Chapter 66

In the pitch-black night, I woke from my stone pillar. Above me was a field of stars, glittering in the night sky. I sat up and looked around. The altar was empty. I lowered my head and touched the lines on the stone pillar. This scene seemed familiar.

I remember having this dream when I was a child, the exact same scene. I looked toward the edge of the altar, and sure enough, there were long steps.

I noticed something different this time. A massive stone wall loomed above the altar. I walked toward it, hoping to find something new. The sound of empty footsteps reached my ears. As I reached the wall, I was greeted by a variety of mysterious symbols and several images. I looked at the first one, which depicted several figures engaged in battle. While the image was simple, the moment I saw it, I immediately recalled the internal strife among the various branches of our Ghost Clan, which ultimately led to its disintegration.

In our Ghost Clan, the clan leader and the high priest have always jointly governed. However, since the Xia Dynasty, our Ghost Clan has gained supreme power. This immense power has led us all astray, and each branch of the clan has sought a piece of the pie, leading to increasingly fierce internal strife. Until one day, the clan leader and the high priest could no longer suppress the rebellion of the branches, and the situation of fratricide among the clan members has emerged.

I couldn't wait to look at the next painting, but the entire scene before me disappeared. First, the four paintings, then the mysterious symbols on them, and then, the entire altar disappeared.

"Hmm~"

My body hurts so much.

I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds and wouldn't budge. I tried to turn over, but I couldn't feel my body at all. After struggling for a while, I felt exhausted and sleepy, and I fell back into a deep sleep.

I don’t know how long it was before I was awakened by a loud noise.

This time I opened my eyes hard, and in front of my blurry eyes, I saw a girl and a Taoist priest sitting in the room.

"Thirsty~"

My mouth is dry and I want to drink water.

The Taoist priest heard my murmur, quickly picked up the teapot on the table, poured me a glass of water, and then walked over to me. When he helped me up and fed me water, I saw clearly that the person in front of me was Li Danyang, whom I hadn't seen for a long time, and the girl behind him was Erma.

Although there are a few silver strands mixed in Li Danyang's black hair now, he is full of energy and spirit.

Erma was wearing the traditional clothes of their area, but she had her hair in a Taoist bun.

Without time to think, I greedily drank the water in the teacup. This sip of water was like nectar, and as soon as it entered my mouth, I felt my whole body being moisturized.

"Little sister, you're finally awake!" Li Danyang said excitedly, "Go tell Master quickly."

Erma heard Li Danyang's instructions and trotted out.

"Brother Danyang, you are fine now."

"I also want to thank my younger sister and Junior Brother Liu for risking their lives to save me, otherwise I would have died long ago. Do you feel any discomfort now?" Li Danyang asked me with concern, and then helped me sit up.

I just felt a lot of pain in my body, but nothing else.

I shook my head gently.

"Where am I?" I didn't expect that the person who appeared in front of me was Li Danyang. I clearly remembered that I was in Bai'an Town.

"This is the Tianshi Mansion." Li Danyang said.

"Am I not in Bai'an Town?" I asked him.

I raised my arms, but felt weak.

Li Danyang asked me to lean on the edge of the bed. He sat beside the bed and said, "Are you confused?"

There was a sound of hurried footsteps outside. When they entered, the leader was Master Zhang. Behind him were Zhao Danxi, Liu Danchen, and Erma.

"Little sister, you're awake!" said Master Zhang.

I struggled to get out of bed, but I was so weak that I almost fell to the ground.

Li Danyang was quick to support me and then carefully helped me sit down again.

"Don't move. I'll let Erma take care of you first. You've been unconscious for so long, you must be out of strength." Master Zhang said with concern.

"Excuse me, Master Zhang and Sister Erma."

"You just woke up, so don't move rashly. Take care of yourself first." Master Zhang said, "Danyang, you've been guarding for a month. Now that my little sister is awake, you can go back and rest without worry. Your uncle still has something to tell you."

Li Danyang said, "Little sister, you should have a good rest. I will go to see my uncle first."

"Brother Danyang, go ahead and don't worry."

Li Danyang nodded and left the house.

"Master Zhang, are you saying that I have been in a coma for a month?" I asked.

"You have been in a coma for three months!" said Master Zhang.

"What?!" I never expected that I could be unconscious for so long.

"Since you're awake now, I'm relieved. I'll ask my men to make some nourishing soup for you. You should take good care of yourself in Tianshi Mansion recently and don't go anywhere else." Master Zhang said.

I don't have the strength to go out now. Given my current physical condition, I probably won't be able to come down the mountain for another six months.

Qingyun suddenly rushed in from outside the door at this time. He stood behind Liu Danchen and winked at me.

"Master, what happened to me? I just remember being hit by a bolt of lightning and then passing out." I don't understand why there was thunder on a sunny day and why it happened to hit me.

When Master Zhang heard my question, he did not answer. Instead, he asked me to take good care of my health first, and then asked Erma to stay and take care of me. He and Zhao Danxi and others left the house.

I was a little surprised to see Master Zhang keeping quiet. I knew he didn't want to talk, so it seemed like I could only get it out of someone else. I looked at my body and found my hands and feet were intact, unharmed. I wondered why Master Zhang didn't tell me.

After Master Zhang and the others left, Erma and I were the only ones left in the room.

"How is your brother?" I asked her.

She happily slumped over to my bed and chattered away about her brother. She'd changed so much since I'd first met her; she was much more cheerful and chatty. After a long pause, she finally explained how, after we left the mandrill behind, he and several other villagers ate its blood and flesh, and recovered. A few days later, Master Zhang and Liu Danchen went to Aba to look for her. Her brother was delighted to see his sister leave their impoverished village and happily agreed to let Master Zhang take her on as his apprentice.

"Is there anything unusual happening to your people after they entered the mountains?" I asked.

"I have to thank my sister and Senior Brother Danchen. Nothing has happened since you killed the mountain ghost." Erma said.

"That's good." I was a little confused, because after we killed the mandrill, we encountered the demon ape, but for some reason the demon ape didn't come out to hurt people again.

After talking with Erma for a while, I felt very tired and my upper and lower eyelids started to fight. Erma was still talking in my ear and I fell asleep.