Zheng Que hadn't waited long when the door suddenly opened. A slender, graceful figure drifted into the room on a gust of yin wind. With her black hair and white clothes, she was none other than Qing Li.
The yin energy around Qing Li was now so faint it was almost invisible. Her body, once solid and lifelike, had turned transparent and ethereal. She looked pale and frail. The killing intent in her scarlet eyes remained, but fatigue was impossible to hide.
Such a tremendous depletion meant she'd clearly fought a fierce battle last night.
Zheng Que understood. After he'd put pressure on her, the ghosts Qing Li had slain last night were probably no longer at the fourth level of Tongue-Pulling Hell, but the fifth—the same realm as her!
Otherwise, Qing Li's yin energy wouldn't have been drained to this extent.
At that moment, Qing Li said to Zheng Que, "Stand guard for me!"
Then, without waiting for his reply, she hung herself from a crossbeam and hurried to recover.
Zheng Que came back to himself and didn't hesitate. He immediately went over and shut the door.
Then, after a moment's thought, he swiftly formed a series of complicated hand seals and cast the Yin Gathering Technique.
A bank of dark clouds appeared beneath the ceiling. More and more yin energy gathered, dimming the entire room as though night had fallen in an instant.
As she felt the yin energy around her grow denser, Qing Li's body swayed slightly where she hung from the beam. Her recovery was clearly speeding up.
Time passed slowly. Less than half an hour later, with the Yin Gathering Technique's help, Qing Li had mostly recovered. She turned to Zheng Que and said with satisfaction, "Human brat, at least you know how to behave today."
At this, Zheng Que gave a slight shake of his head. He had no time to argue with Qing Li, so he immediately said, "Come with me to the town chief's house."
With that, he rose and headed out.
Qing Li snorted and quickly followed.
Sunlight poured down outside, illuminating the empty lanes. Now and then, faint chicken and dog noises came from behind the courtyard walls on either side.
Zheng Que led Qing Li straight toward the town chief's house.
Tap, tap, tap...
The monotonous sound of footsteps echoed through the alley. They hadn't gone far when Zheng Que saw a group of people turn out of a fork in the road. They were several adult townsfolk, clutching the hands of a few young children and cursing as they went. Soon, they scattered in different directions. It seemed the children had gotten into trouble while playing, and the adults had parted on bad terms along with them.
Zheng Que's brow furrowed. The group included both old and young, and not one of them cast a shadow!
He quickly activated the Spirit Eye Technique. Through its vision, these people were just like Cui Ni'er: apart from their missing shadows, everything about them seemed normal.
Zheng Que frowned. He waited in the corner of the alley until they had all gone, then continued toward the town chief's house.
The town chief lived on the main street, quite a distance from Zheng Que's home.
Along the way, he encountered several more groups of townsfolk heading out to work. He noticed that many of them had no shadows behind them, but no matter how many times he examined them with the Spirit Eye Technique, he couldn't find anything wrong.
A short while later, Zheng Que finally arrived at the town chief's house.
The town chief's home was the finest in Changfu Town, though it was still only a modest brick courtyard with two courtyards. Behind the walls, which stood a little taller than those of ordinary homes, rose a sprawling willow tree. The doors and windows were all shut, and the courtyard was utterly silent.
Zheng Que stood outside and knocked for quite a while before he heard footsteps approaching. Whoever was inside reached the door but didn't open it right away, asking cautiously, "Who is it?"
Zheng Que immediately replied, "I'm Zheng Que. I need to speak with the town chief."
At the sound of Zheng Que's name, he heard the mechanism on the door being drawn back. A hole the size of a large bowl appeared in the door, and the person behind it quickly looked outside. Only after confirming that it really was Zheng Que did he remove the bar and open the heavy front door.
The man who opened it was an elderly gentleman in his fifties or sixties. His hair had turned almost completely white, his face was deeply lined, and a long beard reached his chest. His back stooped slightly, and his somewhat worn robe was speckled with grains and bits of straw. He was Xu Houde, the town chief of Changfu Town.
"Zheng Que! You're now the Immortal Master's disciple. How many spells have you learned?" Xu Houde chuckled and stroked his long beard. By now, most people in town knew Zheng Que had taken the Immortal Master as his teacher. Though he was the town chief, he was also quite curious about the Immortal Master's disciple.
But after saying only a few words, he noticed the unfamiliar, graceful figure behind Zheng Que and immediately furrowed his brow. "Zheng Que, who is this?"
Zheng Que bowed to Xu Houde and said, "Town chief, this is my Ghost Servant. She won't hurt anyone without my command."
"This is a spell my master taught me."
"I came today because there's something I'd like your help with."
Hearing this, Xu Houde finally relaxed and immediately replied, "Come in first."
As he spoke, he turned and headed inside, gesturing for Zheng Que to follow.
The ground in the first courtyard of the town chief's home was paved with bluestone, and some grains were spread out to dry. A large black dog was tied in one corner. Three tiled rooms stood in a row ahead, with smaller side rooms on either side. The faint voices of women and children came from inside, but when they seemed to notice a visitor, their whispered conversation soon fell silent.
Xu Houde led Zheng Que into the side room on the left. It had a desk and bookshelves and served as a small study.
Once they were seated, Xu Houde spoke at once. "Zheng Que, I heard you helped Zhao the Second's family catch a ghost. And you were the one who dealt with the strange occurrences at the Cui Family's these past few days."
"Whatever trouble you've run into, just tell me."
"If the town can help, we'll do it!"
Hearing Xu Houde's assurance, Zheng Que nodded and got straight to the point. "My master has already left town. I'd like to buy the little temple where he stayed."
"Also, there may be some unusual activity around that little temple over the next few days."
"Everyone should stay away, except for me."
"Sorry for the trouble, town chief. Please tell the people in town, so nothing goes wrong."
Xu Houde smiled and replied without the slightest hesitation, "There's no need to buy it. That little temple and the land around it are my family's property. It's been abandoned for years, so it makes no difference if it sits unused. If you need it, I'll bring you the land deed and house deed in a moment."
"As for what you mentioned, I'll have people go door to door right away. It'll be taken care of by the end of the day."
Seeing how readily the town chief had agreed, Zheng Que immediately said, "Then thank you, town chief!"
Xu Houde smiled and shook his head. Then he opened the drawer beneath the desk and took out a letter sealed with red wax. In a gentle voice, he said, "Don't thank me. There's something I need your help with, too..."
That's the third update done. Please vote, collect, and follow!
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