Beg me

The old village chief's eyes went wide. In a flash, he dropped to his knees before the bloodstained statue.

"Wise and mighty Grand Commandant, Great General Who Pacifies the West! Wise and mighty Grand Commandant, Great General Who Pacifies the West, spare me! This lowly one didn't know what was good for him! I forgot righteousness at the sight of profit! I forgot your kindness, Great General!"

As he spoke, the old village chief slapped his own face over and over, striking so hard that red marks instantly appeared on his aged cheeks.

He cursed himself as he beat himself, battering himself bloody. Even the Shangqing Dao priests around him recoiled at the grotesque sight.

Waves of cold air drifted in from outside the ancestral hall.

At some point, the villagers gathered outside had scattered, leaving only fallen leaves strewn across the ground.

Chen Yi turned his head and found the surrounding walls blackening. The plaster peeled away in patches, and the black stains grew ever darker.

The priests tightened their grips on their Peachwood Swords or Cash Swords, watching the statue warily.

Slowly, the old village chief stopped slapping himself. Everything fell silent. For that brief instant, nothing happened.

Crack...

It sounded as though something were being squeezed tight.

Chen Yi whipped his head around.

Two aged hands had clamped around the old village chief's neck. His eyes began to roll back as he struggled desperately to breathe, yet the hands only squeezed harder. Stranger still, the one strangling him was none other than himself!

A young priest rushed forward and tried to pry the old village chief's hands away, but they were like iron and stone. Instead of loosening, they tightened further.

Crack!

A crisp snapping sound rang out.

A gush of black blood burst from the old village chief's throat and splashed onto the young priest. He hurriedly backed away, only to see that the old village chief had broken his own neck with his bare hands!

The priests were horrified. Then they turned toward the entrance and discovered that the cloudless daylight had, in an instant, become a mass of dark clouds that blotted out the sun.

"The Ghost General's ghost domain!"

Daoist Xuan Zhen shouted.

He immediately raised the Lamp-Lighting Talisman in his hand. It spontaneously ignited and burned fiercely.

The Shangqing Dao priests exchanged looks, then formed hand seals and raised their Evil-Repelling Demon-Exorcism Talismans. Besides raising a talisman, Yin Weiying also took a palm-sized Paper Figurine from inside her robes.

Her face tense, Min Ning drew her saber. She glanced at Chen Yi beside her and found him leaning against a pillar with his arms folded, looking sidelong out the entrance, perfectly at ease.

Suddenly, Chi, Mei, Wang, and Liang appeared, the Three Ghosts traveling together with lanterns!

When the Three Ghosts stopped outside, Daoist Xuan Zhen's expression changed sharply. He formed a hand seal. "Mysterious source of heaven and earth, root of all qi. Through countless tribulations I have cultivated, to manifest my divine ability. Golden light, appear at once and shield my body."

Every priest paled at the sinister, terrifying sight. They were all young members of Shangqing Dao and rarely witnessed anything like this.

The Three Ghosts before them smiled sinisterly. Chi belonged to the demons of mountains and marshes, a yellow ghost resembling a hornless dragon. Its powerful body almost filled half the doorway. Several cracks split the ground as it arched its hindquarters, then its boulder-like body shot forward like an arrow.

Daoist Xuan Zhen swiftly recited the Five Thunders incantation. At the opening words, "Dianmu and Leigong," Golden light rose from his fingertips. When he uttered "Command," the golden light seemed to receive an imperial decree, and a bolt of Mystic Thunder as thick as an arm shot forth.

The more heinous an opponent's sins and the greater its seething resentment, the stronger the effect of Daoist lightning arts.

Chi crashed straight into the Mystic Thunder. A small portion of one side of its body was blasted to powder, and one leg was completely broken off. It knew nothing of pain. After a brief pause, it charged madly at Daoist Xuan Zhen on its three remaining legs.

Seeing this, Min Ning stepped forward with a Wind-Crushing Strike. Sparks flew as her blade met Chi's solid body. Chi paused briefly, and at that same moment, Daoist Xuanzhen summoned another bolt of Mystic Thunder and blasted away another leg. Chi shrieked in pain.

Several nearby priests reacted quickly, raising their swords to hack at the ghost's limbs.

The others, including the young priest, were about to advance with their swords when Daoist Xuan Zhen stopped them with a sweep of his horsetail whisk. Looking up, they saw the other two ghosts still waiting at the entrance, smiling wretchedly.

"A soul split into Three Ghosts. Only one has died."

Having considered the ghost's intricate methods, Yin Weiying warned them,

"Unless all Three Ghosts are killed at once, it will be able to come sweeping back after some time."

As her words fell, another bolt of Mystic Thunder struck. Mountain Chi lay lifeless on the ground.

The two ghosts outside had not entered the ancestral hall. The gracefully formed Mei Ghost raised a hand slightly, and Mountain Chi dissolved into black mist, swiftly drifting toward the entrance. Daoist Xuan Zhen reacted at once, thrusting his Peachwood Sword into the mist. He recited an incantation, and the sword tip followed his will, spinning and churning the mist apart. He raised his hand and drew a talisman from the table into his palm, then slapped it into the black mist. The talisman glimmered, and all the mist vanished, trapped inside it.

Enraged, Mei Ghost rushed into the ancestral hall alone. The priests hurriedly raised their swords to slash at the ghost. Mei Ghost gave several agonized shrieks, but its speed did not diminish as its claws reached for Daoist Xuan Zhen's heart.

Daoist Xuan Zhen had long been waiting. The Evil-Repelling Demon-Exorcism Talisman he had prepared blazed brilliantly. Mei Ghost broke through the golden light, but its movements slowed, and the remaining Yin Balefulness pierced Daoist Xuan Zhen's chest.

All the talismans lit up at once. Mei Ghost screamed in alarm, its body pinned in place. With the remaining Yin Balefulness piercing him, Daoist Xuan Zhen could not move for the moment. He shouted,

"Slay the ghost!"

The priests came to their senses. Blades crossed, and Mei Ghost vanished without a trace.

Yin Weiying looked outside, but Water-Ghost Wangliang was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing no more ghosts outside, everyone relaxed slightly. Daoist Xuan Zhen sat down where he stood and instructed them,

"One ghost remains. It must have fled. Once I expel this yin energy, I will-"

The young priest who had been splashed with the old village chief's black blood suddenly raised his Cash Sword and smashed it down on Daoist Xuan Zhen's forehead!

Daoist Xuan Zhen's expression changed dramatically. He hurriedly twisted aside, but it was too late. His skull caved in beneath the blow. Ignoring the excruciating pain, he prepared a lightning seal, but the young priest suddenly looked dazed, his expression regaining clarity. Daoist Xuan Zhen hastily stopped his lightning art.

The young priest flashed an evil smile and brought his Cash Sword down again.

A bloody gash split open across Daoist Xuan Zhen's forehead.

Only then, in that lightning-fast instant, did several priests react. They rushed forward in panic to restrain the young man, who was about to struggle.

Yin Weiying raised her hand, formed a seal, and chanted an incantation, striking her palm toward the crown of the young priest's head without touching him.

Something seemed to fly in through the crown of his head. Black blood then streamed from his eyes, ears, and nose, and Water-Ghost Wangliang's outline faintly emerged within it.

Water ghosts formed from people who had drowned in rivers. Travelers walking along rivers in remote mountains at night would sometimes hear water ghosts calling. If they carelessly stepped into a puddle, they would be seized by a water ghost. Possession took two forms. In the first, nothing happened initially, and even the victim's family noticed nothing. But as time passed, their daily habits and temperament gradually diverged from their former selves, until one day they woke to find themselves trapped in a puddle. In the second, the ghost temporarily seized the body, only to be expelled seven days later, when yang waxed and yin waned, returning the body to its original owner.

At some unknown moment, Wangliang had slipped into the old village chief's black blood splashed onto the young priest!

Daoist Xuan Zhen toppled backward. Blood poured endlessly from the wound in his forehead, and they could almost see his brain slowly squirming inside. Shocked, the priests tore strips of cloth to staunch the bleeding while chanting scriptures and applying medicine.

Even so, Daoist Xuan Zhen remained unconscious, his life hanging in the balance. Of all the Shangqing Dao priests in the party, he was the most gifted and experienced. Losing him was like losing an arm.

And just then,

Tap, tap...

The sound of armor scraping came from outside.

The priests' necks stiffened, and a chill instantly ran down their backs. Pale-faced, they looked outside the ancestral hall.

A bloodstained figure in broken armor appeared beyond the entrance. Its face was pallid, its towering frame like a small mountain. It held a great spear, and the cloth wrapped around its body bore a bloody character, "Deng," as though declaring its identity.

An immense oppressive force descended, accompanied by icy killing intent.

Even Yin Weiying, the Goddess of Mount Taihua, rapidly paled.

Yet when she glanced slightly to one side, she saw...

Chen Yi, leaning against the pillar as though none of this concerned him, had the corners of his mouth raised in something almost like a smile.

It was as though... he had entered familiar territory.

The instant they saw Ghost General Deng appear, all the Shangqing Dao priests jolted and broke into cold sweat.

Daoist Xuan Zhen had barely half a breath left, his survival uncertain. The priests had already lost their greatest fighting strength. The only person of any note remaining was Yin Weiying, the Goddess of Mount Taihua.

Yin Weiying took out Paper Figurines, blew on them, and scattered them onto the ground.

The Paper Figurines transformed into two sword-bearing maids, who faced the Ghost General outside the ancestral hall with vacant eyes.

The priests shakily raised their swords, staring fixedly at the spear-wielding Ghost General outside, not daring even to breathe heavily.

Cold winds gusted, sending sand and stones tumbling wildly.

Ghost General Deng raised its spear. Without stepping over the threshold, it made an extremely slow horizontal sweep.

Vast energy poured forth. The two sword-bearing maids advancing toward it were split clean in half through their middles. Four sheets of paper fluttered in the wind before the spear's gust shredded them. The Cash Swords held by several priests shattered inch by inch. Their golden copper coins turned as black as charcoal, crumbling when they hit the ground.

The strip of cloth bearing the bloody character "Deng" fluttered on the Ghost General's body. A battlefield's murderous aura, one that had buried armies by the thousands, pressed down until the entire ancestral hall shook. The thirty-seven ancestral tablets of Huai River Village fell to the ground one after another.

It looked down upon the priests gathered in the ancestral hall.

Every face was deathly pale. Though they had cultivated Daoist arts for years, none dared make a rash move now, for fear of getting everyone killed.

Cold sweat appeared on Yin Weiying's forehead.

Outside, Ghost General Deng stood like a mountain, in no hurry to cross the threshold.

Dense, cold Yin Balefulness enveloped them. Some priests were already nauseated and vomiting, while black blood gushed from all seven orifices of the young priest who had gravely wounded Daoist Xuan Zhen.

Min Ning tightened her grip on her saber, watching the Ghost General outside. She could not help feeling nervous, but alongside that nervousness was an urge to strike.

It was entirely because that Ghost General... possessed not only Yin Balefulness, but also a warrior's unique thirst for battle.

The standoff continued. For some unknown reason, the Ghost General did not enter, while the priests inside dared not make any rash moves.

Yin Weiying looked uneasily at the priests. The cold Yin Balefulness grew denser, almost condensing into droplets, and the wall plaster kept blackening and peeling away. If this dragged on, their situation would only worsen. Before long, they would all die without a fight and become Ghost Soldiers under the Ghost General's command.

Cold sweat covered the back of her neck. The panicked breathing of her fellow Daoists from Shangqing Dao filled the ancestral hall.

"If this Ghost General won't come in, there must be something it fears."

To steady everyone, Yin Weiying spoke in a clear voice.

"Sister Yin, what should we do now?"

The young female Daoist's voice trembled slightly.

At her question, the Shangqing Dao priests turned urgent gazes toward Yin Weiying, appealing to her one after another.

"Fellow Daoist, do you have... a good way to exorcise it?"

"Mount Taihua must have methods far superior to Shangqing Dao's!"

"Have you already discerned this Ghost General's origins, fellow Daoist?!"

What should I do?

Question after question crowded her ears, pressing down on Yin Weiying until she could barely breathe. Cold sweat kept springing from her forehead.

She had only said that to steady their morale. How was she supposed to know what to do?!

"Senior Brother Xuanzhen is gravely injured. If the Ghost General won't come in, it must fear the Goddess!"

"Goddess, please stop holding back, or we'll all die here!"

"The Ghost General is wary. We must seize this opportunity to act."

In their desperation, the Shangqing Dao priests cried out like sick men seeking any doctor they could find.

Now... of all the priests present, apart from Daoist Xuan Zhen, Yin Weiying had the deepest mastery of Daoist arts.

Yet Yin Weiying could only keep breaking into cold sweat.

Her Paper Figurines had been destroyed with extraordinary ease. She could not sense any of the Ghost General's supposed fear of her.

From beginning to end, that Ghost General had never looked at her. It was looking at...

The Goddess of Mount Taihua followed its gaze.

Chen Yi was still leaning against the pillar, utterly motionless, his eyes slightly lowered like a divine statue's.

Him?!

But I cast a divination. He clearly doesn't possess the Heavenly Eye, and... he has little affinity with the Dao. He's nothing but... an ordinary mortal.

Just what... is he hiding?

Yin Weiying's breathing quickened.

As these thoughts passed through her mind, the man seemed to notice Yin Weiying's gaze. He turned his face toward her, brazenly studying her unease.

Chen Yi's gaze roved insolently over her face.

His scrutiny made Yin Weiying's skin crawl.

When Yin Weiying gave no answer, the Shangqing Dao priests gradually fell quiet. A terrible silence enveloped the ancestral hall.

The silence lasted three or four long breaths.

Then Min Ning looked back at Chen Yi and broke the silence.

"Do you have a way?"

Chen Yi turned and saw her nervous eyes filled with hope. He nodded.

The priests immediately focused their gazes on Chen Yi, some confused, some doubtful, some uncomprehending.

"You really have a way? Then why are you still standing there doing nothing...?"

Yin Weiying spoke with a complicated look in her eyes.

Chen Yi took something from inside his robes. A sarira rested in his palm, radiating red-gold light in the dim ancestral hall.

As one, the Shangqing Dao priests were shaken to their souls!

The Red-Gold Sarira's radiance was so restrained that merely looking at it, they could faintly hear waves of Buddhist chanting.

The Shangqing Dao priests turned hopeful gazes toward Chen Yi. Under the crushing pressure, they were like sick men seeking any doctor. Even if Chen Yi was only a mortal, they had to clutch at this last straw.

Yin Weiying watched, utterly stunned.

They were all wrong. That Ghost General isn't afraid of me...

It's afraid of him?!

Yin Weiying raised her eyes. Chen Yi wore the suggestion of a smile.

Ripples stirred across the lake of her heart. She drew a deep breath and softened her voice.

"In that case, Thousand Household Chen, please lend us your aid..."

Before she could finish, Chen Yi closed his hand.

"Wh-what does this mean?"

A Shangqing Dao priest could not help crying out.

"It's not as though I can't save you. But, well, I'd like to hear Immortal Maiden Yin beg me."

Chen Yi spoke leisurely.

"In your dreams!"

Yin Weiying snapped.

He wants me to beg him? Beg the man who has humiliated me time and time again?!

Chen Yi spread his hands.

"Nothing I can do, then. I'll just take my companion and leave. That Ghost General doesn't want to provoke me anyway."

The Shangqing Dao priests grew anxious at this and turned toward Yin Weiying. The one in the lead urged her,

"Goddess, why let a moment's anger rule you? Besides, aren't you two dao companions... aren't you going to be Mount Taihua's Golden Lad and Jade Maiden?"

The Shangqing Dao priest's words nearly made Yin Weiying spit out a mouthful of blood in fury.

So all these people actually think we're flirting!

Yin Weiying slowly calmed herself. The cold Yin Balefulness was growing denser, and she realized they could not delay any longer. Reluctantly, she said,

"Then... consider this me begging you."

"Immortal Maiden Yin, begging is begging. What do you mean, 'consider it me begging you'? That still isn't begging, is it?"

Chen Yi chuckled.

The lake of Yin Weiying's heart had been churned into raging waves. She glared fiercely at the overbearing Chen Yi, forcibly suppressed her anger, calmed her breathing and focused her mind, then endured the humiliation and softened her voice:

"I, Yin Weiying... implore Thousand Household Chen to slay demons and vanquish evil..."

Chen Yi chuckled. To Yin Weiying, it sounded like a laugh of victory, and she secretly clenched her fists.

[Negative emotion: 90]

[Yin Weiying's negative emotion reward: five years of true qi.]

Tsk, once the emotions of this divine maiden who cultivated Supreme Oblivion of Emotion began to fluctuate, they were far more intense than anyone else's.

Chen Yi turned around, looked at the Ghost General outside the door, and said casually:

"You don't know its origins, but I do. Its name is... Deng Ai. A man from the Three Kingdoms period, he slipped through Yinping and destroyed Shu in a surprise attack, rising to General Who Pacifies the West and Grand Commandant. In the end, though, Jiang Wei's scheme brought about his death. His head was severed from his body, and his resentment ran deep."

"People put their faith in sacrificial worship, believing that those who offered sacrifices would surely receive blessings, while those who did not would surely suffer calamity. Deng Ai, a slain general of a defeated army, became one of the ghost deities they enshrined."

Upon hearing this, Yin Weiying exclaimed in shock:

"The Great Ghost Lord Deng Ai? The Scripture of Divine Incantations of the Cavernous Abyss also records him... but how could a ghost lord appear here..."

Chen Yi said:

"This is only a statue housing one of its manifestations."

"Then how are you going to... deal with it?"

"Invite Jiang Wei."

Having said that, Chen Yi took out the peachwood door-god talisman he had bought long beforehand from inside his robe.

Depicted on it were not the usual Yulei and Menshu, but Jiang Wei, the Qilin of Tianshui from the Three Kingdoms period!