai Yuhuai held his waist firmly, not letting go. He pressed his forehead against Jing Jiujiu's and kissed the tip of his nose: "...In a moment, it'll get warm."
Jing Jiujiu: "Is it warm?"
Bai Yuhuai: "Mm." His voice changed subtly, becoming low and husky: "If you don't believe me, feel for yourself."
Following his lead, Jing Jiujiu touched him.
Wow, goodness!
Not just warm, it was almost hot enough to burn a ghost's hand!
Jing Jiujiu thought that if he had blood flowing through his body, his cheeks would be red, and his neck too.
He lifted his leg and slipped it between Bai Yuhuai's, their bodies intertwining tightly.
Jing Jiujiu nuzzled against Bai Yuhuai, whispering: "...I think I'm starting to feel warm too..."
Bai Yuhuai bit his lip, uttering a soft "Mm" from his throat.
...
The human and the ghost slept in this twisted position. Bai Yuhuai didn't catch a cold, and Jing Jiujiu remained a proper ghost. When they woke up, Jing Jiujiu even felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
It turned out sleeping while hugging someone was so comfortable.
Jing Jiujiu licked his lips before going out to call Master Zhou.
Master Zhou and Lin Zhi were already up.
The former was older and a light sleeper, while the latter didn't need sleep at all.
Master Zhou said: "I've already shown Lin Zhi my son's photo. He said he'd help me look for him."
Jing Jiujiu nodded.
Bai Yuhuai slowly walked out at this moment.
Lin Zhi was startled: "What happened to Mr. Bai's neck?"
Bai Yuhuai lightly pressed his hand to his neck, his gaze flickering as he said calmly: "Just a pressure mark."
Lin Zhi was alarmed, wondering if those chaotic fools had tried to eat Mr. Bai and left a bite mark when they failed.
Meanwhile, Jing Jiujiu turned his head away slightly, feeling a bit guilty.
Bai Yuhuai came over and sat close to him, changing the subject: "Let's go after we eat."
Lin Zhi responded: "Alright." And forgot about what he'd just said.
After eating, the group got on the colorful open-air tricycle, which was quite eye-catching, and crossed the bridge over the River of the Netherworld.
Suddenly, Yama's stiff voice came from Jing Jiujiu's backpack: "...Nai... he."
Jing Jiujiu: "What?"
But Yama fell silent after that.
The little tricycle kept driving until it finally stopped in front of a treehouse.
The house was built using a towering tree as support, with a small stream in front. The water was black, seemingly drawn from the River of the Netherworld.
Lin Zhi jumped off the vehicle and patted his chest: "You all wait outside. I'll go in first to check the situation..."
Bai Yuhuai: "Mm."
Lin Zhi raised his hand to knock, then walked in.
At this moment, both the little robot in the backpack and Jing Jiujiu heard a prompt:
[Progress on finding the lost divine address — 50%]
[Congratulations to you and your host for taking another big step towards completing the mission. New title "King of Chaos" about to drop]
[Dro...dro...dropping successful]
Just then, Lin Zhi pushed the door open and came out, gasping: "Mr. Lake is human!"
Jing Jiujiu: ?
If not human, what else could he be?
Curious, Jing Jiujiu walked over and also knocked three times: "Hello."
As his words fell, he could vaguely see a tall figure standing up inside.
So Jing Jiujiu pushed the door open and walked in.
Bai Yuhuai followed closely behind.
The figure turned around at this moment.
It was a man about 184 or 185 centimeters tall, with hair falling down his back from lack of grooming. The man had handsome features, with a hint of nonchalance and arrogance between his brows and eyes.
A pair of almond-shaped eyes stared intently at Jing Jiujiu: "...Son?"