Ghost Oath

I watched my martial uncle jerk his chin at the female ghost. "What about her? Just leave her here?"

My martial uncle was out of ideas too, so he looked at the female ghost and asked what she planned to do from now on.

The female ghost raised her head to look at my martial uncle, then turned to look at me.

I caught a trace of "excitement" in her eyes?

Damn! She wasn't thinking of making a meal out of me, was she?

Then the female ghost looked at me and said timidly, "Um... can I follow you?"

I froze, my mouth falling into an O as I stared at the female ghost in utter disbelief.

Who knew how long I stayed like that? When I finally came back to my senses, I started playing the victim.

I looked at the female ghost with a face full of terror. "Big sister! Killing your subordinates was to save my own life.

"It was truly unavoidable. My martial uncle was the one who destroyed that well; it had nothing to do with me.

"You're in this state because my martial uncle made the move too. I was just there to make up the numbers from beginning to end.

"Just because I took a glance from the side, I nearly lost my little life earlier.

"Even if you're angry, you can't take it out on me! As the old saying goes, every grievance has its source, every debt its debtor.

"You should go find the person who turned you into this state. How innocent is this little brother?

"Besides, you're a mighty Ghost King. Forgive me for speaking bluntly, little brother here—

"If you wanted to kill me, it'd be as easy as crushing a bug.

"And little brother here is just an ordinary person, with nothing exceptional about me.

"My family is poor as church mice, and there were no heavenly signs or earthly omens when I was born.

"Why are you so determined to cling to little brother here? I beg Ghost King, spare my life.

"How about this? Tell me what you like about me, and I'll change it, alright?"

After hearing that whole speech, my martial uncle looked at me with grief and indignation written all over his face.

My face reddened, and I lowered my head, thinking about how I had sold my martial uncle out completely just now.

I couldn't help feeling that I was... well, whatever. In any case, the atmosphere was incredibly awkward.

With my head lowered, I twisted the corner of my clothes in my hands. I was so embarrassed my toes could have dug out a three-bedroom apartment.

My martial uncle glared at me until his eyes nearly split. "You... you coward.

"My poor senior brother had a lifetime of glorious reputation, yet he ended up with a grandson like you."

Then my martial uncle stood there grumbling on and on for ages.

I lowered my head and shut my eyes. Let him speak with righteous eloquence all he wanted—I simply wasn't listening.

After a while, my martial uncle seemed to have talked himself tired and stopped, glaring at me resentfully.

I had no idea whether my brain had short-circuited or what.

But I replied, "That's it?"

With a flick of his wrist, a thumb-thick bamboo switch appeared out of thin air in my martial uncle's hand.

Then he let out a furious roar. "Today, I'll cleanse the sect on behalf of my senior brother!"

Seeing that, I got to my feet and ran for my life, while my martial uncle shouted behind me.

He kept yelling, "Don't run! Don't run!"

As I ran, I shouted back over my shoulder, "If you don't chase me, I won't run!"

Just like that, we ran two laps around the underground space before we truly couldn't run anymore.

My martial uncle braced both hands on his knees and gulped for air, while I leaned against a rock and looked at him with lingering fear.

I spoke first, asking my martial uncle if we could call a truce for now and fight again later.

My martial uncle agreed, and I started walking back toward where we had come from.

Halfway there, my martial uncle called out to stop me. I asked what was wrong, and he told me to help him over.

I saw that he was still clutching that bamboo switch, so I told him he had to throw it away first.

My martial uncle flicked his hand, and the bamboo switch vanished into thin air. Only then did I dare go over and help him.

Thus, uncle and nephew slowly made their way back to where we had started.

After sitting down and catching his breath, my martial uncle asked the female ghost why she wanted to follow me.

The female ghost said she did not want to follow me because of what I was now, but because she believed in what I would become.

My martial uncle pondered for a while, nodded, and said to the female ghost, "Go on."

The female ghost organized her thoughts before saying, "When I was alive, I knew a little face-reading. I can see that his features are extraordinary.

"And he possesses the strongest attribute, so I'm betting on his future, not his present.

"Before he grows strong, I can lend him a helping hand.

"Of course, in return, once he grows strong in the future, he must help me with some things as well.

"I also want to see the outside world. Having someone from the outside world by my side is always a good thing.

"There's another reason. Without you, with my current strength, I simply can't break through this great formation.

"But if you help operate it a little, it'll be much easier."

I looked at the female ghost suspiciously. "Wasn't that formation already open?

"It was open when we came down. How could you possibly be unable to get out?"

The female ghost replied, "That formation traps ghosts and yin entities, but it doesn't trap people.

"Ordinary people won't do, but an ordinary cultivator can open it with ease."

My martial uncle glanced at the female ghost, then asked, "Is that all you seek?

"And you said that once my nephew grows stronger, he'll have to help you. Can you tell us exactly what you need help with?"

The female ghost said that while she had been here, the Corpse King had ordered her about at will, humiliating her to the utmost and beating or cursing her at the slightest provocation.

Once they got out and encountered him, a fierce battle would surely be unavoidable. Most likely, it would be a fight to the death.

But the female ghost was no match for the Corpse King, so she wanted to borrow my hand and join forces with me against the Corpse King.

Of course, she meant my hand "after I grew strong."

Hearing that, my martial uncle nodded. "What you seek and your motives both make sense.

"But how can you guarantee that you won't harm my nephew in the future?

"This old man won't believe such empty words from you alone."

The female ghost raised her head and looked at my martial uncle. "Then what would make you believe me?"

My martial uncle spoke with a solemn expression. "Unless you make a Ghost Oath. Then this old man will believe you this once."

I saw the female ghost hesitate for a moment, as though she were considering it.

After a while, the female ghost seemed to have made up her mind.

Then she said to my martial uncle in a resolute tone, "Fine, I agree."

My martial uncle nodded, signaling for her to swear the oath.

The female ghost stood up, raised three fingers toward the sky, and said solemnly:

"Today, I, Ghost King Nangong Yiyi, swear this oath here.

"After leaving this place, I will never harm the two before me.

"If I violate this oath, may my soul scatter and my spirit disperse."

The moment the female ghost finished speaking, a streak of yellow light flew in from who knew where and plunged straight into her forehead.

The female ghost's body swayed, then returned to stillness.

After witnessing all that, my martial uncle relaxed considerably.

Even his tone toward her softened, and he no longer spoke in that stiff, hard manner.

Then my martial uncle said, "Let's go. We'll get out first and talk afterward."

At that, I prepared to stand up, but before I had even risen, the female ghost's voice came over.

"Wait."

My martial uncle and I looked at the female ghost questioningly.

Hadn't everything already been settled? What was this woman trying to stir up now?

The female ghost said somewhat embarrassedly that she had to be sealed first.

Otherwise, the formation would sense her aura and attack her. If she were struck by the formation again, her soul would scatter and her spirit would disperse.

Hearing that, my martial uncle took out a small porcelain bottle, opened it, and gestured for the female ghost to enter.

The female ghost smiled faintly, turning into a wisp of red light and entering the porcelain bottle.

My martial uncle capped the bottle, stuck a piece of Talisman Paper over it, and tucked it into his clothes. Then he said, "Let's go."

I asked my martial uncle how we were supposed to get out when the path we had come down had collapsed. He said it was no problem.

He told me to stand beside him, so I walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

Then my martial uncle grabbed my shoulder with one hand and formed a sword-finger gesture with the other.

He suddenly pointed upward, and several bamboo stalks as thick as bowls sprang up beneath our feet.

They carried my martial uncle and me upward toward that opening, the bamboo growing longer and longer.

I looked back and felt that the bamboo behind us was growing thinner and thinner.

The sound of rushing wind filled my ears, and I wondered what we would do if it broke and we fell.

But it was only a false alarm. Before long, my martial uncle and I were standing on solid ground again.

Then we followed the path we had come by until we stood in the graveyard on the back mountain.

Only after breathing in the fresh air did my body and heart finally truly relax.

I took that electronic watch out of my bag and checked the time. It was around ten at night.

I had no idea how long we had been inside, but it definitely wasn't the same night we had entered.

Then I asked my martial uncle, "Martial Uncle, do you know how long we were in there?"

My martial uncle said about four days, if he remembered correctly.

I answered with an "Oh," thinking that no matter how many days it had been, it was good enough that we had made it out alive.