"What is Shaman Wang afraid of?" Xie Qingyan looked at her.
Seeing Xie Qingyan's relentless pursuit, Shaman Wang hardened her wrinkled face and spat a mouthful of thick blood directly onto her soul-guiding banner.
"Ignorant brat!"
Reckless fool!
Squire Zhao, standing nearby, jumped in fright. How could this Shaman Wang resort to violence just because she was losing an argument? He quickly hid behind a tree with his servant boy, watching cautiously.
"You can do it, Daoist Xie!"
"You can do it!" the servant boy echoed.
Shaman Wang frantically shook the bell in her hand. Instantly, a sinister wind whipped up, and countless whirlwinds surged toward Xie Qingyan.
Xie Qingyan steadied his gourd with his left hand and drew a phantom talisman in the air with his right. The talisman glowed with golden light, piercing through Shaman Wang's mist, and the soul-guiding banner immediately snapped into two.
With a loud bang, Shaman Wang was sent flying, crashing heavily against an old tree. Black blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her weathered face was written with absolute shock.
Squire Zhao and the servant boy couldn't help but cheer in delight.
Seeing that Shaman Wang was defeated, Squire Zhao grabbed his servant and swaggered out from behind the tree.
"Shaman Wang, Daoist Xie truly has the skills, doesn't he?"
"Daoist Xie comes from an orthodox Daoist temple, after all."
Squire Zhao even emphasized the word orthodox.
Shaman Wang glared at him gloomily. Frightened, Squire Zhao's brow twitched, and he gave a dry laugh.
"Shaman Wang, you're injured. You should go back and rest."
Only when he saw Shaman Wang walk far away did Squire Zhao finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Daoist Xie, shall we..."
Seeing Xie Qingyan's actions, Squire Zhao immediately fell silent.
This Shaman Wang had indeed planted spies in his mansion!
On the way back, Squire Zhao couldn't help but joke.
"Is this gourd Daoist Xie's precious treasure? I saw that you were protecting it the whole time just now."
Xie Qingyan said nothing.
Squire Zhao didn't feel embarrassed. These cultivators always had their own quirks.
Compared to the Daoists he had hired before, Xie Qingyan's temper was practically unusually good.
After arriving indoors.
Xie Qingyan opened the gourd and let Ji Zhaoxi lean against the bed. She looked a bit better than before, but she was still very weak.
To stabilize Ji Zhaoxi's soul, Xie Qingyan had to press close to her back. His right hand gently stroked her shoulder, and his left hand lightly clasped her wrist. A white light instantly surged around the two of them.
Countless glowing runes circled Ji Zhaoxi, eventually seeping bit by bit into the wounds on her body.
Within the white light, their figures were very close, his Daoist robe and her plain white skirt entangled together.
"Daoist..."
Xie Qingyan could feel Ji Zhaoxi continuously absorbing his vital energy. The veins on the back of his hand bulged, and his brows knit tightly as he tried his best not to smell the faint fragrance permeating the air.
Xie Qingyan had originally only intended to stabilize her soul, but the unconscious Ji Zhaoxi, driven by a desire to survive, ceaselessly devoured the yang energy he transferred over. Blood couldn't help but trickle from the corner of Xie Qingyan's mouth.
Ji Zhaoxi's mind was currently a chaotic mess. She unconsciously drew closer to the heat source beside her. Her ghostly aura gradually wrapped around Xie Qingyan's neck, transforming into countless threads that slipped through his collar and cuffs, endlessly roaming over his skin. Her soft whimpers carried an alluring hook.
As the last trace of vital energy was poured in, Xie Qingyan calmly laid Ji Zhaoxi down on the bed.
His Daoist robe had been ruffled open by the ghostly aura, the collar slightly parted. His chest heaved violently, and his hands hidden within his sleeves trembled slightly.
Xie Qingyan didn't look at Ji Zhaoxi on the bed again. He closed the door, sat cross-legged outside, and coldly recited scriptures.
"The Great Dao is formless, yet it gives birth to Heaven and Earth; the Great Dao is ruthless, yet it moves the sun and moon..."
But whenever he paused, that faint fragrance would unconsciously linger at the tip of his nose. His brows furrowed tightly, and he chanted the scriptures faster and faster.
He chanted like this for an entire night.
The morning light had yet to pierce through the clouds. A faint mist permeated the air, bird calls broke the silence, and the tips of the bamboo in the courtyard still bore traces of dew.
Xie Qingyan slowly opened his eyes. When he saw the person right in front of him, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Ji Zhaoxi was squatting in front of him, smiling at him. "Daoist Xie, thank you for saving me."
Xie Qingyan looked away. "Miss need not thank me. Saving people is this poor Daoist's duty."
Ji Zhaoxi followed behind him. "But I'm not a person."
Xie Qingyan added, "Saving ghosts is too."
Ji Zhaoxi clung to Xie Qingyan pitifully. "Daoist Xie, there seems to be something wrong with my ghostly aura. I can't bully others anymore."
Xie Qingyan's hand paused for a moment. "It should be the talisman paper. This is Daoist talisman paper; naturally, you cannot harm people after absorbing its power."
Ji Zhaoxi let out a gasp. "But what if I run into Shaman Wang again next time? I definitely won't be able to beat her now."
Xie Qingyan lowered his eyes. "Then this poor Daoist will offer incense to you from now on."
"Daoist Xie, can you enshrine me? I want to be enshrined by someone too. Ordinary joss paper isn't enough to eat."
Xie Qingyan gave a sound of agreement and sat down.
Ji Zhaoxi watched as Xie Qingyan wrote her name on the paper, feeling somewhat pleasantly surprised. "Daoist Xie, how did you know my name?"
Xie Qingyan wrote calmly without speaking.
Ji Zhaoxi didn't mind, because finally someone was burning joss paper and offering incense for her, Ji Zhaoxi. It belonged solely to her, and she wouldn't have to fight over wish energy like those wandering lonely ghosts.
"Now I also have family to burn joss paper for me," Ji Zhaoxi couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Xie Qingyan paused for a moment but still said nothing.
Ji Zhaoxi watched him write earnestly from the side. "Daoist Xie, you seem exceptionally quiet today."
She was practically leaning on the table. Her stray hairs fell onto the paper, and the writing brush passed straight through them.
"Daoist Xie, you saved me, so I can repay you. What do you want? Silver? Or do you want to scare someone? I can help you."
That faint fragrance kept lingering at the tip of Xie Qingyan's nose. The scent was light, yet more overbearing than any hallucinogen. Xie Qingyan furrowed his brows tightly, suddenly feeling as though the room had become cramped.
He subconsciously held his breath, but that scent had already taken root in his memory long ago.
Since childhood, Xie Qingyan had been a person of few emotions. This unfamiliar feeling made his heart extremely agitated.
"Daoist Xie, are you busy?" Squire Zhao's voice suddenly came from the doorway.
Xie Qingyan practically fled from Ji Zhaoxi's side and opened the door.
Squire Zhao looked at Xie Qingyan and paused. Daoist Xie was actually so welcoming to him today; his face couldn't help but light up with pride.
"Daoist Xie, the servants told me that Shaman Wang has gone to the Apple Orchard again."
Xie Qingyan nodded. "Then this poor Daoist will head over now."
Squire Zhao quickly followed along. But for some reason, why did he constantly feel a chill on his body?
Xie Qingyan suddenly stopped and looked at Squire Zhao. Squire Zhao was baffled by his stare. "What's wrong, Daoist Xie?"
Xie Qingyan withdrew his gaze and shook his head.
The gloomy chill on Squire Zhao's body instantly vanished.
He viciously cursed Shaman Wang in his heart. It must be her playing tricks in the mansion, which was why the estate always felt so eerie.
