Ghostly Divine Art

Seeing that the two of them were unharmed, Liu Xiaolou felt very pleased and said with a smile, "My disciples are in trouble, and as their Sect Master, how could I not come?"

Lord Xingde rolled his eyes, "What disciples? If you really want to talk about it, I'm the Supreme Sect Master!"

After the joke, Liu Xiaolou briefly explained the situation outside, then said, "The Zhou family is conducting a large-scale search and arrest outside, with experts from the Qingyu Sect overseeing it. Coincidentally, these two fellows had ill intentions, so I followed them in. If they hadn't used their Tianmu Mountain background to show off, I really wouldn't have been able to get in."

The tomb was rather dim, and it was only then that Seventh Mistress Zhou saw the person on the ground clearly. She exclaimed, "Second Young Master Lu!"

Lord Xingde asked, "Someone from the Lu family?"

Seventh Mistress Zhou replied, "He's the younger brother of Lu Yuanlang, who ranks third among the inner disciples of Tianmu Mountain. He often visits my home at Dongting Lake."

Lord Xingde frowned, "This guy... what's he doing at your place?"

Seventh Mistress Zhou shot him a glare, "He's taken a liking to Ninth Mistress. Whenever Ninth Mistress visits, he rushes over as soon as he hears the news."

Lord Xingde breathed a sigh of relief, "He's not anything good either. Su Jiuniang? He's not worthy of her!"

Liu Xiaolou quickly asked about their plans. Lord Xingde said, "This place is secret, and Seven Mistress and I plan to stay here for a while longer. When they can't find us, they'll naturally leave."

Liu Xiaolou shook his head vigorously, "Do you know why the Zhou family and the Qingyu Sect chased us all the way to Taoyuan? I heard from Second Young Master Lu and this steward surnamed Zhang that the Qingyu Sect has a technique called the Ghostly Divine Art..."

Before he could finish, Seventh Mistress Zhou let out a gasp. She fumbled around, taking off the hairpins, necklaces, and bracelets from her head, neck, and wrists. She then opened the boxes in her bag and poured things out, muttering incessantly, "It's all my fault, all my fault... I didn't even think of this... Where did I hide everything..."

She frantically searched, on the verge of tears.

Liu Xiaolou said, "Don't worry, Aunt Seven. This technique only senses the general area. Otherwise, they would have found this place after surrounding the mountain for a day. Moreover, I estimate that this tomb is quite deep, which also weakens the sensing to some extent. We're temporarily safe. Senior, the Qingyu Sect has a technique called the Ghostly Divine Art. Something should have been placed on one of Aunt Seven's belongings..."

With a simple explanation, Lord Xingde understood, "What was it? How was it placed?"

Seventh Mistress Zhou replied, "A kind of phantom ghost. Come quickly and help me use my true essence to investigate..."

Liu Xiaolou also joined in the busy work for a while. They didn't find anything unusual on these jade and pearl ornaments. He looked at Seventh Mistress Zhou and pointed to her, saying to Lord Xingde, "Senior..."

Lord Xingde patted his forehead, "The clothes!"

Seventh Mistress Zhou pointed outside, "You two go out first."

Lord Xingde and Liu Xiaolou left the tomb and waited in the tomb passage outside for a moment. Then they heard Seventh Mistress Zhou call out from inside, "Damn it!"

Lord Xingde rushed in first, and Liu Xiaolou followed closely, but Lord Xingde pushed him out, "Don't come in!"

"Ah..." Liu Xiaolou came to his senses and had no choice but to wait outside. When he became impatient, Lord Xingde came out to greet him, "It's done."

Returning to the tomb, Lord Xingde shook his head, "Truly damnable, it was the undergarments... That maid of yours, Ping'er, she must have done it. I've told you before that she's not trustworthy!"

Seventh Mistress Zhou's face turned bright red, "What are you talking about!"

Lord Xingde said indignantly, "Am I wrong? Why weren't we discovered for so many years? Why were we discovered within a year of that girl coming to your side?"

Seventh Mistress Zhou stamped her foot, "No..."

Liu Xiaolou interrupted them, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this now. It's good that it's found. Throw them into the coffin, and it'll be much easier for us to get out."

Seventh Mistress Zhou said, "It's still not possible. Xiaolou, didn't you just say that the Qingyu Sect people have also arrived? If we go out, they might use the Form Snatching Art."

Liu Xiaolou replied, "They already have, and there's also the Mountain God Manifestation."

Lord Xingde was once again bewildered, "I know about the Mountain God Manifestation, but what is the Form Snatching Art?"

Seventh Mistress Zhou went through another round of explanations, and Lord Xingde said dejectedly, "Your Qingyu Sect has so many underhanded tricks... What should we do about this?"

Liu Xiaolou was even more speechless, "Senior, Aunt Seven, I thought you had prepared for three months and would be more thorough. Are you eloping without understanding anything? Never mind, there's already a solution for the Form Snatching Art. The steward surnamed Zhang has a jade token that can conceal one's form. We just need to avoid the manifested Mountain God on the mountaintop."

After taking the jade token from Steward Zhang and the Lu clan token from Second Young Master Lu's waist, Liu Xiaolou urged Lord Xingde and Seventh Mistress Zhou to change clothes. Lord Xingde put on Steward Zhang's clothes, while Seventh Mistress Zhou took Second Young Master Lu's long robe and put it on, let down her hair, and re-combed it, making a simple and rough disguise.

However, it still didn't look right. Fortunately, it was night, so they didn't have to worry too much.

From Steward Zhang's body, they found three spirit stones and twenty to thirty taels of loose silver. Second Young Master Lu, however, had no money on him. Liu Xiaolou scorned him, unsealed their mute acupoints, and interrogated them on the spot, "Where did you bury the spirit stones and silver?"

Second Young Master Lu's face was ashen. "I don't carry spirit stones and silver when I go out, but I have them at home. Younger Brother Liu, spare my life, and I'll go back to the mountain to get them for you. Don't worry, Brother Liu, twenty spirit stones! Three thousand taels of silver! No, thirty spirit stones, five thousand taels of silver!"

Steward Zhang was much tougher, only cursing Liu Xiaolou and telling the villain Liu that one day he would... Liu Xiaolou slapped him a few times, making his mouth full of blood and broken teeth, and his foul curses were unintelligible.

Liu Xiaolou was extremely disappointed. He couldn't delay any longer at this point and had to give up.

Seventh Mistress Zhou looked at Second Young Master Lu hesitantly and asked Lord Xingde, "Just leave them here?"

Lord Xingde saw her soft heart and said, "In any case, we can't let them go now... Perhaps after a day or two, your family will be able to find this place."

Seventh Mistress Zhou sighed and followed Lord Xingde out.

Liu Xiaolou lagged behind, picked up Second Young Master Lu and Steward Zhang, and threw them into the coffin. He then pointed at their life gates, respectively. The two men's eyes widened as they stared at Liu Xiaolou, unable to utter a sound. Their gazes gradually dimmed, like dead fish.

Liu Xiaolou didn't have time to look further. He closed the coffin lid again and exited the tomb.

It was now the darkest time before dawn. The jade token emitted a faint magical power, canceling out the Form Snatching Art and protecting the three of them as they left the valley.

They couldn't take the main road into the valley because people there recognized Second Young Master Lu. Therefore, the three of them chose a small path to exit the valley, keeping an eye on the giant manifested Mountain God on the mountaintop while circling around its blind spot.

Lord Xingde was even more familiar with the mountain paths than Liu Xiaolou. Unconsciously, he circled out through a small path in the northwest. The Lu clan identity token didn't even come into play, and they had escaped the blockade of the Qingyu Sect and the Zhou clan, leaving the Taoyuan Mountain Range.

Lord Xingde and Seventh Mistress Zhou's plan was to flee to the Bashu region, which was far from Jingxiang. The Qingyu Sect could not interfere there, making it a good place to hide.

Liu Xiaolou stuffed the three spirit stones and silver he had found, along with a page of yellow paper, to Lord Xingde. "This journey is thousands of miles. Every extra spirit stone and every extra tael of silver you have on you is good. By the way, this is a secret technique from my Three Xuan Sect. Senior, you must practice it; it's good for your health."

Lord Xingde didn't refuse, "Then I'll accept it."

The two parties waved goodbye. Liu Xiaolou watched their figures disappear into the night, suddenly feeling a sense of joy and an inexpressible sense of freedom.