Chapter 12 The Nature of the System You Can't Live Without Me

Cheng Yan put down the wooden sign in her hand, and when she heard Zuo Zicheng asking her, she subconsciously glanced at Xie Tingyu.

At this time, Xie Tingyu seemed to focus all his attention on the carved wooden sign. Cheng Yan pondered for a moment, "I don't know what counts as a new thing."

"It's the kind of thing we can't see on a normal day. Besides, not everyone can go to watch the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons. I heard that monks who practice ghost spells and are lucky enough to see a ghost messenger can comprehend more advanced spells." Zuo Zicheng looked a little excited.

Xie Ting, who was standing aside, held her chin with her jade hand and fixed her gaze on Cheng Yan, staring into his eyes.

"On the day when the Hundred Demons paraded at night, my disciples and I were blocked outside by a powerful force. The entire city was bound by that strange force. The resentful ghosts inside could not get out, and people outside could not get in."

Cheng Yan organized his words and continued, "Moreover, the barrier formed by this power existed for a whole night. We could only hear strange mumbling and roaring, pouring into our eardrums from all directions."

"The moment the barrier disappeared, we had no hesitation and walked in under the guidance of Master Wen. The city was extremely quiet, like a real ghost town."

"We didn't expect that when we got there, there would already be people there."

When Zuo Zicheng heard this, he sat up straight instantly, his eyes shining, "Is it a human or a ghost?"

"It's me."

A cold voice came from beside him, and Zuo Zicheng was startled, "Ah?"

Xie Tingyu raised his eyes, "The first time I saw Cheng Yan was on the Night Parade of the Hundred Demons. That day was the first time I saw so many fairies and immortals."

When Cheng Yan heard Xie Tingyu speak, a complex look flashed across her eyes. She then stopped talking and listened quietly to Zuo Zicheng turning his head to ask Xie Tingyu.

Ask her why she was outside there, ask her if she was injured, and ask her if she had seen the ghost and what he looked like.

Zuo Zicheng was very excited. "Is the ghost messenger a cow-headed and horse-faced demon, the Black and White Impermanence, or a creature with three heads and six arms, a strange appearance, and a pair of blood-red eyes?"

Not knowing why the impression of the ghost house was so bad, Xie Tingyu was speechless, and remembered what Wen Zhiyu had said to her, "Junior nephew, you should read fewer storybooks."

"I only saw a figure wearing a python robe. She was tall and straight, with a stunningly beautiful appearance. All the ghosts were led by her. It can be said that there were not just hundreds of ghosts, but even thousands of ghosts. I will never forget this for the rest of my life..."

"Stop talking." Zuo Zicheng grabbed Xie Tingyu's sleeve and covered her mouth.

Zuo Zicheng looked around and lowered his voice, "This kind of thing is generally taboo and cannot be said directly, otherwise it is easy to encounter disasters."

Cheng Yan took a sip of tea and nodded.

Xie Tingyu pulled Zuo Zicheng's hand away, looking fearless, "It doesn't matter, my home is in Xuzhou. Let's get back to the point. I want to ask, why would a sect of cultivators go to the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons?"

"You have been here for a few days since you came from the mortal world. Perhaps you have not yet understood the complex relationship between the world of cultivation and the ghost palace. The ghost palace can attract ghosts from the mortal world, but because of the daily conflicts with the world of cultivation, the ghost palace directly cuts off the gate of life and death leading to the world of cultivation. In this way, ghosts from the world of cultivation cannot enter the ghost palace after death."

Hearing the voice of the aunt in the dining hall not far away, Zuo Zicheng picked up the wooden sign with the number "1" and went up to get his meal.

After taking a quick glance at Zuo Zicheng's back, Cheng Yan came over with a pair of inquiring eyes, "Are you really not related to the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons?"

"My nephew really thinks highly of me. He was able to evade the divine thoughts of my ancestors and the inspection of my master at the foot of the cloud ladder. His methods must not be crude. But if this is really the case, why did I come to Xuanyuntian to become his disciple? Am I seeking death?"

Cheng Yan stared at Zuo Zicheng's figure and said with thin lips, "This is the problem. Even if everyone suspects you, they can't provide evidence and can't find any flaws in you."

“When you think about it, it’s really scary.”

Xie Tingyu said nothing.

Zuo Zicheng came over with a wooden tray and placed it on the table. He couldn't help but ask, "What's so scary?"

"Of course it means that the ghost catcher who presides over the Night Parade of the Hundred Demons is terrifying. It is rumored that in every Night Parade of the Hundred Demons, there are almost always disciples who can fight against the ghost catcher, but this year... the ghost catcher is terrifyingly strong." Cheng Yan took out the bowl and chopsticks, muttering.

After hearing this, Xie Tingyu couldn't tell whether Cheng Yan was telling the truth or not, or maybe he was just making up an excuse.

She didn't have much understanding of her own strength because she had never really taken action in the ghost house from beginning to end.

Is it really that scary?

Xie Tingyu felt like she was about to float.

Before she had time to look at the food on the plate, she caught a glimpse of Zuo Zicheng's eyes rolling around.

So Xie Tingyu cleared his throat and said calmly, "If I say I am a mortal, no one will believe me. But if I say I come from a secluded family, will you believe me?"

"Why are you talking about this suddenly? Who doubts your true identity?" Zuo Zicheng and Cheng Yan looked at each other, and he asked.

"Many people are suspicious because I appeared on the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, which is the biggest doubt." Xie Tingyu paused and did not give the two a chance to speak. He spoke first, "A family specializing in exorcising ghosts. The elders in the family asked me to come out and look for the trace of a ghost."

Cheng Yan quickly grasped the point, not caring how credible Xie Tingyu's words were at this time, "Which ghost?"

"I don't know either. I only know that his name was Xie Chuyang. Have you heard of him?"

Cheng Yan shook her head. She never knew much about these people and things. On the contrary, Zuo Zicheng's eyes changed when he heard the words "Xie Chuyang".

You can tell by looking at it this way.

Xie Tingyu picked up a piece of red chicken from a pile of peppers and put it into her mouth. The extremely familiar spicy taste hit her nerves.

Although it tastes spicy, it is really unpalatable. Xie Tingyu almost cried because of it.

How can it be so unpalatable? How did you do it?

"I know her, she is..." Zuo Zicheng frowned.

"What is it?" Xie Tingyu asked him after forcing himself to swallow the piece of chicken.

Zuo Zicheng pulled his collar and said, "I'm not sure if it's the same person. Maybe they have the same name. Anyway, as far as I know, Xie Chuyang was the chief disciple of the previous generation of Dongxuan Su Pavilion. He has been dead for seventeen years."

Xie Tingyu's heart skipped a beat, but he tried to remain calm, "I know she's dead, but how did she die?"

"I heard that she practiced evil skills and became possessed, killing her fellow disciples. After her fiancé broke off the engagement, her parents killed her themselves." Zuo Zicheng stopped talking when he saw Xie Tingyu eating the spicy chicken, picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.

The partitions in the dining hall had good soundproofing, so Xie Tingyu wasn't too worried about someone hearing their conversation.

"So her skills are gained from practicing evil magic?" Cheng Yan glanced at Zuo Zicheng, whose face was red from the spiciness, and Xie Tingyu, who had a blank expression. He changed the direction of his chopsticks and picked up another dish, which was Zuo Zicheng's favorite pork elbow.

Zuo Zicheng took a few sips of water and uttered a "huff". "It's not that simple. Many people don't believe this. Xie Chuyang is also very prestigious."

"But her parents are the elder and deputy head of Dongxuansu Pavilion, so it was decided immediately."

Xie Tingyu looked unhappy. "Was he convicted or even killed by his biological parents?"

Xie Tingyu never thought that Xie Chuyang's experience would be so tragic. He died seventeen years ago, and everything seemed to fit in. So, she was most likely the vengeful ghost that Xie Chuyang turned into after his death.

It's incredible.

The system responded to Xie Tingyu's emotions at this time, [Host's emotions are fluctuating too much, please take care of your body]

'You can't die. Do you know Xie Chuyang?'

[I don't know. I bound the host after he traveled through the book. At that time, the host was already a little ghost.]

There is no way to break through this system.

Xie Tingyu lowered his eyes slightly, stretched out his hand to open the window frame beside him, and the breeze blew in from outside. Xie Tingyu smiled, "If this is the case, then the resentment must be very deep."

She couldn't help but think of the terrible scene in her dream.

Some strange voices were like comments in the barrage, saying that Xie Chuyang was the mysterious man's white moonlight, and that the mysterious man "killed his wife to prove his faith."

As for "another world-destroying villain", Xie Tingyu suddenly thought of Wen Zhiyu in the original novel.

Do Xie Chuyang and Wen Zhiyu have any connection?

Is this the content of the novel "Xiantu" that she has read? Does the system know the so-called script? Is this world really the world in the book?

Is Xie Tingyu really a person who has traveled through time and space in a book?

Cheng Yan saw Xie Tingyu's face getting paler and paler, and a hint of doubt appeared in her eyes. "Are you okay, Junior Master?"

Zuo Zicheng seemed a little heartless. He picked up a piece of pork elbow and started eating it. "Don't you want to eat pork elbow? Try it."

Xie Tingyu's mind was in a mess and the hairs on her back stood up. She was even more panicked than when she knew that the Ghost Mansion was facing a crisis. She had accepted the concept of traveling through books for seventeen years.

At this moment it seemed overturned.

She was so panicked that she picked up a piece of pork elbow and put it in her mouth, but she had no taste for it.

The confusion in his eyes grew deeper and deeper.

The cold system sound rang out at this moment.

[If you still want to survive, you should follow the plan]

This mechanical sound, which was similar to the usual one, became even more indifferent, and Xie Tingyu knew that he had guessed right.

This thing is not an ordinary book-traveling system at all.

The once useless same-speak conversion system is essentially a controller that forces people to follow the route.

'What if I die immediately?'

[Are you willing to give up? You have already died in the modern world, and you have a new life here. Are you willing to give up everything? Are you willing to watch the ghost house disappear?]

"How funny! A single Xie Chuyang can break your defense?"

[You can only blame yourself for being too concerned, but you have no choice at this moment]

Xie Tingyu remained expressionless and did not answer Cheng Yan's words.

Her fingers were trembling, and she was gripping the chopsticks so tightly that they turned white.

'What if I really die? You can tie someone else up, and they won't stop me, right?'

[You think too highly of yourself]

'Really? Then why don't you want me to know your secret? Because you can't live without me.'

'Because I am the key to breaking the impasse.'