"The parking lot is too low," I said provocatively, taking center stage. "I'm afraid I'll damage the fire pipes or something. Why don't you two find a more spacious place for your sparring?"
"Fine! I'm just afraid she won't dare!" Yao Yao pouted.
"Dare not? What a joke! Let's go!" Chu Qi responded without hesitation.
I opened the car door, inviting the two beauties to get in. Yao Yao and Chu Qi both rushed towards the front passenger seat, almost simultaneously grasping the door handle. Fortunately, the handle was large enough, and their hands didn't create an awkward situation of vying for space. Had they clashed, they might have started fighting right there.
Seeing Yao Yao stubbornly holding onto the door handle, Chu Qi let out a cold snort and squeezed into the back seat.
I drove the two women out of the underground garage, heading south, while contemplating where suitable for their duel might be. Squares and parks were out of the question; they couldn't be seen. It had to be somewhere in the suburbs. Jiu Xian Cave was familiar, but it was still guarded by the Mohe's soldiers and generals. Going there would expose our whereabouts.
Ah!
In a flash of inspiration, I thought of a perfect location. I took out the "Soul Reaping Token" from my waist and found Old Cui at the Chenghuang Temple in Shengjing. I asked him where the Chenghuang Temple in Fucheng was and who to contact.
Old Cui gave me the address, and I immediately turned the car north. The local Chenghuang Temple was on a hillside in the northern part of the city, about four kilometers from Zhe Jiang Building. It wasn't far, but given Fucheng's east-west elongated and north-south narrow city layout, it was already a considerable distance from the city center.
Navigating there, I discovered that the Chenghuang Temple was located next to Fucheng Funeral Home. How convenient it was for the ghost messengers to collect souls from the funeral home and then deliver them to the Chenghuang Temple. Think of all the shoes saved in a year!
"Why are we coming here?" Chu Qi asked, puzzled, upon seeing the gate of the funeral home.
"This is where I work. It's quiet at night, not many people," I said with a smile.
"...Aren't you a streamer?" Chu Qi asked. It seemed she had seen some of my information but not all of it.
I didn't explain. I drove up the small path on the east side of the funeral home towards the hillside. Activating my spiritual perception, I smoothly arrived before the Chenghuang Temple, invisible to humans. The Judge there had received Old Cui's notification and had been waiting at the entrance for some time. I turned off the engine and got out. Just as I was about to greet him, I spotted a ghost figure in my spiritual perception, rapidly approaching.
Yao Yao stood protectively in front of me, her stance ready to block the ghost. But after I saw clearly, I patted Yao Yao's shoulder. "Don't worry, it's one of our own."
The ghost figure passed the Judge and stopped in front of me, flashing a charming smile. "Lord Wu, we meet again!"
"Who is it?" Yao Yao whispered, her eyes fixed on the ghost's exposed cleavage. It wasn't that the ghost had intentionally dressed that way; she was wearing clothes from her own dynasty, which I had seen in movies – low-cut like this.
"The Commander of the Ghost Messenger Bureau, Wu Zhao," I said in a low voice. I had mentioned her to Yao Yao before; she knew the three great ghost messengers I knew: Bai Wuchang Xie Bi'an, Ma Mian Ma Jiaojiao, and the Judge, Wu Zhao.
"Wow!" Yao Yao's eyes showed a mixture of envy and admiration. She immediately cupped her fists in salutation. "Commander Wu, I am Mu Jige, daughter of Nurhaci, the Great Khan of the previous dynasty."
"Uh... hello, hello." Wu Zhao extended her hand, her expression a little confused. Perhaps she wasn't very familiar with later history, or maybe she didn't even know who Nurhaci was.
"You two, stop putting on this act!" Chu Qi suddenly said angrily. Since Wu Zhao and the Judge behind her hadn't manifested, Chu Qi couldn't see them.
"And who is this?" Wu Zhao asked. "She's so thin! Is she sick?"
From the Tang Dynasty aesthetic of valuing plumpness, both Yao Yao and Chu Qi were too slender. Chu Qi, even more so. I guessed her weight wouldn't exceed seventy-five jin.
"This is Chu Qi, the chief martial arts instructor at the Xia Sharbia headquarters," I introduced. "Please manifest, Commander Wu. Instructor Chu cannot perceive spiritual energy and cannot see you."
Wu Zhao nodded and began to appear, her body gradually shifting from ethereal to translucent, and then to solid. This terrified Chu Qi, causing her to stumble back four or five steps!
"Look at her lily-livered self!" Yao Yao scoffed.