"Could it be someone sent by the Prince of Huai? Deliberately disguised as a village girl?" a guard asked.
“Young Master, why don’t you take off your mask? I think that girl is right, your mask looks a bit eerie,” Pei Junqi chuckled.
Qi Chengshuo ignored him and turned to look at Zhang Cuiyun and Xu Lanxiang not far away.
"Who are you? Do you know that little girl from earlier? How far is it from here to Danhua Mountain?"
Neither Zhang Cuiyun nor Xu Lanxiang said anything upon hearing this.
"Pei Junqi, give me the money," Qi Chengshuo said in a low voice.
Zhang Cuiyun, who had received ten taels of silver, smiled so much that her eyes narrowed into slits. She quickly spoke up: "We are all from Weiyang County. I am a matchmaker, specializing in matchmaking for the dead. This is my old sister, Xu Xiangu, who is very skilled at catching ghosts and exorcising evil spirits. If you gentlemen need our help, please don't hesitate to ask."
Qi Chengshuo and the others almost cursed when they heard this.
What bad luck!
Why are all the people I've met today so strange?
Just when a young girl was telling their fortunes, a ghost matchmaker and a sorceress appeared.
Is Weiyang County teeming with ghosts and monsters?
Shouldn't the imperial court invite the esoteric masters of the Taiyi Sect to make a trip?
"As for that girl from earlier, she's from Qingya Village at the foot of Danhua Mountain. It's about ten miles from here. Qingya Village is backed by Danhua Mountain. It's getting late, gentlemen, you might as well go there to stay the night." Zhang Cuiyun said with a smile, "Do you gentlemen have any other questions?"
"Let's go." Qi Chengshuo didn't say anything more and left with Pei Junqi and the others.
As for Jiang Xianya's claim that there was something wrong with his mask, he didn't take it to heart at all.
This mask has an extraordinary origin. It was given to him by his grandfather before he left. His grandfather was worried that he would be in danger on this trip and asked him to hide his identity. He specially went to Huangjue Temple to get it. This is a bronze mask forged in the temple and blessed by a high monk. How could it be ominous?
"Old sister, today is truly our day to make a fortune." Zhang Cuiyun stroked the silver ingot in her hand, grinning from ear to ear: "We each got ten taels of silver. Back in Qingya Village, we didn't put in much effort, yet we received all the silver we were entitled to. In my opinion, that girl Xianya is a lucky one. And look... we've all benefited from it."
Upon hearing this, Xu Lanxiang tucked the ten taels of silver in her hand into her bosom and said to the coachman, "Catch up with the oxcart ahead."
Jiang Xianya really has a problem. How could a little girl suddenly be able to predict the future?
They either have extraordinary encounters or are extremely lucky; they are born with profound knowledge.
A girl like this should be her apprentice, and her fortune should be used to support her master so that she can truly embark on the path of cultivating mystical arts.
Jiang Xianya knew, of course, that Xu Lanxiang was wicked.
Before she left, she saw a bloodthirsty aura on Xu Lanxiang's face. What does that mean?
Xu Lanxiang has killed people!
The fact that the wisp of bloodthirsty aura still wanted to get close to Jiang Xianya meant that Xu Lanxiang's next target was her.
Jiang Xianya naturally had to strike first.
Sitting on the oxcart, she piled up the pebbles that He Guangcai had collected, placed her hands on the pebbles, and slowly formed a hand seal.
If it were nighttime, one could see a faint glow emanating from her.
Before long, the pebbles were also stained with some silvery light.
Jiang Xianya threw pebbles behind her at an extremely fast speed, and in a short while, she had thrown all the pebbles to the required positions.
Jiang Xianya smiled.
Let that half-baked Xu Xiangu who tried to take advantage of her suffer the consequences!
Before long, Xu Lanxiang and Zhang Cuiyun discovered that the carriage they were riding in was going around in circles in the small valley.
“Old sister, are we stuck in a maze?” Zhang Cuiyun grabbed Xu Lanxiang’s sleeve tightly: “I can’t handle it, so I’m counting on you.”
Little did she know that in Xu Lanxiang's eyes, the small valley was now teeming with ghosts, more than she had encountered in all these years.
She mostly pretended to be a ghost and had little real skill. She was so scared that her legs trembled. Urged by Zhang Cuiyun, she raised the peach wood sword and the five emperor coins in her hand, gritted her teeth, jumped off the carriage, and rushed over.
In Zhang Cuiyun and the driver's eyes, Xu Lanxiang was slashing wildly at the air while muttering incantations. Before long, she collapsed to the ground, crying and wailing, which terrified Zhang Cuiyun and the others.
Zhang Cuiyun gritted her teeth, took out the talisman paper that Xu Lanxiang had sold her before, got off the carriage, and ran towards Xu Lanxiang.
"It's no use, these talismans are all fake." Xu Lanxiang suddenly said, "Quickly take me to catch up with that little girl from the Jiang family. I want to take her as my disciple, use magic to steal her luck, and help me cultivate mystical arts. Then these ghosts won't be able to do anything to me."
After Xu Lanxiang finished speaking, she suddenly covered her mouth. She didn't want to say these words at all, but she just couldn't help it, as if she was being controlled.
Just then, she noticed that all the ghosts had vanished.
Xu Lanxiang was utterly shocked.
What... what exactly is going on?
Zhang Cuiyun was shocked by her words, and after a moment she said, "You...you want to steal people's luck, that's an evil technique, you...your two disciples died unexpectedly, did you do it? My Xiuyue...did you kill her?"
Xu Lanxiang wanted to deny it, but her body moved on its own, and she nodded and said, "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Cuiyun yanked the hairpin from her hair and stabbed it into Xu Lanxiang's heart.
She was a matchmaker for the dead, a profession passed down from her ancestors. Because they dealt with the dead all year round, the women in her family had difficulty getting married, and even if they did, it was difficult for them to have children. She had her eldest daughter after ten years of marriage, and later Xu Lanxiang took a liking to her and took her in as her disciple.
Her daughter, Xiuyue, was only six years old when she became Xu Lanxiang's third apprentice. Zhang Cuiyun was very happy. She often went to Xu Lanxiang's place to visit her daughter. Over time, they became old sisters. However, her daughter passed away two years ago when she was only eight years old.
Although she had a young son, she was heartbroken for a long time because of her daughter's death.
She had never doubted Xu Lanxiang, never expecting that this woman, known as the Fairy Maiden, would be so vicious.
Those are three lives lost.
Just as the hairpin was about to pierce Xu Lanxiang, Zhang Cuiyun stopped.
She wants to report it to the authorities.
A life for a life; she cannot lose her life because of this vicious woman.
Zhang Cuiyun gave all the silver she had earned that day to the coachman.
Although Xu Lanxiang hired the carriage, the driver was not familiar with her and naturally only worked for money.
“Master Li, you heard it too. What nonsense is this Xu Xiangu? She’s a murderer. I’m taking her to the county government to report her to the authorities.” After Zhang Cuiyun finished speaking, she went to the carriage, found a rope, and tied Xu Lanxiang up.
Strangely enough, this time they didn't linger in the ravine and soon left the area.
...
At the same time, Qi Chengshuo and his entourage, riding fast horses, also arrived at Qingya Village.
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