Cui Family of East Town

As he pondered, Zheng Que looked up at the sky. It was late in the Si period; the shadows were shortening, and the daylight was at its most intense.

Calculating the time in his mind, he walked directly to the withered tree and sat cross-legged, activating the Spirit Eye Technique to stare at Qing Li, who was hanging from the treetop.

At this moment, although the Yin Energy on Qing Li's body had stopped flickering, it had thinned out significantly. The black mist rising from her body had also faded until it was almost non-existent. In the vision of the Spirit Eye Technique, the dress of this Female Hanging Ghost appeared exceptionally white.

Time passed slowly. It was not until around the third quarter of the Wu period that the Yin Energy on Qing Li finally recovered completely. Her entire form was once again shrouded in a cold, gloomy aura, and that pure white dress seemed to be draped in a thick layer of black gauze, becoming dim and indistinct.

A one-hour period of weakness...

The side effects of this Spirit Descent Technique seem a bit significant.

However, within this hour, although Qing Li is very weak, she is not entirely without combat capability.

Only right after the Spirit Descent Technique is dispelled does Qing Li have about ten breaths of time where she cannot move at all...

Zheng Que summarized the pros and cons of the Spirit Descent Technique in his mind. Confirming that Qing Li had fully recovered, he closed his eyes and began to cultivate.

He skillfully calmed his mind, sinking his consciousness into the void, continuously intercepting the icy aura and drawing it into his body...

Zheng Que's body temperature slowly dropped, and both the Yin Energy and spiritual energy within him grew rapidly. Before he knew it, he opened his eyes to see the dilapidated Wide Hall, with cold wind howling through the gaps.

The yellowed Life and Death Book lay open before him, and black mist gushed from between his brows, plunging into the scroll like a long dragon.

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

Three days left...

※※※

At dusk, Zheng Que finished his cultivation, brought Qing Li out of the ruined temple, and headed toward his home.

The path was desolate, the atmosphere bleak, and only the sound of his own footsteps echoed quietly through the streets and alleys.

Turning the corner of an alley, Zheng Que immediately saw an old man wearing a worn-out tunic with a sweat towel wrapped around his head, standing at his front door. The man looked anxious, frequently lifting his sleeve to wipe away sweat.

The old man was short and thin, with dark, sallow skin and a kind, honest face, though his eyes were filled with sorrow, as if he had encountered some great trouble.

Zheng Que's gaze swept over his face, and he immediately recognized him as Cui Fugui, the head of the Cui Family of East Town. The Cui family used to have several members, but after a series of mishaps, only he and his daughter were left to rely on each other.

Changfu Town was not large. Although Zheng Que did not have any special friendship with the Cui family, they had crossed paths a few times in the streets, though they were not well-acquainted.

At this moment, Cui Fugui also saw Zheng Que. He immediately hurried over and said urgently, "Zheng Que, I heard that you know sorcery now, and that you even helped the Zhao family exorcise a ghost..."

Before he could finish, Cui Fugui suddenly caught sight of a semi-transparent figure following not far behind Zheng Que. Amidst disheveled hair, a pair of crimson eyes were staring fixedly at him.

It's a ghost!

Cui Fugui's expression changed in terror. He hurriedly turned to flee, but his legs could not keep up with his intentions. He staggered like a drunkard, and after taking only one step, he nearly fell over.

Zheng Que hurriedly reached out to steady him and asked, "Uncle Cui, what did you need me for?"

As he spoke, Zheng Que had already activated the Spirit Eye Technique. In his vision, Cui Fugui was completely gray, devoid of any aura; everything was normal. He was just an ordinary person.

After confirming that there was nothing wrong with Cui Fugui, Zheng Que immediately let go. Seeing that the man was still staring at Qing Li by his side in terror, he quickly explained, "This is my Ghost Servant. She won't hurt anyone without my command, so you don't need to worry, Uncle Cui."

Upon hearing that she wouldn't hurt anyone, Cui Fugui finally let out a sigh of relief, though he still hurriedly took a few steps back, seemingly wanting to put as much distance as possible between himself and Qing Li.

Steadying himself, Cui Fugui dared not waste any more time and spoke hurriedly, "I, my family has also encountered something strange."

"Zheng Que, since you can even command ghosts now, you must have learned some great skills. You have to help me!"

"As long as you are willing to help me, I will give you half of my family's food rations from now on!"

"No matter what requirements you have, as long as my family can do it, we will not refuse!"

Hearing this, Zheng Que's expression remained calm. He did not agree immediately, as he still did not know what this strange occurrence Cui Fugui was talking about actually was.

If it turned out to be a request to deal with an exceptionally powerful ghost, he didn't have the ability to handle it right now.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shake his head slightly and said, "Uncle Cui, I don't even know what happened at your house yet, so how can I help you?"

"You should hurry up and tell me exactly what happened!"

Cui Fugui snapped back to reality and immediately said, "In my house, there is a well passed down from my ancestors."

"Our family has used this well for several generations, and nothing has ever gone wrong."

"But, but these past two days, whenever I go to draw water, I keep seeing a few children playing by the well out of the corner of my eye."

"But as soon as I get close, or look directly at them, there's nothing there!"

"And this morning, my daughter was standing by the well, talking to herself for no reason. In the end, she almost jumped in!"

"Luckily, I discovered it 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 and nodded soon after.

A well, children...

The situation Cui Fugui's family was facing was very likely a water ghost.

Furthermore, the fact that Cui Fugui was able to stop the water ghost when it targeted his daughter suggested that the ghost's strength was likely not very high.

If he and Qing Li joined forces, they should be able to handle it!

Slaying ghosts now could increase Qing Li's strength. He couldn't afford to miss out on a ghost that was delivered right to his doorstep and wasn't particularly powerful!

Thinking of this, Zheng Que immediately asked, "After discovering there was something wrong with the well, did you continue to drink the water from it?"

Cui Fugui shook his head immediately and said, "No! Once I noticed there seemed to be a child by the well, I stopped drinking the water from it!"

Zheng Que nodded. A body of water occupied by a water ghost would be tainted with the ghost's Yin Energy; if an ordinary person drank it, it would be very easy for something untoward to happen.

But since none of the Cui family members had drunk the water from the well, he would only need to deal with the water ghost when the time came.

Having confirmed the situation, Zheng Que said immediately, "I have a rough idea of what's going on."

"We can go to your house and take a look now."

Seeing that Zheng Que had agreed, Cui Fugui's face lit up with joy, and he hurriedly said, "Thank you so much!"

"Follow me."

As they spoke, Zheng Que followed Cui Fugui toward the east side of the town. Soon, they arrived in front of a small, detached courtyard.

The courtyard was built with adobe bricks, and the walls were topped with straw that had mostly rotted away. The spring couplets on the wooden gate had faded, and inside were a few thatched huts.

Just as the two reached the courtyard gate, Zheng Que heard several somewhat familiar voices in his ears...

"Drown her! Drown her!"

"Hahahaha..."

"She's about to die!"

"Serves her right! Haha... she deserves it..."