This move could be learned; it seemed quite easy to pick up.
Yu Ziqing glanced at the Deceitful Ghost, who immediately looked a bit aggrieved.
"Sir, I only heard about it, I didn't see it with my own eyes. How was I supposed to know he wasn't actually dead?"
"Don't worry, I just think you should learn to tell stories, and while you're at it, learn to verify the truth of what you hear. Otherwise, one day you'll fall for a false rumor, and it'll bring you trouble."
"Oh, you're right, sir," the Deceitful Ghost said thoughtfully, committing it to memory.
This time the rumor was debunked rather quickly, and it was even done in front of his superior, which was indeed a bit awkward.
The Old Chief Venerate pulled the sword from his chest, swallowed a Pill to heal his wounds, and even had the leisure to change clothes afterward.
He didn't seem like he was forced into a corner, dealing with the Heart Devil Tribulation. Instead, it resembled performing on stage, acting out a play, then stepping off stage afterward.
After stalling for a while, he finally sat there, using the dense ghost qi here to suppress his Heart Demon.
In just a few two-hour sessions, the Demonic Qi on him dissipated, and he returned to a normal state.
He stood up, looking at the countless hungry ghosts around, and made a polite bow.
"Is there any ghost here who can speak? I have some words I would like you to convey to Jinlan Mountain in the future."
The Deceitful Ghost climbed up the cliff, his face black with anger.
"Say what? There's nothing to say between me and the Dali Shadow Department people."
The Old Chief Venerate smiled gently, politely clasping his hands together.
"There are some misunderstandings that need to be resolved."
"What misunderstandings? Our young master has been missing for many days. If you know what's good for you, release our young master immediately. Otherwise, your Shadow Department can't afford the cost."
"Missing?" The Old Chief Venerate slightly furrowed his brows, then after a moment of silence, said, "I can assure you, your young master will not be in danger."
"What assurance do you have? Do you plan to guarantee with your faked death?"
The Old Chief Venerate looked at the Deceitful Ghost, then glanced around, suddenly laughing. He clasped his hands together again and loudly said,
"Young Master Qing, would you kindly come out for a chat? What happened before was indeed a misunderstanding; I had no intention of involving you."
Lying in the burrow, Yu Ziqing sighed.
"Let's go; we should head out. This Deceitful Ghost's acting isn't up to par."
Yu Ziqing flew up from below with Cece, and the Old Chief Venerate straightened his face, greeting him politely.
"Greetings, Young Master Qing."
"Greetings, Chief Venerate."
The Old Chief Venerate looked at the nearby Deceitful Ghost, smiled, and said,
"Your young master is now returned to you."
Yu Ziqing patted the Deceitful Ghost's shoulder, saying,
"It's fine, no blame on you; you just knew I was safe anyway. If you hadn't known I was safe, but knew it was because something happened with the Shadow Department,
I'm sure you definitely wouldn't be afraid of him. The first thing you'd do when meeting him would be to scold him for daring to come here to die, not afraid his corpse would stink up the place and spoil your appetite.
Then spit in his face and right there and then rally the hungry ghosts; if you couldn't kill him, you'd drown him in spit.
He only realized you definitely confirmed I was safe, and that I was right here, because you hadn't spit in his face."
"It was my foolishness..." The Deceitful Ghost humbly confessed his error.
And faced with Yu Ziqing's indirect scolding, the Old Chief Venerate patiently endured the criticism with a smile, remaining composed.
Once Yu Ziqing finished his reprimand, the Old Chief Venerate then spoke.
"You didn't even know who you were cooperating with, yet you dared to cooperate, so naturally I had to come here and explain, this was indeed just an accident.
No one expected you would arrive in the Dali Imperial City at this time, to release that sweet rain.
Indeed, it was not intentional to involve you."
"This whole getting devilish, and then faking your death, planned for so long, just to fish for something; you have to tell me, what fish are you trying to catch?"
"Many fish. One of them is the one who once abducted you. When I catch him, I will hand him over to you for your disposal, as thanks for your cooperation with me this time, how about it?"
"No need, I've already encountered him. He used the Eight-direction Sand Sea Array that was refined into a blessed land to trap me inside, intending to trap me completely. Now I'm the one casting the net to catch fish."
"Hmm? The Eight-direction Sand Sea Array?" The Old Chief Venerate furrowed his brows slightly, but did not ask how Yu Ziqing got out.
He was aware that within the Shadow Department, there was an Array Map for this big array. However, the array was somewhat redundant; it couldn't trap strong people, and weak ones didn't need it.
So this big array had always been shelved, and the Shadow Department never went on to refine this big array.
"Ah, that array, let's not talk about that for now.
Weren't you afraid of actually dying with this fake death? And weren't you worried that you wouldn't be in control anymore and things would spin out of control?"
Yu Ziqing was somewhat curious.
He had heard that those in the Shadow Department weren't easy to deal with.
"Then so be it; if I die, I die. I have little life left anyway, and the Second Tribulation of the Third Tribulation Realm I most likely won't get through.
Before I die, to eliminate those hidden dangers and dig out those secret stakes is already the limit of what I can do.
As for after my death, I'll be dead anyway; the remaining matters will have to rely on others."
The Old Chief Venerate was very candid. He looked at Yu Ziqing and said,
"Actually, I made this plan in connection with you.
Back then, when you were abducted, I quietly pursued some matters.
The person who abducted you might have connections with the Shadow Department, might even be someone within the Shadow Department.
It's a pity that after all this time, I have never fully uncovered who it is.
And recently, with the abduction from the Yin Family, and the explosion from Daqian about a Magical Treasure in the Langya Institute that could expand the Abyssal Rift,