Chapter 8: Ghost House
At dusk on the agreed day, Xu Tianqi brought another junior brother, Mu Jin, to Shi Xuan's small yard, looking a bit worried and excited.
"Junior Brother Mu, this is Shi Xuan, also known as Junior Brother Shi, a closed-door disciple of an elder from the Xu family." The Xu family kept the details about Old Taoist Xu secretive, only revealing him as a reclusive elder to those within the core of the family. Shi Xuan told Xu Tianqi to call him by his alias Shi Xuan from now on, which Xu Tianqi followed.
"Hello, Senior Brother Shi." Mu Jin was tall and sturdy, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, giving off an honest and loyal appearance.
"Junior Brother Shi, this is Mu JinJunior Brother Mu, my father's fifth disciple, and my closest friend."
"Hehe, Junior Brother Mu, you are too polite," replied Shi Xuan with a nod.
Xu Tianqi approached Shi Xuan and whispered, "Junior Brother Shi, everything alright?"
Shi Xuan smiled and said, "Senior Brother Xu, all I can say is, I'll do my best." Xu Tianqi took a step back, looked at Shi Xuan, and seeing his calm demeanor gave him confidence. He smiled and said, "In that case, let's set off."
In the afternoon, Shi Xuan prepared, keeping talismans in a hidden pocket on his sleeve and in his heart. Some talismans were prepared in multiples while others that were less likely to be needed only had one. They were neatly arranged for easy access. After double-checking, Shi Xuan nodded, and along with Xu Tianqi and Mu Jin, they headed out.
Along the way, Shi Xuan and Xu Tianqi chatted casually, while Mu Jin remained quiet, appearing reserved. It was perhaps for this reason that Xu Tianqi brought him along.
Upon reaching the haunted house, from a distance, they saw five people standing outside, three men and two women. Xu Tianqi's face changed, and he stopped in his tracks, muttering, "Damn it, even Yuqiong is here."
At that moment, the others also noticed them. A girl in bright red attire, vibrant as a pepper, jumped up and waved at Xu Tianqi. Unable to avoid her, Xu Tianqi gestured to Shi Xuan and then walked over.
Among the five, the most eye-catching was a tall, elegant girl in a light pink dress, around seventeen or eighteen years old, with beautiful features. The other girl, in red like a chili pepper, looked petite and lively, appearing about fourteen or fifteen. The remaining three men stood slightly further back, led by a young man in scholar robes. Despite a paler complexion than Xu Tianqi, he looked much more handsome. Behind him were two burly middle-aged men, exuding a fierce air.
"Oh, Xu Tianqi, how could you not invite me and Sister Yuqiong to such an exciting thing!" The girl in the red dress complained as soon as Xu Tianqi walked in.
Xu Tianqi quickly apologized, "Seventh Sister, it's my fault. I was worried that girls like you wouldn't like scary stories."
The girl in the light pink dress saw the red-dressed girl persisting and talking, so she hurriedly pulled her aside and said first, "Brother Xu Shi was thoughtful, we were just too curious." She finished with an apologetic smile.
Shi Xuan watched the girls and found them dazzling. Xu Tianqi added, "Sister Yuqiong, why still call me Brother Xu Shi? We've known each other for so long, just call me Tianqi. If I knew you were curious about this, I would have brought you here earlier." He moved closer, looking like he had never seen a woman before.
Seeing Xu Tianqi approaching, Yuqiong frowned slightly, looked around, and spotted Shi Xuan and Mu Jin nearby. She asked Xu Tianqi, "Brother Tianqi, who are these two?"
Xu Tianqi realized he hadn't introduced them yet and quickly said, "This is Shi Xuan, a disciple of our sect elder, and Mu Jin, my father's younger martial brother. They are my companions today."
At that moment, three men approached. When they heard Xu Tianqi's introduction, one of them, with a scholarly white face, chuckled, "Junior Brother Tianqi, these are the 'experts' you've invited, real talents among the young! Let me introduce them. This is my uncle Jian Cong, and this is Uncle Dao Feng. They are well-known figures in the martial arts world. Let's all get to know each other, hahaha."
Xu Tianqi's face turned pale at the introduction, and after a while, he said, "So, you are the senior Twin Sword Killers from the Gan Long Area. I have lost today."
The girl in the red dress saw Xu Tianqi's reaction and frowned. She said to the scholarly man, "Xia Wenhui, have you no shame? We had a bet among the juniors, and you bring your sect's experts to settle the matter! My Fifth Brother always follows the rules."
"Jinyi girl, we must be careful with our words in front of Miss Yuqiong, I never heard about this rule before when I made a bet with Tianqixian brother, never said we couldn't invite an elder to supervise." Xia Wenhui said proudly.
"Alright, Seventh Sister, stop talking. Junior Brother Shi, this is the most outstanding successor of Yuhua Gate, Miss Meng Yuqiong. This is Seventh Sister Xu Jinyi from our Xu family's fourth branch. Their branch moved to Luo Jing City over thirty years ago, so you haven't met them before."
Shi Xuan greeted the two girls with a bow, about to speak when Xia Wenhui interrupted, "Oh, Tianqixian brother, why not introduce these two young 'heroes' to me? Do you think my martial arts are not good enough for you?" The two fierce middle-aged men behind him glared at Shi Xuan, who felt their killing intent, having killed over a hundred people to emit such a strong aura.
However, Shi Xuan's training in the God Observation method for so long made him immune to this level of killing intent. Shi Xuan smiled, shook his head, planned to retaliate, use some little trickery to teach these two villains a lesson. But their appearance did not sit well with Shi Xuan. He'd rather admire Yuqiong and Jinyi. Shi Xuan focused on his training and didn't bother with them.
Seeing Shi Xuan and Mu Jin silent, Meng Yuqiong didn't want Xu Tianqi to feel awkward. She suggested, "Since we are all here, why don't we go inside? I have never seen ghosts before. I wonder if we'll see any this time."
With the beautiful lady's suggestion, Xu Tianqi and Xia Wenhui had no objections. Xu Jinyi naturally walked with his Fifth Brother, and Meng Yuqiong stuck with her close friend. Xia Wenhui led his two elders and went inside first.
"Brother Tianqi, were those two the Twin Sword Killers from the Gan Long Area years ago?" Meng Yuqiong asked Xu Tianqi as they walked.
Xu Tianqi openly shared, "Yes, a few years ago, my father mentioned the Twin Sword Killers. They somehow angered the Sword King Qu Hanshui, who is one of the Eight Kings of the wealthy and powerful group. They were hunted and had to flee like dogs to Yangzhou. Later, they sought refuge with the Xia family and used the influence of Xiyu Lou to avoid death."
While Xu Tianqi and Meng Yuqiong talked, Xu Jinyi tactfully stepped back, curiously observing Shi Xuan. "Senior Brother Shi, I've been wandering in the clan for a while now, why haven't I seen you? I've met Mu Jin a few times."
Shi Xuan could only use the excuse prepared by the Xu family to say, "My master is an elder who lives in seclusion, likes tranquility, and resides in a small alley to the west of the city. Of course, I also live there."
"Oh, I wonder which elder it is. After I return, I will pay my respects one by one. Who is the elder who is your master?" The well-dressed little beauty had a spirit of getting to the bottom of things. This question seemed to interest Meng Yuqiong as well. Shi Xuan's strong spiritual cultivation brought a keen sense that Meng Yuqiong had secretly shifted her attention towards him. It must be noted that she wasn't paying much attention to him after learning that Shi Xuan was just Xu Tianqi's junior disciple.
Shi Xuan's face turned serious as he said, "My master passed away nearly a year ago."
After saying this, Shi Xuan felt Meng Yuqiong's gaze slightly retracting from him.
Seeing this, Xu Jinyi stuck out her tongue and said, "Sorry, Senior Brother Shi. By the way, I wonder what level of martial arts you have reached, and how do you compare to Third Brother."
Shi Xuan thought it was really difficult to compare. Speaking truthfully about martial cultivation, he said, "In terms of martial arts skills, Senior Brother Xu is definitely more skilled." As for the level, he chose to ignore the question.
Because this statement was vague, it actually caught Meng Yuqiong's attention. Shi Xuan's keen senses sensed Meng Yuqiong's gaze subtly shifting back to him.
Xu Jinyi didn't seem to hear any vagueness, "Of course, my Fifth Brother is a well-known young genius in the martial world."
Shi Xuan was also at leisure and spoke to the little girl with a smiling face, "I wonder what level of martial arts Sister Jinyi has reached now?" Xu Jinyi shot him a fierce look for the sudden familiarity in calling him Shi Xuan after just a while, but the question touched her heart. She happily replied, "I have recently broken through to the Qi Strengthening Period." She looked very proud, with a face that seemed to say, praise me, admire me.
Shi Xuan easily agreed, "Sister Jinyi, you are really amazing, even better than your Fifth Brother." Xu Jinyi was very happy and started chatting with Shi Xuan. The young girl was naive and during her time in the mansion, she even mentioned White-Clothed Young Master Liu Suiyun, one of the Four Young Masters admired in the martial arts world. Liu Master was young but already highly skilled and had the potential to enter the Microcosm Realm in the future. He was handsome and talented, why didn't the wise ones in the martial world consider him as one of the top Grandmasters? They really lacked foresight.
Since it wasn't completely dark yet, upon entering the gate, they found the mansion to be grand and not at all gloomy. It was only as they approached the center hall that Shi Xuan keenly sensed a hint of gloominess.
Before entering the center hall, Xu Tianqi quietly fell back a step and whispered to Shi Xuan, "The Twin Sword Killers was a notorious criminal in the Gan Long Area back then, heartless and responsible for more than a hundred murders. I remember our ancestors talking about how even ghosts would avoid such people due to their heavy malevolent aura."
After thinking for a moment, Shi Xuan smiled and told Xu Tianqi, "I have a way to ensure you have a great reputation in front of Sister Yuqiong." Then, Xu Tianqi hurried a step forward and walked side by side with Meng Yuqiong and Xu Jinyi into the center hall.
While Mu Jin, the tall and silent youth often overlooked, followed Shi Xuan in after.
