I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 338 - 302: Ink-Washed Ghoul Domain

Sang Que returned to Bright Moon Mountain, quietly entered Xia Chan’s room, and spread the modern snacks she brought across a bed.

After Xia Chan woke up and saw so many colorful and dazzling packaging bags, she rubbed her eyes, thinking she was dreaming, laid down, covered herself with the quilt, and continued to sleep.

Within three seconds, Xia Chan sat up again, shouting, "Little Chan isn’t dreaming, Little Chan has already found my sister!"

Only then did Xia Chan believe that all the delicious snacks on the bed were real.

Sitting on the bed, Xia Chan cried and ate at the same time, while Sang Que opened a row of various flavored cans and cat bars on the table for Xuan Yu, letting Xuan Yu indulge in them at once. Xuan Yu also meowed and ate, its eyes growing moist.

Sang Que rubbed Xuan Yu’s head and noticed that Xia Chan’s hair and Xuan Yu’s fur were blacker and shinier than before, and there were even muscle contours on Xuan Yu’s little arms and legs. The claws hidden in its paws exuded the aura of evil spirits.

It seems they were well taken care of by Qiao Ling.

After breakfast, Sang Que gathered everyone in the Ruan Family Village’s council hall, introducing Yu Da and Liu Tianyou to Luo Danian and announcing that all village affairs would henceforth be arranged by Liu Tianyou.

Holding a mirror, Liu Tianyou shrank into a corner, silently lowering his presence. As Sang Que finished speaking, many eyes in the council hall turned to him simultaneously, making Liu Tianyou’s scalp tighten as the power of the Zhuangyuan Ghost surged, turning into black sweat trickling down his forehead.

Luo Danian and the others were initially unconvinced, wondering what abilities Liu Tianyou, a frail scholar, possessed for the Big Boss to value him so much. Seeing the sweat on Liu Tianyou’s forehead, they immediately realized Liu Tianyou was a Yin Walker.

Appearances can be deceiving! Do not provoke!

Yu Da inherently liked free living, while Yao Zhen was on the verge of collapse from being busy before, so having someone to share the burden naturally made her happy, as long as Xia Chan had food she was satisfied.

Actually, Liu Tianyou didn’t intend to refuse; with his current situation, he couldn’t enter the imperial court through normal examinations anymore, and Bright Moon Mountain was the perfect place to practice and realize his ambitions and aspirations.

Moreover, they were focusing on survival and self-protection rather than rebellion, so Liu Tianyou was able to convince himself.

Sang Que still let Yao Zhen manage Bright Moon Mountain’s money bag, continuing to coordinate with Zhang Junyao there.

As for Yu Da, Sang Que allowed him to wander around Bright Moon Mountain for now, to decide what he wanted to do, before making arrangements.

Qiao Ling didn’t attend the meeting at all; early in the morning, she asked Sang Que for the location of the Corpse Nourishing Land, learned about the two Jumping Corpses there, and couldn’t wait to find them. Besides medical research, Qiao Ling wasn’t interested in anything else.

In the following three days, Yao Zhen led Luo Danian and the others to hand over work with Liu Tianyou.

Liu Tianyou was very diligent and responsible; in the company of the brothers Luo Danian and Luo Dayong, he ran everywhere in Bright Moon Mountain, carrying a copper mirror, inspecting the fields, checking the brick kilns on the mountain, asking about river construction downstream, and even visiting the construction sites of Eight Diagram City and Chaotian Pass several times, carefully recording issues.

Meanwhile, Sang Que and Xia Chan together swept away evil spirits and evil ghosts emerging within a hundred miles around Bright Moon Mountain, restoring the trigrams, and capturing some evil spirits for experimental use in the paintings.

That night, Sang Que returned to the Ruan Family Village in Bright Moon Mountain, which was close to the pass of Chaotian Pass and the Eight Diagram City under construction, serving temporarily as Liu Tianyou’s office.

Once inside the council hall, Sang Que saw Liu Tianyou clutching a copper mirror against his abdomen with one hand and grasping a brush with the other, sleeping face down on the table, with the brush poking his face and leaving an ink mark.

Seeing this, Xia Chan secretly covered her mouth and laughed, while Xuan Yu leaped onto the beam as soon as it entered, occupying the high ground by habit, beginning to lick its paws and wash its face.

Clang!

The copper mirror in Liu Tianyou’s arms fell to the ground, waking him up with fright; his face turned pale white, and he quickly picked up the copper mirror and pressed it tightly against his abdomen, not daring to part with it for a moment, as if without the copper mirror, he would die.

Sang Que couldn’t help but smile, "You’re much more stable now, even without the copper mirror, you won’t lose control."

Upon hearing Sang Que’s voice, Liu Tianyou hurriedly stood up and saluted, "Big Boss."

"How’s the work transition going?" Sang Que walked over and asked.

After greeting Sang Que, Xia Chan returned to her room since she lived in this village and was thinking about the snacks hidden in her room.

Liu Tianyou hastily searched the desk with one hand, "I’ve already fully understood the situation in the mountains; to be honest, everything here is utterly chaotic, with no supporting management measures in any aspect. The fact that it hasn’t fallen into complete chaos yet is entirely due to the Big Boss’s intimidating strength."

Sang Que, feeling slightly ashamed, touched her nose.

"I’ve already compiled several key aspects that need attention; I was planning to discuss them with you tomorrow. Currently, what’s most lacking in the mountains is people, especially those who can assist me with internal affairs and improve household registration. Those bandits who can barely write won’t do." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"No rush, let’s deal with your issue first."

Liu Tianyou was puzzled.

Sang Que explained, "Aren’t you worried that the Zhuangyuan Ghost might retaliate? I now have a way to help you fully tame him, without having to solely rely on the Heart Lamp. As long as I’m alive, he won’t be able to fight back against you anymore. Even when your Heart Lamp isn’t strong, he might occasionally disobey your orders, but he can’t kill you. If you die, he dies too."

Sang Que said it would last as long as she was alive, but in reality, it meant that as long as the Mountain Ghost Coin existed and was passed on, the Mountain Ghost Seal would persist.

In the past, Yin Walkers weren’t artificially created; it completely relied on luck. There weren’t many Yin Walkers in Nine Songs, and the total amount of Yin Walkers marked by witches with the Mountain Ghost Seal wasn’t large. Currently, Sang Que wasn’t sure if there was a limit to marking others with the Mountain Ghost Seal and could only slowly verify it through future attempts.

Liu Tianyou’s eyes widened; during his free time these days, he had asked Yu Da about matters concerning Yin Walkers and felt troubled over how to control the Zhuangyuan Ghost.

He had seen some memory scenes from the Zhuangyuan Ghost during possession, and the Zhuangyuan Ghost’s personality was indescribable.

The Zhuangyuan Ghost was a typical romantic talent, fond of visiting brothels, indulging in wine and pleasure, and whimsically painting on fair-skinned women.

In his lifetime, if a courtesan could get his artwork on her body, her status would soar instantly.

For Liu Tianyou to impersonate the Zhuangyuan Ghost was impossible; he was seventeen and hadn’t even touched a girl’s hand, blushing at the Zhuangyuan Ghost’s memories.

And the Heart Lamp issue, which Liu Tianyou couldn’t solve on his own either.

Sang Que’s method now was truly a gift in the snow, but...

"What’s the cost?" Liu Tianyou asked.

Sang Que candidly replied, "This taming method relies on me to help you suppress the Zhuangyuan Ghost, so you must be loyal to me. If you ever harbor thoughts of wanting to kill me, the suppression will instantly fail."

Liu Tianyou quickly waved his hand, "No way, no way, how could I have evil intentions toward the Big Boss? You’ve saved my life multiple times; I’m far from repaying you."

Sang Que nodded, "Also, this suppression isn’t absolute. If you don’t have a firm will or are in a weakened state, the suppression will also fail."

Yu Da lost control in Wangshan City previously because he ate human flesh, violating his bottom line, and leaving a hole in his mental defense, allowing the Greedy Ghost to infiltrate.

The rule Wuyou set for Yu Da to not eat humans was entirely due to the fear that he couldn’t uphold his bottom line and might harm people using the Evil Ghost’s power.

"If you’re ready, we can start."

"Hold... hold on."

Liu Tianyou appeared very nervous, clutching the copper mirror, stood up, circled the table twice, took deep breaths, and adjusted his emotions.

"Alright."

"This will leave a mark on you, usually invisible. When the Zhuangyuan Ghost attempts to resist, the mark will reveal itself to suppress. Where do you want to leave the mark? It’s better to have it hidden."

Liu Tianyou glanced downward at his own body, his face blushing as he thought.

"Lower... lower back then."

"Alright."

Sang Que raised a hand and pressed it against Liu Tianyou’s lower back through the clothes. Liu Tianyou stiffened, held his breath, his face flushed red, ready to endure any pain.

A chill penetrated his spine, making Liu Tianyou shiver unexpectedly.

"It’s done."

"Huh?" With a flushed face, Liu Tianyou widened his eyes, "Is... is it done already? So fast? I don’t feel anything."

Sang Que chuckled, "Lay down the copper mirror and now try using the Zhuangyuan Ghost’s Ghost Realm. Don’t worry, I’ll watch over you from the side."

Liu Tianyou nodded, took a deep breath, carefully sensing the power inside him belonging to the Zhuangyuan Ghost. Slowly, lines of ink-like waves spread outward from him.

Objects in the council hall gradually lost their real colors, becoming an ink black and white.

Ink gathered into pools on the ground, floating into the air, rapidly forming human shapes but with all-black faces like pools of swirling ink.

Liu Tianyou’s pupils dilated; he hadn’t expected some of the ghost slaves kept in the Zhuangyuan Ghost’s Ghost Realm were still there.

The key is, all these ghost slaves were scholars!