The Han Dynasty Empress is a Ghost | Chapter 115 | Outmatched | Novela.app

In a flash of lightning and flint, A-Jiao slapped the spiritual energy she held directly onto Chou Zhuang’s face. Nothing happened. Chou Zhuang: "..." A-Jiao: "..." Liu Che: "..." "Heh heh!" A-Jiao gave two awkward laughs and sheepishly withdrew her hand. Had she made a mistake? A-Jiao was puzzled, but that aura of death was undeniably real. Wiping her hand on her cloak, A-Jiao returned to the high platform, glancing back three times with every step. Chou Zhuang wiped his face, feeling his muscles and bones twitch slightly. He could only feel that a mass of spiritual energy had been violently slapped onto his face just now, to the point that he felt his heart stop for a fleeting second. Fortunately, he was protected by that shroud of magic; otherwise, he feared he would not have escaped his fate today. Chou Zhuang clenched his fists, then slowly relaxed them. For some reason, when that woman struck him, his very soul had trembled, like a wild beast encountering its natural predator. Liu Che watched A-Jiao walk back to his side step by step and couldn't help but tease, "Well, what did you discover?" A-Jiao gave him a cold look and huffed, "This Chou Zhuang is already dead." "Hmm?" Liu Che turned his head. A-Jiao glanced at Chu Haiguang, who was stretching his neck nearby while maintaining a facade of indifference, then looked away. "The so-called rebirth through filthy methods—perhaps Chou Zhuang used such a way. It’s just... he’s actually fine. I can't figure it out." Liu Che’s eyes flickered. After a long silence, he said softly, "Then we shall just kill him." A-Jiao was indeed still hiding things from him—from Huan Jiujun’s attitude toward her, to the matter of the Nether Butterflies, and then to Lin Gao, everything about A-Jiao suggested something extraordinary. Yet, even though the clues were right before his eyes, he could not see through them or grasp the truth! Liu Che stared at A-Jiao for a long time before finally looking away. The so-called competition turned out to be each of them drawing a single talisman and then judging one another... A-Jiao felt it was incredibly lame, not even as interesting as when Lord Yun He taught her spells. The Instant Travel Art, the Shield Art, the Patrol Art, and the Dream-Entry Art—A-Jiao carefully counted them and realized she only knew four types of magic. Fortunately, during these two months in the mortal realm, she had remembered to practice secretly, and now she could perform them quite decently! Aside from the dream-weaving technique within the Dream-Entry Art being too complex—her magic was insufficient, allowing her to only create a dreamscape three feet square—A-Jiao felt everything was going quite well. The next time she saw Lord Shen, perhaps she should ask if she could learn some other spells! While A-Jiao was thinking happily, Liu Che’s expression was not so good. Huan Jiujun had conceded! He said that although his talisman was drawn more exquisitely than Chou Zhuang’s, he was inferior to Master Chou in terms of magical power. A-Jiao thought to herself: *It’s not just you who’s inferior!* Back inside the Seeking Immortals Pavilion, once everyone had entered, Liu Che looked left and right. Immediately, a general led the imperial guards to seize Chou Zhuang. A-Jiao shifted behind the Emperor to avoid being caught in the crossfire, but after a moment's thought, she stepped forward again, extending a hand to shield him. Lord Yun He hadn't been born yet; Liu Che couldn't die! Liu Che glanced at A-Jiao, a hint of tenderness welling up in his eyes as he pulled her behind him. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this?" Chou Zhuang was pressed to the floor by the guards. Liu Che reached out and took the talisman placed on a lacquer tray held by a young eunuch, handing it to Huan Jiujun. Huan Jiujun froze for a moment, glancing inconspicuously toward A-Jiao. Seeing her nod, he immediately activated the talisman against Chou Zhuang. This was the Evil-Expelling Ghost-Slaying Charm drawn by Chou Zhuang’s own hand! The air crackled with the force of lightning, enveloping Chou Zhuang. The guards hastily retreated. The lightning hissed and popped, but a shroud of red magical power protected Chou Zhuang’s entire body. The Emperor recoiled two steps in shock. A-Jiao caught him and turned to look at that magical power. If she saw correctly, this power contained the pure aura of the Yin Realm; it should have come from the Underworld. But which Ghost Immortal of the Underworld would bestow their power upon such a mortal? Seeing this, Chou Zhuang tried to flee. The talisman was no match for the power on his body, and it was annihilated into ash inch by inch! Huan Jiujun hurriedly activated a magic array! A-Jiao’s eyes lit up! This was the first time she had seen a magic array drawn by a mortal. The last time she saw an array was when she was serving her sentence at the Reincarnation Platform, an array drawn by the two Great Divinities for the platform itself. Arrays were much harder than spells! Huan Jiujun was even more formidable than she had imagined. Chou Zhuang was also alarmed upon seeing the array. Cracks appeared in his eyes, then crawled out of his sockets, spreading across his face, and then over his entire body. A-Jiao rushed to stand in front of Liu Che, relying on her Official Token to summon a shield. Mortals could not see the shield supported by magic, and Liu Che likewise tried to pull A-Jiao behind him. Though he was not the type of person to put himself in danger for A-Jiao, hiding behind a woman in front of everyone inevitably made him feel he had lost face. The death energy on Chou Zhuang grew stronger, and then his entire body suddenly exploded. Flesh and blood flew everywhere! Liu Che was startled. For a moment, there was not a clean spot to be found in the hall. Huan Jiujun looked at his blood-stained robes and couldn't help but frown deeply. He looked to the side and pulled up Chu Haiguang, who was leaning against a pillar in a daze. Chu Haiguang was blank-faced, feeling as if he had returned to the scene where the Underworld Reapers slaughtered his sect; he had almost lost his will to live. A-Jiao panted. Even after entering the Underworld, she had never seen such a bloody scene. Swallowing hard, she hurriedly turned to look at the Emperor. She found that the Emperor had already suppressed his surprise, standing tall and full of rage. Seeing that the Emperor was unharmed, A-Jiao turned back to where Chou Zhuang had just been standing—he was still there, or rather, his soul was still there, yet his appearance was different from before. A-Jiao dared not delay and immediately performed the Deity Summoning Art from the Patrol Art. She couldn't fight, and she estimated that Huan Jiujun and Chu Haiguang were no match for this Chou Zhuang either. She could only call for a Local Deity or a Ghost God. Only then did Chou Zhuang notice the strangeness of this "Consort Chen," and he lunged toward them. The magical power entwined around Chou Zhuang condensed into the shape of a long sword. The shield shattered! A-Jiao was horrified. She retreated a few steps and raised the shield again. But the opponent came with overwhelming force, and cracks appeared on the newly formed shield. A-Jiao became increasingly certain that this magical power came from the Underworld! Huan Jiujun gathered magic in his eyes and finally saw the malevolent ghost. Straining with all his might, he threw various talismans at Chou Zhuang while simultaneously drawing a magic array! However, before the array was complete, Chou Zhuang turned and knocked him unconscious with a single strike of his sword. Chu Haiguang: "!!!" He finally snapped out of it, watching helplessly as Huan Jiujun fell to the ground right beside him. Seeing the nuisance had fallen, Chou Zhuang turned back, raising the sword in his hand and pointing it at the Emperor! A-Jiao was terrified. Knowing she couldn't defeat Chou Zhuang, her mind raced, and she grabbed the Emperor’s hand to perform the Instant Travel Art. The people in the hall watched in bewilderment as the Emperor and Consort Chen vanished on the spot. "Liu Che, what on earth did you do? He’s coming for you!" A-Jiao snapped in anger. Carrying a mortal, the effectiveness of A-Jiao’s Instant Travel Art was greatly diminished; she could only travel less than a hundred feet. "Who? Isn't Chou Zhuang dead?" This was Liu Che’s first experience with instant travel, and he felt his calves trembling. "Bullshit! Ugh, he’s dead but his ghost is still here! You just can't see him! This is so annoying—if you could see him, maybe you could recognize who he is!" A ghostly shadow flew out from the hall. A-Jiao looked at the sun in the sky—which, though not very warm, was still bright—and almost wanted to curse. Could it be that Liu Che had offended some Ghost Immortal in the Underworld, so the Lord specifically sent a ghost to teach him a lesson? That shouldn't be right? A-Jiao took Liu Che all the way out of Weiyang Palace toward the City God Temple. The temple was outside the city, and she had to be careful not to be seen by the common people while performing the Instant Travel. Her magical power was gradually failing, and the distance of each travel became shorter. "Can you keep going?" Liu Che felt the distance of A-Jiao’s travel getting shorter and shorter. "If you're so capable, you do it!" A-Jiao shouted in rage. "I definitely can't!" Liu Che rolled his eyes. Seeing Chou Zhuang getting closer, A-Jiao couldn't dodge in time and could only dive to the side with the Emperor, narrowly avoiding the sword's tip. "Wait!" A-Jiao hurriedly flashed her Official Token. "I am also an Underworld Reaper. I wonder which Lord’s subordinate this colleague serves under?" A-Jiao tentatively treated this Chou Zhuang as a reaper sent by some Lord to punish Liu Che! Chou Zhuang indeed paused. Seeing a glimmer of hope, A-Jiao scrambled up from the ground and said, "Colleague, let me tell you, this Emperor cannot be killed. He is someone Ghost Emperor Fei Kang regards highly and has entrusted with a heavy responsibility!" (Being a father to Yun He in the mortal realm counts as a heavy responsibility, right?) "If you kill him, you'll be in big trouble. You might even lose your position and your magic!" (She felt Celestial Master Yun Yue was very protective.) "Why don't you go back and discuss it with your master? Whatever grievances there are, wait until the old Emperor dies to settle the score?" Liu Che’s eyes widened, but he didn't dare speak! He had no idea who wanted to kill him, and why did it sound like he had offended some deity coming from A-Jiao’s mouth? Impossible—he loved and respected deities the most! ***