Ghost in the Wood

The afternoon sun spilled into the courtyard, warm and comfortable.

Su Yi sat in a bamboo chair, busy binding a cluster of verdant willow twigs.

The courtyard had been thoroughly cleaned and was now spacious and tidy.

Hu Quan had even thoughtfully added bedding, toiletries, and other necessities, while also repairing the vegetable patch and the vine trellis.

The three physicians, including Wu Guangbin, had already returned to Apricot Yellow Medical Hall to see patients.

On the contrary, Su Yi, the proprietor, had become quite idle.

"Brother Su, what is this rooster for?"

Not far away, Huang Qianjun was boredly teasing a rooster he had just bought.

The bird was exceptionally fierce, with sharp claws and a pointed beak; it walked like the wind and crowed with a piercing, resonant cry.

Huang Qianjun had brought over a dozen servants with him, and they had practically scoured the city market three feet deep to find such a spirited, imposing rooster.

"Kill it and drain the blood."

Su Yi instructed casually.

After the events of today, he suddenly realized that having someone around to handle menial tasks wasn't bad at all; it could save a great deal of time and energy.

"You got it."

Huang Qianjun pulled a dagger from his waist and began to work.

Before long, he brought a bowl of fresh, crimson chicken blood to Su Yi's side.

"That's enough, you're done here. You can go home."

Su Yi picked up the bundle of bound willow twigs and dipped the tips into the bowl of chicken blood. The green leaves and the scarlet blood bled together, looking particularly striking.

Huang Qianjun hesitated. "Brother Su, the way I see it, since you've driven away everyone working for Wen Changqing at Apricot Yellow Medical Hall, he surely won't let this go once he finds out. Should I ask my father to give Wen Changqing a warning?"

Su Yi glanced at him and said, "If you're keen, go help me find out which family in Guangling City is the most skilled at forging weapons."

Huang Qianjun's spirits lifted. "Brother Su, that's easy! My Huang Family holds a monopoly on the Weapon Forging Business in the city. We have over thirty Weapon Forging Masters alone! Just tell me what kind of weapon you want to forge, and I guarantee the best smiths will work for you!"

Only then did Su Yi recall that among the Three Great Clans of Guangling City, the Wen Family monopolized the Medicinal Herb Business, the Li Family monopolized grain and cereals, and the Huang Family monopolized the Weapon Forging Business.

"I intend to forge a sword," Su Yi said.

Huang Qianjun laughed immediately. "Forging a sword? Then you must go to Wang Tianyang. Old Wang's Sword Forging Art is considered a marvel in Guangling City. Many people from out of town come here just to seek a fine blade from him."

Su Yi nodded. "Come here tomorrow morning and take me to see him."

Huang Qianjun agreed readily. "Brother Su, is there anything else?"

When it came to running errands for Su Yi, his enthusiasm was absolute.

"Go home quickly."

Su Yi waved his hand.

"Brother Su, I'll come back tomorrow then."

Only then did Huang Qianjun bow and leave.

He was sensible enough to know that if he stuck to Su Yi's side constantly, he would eventually become an annoyance.

Just like when he used to visit brothels; the thing he hated most was the entourage his father would assign to follow him...

After soaking the bound willow twigs in the rooster blood, Su Yi picked up a knife and began to carve a three-foot length of Green Peach Wood.

As fine wood shavings peeled away, a Peach Wood Sword soon took shape.

Afterward, Su Yi rose from the bamboo chair, held the Peach Wood Sword up to inspect it, and nodded with satisfaction.

"Now, I just wait for tonight."

Su Yi swung the Peach Wood Sword casually and glanced again at the green willow twigs soaking in the rooster blood.

His gaze then shifted, landing on the old locust tree not far away in the courtyard.

The locust tree—a ghost in the wood!

This tree was of a Yin nature and was the most prone to attracting ghosts and evil spirits to parasitize it.

The layout of this courtyard was flawed precisely because a well had been dug beside the locust tree; the Yin Sha Qi rising from underground would only serve to turn this courtyard into a "haunted house" in the eyes of ordinary people.

"This well was clearly sealed off by someone. It seems that someone had already realized there was a problem with it back then."

"Yet, for some reason, no one told me about this..."

Su Yi was lost in thought.

The Wen residence.

Wen Changqing's quarters.

"Father, I just received news. That scoundrel Su Yi, on his very first day taking over the business at Apricot Yellow Medical Hall, kicked out all of our family's servants. Isn't this a slap in the face to our family?"

Wen Jieyuan said, fuming with rage.

He was the son of Wen Changqing, nineteen years of age, full of youthful vigor, and possessed a cultivation at the peak of the "Flesh Refining" stage of the Blood Moving Realm; in another half-year, he would be heading to the Green River Sword Mansion to cultivate.

"I didn't expect that piece of trash to be so ruthless."

Wen Changqing furrowed his brows and asked, "Where is he now?"

Wen Jieyuan replied, "It is said he has settled into that haunted house behind the Apricot Yellow Medical Hall."

"Oh?"

A strange look flickered in Wen Changqing's eyes, and his furrowed brows smoothed out. "If that's the case, we don't even need to lift a finger; I doubt that trash will survive the night!"

"Why is that?" Wen Jieyuan was startled.

Wen Changqing recalled, "Nine years ago, a tragedy occurred in that haunted house. A physician and two medicine apprentices living there all died mysteriously in a single night."

"The incident caused a huge stir in the city and severely impacted the business of our Apricot Yellow Medical Hall."

"I spent a fortune to hire a rather renowned Wandering Daoist."

"That man was named Wu Ruoqiu. Upon entering the haunted house, he declared that a vicious ghost was attached to the well beside that old locust tree!"

"According to Daoist Wu, unless one possessed the cultivation of a Grandmaster, no one could subdue that ghost!"

Hearing this, Wen Jieyuan was struck with horror. "And then?"

Wen Changqing said, "Daoist Wu had me forge a set of chains and used Qi Men Secret Arts to seal the well, saying that as long as no living person resided in that courtyard, the ghost would never appear again."

Upon hearing this, Wen Jieyuan suddenly understood. "So, as long as Su Yi stays in that haunted house tonight, he is bound to die?"

Wen Changqing laughed. "That should be the case. For this past year, I haven't understood why Old Madam insisted on Ling Zhao marrying this Su Yi. But regardless, if Su Yi dies, it can be considered a good thing for our Wen family."

Wen Jieyuan nodded repeatedly. "Indeed. Now that cousin Ling Zhao is about to become a 'Grandmaster Disciple,' how could that trash Su Yi possibly be a match for her? His death would be a blessing for cousin Ling Zhao as well."

Wen Changqing's expression suddenly turned serious. "This matter must not be leaked to anyone else. If others find out we knew the haunted house was problematic and didn't warn Su Yi, we might inevitably face some repercussions."

Wen Jieyuan agreed with a smile. "I understand. This is what you call courting his own death. Does he really think the Apricot Yellow Medical Hall is so easy to obtain? Come to think of it, the one who killed Su Yi should be his mother-in-law, Qin Qing."

Wen Changqing scolded, "Do not be insolent. That is your third aunt, Ling Zhao's mother. Remember to show some respect in the future!"

Wen Jieyuan nodded dismissively.

Nightfall gradually descended.

The Apricot Yellow Medical Hall, having been busy all day, had already closed its doors.

In the courtyard, Su Yi sat alone in his room, practicing his breathing and meditation. His internal energy and blood circulated throughout his body, constantly kneading and tempering his fascia.

This was the breathing technique for the third stage of the Blood Moving Realm: "Flesh Tendons."

So-called "Flesh Tendons" meant using one's energy and blood to temper the fascia of the body, making them as tough as bowstrings and as supple as cotton, thereby allowing the body to become as agile as a civet cat.

Rising like an arrow, falling like the wind, moving like a civet cat—it allowed one to perform movements that ordinary people could not.

The core of all this lay in "Flesh Tendons."

Once the fascia were tempered, one's physical strength would also surge significantly.

In the cultivation of the Blood Moving Realm, it had been universally acknowledged since ancient times that "tempering skin and flesh is easy, but tempering tendons and bones is hard." When one begins to temper the tendons, it is equivalent to reaching the later stages of the Blood Moving Realm.

After a long while, Su Yi rose from his meditation and downed a cup of prepared ginseng tea. Feeling the boiling, warming energy throughout his body, he couldn't help but feel a bit of anticipation for the night's events.

Since his reincarnation, he had yet to engage in a true, meaningful battle.

Who would have thought his first opponent might be a ghost?

Su Yi then picked up the bundled willow branches and the Peach Wood Sword, walked out of the room, pulled over a bamboo chair, and sat down casually in front of the stone steps.

The bundle of willow branches had been soaked in rooster blood for several hours; the green willow leaves and twigs were now faintly tinged with a pale blood-red hue. Held in his hand, it felt like a soft whip.

Su Yi leaned the Peach Wood Sword against the side of the bamboo chair.

When the time came to truly draw the sword, it would mean he had to get serious.

"If it were any other Blood Moving Realm cultivator, they probably wouldn't be a match even for an ordinary ghost. However, I once had a fight with the Western Underworld Ghost Emperor in my past life. He lost the bet and willingly handed over the Ten Directions Asura Sutra to me, which is said to be the supreme scripture in the eyes of ghost cultivators..."

Sitting there, Su Yi's thoughts drifted.

The night wind blew, and the sky grew increasingly dim.

It was nearing midnight. The lights on the streets of Guangling City had all been extinguished one by one, and the darkness, like a rising tide, engulfed the earth.

The entire city seemed to have calmed from its bustle and fallen into sleep, with only the occasional sound of a dog barking echoing from afar.

Tonight, the sky was thick with dark clouds, obscuring the starlight.

In the courtyard where Su Yi sat, only a single candle flickered in the room, casting a dim, yellowish light through the paper windows.

He held the willow branches, sitting quietly alone in the dark of the night, unhurried and calm.

Only in his eyes did a hint of anticipation linger.

Suddenly, the branches of the old locust tree in the courtyard swayed, and the leaves rustled, sounding like whispers that drifted near and far in the night.

Beside him, the rusted chains binding the lid of the ancient well seemed like a nest of awakening snakes, rubbing and writhing against each other, emitting a sound like the screech of a night owl that set one's teeth on edge.

The air turned abruptly cold, like a midwinter chill invading, piercing straight to the bone.

Whoosh—

On the ground, a cluster of fallen locust leaves had just settled when a gust of Ghost Wind swept them up, sending them swirling into the ink-black night like countless dancing shadows.

Su Yi's azure robes snapped and fluttered violently in the gale.

His pupils narrowed slightly.

As a gust of Ghost Wind came swirling with the fallen leaves, he finally moved.

He raised his right arm and flicked his wrist.

A bundle of supple willow branches, shimmering with a faint, blood-colored luster, suddenly snapped taut and lashed down through the void.

Crack!

The crisp sound exploded in the night like a thunderclap.