Xie Shuci was startled.
The gale whipped up sand and dust from the ground, and branches and leaves danced wildly in the air. The wind felt like needles pricking the skin.
The Great King leaped out of Xie Shuci's arms, transforming back into its Crimson Snow Wolf form, bending its front legs downwards in an attacking stance.
"Your Majesty!" Xie Shuci called out hastily, worried that it might run away.
The king stood protectively in front of Xie Shuci, revealing several sharp fangs as he looked into the dark space ahead.
Xie Shuci used his spiritual power to shield the group, blocking the fierce wind in the air.
Purple breath crawled out from Xie Shuci's sleeve, flicking its tongue and looking in the same direction as the king.
At the same time, a figure appeared and disappeared under the shade of the tree, approaching Xie Shuci from a distance.
"Awooo!" A wild howl echoed from the front of the Great Dynasty.
"Since you hate cultivators, why don't you target them? The young men you kidnapped were all ordinary people." Xie Shuci's voice sounded somewhat broken in the wind.
"call out--"
Suddenly, a leaf as sharp as a blade flew towards Xie Shuci.
Xie Shuci reacted quickly and dodged in time.
"I arrested them because I've been lonely for hundreds of years and wanted to find a few men I could find to relieve my boredom."
Xie Shuci was overjoyed. "So, they're still alive?"
A woman's chilling laughter echoed in the air.
"Whether they are still alive or not is not important. What is important is whether you can get out of here alive."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a figure appeared on the tree above Xie Shuci's head.
Xie Shuci suddenly looked up and saw a woman sitting lightly on the tree branch.
She was dressed in bright red, her skirt billowing in the air like will-o'-the-wisps. Her two bare feet were frighteningly white, hanging in mid-air, with a blue rope tied to her right ankle.
Xie Shuci stared at the scene before him, completely stunned. It was as if those scenes from horror movies had come to life before his very eyes.
Xie Shuci took a deep breath, his blood rushed to his head, his legs went weak, and he almost knelt down.
"Those cultivators who came a few days ago are not even half as good-looking as you. Although I don't like cultivators, I really like your face. Young master, since you're here, leave your skin behind."
The woman's voice was sweet, but her words sent chills down one's spine.
Xie Shuci's mind raced. The connection between Zixi and Sikong Xin had been severed, and he should have noticed something was wrong. He needed to calm down and stall for time to see if he could pry something out of the female ghost and save the others.
Thinking this, Xie Shuci swallowed hard, forcing himself to calm down. Ghosts are just dead people, and they seem to be able to communicate with each other, so they're no different from people!
Furthermore, although the female ghost said this, she did not immediately attack Xie Shuci, and neither the King nor Zixi realized that Xie Shuci harbored murderous intent.
However, at some point, everything around them became extremely dark. The night light in the sky completely disappeared, and it was pitch black. All Xie Shuci could see was the female ghost sitting on the tree branch.
“Sister, you say you hate cultivators, but you haven’t harmed any disciples of the Xu family. You’re actually very kind-hearted, aren’t you?” Xie Shuci said, forcing a smile.
In the dim light, Xie Shuci could only see the woman's bright red skirt hanging down and a pair of feet as white as a wall.
Having not interacted with anyone for centuries, the female ghost wasn't in a hurry to kill Xie Shuci. After all, the men she had encountered before either fainted upon seeing her or screamed in terror before fainting themselves. As for the cultivators, they were so ordinary as to be unremarkable that she didn't even bother to show her her face.
"Kindness? Do you know who I was in my previous life? I didn't kill them because I didn't want to dirty my hands. You cultivators should be bitten to death by wild dogs! Eat their flesh, drink their blood, and then eat your bones!" As she spoke, the female ghost's voice grew colder and colder.
"Huh?" the king exclaimed in confusion.
Oh no, baby isn't a dog.
Xie Shuci gave a dry laugh
He said, "I am also a cultivator. If you kill me, won't you just dirty your own hands?"
The female ghost was silent for a moment, then said, "That makes sense. Now get lost."
Xie Shuci: "..."
Is it really that hasty, sister?
"Sister, may I ask if you're so bold as to ask, are the men you abducted still alive?"
The female ghost lightly touched the air with her toes, and her body immediately rose into the air. The thick fog surrounding them gradually dissipated, revealing the bright moonlight in the sky.
“Go back and tell them that I will release them when I’m done playing with them. If they come to bother me in the mountains again, I will not show them any mercy.”
After she finished speaking, she hummed a tune and gradually disappeared into the mountains and forests.
Xie Shuci was stunned, and so was the king.
They just disappeared like that?
Are ghosts this kind these days? They get tired of playing with people and then release them back on their own? But what exactly does this "playing" mean?
"Awooo!"
After the female ghost's aura disappeared, the king bent down and nuzzled Xie Shuci's face.
Zixi said, "She's already gone. Let's go back."
Xie Shuci stared blankly at the spot where the female ghost had disappeared and nodded.
This ghost wasn't scary at all; it seemed no different from an ordinary person. In fact, Xie Shuci felt quite sorry for it. It had been alone for hundreds of years, no, a ghost that spoke of hating cultivators but hadn't attacked any of them. It seemed that even when it took those young men, it didn't intend to kill them.
Xie Shuci returned the way he came, only to encounter Xu Si and his group who had hurriedly caught up with him halfway there.
Sikong Xin and Liu Dazhuang walked in front, with Xie An and Xu Si following behind.
"Hiss—" Upon seeing her master, purple breath flew out from Xie Shuci's sleeve. Sikong Xin reached out and caught it, gently patting her head.
Upon seeing Xie Shuci, Xu Si hurriedly asked, "Fellow Daoist Xie, what happened in the mountains?"
Xie Shuci sighed, "I saw a female ghost."
"Really?" Xu Si's expression changed drastically, and the other three also turned to look at him.
"Since you saw her, how did you manage to come down unharmed?" Xu Si couldn't help but ask.
The reason why no one has seen the ghost all this time is simply because those who have seen her have been captured. Xie Shuci is the first person to see her and return unharmed.
Xie Shuci said awkwardly, "She told me to get lost."
Xu Si: "..."
Sikong Xin and the other two: "..."
Seeing their frozen expressions, Xie An, carrying the king, rushed to Xie An's side in a few steps.
"Is something the matter?" Xie An asked.
Xie Shuci nodded, then shook her head. "She said she hated cultivators more than anything in her life and even wanted to skin me alive, but she was afraid of dirtying her hands, so she told me to come back."
When Xie Shuci said this, his tone was very calm, almost like a different person compared to before he went up the mountain.
Xie An frowned upon hearing this.
"Have you found any trace of the others?" Xu Si asked, frowning.
Xie Shuci said, "She probably didn't kill those people, and she even said..."
Xie Shuci suddenly started stammering.
"What else is there to say?" Xu Sizhui asked.
While Xie Shuci was still hesitating, Sikong Xin spoke up: "She also said that you should not go into the mountains to disturb her, and that she would release you when she got tired of playing with you. Otherwise, if you go into the mountains again, she will not show any mercy."
Xu Si looked at Xie Shuci with a puzzled expression, and Xie Shuci nodded, "That's what she said."
"Play?" Xie An asked suspiciously.
Xie Shuci was taken aback. Oh right, he almost forgot that there was an "innocent" minor next to him. Xie Shuci nodded in agreement, "You know... playing games, right?"
Sikong Xin: "..."
"By the way, how did you know what she said?" After realizing what she said, Xie Shuci looked at Sikong Xin in surprise.
The latter gently stroked the purple snake's head and said slowly, "She told me."
Sikong Xin added, "She also discovered some things. Let's go back to the inn."
Let me explain in more detail.
"Since that's the case, it's getting late, there's no point in staying here any longer, let's go back."
The moment Xie Shuci turned to walk down the mountain, a peach blossom petal that had been clinging to the hem of his clothes flew back to Xie An's waist without anyone noticing.
Before long, the group returned to the inn.
Because it was late at night, the lobby was empty except for the waiter who was dozing off behind the counter.
The other disciples of the Xu family went back to their rooms to rest, while Xu Si and the other four sat in the main hall to continue their discussion.
Xie Shuci was frightened and had been on the run for so long. In addition, the candlelight in the hall was dim, so he yawned twice while lying on the table.
Xie An suggested that he go back to his room to rest, but since everyone else was there, he felt embarrassed and also really wanted to know what Zi Xi had discovered in the mountains.
After all, Xie Shuci was too preoccupied with fear to pay much attention to his surroundings.
The king was probably tired too, so it lay down on the table and fell fast asleep, seemingly undisturbed by the noise of the crowd talking.
Sikong Xin stroked the small snake and said to everyone, "Zixi said that the female ghost cultivated the path of slaughter in her previous life, and had already achieved great success."
Upon hearing this, the hall fell into an instant silence.
A moment later, Liu Dazhuang slammed his hand on the table, startling Xie Shuci and the king.
Xie Shuci shuddered in fright, his sleepiness vanished instantly, and he sat up straight as if waking from a dream.
Xie An frowned unhappily, glancing at Liu Dazhuang with his eyes seemingly casually.
Upon seeing this, Sikong Xin kicked Liu Dazhuang and scolded, "Don't be so startled at night."
Liu Dazhuang said incredulously, "Impossible. Once a cultivator who has reached the Great Perfection of the Slaughter Path dies, he will be banished by the Heavenly Dao and his body and soul will be destroyed. How could she become a ghost?"
Xu Si also said in a deep voice: "Fellow Daoist Liu is right. Ghosts are formed from the resentment of the souls of the dead. It is impossible for a fully accomplished cultivator of the Slaughter Dao to become a ghost."
Xie Shuci was completely dumbfounded. "She cultivates the path of slaughter? That's impossible."
Xie An, however, said, "Perhaps she is not dead."
Everyone looked at him suspiciously.
Xie An had no intention of speaking again, but Sikong Xin continued, "That's right, she's not dead yet. Zixi is my contracted beast, and I'm connected to her telepathically, but just now, my connection with her was severed."
Liu Dazhuang asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Xie Shuci and the others didn't know much either, so they waited for Sikong Xin to continue.
Sikong said, “As you all should know, demonic beasts are different from us humans. Their sense of smell and intuition are extremely keen. The killing aura emanating from cultivators of the Slaughter Path poses a severe threat to them. When they feel their lives are threatened, they will automatically sever the connection in order not to implicate their masters. That ghost... no, it should be a cultivator of the Slaughter Path who has reached the Great Perfection, is not dead yet. She has simply caused her soul to separate from her body through some means.”
"Through some means, the soul and body were separated?"
Xie Shuci murmured in confusion, "Then hasn't she lived for hundreds of years?"
Sikong said, "That's right. Throughout history, none of the cultivators who have ascended have come from the Path of Slaughter. This is because cultivators of the Path of Slaughter simply cannot withstand the tribulation lightning during ascension. No matter how high their cultivation level is, once they face ascension, they will inevitably be struck by heavenly lightning and their souls will be scattered. Therefore, a cultivator who has reached the Great Completion stage is already the highest realm in the Path of Slaughter, and their cultivation level is comparable to that of the ascended great beings. Living for several hundred years is naturally not a problem."
Xie Shuci nodded as if he understood, but his impression of the Path of Slaughter came entirely from Xiao Xun, whom he had read about in the book, and he did not know much about it.
"Then why did she suddenly appear here?" Xu Si asked, puzzled.
Everyone fell silent. Judging from the female ghost's words, her soul and body had been separated for hundreds of years. Why would she appear here after hundreds of years?
Xie Shuci had a vague suspicion in his heart. He looked at the silent crowd and hesitated, "Is it possible that she came from the Dragon Fang Realm?"
Several people frowned and looked at him: "What do you mean by that?"
Xie Shuci lacked confidence, and his tone softened: "Xu Si, you said before that the first missing man was half a month ago. At that time, we just received news that the Dragon Fang Secret Realm had..."
The road ahead is closed; we departed from Tianzhu City and headed towards Huaizhou.
Upon hearing this, Sikong Xin pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, "It's not impossible, otherwise it's impossible to explain why she would suddenly appear hundreds of years later."
Xie Shuci continued, "Moreover, when we were in the Immortal's Tomb, we found its layout to be very strange. Living people could come and go freely, but souls could not. The eldest disciple of the Chu family, who went with me, said that the tomb was used to suppress evil spirits, and all those who died inside would be trapped inside along with the soul of the Water God. Later, the Immortal's Tomb collapsed, and the Water God left the Dragon Fang Secret Realm. So I think the Earthly Ghosts trapped inside should have also come out."
Xu Si was unaware of the details. Since Huaizhou and Bianzhou were far apart, no disciples of the Xu family had entered the Dragon Fang Secret Realm, so he had only heard some things about it.
"So, this ghost is the Yin Ghost trapped in the Immortal's Tomb?"
Sikong Xin shook his head and said, "I'm afraid not. Most of the Earthly Ghosts don't have memories of their previous lives, and besides, she didn't die."
As if struck by a thought, Sikong Xin glanced at the silent Xie An and said, "Cultivation emphasizes the soul, not the body. Even if her soul and body are separated, she should still carry a strong aura of killing intent. However, Zixi said that she has little killing intent, did not harm these cultivators from Tian Shang Mountain, and did not seem to intend to harm the young men she captured. Furthermore, there is a very gentle spiritual power in her soul, which seems to suppress her killing intent."
"Awooo!" The king woke up at some point and barked a few times at Sikong Xin.
The baby knows whose spiritual power that is!
"Don't make a sound." Xie Shuci patted his dog's head.
"Aow!" The king suddenly stood up, yelling as he lay back on the table, sticking out his tongue and pretending to be on the verge of death.
Xie Shuci stared at it suspiciously for a long time, then suddenly realized, "Ban Xiayin?!"
"Aww!" The king nodded excitedly.
Xie Shuci then asked, "Do you recognize that spiritual energy? Is it the Water God, Ban Xiayin?"
Back when they were at the Immortal's Tomb, everyone else was on the verge of death. When the King took Xie Shuci to find the Eastern Yin Chamber, it was Ban Xiayin who guided them. The King recognized his spiritual power.
"Ban Xia Yin?"
Xie Shuci looked up at the crowd and said, "It was the Water God! It was the Water God who used his spiritual power to suppress her murderous intent!"
Upon hearing this, Sikong Xin frowned. "She really did come from the Dragon Fang Secret Realm."
Liu Dazhuang looked at the group and said, "My goodness, so it's all so easy? As long as we capture her, we can find the Water God?"
Xu Si was confused by what they were saying. Water God and Ban Xiayin were names that only existed in stories to him.
Having no other choice, Xie Shuci had to tell him roughly what had happened in the Immortal's Tomb.
After hearing Xie Shuci's words, Xu Si felt a lump in her throat. She never imagined that the once-powerful Banxia clan, who was a symbol of the Heavenly Dao alongside the Jingyu Bird, would actually die at the hands of a group of mortals? And even be imprisoned in her own sea of consciousness!
Xu Si still had questions: "If that's the case, why would the Water God help a cultivator who follows the path of slaughter? They should be the ones who hate killing the most."
Xie Shuci shook his head and said, "The Water God has his reasons for doing what he did. Besides, I don't think that cultivator is an irredeemable villain. There are probably some hidden reasons behind it."
Sikong Xin nodded in agreement, saying, "Shuci is right. Since she is related to the Water God and is also in Huaizhou, she must know the location of the Water God. If we can get it out of her, we can save a lot of trouble."
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent again.
She was a highly accomplished cultivator of the Slaughtering Path, and none of those present were her match. She had even made a threatening statement that she would not show mercy to anyone who dared to disturb her. If they went there rashly, they would probably be asking for trouble.
But do we really have to wait until she's had her fill of fun before letting her out?
This is absolutely unacceptable; otherwise, it will always be a hidden danger.
As the only living person who had ever met the female ghost, Xie Shuci still had some right to speak on the matter.
He hesitated for a moment, then said to the crowd, "That cultivator said that she hates cultivators the most in her life. Perhaps there is some unresolved issue in her heart? Maybe if we help her resolve this issue, she will stop kidnapping innocent men."
Hearing his words, Sikong Xin hesitated for a moment, "Could her inner conflict be related to a male cultivator?"
Liu Dazhuang didn't like to use his brain. After listening to them dawdle and guess for so long, he said speechlessly, "Then let's just go and ask her directly."
Xie Shuci gave him a long, meaningful look. "Me?"
"What else can she do? Everyone else went, but she didn't come out."
Xie Shuci grabbed a cup and threw it at him. "Get lost! She said it herself, whoever goes will die. Wouldn't it be suicide for me to go?"
"I'd like to go, but she's blind, she wouldn't even look at me." Liu Dazhuang paused for a moment, then chuckled again, as if remembering something. "Hey, do you guys think all cultivators of the Slaughter Path are like her? If they can't stand being alone, they just grab a few ugly men off the street and take them home? I wonder if Xiao Xun does the same thing... Ouch! Si... Brother Chengxin, why did you kick me again?"
Sikong Xin, his face dark and his teeth clenched, glanced at the boy next to Xie Shuci and thought to himself, "If I don't kick you, Xiao Xun will be the one to assassinate you tonight!"
Xie Shuci rolled her eyes at him, "There are children here, don't talk nonsense."
"Little kid? Who?"
"Huh?" The king tilted his head.
Are you talking about the baby?
Knowing that the female ghost would not harm anyone for the time being, and confirming that she came from the Dragon Fang Secret Realm and possessed the spiritual power of the Water God, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
However, they couldn't just sit idly by and wait for the female ghost to release the person. But it was already getting late, so the five of them decided to discuss the woman's identity together the next day and help her resolve her inner conflict.
Xie Shuci had been traveling for half a month, without sleeping or eating well. He had just settled down and then was dragged out to be tossed around all night. He was so tired that he could barely keep his eyes open and didn't have the energy to think about anything else. After a quick wash, he fell asleep almost as soon as he touched the bed.
The next day, Xie Shuci didn't get up until almost noon. When he left his room, he learned that everyone except him and Xie An had already left, apparently to check files at some wealthy merchant's residence.
Xie Shuci and Xie An ate something casually, and then, led by the waiter, headed to the wealthy merchant's mansion.
Along the way, Xie Shuci inquired about some details from the shopkeeper.
The wealthy merchant's surname was Song. It is said that his ancestors were cultivators, but later the family's talent declined with each generation, and in the end they all became ordinary people.
Song, the wealthy merchant, was a good person, charitable and generous, and was well-liked by the people of the city. Although there was no explicit rule, he was in charge of all matters, big and small, in the city.
"Master Song has only one daughter. He has been worrying about her marriage these past few years, hoping to see the family line continue before he gets old. Unfortunately, this Miss Song is too proud and looks down on many young men from famous families in the city, and even some disciples from immortal sects."
Along the way, the waiter kept rambling on and on, almost revealing all of Master Song's wealth. Xie Shuci looked at him with increasing strangeness, wondering if he even knew exactly how many times Master Song urinated at night.
Before long, the waiter escorted them to the entrance of the Song residence, explained their identities and purpose to the servant, and then left.
Upon hearing that they were friends of Master Xu, the servant hurriedly led them inside, since in the eyes of ordinary people, those who cultivate Taoism hold a very high status.
As expected of a wealthy merchant, Master Song had countless antique vases, famous paintings, and his mansion covered a very large area. The servant led them through several winding corridors and artificial gardens before they entered a separate courtyard.
Xie Shuci and his companion were still outside the door when they could faintly hear conversations coming from inside.
"Master Song, this concerns the safety of the people in the city. Please lend us the family's records for review."
Xie Shuci followed the servant through the door and saw Xu Sizheng bowing and clasping his hands in greeting to a portly man adorned with gold and silver.
The man patted his round belly, grinned, revealing two gold teeth, and laughed, "What are you saying, Daoist Master? As for any other files, if you want to see them, I, Song, will give them to you. But the file you want to see was left by my ancestors. It records the history of my Song family's development, how we got to where we are today step by step. You're making things difficult for me, aren't you?"
Sikong Xin and Liu Dazhuang sat to one side. Liu Dazhuang was a hothead; he would grab the axe from his waist at the slightest provocation, not caring about anything else—if they didn't give it to him, he'd just snatch it! If he couldn't take it, he'd just exchange it for the axe! Anyway, no one in the cultivation world knew their identities.
Before he could even put his idea into action, Sikong Xin glared at him and shut him down.
Just then, Xie Shuci and his companion walked in, and Boss Song looked over when he heard the noise.
Upon seeing Xie Shuci and the other person, Boss Song's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked Xu Si, "These two... are they also disciples of the Xu family?"
Xu Si said, "These two are fellow Daoists passing through this area. They heard that there are ghosts and demons causing trouble in the city, so they came to lend me a hand."
"Greetings, Master Song. My name is Xie Shuci, and this is my younger brother, Xie An," Xie Shuci said as he stepped forward.
Master Song squinted and sized them up. "Good, good."
Then, he changed the subject and said, "That dossier is a secret of my Song family. If you insist on seeing it, it's not impossible."
Upon hearing that there was hope, Xu Si immediately asked, "Are there any conditions?"
Master Song stroked his beard with a smile, his loving gaze sweeping over Xie Shuci and Xie An, making Xie Shuci feel a chill run down his spine.
"If you want to see our Song family's files, you naturally have to become a member of the Song family."
What do you mean?
"Marry my daughter and become the son-in-law of the Song family. Let alone a single case file, I would gladly give up the entire Song family."
Upon hearing this, Liu Dazhuang slammed his fist on the table. "Stop dawdling, deal! I'll sacrifice myself today!"
Master Song: "..."
No...that's not what I meant...
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