Chapter 31

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“Ghost…Ghost…”

The woman’s eyes widened in shock, her teeth chattering as she bit down hard. At the same moment, she let out a piercing scream of “Ah!” a more chilling scream echoed through the village.

“Ah—”

“Who are you people!”

“Bandits are here!”

Following the initial shriek, a series of angry shouts and cries spread through the village. In a moment, a thatched house nearby erupted into flames, lighting up the night sky.

Villagers rushed out of their homes, only to be met by bandits wielding knives blocking their way. The bandits threatened them, forcing them to huddle in corners while they looted all the meat, rice, and hidden silver and copper coins. Anyone who dared to resist was struck down.

Chaos erupted in the village, with several houses set ablaze. Grandpa Lu, gripping his walking stick, came out to reason with the bandits but was kicked down. He was unable to catch his breath and fainted.

Lu Pan led the village men, armed with hoes, sickles, and various farming tools, to fight against the bandits. One of them was struck by a knife, crying out in pain, while another villager took the opportunity to smash a hoe into the bandit’s head, blood spraying out.

Meanwhile, Lu Erlai led several bandits to Lu Liangsheng’s house. Lu Xiaoxian, eyes wide with terror, turned and ran into the house.

“Mom, Dad!”

Li Jinhua snapped back to reality, rushing out of the room. Seeing the intruders in the yard, she immediately recognized Lu Erlai at the forefront.

Grabbing a wooden stick from the wall, she positioned herself to protect her daughter: “If you dare come closer, I’ll fight you—”

Lu Laoshi also burst out of the room. He had been resting but grabbed a hoe from behind the door and swung it at one of the bandits.

With a clang, the hoe was blocked by the bandit’s blade. The bandit then kicked him in the stomach, causing him to stagger back and crash into the wall with a thud.

Erlai hopped around in the yard, shouting: “The several hundred taels are in that room, along with many other valuables. Take everything!”

Lu Erlai pointed to the open door behind the mother and daughter, the four bandits ignored the fallen farmer and pushed past Li Jinhua and the little girl, rushing inside.

They overturned boxes and cabinets, searching for valuables. One of them spotted the scroll and reached out to take it. Suddenly, his pupils contracted in terror as he saw the eyes in the painting move. He shouted in fear: “There’s…”

A pale white arm suddenly shot out from the painting, its five fingers spread wide. Crimson nails clutched the bandit’s face as Yin Qi began to spread ominously.

The other three bandits, clutching their loot, turned around just in time to see their companion, who had been staring at the painting, suddenly wobble a few times before collapsing to the ground. His face had turned an unnatural shade of blue, his lips were dark purple, and thin streams of blood oozed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

At that moment, the oil lamp on the desk flared to life, emitting a ghostly green glow.

The painting of the beautiful woman began to swirl with mist…

Suddenly, a voice rang out.

“Don’t touch my brother’s things!!”

Lu Xiaoxian, desperate, rushed from beside her fallen mother into the room. But as soon as she reached the doorway, Lu Erlai grabbed her, pulling her into his arms.

“Haha… You’ll come with me to the mountains and be my wife.”

“Let me go… Dad, Mom, save me!!”

The mist from the painting suddenly thickened and shot outward. Faintly, within the shifting fog, Li Jinhua, Lu Xiaoxian, Lu Laoshi, and the bandits, along with Lu Erlai, who had been thrown backward, saw a terrifying figure appear. It was the figure of a woman, her face hauntingly and fearfully eerie.

“Run!” The three remaining bandits turned pale with fear, grabbed their loot, and bolted from the courtyard as fast as they could.

The village remained in chaos. Under the glow of the fire-lit night sky, Liu Erlong, who was keeping watch outside the village with two subordinate bandit leaders, heard a series of footsteps in the distance. The shadows of figures moving swiftly toward them became visible.

Not knowing whether it was soldiers or someone else, Liu Erlong acted cautiously. He ordered his men to blow a whistle for retreat. Pulling his reins sharply, he spurred his horse into a gallop. Hearing the retreat whistle, the bandits, laden with stolen chickens, ducks, and cloth, quickly followed their leader, disappearing into the night.

As the bandits fled, villagers from the northern village arrived. Seeing the devastation before them, they called out, “Everyone, help rescue the wounded and put out the fires!!”

Far off in the muddy path.

The soft jingle of copper bells echoed through the darkness. Soon enough, Lu Liangsheng emerged from the shadows, his heart sinking as he saw the flames consuming several houses and villagers scrambling to douse the fires.

Letting go of the old donkey’s rope, Lu Liangsheng ran toward the chaos. He soon spotted Grandpa Lu lying on the ground, barely breathing, still clutching his pearwood cane. Lu Pan, sitting on the stone mill nearby, was nursing a deep wound on his arm. His rugged face was tear-streaked and red from emotion.

Lu Liangsheng walked through the wreckage and chaos, much more composed than he would have been before his recent experiences. He had grown a lot in the past few months, even killing with his spells when necessary. As terrible as the scene before him was, he managed to keep his composure.

“What’s going on in the village?”

“A group of mountain bandits came into the village…”

Lu Pan gripped the hunting knife with a chipped blade in his hand and smashed it against the stone mill. “It was Lu Erlai who brought them here. Liangsheng, you better hurry home and check.”

“Grandpa Lu is not going to make it…”

A shout came from the front. Lu Liangsheng and Lu Pan hurriedly squeezed their way through, only to see the elderly man on the ground, his breath weak, his eyes slightly open, looking calmly at the people surrounding him.

Those were all his descendants.

“…Mountain bandits are unreasonable… Don’t confront them, and don’t report it to the authorities… If they can’t be wiped out completely, they’ll come back to cause harm… Losing some things is nothing… As long as you’re still alive… that’s more important than anything…”

The old man’s words were intermittent and his cloudy gaze rested on Lu Liangsheng in the crowd. He smiled faintly at him and nodded.

“Liangsheng… you have to make something of yourself in the future… you must succeed…”

Many people around started crying.

Lu Liangsheng stood there, closing his eyes. The Toad Daoist in his bundle softly reminded him, “Master knows what you’re thinking, but don’t act rashly.”

“Master… What is the purpose of cultivation?”

The young man looked at the elderly man on the ground, his expression hazy, biting his lip. “I think… no matter how high one’s cultivation, if it’s not used to save those who should be saved, how is that any different from a miser hoarding money?”

Lu Pan and the others nearby heard this soft remark and were momentarily stunned. They then saw Lu Liangsheng had already walked over. Someone called out: “Liangsheng, what are you doing?!” “Don’t touch him!”

Lu Liangsheng paid them no mind, knelt down, and grasped the elder’s slightly cold hand, squeezing it tightly.

Bit by bit, he infused his spiritual energy, trying to heal the elder’s injured chest.

His technique was a bit crude, but at the moment, he had no other way, he could only do his best.

The villagers surrounding him didn’t know what he was doing, but after a moment, someone noticed that the elder’s previously weak breathing had normalized, his stomach rising and falling steadily.

They couldn’t help but shout out in surprise, and Lu Pan and the others hurried closer, exclaiming in shock.

“Grandpa is coming back to life…”

“Liangsheng… where did you learn this skill?”

“I’m telling you, Liangsheng is a disciple of a lofty master… That night he encountered a centipede demon…”

Amidst the murmuring voices, Lu Liangsheng let go of the old man’s hand, his face covered in sweat. He stood up unsteadily, and staggering, he pushed through the crowd in silence and returned home.

His mother was sitting under the eaves, crying while holding Lu Xiaoxian. Lu Laoshi sat nearby, clutching his stomach, but fortunately, he hadn’t been seriously injured.

When they saw Lu Liangsheng come back, they rushed over to him. “Liangsheng, did you run into those mountain bandits? Were you hurt?”

“No…”

Hearing his calm response, Li Jinhua breathed a sigh of relief, then angrily cursed toward the courtyard gate: “It was that Lu Erlai again. He almost took Xiaoxian away! If it hadn’t been for… hadn’t been for… the ghost woman in the painting in your room…”

At this point, she remembered how the ghost had knocked Lu Erlai down.

“What happened to that ghost and Lu Erlai?”

However, Lu Liangsheng merely muttered softly: “Xiaoxian, help me grind the ink,” and then silently walked into the room. He picked up the fallen ink block from the floor and handed it to the little girl, whose eyes were red from crying.

He then found a blank scroll, spread it open on the desk, and pulled out a wolf-hair brush. Removing the shaft of the brush, he inserted the tip into the centipede demon’s antennae.

Staring at the blank scroll for a long moment, he asked: “Xiaoxian, how many of them were there?”

The little girl grinding the ink, still trembling from fear, replied with a quivering voice.

“I don’t know… I don’t know… Only four came inside and one died. Dad dragged him outside.”

“Then that means there are many.”

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Lu Liangsheng dipped the brush tip into the inkstone and began to draw on the clean paper. With a horizontal stroke, he poured what little remaining spiritual energy he had into the brush, and a greenish hue began to emanate faintly from the shaft.

As his arm and entire body moved with the brush, he drew the form of a long, winding creature. His body started trembling, and red liquid slowly dripped from his nose and mouth.

“Brother… you’re bleeding…”

Lu Liangsheng only responded with a faint hum and continued drawing, though his consciousness was growing hazy. Suddenly, the Toad Daoist leaped onto the table, sighed, and pressed its webbed hand against its disciple’s hand.

“All the power I’ve accumulated recently has been wasted again.”

The spiritual energy flowed and spread to the young man.

Lu Liangsheng’s movements quickened, his brush strokes becoming more fluid. The ink depicted steep mountains, strange solitary trees, and a long, winding shadow spiraling upward. Cold, vertical pupils stared at a brilliant full moon.

The ink flowed faster on the brush tip.

Dense ink scales formed along the creature’s long body.

Seeing the vivid, lifelike image, the little girl gasped in fright, covering her mouth as she stepped back. Lu Liangsheng set down the brush, rolled up the scroll, and calmly walked out of the room. He gently patted Lu Laoshi’s shoulder.

“Father, Mother, go to bed early.”

With that, he led the old donkey out of the village, making a hand sign and following the lingering traces of Yin Qi that hovered around the courtyard. He vanished into the night.