"ah--"

The man let out a shrill scream, and puffs of white smoke instantly rose from the spot where the salt water had hit him, causing his forward momentum to falter slightly.

Taking advantage of the moment, I rushed to Xiao Sanzi's side, lifted him up from the ground, and ran wildly down the mountain with him.

But the man wasn't about to give up and kept chasing after us.

As I ran, a steep slope appeared ahead.

I steeled myself and shouted to Xiao Sanzi, "Hold on tight!"

Looking back, I saw that the bastard was almost catching up. Without thinking, I rolled down the slope.

Along the way, sharp stones and branches tore our clothes and skin, causing blood to flow freely.

But when faced with life and death, one can't care about such pain.

When we finally rolled to the bottom of the slope, before we could even catch our breath, we heard the man's roar again.

It actually chased after it down the slope.

At that moment, I only had one handful of salt left in my pocket.

Seeing that it was already baring its teeth and claws and pouncing towards us, I didn't hesitate to throw the last handful of salt in my hand into its eyes.

While he was screaming, I swung the cleaver at his head.

This knife is specifically designed to ward off evil spirits; with this single strike, it instantly severed the man's hand.

Strange.

When I slashed at him before, it was like hitting a steel plate with the cleaver, and all that came out was some black smoke.

But now, I can actually cut off his arm with one stroke.

I don't know if it was because of the salt water spray, or because he was a bit far from the well.

When I saw that the cleaver could chop off his arm, I was like I was on steroids, and I started hacking at him like crazy.

Aside from that time at the Ghost Factory, this is the first time I've ever had such a satisfying time chopping.

I made a strange discovery: ghosts are not invincible after all; you don't necessarily need magic or talismans to defeat them.

If you are not afraid of him, then there is nothing to be afraid of.

Only after the male ghost turned into a wisp of black smoke and disappeared into the air did I sit down on the ground, panting and feeling a little dizzy.

His limbs were so weak and limp that he couldn't even lift a single finger.

I turned to look at Xiao Sanzi and found him staring at me in terror, his mouth agape wide enough to fit two salted duck eggs.

"What are you standing there for? Come and help me up!"

Seeing that Xiao Sanzi was still in a daze, I yelled at him impatiently.

"oh oh."

Xiao Sanzi snapped out of his daze and quickly helped me up from the ground.

"Brother, you're already quite old, I didn't expect you to still be so strong."

My lips twitched violently.

You're already quite old.

Seeing that the thick fog had almost dissipated after the man disappeared, I didn't dare to linger and, supporting Xiao Sanzi's shoulder, walked down the mountain.

"Big Brother...Ah Kai and the others, and Da Pao, aren't you going to look for them anymore?" Xiao Sanzi was still worried about his friends.

I took a deep breath and said, "Let's go down the mountain first. If we encounter anything unclean again, we'll all die here."

Xiao Sanzi opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he remained silent and followed me down the mountain.

This time, nothing strange happened on the way down the mountain, and we made it down smoothly.

...

When he saw me and Xiao Sanzi return, Ji Fucai's face showed a hint of surprise. After a slight pause, he asked anxiously.

"Where are Kai and the others? Why can't we see them?"

I sighed and said, "When they were going down the mountain, they couldn't help but look back, and then a thick fog rolled in, and they got separated."

Before I could finish speaking, Xiao Sanzi, still shaken, recounted in detail everything that had happened on the mountain.

Upon hearing this, Ji Fucai's weathered face instantly broke into tears, his eyes reddened, and his body trembled slightly.

Akai's mother stumbled over, crying out in anguish, "My son will be alright! He must still be waiting for us to rescue him on the mountain! I have to go find him!"

Dapao's father, his eyes also red, followed closely behind, shouting loudly, "My Dapao has always been clever since he was little, he'll definitely be fine, I have to go and bring him back!"

As they spoke, the two were about to rush out without regard for anything else. Bystanders rushed forward and held them back tightly, but they continued to struggle, their emotions too agitated to be controlled.

Someone in the crowd suddenly knelt down in front of Yuan Ying, clasped their hands together, and pleaded bitterly.

"Master Yuan, please have mercy and save them! You have all sorts of abilities, you must have a way!"

Yuan Ying looked troubled, slowly shook her head, and looked helpless.

“I have explained everything clearly. It’s just that they didn’t listen. I’m just a mortal. How could I have the ability to save them? In this world, cause and effect are cyclical. Once something happens, it’s hard to undo it.”

No matter how much everyone pleaded, Yuan Ying's mind was made up.

She gently helped the kneeling person up, then took me and turned to leave Ji Fucai's house.

...

On the way back, Yuan Ying looked at me and said with emotion, "You were really lucky this time. That well was very evil, and it was surrounded by resentment. If you hadn't escaped its influence, you probably would have died there too."

I grinned and said it might be God's blessing.

"God help me?"

Yuan Ying smiled but didn't say anything more.

Just as I was about to ask her, she changed the subject and said, "Come on, I'll take you to get something to eat, fill your stomach, and calm down."

Seeing that Yuan Ying didn't want to talk about it, I didn't ask any further.

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