"What are you two doing? Trying to get yourselves killed? Get back here, now!" At that moment, the fat girl suddenly appeared and yanked them both back.
At this critical moment, she clearly saved their lives.
Right now, it wasn't just Ryan Ling—even the Ghost Elder looked pale.
This so-called Western Pacifying King wasn't a new name; last time, when they ran into that 'Patriarch' at Orthodox Unity, he claimed to be the Western Selection Officer under the Western Pacifying King. Back then, even the System's Ghost Elder seemed a bit panicked. But now, with the Western Pacifying King actually appearing, it was like a literal god had descended—his power was off the charts.
Ryan felt like his Seventh-Grade Spirit Officer cap was about to shatter any second. Even the System's Ghost Elder couldn't match this guy; if the King got annoyed, he could probably wipe out all of Half-Step Border Town in a blink.
Luckily, the fat girl stepped in, and the Western Pacifying King's procession didn't notice them.
"Ghost Elder!" Ryan watched the crowds of ghostfolk passing by and couldn't help glancing at the System.
"Don't say a word!" The Ghost Elder hurriedly clamped a hand over Ryan's mouth.
Ryan didn't dare say anything more, but luckily the procession was just passing through. After a while, the honor guard finally moved past Half-Step Border Town, and the town gates reopened.
"So... who exactly is this Western Pacifying King?" Once they were out of Half-Step Border Town, Ryan couldn't help asking.
"Right now, you're just a Seventh-Grade Spirit Officer—barely a beginner. All you need to know is that the Western Pacifying King is one of your dad Yama's arch-enemies!" The System's Ghost Elder paused and said.
"My dad's arch-enemy? No wonder!" Ryan nodded. If Lord Yama was that kind of powerhouse, his enemies had to be terrifying too. Compared to them, his own strength was like an ant facing an elephant.
"Enough, don't think about it for now. Let's go—back to Dragonridge! We've wasted enough time!" The System didn't say anything else, and led Ryan and Rose Zhan rushing back toward the human world.
......
At this moment—Divine Medicine Valley, Dragonridge.
The stick of incense finally burned out. Ryan was still sitting cross-legged, motionless in his spot. The crowd stared, eyes wide—clearly, the time was up and Rose Zhan hadn't come back to life.
Simon Sun slumped to the ground, completely crushed.
Nearby, Lady Four Huo had already jumped up, spinning her knife in her hand, and the rest of the Huo Clan crowded over, murderous intent in their eyes.
"You little bastard, by Huo Clan rules—Three Cuts, Six Holes—today's the day you die!" Lady Four Huo finished, swinging her knife straight at Ryan's head.
Jason Lin, Harvey Jin, and Angie Chen all rushed over at once. Not only them—even disciples from Taiyi Sect and Golden Sword Gate hurried out to block her.
"Lady Four, please calm down!" Anqi Chen pleaded, nearly falling to her knees.
"Out of my way!" Lady Four Huo's eyes blazed as she cursed, "Let me tell you, even if a god descended from heaven to beg me, this brat is dead. He messed with the Huo Clan, and letting him live for one more stick of incense was already a miracle. Got it?"
As she spoke, Lady Four Huo slapped Anqi Chen to the ground and crushed the Eastern Pearl under her heel, grinding it to dust.
"If any of you want to go against the Huo Clan today, just try me! Taiyi Sect, Golden Immortal Sect—if you don't want your sects wiped out, come at me!" Lady Four Huo shouted, and everyone who'd wanted to step in froze.
Clearly, not just Dragonridge's sects—even the Azure Dragon Society wouldn't dare go head-to-head with the Huo Clan. Everyone treats Lady Four Huo with kid gloves, which is why she's so brazen.
"See? No one dares, huh? Spineless bunch—at least you know your place!" Lady Four Huo finished, about to strike at Ryan again.
But just as all the men shrank back, three women jumped out—Sophie Su, Lily Liu, and even Cindy Sun—all stood in front of Lady Four Huo.
"Well, isn't this world strange—none of the men step up, but all the women do. Looks like this brat's got luck with the ladies! But since my knife is out, it has to taste blood—man or woman, whoever blocks me dies today!" Lady Four Huo showed no mercy, swinging her blade straight at Sophie Su.
The women all screamed.
"Stop!" Just then, Ryan's soul snapped back into his body—he lunged in front of Sophie Su and knocked Lady Four Huo's knife flying.
Lady Four Huo froze for a moment, then shrieked, "Brat, you sat here pretending for so long, lost the bet, and now you want to hit women? Brothers, Three Cuts, Six Holes—get ready! Cut every last piece of flesh off this kid!"
Seeing Ryan step forward, Lady Four Huo ignored the women and immediately ordered her Huo Clan followers to get ready.
"Wait! Who said I lost? I've already brought back Rose Zhan's soul!" Ryan declared, heading straight for Rose Zhan's coffin.
Beside him, Simon Sun jolted upright like a spring and shouted at Lady Four Huo and her people, "Nobody move! If anyone dares make a move right now, I'll cut them down myself!"
"Lady Four?" Akun Huo, the head of the Huo Clan underlings, gritted his teeth.
"Damn it, still putting on a show! Fine, we'll wait a few more minutes—let's see how he plans to bring the dead back to life!" Lady Four Huo snarled.
"If he really brings the dead back, I'll give him my own head!"
"That's right. Not only are we going to wipe out this brat today, we'll take down Divine Medicine Valley too. Anyone who dares cross the Huo Clan won't live to see tomorrow!"
Several Huo Clan underlings grumbled their deep annoyance.
But as they spoke, Ryan had already sent Rose Zhan's soul back into her body—her consciousness returned, and suddenly there was a heartbeat and breath.
Suddenly, Cindy Sun’s clear, birdlike voice rang out: "Mom—Mom’s really awake, Mom!"
Right after, Simon Sun dropped to his knees, bowing deeply: "Heavens above, I, Simon Sun, swear on my life—this lifetime and the next, I’ll serve Master Ling as an ox or horse to repay his immense kindness!"
Everyone else grew restless, voices rising in awe at the miracle before them. Disciples from Taiyi Sect and Golden Sword Gate were especially awestruck by Ryan Ling.
"Siqing, Qianqian!" At that moment, Rose Zhan—dead for five years—opened her eyes and climbed out of the coffin. After so long apart, the family of three embraced tightly.
The crowd watching was moved to tears.
"F-Fourth Lady, this is insane—Rose Zhan actually came back to life? What do we do now? Maybe we should retreat!" Akun Huo stammered, face pale.
Even the fierce and venomous Lady Four Huo was stunned—such a bizarre event had never happened, not even in Hong Kong. She’d never seen or heard of anything like it.
"Fine, let's go! We're leaving!" Lady Four Huo nodded and turned to leave at once.
"Hey, Lady Four, you're leaving already? Aren't you forgetting something?" Anqi Chen called out sharply, spotting Lady Four Huo as she tried to slip away.
In an instant, everyone turned around. Clearly, they’d been so caught up in shock and joy that they’d forgotten the most important thing—the wager.
At Anqi Chen’s shout, Jason Lin, Harvey "Million" Jin, Sophie Su, and the others all started clamoring.
"Lady Four Huo, what did you say just now? If our boss brought Rose Zhan back to life, you’d have to kneel, kowtow, and call him ‘master’—and every Huo Clan member would have to change their surname, right?"
"That’s right. From now on, the Hong Kong Huo Clan becomes the Hong Kong Ling Clan—every Huo is now Ryan Ling’s servant! Ha, so many new servants for free, I’m almost worried about managing them all!"
"Easy to manage—the men become ducks, the women become chickens, and we split all their money between the brothers. Simple as that!"
"I swear, with Lady Four Huo looking like that, even pigs wouldn’t pay for her!"
"Hahaha!"
Harvey "Million" Jin’s punchline had everyone laughing.
"You bastards! How dare you insult the Huo Clan—you all deserve to die!" Lady Four Huo shrieked, jabbing a finger at Ryan Ling. "You little punk, so what if you brought the dead back? So what if I lost? You dare disrespect the Huo Clan—I’ll skin you alive today!"