The Ghostly Entity's Special Ability

The four of them boarded the carriage and rode through the rain toward the Zhao Residence.

On the way, Xie An gave a detailed account of everything that had happened before Zhao Hu's death.

Before long, the carriage arrived at the entrance to the Zhao Residence.

The moment A San spotted the Xie Residence carriage, he hurried over to take the horses.

Uncle Shui jumped down first. "Did anyone come to the Zhao Residence during this time?"

A San shook his head. "No."

Only then did Uncle Shui nod and help Xie Zhengtang out of the carriage.

Xie An had intended to jump down after him, but remembering that Daoist Master Yusu seated opposite him was his father's honored guest, he held back a step. "Daoist Master Yusu, please go first."

Yet Xie Yu remained seated across from him, her tender eyes studying Xie An. "Master Mingxi, please go first."

Xie An always felt that this expert's gaze upon him was somewhat off.

But she was an expert deeply respected by both Uncle Shui and his father, so Xie An could not very well object. He jumped down first, then turned to offer Daoist Master Yusu a hand. To his surprise, she did not accept the gesture and leaped down on her own.

Xie An could only awkwardly withdraw his hand and follow Daoist Master Yusu into the Zhao Residence.

Daoist Master Yusu, wrapped head to toe in a cloak, wore an indifferent expression. She did not communicate with anyone throughout the entire time. She went straight into Zhao Hu's bedroom and carefully stared at the two pools of fresh blood on the floor.

What astonished Xie An was that, faced with Daoist Master Yusu's aloofness... his father and Uncle Shui actually seemed utterly accustomed to it.

Did this Daoist Master really have that much standing?

Xie An quietly sidled up to Uncle Shui and asked in a low voice, "How does Daoist Master Yusu's strength compare to yours, Uncle Shui?"

Uncle Shui chuckled softly. "Let me put it this way... even if ten of me were tied together, we still would not be worth... a single poke of Daoist Master Yusu's finger."

Xie An was stunned.

Uncle Shui was already the strongest person Xie An had ever encountered.

Ten Uncle Shuis together could not defeat one finger of Daoist Master Yusu?

Was that not absurdly exaggerated?

Out of curiosity, Xie An secretly activated Qi-Gazing while staring at Daoist Master Yusu's back.

Yet all he saw was a mass of murky darkness. He could make out nothing at all.

It was as though some special force had cut off his Qi-Gazing.

It was Xie An's first time encountering such a vastly different situation.

She truly was an expert!

What shocked Xie An most was that... he had only taken one look when Daoist Master Yusu seemed to sense something and suddenly turned to glance at him.

Hiss!

That glance made Xie An's scalp crawl. He immediately withdrew from Qi-Gazing.

Xie An had used his Qi-Gazing talent countless times... and had never once been detected.

Except by Daoist Master Yusu...

Xie An immediately stamped Daoist Master Yusu with the label: "extremely terrifying."

Still, what reassured Xie An was that although Daoist Master Yusu had discovered him peeping at her, she did not get angry. Instead, she gave a faint smile.

In that instant, Xie An developed an unprecedented curiosity toward Daoist Master Yusu.

Xie Yu said nothing further. She turned back to continue examining the blood on the ground, then raised her right index finger and traced a strange talisman on the floor. After that, she began speaking to herself.

"At the time, Liu Fu should have been lying here when the Monster Strain burst from her belly. After devouring Liu Fu, the Monster Strain pounced upon Zhao Hu and devoured him as well... Then that Monster Strain infant transformed into a Monster Strain youth, climbed onto the ceiling beam to speak to Master Mingxi, and finally smashed through the window and left..."

Every detail perfectly matched the scene.

Xie An found it simply miraculous, but when he turned to look at Xie Zhengtang and Uncle Shui, he found their expressions calm.

His father and Uncle Shui had likely long known that Daoist Master Yusu possessed extraordinary arts.

Xie An did not dwell on it and could not help asking, "May I ask, Daoist Master Yusu, do you know where that Monster Strain youth went?"

"If you wish to know where it went, we must begin with the Monster Strain's origin." Xie Yu swept her gaze around the room. "There have always been tales among the common folk of ghostly entities borrowing wombs to be reborn, but this Monster Strain is different."

Xie An asked, "How is it different?"

Xie Yu said, "When Zhao Hu went to Li Family Village a month ago, Liu Fu was already nine months pregnant. The fetus in her womb had long since taken shape. Even if Zhao Hu returned and slept with Liu Fu, passing evil qi into the fetus, at most it could have turned the fetus into a stillborn child. It absolutely could not have turned it into a Monster Strain."

Xie An grew even more curious. "How did Daoist Master Yusu determine that?"

Xie Yu patiently explained, "As Master Mingxi said, Zhao Hu had a nightmare in which the Grain-Collecting Ghost gnawed at his internal organs. When he woke, his organs truly were gone!

Does Master Mingxi truly believe that a mere ghostly entity from Li Family Village possessed the ability to enter dreams and kill people?"

Xie An felt that Daoist Master Yusu possessed an understanding of ghostly entities far beyond that of ordinary people, and his thirst for knowledge immediately surged. "Please enlighten me, Daoist Master Yusu."

"There are indeed ghostly entities in this world that can enter dreams and kill. But the ghostly entity of Li Family Village absolutely does not possess such an ability." Fearing that Xie An would not understand, Xie Yu patiently explained, "When Master Mingxi first went to Li Family Village, when did your heartbeat begin to quicken?"

Xie An carefully recalled the events of that day when he and Zhao Hu entered Li Family Village, then answered, "When I first saw the densely packed corpses hanging from the old locust tree."

Xie Yu asked, "Why did your heartbeat quicken?"

Xie An replied, "Because the corpses looked as though something had gnawed on them, and they gave off a sharp, fishy stench. There was also the strange incantation that old Daoist kept muttering."

Xie Yu said, "Those were sight, smell, and sound. Yet Master Mingxi still entered the village. Why was that?"

Xie An said, "Because at the time, I felt it was within the bounds of reason. Under the Great Qian Law, a village head could beat to death tenant farmers who fled the village, and such things were commonplace."

Xie Yu said, "That was Intent Sense. Because it seemed reasonable, you did not panic. Tell me, Master Mingxi, when did you truly become afraid afterward?"

As Xie An recalled it, he said, "When I had Li Degui fill the hot-water bottle, intending to leave, I suddenly heard the sound of the grain official collecting taxes outside. The grain official had clearly collected taxes at the village entrance during the day. Why had he come to collect them again?"

After saying that, Xie An added, "Earlier, at the village entrance, I had Zhao Hu ask why the tenant farmers had fled. That old Daoist said the Grain-Collecting Ghost came every night to collect taxes, forcing the tenant farmers into a life they could no longer endure, so they fled. Later, Li Degui also said the tenant farmers claimed that the grain official came every night to collect taxes... When I heard the nighttime tax collection again, I was afraid for the first time!"

Xie Yu nodded. "That was still Intent Sense. Later, you turned around and noticed something was wrong with Li Degui. You also smelled the stench of a corpse, so you had Zhao Hu check him. After checking, Zhao Hu discovered that Li Degui's entire body was covered in livor mortis, and that he had been dead for seven days. At that time, did Master Mingxi feel his entire body turn cold, a chill crawling down his spine?"

Xie An nodded. "Exactly."

Xie Yu folded both hands into her long sleeves. "That is the ghostly entity's special ability."

Xie An seemed to understand the ghostly entity's ability, yet at the same time, he only half understood it.

Having finally encountered such an expert, Xie An naturally would not let slip the chance to ask. "Please speak plainly, Daoist Master Yusu."