A Small Test of Skill

"Are you sure this is a ghost that harms people? Don't mistake the wrong person. That would be awkward," Gu Zhao asked.

"Absolutely a people-harming ghost!" Bai Ke patted her chest in assurance.

Gu Zhao was curious. "Then why doesn't he enter the city? Why hide in this abandoned village instead?"

"Because he's half a Corpse Ghost. Half of his remnant soul is trapped inside a corpse and can't break free, so he can't go too far from the village." Bai Ke lay sprawled over Xiuniang's shoulder and sniffed. "It's like having a chain tied around his neck. He can't run far."

Having said that, Bai Ke added, "Of course, there's an upside. If you can't completely destroy his corpse, you can't kill him."

"Then where is his corpse?" Gu Zhao asked.

"I don't know." Bai Ke shook her head. "But I personally saw him kill two lost people and devour every last drop of their blood and vitality. He definitely wasn't a good person... a good ghost."

Daoist Yansong narrowed his eyes without speaking.

Gu Zhao asked, "He's a ghostly being. Don't ghosts usually just absorb vital essence? Why would he consume blood and vitality?"

"Generally speaking, ghosts consume spirit souls and vital essence, while Demonic Beasts devour essence and blood vitality. But there are exceptions." Bai Ke flicked her tail. "Some Demonic Beasts devour spirit souls too, like the Painting Demon you encountered in Xiu Yue County. Some fierce ghosts also feed on blood and vitality, such as..."

"A Corpse Ghost?" Gu Zhao thought it over. "His corpse needs the blood and vitality of living people?"

"His remnant soul is bound to his corpse. The corpse is stiff and cannot move, so he cannot leave this place. Thus, he devours blood and vitality in order to refine the corpse. If he can refine it back to life, he'll be able to walk wherever he pleases," Daoist Yansong said.

Bai Ke nodded. "That was probably it."

As they spoke, the three people and one fox arrived outside an abandoned village.

Looking around, they saw a forest with strangely growing trees. The small path they had taken was long since covered in wild grass. Had it not been somewhat shorter than the surrounding shrubs, they might not even have found the way.

It was noon, yet mist rose through the forest. Sunlight filtered through the thick fog, casting down only a faint glow. It lit the surroundings, but brought not a trace of warmth.

"This deserted village obviously looks wrong. Would those lost people really dare walk inside?" Gu Zhao could already sense the ominous aura emanating from it.

Bai Ke said faintly, "They had taken the wrong road, and it was raining heavily. Other than the abandoned houses here where they could shelter from the rain, what else could they do?"

Gu Zhao glanced at Bai Ke. "Did you try to stop them?"

Bai Ke did not deny it. "But they ran even faster."

The three of them fell silent. In the wild mountains and barren ridges, where daylight never showed, a white shadow flickered and fox murmurs whimpered. Anyone normal would be scared, all right?

"Are you sure this ghost isn't too powerful?" Gu Zhao confirmed once again.

This was his first time actively going to pick a fight with another being. To be honest, he was still a little unaccustomed to it. If they lost again, that would be even more humiliating.

"Don't worry. Even if I wanted to send you to your death, I wouldn't let Xiuniang step into danger." Bai Ke used her tail to gather the loose hair by Xiuniang's ear. "I've encountered him twice. As long as we leave the village, he can't chase us out."

"Then let's go!" Gu Zhao waved a hand.

Thus, the three people and one fox entered the village.

There had once been a ring of earthen walls around the village, but they had long since collapsed into scattered ruins. The wooden gate at the village entrance, from which a plaque hung, was relatively intact. The three pitch-black words "Liu Family Village" flickered in and out of sight through the mist, revealing a hint of savagery and eeriness.

Inside the village, all was silent.

The faint mist did not greatly obstruct their sight. Although the village was abandoned, its houses remained largely intact. Half-open doors, torn window paper, rampant weeds, and faint ripples of thought energy drifting through the air told the true story of the abandoned village.

"The flesh and blood were drained dry, and the spirit souls were devoured as well. Since they have not seen sunlight for years, only a little lingering resentment remains," Bai Ke said faintly.

Xiuniang shrank her neck. "With resentment this deep, how many people did he kill?"

Bai Ke looked around, and everyone fell silent.

"The fog has grown thicker," Daoist Yansong suddenly said.

As they ventured deeper into the abandoned village, there were clearly fewer trees around them, yet the sunlight above did not increase in the slightest. Instead, it was blocked by a layer of mist, as though it would never shine upon the village.

"Why hasn't he appeared yet?" Gu Zhao asked.

None of them had released the aura of their divine senses, precisely so they could lure the ghost into revealing himself. According to Bai Ke, everyone who entered the village would be killed by that ghost.

Bai Ke said boredly, "Who knows? Maybe he knows no one enters this village during the day, so he sleeps during daylight?"

Xiuniang could not help asking, "Do ghosts sleep too?"

"People and Demonic Beasts both need sleep, so of course ghosts need sleep too!" Bai Ke said as if it were only natural. "Ghosts hide by day and emerge by night. Doesn't that prove they sleep during the day?"

Gu Zhao and Daoist Yansong exchanged a look.

It did not sound quite right, but modern Blue Star had no ghosts. Neither of them was as professional as Bai Ke, so they truly did not know whether ghosts needed sleep.

There was far too much knowledge they needed to make up for!

"Rustle—"

An evil wind sent the dead branches of the ancient trees clattering all around them, and a sinister ghostly aura suddenly rose from not far away.

"Over there?"

"Why isn't he coming over? Hasn't he noticed us?"

"That location is the main axis of a village. It would either be a meeting place or the ancestral hall."

"Let's go take a look."

The three people and one fox lightened their footsteps and headed in that direction together. As they drew closer, the faint mist could no longer block their view. Beneath an old locust tree stood a clearly dilapidated large building, with carved eaves and engraved pillars. It was an ancestral hall.

The ancestral hall's doors were tightly shut, and not a blade of grass grew before them.

"That ghostly aura just now came from inside the ancestral hall," Bai Ke said.

"He's inside?" Xiuniang asked timidly.

"Could he be cultivating, which is why he hasn't noticed us?" Daoist Yansong asked.

"Enough of that. Let's get moving!" Gu Zhao rubbed his hands together, stepped forward, and pushed open the ancestral hall's doors.

"Creak—"

The doors flew open at once. Four pairs of eyes looked into the ancestral hall together, but they saw two more pairs of eyes.

A young man in white robes stood on the left. His features were refined, but his complexion was bluish, and his eyes were gloomy and sinister.

An old man dressed in brocade, looking like a gentry, stood on the right, faintly confronting the young man.

Six pairs of eyes stared wide-eyed at one another.

Gu Zhao turned back to Bai Ke. "Didn't you say there was only one ghost in the village?"

The old man in brocade narrowed his eyes as well, cautiously looking toward the man in white. "Who are they?"

The man in white stood stunned for a moment. A faint flush actually appeared on his already blue-white face.

The next moment, the man in white's gaze sharpened. He extended his right hand and clenched the air, and the drifting mist around them seemed to transform into iron chains of a prison, pressing down toward Gu Zhao and the others.

Feeling the Five Thunder Token stirring in his Sea of Consciousness, Gu Zhao could not help inwardly praising him. Once again, not a single word of nonsense.

Since that was the case...

"Attack!" Gu Zhao shouted.

Xiuniang was the first to strike. With a lift of her hand, the Heavenly Fox Nail shot forth, weaving back and forth through the mist. Yet aside from the Mana it carried poking small holes in the fog, it could not stop the mist from closing in.

The man in white snorted coldly and exerted more force with his hand. Everyone felt that the mist did not merely press down upon them; it also carried a faint suction, as though it wanted to drain their blood away.

"Young Master!" Xiuniang was powerless and could only call for aid.

"Let this old Daoist give it a try." Daoist Yansong chuckled, stepped forward twice, and swept his sleeve across his face.

The next moment, Daoist Yansong had changed faces. This face had a blue base, black lines, golden trim, and white embellishments. It looked solemn and imposing, yet also somewhat strange and terrifying.

At the change, even the man in white, a ghost himself, was startled. "What is this...?"

"A Daoist from Qingcheng Mountain naturally has to change faces before fighting. Haven't you watched The Smiling, Proud Wanderer?"

Daoist Yansong swayed his head, formed an Old Lord seal before his chest, drew in a deep breath, then pursed his lips like a whistle and gently exhaled.

"Whoosh—"

A piercing howl of wind suddenly rang out. A gale blew from Daoist Yansong's mouth. With merely a shake of his head, the gale scattered all the surrounding mist.