Offering Herself in Marriage

In the latter half of the night, the ghost hooting sounds outside quieted somewhat, and Yu Lianhua and Yin Suhun finally felt a little more at ease.

Jiang Ping'an asked, "Yin Suhun, when did Vengeful Sword Valley become so dangerous?"

"It seemed that black mist began appearing three years ago, but there was less of it then, and it only appeared occasionally," Yin Suhun said softly. "Afterward, the black mist gradually thickened."

"Tonight's situation is unprecedented."

After a pause, she continued, "The resentment, death qi, Killing Intent, sword qi, spiritual qi, and so on in Vengeful Sword Valley have accumulated for more than two hundred years. I'm afraid they may have bred something terrifying."

Jiang Ping'an said, "Keep this secret. Do not report it."

"Of course," Yin Suhun immediately agreed.

The yin spirits in her soul banner had nearly been slaughtered by the Sword Wraiths tonight. She was still counting on refining the Sword Wraiths here to replenish her soul banner. If the news was reported to the sect, any two or three inner sect disciples could capture every Sword Wraith in Vengeful Sword Valley.

After agreeing, she instead worried that Yu Lianhua would report it. She deliberately asked Yu Lianhua, "Senior Sister Yu, you won't report this, will you?"

"Ping'an said not to report it, so naturally I won't," Yu Lianhua replied blandly.

They passed the latter half of the night in peace. By the next day, as the rising sun climbed into the sky and the black mist receded, Jiang Ping'an jumped out of the earthen pit.

Thick white mist filled the valley, reducing visibility to almost nothing. Jiang Ping'an swept the surroundings with his Spiritual Sense and found that its range had recovered considerably, though it seemed somewhat smaller than it had been during the daytime yesterday.