The Third Night

An Yang rushed to the window, watching Yan Chixia's figure gradually vanish into the night, and only then let out a breath of relief. When he turned back, he saw Nie Xiaoqian standing behind him, dressed in white, staring at him in disbelief.

An Yang was momentarily stunned. "Didn't you leave?"

Nie Xiaoqian shook her head, hesitating slightly, then said, "Young Master An Yang, you've known I'm a female ghost all along, haven't you?"

An Yang paused for a moment, then nodded. "That's right."

"Then why aren't you afraid of me? Why are you still with me?"

"I didn't mean to hide it from you. I just think there's no real difference between a ghost and a person. Even though you're a ghost, as long as you don't harm me, we can still be friends."

"No difference between a person and a ghost..." Nie Xiaoqian stared at him, her expression bleak. "Do you really think so? But everyone says ghosts are born to harm people, that humans and ghosts are destined to be separate paths!"

An Yang said seriously, "You can't believe everything people say. Look, we both have intelligence, thoughts, even emotions. We both have our joys and sorrows. We can both fall in love with someone. There are bad people among humans, and I believe there must be good ghosts among ghosts too. You're so beautiful, smart, gentle, reasonable, and you've never harmed me—you must be a good ghost!"

Nie Xiaoqian's face turned sorrowful, and she said pitifully, "But I've harmed many people before!"

An Yang immediately replied, "Then you must have been forced to!"

Nie Xiaoqian stared at him, her expression captivating, and asked softly, "How do you know?"

"It has to be that way!"

Nie Xiaoqian stepped forward. "Are you so sure?"

Familiar with the plot, An Yang answered decisively, "I would never be wrong!"

Nie Xiaoqian was moved. Just as she took another step forward, she looked anxiously out the window. "Ah, that Taoist is back."

An Yang's expression changed. He quickly went to the window and, by the moonlight, indeed saw a figure walking back from afar, muttering to himself. The distance made it hard to hear clearly, but he could still guess what he was saying.

"Where did that female ghost run off to? Logically, since she revealed her form, she shouldn't be able to escape. How come I didn't even see her shadow after she went out the window?"

An Yang was startled. He quickly took out the sniper rifle case, assembled it with the skill of Intermediate Firearms Mastery, turned on the infrared switch of the scope, attached the silencer, aimed at a large tree behind Yan Chixia, and fired.

"Chirp."

The faint sound was too subtle for Yan Chixia to hear, but the bullet still tore through the night with powerful kinetic energy, accurately hitting the center of the tree trunk with a dull thud. The cavitation effect nearly shattered the bowl-thick trunk!

"Boom."

"What was that!"

Yan Chixia turned sharply, seeing a small tree slowly falling. His expression hardened, and he nimbly chased after it.

"Stop right there!"

An Yang fired a few more shots, luring Yan Chixia farther and farther away.

Nie Xiaoqian watched from behind, her eyes initially flickering with curiosity. When she understood what An Yang was doing, she no longer cared where the box came from or what the long object was—only gratitude remained in her eyes.

After a moment's hesitation, she stepped forward.

"Young Master An Yang, I... I have to go."

An Yang put away the gun.

"Alright, go quickly!"

Nie Xiaoqian raised her hand, her fingers curling like an orchid as she lightly covered her face, seeming a bit shy. "Thank you for today. Otherwise, that Taoist wouldn't have let me off easily."

An Yang said, "It was nothing."

Nie Xiaoqian slowly stepped back, gracefully bowed, and said shyly, "Then I'll take my leave for tonight."

Li Yu nodded. "Mm, I'll still be waiting for you here tomorrow."

Nie Xiaoqian looked surprised. "You're not leaving tomorrow?"

An Yang said, "What? Do you want me to leave?"

Nie Xiaoqian quickly waved her hands. "No, it's very dangerous here. There's something that sucks people's essence..."

Before she could finish, a rough voice from below interrupted her.

"Brother An Yang, are you alright?"

Yan Chixia was back, and moving fast!

Nie Xiaoqian cast a worried glance at An Yang, then finally said, "In any case, this isn't a place to stay long. You should leave as soon as possible."

With that, her figure slowly faded away.

"Boom."

The window was smashed open as Yan Chixia flew into the room. He spotted An Yang at once and let out a relieved breath. "Brother An Yang, I'm glad you're alright. I was afraid I'd fallen for those monsters' decoy tactic!"

An Yang smiled calmly. "I'm fine, Brother Yan. Go back and rest. If anything happens, I'll call for you."

"Then don't sleep too soundly. I suspect those monsters won't let you off so easily." Yan Chixia nodded, but before leaving, he still took the time to offer a few words of caution.

The second night in A Chinese Ghost Story passed peacefully.

At dawn, An Yang saw Ning Caichen off. Without having met Nie Xiaoqian, he wouldn't come back to bid her farewell, and the rest of the plot had nothing to do with him. But to prevent that stubborn scholar from having another brainwave and running back, An Yang escorted him all the way to the boundary marker of Guo Bei County. He even stood guard there until nightfall, then let out a long breath.

"Huff..."

Finally rid of Ning Caichen!

An Yang bought a long blade in Guo Bei County, took out the M1911 pistol, and hung up three lanterns just like Ning Caichen did in the original story before daring to cross the wolf-infested woods—though the wolves in the film looked more like a pack of dogs.

Soon, a rustling sound came from behind him. An Yang's nerves instantly tensed. He hung the long blade at his waist and quietly released the safety on the pistol, but after just a few steps, the sounds vanished.

"Huh? Where are the wolves?"

No sooner had he spoken than a long wolf howl rang out behind him.

"Awooo~"

An Yang spun around sharply, pistol aimed behind him, but saw nothing. In a daze, he thought he caught a white shadow in the tree. Looking up, he saw Nie Xiaoqian smirking down at him, and he finally remembered the original plot.

"So it was you. You scared me!"

In the original story, Ning Caichen had crossed the wolf woods alone at night, only to be helped by Nie Xiaoqian, who also teased him by mimicking a wolf howl.

Nie Xiaoqian was startled. She flew down.

"How did you know I was here?"

An Yang thought for a moment, quietly stowing the pistol, and said, "I had a feeling you'd come to help me, so I spotted you."

Nie Xiaoqian smiled shyly and walked with him toward Lanruo Temple.

"Why are you going back to Lanruo Temple?"

"You said you've harmed many people, that someone must be forcing you. Of course I want to rescue you!"

Nie Xiaoqian's steps faltered. She quickly said, "No, you can't defeat Grandmother. Give up this idea and leave at once!"

An Yang stopped too, looking at her. "What if... what if I help you regain your freedom? Would you be willing to give up the chance to reincarnate for me and remain a wandering ghost forever?"

Nie Xiaoqian froze. Her exquisite face looked even paler under the moonlight. She lowered her gaze and stared at An Yang in a daze.

"If you don't mind that I'm just a female ghost, if you don't care about the world's judgment—whoever saves me has my gratitude. I ought to give myself to them in return, whether as a servant or a concubine, without regret. Let alone you..."

"But humans and ghosts walk different paths. We can't be together. I would slowly drain your yang energy, and I can only appear at night."

An Yang nodded. "Alright. Remember your promise."

Nie Xiaoqian's expression shifted. "No, Grandmother has a thousand years of cultivation. You can't defeat her!"

An Yang's gaze flickered slightly. "I have to try. Even if I can't, there's still Brother Yan. I'll kill her sooner or later."

Nie Xiaoqian said, "No! Grandmother will kill you. It's not worth it for me."

An Yang didn't answer. He walked in silence for a while, then pointed ahead. "Lanruo Temple is here. Brother Yan must be inside. You should go back first."

Nie Xiaoqian stood still, not moving.

An Yang took two steps forward, then turned his head. "If you can't bear to part with me, I'll wait for you later at the lake pavilion... the attic."

He had meant to say Lake Heart Pavilion, but recalling that in the original story Ning Caichen went there that very night and nearly got caught by the Thousand-Year Tree Demon—only saved when Nie Xiaoqian lured him away with her qin music—he feared the tree demon might be there, so he changed it to the attic on the spot.

Without waiting for Nie Xiaoqian's reply, An Yang stepped into Lanruo Temple.

"Who's there?"

A gleaming sword light swept toward him, stopping just before his neck. Yan Chixia held his longsword, his face fierce as he demanded.

"It's... me."

"Brother An Yang, why are you back? Didn't you leave this morning?"

An Yang gently pushed the sword aside and said cautiously, "I guessed that Brother Yan and the demon of Lanruo Temple have reached an irreconcilable point and will soon do battle. I feared Brother Yan might be outmatched, so I came specially to lend you a hand."

Yan Chixia snorted. "A frail scholar like you—what help could you possibly be? Other than getting yourself killed, you can do nothing!"

An Yang said, "I heard from Xiaoqian that the old demon here is a Thousand-Year Tree Demon, so I went to Guo Bei County and bought a few barrels of oil. I'll burn her to death!"

Yan Chixia was silent for a moment, a little moved, then said, "This Xiaoqian you speak of—she's that female ghost, right?"

An Yang nodded. "She's a good ghost. Her life story is tragic. I'll tell you slowly once we're inside."

Yan Chixia sheathed his sword and walked back, asking as he went, "How did you know I've reached an irreconcilable point with the demon here?"

"That's simple. Brother Yan hates evil like an enemy, and the demons here grow bolder by the day, killing innocent people indiscriminately. Brother Yan would never tolerate that!"

Yan Chixia gave him a surprised look, clearly pleased by the flattery. He nodded. "Not bad. But evil cannot triumph over good. I don't need your help to wipe them out!"

"But I want to rid the people of this scourge too. Even if I only make things a little easier for Brother Yan, I'll be satisfied!"

The two of them talked as they walked deeper into Lanruo Temple, quickly hitting it off again.

An Yang began to tell Nie Xiaoqian's story. Yan Chixia, sharp-tongued but soft-hearted, cold on the outside but warm within, sighed deeply as he listened, yet still insisted that humans and ghosts were on different paths and told him to keep his distance from Nie Xiaoqian.

Late at night, An Yang went upstairs.