It seemed like someone over there heard the sound, and footsteps were heard outside the woods.
"That's where they were running just now. Yes, right here!"
"Did you see that too? The man just stretched out his hand, and then that weird thing fell into the river."
"Are you seeing things? Eyeballs attached to hair? I've never seen anything like that before. Stop scaring yourself with ghosts and spirits. It might just be a corpse floating by."
"...It's even scarier if it's a corpse!!"
Oh no, someone is coming!
Yun Xian and Qiao Lingshan exchanged a glance, then scooped up the princess and ran. Tang Wuke was startled, nearly dropping the dry apple in his hand. He nearly vomited it out from being shaken. "Slow down... I'm going to vomit!"
"It won't be slow." Yun Xian tried to comfort her, "It's okay. You haven't eaten for three days. If you want to vomit, you can only vomit water or soup. You can't vomit anything else."
Fortunately, there were still many people in black robes on the street, and the three of them landed and quickly merged into the crowd.
The group of cultivators on the street had vanished. Like Zhong Changyao, they had likely been "invited" to the palace by the emperor. Yun Xian wondered, with so many people here, would the Demon Lord have enough Sishui grass? He'd better treat the people accordingly. Those with higher cultivation levels should be given good things, while those with lower cultivation levels could play around.
"Where are you taking me?" Tang Wuke said dejectedly. "I really envy you cultivators who don't need to eat. I'm so hungry. I left in a hurry and don't have any money on me. I don't dare pawn the jewelry for fear of being discovered... and no one will buy it. I've thought about just going back. Yahe did something like that, and she'll definitely be thrown into prison by my father. But she said she never wants to see me in front of her again..."
The young princess was used to living a life of luxury, and after a few meals she became disheartened and unbearable. No one had ever spoken to her, and now she was rambling on and on for a long time. Yun Xianqi asked, "Burning the palace is a serious crime. Aren't you worried that Yahe will be beheaded?"
"No." Tang Wuke shook his head and said, "When I was a child, I begged my father to not kill Yahe no matter what she did in the future. My father promised, how could he break his promise?"
On her dark face, a pair of eyes with distinct black and white were as clear and pure as if they had been washed by water, as if she really felt that once she had promised, it would be impossible to go back on her word.
Although her appearance is now blackened and her features cannot be seen, her beauty can still be seen even in such a miserable state. She truly deserves the title of "a beauty of national beauty".
He heard a faint sight, and Yun Xian's eyes turned, and he immediately pressed Tang Wuke's head down.
Tsk, it’s Zhong Changyao again!
This guy's luck is really too good. It has been seen for a long time. Even when he was chased by Jimo Shu in the Sifang Secret Realm, he was still able to escape and pick up all kinds of rare treasures along the way. Now he meets the target person when he goes out. It's no different from being delivered to him.
Zhong Changyao looked at the three people suspiciously, and did not take his gaze away for a long time.
Qiao Lingshan whispered, "Yun Xian, why is he still looking? If he finds out, he'll definitely inform the emperor."
"It's okay, you can't tell." Yun Xian lowered Tang Wuke's head again and said in a low voice: "Everyone is dressed the same. He probably thought we were bullying in Tang Lingguo and didn't care."
Sure enough, Zhong Changyao took one look and didn't see anything pretty about her, so he simply ignored her and walked away to the other end of the street.
It's easy to imagine that the stories about people saving beautiful women are not accidental.
"Let's go." Yun Xian loosely pulled Tang Wuke's wrist and said, "Let's go meet up with the others."
Tang Wuke felt a bit too casual with her wrist being pulled. This was an arrest; even if she wanted to conceal her presence, she should have held a knife or sword against the man's back, threatening him as she walked... But this man was a cultivator, and could have taken her life at any time, so there was no need for these superficial things.
“…”
Yun Xian successfully found everyone next to the small hut.
For some reason, Liu Xu suddenly became quiet, and even his hands became much more still, no longer constantly touching the rough hair on his trouser legs. Xue Lingxiu and Feng Ye both looked equally bad. Feng Ye took the zither out from under the dog, and when he saw the three people, his eyes widened: "This is, found?!"
Actually, the zither could be put into the storage ring. However, Feng Ye wasn't rich, and the storage ring was very small. If he wanted to put the zither in, he would have to throw everything else out, which would be like cutting his flesh. Xue Lingxiu had a lot of space, but he didn't dare to ask for it. He wasn't Yun Xian.
"Found it." Yun Xian patted Tang Wuke's shoulder and said, "Come and get to know him."
She listed the names one by one. Tang Wuke was already used to these formalities, so she quickly wrote them down and nodded in greeting. However, the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. Why did she need to know who these people were? They wouldn't see each other again.
"Oh right." Yun Xian looked over and realized that someone was missing. He asked, "Fellow Daoist Liu, where did our eldest brother go?"
Liu Xu knew where he was going, of course. She was sure that the Dao Sect troops outside the city who had finally gathered to deal with Yun Xian would be in trouble. However, Su Chi had asked her to keep quiet before leaving, so she could only retreat silently and said, "It seems... he has something of his own to do, so he left first. Um, I'll go check on the ore too..."
Forget it, let’s just go and mediate.
"So." Yun Xian looked at her running back and thought, Senior Brother and Fellow Daoist Liu are also very busy.
Xue Lingxiu saw that Tang Wuke was even dirtier than Yun Xian. Just now, when they were walking together, the three of them were mingling together. You are dirty, I am dirty too. Our bodies and faces are covered with soot. She could no longer tolerate it and said, "Let's find a place to sit down first, change clothes and talk properly."
They had a lot of things to ask Tang Wuke, and what's more, Tang Wuke was different from everyone else. Everyone else could go on a fast, but if she continued to be hungry like this for half a day, she might really faint.
"Okay." Yun Xian said as if it was normal: "Brother Xue, give us some money and we'll go eat."
Xue Lingxiu glanced at her: "Seventy taels are gone so quickly?"
It's bad, I'm used to it, I didn't think too much about it! Yun Xian blurted it out, and just as he was about to withdraw it, he heard Xue Lingxiu say in a gloomy tone: "Every time you ask me for something, you don't show any respect at all."
Oh no! From the tone of voice, it seemed that there was a long-standing grudge and anger. Everyone, including Tang Wuke who had just arrived, understood the expression on their faces. They held their breath and heard Yun Xian say obediently, "Kind Mr. Xue, can you give me some money?"
Xue Lingxiu snorted coldly: "This won't happen again."
Everyone: “…”
I don't believe you, I won't do it again! You will give it to me anyway!
It's strange to say, it was just after dusk and the sky was getting a little dark, but all the shops on the street closed their doors one after another. There was no one to be found on the street. Occasionally, a few people were seen hurriedly rushing home, as if they were being chased by a ghost.
The monks who were summoned to meet the emperor have not returned yet, making the place seem even more deserted.
"Are all of you Tangling people so self-aware?" Yun Xian was puzzled and said to Tang Kewu, "When the time comes, we all go home after work. No one is a scab."
"I don't know either." Tang Wuke knew nothing about what was happening outside the palace. "But it's getting dark now, so of course we should go home for dinner, right?"
Qiao Lingshan glanced at the dim street corner and said, "Apart from anything else, how could a restaurant close at mealtime? Aren't they making any money?"
Feng Ye asked curiously, "Even the post station is closed! Where are we going to stay next?"
This was the problem at hand. He couldn't possibly be wandering around outside all night. Yun Xian coughed and said, "Brother Xue, I wonder if your carriage is..."
Xue Lingxiu: "Don't worry about it!"
Finally, their hard work paid off. They found a restaurant in a remote corner with an oil lamp still on. The owner was leaning on the counter bored. It seemed that there were no customers, so only one candle was lit, which was dim and bleak.
Seeing someone come in, he immediately stood up straight, lit all the candles, and rubbed his hands and said, "Are you here for dinner? What would you like to eat?"
He seemed extremely excited, and he opened his mouth and listed a long list of dishes. He talked about chicken feet, pig's trotters, fish skin, and so on. But none of them seemed to be up to par. Xue Lingxiu felt uncomfortable listening to him. She patted him lightly and said, "If there are any signature dishes, please send them to the private room. Don't disturb me at other times."
The shopkeeper responded repeatedly: "Okay, okay! Wait a moment!"
The group went up to the second floor. Although this was a private room, the tables and chairs hadn't been cleaned in who knows how long, leaving them with a greasy sheen. Xue Lingxiu and Tang Wuke blushed, but in the end, the worn cowhide in Yun Xian's storage ring came in handy. She spread the things on the wooden chair and said, "Sit down, sit down."
Finally sat down.
The restaurant quickly served some side dishes. The pig's trotter soup seemed to have been simmering for a long time, emitting a rich aroma. Before Tang Wuke picked up his chopsticks, he asked, "What is this?"
Yun Xian: "Pig's trotters. Delicious."
"Pig's hoof?" Tang Wu frowned slightly and said, "I don't eat this."
Feng Ye tried to smooth things over, saying, "You're already so hungry, so don't be so picky. You've already eaten Yun Xian's apples, so what else can't you eat?"
"What's wrong with Yun Xian's apple?" Tang Wuke was puzzled and said, "Pork is too fishy. I can't get used to it. And I don't like offal either..."
Qiao Lingshan quickly stuffed the pig's trotter into her mouth. Tang Wuke was stunned, chewed it twice, and then lowered his head to gnaw on it silently: "..."
Smells so good.
Since he finally met the princess, he naturally wanted to ask some questions. Yun Xian was the first to ask, "Princess, have you seen the Demon Lord?"
"No." Tang Wuke couldn't have anything in his mouth when answering questions, and he always wiped his mouth slowly before saying, "Not only have I never seen him, but my father probably only saw him once when he was very young. The last time he appeared was at the wedding of the previous generation of princess... According to our relationship, should I call her aunt? She died of illness two years after her marriage."
To humans, whose lifespans are a hundred years at most, the way a demon cultivator marries naturally seems absurd. But if you apply human ethics to a demon, then most demons are completely devoid of conscience. Especially when this demon cultivator holds the key to their lifeline, even the most unreasonable must be made reasonable.
Yun Xian thought, then it seems that the idea of lust is completely wrong. The demon cultivator didn't seem to care what the woman he married looked like. As long as she was sixteen years old and a princess, it would be fine.
"How many princesses are there in the palace now?"
"I am the only one. The blood relationship in our line is very weak. I only have one brother, and my father's generation also has only one sister."
"You're the only one?" Yun Xian pondered, "What if the emperor can't have a daughter? Without a princess or a princess, who will marry the Demon Lord?"
"...There has never been such a situation." Tang Wuke was stunned for a moment and said uncertainly: "Maybe he will be adopted from another branch?"
But the health of her uncles wasn't much better, and it seemed like the entire royal family wasn't having good luck with having offspring.
Qiao Lingshan asked, "What if there are no other branches? Then what should we do?"
Yun Xian looked at her and vaguely had an even more ridiculous idea.
The Demon Lord only appears during the wedding ceremony, and he has no idea what the princess looks like. This means anyone could be the princess. Of course, the best choice is the princess. But if the princess suffers an accident the day before the wedding, and the emperor is forced to find a random woman off the street to replace her, offering her a certain amount of compensation and threatening her with "I'll kill your entire family if you refuse," then logically, the demon cultivators shouldn't notice.
The more dangerous the environment, the more of a burden a woman's beauty becomes. Everyone knows the princess's beauty now, and no matter how much the emperor tries to fool around, he won't find someone he finds too unsightly to bring to the Demon Lord. Therefore, the young women on the street are all insecure, and they all try their best to make themselves look as unattractive as possible, the more inconspicuous the better.
Yun Xian sighed.
This is truly a sin. Although it sounds foolish and seems futile, she can't bring herself to smile. In this situation, if there is a better way, why use this method to protect themselves? It only shows that they are too powerless. There is no other way.
Xue Lingxiu flipped through the dishes that were served to her with her chopsticks, showing no appetite at all.
It looked terrible, a bunch of red and green things mixed together, and no one knew what the ingredients were. He didn't eat it, but the spirit in Yun Xian's storage ring was crying for food and making a big fuss inside.
Speaking of spirits, Yun Xian recalled the scene he'd seen on the rooftop. The palace was densely packed with spirits. Seeing Tang Wuke's reaction to the laundry ghost, he wondered if she had any experience. So he asked, "Have you ever seen that thing we encountered on the riverbank before?"
"Never seen it." Tang Wuke gave an unexpected answer, "But I often hear Yahe complain about this kind of weird stuff. She said her feet were cold at night and she woke up the next morning to find they were pricked by a sharp spike. When she was drawing well water, the bucket was unusually heavy and tasted rotten. And when the wind blew, she could hear the sound of heels hitting the door. I thought they were just telling ghost stories to tease me, but what I saw today really scared me. But it could also be a corpse."
"Uh." Yun Xian said tactfully, "Telling ghost stories is strictly speaking correct."
It is indeed a ghost story. Ordinary people would probably go crazy if they stayed in there for a few days. Only Tang Lingren is so thick-skinned that he can find all kinds of reasons to comfort himself.
"Really?!" Tang Wu looked at their expressions and suddenly blamed himself: "I told Yahe before that she was worrying too much. I've never seen it..."
As she spoke, she was still picking at the pig's trotter, trying to see if there was anything else that had slipped through the net. She was so hungry that she wanted to drink all the soup.
Xue Lingxiu listened for a while when a sudden gust of cold wind blew in from the window. He tightened his collar, glanced at the almost-eaten leftovers on the table, and raised his eyebrows slightly.
There were only two dishes served from the beginning, and they are still the same now? What about the other dishes?
He stood up. He could eat no more, but he could always order some drinks. However, Xue Lingxiu looked around and saw that there was no one upstairs or downstairs.
There really was no one there. Even the shopkeeper and waiter who had been so enthusiastic just now had disappeared without a trace. Only the cold moon was still shining outside the window, the wind was whistling, and the shadows of people were swaying under the eaves.
Where did this figure come from?
At this moment, Tang Wuke's hand holding the spoon suddenly froze.
Yun Xian asked, "What?"
Tang Wuke silently picked up the spoon. On it lay a lump of rotten flesh. Rotten, but not completely. One could still glimpse the shape of it, suggesting it had once been a human nose.
Everyone: “…”
After removing the nose, the rest of his facial features appeared uninvited, floating in the soup. His pus-filled, broken lips opened and closed, and his tiny pupils swayed within his eyeballs. They were clearly the facial features of the shopkeeper. A stench instantly engulfed the entire table. "Am I delicious? Delicious! Delicious! You've eaten me, now it's my turn to eat you!"
As soon as the words fell, the lips suddenly opened, and a long, blood-red tongue that did not resemble a human's wetly stabbed straight at Tang Wuke's eyes. Yun Xian grabbed it with his swift eyes and hands, and immediately, both the man and the ghost collapsed:
Yun Xian: "I declare that your way of scaring people is really creative!! But please get out!!"
The shopkeeper's spirit: "Why are you practicing Taoism again? I hate you guys so much! You're the ones who killed me!!"
"The fact that I can kill you means you weren't human before, okay?" Yun Xian's sword flashed, absorbing the spirit. Unfortunately, the absorbed spiritual energy wasn't enough to compensate for the blow. He then threw the bowl and chopsticks, causing a crackling sound. He thought everything was fine, but then, unexpectedly, the bungalow began to shake like an earthquake!
At this moment, the various spirits that had been lurking in the corners of the restaurant slowly emerged. They looked all sorts of different, with disheveled hair and all sorts of strange shapes. One spirit even looked like it was covered in flour, a large white patch. Not only did everyone come out, but they also had a lively conversation with each other:
"Were you also killed by this shopkeeper?"
"Yes, yes, he used an axe. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. Ri Ru's uncle's soul gate, if you don't know how to use it, use something else! He hasn't died after four or five hits, so it's better to end it with one blow!"
"Luckily, I was poisoned, so it doesn't hurt... Why isn't that guy talking? What's on him?"
"It's flour, made into human meat buns. But they don't sell well and the cost is too high, so the shopkeeper doesn't sell them anymore. I was saying, how can a man with a strong lewd smell taste good? Children's meat is the most tender and delicious... hehe..."
The spirits quickly started chatting. As they were chatting, they suddenly smelled a fresh human scent on the second floor. They no longer cared about anything else and instantly regained their green-faced and fanged faces and rushed over!
Everyone was utterly disgusted, still reeling from the shock. Seeing this, Yun Xian, true to the Jiange tradition of using windows over doors, split the second-floor wall with a single blow of his sword, sending a cold breeze rushing in. He shouted, "Let's go!"
Qiao Lingshan carried Tang Wuke, who looked like he was about to die, on her back and jumped down following Yun Xian.
Tang Wuke finally came to his senses and opened his mouth to vomit: "Hah——"
"Don't spit it out!" Yun Xian quickly covered his mouth, determined not to waste it. "That pig's trotter was real, I've confirmed it. The next thing was an illusion, it was deliberately trying to scare you. It's always been spirits that eat people, how can a person eat a spirit?"
The cloud said from afar in the storage ring: "Hey! Say it again!"
Tang Wuke said painfully, "It's pressing on my stomach... on the street, look at the street..."
Yun Xian took a closer look and found that the situation on the street was even more terrifying than that in the human meat bun shop. Demons were dancing wildly and blood was flowing like a river. Under the moonlight, not a single person had a shadow.
"What's going on?!" Xue Lingxiu wasn't afraid of spirits, but he was terrified of feeling nauseous. The impact of that rotten piece of flesh on him was comparable to Yun Xian's victory. He hurriedly said, "No... What day is it today?!"
Why is it so gloomy!
"Run first!" Yun Xian would never waste his spiritual energy on these spirits. It would be more trouble than good. It would be best to avoid a fight if possible. However, all the houses and windows on the street were tightly closed, as if they couldn't hear any sound from the outside world. "What day is today? Today, today... It's the fifteenth day since I, Yun Xian, won the championship!"
"Who's asking you that?" Xue Lingxiu waved her fan, spreading the withered arm behind Yun Xian and said, "I remember now. Today is the Ghost Festival!"
This is really bad luck. I forgot to check the date before going out.
It's not their fault. Unless it's one of those special spirits from the Four Directions Secret Realm, the Ghost Festival has no impact on them at all. Those spirits clearly aren't targeting them, so who would seek this?
But the situation in Tangling Country was unusual. Not only were there many spirits, but their spiritual energy couldn't be squandered carelessly. Once used, it would be difficult to replenish. So now they could only go to where the spirits were sparse, and for a while they were chased away in a rather embarrassing manner.
"Never mind!" Feng Ye took out the zither with difficulty and said, "I don't have any use for it, I'll use it first!"
He had always been very accurate in his positioning. It seemed Feng Ye was also quietly improving, and now the offensive power of the strings had progressed from being able to peel apples to being able to push spirits back two or three steps.
Everyone was running around, and at this moment, a bright light suddenly flashed in the distance, as if someone was running towards them.
At first, Yun Xian thought that it was some silly kid who used his spiritual energy so quickly, but as the light got closer and closer, she suddenly realized that it was actually a bald head!
"Bald! It's Bald! The monk is here!" Feng Ye said excitedly: "Master - here, we are here -"
Yun Xian: "..." She hadn't forgotten how long Feng Ye had laughed at the nickname "bald donkey". A master when there's something to do and a bald donkey when there's nothing to do. How could people's hearts be so evil?
This is truly the case, every profession has its own specialization. Buddhist techniques are naturally effective in restraining such evil things. Even if the techniques are removed, they rely on this to make a living. Even monks without any cultivation skills in the folk must know how to perform rituals. In this way, it seems that their coming here is perfect.
Sure enough, the young monk landed lightly in front of the crowd without using any spiritual energy. Instead, he took out a brocade bag from his waist with a serious expression.
Inside the brocade bag were three round, bead-shaped magical instruments that emitted a golden light of merit. The little monk calmly looked at himself and said nothing. The magical instruments shot out violently, instantly burning away the approaching spirits.
The spirit howled miserably, and the little monk continued to move forward with the Buddhist beads in his hand!
They were all human beings in their lifetime and knew the principle of bullying the weak and fearing the strong. When the spirits saw many of them reduced to ashes in front of them, they all ran away in a hurry with their tails between their legs after a while.
Just in time, Tang Wuke had almost vomited everything out.
Everyone finally had a break, and the monk turned and saluted. It must be said that even with his bald head, the shape of his skull was quite beautiful, adding a certain awe and inviolability to his already handsome features. Truly, a beautiful young man with a unique charm.
After Yun, Qiao and Feng saw the monk's face clearly, they all turned to look at Xue Lingxiu's expression.
Xue Lingxiu nearly broke her folding fan and said with a smile, "Why are you looking at me? Is there something on my face?"
Yun Xian thought, there is no flower on his face, but there is almost grass in his mouth.
The monk remained silent, his eyes lowered. Xue Lingxiu stepped forward and said, "This is someone I know. Mingshu, was it Master Mingguang who asked you to come here?"
The little monk named Mingshu shook his head and wrote the word "Qi" in the air.
So it was Qi Zhiye who asked him to come?
Xue Lingxiu's expression became even more ominous when he heard the name of this peacock. However, considering the overall situation, he still said to everyone: "This is Mingshu, Qi Xingye's junior fellow apprentice in Foxiang. He is currently practicing silent meditation, so he doesn't speak."
"Mingshu, how are you?" Yun Xian said familiarly, "Today is the Ghost Festival. Did the emperor just let you go?"
Mingshu shook his head and slowly wrote again: "Palace Guardian."
No wonder he was the only one here. The emperor actually ordered all the monks who came to guard the palace for him. He really treated all the common people as worthless. Wasn't he worried about his own daughter being out there?
Mingshu said nothing, and neither did anyone else. They could only stare at each other, unsure of what to do next. Perhaps they should find a place to spend the night. The atmosphere was a bit awkward, so Yun Xian walked closer and said, "Mingshu's magic weapon is truly amazing."
It can burn spirits without using spiritual energy.
"Vajra Relic." Xue Lingxiu crossed her arms. Seeing her naive look, she said, "This was made by Master Mingguang himself."
"Relics?" Yun Xian was stunned for a moment, then said without thinking, "We have to pick it up quickly! I don't know which uncle or ancestor it belonged to. It would be bad if it fell into the ditch."
Everyone was silent for a moment: "......"
Yun Xian! Yun Xian!! What are you talking about?!
In the frozen scene, Ming Shu closed his eyes with difficulty and finally spoke. His voice was not as deep as his appearance: "...Miss Yun, it's just a name. It's not a real relic. ...So you don't have to help me pick it up, uncle. Thank you very much."
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