Am I Really Possessed!?

The West Courtyard of the Xie Residence.

Dusk had fallen, and the light was fading.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sharp cracks of fists rang out one after another as Xie An and Zhou Ji sparred.

Xie An drove a Mountain-Shaking, Peak-Suppressing punch forward, forcing Zhou Ji half a step back.

Zhou Ji had used only thirty percent of his strength, but being pushed back at all left him stunned.

At first, Zhou Ji had taken Xie An for someone who was all show. He had thought the young master would give up after a little hardship. Who would have guessed he was training like a madman?

They had sparred for two full hours today. Xie An had only grown fiercer, without stopping once to catch his breath.

For the first time, respect rose in Zhou Ji's eyes.

Xie An let out a long breath and waved a hand. "That's enough for today. Go to the storehouse and collect a dose of Tiger-Viscera Essence Decoction."

Zhou Ji's eyes widened in disbelief.

Tiger-Viscera Essence Decoction was an indispensable aid for breaking through the Four Barriers and tempering the organs. A single dose cost ten taels of silver on the market.

He earned only twenty taels a month guarding the Xie Residence. Even by scrimping and saving, he could barely afford one dose.

Since becoming the young master's sparring partner, he had received two Vital Blood Pills, and now he was being given Tiger-Viscera Essence Decoction.

The sudden turn in his fortunes left Zhou Ji dazed.

"Young Master Xie!"

Zhou Ji cupped a fist in salute, picked up the broad saber beside him, and hurried out.

Xie An narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Zhou Ji leave.

A good sparring partner was hard to find.

Most of the guards at the residence fawned over him and deliberately held back when they sparred. Zhao Hu was one of them.

When Xie An had first started training, he had indeed needed that gentler approach.

But now that he had learned the basics, such restraint would seriously slow his progress.

Zhou Ji was just right.

"Young master, the bath and decoction are ready. Would you like to take your medicinal bath now?" Qiu Lan came over with a towel to wipe Xie An's sweat.

"Mm."

Xie An went into his room, undressed, and lay in the tub, letting the Tiger-Skin Essence Decoction toughen his skin.

According to Uncle Shui, a medicinal bath worked best right after training, while he was still sweating.

At that point, the pores all over his body were wide open, allowing the decoction's medicinal power to seep quickly into his skin.

Xie An closed his eyes and went over what had happened at Li Family Village that day.

He had only wanted to see whether Returning Dragon Abbey had any way of dealing with Specters. Instead, Li Yunfeng had died on the spot!

And Uncle Shui had said Grain-Collecting Ghosts had appeared in other counties too. Some had even followed the trail back to landlords' homes to collect taxes...

What if the Grain-Collecting Ghost from Li Family Village came knocking on the Xie Residence's door to collect taxes...

How was he supposed to protect himself?

This world gave a man far too little sense of safety.

Still, Uncle Shui's Dark Force technique when he killed Li Yunfeng today was incredible. If I can master Dark Force soon, I'll have one more way to protect myself.

As his thoughts drifted, Xie An fell into a hazy sleep.

When he woke again, Qiu Lan was calling him.

"Young master, your time in the medicinal bath is up."

Xie An stepped out of the tub, took the fine cloth towel prepared nearby, and dried himself. He put on split-crotch underpants and silk trousers before letting Qiu Lan help him dress.

With practiced hands, Qiu Lan dressed him in a cloud-brocade robe, fastened his belt, hung a sachet and Buddhist pendant from it, then combed his hair and inserted a mutton-fat jade hairpin.

Xie An sat in his chair and let her tend to him. "Did Zhao Hu come by today?"

As Qiu Lan smoothed the creases in his robe, she replied, "He came this morning. When he saw you weren't here, he asked me to tell you he'd like a month's leave. His wife is about to give birth."

Xie An nodded. "Of course. When Zhao Hu comes again, give him fifty taels of silver. Tell him it's from me to help his wife recover after the birth."

"Mm," Qiu Lan said. "You treat Zhao Hu so well, young master. Ever since we came back from Li Family Village, you haven't stopped rewarding him."

Perhaps it was because they had faced life and death together at Li Family Village. Even when things had been at their most dangerous, Zhao Hu had stayed by his side and protected him.

He was only human. Naturally, Xie An treated Zhao Hu especially well.

Xie An smiled and changed the subject. "By the way, is Uncle Shui back?"

"He just returned. He's in the study in the central courtyard."

"I'll go find him." Xie An left Qiu Lan behind and strode out.

Though the Xie Residence was a seven-courtyard estate, it had been expanded several times over and covered a vast area. Xie An walked for nearly half a quarter of an hour before reaching the central courtyard and finding Uncle Shui in the study.

Uncle Shui wore a gray long gown and sat sorting through account books.

Seeing Xie An enter, Uncle Shui looked up with a smile. "Your father isn't back yet. Need something?"

Xie An sat in the armchair opposite the desk. "Uncle Shui, I remember you saying outside Li Family Village today that Dark Force masters can sense the flowing Vital Breath inside a living person. If it isn't flowing, the person is dead. Can every Dark Force master do that?"

Hearing that it was nothing urgent, Uncle Shui went back to his accounts. "Most of them can."

Xie An went on, "Can you sense which direction a living person's Vital Breath is flowing?"

Uncle Shui looked up in puzzlement, as though he had never heard of such a thing. "Which direction?"

"For instance, whether it's rising or moving from side to side?"

Uncle Shui shook his head. "No."

Xie An felt a little disappointed, but he had confirmed one thing: his gift for Spirit Sight and Qi-Gazing was a special ability even rarer than a Dark Force master's. He could see precisely which direction that breath flowed.

So Xie An activated Qi-Gazing and looked at Uncle Shui's Vital Breath.

He was stunned.

What a vast surge of Vital Breath!

It was dozens of times greater than Zhou Ji's.

And it surged upward, a sign of extraordinarily fierce power to kill.

But... not a single wisp of it sank.

Uncle Shui had been sorting his accounts the entire time. He had not noticed Xie An using Qi-Gazing on him.

Xie An grew even more certain of what his Spirit Sight and Qi-Gazing could do.

Even a Dark Force master could not detect him using Qi-Gazing.

That was all well and good.

But the wisp of his own breath that sank still troubled him.

"Uncle Shui, since you can sense Vital Breath, could you check mine?"

Uncle Shui looked up with a smile. "What's this? Still worried about what happened when you left Li Family Village? Afraid you were possessed?"

"Better safe than sorry," Xie An said with a smile.

"All right. I'll check your Vital Breath." Uncle Shui set down the account book, came over, and gripped Xie An's right wrist.

In an instant, Xie An felt an immense surge of Inner Force enter his body. It coursed through his limbs and bones, reaching every corner.

So this is Dark Force?

If Uncle Shui were my enemy, he could shatter my muscles, bones, and organs in an instant.

A moment later, Uncle Shui frowned. He released Xie An's wrist, pressed both hands to the Baihui point atop his head, and sent Dark Force into him again to investigate.

When Uncle Shui withdrew his hands, his brows were tightly knit.

Seeing how grave Uncle Shui looked, Xie An's heart tightened. "Am I really possessed?"