Chapter 89 Master has his eye on someone else again.
Panicked, Ye Chi felt as if his heart had suddenly jumped into mid-air, leaving him feeling lost and extremely uneasy. Although the ghost was unlikely to cause him any real harm, who could withstand such a sudden, unexpected attack?
Ya Feiyu, who had been sitting at the table, glanced at him indifferently. With a flick of his sleeve, a talisman appeared between his fingers, its color mottled and dark yellow under the candlelight. "Spirit Maiden, do not frighten him."
The being referred to as "Spirit Maiden" by Ya Feiyu was a dense, dark mass of energy whose true form was obscured. Upon hearing Ya Feiyu's words, Ye Chi snapped out of his daze and turned his head. The mass of energy seemed to gradually reveal its true form, clinging tightly to his neck. From Ye Chi's angle, he could only see a pale, decaying face. She grinned, revealing sharp fangs through her purplish lips: "Young Master, don't be afraid... Hmm? The aura on your body seems somewhat similar to your master's..."
She flashed, bringing with her a chilling gust of wind that extinguished the last remaining candlelight on the table, plunging the world into darkness. The only thing visible was Ya Feiyu's pale silver eyes.
"Is there anything wrong here?" As if completely unfazed by the Spirit Maiden's ferocious appearance, Ya Feiyu remained remarkably calm.
"Hmm... If we're talking about malice deliberately directed at the master, the spirit maiden didn't sense any. Instead, there was a... no, countless waves of malice directed at that little girl, quite intense, which directly whetted the spirit maiden's appetite..."
As she spoke, she extended her purple tongue, tracing it inch by inch over the sharp, needle-like fangs.
"That little girl?" Ya Feiyu frowned. "Aying?"
The spirit girl rested her cheeks on her hands, her fingertips idly playing with her long, seaweed-like hair—this was not just a figment of her imagination; her hair truly exuded a fishy smell, and the strands were tangled together in clumps, devoid of luster, truly resembling dried seaweed.
“The Spirit Maiden doesn’t know if it’s A-Ying or A-Ying… The Spirit Maiden only knows that she’s a young girl who looks quite young.” A hint of pity appeared in her pale eyes, but there was no sympathy. “The Spirit Maiden can feel it. This filthy malice… It seems to come from quite a few people, many of whom are men. The Spirit Maiden went to investigate the source of the malice. Ha… Dressed so expensively, I didn’t expect her to be so filthy. Sure enough, men are all the same creatures. They never treat each other sincerely and only talk about interests.”
She raised her eyes and glanced at Ya Feiyu indifferently, vaguely recalling her once charming appearance, now only a pale and desolate one remained: "The same goes for Master, isn't it?"
Ya Feiyu did not deny it, but coldly lowered her eyes, "Who has feelings for Aying?"
The spirit maiden hesitated for a long time, seemingly trying to think of what words to use to describe that group of people. Evil? Ugly? Selfish? Terrifying? No, no, no, none of these are enough to describe the filthy nature of these people. After pondering for a while, she finally said, "...The spirit maiden doesn't know, but the spirit maiden felt disgusted when she saw them."
"Disgusting?"
The spirit maiden nodded. She gently raised her hand and drew on the blank talisman. Red marks appeared out of thin air at her fingertips. Ye Chi initially thought it was cinnabar, but upon closer inspection, it was clearly the color of blood that had dried up for a long time.
She drew several in a row, each one a hideous face. Strangely enough, with just a few strokes, she could vividly depict the complex features of people. After finishing the drawing, she activated it with Ya Feiyu's blood, and the hideous figures in the talisman seemed to come alive in an instant.
With just one glance, Ya Feiyu's heart sank.
Among these talismans, there was a young man dressed in Qing Shen Ge attire, a portly wealthy merchant, a hunched old man, and a beggar with patched clothes. The one that attracted Ya Feiyu's attention the most was the one placed at the very bottom. This was the first one that the Spirit Maiden drew, and she clearly had a deep impression of this person. His appearance was also the clearest.
It was a young man dressed in a black robe, but the hood did not cover his face. He was clearly dressed as a demonic cultivator, but his appearance was not as hideous as other demonic cultivators. Instead, he was quite handsome and looked to be the same age as Ye Chi. His eyes, which were stained red with blood, stared directly at the talisman, as if he were staring at them through the talisman.
His eyes were painted with heavy ink by the spirit maiden, unlike the others who were simply touched up.
"This person..." Ye Chi moved closer. The candles were extinguished, and with the spirit maiden present, the gusts of cold wind would occasionally sweep by. So he simply stopped lighting the candles and looked at the talismans by the moonlight. He squinted, lost in thought: "Why does it seem like the more I look at it, the more familiar it looks...?"
Ya Feiyu looked at him: "You feel the same way? It seems this isn't just my imagination."
Ye Chi was somewhat absent-minded. Hearing this, he nodded, his thoughts still wandering in his memories.
He must have actually met this person, and their meeting was not just a one-time affair.
Ya Feiyu also felt that the face looked familiar, and seemed to have narrowed down the possibilities even further. Ye Chi frowned and pondered. Just then, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. The spirit maiden seemed to be startled and disappeared into the darkness in a flash.
Ya Feiyu sighed, "Who?"
"It's me, Aying," a clear voice called out. "You two immortal lords, it's time for dinner. Won't you come down for your meal?"
Although they had abstained from grains for many years, the two had never hesitated to taste delicacies from the mortal world. Coupled with the fact that the spirit maiden's words had piqued their curiosity, they exchanged a knowing glance, instantly understanding that they shared the same thoughts. Ye Chi agreed, "Okay, wait for us a moment."
Aying didn't have to wait long. Soon, the two of them came out of the room one after the other. Ye Chi carefully led Ya Feiyu downstairs, while Aying walked in front. The hall was not very bright. It was probably close to midnight, and there were not many lights on. Only a dim yellow light shone through, which perfectly concealed the two of them.
As he descended the stairs, a chilling wind seemed to seep through his fingers again, causing Ye Chi's fingertips to tremble slightly. He had already mentally prepared himself, so when that rotting, pale face reappeared before him, he barely managed to suppress the panic in his heart. To be honest, no matter how many times he saw that face, it would still be terrifying; it wasn't a matter of getting used to it. He wondered what kind of psychopath Ya Feiyu was capable of communicating with that face without any expression... Oh no, Ya Feiyu should have been numb by now, after all, he had seen far more terrifying things before.
He lowered his voice and asked, "What are you doing here?"
The spirit maiden lingered beside the two and said, "The spirit maiden has a way of making things difficult for others. As long as the spirit maiden doesn't want those filthy men to see her, they won't be able to see her."
"So you've come here because you have something to tell us?" Ya Feiyu asked her.
The spirit maiden instinctively tried to grab Ya Feiyu's hand, but she was now an ethereal wisp of gas, and their hands passed right through each other. Ya Feiyu felt a chilling coldness emanating from his palm. In his previous life, he often dealt with these kinds of ghosts and had a fairly good understanding of their body language, so he wasn't surprised even though he couldn't see them anymore.
What are you trying to tell me?
The spirit maiden seemed to want to point something out to him, her eyes wide and bulging, but Ya Feiyu insisted on pretending to be blind, which frustrated the spirit maiden. Her cloudy eyes darted around twice, and she said, "Master came to this hall not just for a meal, right?"
Of course not. Ya Feiyu nodded slightly. Following A Ying's steps, whether intentionally or unintentionally, they ended up in the darkest corner of the entire hall, perfectly missing all the light, but no one complained.
"I'm going to the restroom." Aying stood up, nodded to the two of them, and then left.
This quiet little corner, with few people passing by, was perfect for them to whisper to the spirit maiden. Sure enough, shortly after A-Ying left, the two leaned close together. To outsiders, they appeared to be just a loving couple or overly intimate friends; no one noticed anything unusual. Only they could see the constant flow of energy between them.
No one would be looking here, so Ya Feiyu quietly loosened the white blindfold. The spirit maiden pointed to various corners of the inn, equating each figure, whether hidden in the shadows or standing in the light, with the various hideous and terrifying faces on the talismans. Ya Feiyu glanced at them briefly. He had an excellent memory; he could forget almost anything he saw in a short time. Many of them had faces as hideous as demons on the talismans, yet in reality, they were impeccably dressed. Whoever came would probably be fooled by their superb acting skills.
Everyone has a beautiful, decent, and clean appearance, but once you cut it open, who knows whether it contains a bright red, beating heart or a pool of viscous, rotten water?
Comparing their figures with those in the talisman, Ya Feiyu secretly memorized their faces. If similar people appeared next time, he would have to leave with A Ying immediately.
Aying was a sincere and pure young girl. Even though life was hard and tiring, she never gave up hope. Her dark eyes revealed the purest innocence and curiosity about the world, which seemed to be the most precious thing in this already corrupt cultivation world.
Despite being called a "vengeful ghost returned from purgatory" by the world, Ya Feiyu once possessed the purest and most innocent heart. However, this heart was quickly wounded and riddled with holes. Rebirth could not heal his wounds, but only offer him solace. Ya Feiyu was actually very happy and gratified to see such a passionate heart.
If possible, after everything comes to an end, he would like to bring Aying back to the sect so that she can receive a more systematic and complete education. Even if she doesn't have the aptitude for cultivation, it doesn't matter, she already has more chivalry than many cultivators.
Of course, all of this is contingent on the matter coming to a close.
However, from today's perspective, this matter seems so far away; at least, there is still a long way to go.
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