Her previous injuries had not yet healed, and at this moment, Shaman Wang's face was exceptionally pale.
She was in the midst of burying a black box covered in blood-drawn talismans into the roots of a tree. Shaman Wang acutely sensed a gaze and immediately spotted Xie Qingyan standing in the nearby shadows, his eyes carrying an incongruous hint of hostility.
"Burying bones to draw yin energy, Shaman Wang, do you know this will bring down the wrath of Heaven?" Xie Qingyan's voice was frighteningly cold.
Squire Zhao and Ji Zhaoxi hid behind a tree, both watching this scene with solemn expressions.
With a light flick of Xie Qingyan's fingertips, the black box buried deep in the soil shattered instantly, revealing densely packed birth charts.
Shaman Wang let out a miserable shriek and frantically shook her bell. "Kill this little beast for me!"
A foul wind suddenly swept through the air, and a vicious ghost reeking of rot burst straight out of the ground.
Hiding in the back, Squire Zhao's teeth chattered uncontrollably. "This Shaman Wang is truly terrifying."
"Right?" A faint, eerie voice suddenly drifted from beside him.
Squire Zhao turned his head. "Didn't you refuse to come no matter what..."
His voice caught in his throat instantly. There was no one beside him at all; with one glance, he could see straight to the rocky hill on the other side of the mountain.
The sinister wind continuously drilled into his neck. Squire Zhao's eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.
Ji Zhaoxi was also startled by Squire Zhao.
On the other side, Shaman Wang's bell had already fallen to the ground. A white light directly pierced her throat. Unable to make a single sound, she collapsed into a pool of blood, dying with her eyes wide open.
As soon as Shaman Wang died, the vicious ghost's hideous face twisted for a moment, instantly morphing into another visage that bore a pale yet vivid smile.
A familiar, subtle fragrance permeated the air. The vicious ghost's voice gradually became delicate and weak, unconsciously murmuring, "Daoist Xie..."
Xie Qingyan's eyes turned extremely icy in an instant. He raised his sword and thrust it straight at the vicious ghost.
The face of Ji Zhaoxi on the vicious ghost instantly distorted, and that subtle fragrance was directly torn apart.
"Ah—"
The scream was incredibly mournful and shrill.
Hiding behind the tree, Ji Zhaoxi jumped in fright. No wonder Sister Qin said she sang well; compared to these ghosts, her screams were practically heavenly music.
The vicious ghost's piercing scream stabbed into Ji Zhaoxi's soul body. The sorrowful wail of a kindred spirit made her hurt so much that she couldn't help but shudder instinctively.
A pair of hands steadied her firmly.
"Miss Ji."
Seeing the miserable state of that vicious ghost just now, Ji Zhaoxi suddenly wanted to move on and be reincarnated. She didn't want her soul to be scattered and destroyed; that would hurt too much.
She stumbled over her words as she said to Xie Qingyan, "Daoist Xie, I don't want my soul destroyed anymore. Can I come find you when I want to be reincarnated later on?"
Xie Qingyan froze for a moment, then nodded.
"Whatever Miss Ji says."
The two of them shifted their gazes to Squire Zhao, who was lying on the ground snoring.
Ji Zhaoxi explained guiltily, "I said something just now, and it scared him."
Who knew he would start snoring after passing out from fright. Squire Zhao lay sprawled on the ground, his hands resting on his round belly, his mouth slightly open, occasionally mumbling a few words no one could understand.
Xie Qingyan went to call a few servants, and together they carried Squire Zhao back to his room.
"Heave-ho—three, two, one—heave-ho!"
"Are you guys even trying? Why is it so heavy on my side?"
"Isn't that obvious? If we weren't trying, the master would have been dropped long ago."
Squire Zhao's snores echoed from the east side of the courtyard to the west.
The noisy chatter of the servants took quite a while to finally cease.
After returning to the courtyard, Ji Zhaoxi began calling for her system, still using her sorrowful, resentful voice.
Before long, the sounds of female ghosts crying gradually echoed from other villages, suddenly startling a flock of birds in the trees.
The Cicada Ghost climbed up from a leaf, bleary-eyed, and cursed out loud, "What kind of fit are those female ghosts throwing now? Singing endlessly day after day!"
The Mantis Ghost next to it also woke up, swallowing hard as it looked at the Cicada Ghost.
Furious, the Cicada Ghost kicked it right off. "Get lost."
This damn mantis pestered it every single day.
Ji Zhaoxi called out for a long time but simply couldn't summon the system.
Ignoring the crying outside, Xie Qingyan calmly drew talismans.
Ji Zhaoxi floated in faintly and sighed.
Xie Qingyan glanced at her. "Miss, is there anything this humble Daoist can help you with?"
Ji Zhaoxi looked at him with a bit of a guilty conscience. "Daoist Xie, you know that besides you, no one burns paper money for me. My ghost energy fluctuates between strong and weak; I simply can't compete with those wandering spirits and wild ghosts."
"When you leave, I'll just get bullied by those ghosts again. Not everyone is as kind-hearted as you, Daoist Xie."
Xie Qingyan's hand, holding the calligraphy brush, paused for a moment.
"I was an orphan when I was alive, and no one ever treated me well. When I died, I had only one wish: to not be bullied and to always have a full stomach."
Sitting in the corner, blending into the darkness, Ji Zhaoxi lowered her head, her voice pitiful. "I wonder if there's a kind soul out there who can help me fulfill this wish."
"I was bullied when I was human, and now that I'm a ghost, I'm still being bullied..."
Ji Zhaoxi sniffled, her voice choking up a bit.
Xie Qingyan understood. He looked at Ji Zhaoxi hesitantly. "Miss Ji, if you truly have nowhere else to go, you can follow this humble Daoist for the time being."
"If you ever wish to be reincarnated, you can tell me at any time."
"That would be wonderful!"
Ji Zhaoxi, who had just been sitting on the ground sobbing, scrambled to her feet the very next second.
"Daoist Xie, you are such a good person."
"It is what this humble Daoist should do."
Early the next morning, Xie Qingyan packed his bags and went to see Squire Zhao.
As soon as Squire Zhao saw him carrying his pack, he started shedding tears. "Daoist Xie, you should at least rest for a few days before you go."
Xie Qingyan bowed to Squire Zhao. "I have troubled you these past few days, Master Zhao. It is time for this humble Daoist to take his leave today."
Squire Zhao didn't say anything more about asking him to stay. He sighed and waved his hand.
A few servants immediately brought over several chests, completely filled with gold.
Xie Qingyan declined. "I appreciate Master Zhao's kindness, but this humble Daoist truly cannot accept this money."
"If Master Zhao insists, you may donate it to the disaster-stricken people."
Master Zhao nodded, his eyes welling with tears. This Daoist Xie was truly a good man.
When they reached the village entrance, Master Zhao suddenly cried, "Daoist Xie, actually, there is one more thing I want to tell you."
"I ran into a ghost last night, and just now there has been a ghost blowing on my hair the whole time. What should I do, Daoist Xie..."
He didn't dare delay Daoist Xie's journey, but this ghost just kept clinging to him.
Xie Qingyan remained silent for a moment. "Master Zhao need not worry. Once this humble Daoist leaves, everything will return to normal."
Hearing Xie Qingyan's guarantee, Squire Zhao quickly wiped his tears. "Alright, Daoist Xie."
Then Daoist Xie should leave quickly. He was timid and really couldn't handle being frightened.
He looked at Xie Qingyan's departing back and scratched his head in confusion.
Was the wind really that strong? Why were Daoist Xie's clothes fluttering up like that?
Xie Qingyan was making his way up the mountain when a surge of ghostly energy suddenly wrapped around him. Ji Zhaoxi was enveloped in a faintly glowing mist, her ethereal form gradually becoming semi-transparent.
A soft weight suddenly settled onto his back. Showing no surprise, Xie Qingyan calmly reached back to support her.
He had anticipated this day ever since she first drew upon his vital energy.
Her cheek pressed against the skin of his neck, as cold as a piece of jade, her wispy breath seemingly seeping right through his skin.
Unaccustomed to this sensation, Ji Zhaoxi rested against his back and asked softly, "Daoist Master Xie, am I heavy right now?"
"Not at all."
Her figure carried a touch of ethereality, yet it had gained a bit of physical substance from absorbing his vital energy.
The pure Daoist aura that should have resided within Xie Qingyan was now winding around Ji Zhaoxi's icy skin, intertwining with her own lingering ghostly energy.
A trace of Daoist compassion had found its way into Ji Zhaoxi's eyes, while Xie Qingyan, once radiant with pure and righteous energy, now harbored a profoundly dark and ghostly gloom within his lowered gaze.
