Today had absolutely been a dark day for all the "literati and esteemed scholars" of Yuhang Town.
Because around dusk, when everyone arrived at Spring Full Pavilion in groups of two or three or furtively on their own, they found its doors tightly shut, with a tall truce placard hanging outside the gate.
The gathered literati and esteemed scholars could not help but lament in sorrow.
Inside Spring Full Pavilion.
At this hour on ordinary days, the place should have been ablaze with lights and revelry, filled with singing and dancing. Today, however, it was utterly quiet.
The good girls of the establishment had all been gathered into several rooms on the second floor for easier protection. Huddled together, their whispered conversations rose and fell without end.
Although Mei Xiang had a bad temperament and few friends in ordinary times, when they thought of someone they had seen alive and well yesterday possibly returning as a ghost today, they could not help but feel a chill in their hearts.
In Mei Xiang's bedroom, Zhao Liangcai pursed his lips and sighed deeply. "Mei Xiang did say she was carrying my child, but how could a courtesan get pregnant so easily? She was clearly scheming against me. Before, it would have been nothing for me to marry her as a concubine. But if I took her in now, what would Gongsun Girl think if she found out?"
"So when she sent someone to invite me to Spring Full Pavilion yesterday morning, I refused her. I gave her a thousand-tael banknote and told her to look after herself. That wasn't heartless, was it? Whether she kept the child or not, it would have been enough for her to live well for quite some time."
"Who could have known that her... resentment would be so heavy..."
He hemmed and hawed, sounding somewhat aggrieved.
As he spoke, he looked eagerly toward Li Chu. "Little Daoist Priest Li, you must save me. Your divine abilities are vast; subduing a Vengeful Spirit will be no trouble for you!"
Perhaps only a few days earlier, he had held no impression of Li Chu whatsoever. But after the Liu Family Ghost Building incident, that impression had become far too profound.
Take his cousin, for instance.
After returning from the Liu Family Ghost Building, Zhao Liangchen had hidden in his room and cried for an entire night. Even his sleep-talk had been full of words like "handsome and powerful."
The next morning, red-eyed, he had returned to Hangzhou Prefecture, declaring that he would never descend the mountain again in this life unless he entered the Spirit Fusion Realm.
That showed just how severe the psychological shadow Li Chu had left upon him was.
Wang Longqi said, "Since you feel so wronged, why not wait until Mei Xiang returns and explain things to her properly? Perhaps you can purify her Resentful Qi."
"Get lost." Zhao Liangcai glared at him. "Quit spouting sarcastic nonsense from the sidelines. Is that something a human being could come up with?"
Wang Longqi gave two sinister little chuckles.
Li Chu rubbed his nose, feeling somewhat offended.
Come to think of it, casualties could easily occur during exorcisms. The occasional accident was unavoidable, wasn't it?
For example, with certain second generation rich who had no filter on their mouths.
Whether Zhao Liangcai sensed Li Chu's gaze or something else, he turned around and gave Li Chu a fawning smile.
Miss Li stood in the corner like a lackey.
She narrowed her eyes and studied the people in the room for a while before pulling Li Chu aside and whispering, "This time, I'll make the move. Don't do anything yet."
These words were similar to the warning she had given Li Chu last time, but their meaning was now completely different.
Last time, she had feared that Li Chu would rashly act and make trouble for her.
This time, she feared Li Chu would act too quickly and leave her with no chance to show off at all!
Looking at Zhao Liangcai's and Wang Longqi's expressions, Li Xinyi felt a surge of displeasure. Why did they give Li Chu fawning smiles, yet only perfunctory smiles to her?
It was as if she were merely a useless pretty vase.
She had to restore Facing Heaven Pavilion's prestige!
Li Chu glanced at her, then nodded in agreement.
He had always been a refined and easygoing person.
As the night deepened, midnight soon arrived.
Zhao Liangcai was anxious and trembling, his heart hanging by a thread. He wanted to say something, but no one paid him any attention, so he could only sit by the wall and shiver alone.
Wang Longqi, on the other hand, had fallen asleep peacefully.
Ever since discovering the child was Zhao Liangcai's, he had been much more at ease. Though he had felt somewhat uncomfortable upon first hearing the news, after thinking it through, he realized this was actually a good thing.
Because that meant Mei Xiang's resentment most likely would not be directed at him.
I'm too clean!
So he slept with complete peace of mind.
He even began to snore.
Li Chu sat cross-legged, his eyes closed as he rested his mind.
The wind rose.
His clear, bright eyes suddenly opened.
Yin Qi was approaching.
After seeing more ghosts, he had become increasingly sensitive to the intensity of Yin Qi. He sensed that this incoming Yin Qi seemed somewhat unusual.
A normal Vengeful Spirit had Yin Qi roughly equal to the strength of two hundred Lantern Monsters.
This Yin Qi, meanwhile, was roughly equal to the strength of four hundred and forty-three Lantern Monsters.
Slightly stronger by a hair.
But when he recalled the confident, resolute look in Li Xinyi's eyes when she had told him not to act earlier...
She should have been determined to win.
In any case, it was only a tiny bit stronger than an Ordinary Vengeful Spirit. To an orthodox cultivator of Facing Heaven Pavilion, there should not have been much difference.
With that thought, he calmly closed his eyes again.
Snap.
Every light in Spring Full Pavilion went out in an instant.
Panic immediately erupted. Cries of alarm joined into a continuous wave, and terror spread as swiftly as a camp thrown into chaos.
"Don't panic! With an expert from Facing Heaven Pavilion here, everyone stay where you are!" Spring Third Madam called out, swiftly stabilizing the situation.
Yin Wind blew in from the balcony and windows, pushing open the windows one by one.
The wind was bone-piercingly cold.
"I'll go take a look." Li Xinyi pushed the door open and stepped outside.
Everyone had been placed in several nearby rooms. From the corridor, she could observe the situation in all of them at once.
Then, at the far end of the corridor, she saw a sheet of liquid trickling toward her.
It was crimson in color and viscous in texture.
Blood.
Her brow furrowed as she sensed that matters were far from simple.
Sure enough, following that broad flow of blood, a tiny figure crawled toward her. It looked like an infant, only even smaller.
An Infant Spirit!
Li Xinyi's heart exploded. How could such a thing be here?
But she quickly understood. Mei Xiang had killed herself while pregnant. The one transformed into a Vengeful Spirit was not just the mother!
This was bad.
The Infant Spirit was crimson from head to toe. On its wrinkled little face, its two tiny eyeballs were still clouded white. Seeing Li Xinyi, it suddenly split its mouth in a sinister grin. "Hee hee."
Pfft—
With its strange laugh, a huge torrent of blood swept toward her at incredible speed! Li Xinyi stood in the middle of the corridor with nowhere to evade, so she raised her hand and unleashed a Talisman.
Boom!
A broad golden Phantom appeared out of thin air, intercepting the first impact of the Blood River.
But with a ripping sound, the Talisman lost its spiritual power and tore itself apart, fluttering to the floor.
Infant Spirit Blood was an exceedingly strange substance capable of tainting Magical Artifacts and Talismans. This was also one major reason why many Cultivators were unwilling to encounter Infant Spirits.
But Li Xinyi had no choice. She could only summon her Flying Sword despite herself.
With a whoosh, the famed sword Autumn Rain Begonia landed in her hand. Her jade fingers formed a seal with her left hand while her right swung the sword in a slash. She shouted, "Little Plum Blossom Sword Qi!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...
An invisible Sword Qi left the blade, splitting into dozens in an instant like arrows filling the sky.
The tiny Infant Spirit was immediately riddled with arrows!
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
"Aah—"
Sword Qi fell upon its body like rain. The Infant Spirit wailed and rolled across the floor. But whenever Sword Qi struck it, bloody light burst forth. Every drop of blood that left its body transformed into an even thicker stream of blood, merging into the Blood River!
Li Xinyi gritted her teeth.
This was another troublesome aspect of Infant Spirits. So long as the damage inflicted did not kill them, their Blood River would only grow stronger, and their attacks against their opponent would increase exponentially.
In short, this was a ghost whose attack power grew stronger the lower its vitality became.
Sure enough, the Blood River surging toward her this time was even more vast and violent!
Li Xinyi painfully twirled the sword in her hand. The sword light it conjured instantly formed a circular shield, blocking another impact from the Blood River.
But the blow forced her several steps back, and the light of her Flying Sword dimmed as well.
If she encountered such a ghost in the wilderness, she would absolutely turn around and run. Every additional exchange could leave her Magical Artifacts more deeply tainted.
But there were so many civilians in the rooms on either side who needed her protection. She could not do that.
Thus, she resolutely used her final measure!
"Little Daoist Priest Li," she called softly.
At this moment, she felt no psychological burden whatsoever in asking Li Chu to come help.
If it had been an Ordinary Vengeful Spirit, she naturally could have dealt with it herself.
But first, the Vengeful Spirits produced by Life Buying Coins were a tier stronger than Ordinary Vengeful Spirits. She had already experienced that before.
And beyond that, this was an Infant Spirit, one of a kind even among Vengeful Spirits.
Adding it all together, this Infant Spirit had already soared beyond the heavens. It might possess strength close to that of a Ghost General!
So what was wrong with asking someone for help?
It's not that I'm weak. I've been specifically targeted!
"Hmm?" Hearing her, Li Chu opened the door. He had originally thought she truly would not need him to act.
Li Xinyi looked at him and, with complete peace of mind and utmost brevity, said one word.
"Save me."
Before you continue