Before the morning mist had fully dissipated, a pair of greedy eyes lurked behind the leaves.
She had been tailing them for days, watching closely as the Daoist priest transferred his vital energy to the female ghost.
Since the priest was so generous, he might as well let her take a sip, too.
Ji Zhaoxi and her companion continued on their way. Suddenly, they spotted a white-haired old woman sitting on a large rock up ahead, rubbing her ankle and groaning in pain.
Dressed in coarse linen and wearing a string of Buddhist prayer beads around her wrist, the old woman looked incredibly pitiful.
Wiping her tears with calloused hands, she seemingly caught sight of the two of them approaching. Her eyes instantly filled with pleading.
"Daoist Master, young lady, could you help me up? I can't walk anymore."
Xie Qingyan frowned as he looked at the old woman's bruised and battered body. "Old lady, how did you sustain such severe injuries?"
"Daoist Master, I came up the mountain to forage for mushrooms and herbs, but I accidentally took a tumble."
Holding her bundle, Ji Zhaoxi stood behind him, quietly observing the old woman.
She couldn't sense any ghostly aura from her. Tentatively, she stepped closer, only to be burned by the prayer beads on the old woman's wrist. She stumbled back two steps, and Xie Qingyan immediately reached out to steady her.
The old woman looked at Ji Zhaoxi in confusion. "What's wrong with the young lady?"
Xie Qingyan subtly stepped in front, shielding Ji Zhaoxi behind him.
"Old lady, let me treat your wounds first."
Tears spilled from the old woman's eyes. "Thank goodness I ran into such kind-hearted people. Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do with these old bones of mine."
By the time he finished treating her wounds, the sky had turned completely pitch black.
The old woman looked at them with guilt. "It's all my fault for delaying your journey down the mountain."
Xie Qingyan shook his head and replied calmly, "The Dao values life and seeks to deliver all beings from suffering. Please do not mind it, old lady."
The campfire crackled in the clearing. A thin layer of sweat broke out on the old woman's forehead; gritting her teeth, she moved a little further away from the flames.
Noticing Ji Zhaoxi watching her, the old woman offered a smile, and Ji Zhaoxi politely smiled back.
With a stranger present, Ji Zhaoxi didn't dare to be too brazen. She simply leaned gently against Xie Qingyan's side.
Xie Qingyan glanced at her and allowed her to hold his hand. A surge of warmth instantly flowed into Ji Zhaoxi's pulse, and she nuzzled his palm in comfort.
Xie Qingyan paused. The skin of her face possessed a perfectly pleasant, cool temperature. He could feel its soft texture, yet there was no pulse of blood vessels beneath it.
Across from them, the old woman's eyes turned slightly red.
It had been a long time since she had tasted the pure yang energy of a Daoist priest.
She watched Ji Zhaoxi beside Xie Qingyan. Seeing the female ghost take only a tiny sip before stopping, she felt utterly exasperated by such a wasted opportunity.
Suck it, suck more of it! Drain all of this priest's yang energy and turn him into a dried-up husk!
Daoist priests had slaughtered so many ghosts; they deserved to die more than anyone.
The old woman's expression began to twist grotesquely. Noticing the intense stare, Ji Zhaoxi looked over and was startled by the sight of her.
The old woman quickly adjusted her expression and offered Ji Zhaoxi a gentle smile.
Ji Zhaoxi: ...
How terrifying.
Just as she was about to whisper a warning to Xie Qingyan, the old woman spoke up.
"What is the relationship between you and this young lady, Daoist Master?" the old woman asked curiously.
Xie Qingyan replied calmly, "We are fellow disciples."
Ji Zhaoxi immediately nodded in agreement.
The old woman smiled and fell silent.
Taking a ghost as a junior martial sister—would any Daoist temple actually acknowledge that?
The old woman couldn't quite figure out Ji Zhaoxi's exact attitude toward Xie Qingyan; she could only tell that the female ghost was highly dependent on the priest beside her.
Truth be told, snatching another ghost's paramour wasn't exactly a glorious thing to brag about.
However, this priest's yang energy was far too potent. She would feel like she was doing a disservice to her own nature if she didn't drain him dry.
Trembling, the old woman pulled a few plump, white steamed buns from the bamboo basket beside her. "Young lady, Daoist Master, I have some steamed buns here. They'll go bad if they aren't eaten soon. Let's share them."
She even nearly tripped as she brought the buns over to them.
Xie Qingyan politely declined. "Old lady, please keep them for yourself. My junior sister and I are not hungry."
The old woman's hands shook, and she burst into tears. One moment she wailed that they looked down on an old woman like her, and the next she sobbed about her worthless steamed buns. She cried louder and louder, wailing as if she were mourning at a funeral.
"Why is my life so miserable? My children and grandchildren are unfilial, and the kind Daoist Master and young lady who helped me won't even eat my steamed buns!"
"This is my fate, my terrible fate! Oh, Mother—come back and look at your child! Your child's life is so bitter—"
Sitting on the ground, she slapped her thighs and the dirt, tears streaming down her face. Her piercing wails echoed through the woods, startling the resting birds from the trees.
In the midst of her wailing, the old woman suddenly choked on her own breath, coughing incessantly until her face turned beet red.
The other ghosts lurking in the forest curiously poked their heads out to watch.
Ji Zhaoxi stared at her, utterly dumbfounded.
Xie Qingyan acted as if he had seen plenty of scenes like this before. He calmly accepted the steamed buns from the old woman's hands. "Then I thank you, old lady. However, my junior sister truly cannot eat a bite."
The old woman immediately wanted to protest. If this female ghost didn't eat the spiked food, what would she do if they ended up fighting later?
But meeting Ji Zhaoxi's innocent and harmless gaze, she fell silent for a moment.
"Then the young lady doesn't have to eat."
This ghost definitely wouldn't be able to beat her in a fight.
Chances were, the moment a fight broke out, she would be the first to run away.
Not long after, Ji Zhaoxi fell asleep buried within the Daoist robe. Xie Qingyan leaned against the tree trunk and, seemingly succumbing to the drug's effects, fell into a deep slumber.
A sudden sound of grinding teeth echoed in the quiet forest. The old woman, who had been hunched over just moments ago, was now radiating a dense, ghostly aura. Dragging a blade behind her, she stalked step by step toward Ji Zhaoxi and Xie Qingyan.
"So wonderful... what exquisite yang energy..."
The old woman's voice was incredibly hoarse and raspy.
A burst of black energy lunged fiercely at Xie Qingyan. Just as the sharp blade neared him, Xie Qingyan calmly opened his eyes, showing not the slightest trace of sleepiness.
Daoist fire instantly erupted from Xie Qingyan's fingertips, completely incinerating the iron blade. The old woman spat out a mouthful of black blood and let out an ear-piercing shriek. Forming her fingers into hooked claws, she lunged straight for the sleeping Ji Zhaoxi beside him.
Xie Qingyan's calm facade instantly shattered. Without a second thought, acting purely on instinct, he reached out his hand to block the attack.
Schlick—
The sound of flesh tearing open was exceptionally distinct in the quiet woods.
The old ghost was blasted back by a palm strike brimming with Daoist energy. Weakly clutching her abdomen, she fled straight into the night and quickly vanished from sight.
Xie Qingyan quietly looked at the residual soul clinging to his hand.
This ghost was formed from an ancient locust tree.
He extended his right hand, and a strand of sword energy immediately condensed at his fingertips. The sword energy swiftly enveloped Ji Zhaoxi, shielding her.
Meanwhile, the old ghost was hiding behind a tree, panting heavily. She had gone through so much trouble to acquire this physical body, and now, with this injury, she didn't know how much yang energy it would take to recover.
That Daoist priest was truly terrifying.
Just as she was secretly rejoicing over her escape, a cold hand accurately pierced straight through her body. The purest Daoist fire erupted silently. The old ghost didn't even have time to scream before she was crushed into a ball by that icy, detached power in the very next second.
The forest fell silent once more.
Xie Qingyan calmly gazed at the blood-veined pill resting in his hand.
There is no need to record this ghost in the Book of Merits.
