"Gasp... Gasp..."
Jiang Kuang's breath was heavy, his temples pulsing ceaselessly. Looking at me, his eyes held a mix of shock, surprise... and waves of gratitude.
Looking at Jiang Kuang in return, he looked much more disheveled than before.
"Tian Shou Dao Guan? They want to kill you? That's not right. They have a strand of your soul, and it would be easy for them to take your life." I shook my head.
Jiang Kuang's eyes contained a bitter smile. He kicked the corpse on the ground and said, "Things are indeed complicated, but thankfully, with the help of brothers like Xian Shen today, I managed to resolve this problem. Now that he's dead, the fate tablets inside Tian Shou Dao Guan will be broken, and we have to find a safer place."
After speaking, Jiang Kuang appeared somewhat reluctant. He glanced at the spot he had emerged from and resolutely made a gesture of invitation.
Though I have many questions I want to ask, it's obvious that now is not the time for too much talk.
As Jiang Kuang walked out of the factory, the rain outside was still raging, with thunder and lightning rolling in.
"Silian" followed me, her expression one of alarm.
It's not fear from Silian herself, but from Lao Gong.
Jiang Kuang just looked at Silian briefly and didn't ask any further questions.
There was a jeep right at the entrance of the factory, just as dirty as before, indicating that it hadn't been used for a long time.
After we got into the jeep, drenched from the rain, Jiang Kuang stepped on the gas pedal and quickly drove out of the factory area.
As the car drove on the night road, his tense expression finally looked a bit more relaxed.
"Alas, if Xian Shen brother hadn't come, I probably wouldn't have lasted much longer. He knew I was in the factory and was watching me, but he dare not risk breaking through that wall... there are some of my last defenses inside." Jiang Kuang spoke complexly.
I didn't open my mouth, just waiting for Jiang Kuang to speak on his own.
He hesitated for a moment before continuing, after passing a crossroads: "The Tianshou Dao Guan is too much for people. They are too heartless. Last time, wasn't it with your help and the Miss of Huanying that I managed to obtain a Five Hell Ghost?"
"It wasn't by means of help; we spared her because she was too pitiable and miserable. You took advantage of her weakness and caught her." I corrected one sentence.
"Ah... Yes, that's right..." Jiang Kuang sounded slightly embarrassed.
However, I had a slight sense of alertness.
My intuition told me that I should pay attention to Jiang Kuang's small actions.
He seems to be trying to get closer, not very obvious, but very detailed.
Maybe I'm being too vigilant. However, as the saying goes, "Cautiousness saves a lifetime."
"Jiang Huang Ghost Niche has been completely destroyed by Tianshou Dao Guan. That Five Hell Ghost is very important. During the years I have been in the ghost niche, I actually still have a normal identity. After much thought, I plan to let my sister and me re-establish the ghost niche again. In fact, she used to be responsible for some of the ghost niche's logistics."
"It's because the Five Hell Ghost is too important, and I'm not daring to look for strangers. My own sister, someone I know well from the roots..."
As he spoke, a resentment and bitterness appeared on Jiang Kuang's face.
"My sister, just with my help, had made some coordination with the Five Hell Ghost. That damned Daoist came out of nowhere, and I don't know how they found out, but they forcefully pulled the soul out of my sister's body! Both her and the Five Hell Ghost were taken away."
"I stumbled back to the glass factory in a daze, and the Daoist came back. He meant to take me back to the sect for punishment!"
"They limited the development of the Jianghuang City Ghost Niche and left me to suffer alone. If I tried to develop further, it would be going against Tianshou Dao Guan, and I had to pay a price."
"I couldn't beat him, so I hid in the secret room. There were defenses in the secret room, and he would die if he rashly came in."
"Then there was that scene you saw earlier with Brother Xian Shen..."
"In just a few days, I will run out of food and supplies. Tianshou Dao Guan hasn't sent any more people, only relying on that one person to wear me down... it's truly ruthless!"
I remained silent.
From the details, it's clear that Jiang Kuang is genuinely eager to rebuild the ghost niche. That statement about not wanting to be the leader was just talk after all.
Saving him is not risky.
But it's inevitable that something will happen!
It seems that now that we're acting like brothers, once we leave Jiang Huang, he won't be the same person anymore.
Silian's worries have sufficient reason.
"Brother Xian Shen, are you going to cooperate with me now?"
His tone was slightly excited and joyful.
"I'll tell you, last time, there seemed to be some issues with Tianshou Dao Guan. That's why I took the risk. They sent someone to kill me, and if they couldn't send reinforcements, it might be another reason."
I remained silent.
Jiang Kuang looked a bit embarrassed; he didn't say anything anymore.
The car was constantly driving on the road.
Suddenly, "Silian" asked: "Why don't they directly kill you through a strand of soul? Now, it has been a while since the Daoist died. They should have figured it out by now."
Jiang Kuang glanced over his shoulder at the rear through the rearview mirror before explaining: "That strand of soul, it's enough to keep me from leaving Jiang Huang. They would need to control it, and it's sufficient. If they really want to kill me, I would risk shattering my soul to cling to life, but unless they send a sect elder with that strand of soul to kill me, they have no guarantee of success. Anyone else bringing a soul would allow me to take it back."
"But, their elders have been replaced. The new batch may not be as powerful as the old ones. This may also be why they don't dare to take risks."
Jiang Kuang's explanation was much more detailed than what Lao Gong asked.
It seemed as if he was talking about his own abilities to me.
As the leader of the Ghost Niche, he definitely isn't weak.
The car finally came to a halt.
This was a relatively busy street, even after the rain. There were still many pedestrians on the road, and there were many small food stalls on both sides.
Jiang Kuang parked the car in a parking space and led us into a rusty unit door on the side of the road. Instead of going up to the second floor, we went downstairs.
The semi-basement had only one door. He opened it and casually turned on the light.
I, together with Silian, followed him into the semi-basement. Without thinking, I closed the door behind us.
The weight of thought in his eyes was heavy, and I had been hesitating.
"Brother Xian Shen?" Jiang Kuang asked with a smile, "Why are you being so silent? Please sit down. You can rest assured, this place can't be found by Tianshou Dao Guan. It's not that I was cornered in the glass factory that I looked so disheveled. Sit for a while, I'll go make a pot of hot tea, and we'll talk about Sun Zhuo's vulnerable spot!"
He directly skipped over that and asked if we wanted to cooperate and push things forward.
"I'll say no for now, but cooperation is conditional." I finally spoke up in a deep voice.
Jiang Kuang's expression remained unchanged, and his look of joy was still there.
"Conditions, they can be anything you want! As an expert, you should have mentioned it earlier. Just by stopping for a moment, we could have chosen some of my collections from Jianghuang City's Ghost Niche. I was a bit impatient and overlooked that."
I didn't pay any attention to Jiang Kuang's words and stared at his forehead, saying: "The conditions are simple. After leaving Jianghuang City, you need to go to another place and cannot leave. You cannot hurt people, nor can you raise ghosts."
"Um, if you agree, I'll give you a strand of soul."
Jiang Kuang's face suddenly turned stiff, and he seemed extremely unnatural, "Brother Xian Shen... are you joking with me?"
