Evil spirits are also ghosts

“It seems someone has already hunted more than ten prey, hiss… But,” Lu Juezhen tilted his head back, “why is the color of this smoke red?”

Tang Qi walked over to Lu Juezhen, stepping on the withered branches and leaves: "That's because this isn't smoke from Dongshou Guoshi."

He shoved the rabbit into Lu Juezhen's arms and took the bow and arrows from his hand, saying casually, "Something's happened in this forest. Stay close to me and your master."

Lu Juezhen shrank back, hugging the rabbit and obediently huddled next to Cheng Junshi.

"Go back the way you came, and get out of the woods first."

Tang Qi and Cheng Junshi exchanged a knowing glance and nodded.

Lu Juezhen, protected by the two of them, felt no fear at all, and even found it a bit exciting.

Seeing through his thoughts, Tang Qi slapped Lu Juezhen on the head: "This is not a game. You'd better be on your guard. And pray that your brother isn't in the woods. We don't have time to look for him."

“Oh—I know, wait a minute…” He tugged at Cheng Junshi’s sleeve: “Master, it looks like someone is coming this way.”

The three of them immediately stopped, and sure enough, a few seconds later Tang Qi also heard the clanging sound of swords clashing.

Tang Qi glanced at Lu Juezhen. This guy... has such sharp ears?

"This mountain is about to be sealed off. You must descend the mountain immediately and not linger."

The newcomers were a garrison, which Tang Qi recognized as the imperial army.

"What happened? They were fine just now?"

Tang Qi, carrying his bow and arrows, asked as he walked forward, urged on by the others.

"Princess Yun'an has gone missing. We have been ordered to seal off Dongshou Mountain."

Lu Juezhen bumped into the people who had stopped in front of him. Tang Qi turned around abruptly and stared at the group of guards with a sinister look, asking, "When did they go missing? Where did they go missing?"

Lu Juezhen was startled by Tang Qi's voice and stared blankly.

The guard gave Tang Qi a strange look and said, "This has nothing to do with you. Go down the mountain immediately."

Tang Qi lifted his foot to go over, but Cheng Junshi quickly came over and stopped him, saying firmly, "Go down the mountain first." Seeing that Tang Qi's face was even more unpleasant, Lu Juezhen quickly helped Cheng Junshi and said, "Master is right, Brother Zhengye, let's go down the mountain quickly and not cause them any trouble."

After a few seconds, Tang Qi finally composed himself, picked up his bow and arrows, and hurried down the mountain with them. A large crowd had already gathered at the foot of the mountain, with the guards forming a human wall on both sides, and the people in the middle huddled together, looking tense.

Tang Qi and the others immediately gathered around to find out what was going on.

"What...what's going on? Suddenly they say the princess is missing, and it seems like Dongshou Mountain is going to be completely sealed off."

"I don't know. I heard that a maidservant of the princess ran down the mountain to tell the guards."

"Hey, where's that maid?"

"Oh dear, that girl is in a terrible state. I happened to be there when she ran down the mountain. Someone slashed her shoulder so deeply that I don't know who did it. She was just taken away, and we don't know if she's dead or alive now."

The men untied the sashes on their hands and continued, "Oh dear, we don't know what they encountered on the mountain, maybe a wild animal or something else."

"Are you stupid? How could it be a wild beast? What wild beast could make such a long cut? It must be a human."

One of them exclaimed in surprise, "A person? Who is it? Who has the audacity to injure Princess Yun'an? If His Majesty finds out, wouldn't he execute their entire family?"

"That's right, who wouldn't say that? Oh dear, let's hurry up and leave. His Majesty will be here soon. We can't help with the princess's matter, so let's not stay here and cause trouble."

After they finished speaking, the crowd dispersed, and Tang Qi and his companions found a secluded place to hide.

“Give me the quiver, I’m going to find someone,” he suddenly said.

Lu Juezhen dared not refuse and obediently unloaded it and handed it to Tang Qi, who then looked at Cheng Junshi and said, "Take him away."

“I’ll go with you,” Cheng Junshi said.

"It's not worth it."

"Aren't there guards around to look for someone? Wouldn't it be a bit much if we went?" Lu Juezhen said weakly.

"With just a few guards searching the entire mountain, by the time His Majesty sends troops, they'll all be dead." Tang Qi paused, then added, "I finally managed to participate in the Eastern Hunt; I can't go back empty-handed. If I find Her Highness the Princess, will I be short of rewards?"

Lu Juezhen tugged at Cheng Junshi's sleeve cautiously and said, "...Master, is it really necessary for us to go to such lengths for a little reward?"

Tang Qi smiled and patted Lu Juezhen's head twice: "People die for money, birds die for food, that's only natural. You don't lack money, your master doesn't lack money either, but I do. Your brother Zhengye has nothing else but his life, and I'm willing to gamble on it. Just think, what a great achievement it would be if I could rescue Princess Yun'an."

He then looked at Cheng Junshi: "Brother Junshi, it's not that I don't want to help you win the championship, it's just that our luck is really bad right now. But don't worry, once I rescue Princess Yun'an, I will definitely not forget your share of the reward."

“So,” he said, his tone almost commanding, “don’t follow me.”

Cheng Junshi choked up, but Tang Qi turned and left, not giving him a chance to speak.

"Master, is Brother Zhengye really that poor?" Lu Juezhen asked sincerely.

Cheng Junshi didn't know how to answer, so he remained silent for a moment before saying, "He just... has something he can't lose."

Tang Qi gripped his bow and arrow and walked deeper into the forest, intending to bypass the guards and enter the mountains directly. However, he didn't expect to run into an acquaintance at the very edge of the forest.

“Knowing you would come,” Ye Qian said, “Qingqing and I waited here on purpose.”

"Put this on," Shen Zhiqing tossed him a suit of armor and continued, "so you won't get kicked out of the mountains again."

"Didn't you guys not participate in the Eastern Hunt? How come you're here?"

"They weren't originally going to come, but..."

“But I dragged him here.” Shen Zhiqing glanced at him and picked up the thread, his voice unusually free of any sarcastic tone: “He was never one to be confined to the mansion. If he missed it once, or twice, would he miss it every time? The restrictions apply to children who are young, but Ye Qian is already an adult.”

Yes, he's already an adult.

It would have been worth trying long ago.

No one asked him, no one believed him, and no one helped him.

Tang Qi was silent for a moment, as if she had also realized this, and then chuckled and said, "Yes, you should have tried it a long time ago."

"But you all know about Yun'an's matter too?" Tang Qi asked, changing the subject as he looked at the armor they were wearing.

"Yes, there are too few people here; a single guard is not enough. His Majesty's men will take a while longer."

Shen Zhiqing: "A group of people had already arrived before us. Knowing you were coming, he and I waited for you here."

"Who went in first?" Tang Qi asked after putting on his armor.

"Zhou Ziye".

Tang Qi chuckled, a rare occurrence for him, and said, "It's truly commendable that he did something so commendable."

“The mountains are probably more complicated than we think. Dongshou Mountain is in a strange location, quite far from the city. Under normal circumstances, no one would come here. And I also found this.” Ye Qian handed the thing in his hand to Tang Qi.

"The Southern Continent Army?" Tang Qi was shocked, touching the piece of clothing that Ye Qian handed him.

"Yes, it was held in the maid's hand."

Noticing that Tang Qi's face turned pale instantly, Ye Qian quickly comforted him, "Don't worry too much. Yun An is, after all, a princess of Da Shuo. Even if it really is the Southern Continent Army, they wouldn't dare to do anything to Yun An easily. Although I don't know their purpose, I think Yun An is safe for now."

"But Tang Yan is also here."

Ye Qian was stunned.

"Xiao Yan is here too?" Shen Zhiqing exclaimed in surprise.

"Ayan was with Yun'an in the Eastern Hunt group." Tang Qi frowned, his words filled with regret: "I thought she was safe."

"Don't think about it anymore. No one could have predicted something like this," Shen Zhiqing said decisively.

"The best outcome now is to pray that they haven't gotten separated. If they have, Xiaoyan will be in danger," Ye Qian said, staring into the depths of the forest.

The unexpected always comes before tomorrow, a saying Tang Yan had long believed.

She pulled down her hood and fled through the mountains with the people around her, when a sharp arrow came to a steady stop in front of her.

"If you try to escape again, I'll shoot you in the head."

Tang Yan was forced to stop and continued to pull his hood down, not daring to turn around.

"Are you the princess?" the archer asked.

Tang Yan clutched the robe Yun An had given her, remaining silent—this was the solution she had proposed.

She pretended to be Yun'an to lure the enemy and protect the real princess as she escaped.

"Turn around."

Tang Yan turned around stiffly, and the girl next to her had already squatted down on the ground in fear.

"This is within the territory of the Shuo Dynasty, you dare not kill me." Tang Yan forced himself to remain calm.

She heard the person opposite her chuckle, and then a sharp pain shot through her face as beads of blood gushed out.

"And now? Do you still believe what you say?"

Her answer was a sharp arrow that slashed her cheek.

Tang Yan's hands trembled, and he glanced up from under his hood.

A mask of a demon with a blue face and fangs.

They encountered Gui Luo, the God of Slaughter General of the Southern Continent!

Despair welled up in her heart. She had heard the name Gui Luo from her brother more than once. He was ruthless and cruel; there was nothing he wouldn't dare to do.

Tang Yan's legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground, while the maid beside her was also trembling.

I can't die, I can't die here, I have to live, I have to live!

"Are you a princess?" she heard Gui Luo ask.

"No! She's not, I... I'm the princess!" someone next to Tang Yan spoke up before she could.

The man was almost in tears of fear, but still mustered his courage to stare at Gui Luo: "I am Princess Yun'an of the Shuo Dynasty. If you let me leave safely, I... I promise I can satisfy any desire you have!"

"Oh~" Gui Luo laughed and looked at her: "So you are Princess Yun'an."

She had always wanted Tang Yan dead, even in the palace. Tang Yan had taken her knife, extinguishing her hope of murdering him, but the hatred remained.

She stayed by Tang Yan's side, the two of them always on guard but keeping to themselves. But now, in this life-or-death situation, to survive, one has to step on others to get ahead.

Tang Yan doesn't hate her.

The white blade goes in, the red blade comes out.

Blood splattered on her face, and before the girl could close her eyes, she collapsed straight down.

"Sorry, I don't like liars."

Tang Yan didn't save her either.

"And you, do you have any last words?"

Gui Luo squatted in front of Tang Yan, his mask stained with blood, and his gaze was like that of a demon from the underworld.

“I’m useful,” Tang Yan said, suppressing her fear and forcing herself to stare into the eyes of the dead ghost Luo. “I’m more useful than her.”

“Oh, that sounds great,” Gui Luo laughed. “Then I wish you continued success in the underworld.”

"Zhi Ronghua!" Tang Yan grabbed Gui Luo's sleeve as he was about to leave: "I know you're looking for Zhi Ronghua, I can help you!"

Gui Luo glanced indifferently at the hem of Tang Yan's clothes, then looked up, trembling, and continued, "You smell of purslane. Purslane is yin, while trifoliate orange is fire. The two are mutually reinforcing and mutually antagonistic, and should almost never be used together, except in one case—when there is a fire-yang poison!"

Gui Luo remained silent, only staring at her. Tang Yan was terrified, but she could only grit her teeth and continue gambling: "When I met you, you were searching for something. Qingpuzi is common, but Zhi Ronghua is rare. Mixing Zhi Ronghua and Qingpuzi together before using them in medicine maximizes the effectiveness of Qingpuzi, which happens to be the best choice for detoxification."

Tang Yan took a deep breath and continued speaking with a do-or-die attitude: "There are no Zhi Rong flowers on Dong Shou Mountain. Take me to the person you want to save. I have a way to replace Zhi Rong flowers."

Why should I believe you?

Gui Luo gripped the long sword at his waist.

"You have no choice right now," Tang Yan said, looking at him.

Dongshou Mountain is a wild mountain, and compared to other places, the chances of finding precious medicinal herbs here are the greatest. Gui Luo's willingness to risk being discovered and secretly sneak into Dongshou Mountain proves that he is also gambling on this one in ten thousand possibility.

Since it's all a gamble, let's lay all our cards on the table.

"And by my own life." Her gaze was calm: "I'll help you save people, and you spare my life."

“Good idea, but it’s a pity,” Gui Luo laughed again: “I don’t like deals.”

Tang Yan felt a chill in her heart. ...She had lost the bet.

She lowered her hands, chuckled, and closed her eyes, like a prisoner waiting for the cleaver to fall.

As expected, the long knife didn't slit her neck; instead, it cut off a piece of her clothing.

Gui Luo squatted down in front of her again, waving his spoils and continuing to smile: "But I like to gamble with your life."

"Didn't you say you were useful? Then prove it to me."