I asked my martial uncle what exactly this person's background was.
My martial uncle said that his father, Xie Xuanwu, had been a fellow disciple cultivating at Maoshan in his younger days.
Later, because his heart was crooked, he had been expelled from Maoshan by the Sect Master.
And because my martial uncle had been ambushed back then, Xie Xuanwu had saved his life.
Thus, he owed him a favor. That was why, when Xie Yun came looking for my martial uncle that day, he had gone with him to handle the matter.
My martial uncle frowned and said, "Now that I think about it, there must have been something wrong with that man.
First, he led me out of the Bamboo Forest, and then something happened in the village."
After hearing what my martial uncle said, I pondered it for a while.
Xie Yun's appearance did not seem normal. He had to be connected to what had happened in the village, but I did not know much about him.
Then I asked my martial uncle, "What do you think of Xie Yun? Or rather, how much do you know about him?"
My martial uncle said he did not know much either. He had still been very young at Maoshan back then.
Later, after his father had been driven out of Maoshan, there had been no word of him at all.
The next time he saw him was a few days ago, when he came looking for my martial uncle. To tell the truth, my martial uncle had not recognized him at first.
My mind was a tangled mess, and I could not find a single clue no matter how long I thought about it.
I could not think of anything, but my instincts told me that something was wrong with him.
Everything was too much of a coincidence, so much so that it felt as though it had all been planned.
Before he came to the village, everything had been peaceful. Yet the very night he left, something happened in the village.
When he came to my house that day, he first spoke with my father, and then my father hurried out.
Afterward, I guessed that he must have gone to the Bamboo Forest and taken my martial uncle away.
After my father and martial uncle left that night, something happened in the village.
It was as if someone had deliberately lured them away. How could there be such a coincidence under heaven?
Since I could not figure it out, I stopped thinking about it. Whatever happened, the tall ones would hold up the sky if it fell.
I should have been thinking about how we were going to get out later—or whether we could even get out alive.
We rested there for about half an hour before my martial uncle raised a hand and drew the Yin Horse floating above the well toward him.
Then he handed it to me and said, "Done."
I carefully put away the Yin Horse, then asked my martial uncle what we should do next.
My martial uncle said we should destroy the well first, or it would cause trouble again in the future.
With that, he gathered Spiritual Energy and struck the well with his palm. A thunderous boom rang out, and sand, stones, and clods of earth flew everywhere.
Once the commotion subsided, we looked at the mouth of the well again and saw that it had already been filled level with dirt and rocks.
After doing all that, we prepared to leave. At that moment, however, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.
About fifty or sixty meters away from us, a stone coffin slowly rose from the earth.
When everything settled, the stone coffin remained fixed there, as though it had been there from the beginning.
Suddenly, a voice came from within the stone coffin. It was a very pleasant female voice.
"You ruined this king's plan and still want to leave? I'm afraid you won't be leaving."
As soon as her words fell, the stone coffin exploded with a bang, instantly shattering into pieces.
Only after the dust dispersed did we see the person inside clearly. She stood suspended in midair.
She wore a white, gold-threaded robe, with a red cloak draped behind her.
Her hair was exceptionally long, seemingly reaching almost to her calves, and her pupils were red.
The red cloak behind her and her hair swayed in the wind, making her look extremely eerie.
My martial uncle abruptly pulled me behind him, then said in a grave tone.
"You are the Ghost King."
The woman smiled faintly, then formed an orchid-finger gesture with her right hand and lightly traced it beneath her chin.
"Not bad. You have sharp eyes."
My martial uncle took several steps forward and cupped his hands in salute.
"I do not know which Ghost King is cultivating here. We have disturbed you today, and I ask that you forgive any offense."
The woman—no, the female ghost—said, "Let us put aside the matter of disturbing this king.
"You have ruined this king's plan. No matter what, you will have to give an explanation today."
My martial uncle froze for a moment. "May I ask what plan the Ghost King is referring to?
"My nephew and I came here only because certain events occurred, and we wished to investigate them."
At that, the female ghost's tone turned hostile. "This king's subordinates—the corpses—were slaughtered clean by you.
"And that yin well was for this king's cultivation. Now you have destroyed it as well.
"Do not tell this king that you did not do these things. This king saw it all."
My martial uncle hurriedly explained, "Ghost King, that is not quite right. Everything my nephew and I did today was merely to preserve our lives.
"Besides, those corpses were under your control. Were my nephew and I supposed to let ourselves be butchered at will?"
The female ghost's delicate brows furrowed, and anger surfaced on her face.
"No one invited you here. Since you came and ruined this king's affairs, you must bear the consequences."
My martial uncle gave a cold laugh. "Then what does Your Excellency intend to do?"
The smile on the female ghost's face gradually vanished, slowly transforming into fury.
Then she said coldly, "What do I intend to do? Very simple. Leave your lives behind."
With a sweep of her long sleeve, a huge boulder was lifted from the ground.
It hurtled toward my martial uncle and me with lightning speed. I hurriedly dodged aside.
My martial uncle raised a hand as well, and dozens of bamboo stalks burst from the ground.
They smashed the incoming boulder to pieces. Immediately afterward, the female ghost struck at my martial uncle with her palm.
My martial uncle also raised his hand and met her palm strike head-on. A boom rang out.
A shockwave mixed with shattered stones and dirt spread outward from between my martial uncle and the female ghost.
Standing some distance away, I suddenly felt a fierce wind slam into my face. Tiny stones struck my cheeks, burning with pain.
Before I could even wipe my face, my entire body was sent flying five or six meters away.
Then I slammed heavily onto the ground. Just as I braced myself with both hands to get up, I spat out a mouthful of blood with a wah.
My body had already been injured in the explosion, and now the injuries had piled upon injuries.
I felt around my ribs and found them soft and slack, accompanied by a burst of searing pain.
Several of my ribs must be broken. Otherwise, they couldn't possibly feel like this.
I gritted my teeth and tried several times, but I could not stand. I could only lie there on the ground.
Blood kept flowing from my mouth, and my consciousness grew hazy.
When my martial uncle saw this, his eyes nearly split with rage, and his attacks became even more ruthless.
He launched several palm strikes in succession, every one aimed at vital points.
Then he pulled several talismans from his robes. Unlike before, these talismans were red and yellow.
I had never seen them before. They were not even recorded in the Maoshan Talisman Compendium.
He flung them at the female ghost, and they instantly transformed into several enormous fireballs that shot toward her.
Unlike ordinary fireballs, these flames were blackish-purple.
This entire series of actions happened too quickly, all within an instant.
The female ghost only had time to raise her hands in defense before a series of explosions rang out.
When the smoke cleared, the female ghost looked utterly disheveled. Her hair was loose and wild, and her face was blotched black and white.
The hands she had used to defend herself were blackened, and even the sleeves of her robe had been burned away.
From afar, she looked as if she were wearing an ancient version of a T-shirt, with both sleeves completely gone.
Both her arms were exposed, while the skirt below hung especially long.
She had even lost one shoe, exposing a rather delicate jade-like foot.
She looked like a beggar who had not bathed for years, blackened all over and pitiful beyond measure.
But I did not dare pity her. The aftershock from that single palm strike had nearly taken my life.
The female ghost glared furiously at my martial uncle, her eyes gleaming like rubies.
My martial uncle glared back at her even more furiously and cursed, "