Ye Luo

Xiao Jie instantly grew interested in the Black Whirlwind before him. If he could take this thing out to level up, that would be awesome.

"Right, I can understand your canine language. How about that? Pretty impressive, huh? Why don't you join me? As long as you roll with me, roasted chicken, smoked meat, and all that good stuff will be all you can eat."

Black Whirlwind let out a low growl instead. "Woof, a good dog doesn't serve two masters, so you can forget about that—Meatball, get your ass back in the pack right now. Don't go crowding around the moment you hear 'roasted chicken'."

That fat dog called Meatball cast a lingering look at Xiao Jie and crawled back into its kennel.

Xiao Jie was somewhat speechless. You're a dog, and yet you're so principled?

Black Whirlwind continued, "If you want to win a hunting dog's loyalty, you can only become the master's apprentice. Only then are you qualified to earn our allegiance."

Meatball perked up the moment it heard that. "Right, right, go find the master and ask to apprentice under him. Remember to pick me, for sure."

Xiao Jie said helplessly, "No can do, your master doesn't take apprentices."

"Who says? Our master does have apprentices, why wouldn't he take them?"

Hmm... The Hunter actually has an apprentice now? Right, it must be a previous player.

"How long ago was it that your master took that apprentice?"

"Not long ago, not long ago. She just got back right now."

Xiao Jie was somewhat surprised, not expecting there to be other players in the village, though he wondered why he hadn't seen any before.

Black Claw (Hunting Dog): "Shut up, Meatball. Stop flapping your gums about the master's business."

Meatball (Hunting Dog): "I'm just saying, the only reason the master isn't taking apprentices right now is because of the mistress's illness. Hey, tough guy, hurry up and harvest a Century-Old Mountain Ginseng, and the master will take you as an apprentice. If you can cure the mistress's illness, the master will be so happy he'll even give you a treasure. Do you know how to heal the sick?"

Black Whirlwind suddenly let out a cold snort. "Hmph, the mistress isn't sick at all. Even if he knows how to heal, it's useless."

"Not sick? If she's not sick, why is she bedridden?"

That Black Whirlwind, however, said no more.

Xiao Jie felt like he had seized the crucial point. There had to be hidden information in here.

"I indeed don't know medical arts, but naturally I have my own abilities. If you tell me what on earth happened to the mistress, maybe I can help out. Otherwise, since your master has always been treating it like an illness, wouldn't she never be cured for the rest of her life?"

Black Whirlwind tilted its head and sized Xiao Jie up. "Alright, weird human, perhaps you are right.

"The mistress didn't fall ill. Something burrowed into her body."

"What thing?"

"A black shadow. Those few nights, that shadow was always flying outside. One day, the mistress went out in the middle of the night and got pounced on by the shadow, and she fainted. That shadow burrowed into her body, making her afraid to see the light."

Listening to this, Xiao Jie understood in his heart. This must be encountering a ghost, right? She got possessed by a Night Ghoul?

Yet wouldn't someone possessed by a Night Ghoul be killed by the ghost? Why wasn't the Hunter's wife dead?

"How about it, weird human? Can you save our mistress?"

"I'll give it a try," Xiao Jie said.

He walked straight toward the front courtyard of the Hunter's house, and upon reaching the doorway of the wooden cabin, he indeed saw a player talking with the Hunter—a female one, at that.

She wore a suit of exquisite dark-green Leather Armor, draped with a green cloak, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows on her back, with a longsword hung at her waist.

She gave off a strong vibe of an elven Ranger.

He checked the name above her head.

Ye Luo (Hunter Apprentice), Level: 8. HP: 150.

"Master, this is the century-old ginseng I dug up from North Mountain. Please accept it."

Yang Baichuan (Hunter): "You did well, Ye Luo. I'm afraid your mistress's illness won't get better anytime soon. Alas, I don't have the time to guide you personally, and can only let you fumble around on your own slowly. I will accept this gesture of yours. Oh right, I happen to have a supreme technique here; consider it a reward for you."

A flash of white light appeared on the female player, obviously having learned some new skill. Her face, however, showed neither sorrow nor joy; she merely cupped her fists in thanks and was about to turn and leave when she suddenly snapped her head around.

"Who's there?"

Xiao Jie hurriedly stepped out from his hiding spot. "Good afternoon, you two."

The moment Yang Baichuan saw Xiao Jie, impatience immediately appeared on his face. "I've already said it, I have no interest in taking apprentices lately. Little brother should go ask elsewhere."

"Master Yang, don't be so quick to say that. What if I said I can cure Madam's illness?"

Yang Baichuan said disbelievingly, "You aren't even a doctor, how could you cure her?"

"Heh, some ailments don't require medicine to treat. Since you fed your wife all that ginseng and she still didn't get better, whether I can cure her or not, you'll know once we try. It's bound to be better than being like this now."

Yang Baichuan pondered for a moment. "Come in. If you can make my wife recover, what harm is there in teaching you my bottom-of-the-chest ultimate skill?"

What I'm waiting for is precisely those words of yours, Xiao Jie thought to himself. He followed the Hunter into the room, only to find it pitch dark inside, with even the windows nailed shut.

In the innermost room, there was a wooden bed covered with animal pelts. Yang Baichuan's wife lay beneath the pelts, her complexion ashen. Broad daylight though it was, she was still trembling violently, her eyes closed and lips cyan.

Judging by this condition, she really is spirit-possessed, Xiao Jie thought to himself.

"I don't know what's going on with this illness of my wife's. Doctors have looked at it, but they couldn't find a way to treat it either, only saying that her vital energy is depleted and she needs to take ginseng to mend it. Ever since she fell ill, she has been afraid of sunlight, and can only keep the windows shut even during the day. She can't eat anything either, and can only drink some ginseng soup to sustain her life."

"No matter, just watch how I work my craft." Saying that, Xiao Jie directly dragged the Divine Wood Talisman's equipment skill onto his shortcut bar.

He clicked and cast it toward the Hunter's wife.

Exorcism Spell!

A streak of white light flashed across the Hunter's wife, and right after, a miserable shriek came from her mouth. Her limbs convulsed in a fit, and a sinister wind blew up out of nowhere inside the room. By the time the sinister wind dispersed, the Hunter's wife had already opened her eyes.

A trace of rosy color appeared on her pale face.

"Dear, what happened to me? I feel like I have no strength all over, as if I've slept for several years. Oh my, I'm so hungry. Can you make me something to eat?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Whatever you want to eat, I'll make it for you right now."

"I just want to eat the meat soup you stew."

Yang Baichuan excitedly went off to stew meat for his wife.

Xiao Jie was equally excited as well. Now, not only might he get to apprentice under the Hunter, there might even be some hidden reward too.

He had to admit, having a magical tool was truly awesome!

Hahaha, so easy!

"It's useless. That thing isn't dead; sooner or later it will still come back." A cold voice came from behind.

Hmm? Xiao Jie looked at Ye Luo in surprise.

This girl had been watching from the sidelines, yet she didn't seem surprised at all by the scene before her.

"How do you know?"

"I can see it." Her gaze looked toward a corner of the room, into a patch of darkness.

Xiao Jie followed her gaze, but could only see a patch of darkness, feeling somewhat doubtful. Really?

"How come I can't see it?"

"Your perception is too low; ghosts are invisible to the naked eye. To harvest herbs, I deliberately stacked 20 points of perception, so I can see things ordinary people can't see. It was right there—hmph, it's gone now, probably hiding away.

"Spells of the exorcism type also have intensity tiers, and this magical tool of yours is probably just a low-grade one. It was relatively weak during the day, which is why you succeeded, but once nighttime comes, I'm afraid it won't be of any use."