Chapter 10: The Attack of the Dark Ghost
Xu Tianqi and the Twin Sword Killers struck the white figure with six blows, but they only felt emptiness as the figure passed through them unscathed. The figure seemed unharmed, passing through them to approach Xu Jinyi. Though pale with fear, Xu Jinyi, experienced in the ways of the world, suppressed her fear and countered with a well-practiced move.
Despite Xu Jinyi's punch hitting the figure, it vanished into the ground and suddenly reappeared in front of her with a featureless face lunging towards her. Before she could react, the featureless face bit onto her face, causing her to scream and faint. Witnessing this, Xia Wenhui also screamed and fainted in shock.
At that moment, the rest of the group turned around and rushed over. Meng Yuqiong was originally beside Xu Jinyi, helping out with their hands before being dissolved into the ground by the white shadow. She tried to fly over to Xu Tianqi and the others, but her feet wouldn't lift off the ground. When she turned around, she saw a child holding onto her clothes. The child smiled at her with no eyes. Meng Yuqiong's body went limp and she fainted.
After avoiding Xu Tianqi and the others, the white shadow pounced towards Mu Jin. Mu Jin rolled aside like a lazy donkey, then saw a person with a pale face and bleeding mouth right in front of him. Mu Jin's eyes widened in fear and he collapsed.
Shi Xuan was leisurely standing in the corner, using a method to control his thoughts after the dark wind passed by. He felt a bit dizzy but quickly regained his clarity. He saw Xu Tianqi and the others jumping around, casting spells at the air. Shi Xuan noticed they were under an illusion and thought of using a Catastrophe Relief Spell to wake them up. However, he decided to wait for them to faint first, as it would be more convenient. He remained cautious in case the dark ghost had deadly intentions.
Shi Xuan cautiously retreated to a corner, seemingly relaxed, and observed the surroundings. He spotted a woman in a yellow and crimson dress standing near the backyard corridor, hovering half an inch above the ground without a shadow.
"Hmm, this is how the dark ghost looks like. It seems different, maybe because I haven't activated my Sky Eye to see its original form." Shi Xuan thought, taking out a Sky Eye activation talisman from a hidden pouch. After activating it, he only saw a blurred, transparent shadow of a female figure. The face was vaguely visible but unclear, indicating the shadow wasn't very strong.
Meanwhile, Xu Tianqi and the Twin Sword Killers were still battling in the air. Xu Tianqi seemed worried, searching around for something, probably looking for the senior disciple he invited, Junior Brother Shi. Shi Xuan decided to help by knocking out the Twin Sword Killers to win the bet.
Shi Xuan activated a light body spell talisman and flew behind the Twin Sword Killer. Unable to activate two talismans simultaneously, he first used a Wood Manifestation talisman. He directed the wood elemental power towards Jian Cong's head, hitting him hard. Jian Cong stiffened and collapsed.
Seeing Jian Cong fall, Dao Feng panicked and decided to flee with Xia Wenhui. Xu Tianqi also tried to escape but was met by a giant mouth, causing him to faint due to fear.
Shi Xuan then used a second Wood Manifestation talisman to knock out Dao Feng. He planned to wake Xu Tianqi from the illusion but found him already unconscious.
At that moment, a transparent shadow floated over towards Shi Xuan. Although he sensed that the opponent was not very strong, he still took out his Thundercalling Breath Control Talisman from a hidden pocket, holding it just in case.
The transparent shadow stopped a few steps away from Shi Xuan, facing him sideways with what seemed like hands in front of her. She said, "Esteemed Daoist, there's no need for this. I don't intend to harm anyone, I just can't stand others entering my home."
"Ah, I've heard rumors outside that the spirits here don't harm people, they just scare them away. That's why I didn't attack you earlier. I'm just curious why you keep lingering here, especially since you're no longer among the living," Shi Xuan replied.
The female ghost turned around, murmuring, "Daoist, could you please deactivate this transparent spell? I am a respectable lady and I don't feel comfortable being exposed in front of strangers."
Shi Xuan thought to himself that this was the Sky Eye divination spell, used to see spirits, not to look through things!! However, since the other party was willing to manifest and talk, he decided to cancel the spell. He also activated a talisman for detecting evil spirits, so if any dark ghosts approached, he would be alerted and protected from sneak attacks.
After dispelling the Sky Eye spell, Shi Xuan saw the female ghost return to her previous appearance in a golden skirt and crimson jacket. Without rushing to speak with her, he went to Jian Cong and, using acupoint knowledge learned from Xu Tianqi, he gently pressed on his faint point. This kind of expert was hard to gauge when they would wake up, so it was better to prevent any trouble. Even though Shi Xuan had spells like soul-binding and tranquility that were more effective, acupressure was simpler and cost-efficient. Following the same method, he also pressed the sleeping points of Dao Feng, Xia Wenhui, Mu Jin, Xu Jinyi, and Meng Yuqiong, but Xu Tianqi would wake up whenever he did.
Returning to find the female ghost had turned around, now appearing graceful and dignified, she walked over elegantly and greeted, "May I know how to address you, esteemed Daoist? Why not accompany me to a side hall for a chat."
Shi Xuan smiled and said, "My surname is Shi. How should I address you, madam? Let's talk here, my friends are all here."
"I am Mrs. Fang. Please have a seat, Daoist Priest Shi. I'll go brew some tea," she said, giving another bow before gliding out.
Shi Xuan was surprised and thought to himself, "Is this person being so polite and courteous because it's been a long time since he has seen anyone or talked to anyone?"
Shi Xuan picked up a chair that had been knocked over earlier, casually sat down, and wondered what to ask later and how to deal with it.
At that moment, Shi Xuan's sharp senses detected two little heads peeking in from the door of the backyard corridor. When they saw Shi Xuan looking over, they quickly hid back. After a while, seeing no reaction from Shi Xuan, they peeked out again. Shi Xuan then saw clearly that they were two adorable children, around three or four years old, albeit a bit pale. Shi Xuan realized they were probably ghosts, but seeing that the children meant no harm, he kindly smiled at them.
The two children were startled by his smile and quickly hid again, but after a moment, the boy took the girl's hand and cautiously floated over to stand in front of Shi Xuan.
"Daoist Uncle, hello, I'm Fang Delin, four virtual years old. Hmm, for some reason, every year my mother says I'm four years old," the boy said to Shi Xuan. "I'm Fang Hanling, I'm his sister, but I'm also four years old," the girl interjected with her big round eyes wide open.
Though Shi Xuan thought to himself that he may be considered an uncle in his past life, he was not yet twenty in this life. He kindly asked, "Delin, Hanling, what brings you here?"
Hanling answered first, "We're very hungry, Daoist Uncle," she said, gazing at the unconscious individuals as if looking for food, then turned her pitiful eyes towards Shi Xuan.
Shi Xuan did not sense any bloodthirstiness from the children, realizing they probably only absorbed some Yang energy. However, he did not respond to them as a female ghost floated in with a tea tray at that moment.
"Delin, Hanling, how could you disturb the guests? Come here quickly," the female ghost placed the tea tray on another chair next to Shi Xuan that had fallen over, then picked up a cup of tea for Shi Xuan, except her hand did not touch the cup. The two children pouted and ran behind their mother.
Even though the woman ghost seemed harmless, Shi Xuan stayed cautious. With a magic talisman hidden in his sleeve, he used his powers to lift the tea cup. By keeping a clear mind and not being fooled by simple tricks, he could see that the tea cup was made of lotus leaves, and the tea tray was a large lotus leaf. The liquid in the cup looked like dew, but Shi Xuan dared not drink it.
Mrs. Fang, the woman ghost, sensing Shi Xuan's caution, lowered her head slightly and said, "Please forgive me, as I can no longer touch anything since I became like this. I can only lift things using my magical understanding. My powers are limited, so I can only lift light objects. I have been neglecting my guests." She sounded ashamed.
Shi Xuan, seizing the opportunity, set down the tea cup and changed the subject, "I wonder what Delin and Hanling would like to eat if they come in?"
Mrs. Fang hesitated to speak until the two children behind her tugged on her sleeve. She then said, "I beg your understanding, Sir. These children are just very hungry. They only need to absorb a little bit of life energy, which won't harm anyone. At most, a few days of feeling tired."
After pondering for a moment, Shi Xuan pointed without looking back at the Twin Sword Killers behind him and said, "These two used to be ruthless killers. If you draw some life energy from them, it might be a good deed. You should go with them."
Mrs. Fang was overjoyed and led the two children to bow respectfully before drifting towards the Twin Sword Killer.
