Chapter 330: Ghost Troupe

"How are preparations going?" Song Min asked. It was late at night, and the children were soundly asleep.

After a week of putting them together, the feral kittens finally started purring and acting friendly. If he had known it would be this effective, he would have done it earlier to save himself the headache.

Five performers knelt before Song Min at the pavilion as he admired the moon reflected in the pond. There was no place in Luoyang more scenic than his headquarters. During the day, these were the most sought-after performers. By night, the five of them transformed into the Ghost Troupe generals.

From right to left, every general had a rank with Gong at the top and Yu at the bottom. They follow the pentatonic musical scale, but more importantly, like music, these positions are fluid to changes. Song Min knew clearly that none of his personnel could be trusted. The smaller ghosts vied for the five general positions, and the ones already in those positions eyed his rank as Ghost General. There were no allies in the underworld.

Jue, a ghostly mask performer, stepped forward and bowed. "Answering the General, preparations are proceeding smoothly. We have mapped out the eastern and western sectors of Chang’an completely."

Huffing with mild amusement at the third-ranking leader, Song Min pinned him with a stare.

"And what about the north and south gates I tasked?"

Shivering on the spot, not even Jue could withstand the soul-chilling yin energy radiating from Song Min. The only reason nobody has attempted a coup d’état in a thousand years is that nobody could figure out how to defeat his permeating frost energy. The ambition existed, but fear and self-preservation took priority.

From behind, Zhi stepped up. She was a rising dance troupe performer known for her graceful jumps as light as falling petals. Being a rank below Jue, her ambition shone brightly at the opportunity to prove herself and take over Jue’s position.

"Answer the Ghost General, I have mapped out most of the south gate while keeping a close eye on the Vermillion Bird Sect’s headquarters. Next week, I will perform at the Red Palace as a guest star. It would be a great opportunity to uncover their secrets."

Toying with his fan, a gift from his late friend Pu Jianming, Song Min nodded. Although progress was smooth, it was slow. Far too slow. Already, he could see the shift in celestial energy. The living sage was on the move.

Previously, he thought this energy guarding the world belonged to his mortal rival. However, he never thought that, after many reincarnations, what remained of Zhong Kui was nothing more than a speck. It was laughable. Anji and Zhong Kui shared nothing alike apart from their vague memory fragments. Seeing how far Zhong Kui had fallen, he had no heart to continue taking his frustrations out on an innocent child. Looking at Anji only made him feel more miserable. Even with those dark memories, she shone just as brightly.

What was it about Anji and Zhong Kui that was special enough to catch the eye of heaven that he lacked? Even after many debates and conversations, Song Min still could not figure it out. They held very similar beliefs and an infallible sense of justice. Yet, only he remained cursed to bear misery.

As for the northern gate, Gong and Shang expressed their regret at not being able to get more information, as the barrier had been rather well-maintained even after their bombardment.

"We took a peek when there was a gap," Shang, a contortionist acrobat, bowed. "Someone with a very terrifying amount of Yang energy was suppressing the curse."

Backing Shang up, Gong clasped her hands before her and bowed. Song Min barely gave the top courtesan of Luoyang a glance as she spoke with a tremble, unbefitting of her golden canary voice reputation.

"T-the palace has another expert apart from the Noble Consort," Gong explained. "It is a young man whom we’ve never seen before. Please forgive us, Ghost General. We were lacking. That Yang Energy was too ferocious. We could not even get to ten feet near the barrier. After we lost control of the maids with the brainwashing pin, information gathering through possession was also impossible."

Song Min did not reply, and the top two troupe leaders waited with dread. Would he dispose of them for their incompetence as he did with the previous leaders?

Waiting on these slow fools to discover something so basic... Song Min snapped his fan shut with a force that made everyone flinch. How useless!

Staring at the last troupe leader who remained silent and calm at the back, Song Min narrowed his gaze. Yu was a recently promoted new troupe leader. Although he was not a very famous entertainer like the others in the public sphere, he was very intelligent. Not quite the entertainer like others, Yu was a musician who played his erhu on the streets like a bard. He collected coins from passersby and, more importantly, information.

"Yu, what have you found?"

Suddenly, four hostile pairs of eyes and murderous intents were directed at the newest troupe leader like daggers. It was so obvious that Song Min wondered if he should purge the Ghost Troupe again and make Yu raise it properly from the start.

Calmly, the street musician bowed.

"Regretfully, not much new. However, some of the street rats I’ve been feeding came back with interesting rumours. I have yet to confirm if they are true."

Turning to face his Ghost Troupe leaders properly now, Song Min only had eyes on the leader at the back of the room, furthest from him.

"Speak."

Unlike the others, who were focused on building human reputation and influence to devour energy and increase their spiritual cultivation, Yu was still very human. He did not pour his effort into redeeming himself as a ghost. Instead, Song Min remembered when he first found this lost soul. He was lingering around a grave that was not his for a very long time before Song Min picked him up. The child did not harbour resentment for the living. He only had regrets for the dead and, in turn, was bound to the world past his time. Raising orphans like the sworn siblings he lost was Yu’s way of atoning and soothing his regrets. In some ways, Song Min felt pity for Yu. They were rather similar.

According to Yu, the children he fed discovered some very interesting passageways underground in the northern sector of Chang’an. Some led outside of the city to rural farming villages and mines. Others were met with sturdy but rusted iron gates that were locked from the inside.

Immediately, that got Song Min’s attention. However, Yu was quick to apologise for his incompetence.

"The routes are very complex, the information from my rats is distorted. If the Ghost General could give me a few more weeks, I’d be able to draw an outline of the underground network briefly."

Unable to wait that long, Song Min glared at the four other useless Ghost Troupe leaders.

"From today onwards, Yu will be promoted to Gong’s position. The rest of you will do well to remember how to be useful like him, or you’d not only be answering to him, but me as well. I want it done in a week from now. Get me the map of the underground network and see if you can infiltrate the palace using it."

Unable to refute the final decision, the revised Ghost Troupe bowed and left to carry out Song Min’s bidding. Turning a blind eye to their resentment, Song Min turned his gaze back to the peaceful pond. Soon, it would all be over.