"Alright, young master."
"Were the villagers alright? I didn't... kill them, did I?"
"No, even though you lost consciousness, young master, your instincts were still there."
"Help me out, there might be some trouble afterwards."
"Forgive me, young master, I took the liberty of doing some things."
"After returning to the Wilderness, I delayed waking you up for a bit, so you ended up beating the one from the Abyss, as well as the powerful fighters from Dazhen, Dali, and Daqian. The rest of the strong ones, just like them, are probably too scared to come near now, unless they're really foolish. They've likely learned their lesson by now."
"This..." Yu Ziqing shook his head helplessly, "Forget it, never mind, just help me out. I'm so hungry, so hungry, I just want to eat..."
As they walked along the path, halfway through, they saw that stubborn hungry ghost, holding beef jerky in both hands, kneeling on the ground, followed by a dense crowd of hungry ghosts.
Yu Ziqing went ahead and ran a hand over the bald head of this stubborn hungry ghost, showing no trace of disdain, his eyes softening.
He still remembered this stubborn hungry ghost, silly but quite lovable.
"What I gave you is meant for you to eat, not to treat as a treasure, so eat it."
The stubborn hungry ghost hesitated a moment, still somewhat stubbornly holding the beef jerky in his hands, wanting to let the famished Yu Ziqing eat it.
"Foolish, I said, eat it."
At his command, the hungry ghost's body trembled, obediently placing the beef jerky into his mouth.
Like Cece, the ignited black flame enveloped him, and within the black fire and pain, he completed his transformation, fully embracing the Hungry Ghost Dao, turning into a thin, small boy, collapsing on the ground with a wooden bucket in his arms.
He sat there dumbly, holding the wooden bucket, unresponsive for a long time, then suddenly kneeling in worship and repeatedly gave thanks, mumbling incoherently, unable to form the words he wanted to say.
"Rise. I am not accustomed to others kneeling to me, it always feels like it shortens my life. You don't have to do it anymore."
Cece looked at the fortunate boy, smiling softly.
"The young master told you to rise, so rise. You haven't spoken in a long time and have forgotten how to. You'll get used to it slowly."
The boy stood up in a daze, and the wooden bucket in his arms disappeared with him.
Yu Ziqing passed the boy, looking at the sea of hungry ghosts behind him, then he took out a wooden bowl and placed it on the ground, speaking softly.
When he finished speaking, the tiny amount of residual thickened soup in the wooden bowl suddenly transformed into a bowl full of sweet rain.
Like the beef jerky he once held, the wooden bowl too had changed, becoming a Holy Artifact for the hungry ghosts.
These hungry ghosts lined up in an orderly fashion, one after another, tasting their first food since becoming starving ghosts, and then hungry ghosts.
And as hungry ghosts, their first bite of food had to be personally bestowed by Yu Ziqing, only he had this power and right.
The Wilderness had once again become calm, all auras entirely reclaimed with the disappearance of the king of hungry ghosts.
Those four powerful fighters each retreated from the Wilderness, too afraid to attempt anything dangerous again.
Onboard a Flying Boat, the Dragon Tiger Daoist slumped ungracefully in the chair, drinking heavily to calm his nerves, while the old scholar beside him asked in a low voice.
"Senior brother, was what you said earlier true?"
The Dragon Tiger Daoist's hand, holding the wine jug, paused slightly, then set it down slowly, his gaze becoming profound as he stared at the old man, with a growing aura of danger emanating from him.
"Jianzhen junior brother, I will only say this once."
"What I said was all true, my words are facts."
"Facts that no one can alter."
After speaking, the Dragon Tiger Daoist reverted to his ghostly demeanor, continuing to drink heavily to calm his nerves.
Cold sweat dripped down Jianzhen's back, he realized that uttering another word might cost him his life, his good senior brother, who was often absent-minded and rarely managed affairs, and who was incredibly kind to juniors.
Might truly kill him on the spot!
He understood his senior brother's meaning, he knew perhaps due to the frightening revelation from the king of hungry ghosts, his Dao heart was shaken, his consciousness impacted, prompting his foolish question.
Whether the senior brother's words were true or false, right now, they had to be true.
The truth must be this way, anyone who tries to alter it dies!
Because perhaps none of them could bear the consequences of the truth being otherwise.
From the moment he heard the truth from the Dragon Tiger Daoist, his words and actions, even his innermost thoughts, must be unified, allowing no doubt or hesitation.
"Senior brother, I understand. Once we return, I will immediately seek an audience with Emperor Qian, summon the Historian, and have him write down the historical truth with Blood Sweat Handwritten Book, so it cannot be altered!"