Chapter 6
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
Chapter 6: Title
Ye Qingshang raised her right hand. Spiritual power nicked her fingertip, suspending a blood droplet midair. Enchanted by crimson-lit spells, the droplet began moving independently.
It drifted unsteadily through the hall, stopping before a locked door.
Ye Qingshang guided Mu Huaiyun inside, then sealed the room with a barrier before shutting the door firmly.
Her voice echoed from within: \"This spell clouds minds—none may enter.\"
The hopeful observers met with rejection: …
Mu Huaiyun: \"Confuse the mind? Then why did you drag me in here?!\"
\"This technique is called Soul Calling. It’s not a respectable art, so cultivators seldom use it. But with Soul Calling, if the deceased died within a month, you can glimpse their deepest fear or obsession before death. Young Master Zhou was killed by a monster. What he feared most at the end was likely the moment of his death,\" Ye Qingshang explained. After a pause, she added, \"Relax, I’m casting the spell. Since I’m holding you, the technique won’t affect you.\"
Mu Huaiyun was about to reply when the blood droplet seemed drawn to something, halting above the room’s round table. It trembled violently before bursting, staining the chamber crimson.
Suddenly, the room’s furnishings flickered slightly. A figure materialized beside the table, frozen in terror with wide eyes, pleading, \"Don’t come closer! Stay back!!\"
Ye Qingshang and Mu Huaiyun followed his gaze—a Taoist radiating celestial grace stood at the doorway, smiling faintly as he advanced. Elegant and immortal-like, no one would suspect his malice. Yet he moved deliberately, closing in step by step.
His laughter echoed as he said, \"Zhou Se, Young Master Zhou, don’t fear. Death is but a flash. I’ll make it painless.\" Gripping Zhou Se’s chin, he continued, \"Know the saying? ‘Knotting grass and holding rings to repay kindness.’ Blame your honorable father. He received grace yet returned no virtue. This debt is his.\"
\"Please, spare me—\" The plea died abruptly. Zhou Se was dead.
The red light vanished, restoring the room.
\"See clearly?\" Ye Qingshang asked.
\"Yes. Truly a Flame Beast,\" Mu Huaiyun confirmed.
\"Good. Let’s hunt it.\" Ye Qingshang dispelled the barrier.
Mu Huaiyun stood firm. \"You know where it is?\"
\"Is it obscure? The Flame Beast hides among humans. It knows Mr. Zhou sought immortal sects’ aid and won’t kill recklessly now. But it feeds on resentment—it must eat. And it’s picky. So where would it go?\" Ye Qingshang’s tone made Mu Huaiyun avert his eyes from her scornful gaze.
Picky… the dead…
He grasped her meaning. \"A fresh funeral.\"
*
Outside a manor, bystanders clustered. The crowd swelled, drawn by spectacle or blocked paths.
When Ye Qingshang and Mu Huaiyun arrived, two disorderly queues had formed. The chatter felt more like a bustling market than a funeral.
\"Poor Miss Xu—struck by illness so young, gone before marriage.\"
\"Indeed. Mr. Xu got his daughter late in life, only to lose her. Such grief must wreck his health.\"
\"They say Mr. Xu fainted twice. The steward handles the rites. Madam Xu nearly followed her daughter—still bedridden, unconscious.\"
\"What curse plagues our city? Mr. Zhou’s treasured son, Mr. Xu’s beloved daughter, Scholar Fang’s household… all lost.\"
\"Scholar Fang’s family… only one survives. I saw Fang Gongzi recently—sallow and gaunt. Pitiful…\"
As murmurs faded, broken sobs drifted from within.
\"With crowds and mourners here, are you certain the Flame Beast will come?\" Mu Huaiyun whispered from the queue’s end.
Ye Qingshang: \"Yes.\"
\"Wouldn\’t it be safer to absorb the resentment after the burial, when all is settled? Why would the Flame Beast take such a risk?\"
Ye Qingshang patiently explained: \"Burial alters the corpse’s resentment due to tomb feng shui. The Flame Beast dislikes this, so it must feed before interment. Today’s great ceremony places the body in the coffin displayed in the main hall. After guests depart and only watchers remain—that’s its perfect chance to strike.\"
She shot Mu Huaiyun a glance implying: *This was taught in class. Have you forgotten?*
Mu Huaiyun’s temper flared as he prepared to retort when someone approached the manor gate—the Xu family steward.
Dabbing his eyes with his sleeve, the steward rasped: \"Our household grieves. We thank you for your condolences. The ceremony is complete; you may now depart.\"
The crowd murmured sympathies while the steward bowed gratefully. As guests filed out, tear-streaked, he saw each one off.
Soon only scattered groups remained, making Ye Qingshang and Mu Huaiyun seem like outsiders.
Ye Qingshang locked eyes with the steward across the steps. A flicker of sorrow crossed her face as she tugged Mu Huaiyun away.
Baffled, he resisted. \"Leaving already?\"
Ignoring him, she dragged him a street away before releasing him. \"What did you expect? To stand guard at Xu manor?\"
*Exactly like his past life*, she thought. *Stubbornly waiting there with those junior disciples. The Flame Beast didn’t show until midnight when everyone was exhausted and starving—forcing them to hunt a demon on empty stomachs.*
*They caught it, but the method was idiotic. This time, I’ll steer him clear of that folly.*
Mu Huaiyun frowned. \"Why shouldn’t we guard it?\"
*Screw waiting*, Ye Qingshang seethed inwardly. *Even reborn, he hasn’t changed.* Outwardly smiling, she asked: \"Do you trust me?\"
Mu Huaiyun: \"Hm?\"
\"Then follow my lead. We’ll return later. The Flame Beast won’t escape.\"
