The Cui Family of East Town

As Zheng Que pondered, he looked up at the sky. It was nearing the end of the Si hour, and the sun was already beginning to sink, though its light still burned fiercely.

He silently reckoned the time, then walked straight to the dead tree, sat cross-legged beneath it, activated the Spirit Eye Technique, and fixed his gaze on Qing Li, hanging from a high branch.

At that moment, the yin energy around Qing Li had stopped wavering, but it had clearly thinned considerably. The black aura rising from her body had faded until it was nearly invisible. Through the Spirit Eye Technique, the Female Hanging Ghost's dress looked exceptionally white.

Time drifted by. It was not until around a quarter past noon that the yin energy around Qing Li finally recovered completely. Her entire form was once more shrouded in a chill aura, and her pure-white dress seemed to have been veiled in a thick layer of black gauze, its brightness and darkness blurred beyond recognition.

"A one-hour period of weakness..."

"The side effects of the Spirit Descent Technique seem rather severe."

"Still, though Qing Li is very weak during that hour, she isn't completely without fighting ability."

"Only right after the Spirit Descent Technique is lifted does Qing Li become completely unable to move for about ten breaths..."

Zheng Que reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of the Spirit Descent Technique in his mind. Once he confirmed that Qing Li had fully recovered, he closed his eyes and began cultivating.

He skillfully gathered his thoughts, sinking his consciousness into the void. Again and again, he drew in the frigid aura and absorbed it into his body...

Zheng Que's body temperature slowly fell as the yin energy and spiritual energy within him rapidly grew. Before he knew it, he opened his eyes. The Wide Hall lay in ruins before him, and icy winds howled through its broken walls.

The yellowed Life and Death Book lay open before him. Black energy streamed from between his brows, pouring into the book like a long dragon.

Zheng Que looked at his remaining lifespan in the Life and Death Book: sixteen years, seven months, and ten days.

Three days left...

※※※

At dusk, Zheng Que finished cultivating and left the ruined temple with Qing Li, heading home.

The road was deserted and desolate. The sound of his footsteps echoed quietly through the streets and alleys, where he was all alone.

As he rounded a corner, Zheng Que immediately spotted an old man standing outside his home. The man wore a well-worn short robe and had a sweat towel wrapped around his head. He looked anxious, repeatedly wiping away his sweat with his sleeve.

The old man was short and thin, with dark skin and an honest-looking face. His brow was furrowed with worry, as though he had run into some serious trouble.

One look at his face was enough for Zheng Que to recognize Cui Fugui, the head of the Cui Family of East Town. The Cui family had once been a large household, but disaster had struck them one after another. Now, only father and daughter remained, relying on each other.

Changfu Town was small. Though Zheng Que had no particular ties with the Cui family, he had run into them on the streets a few times before. They were acquaintances, but not close.

Cui Fugui spotted Zheng Que too and hurried over, saying urgently, "Zheng Que, I heard you can perform magic now, and that you even drove out a ghost for Old Zhao's family..."

Before he could finish, Cui Fugui suddenly noticed a translucent figure following not far behind Zheng Que. Between its tangled strands of hair, a pair of scarlet eyes was fixed on him.

A ghost!

Cui Fugui's face blanched with fright. He tried to turn and run, but his legs wouldn't obey. He staggered like a drunk and nearly fell after taking just one step.

Zheng Que quickly caught him and asked, "Uncle Cui, what do you need me for?"

As he spoke, Zheng Que had already activated the Spirit Eye Technique. In his vision, Cui Fugui was entirely gray, without the slightest halo. Everything seemed normal; he was just an ordinary person.

Once Zheng Que confirmed there was nothing wrong with Cui Fugui, he immediately let go. Seeing that the old man was still staring in terror at Qing Li beside him, Zheng Que quickly explained, "She's my Ghost Servant. She won't hurt anyone without my command, so don't worry, Uncle Cui."

Only after hearing that she wouldn't hurt anyone did Cui Fugui finally relax. Even so, he hurriedly backed away several steps, clearly trying to keep as far from Qing Li as possible.

After steadying himself, Cui Fugui didn't dare waste any more time. He blurted out, "My, my family's been having strange things happen, too."

"Zheng Que, if you can command ghosts, you must have learned some real skills. You have to help me!"

"If you're willing to help, I'll give you half of our household's food from now on!"

"Whatever you ask, if my family can manage it, we won't refuse!"

At this, Zheng Que remained calm and didn't agree immediately. He still didn't know what sort of strange things Cui Fugui's family had encountered.

If Cui Fugui wanted his help dealing with some especially powerful ghost, Zheng Que didn't have the ability to do that yet.

Thinking this over, he gave a slight shake of his head. "Uncle Cui, I don't even know what's happening in your home yet. How can I help?"

"You'd better tell me exactly what happened first!"

Cui Fugui came back to his senses and said, "There's a well in my home that's been passed down through the generations."

"My family's used that well for several generations, and nothing has ever happened."

"B-but these past couple of days, whenever I go to draw water, I keep seeing a few children playing beside the well out of the corner of my eye."

"But as soon as I get closer, or try to look properly, there's nothing there!"

"And this morning, my daughter Ni'er somehow ended up standing by the well, talking to herself. In the end, she nearly jumped in!"

"Luckily, I noticed in time and stopped her..."

Cui Fugui's voice trembled slightly. He still seemed shaken by what had happened that morning.

Zheng Que listened carefully, then quickly nodded.

A well. Children...

The situation at Cui Fugui's home was likely the work of a Water Ghost.

And since Cui Fugui had been able to stop the Water Ghost when it went after his daughter, it probably wasn't very powerful.

With Qing Li and him working together, they should be able to handle it!

Now that killing ghosts could increase Qing Li's strength, he couldn't let a ghost like this pass him by—especially one that had practically come knocking and wasn't too powerful.

With that in mind, Zheng Que immediately asked, "After you realized something was wrong with the well, did anyone in your family drink its water?"

Cui Fugui immediately shook his head. "No! As soon as I saw what looked like children by the well, I stopped drinking its water!"

Zheng Que nodded. Water contaminated by a Water Ghost would be tainted with its yin energy, and if an ordinary person drank it, something unfortunate could easily happen.

But since no one in the Cui family had drunk from the well, Zheng Que would only need to deal with the Water Ghost.

Once he had a clear picture of the situation, Zheng Que said, "I more or less know what's going on."

"We can go take a look at your home right now."

Cui Fugui's face lit up when he saw Zheng Que agree. He quickly said, "Thank you!"

"Come with me."

As he spoke, Zheng Que followed Cui Fugui toward the eastern side of town. Before long, they reached a small, private courtyard.

The courtyard was built of packed earth, with half-rotted straw scattered across the walls. The couplet on the wooden gate had faded, and beyond it stood several thatched cottages.

As the two of them approached the courtyard gate, Zheng Que heard several somewhat familiar voices by his ear...

"Drown her! Drown her!"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

"She's about to die!"

"Serves her right! Ha ha... serves her right..."

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