Shi Xuan could not help laughing. "This humble Taoist merely said that my cultivation is too shallow to help your child's soul reincarnate or return to life by borrowing a corpse. But if it is simply a matter of solving the problem that, after cultivating by absorbing yin energy, you will have to eat Blood Food in the future—there is still a way."
Madam Fang asked in disbelief, "Daoist Priest, r-really? Didn't they say that if one cultivates with yin energy, then once one's cultivation grows profound, one must eat people?"
"Yes, which is why you simply do not cultivate with yin energy." Shi Xuan smiled and shook his head.
"But, Daoist Priest Shi, if we do not cultivate with yin energy, how can we maintain our forms? Could it be... could it be what I think?" Madam Fang seemed to have grasped something.
"Yes. You only need people to worship you. Then you can instead use Incense and Fire Prayer Power to sustain yourselves." Though Shi Xuan was rather indifferent by nature, he still possessed a trace of compassion.
Madam Fang was both surprised and delighted, stammering, "Then... then who would be willing... willing to worship us?" As she spoke, she fixed her beautiful eyes on Shi Xuan. Since he had said this, he must already have someone in mind.
Shi Xuan pointed at Xu Tianqi. "My Senior Brother here has a great family fortune. This time, because of you, he won face. Naturally, he must repay you. He will have people come worship you when the time comes. Mm, three offerings a year should be enough."
"But... but what if something happens to this young master, or he grows old and passes away, or travels elsewhere and cannot supervise things, and no one comes to worship us?" Madam Fang remained cautious regarding such an important matter.
Shi Xuan pondered for a moment. "I will remind him to have a steward specifically manage this matter, and pay the temple ten years' worth of offering money in advance. In fact, why not directly build a temple to enshrine you? Have the Xu Family secretly manage that temple, then give you the birth characters of the steward managing it and of the presiding monk or daoist priest. I will also give you several talismans. Should they forget, you can enter their dreams and remind them. Besides, with such arrangements, many common people should ordinarily come to worship you and make wishes. Even if those people forget, you can still enjoy the incense offerings and worship, so there is no need to worry."
Madam Fang rose and bowed deeply. "This humble woman will never forget Daoist Priest's great kindness. Should you have any command in the future, I will brave boiling water and tread through fire."
Shi Xuan waved his hands twice. "Do not thank me yet, and do not make a decision yet. I must tell you the restrictions on worship first. Worship will not sustain your form for more than a hundred years, and that is only when many people worship you. The sort of private worship by a few people that you will receive later may very well sustain your forms for only twenty years. Unless you obtain an authentic method for cultivating directly with Incense and Fire Prayer Power, and a considerable number of people worship you, can you transform from ghosts into gods, escape the hundred-year limit, and begin Divine Path cultivation. If you achieve something on the Divine Path in the future and have many believers, you may also have a chance to attain the Great Dao of longevity."
Shi Xuan paused, then continued, "But if you keep cultivating with yin energy, and have sufficient Blood Food to satisfy yourselves, then as long as you break through your realm, you can continually extend the length of your existence. In the end, you may even have a chance of achieving a Ghost Path Primordial Spirit and the Great Dao of longevity. It is merely far more difficult than ordinary cultivation."
Seeing Madam Fang stand there in deep thought, Shi Xuan knew she was weighing the advantages and disadvantages, so he did not urge her. About half an incense stick later, Madam Fang once again gave Shi Xuan a grand bow. Shi Xuan asked, "Have you thought it through?"
Madam Fang said firmly, "This humble woman is willing to take the Divine Path. Though I have no authentic method at present, having people worship us would still grant us ten or twenty years of peaceful days. Presumably, during that time, I may find some rudimentary methods to try. Even if I cannot find any, do I not likewise lack an authentic method for the Ghost Path? If I truly absorb yin energy and cultivate on instinct alone, I may be unable to maintain my form before reaching the required realm, not to mention that I am inwardly resistant to things like eating Blood Food in the future."
Shi Xuan smiled. "Since that is the case, if I obtain a Divine Path cultivation method in the future, I will certainly teach it to you. Don't—do not bow deeply yet. It will not be too late once I truly find one."
Madam Fang did not insist after being stopped and sat back down. Her mood was now greatly improved, and she asked with a smile, "Does Daoist Priest have any other instructions?"
Shi Xuan shook his head. "I have no other instructions. But since someone must worship you, we should wake the true master and settle the matter with him face-to-face. After all, he will be the one making the arrangements in the future, while I will soon set out to travel."
When Madam Fang nodded, Shi Xuan rose, walked over to Xu Tianqi, crouched down, and pinched the spot below his nose while secretly sending a strand of Internal Energy into him. With this double aid, Xu Tianqi woke after a while. Seeing Shi Xuan before him, he asked in a daze, "Junior Brother Shi, what is it?"
The moment he finished asking, his earlier memories flooded back. He sprang to his feet like a carp flipping out of water, his face deathly pale, and asked Shi Xuan in a trembling voice, "Junior Brother Shi, that... that... that female... female ghost, you have already dealt with her, right?" At the same time, he looked around and happened to spot Madam Fang, who had dignified features and was dressed as a married woman. He could not help freezing. "Junior Brother, who is this madam? Is she the helper you invited?"
Shi Xuan chuckled. "Senior Brother Xu, this is Madam Fang, the mistress of this residence. You suffered at her hands just now, yet in the blink of an eye, you no longer recognize her."
At those words, cold sweat streamed down Xu Tianqi's forehead. His face had gone so white that it was tinged with blue. At this moment, Madam Fang rose and approached him, giving him a salute. Xu Tianqi was so frightened that he stumbled three steps backward before hearing Madam Fang say, "Young Master Xu, this humble woman offended you earlier. I hope you can forgive me."
Seeing the female ghost act so politely, Xu Tianqi's fear greatly subsided. He glanced sideways at Shi Xuan and, seeing Shi Xuan smile reassuringly at him, felt his heart settle. He held out both hands in a supporting gesture. "Madam Fang has done nothing wrong. We were the ones who trespassed into your residence first."
The moment he finished speaking, he saw the little brother and sister behind Madam Fang making faces at him—ghostly faces consisting of only a round visage, with no eyes, nose, or mouth. He nearly fainted again.
Seeing this, Madam Fang turned around and began scolding the two children. Shi Xuan, meanwhile, explained the matter of worship to Xu Tianqi. Xu Tianqi clicked his tongue in wonder. At the same time, since the three ghosts needed his help, his fear was mostly gone. Once fear departed, curiosity arrived. As he examined Madam Fang and her two children, trying to spot what was different about them, he asked Shi Xuan about ghosts and monsters.
Once they had settled the matter, Xu Tianqi patted his chest and promised Madam Fang, "Madam Fang, rest assured. Leave the offerings to Xu. As long as Xu is alive, the worship will not cease."
Madam Fang was naturally immensely grateful. She even had Delin and Hanling kowtow three times to Shi Xuan and Xu Tianqi.
Once the two men and one ghost had finished discussing serious business, they began chatting idly. Though Madam Fang had been a sheltered young lady of a great family, she had been unable to speak with anyone for so many years, and now proved exceptionally talkative. Xu Tianqi and Shi Xuan, meanwhile, were extremely curious about ghosts, asking this and that and occasionally telling Madam Fang about the changes outside. Before they knew it, it was the beginning of the Hour of the Rabbit.
Hearing the night watch outside and seeing that it was late, Madam Fang said to Shi Xuan and Xu Tianqi, "My two benefactors, it is now the beginning of the Hour of the Rabbit. Though this humble woman can remain for another half hour, the two of you seem to have some matters to deal with, so I will not inconvenience you with my company." As she finished, she gestured with her eyes toward Xia Wenhui and the others, then covered her mouth and laughed.
Xu Tianqi suddenly understood. "Right! We still have to throw those three fellows outside the residence, or this trip would have been for nothing."
Shi Xuan smiled at that. "But what if those three wake up later and refuse to admit it? They can simply say that you were also frightened unconscious and thrown out, but woke a little earlier and ran back inside."
Xu Tianqi thought about it and found it made perfect sense. He could not help cursing, "That crafty bastard! No wonder he wanted to bet with me. What do we do now? There are no other witnesses!"
Shi Xuan nodded toward Meng Yuqiong. "Wake your dream lover first and have her serve as a witness."
"But she cannot prove that we were not frightened unconscious either." Xu Tianqi sounded helpless.
"Heh, the purpose of your bet was only to win some face before her. Now that you are waking her, this is a life-saving grace! If you did not wake her, she might have been eaten by ghosts! Tell me, is a life-saving grace more important, or is showing off a tiny bit before her more important?" Shi Xuan said irritably.
"Ah, eaten by ghosts?" Xu Tianqi could not quite wrap his head around it.
Shi Xuan pointed at Madam Fang. "She is unconscious anyway, so she does not know whether this ghost is benevolent or vicious."
Smack! Xu Tianqi clapped his hands. "Good idea!" he said excitedly.
Seeing that there was nothing left for her to do, Madam Fang took the two children and gave a salute. Then, in a flash, they vanished. Xu Tianqi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. After a long while, he muttered to Shi Xuan, "Junior Brother Shi, if only I had that Lightness Skill."
"This is not Lightness Skill, merely an Illusion Technique. You did not study Taoist arts properly back then. Now you know what it feels like to suffer for it, don't you?"
"Heh, wasn't I unable to focus my mind for visualization? After I return this time, I must try again. Taoist arts are so formidable. All right, all right, let us deal with matters here first, then talk."
The two first dragged Xia Wenhui and the other two out of the residence, then threw them into a nearby dead-end alley. Shi Xuan said to Xu Tianqi, "The acupoints I sealed should be released in about an hour. Drunkards and beggars often sleep here overnight. Though no one is here now, there should not be much danger. At worst, they may lose the money on their persons."
Xu Tianqi laughed. "They were frightened unconscious by ghosts and thrown here. It has nothing to do with us." After taking two steps back, he suddenly turned around again, his expression shifting between light and shadow as he looked at Xia Wenhui and the other two.
Shi Xuan did not know what Xu Tianqi had in mind. He said nothing and merely watched silently from the side.
After a long while, Xu Tianqi finally made up his mind. He crouched down and pressed a palm against each of the Blade Sword Double Kill Dantians, then rose and said to Shi Xuan, "These two have committed every conceivable evil. I merely crippled their martial arts; I have been very merciful to them. This way, they will not need to run around for the Xia Family for the rest of their lives and can enjoy a peaceful old age."
The latter half is the real reason you acted, Shi Xuan thought. After considering it, he said, "Ghosts do not seem to cripple people's martial arts. Are you not afraid of the Xia Family's retaliation?"
Xu Tianqi's expression turned solemn. "In any case, no one can be certain it was not the work of ghosts. They are only two outer Elders; the Xia Family will not tear all pretense apart. Such quasi-first-rate experts are not numerous in the Xia Family, but they are hardly scarce either. Besides, heh, everyone still has business to do together. So, see? I did not touch that fellow Xia Wenhui. As for retaliation in private, I will stay at home for some time. I trust my family will not treat me poorly. Once my martial arts rise another level, I will travel again. By then, even if I cannot defeat them, I can still run away."
Before you continue