Third Neighbor

"Ah! A ghost!"

A scream tore through the silence of the night.

It also awakened Li Xiuchang, who had been cultivating.

Immediately afterward, scream after scream rang out, and the outside descended into chaos.

He hurriedly ended his cultivation, pushed open the door to the cultivation room, and walked out.

The sounds came from the courtyard. He did not rashly enter it; when danger arose, he should first ensure his own safety.

Li Xiuchang tiptoed to the window and quietly looked outside.

He saw women with disheveled hair, bodies covered in blood, and forms that seemed both real and illusory chasing several outer disciples.

They really are ghosts... Li Xiuchang grew tense.

How could ghosts and evil spirits be running amok in the Immortal Dust Sect, this sacred immortal sect?

The few outer disciples shrieked wildly. From time to time, they looked back and threw several talismans at the female ghosts behind them, but the ghosts dodged almost all of them.

Even when one occasionally struck its target, it had very little effect.

The outer disciples usually devoted most of their minds to practicing their crafts, while also having to divide their attention to cultivate. They lacked combat experience and were indeed unskilled at fighting spells.

What was more, those female ghosts were clearly far from weak.

However, only a small number of outer disciples who had regained consciousness were being chased by the female ghosts. Most were still lost in the illusion.

Wang Long, for example, wore an expression of terror, apparently scared witless, but his eyes were unfocused. Clearly, he had not broken free of the illusion.

Li Xiuchang anxiously looked into the distance. "Why hasn't anyone from the Law Enforcement Hall arrived yet?"

He felt somewhat regretful. If he had known this would happen, he should never have placed the Smoked Spirit Meat production line outside his own door. Then he would not have opened the Courtyard Protection Array, and the Yin souls would not have been able to enter.

Just then, two figures suddenly entered his field of vision.

Li Xiuchang's heart instantly eased, and he completely let down his guard.

One was a white-clad man so handsome it seemed unreal, while the other was a burly man with a face full of rough flesh.

Li Xiuchang did not know the burly man, but the sight of the reliable Senior Brother Zhang Wanzhi filled him with a deep sense of security.

The disciples being pursued by the female ghosts also seemed to have seen their savior when they spotted Zhang Wanzhi, and hurried toward him.

Zhang Wanzhi remained standing without moving. Instead, the burly man took out a bell and gently shook it several times.

Amid the jingling, the female ghosts seemed to have been turned to stone, all of them becoming completely motionless.

The burly man shook the bell a few more times, and all the female ghosts transformed into wisps of green smoke that drifted into it.

Only then did the disciples trapped in the illusions awaken one after another.

After confirming that there was no longer any danger, Li Xiuchang pushed open the door and entered the courtyard.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Zhang. Thank you..." Li Xiuchang looked toward the burly man.

"Mo Tu," the burly man said tersely.

"Thank you for your help, Senior Brother Mo." Li Xiuchang immediately understood the burly man's identity. So he was another one of his neighbors.

He had already been at the sect for a month, and Li Xiuchang had long since asked Wang Long about his other neighbors.

Besides Zhang Wanzhi, the other three seniors in the Eastern Geng District were the "Life-Burning Diviner" Gui Wuyan, Mo Tu, and Chen Changsheng.

Wang Long did not know much about Mo Tu either, only that he was a Soul Master.

As for Chen Changsheng, he was even more forgettable. When Li Xiuchang had first asked about him, Wang Long had not even remembered his name. He had only learned of the man after returning to the Reception Area and looking up the records.

At this time, the other surrounding disciples also gradually gathered around. Still shaken, they thanked Zhang Wanzhi and Mo Tu one after another.

At the same time, they began discussing the origins of the female ghosts.

"How could so many Yin souls appear within the sect?"

"We should report this to the Law Enforcement Hall at once and have someone investigate the source of these Yin souls."

"Exactly. Otherwise, if more Yin souls appear, they may harm our fellow disciples."

At this point, Zhang Wanzhi coughed and said apologetically, "This matter started because of me. I went to visit Junior Brother Mo at his residence and accidentally let loose the Yin souls he commands. I disturbed all of you, Junior Brothers. I'm truly sorry for the trouble."

Everyone froze in surprise. They had not expected this to be what happened, and they all turned their gazes toward Mo Tu.

Mo Tu gave a slight nod. "I am a Soul Master. These Yin souls are all wild ghosts I captured."

Upon hearing the words "Soul Master," several timid disciples involuntarily took a step back. The Soul Master path was also one of the Hundred Cultivation Arts, but it was extremely obscure.

As the name implied, Soul Masters commanded ghosts and souls. Practitioners of this craft were proficient in Ghost Capturing, Ghost Controlling, and Ghost Nurturing.

Those who practiced this path were even rarer than Li Xiuchang's chosen spirit-cooking path. It was not that Soul Masters were weak; it was simply that dealing with evil entities and Yin souls was extremely dangerous, causing most people to shy away.

Zhang Wanzhi sighed and took out a handful of Spirit Stones.

"Today's matter was my fault, and I have wronged everyone. These Spirit Stones are a small token of my sincerity, though they cannot make up for even one ten-thousandth of the guilt in my heart."

With that, he tossed the Spirit Stones in his hand. They divided evenly into dozens of portions and floated before each person, one portion per person.

There was a portion in front of Li Xiuchang as well. He glanced at it and saw that it contained exactly ten low-grade Spirit Stones.

"It was only a small misunderstanding. It's enough that Senior Brother Zhang explained everything. There's no need to be so polite." The Tier 1 Talisman Masters verbally declined, but their bodies had already honestly accepted the Spirit Stones.

Li Xiuchang put away his Spirit Stones, and Wang Long did the same.

With more than a dozen people taking the lead, the others gradually accepted their Spirit Stones as well.

Taking the Spirit Stones meant accepting Zhang Wanzhi's apology, and the matter was considered closed.

Zhang Wanzhi had an excellent reputation among the outer disciples, who already respected him greatly. Now that he had also offered Spirit Stone compensation, whatever slight resentment they had felt completely dissipated.

After all, these disciples were merely Tier 1 craftsmen and Qi Condensation Cultivators. Ten Spirit Stones was already no small sum to them.

The ten fire-tenders, for instance, earned only one Spirit Stone after working an entire day. Now they had merely been frightened and received ten Spirit Stones. They secretly rejoiced, and some even wanted to say: If something this good happens again, call me!

The matter could be considered settled, but Li Xiuchang looked at the courtyard and its surroundings, which were strewn with wreckage, as well as the still-shaken faces of everyone present, and took the initiative to speak.

"That's enough for today. Everyone, go back and rest early. We'll resume work tomorrow."

The fire-tenders and those who collected the smoke had been thinking the same thing, and they all took their leave.

In the blink of an eye, only Li Xiuchang, Wang Long, Zhang Wanzhi, and Mo Tu remained in the courtyard.

Li Xiuchang and Wang Long began cleaning up inside and outside the courtyard. Zhang Wanzhi and Mo Tu helped as well, and before long, they had restored the courtyard to its original state, gathering up the toppled fire-stove artifacts and all the Smoked Spirit Meat.

In the end, Li Xiuchang had not suffered any real losses.

However, today's incident had taught Li Xiuchang a few lessons. Placing the spirit-meat production line outside his own home was certainly convenient, but it also carried hidden dangers.

If there had not been so many people gathered outside his door, they would not have attracted the Yin souls' attack. Under normal circumstances, he also would not have left the Courtyard Protection Array open, so the Yin souls would not have been able to enter his courtyard.

Although today had merely been an accident, who could say whether another kind of accident might happen next time?

Having learned from his mistake, Li Xiuchang asked Wang Long, "Senior Brother, keep an eye out for me and see whether there are any other suitable places where we can smoke the meat."

"All right. I'll ask around when I get back." Wang Long agreed and took his leave as well.

Zhang Wanzhi seemed quite guilt-ridden over what had happened that night. With an apologetic look, he said,

"Junior Brother, if you plan to move the workshop elsewhere, I can help provide a place. Besides, using this courtyard to smoke spirit meat is truly wasteful. Why not put it to use? You could earn a sum of Spirit Stones as well."