Junior Sister 2

The villagers closed the ancestral hall's doors.

However, the wooden doors were already rotted, with gaps everywhere.

"Several Daoist Masters..."

The villagers in the ancestral hall were both scared and helpless. Their gazes constantly shifted between Lin Jue's group and Daoist Master Qing Xuan's group. Ultimately, whether it was because they felt more familiar with Lin Jue's group from walking together, or because they heard from the previous conversation that Lin Jue's group would be more reliable tonight, their eyes settled on Lin Jue.

Junior Sister held the torch, illuminating the way for him.

The two soldiers, clad in armor and holding bows, looked very imposing. Their faces were painted with vibrant colors, like the guardians flanking the deities in a temple.

"Don't be afraid, everyone. We have many people here. Just be careful, and nothing will happen. We just need to wait for my Senior Brother to return after dealing with the demons," Lin Jue comforted them. "However, I apologize for the inconvenience. You'll have to spend the night in this ancestral hall. Don't go home, or you might encounter misfortune on your way back."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Time passed slowly. There seemed to be no movement outside.

This seemed good, at least indicating Third Senior Brother was not in danger. Yet, it also seemed not so good, as perhaps Third Senior Brother hadn't found them.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard from outside.

"Is someone coming?"

Just as Lin Jue was about to say if it was Third Senior Brother returning, he heard a faint wail amidst the footsteps.

"Oh, my son..."

The villagers in the ancestral hall were startled. Some felt the voice sounded familiar.

Lin Jue, holding the cleaver, walked to the entrance of the ancestral hall, his fingers gripping the whistle stick tightly, a surge of anger rising in his throat.

Junior Sister naturally held the torch, illuminating the way for him.

The two exchanged a glance. Even Junior Sister seemed to be holding her breath, ready to exhale.

This young girl is surprisingly reliable.

Lin Jue thought this, then saw that Daoist Master Qing Xuan had also taken a wooden sword and stood beside them. Their eyes met, and then they each found a gap in the door panels to look outside.

Outside was dim, with only moonlight. In the moonlight, two figures stumbled forward.

Lin Jue's vigilance increased.

As they approached, he realized it was actually a young girl and an old woman.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The two knocked on the ancestral hall's door.

"Oh, my son..."

The old woman cried out as she knocked.

Lin Jue was on alert, but Daoist Master Qing Xuan was stunned.

"Why are you two here?"

His tone suggested he knew them.

Lin Jue looked at Daoist Master Qing Xuan in confusion.

"It seems to be Master Zhang's mother and sister," Daoist Master Qing Xuan said, not entirely certain. "When we arrived today, we went to his house first and met his mother and sister. Master Zhang had already gone out. They wanted us to stay at their house, but we came to the ancestral hall."

The villagers behind them heard the voices clearly and quickly gathered around.

"Why are they here?"

"There are Ghosts and Monsters outside!"

"Quick, open the door!"

The villagers spoke one after another.

"Oh, my son! Daoist Master! Daoist Master Qing Xuan! Hurry and open the door! Is my son injured?" the old woman's voice was sorrowful, and she cried repeatedly. "I dreamed my son was eaten by those ghosts from the village entrance!"

"Sister-in-law, why are you running here in the middle of the night?" a villager couldn't help but shout. "It's dangerous outside!"

"I've come to find my son! How is my son? Where is my son? Is he here?" The old woman could barely speak clearly, but the urgency in her words was moving.

"Oh dear..."

The villagers couldn't help but look at Lin Jue and Daoist Master Qing Xuan.

Even Master Zhang, who was sitting on a chair in the ancestral hall and had just been bandaged, recognized his mother's voice and almost sat up in a hurry.

"Is that my mother?"

"Don't worry," Lin Jue said, pressing on the door panel. He glanced back at the villagers, then at Master Zhang, and then asked the person outside, "What is your son's name?"

"My son is inside? Is he inside? I heard my son's voice!"

"Madam, please tell us first, what is your son's name?"

"How is my son?"

"His name is Zhang Ling!" It was the young girl supporting the old woman who spoke out in distress. "My elder brother's surname is Zhang, his given name is Ling, and his courtesy name is Shou Chang!"

"Where does your elder brother serve?"

"My son..."

"My elder brother isn't on duty anywhere! He's training martial arts in the county!"

The little girl answered again, while the old woman was already disoriented and not listening to anyone, only calling out for her son.

Lin Jue breathed a sigh of relief.

The villagers, understanding his intention, had a clever one ask, "What was your late grandfather's name?"

"Is my son still alive..."

"Grandfather passed away before I was born. I don't remember clearly, but I think Mother mentioned his name was Zhang Hua..." The little girl grew more nervous the more her mother called out frantically.

"That's right."

The villager who asked said.

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Then he opened the wooden board.

To be honest, the door panel was already rotten. If any Spirits and Monsters were to invade, it wouldn't be able to stop much. In fact, the largest gap was more than enough for the strange bird from today to fly in.

The old woman, supported by the little girl, stumbled inside, crying and wailing as she walked.

As soon as she crossed the threshold, the little girl saw the three people at the door and was startled. The old woman, however, couldn't see clearly and only saw the light from a torch, so her steps faltered, and she squinted to look over.

Then she looked towards the ancestral hall.

Zhang Da had already stood up, leaning on a chair. The old woman could see her son clearly and immediately, supported by the little girl, stumbled towards Zhang Da.

"My son! You're alive! It's good that you're alive! I told you not to go, not to go, but you wouldn't listen. I dreamt you were eaten by ghosts..."

"Mother..."

The mother and son worried about each other, their affection deep and sincere.

"Why have you come here?" Daoist Master Qing Xuan asked.

"Big brother went out today, and Mother was very worried, especially since he hadn't returned for so long. I finally coaxed her to sleep, but she suddenly woke up, saying she dreamt Big Brother was eaten by ghosts. Coincidentally, I, I couldn't hold my tongue and said I thought I heard a scream like Big Brother's. When Mother heard that and saw Big Brother still wasn't back, she insisted on coming to the ancestral hall to find the two Daoist priests." The little girl's reasoning was quite clear. "I told her there were ghosts on the road, but she wasn't afraid. I couldn't persuade her, so I had to support her here."

Everyone listened, their emotions complex.

Some marveled at the mother-son connection, how a mother could sense her son's injury in her dreams. Others marveled at the depth of their mother-son love; even if there were ghosts on the road that could scare most people away, what could stop them?

Lin Jue's eyes flickered.

He couldn't help but suspect that the malevolent spirits, afraid to enter the ancestral hall but resentful of Zhang Da, had used a dream to awaken Zhang's mother, and then, exploiting this maternal affection, wanted to lure Zhang Da away.

He glanced at Daoist Master Qing Xuan.

It seemed he thought the same.

Meanwhile, the mother and son beside them were already holding hands.

"Son, are you alright?"

"I'm fine..."

"You're injured and you say you're fine! How badly are you hurt? Is it serious? How did you get hurt?"

"Just a minor injury."

"Oh, you're bleeding so much!" Zhang's mother was startled again, her heart aching. Tears streamed down her face. "How can just a bandage do? Hurry back with me, let me clean it with some medicine, and we'll get a doctor tomorrow."

Lin Jue's ears perked up at this, and he immediately became vigilant.

"Old Madam! Please stay here tonight. That Monster is likely already fixated on Zhang Da and cannot leave!"

"How can that be? He'll bleed to death here!"

"Mother, listen to the young Daoist priest."

"Such a young Daoist priest! What could he possibly understand?"

"Mother, I'm not going back."

"If you're not going back, fine. I'll go back and get the hemostatic powder for you," Zhang's mother said.

"Old Madam, if there are truly demons and monsters outside, they are intent on killing Zhang Da. If you go out alone without Zhang Da, it's very likely that the demons and monsters will target you, using that to lure Zhang Da out."

"Oh dear..."

Everyone was in a stalemate.

Lin Jue lowered his gaze--

His little fox was sitting obediently beside him, but it kept tilting its head, staring at the old woman as if extremely puzzled.

"Mother, stop being stubborn!" The little girl beside her couldn't help but say, whether out of concern for her brother or fear of the Ghosts and Monsters, she had started crying. "Just listen to the Daoist priests!"

When multiple people speak, it's normal to turn towards the speaker, especially when the little girl was crying so pitifully. Almost everyone subconsciously turned their heads to look at her.

What they didn't see was that the old woman had already raised her hand.

Her palm instantly transformed into sharp bird claws.

"My son..."

The bird's claws flashed with a cold glint, attacking unexpectedly towards Zhang Da's throat.

At this moment, no magic could be cast in time.

The only thing that could be done was with a cleaver.

"Swish..."

A cleaver struck the "Zhang Mother's" bird claws, causing them to deflect and scratch Zhang Da's face instead.

The crowd hadn't even reacted before they turned their heads towards Zhang Mother in unison, only to be greatly alarmed by what they saw.

Even Zhang Da, who practiced martial arts, had no defenses against his own mother, who drew three bloody scratches across his face.

"Puff..."

A soft sound came from the side, followed by an explosion of black smoke.

Everyone turned their heads again, only to see that the "little girl" had transformed into a large bird emitting black smoke, with a faint green glow in its eyes, flapping its wings as it flew out.

"Puff..."

Another soft sound.

Zhang family's old mother also transformed into the same large bird, flapping its wings, struggling to fly up, and flying out.

"Don't let them escape!"

"Good sirs! Shoot the birds!"

The crowd finally reacted, and each unleashed their skills.

As a wooden sword lunged, the cleaver swung down again, grazing the monster bird's body and taking a few wisps of black smoke with it.

Junior Sister exhaled Yang Qi, startling them into a panicked evasion.

The flames that burst forth forced them towards the roof.

More arrows pierced through the firelight, either embedding themselves in the roof beams with a "dodo dodo" sound or shattering roof tiles with a "ding dang" clang as they shot into the night sky.

Hoes and shoulder poles swung wildly in the air.

There was also a little fox, leaping as high as a person's knee, ten feet away from the bird, extending its claws as if to grab it.

The ancestral hall descended into chaos.

The panic was also a good thing; there was no time to think or fear, only the surge of bloodlust, as if it gathered with the number of people. Anger boiled similarly amidst the curses. Even ordinary villagers, facing these shapeshifting, cunning Monsters, threw caution to the wind, cursing as they swung with all their might.

However, the monster birds were very fast, and their ability to fly allowed them to evade many attacks.

One monster bird found an opening and immediately darted out of the ancestral hall.

The other monster bird, which Lin Jue had struck with his cleaver, became clumsy. It was grazed by several more arrows and singed by flames, making it almost unable to fly. It could only land on the roof beams, using them for cover.

"Son..."

"You're peeing on your mother's head, cursing, and ruining my cultivation. This mother will never forgive you even in death..."

A hoarse, woman's voice echoed from above.

Lin Jue pretended not to hear and blocked the gap in the door.

The two archers continued their heavy steps, walking to the side of the ancestral hall's wall, finding their angles, nocking arrows, drawing their bows, and aiming at the large bird on the roof beams.

"Swoosh..."

An arrow shot out.

The large bird suddenly exploded into smoke, obscuring almost the entire ancestral hall. It was not only foul-smelling but also suppressed the torches, dimming them and plunging the hall into darkness.

"Wind..."

"Bang..."

Wind and fire intertwined in the ancestral hall, dispelling the black smoke.

The torches brightened again.

The good news was that the monster bird was no longer on the roof beams. The bad news was that there were now two Junior Sisters in the ancestral hall, both staring blankly at Lin Jue.

"Where did the monster bird go?"

"Who? Who are you?"

"Who are you?"

"Senior Brother, what's going on?"

The two Junior Sisters, in identical attire, with the same fair and delicate faces, the same solemn yet dazed expressions and tones, and the same intelligent eyes.

"..."

Lin Jue frowned as he looked at them, then sighed and said, "You have truly chosen the wrong person."

Neither of the Junior Sisters spoke for a moment.

This was indeed the case—

Regardless of this Junior Sister's personality or her intelligence, she would not have said "Senior Brother, I'm the real one" or "Senior Brother, kill her" at this moment.

"Junior Sister, exhale a breath of pure yang energy."

"Senior Brother, I've exhaled all my energy."

"Senior Brother, I've exhaled all my energy."

Two voices rang out simultaneously, identical in tone.

"Huh?"

Lin Jue was surprised.

He then opened his mouth and inhaled, exhaling two breaths of pure yang energy, one onto each junior sister.

However, there was no reaction from either.

This was rather interesting.

They were still just struggling on their deathbeds.