Crack!
The Water Ghost's neck snapped between Qing Li's jaws. The yin energy enveloping its body vanished in an instant, like snow beneath the sun.
Zheng Que froze. Qing Li's head wasn't under his control—she had acted on her own... or rather, her head had!
His thoughts racing, he looked toward the Water Ghost he had hoisted into the air. The hemp rope around its neck tightened rapidly under his control, like a saw cutting through wood. In the blink of an eye, it severed the Water Ghost's entire neck.
The moment its head fell, the yin energy in its body scattered. As its headless corpse dropped, both head and body turned into clear water, quickly blending into the well and disappearing.
Zheng Que withdrew both arms from the well. In his right hand, he pulled up a girl who was barely clinging to life; in his left, he held a Water Ghost with blurred features by the throat.
The girl's face was pale and bluish, her clothes soaked through. Her eyes were shut tight, and she had already lost consciousness.
The Water Ghost was still struggling desperately, its brow full of venomous spite. But once separated from the well water, its strength had clearly diminished. It was even weaker than an ordinary second-level ghost from Tongue-Pulling Hell, and couldn't break free of Zheng Que's grasp at all.
Zheng Que quickly laid the girl on the ground. Then, using the same trick as before, he let the hemp rope drop from midair and instantly looped it around the remaining Water Ghost's neck.
The rope tightened and hoisted the Water Ghost up, like a sandbag suspended in midair. Zheng Que slammed his fist into it.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
After three successive punches, the Water Ghost's head lolled to one side, then fell clean off its neck.
The yin energy wrapped around its body seemed to have triggered some hidden mechanism and began to dissipate rapidly.
The Water Ghost's corpse turned into clear water and sank into the mud.
In the blink of an eye, all three remaining Water Ghosts had been dealt with!
Zheng Que drew a deep breath. There had been four Water Ghosts, all at the second level of Tongue-Pulling Hell. Under normal circumstances, even facing one of them would have been extremely difficult. But under the effects of the Spirit Descent Technique, none of them had stood a chance against him.
More importantly, while Spirit Descent was active, he didn't need to use spirit blood to injure ghosts!
The Spirit Descent Technique was truly useful!
As he considered this, Zheng Que looked at the unconscious girl lying on the ground.
The girl had a sturdy build and slightly thick lips. She looked quite a bit like Cui Fugui. She was none other than Cui Fugui's daughter, Cui Ni'er. Her chest had stopped rising, and she lay completely motionless. Her condition was clearly critical.
Zheng Que understood that although he had pulled Cui Ni'er from the well, she had still been underwater for some time. Judging by appearances, she had stopped breathing. If he didn't treat her right away, she might not make it.
He hurried to Cui Ni'er's side and lifted her, turning her onto her side. He sent a thread of spirit power into her body and drew out the well water she had just inhaled.
"Cough, cough, cough... Cough..."
Soon, Cui Ni'er broke into a fit of violent coughing, clear water mixed with mucus spilling from the corners of her mouth. Her breathing and heartbeat gradually returned.
Zheng Que watched her for a moment. Once he was sure she was out of danger, he turned and said, "Uncle Cui, four Water Ghosts were causing trouble this time. They've all been dealt with."
"Your daughter is all right. She just needs a good rest from here on..."
Before he could finish, he suddenly noticed Cui Fugui lying on the ground behind him, unconscious.
Zheng Que frowned and immediately went over to check on Cui Fugui. A quick examination showed that he was fine. It seemed he had fainted from fright...
Zheng Que glanced at Qing Li's head on his shoulder and said, "Qing Li, you scared him unconscious."
Qing Li snorted, about to speak, but Zheng Que had already formed a strange, intricate hand seal.
The Spirit Descent Technique was dispelled in an instant.
Like a ripe fruit, Qing Li rolled off Zheng Que's shoulder. She regained her full form in midair, but the yin energy around her had grown much thinner. The Female Hanging Ghost was now so weak she couldn't utter a single word.
Zheng Que didn't delay. He immediately performed the Ghost Controlling Technique and drew her into his palm.
Then he carried Cui Fugui and his daughter into the house.
He found a shoulder pole to replace the broken door bar, secured the courtyard gate, then climbed over the wall and left.
The Golden Crow sank in the west, and the evening glow gilded the entire town in a thin layer of gold.
As dusk fell, Zheng Que returned home and shut the door behind him.
He walked to the bed and sat down. After habitually arranging his shoes, one upright and one upside down, he immediately began cultivating.
He had just killed four Water Ghosts. He needed to raise Qing Li's cultivation as soon as possible.
As the cultivation technique circulated, more and more yin energy flowed into his body.
When Zheng Que opened his eyes again, he saw the familiar Underworld.
The Life and Death Book was, as before, continuously absorbing the black qi rising from the space between his brows.
Zheng Que looked at the scroll before him. Four new names had appeared.
"...He Dazhu. Native place: Great Li Dynasty, Tu Prefecture... Lifespan: seven years, eight months, and two days. Drowned at the third quarter of the yin hour."
"...Li Gen'er. Native place: Great Li Dynasty, Tu Prefecture... Lifespan: eight years, eleven months, and twenty-seven days. Drowned at the exact hour of the chou hour."
"...Liu Ya. Native place: Great Li Dynasty, Tu Prefecture... Lifespan: nine years, four months, and fifteen days. Drowned at the beginning of the mao hour."
"...Hu Ernv. Native place: Great Li Dynasty, Tu Prefecture... Lifespan: exactly nine years and six months. Drowned at the first quarter of the shen hour."
Looking at the records of those four names, Zheng Que nodded slightly.
The four Water Ghosts' faces and voices had seemed familiar to him.
Thinking carefully, he realized they were probably the children he had glimpsed out of the corner of his eye on his way home the day he had successfully become a disciple.
Back then, the four Water Ghosts had been standing outside the courtyard wall of Zhao the Second's home. They hadn't appeared over the following days. This time, they had shown up at the Cui Family's home, likely because they had their eyes on the well in the courtyard. Then everything that had just happened had followed...
With that thought, Zheng Que wasted no time and summoned Qing Li.
He opened his palm. A streak of blood-red light shot out and landed below the hall, revealing the figure of the Female Hanging Ghost.
As during her previous visits, Qing Li stood there with a bewildered expression and vacant eyes.
Zheng Que moved swiftly, raising the hand marked with the "Command Character" and aiming it at Qing Li.
The next moment, in Zheng Que's sight, the yin energy that had been calm around Qing Li surged as if boiling. Then, like bamboo shoots bursting through the soil, it grew wildly!
The raging yin energy wrapped around the white-robed, black-haired Female Hanging Ghost and spun rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it became a gigantic vortex, shaped like a funnel.
Qing Li's muddled consciousness cleared at once. When she realized she had appeared in the Underworld, she immediately knelt and bowed. "Th-this humble woman pays her respects, my lord!"
As she spoke, she suddenly realized that her power was growing!
Her heart leapt with joy.
It had seemed to happen the same way last time. As long as she killed another ghost, the lord seated in the hall would reward her with that ghost's yin energy!
She really was blessed with great fortune!
Hmph!
That lazy little Human Race brat!
As a cultivator, he should be out killing ghosts instead of wasting time and holding up her cultivation. It was practically treasonous—he deserved to be thrown into the Eighteen Levels of Hell!
Suppressing her excitement, Qing Li hurriedly kowtowed. "Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord!"
"My lord sees through all things, stands tall and noble, judges impartially, upholds what is right, keeps his conscience clear, and acts with perfect justice..."
For a while, Qing Li showered him with praise, but the words she used were exactly the same as last time.
Zheng Que listened for quite a while before confirming that Qing Li only knew a few phrases for flattering people...
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