Tacit Understanding

My wife-sister stood in front of me in a phoenix crown and red bridal robes. Aside from her white-jade skin, everything about her was drenched in blood—the blood-red crown, the blood-red robes, even her blood-red steps.

Although I was looking at her from behind, I would never forget the way she looked. Every movement was utterly perfect, without the slightest flaw.

She flicked her blood-colored sleeve, and the ghost beast that had just chased us into every corner was reduced to dust, vanishing like smoke in an instant. Her graceful, noble bearing and domineering aura poured out into the air!

Xijun had still been staring blankly at the ghost beast's disappearance. But the moment she turned her head and saw my wife-sister, she immediately prostrated herself on the ground, trembling all over, while muttering things I couldn't understand.

Ninth Princess, oh Ninth Princess, did you really have to make such a grand entrance every time? Wasn't this laying it on a bit thick?

Seeing Xijun submit, the mountain ghost was completely stunned. Just moments ago, she had wanted to hook away my soul, but after only a few blinks, how had such a formidable being appeared before her?

"Silence! You failed to protect your master! You deserve to die!" My wife-sister swept her sleeve, and Xijun was nearly blasted out of existence. She rolled several times across the ground, then came to her senses and hurriedly lay there in fear again.

Seeing that she was only a little girl, I felt rather sorry for her and wanted to go help her up. But my wife-sister seemed to be slowly turning her head, and I figured I couldn't oppose my own wife, so I obediently stayed where I was. Sigh, children don't know any better. You haven't shown yourself in so long, so teaching her a lesson is only right. Consider this trip my way of giving you face.

Only after my wife-sister saw that I remained silent did she turn her head toward "Zhao Qian." "You insignificant mountain sprite! You dare hide in my presence? Your courage is far too great! Reveal your true form!"

I was standing behind and to her side, so I couldn't see her expression. But in the blink of an eye, an invisible wave of air, like a sound wave, trembled outward with my wife-sister at its center!

Zhao Qian's entire body suddenly went limp, and she collapsed onto the ground. The mountain ghost, meanwhile, was directly shaken out of her body, her soul-form whipping about like something unable to hold its shape in a raging gale!

I knew Zhao Qian would be fine now. Although my wife-sister was arrogant and disliked Zhao Qian intensely, they were still half-acquainted, so she had saved her with a casual gesture.

The mountain ghost's soul-form, however, fluttered like a willow catkin in a fierce wind. The terror in her eyes could no longer be described as mere fear. It was as if a person were seeing a ghost for the first time.

The mountain ghost dropped to her knees with a thump and hurriedly began kowtowing. Without the yang energy from Zhao Qian's body, I couldn't understand what she was saying either, but from her expression, she was obviously begging for mercy.

Uncle Hai and Lin Feiyu's eyes were as wide as cowbells, their faces deathly pale. Neither could utter half a sentence. How had the situation turned upside down so suddenly?

"Chattering away while you hooked his soul—did you ever think this day would come?" My wife-sister's face was dark. Although she hadn't opened her eyes, the furrow between her brows already told everyone that she was in a very bad mood.

The mountain ghost could barely stand under the invisible waves of air. Now she was trembling and crouching even more obediently than Xijun. But soon, an invisible hand seized her and dragged her into the air against her will.

The female mountain ghost was utterly terrified, but she couldn't break free. In the next moment, she began to howl in agony, her soul-form squeezed and sent darting wildly in every direction! She looked as if she might be crushed like a balloon and burst at any moment!

I immediately ran up to my wife-sister and cautiously asked, "Hey, wife-sister, she's the mountain god of this place. Wouldn't it be bad to just kill her like this?"

"Call me Ninth Princess," my wife-sister said arrogantly.

"All right, N-Ninth Princess... What I mean is, if we kill this mountain god just like that, could it bring us some kind of calamity?" I could only ask meekly. Really, my wife-sister was too overbearing. Couldn't she at least give a grown man like me a little face in front of Uncle Hai and Old Lin?

"Hmph. She's just a little ghost. What calamity could she bring? Kill her, then. If you have something to say, spit it out!" My wife-sister showed no pressure at all and continued to torment the mountain ghost.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat twice and said with a straight face, "Then could you help me take her in? You know my strength is too poor. I can't rely on Xijun to protect me alone, can I? This mountain ghost seems pretty powerful too. Why don't you talk to her and have her work under me for now? If she makes great contributions later, I'll release her back into the mountains?"

The mountain ghost had already thought she was certain to die. Hearing that I wanted to keep her, she hurriedly began pleading with whimpering noises and frantic gestures. It seemed the saying was true: a miserable life was better than a good death.

"This little ghost has lorded it over the mountain for several centuries. She already possesses intelligence and is full of schemes. She doesn't seem like a good thing. You still want to take her into your service?" My wife-sister revealed the mountain ghost's identity.

"Wife-sister, heroes aren't judged by their origins, and rascals aren't judged by their age. As long as she can catch mice, she's a good cat. Don't you agree? Maybe she'll become better after I take her in?" I hurriedly climbed up the pole she had offered me. If my wife-sister hadn't wanted to leave the mountain ghost alive, she would have crushed her the moment they met. Clearly, she saw that I was too weak and was backing me up so I could recruit a ghost.

A mountain ghost with intelligence wasn't something one could find just anywhere. Most of the evil ghosts one encountered didn't even have brains. When they saw someone with heavy yin energy and thought they had an opportunity, they would only pounce. There was no use in taking those in.

Ninth Princess had definitely taken a liking to this mountain ghost too. To me, that meant a capable assistant. Besides, didn't I know her? She was arrogant, but she cared about me quite a lot.

Moreover, the mountain ghost had said earlier that even Wu Zhenghua had fled upon encountering her. She was probably quite powerful. Maybe, when I ran into an enemy in the future, I could release this mountain ghost without warning and avoid losing ground in a battle of magic.

My wife-sister said nothing. The mountain ghost, on the other hand, grew frantic. She struggled and continued to plead. By the end, she was weeping and wailing, crying like a ghost with sobs and whimpers that were frightening to hear.

It seemed my wife-sister considered it for a long while before finally lowering her. "Hmph. Since you've guaranteed her to this extent, tell him where your corpse is buried. From now on, you will be confined in the Soul Urn and obey his wishes. If he wants you to live, you live; if he wants you to die, you die. Are you willing?"

The mountain ghost prostrated herself again and fiercely kowtowed to me.

I didn't dare go over and help her up. Although this mountain ghost looked seventeen or eighteen, with delicate and pleasant features, she had been extremely arrogant earlier, and even her laughter had been terrifying. I guessed she was somewhat stronger than Xijun.

"See that you do." After saying this, my wife-sister ignored me, transformed into a cloud of blood mist, and vanished before my eyes.

I still wanted to exchange a few intimate words with her, but sadly, she appeared and disappeared like a divine dragon, and I had no way to keep her here. Besides, summoning her consumed far too much blood essence. Looking at my ten fingers, their flesh mangled beyond recognition, I suddenly began to feel the pain.

Seeing my wife-sister disappear, the mountain ghost still looked shaken as she glanced left and right.

"What? Thinking of running away now?" I pretended to have someone backing me.

The female mountain ghost hurriedly shook her head, then began jabbering at me again. I couldn't make heads or tails of it; after all, I didn't understand ghost speech. I could only say, "Take me and Xijun to where your bones are buried."

I took out the Soul Urn and discovered that another layer of blood-colored light had appeared over its cracks. It seemed my wife-sister had done it. Although she had openly scolded Xijun, she had secretly lent a hand as well, keeping the Soul Urn from immediately falling apart.

The talisman I had drawn on Xijun's forehead had vanished, and she had returned to looking like an innocent little girl. As soon as I approached, she took the initiative to sit on my shoulder.

My wife-sister really did think of everything. Every time she appeared, she solved everything for me. She was just a little too fierce. If only she could be gentler.

I went over and checked Zhao Qian's condition again, discovering that she had merely passed out. Her body was still somewhat cold, but at least her life wasn't in danger.

It took tremendous effort before I managed to carry Zhao Qian on my back. I followed the mountain ghost toward the woods where her bones were buried.

And sure enough, Zhao Qian weighed at least eighty or ninety pounds. She was heavy. After walking half a mile along the mountain road, I was so exhausted that I truly wanted to throw her into the mountains and be done with it.

But just as I couldn't bear it any longer and was about to drop her, we arrived at the place where her bones were buried.

It was a desolate patch of woodland, already quite close to the road down the mountain. Weeds grew everywhere, mixed with a great many shrubs.

The female mountain ghost obediently pointed out a spot, then stood there and began sobbing and whimpering again.

"This isn't asking you to sell yourself into slavery. Why are you crying so hard?" I spat out, setting Zhao Qian down.

The mountain ghost cried even harder. I ignored her. Women loved to cry anyway, and female ghosts were even worse. Xijun was still the obedient one.

I casually found several hard sticks and was preparing to dig when Lin Feiyu opened the safe, took out a tiny shovel, and began digging for me. "Brother Xia, you were injured just now. Let me do it."

Neither Lin Feiyu nor Uncle Hai dared ask who the blood-clad woman had been just now. But from what I called her, they had guessed she was the ghost-wife from my household. The two old men had privately discussed something behind me earlier and seemed to think it was connected to Senior Zhou Xian. Besides, a trump card released only at such a critical moment—how could they fail to understand? This wasn't something they could casually ask about, so they simply acted as if they had seen nothing.

After digging for a while, we uncovered a pile of jars. The jars were covered in old talismans. Uncle Hai frowned the instant he saw them, then stood there stunned for a long while without saying a word. He probably couldn't understand them.

The talismans had been reduced to nothing but scraps of paper, nearly rotten away. After all, they were things from several centuries ago.

The mountain ghost pointed to one of them and began to cry.

I knew the mountain ghost must have had some grievance, but since my wife-sister had already helped me communicate with her, I didn't ask further. Matters from several centuries ago that could be resolved had been resolved long ago. Those that couldn't had vanished into the river of time. Asking too much would only add to the sorrow.

So I had Lin Feiyu carry the Soul Urn, and the four of us descended the mountain together.

With so much of my blood and energy depleted, I could barely catch my breath. My face was frighteningly pale, and several times I wanted to simply sleep by the roadside. But Uncle Hai was even worse off than I was. As he walked, his tongue nearly lolled out, frightening me into a cold sweat.

Lin Feiyu hurriedly supported him while carrying the Soul Urn in his other arm. Seeing the miserable state of the two old men, I felt rather heartsick.

We stopped and started along the way, and it took us twice as long as usual to descend the mountain. By the time we reached the settlement below, the sky was already bright.

After the rooster crowed, the mountain ghost entered the Soul Urn, and Xijun went into my pocket.

Because the mountain ghost hadn't truly been sealed inside the Soul Urn I had made, I first placed her in the back seat of the car. With Old Man Zhao's funeral imminent, I didn't immediately return to Zhao Qian's residential compound.