"Cao Sixi, come back!"
Seeing this, Gu Yu instinctively tried to grab Cao Sixi, but Cao Sixi leaped straight down the steep slope and scrambled toward the lamplit courtyard.
Gu Yu immediately turned to Xu Taiping and said:
"Upper Immortal Taiping, that courtyard must be an illusion. No one has lived in Meiyuan Village for decades!"
At this point, Gu Yu paused, then a trace of fear flashed through his eyes as he said:
"That lamplit courtyard is v-very likely... very likely an illusion conjured by Yaomo or ghosts!"
Hearing this, Xu Taiping said calmly:
"Don't panic. We need only follow him and take a look."
Dongfang Yuejian, standing beside him, also smiled and said:
"Gu Yu, you're a cultivator yourself now. Why are you still afraid of such trifling ghost creatures?"
Xuanzhi also smiled and said:
"There are indeed two ghostly presences there, but both are very faint. They don't seem to be evil ghosts. They should be two wandering souls whose lingering attachments have yet to fade."
As they spoke, Xu Taiping had already leaped down the earthen slope.
The three immediately followed.
After catching up with Xu Taiping, Dongfang Yuejian noticed that Gu Yu still looked at the courtyard with a trace of timidity, so she deliberately teased him with a smile:
"Gu Yu, why weren't you afraid at all when you saw the ghosts of your teacher and elder brother earlier?"
Gu Yu scratched his head, a little ashamed, and said:
"My teacher and elder brother wouldn't hurt me."
Xuanzhi smiled and reassured Gu Yu:
"Don't worry. Wandering souls are different from vengeful ghosts. They only move about according to the attachments left over from their lives. They can't harm even mortals, much less cultivators like us."
Hearing this, Gu Yu immediately nodded repeatedly and said: