Chapter 20

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Holding their breath, the flower garden fell into a dead silence.

Each huddled figure hugged each other and slowly turned their stiff necks, trembling as they looked at the figure standing high on the rock.

“He seems like he’s here to save us…”

“…But this person seems scarier than the ghost over there.”

“What should we do? Should we… play dead?”

…..

Amidst the hushed whispers, the group inched a little closer to Lu Liangsheng’s side.

In the swirling mist, the sounds of cymbals, gongs, and opera songs faded away. On the empty stage, the graceful figure lifted a long sleeve and brushed it across her bloodied, mutilated face, revealing a pair of blood-stained eyes.

“Why do you want to help these people, sir?”

In her eerie voice, she did not bother asking foolish questions like “Who are you?”—the figure standing behind the group was clearly not human, his aura filled with demonic qi. This made the female ghost feel apprehensive.

The terrified crowd, huddled together, also wanted to know the answer to this question. Silently, they once again turned their heads toward the cloaked figure on the rock.

“Hehehe…”

From beneath the cloak, a pair of blood-red eyes lifted as a hoarse, sinister laugh emerged: “I save whoever I want to save and kill whoever I want to kill. Do I need a little brat like you to question me?”

These words sent chills down the spines of the crowd below, their hairs standing on end as if a fight was about to break out at any moment.

Just as the tension reached its peak and everyone’s hearts pounded wildly, the stage fell silent. The woman’s skirt billowed as she stepped forward, almost seeming to float.

This time, her voice was no longer soft and eerie but became sharp and menacing.

“…Do you truly think Lianhua wouldn’t dare?”

Lu Liangsheng’s palms were slick with cold sweat as he waited for his master to respond. All he hoped for was that things wouldn’t escalate into a fight. The group below also waited for a moment, but no answer came.

“Master?” Liangsheng called out quietly.

Snore…

Snore…

The faint sound of snoring came from above his head, and Liangsheng felt his heart sink.

How could he trick his disciple like this?

…What should he do now? With his limited cultivation, running away wasn’t an issue, but what about Uncle Pan and the others? Not to mention all these lives…

There was no other choice…

In a moment of resolve, Liangsheng gritted his teeth and, mustering his courage, mimicked his master’s tone.

“Young lady, I don’t doubt your resolve to kill. But there’s a saying: ‘Every injustice has a culprit, and every debt has a debtor’. There are over forty people here, could each and every one of them have wronged you?”

The words hung in the air, and the group below collectively exhaled in relief. Then they were taken aback for a moment, noticing that the voice wasn’t as deep and sinister as before.

Even the female ghost on the stage narrowed her eyes in suspicion. However, the evil aura surrounding the cloaked figure hadn’t dissipated, and since she had never encountered a demon before, she had no desire to fight one. What if she couldn’t win?

“Sir, though your words have some merit, all these people came here to harm me. Should I just let them walk away?”

The crowd’s brief relief quickly gave way to renewed anxiety as they nervously turned their gaze toward Liangsheng, waiting for his response.

After speaking, Liangsheng found a small measure of calm, realizing that at least the female ghost hadn’t attacked immediately. It seemed she was willing to negotiate for now.

“Young Lady, these people may not be good, but most of them are just street riffraff and scoundrels who sneak into such events hoping for free food. If they were to lose their lives here, how would you be any different from the one who wronged you? I’m not of the ghostly kind, but I’ve heard that those who kill too much lose any chance of reincarnation. Young Lady, please think carefully.”

The crowd eagerly nodded in agreement.

“Yes, yes, exactly! We only came here to scam the Chen family for food!”

“You..” Landlord Chen glared at them, his face flushed with rage. He looked as though he might faint from anger, his whole body trembling.

In the swirling mist, the ghostly woman let out a sorrowful laugh: “The next life?”

Her figure flickered unsteadily on the stage, her eerie words drawn out, melancholy.

“…Will I even have a next life…?”

Just as Lu Liangsheng managed to calm the female ghost’s emotions and was about to continue persuading her, the toad lying on top of his head slowly woke up. Hearing the conversation, it interrupted.

“Next life, my foot. A mere little ghost like you wouldn’t even catch this old man’s eye!!”

Lu Liangsheng was so angry that he nearly wanted to commit the unthinkable—defy his master and ancestors. He whispered to the toad on his head: “Master, I’ve already calmed her down…”

“Why waste so much breath on a small ghost like this? Just get rid of her——”

The female ghost on the stage froze, then let out a sharp scream, “Ah!” The dark wind howled as the calm mist surged and churned violently.

“I’ll kill you all—!”

The toad’s eyes gleamed with a fierce red light as it roared authoritatively: “Come at me!!”

Suddenly, it hiccuped, then flopped back down and fell into a deep sleep.

Seeing the surrounding Yin Qi swirling wildly, Lu Liangsheng felt his scalp tingle. His mind raced through the actions he needed to take next. Without hesitation, he quickly pulled out the centipede demon’s antenna from before, gripping it in his hand, and infusing it with his cultivation power.

The night sky rumbled with a sudden thunderclap.

The swirling mist suddenly billowed as a demonic wind swept in, colliding with the eerie ghostly aura on the other side. The people caught in between felt their cheeks pushed into dimples by the force, yet they stared in horror at Lu Liangsheng. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated his back, casting a huge shadow with sharp claws on the wall of the wooden building.

The female ghost in the white dress dared not act rashly, restraining her Yin Qi as she warily watched her opponent.

The people in the middle stood anxiously, waiting for the standoff to break.

After a long while, a sound finally emerged from the stage, a soft laugh.

The mist began to thin.

On the stage, the long sleeves that had concealed the figure dropped down, revealing a pale neck. The face was bloodied and mutilated, but within the dim mist, it gradually transformed into a face with pale, delicate skin. Sadly, the onlookers could not see clearly, but they could faintly make out the visage of a beautiful woman.

“Heh…hahaha…”

The soft laughter turned into a sorrowful laugh as if the ghost began to cry. Slowly, she knelt on the stage, staring at the ground. Her thin lips trembled slightly.

“I was born into a poor family, sold to a theater troupe… alone and helpless…”

Suddenly, within the swirling mist, Lu Liangsheng and the people below caught glimpses of something distant, yet somehow also right before them.

Gradually, it began to take shape.

“Wah… wah…”

The cold air seeped into the dilapidated house, but the sharp cry of new life pierced through it, lightening the oppressive atmosphere. The midwife emerged, cradling a swaddled baby in her arms, beaming as she proudly presented the newborn to the anxious man waiting outside with a dirty little girl at his side.

“Congratulations, congratulations, it’s a boy.”

The man’s face broke into a smile, and the girl, filled with joy, clapped her hands and jumped excitedly, eager to see her baby brother in the midwife’s arms.

Not long after, snow began to fall.

But she had to leave home. Her father took her on a long journey far from home. As they prepared to leave, her bedridden mother grasped her hand, tears streaming down her face.

She stroked the girl’s head, sobbing.

“Our family is poor. You must be obedient and sensible when you’re out there, so you won’t go hungry.”

That day, the wind and snow were fierce, cold enough to freeze people’s tears.