The Ghost Servant

"The memories from a few years ago have changed quite a bit." Guo Ming chuckled awkwardly, watching Chu Danqing light a fire in the old shack to provide warmth.

"It's fine, as long as we found it," Chu Danqing said.

Guo Ming said it was about two li, but he actually went the wrong way and circled around before finding it.

"This place is safe. You can wait here for the snowstorm to subside before going to South Mountain Temple or down the mountain."

"I have important matters to attend to."

Chu Danqing planned to leave and search for the Zhanji Tiger's tracks.

Now that he had settled Guo Ming, there was no need to stay and keep him company.

Upon hearing this, Guo Ming's expression stiffened: "Isn't that a bit too hasty? It's not too late to go after the snow stops."

"Important matters need to be handled, but one must also consider their own safety."

He could hear the howling wind and snow outside growing stronger, even the shack creaking under the force.

Even if Chu Danqing was an extraordinary person, traveling in such a snowstorm would be extremely dangerous, so he offered a word of advice.

"There's something in the snowstorm, approaching," Da Bao spoke, extending its claws.

This alerted both of them.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock came from the door.

"Is anyone inside? It's Liu Wu, open the door quickly." Outside, came the voice of a middle-aged man shivering from the cold.

This brought joy to Guo Ming's face: "It's Brother Liu Wu, quickly open the door."

Saying that, Guo Ming got up to open the door, but Chu Danqing grabbed him.

"Da Bao said, he's not human," Chu Danqing explained. Da Bao had intellectual disabilities, but it could distinguish between humans and non-human things.

It wouldn't refer to a person as a 'thing.'

"Is that Brother Guo's voice?" Liu Wu outside heard Guo Ming's voice, and his trembling voice carried a hint of excitement.

Guo Ming was now torn. Outside was a friend, inside was his savior, putting him in a difficult position.

Chu Danqing took out the Han Quan's Shadow sniper rifle. He had fiddled with it a few times before, and wasn't very proficient, but he could still fire it.

He didn't have any skills or knowledge related to firearms, nor had he received any professional training. Being able to use it at all was already good enough.

There was no response from inside the shack. Da Bao seemed to realize that this wasn't a good time to act, so it didn't make a move.

As time passed, Liu Wu's voice outside became hoarse, and he began banging heavily on the door, trying to get in.

Chu Danqing found a suitable position and set up the Han Quan's Shadow, ready to fire.

Seeing this, Da Bao cooperated and opened the wooden door.

The wind and snow instantly poured in, and they saw a figure with half its head missing standing at the door.

Chu Danqing decisively pulled the trigger. Coldness surged and spread from the firearm, and a Han Ying Bullet burst from the muzzle, hitting the target directly.

[You dealt 20 points of physical damage + 10 points of ice damage to the target, and inflicted a 5-second slow.]

Upon seeing the combat log, Chu Danqing understood why the equipment requirement for this sniper rifle was 5 points of Spirit.

It was essentially a magic wand disguised as a sniper rifle. Aside from lacking the recoil unique to firearms, the damage was far less than that of a normal sniper rifle.

Its effective range was only three hundred meters. However, because of these characteristics, it was very suitable for an amateur like Chu Danqing to use.

When it hit the target, Chu Danqing immediately cast a Scan spell.

[Chang Gui]
[Attributes]
[Health: 11%]
[Mana: 25]
[Strength: 1]
[Agility: 3]
[Constitution: 2]
[Spirit: 5]
[Perception: 3]

Upon seeing the data, Chu Danqing's eyes twitched involuntarily.

One shot had nearly brought the thing to the brink of death.

No wonder it was pounding on the door outside. With a Strength of 1, physically breaking down the door wasn't just difficult, but practically impossible.

It wasn't that the Han Quan's Shadow had high attack power, but rather that the opponent was too weak. Even the slow effect seemed superfluous.

It was only because Chu Danqing's marksmanship was terrible that he didn't hit a vital point and deal a critical hit, which could have directly killed this Chang Gui.

"It's a Chang Gui," Chu Danqing said, putting away the gun. Da Bao extended its claws and directly killed the heavily injured and immobile Chang Gui.

The Chang Gui instantly turned to ashes, leaving nothing behind. Da Bao quickly closed the door.

Chu Danqing was familiar with the concept of Chang Gui. A client had once commissioned him to create a painting of a Mountain Lord, and the request included Chang Gui as part of the background.

"Liu Wu... Liu Wu was eaten by a tiger?!" Guo Ming's expression was horrified.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Chu Danqing asked in return.

It was a tiger, not an old cat.

"Brother Liu Wu hunted countless animals in his life, never thought he'd die at the hands of such a beast."

"He once hunted a tiger himself, but it escaped. Later that night, Chang Gui disturbed the village, but he shot it down with an arrow," Guo Ming said with a sigh.

Chu Danqing became interested upon hearing this. "Mind telling me about it?"

"Of course." Guo Ming didn't mind at all. "Perhaps after I finish, the snow will stop."

He was thinking about how to prolong the conversation to prevent Chu Danqing from going out. Now, there was not only snow but also Chang Gui, making it even more dangerous to venture out.

"It all started with me..." Having made up his mind, Guo Ming decided to start from the beginning.

Chu Danqing didn't rush him but listened quietly to his story.

When Guo Ming mentioned that the tiger was injured in its left hind leg by a trap, Chu Danqing asked, "So, this tiger is a lame tiger?"

"That's right. This tiger has become a spirit. It abandoned its leg to save itself, stubbornly escaping." Guo Ming was puzzled; he didn't understand why Chu Danqing suddenly cared about this.

Chu Danqing understood immediately. The tiger that Liu Wu had hunted was the Zhanji Tiger he was looking for.

Zhanji Tiger meant a lame tiger.

Liu Wu became a Chang Gui as revenge afterward.

He became a servant of the tiger after being eaten by it.

"As it happens, I came to this South Mountain under the Lu Clan's orders to eliminate a Zhanji Tiger."

"It seems this is the one." Chu Danqing revealed his purpose, thinking that Guo Ming might be able to help him.

After all, the person using the Three Corpses method was the great-grandson of the Way of Peace Master and the son of the Ren Gongdao Master. Using a tiger that had become a spirit as one of the Three Corpses wasn't extravagant.

The other of his Three Corpses was a Flood Dragon, after all.

Of course, whether it was a jiao dragon was yet to be determined; it might also be a crocodile or a python.

"It must be that beast," Guo Ming said. "But that beast is cunning, South Mountain is treacherous, and there are also Chang Gui. It won't be easy to find that beast."

Chu Danqing was thinking about how to find it, looking at the gradually calming snow outside, and then said, "Let's go to South Mountain Temple."

"The monks in the temple live there permanently; perhaps they will have clues."

"And your injuries need to be treated as well."