The Butterfly Lovers (Be Sure to Keep Reading on Tuesday!)

Zhou Yang sighed.

With a turn of his thoughts, he prepared to take control of Ding Ling's body at any moment and reclaim the Breathing of the Ghost beneath her skin.

At the same time, he said to Ding Ling, "If you really can't control this breathing technique, there's no forcing it. I'll take it back."

"Sir, are you very disappointed in me?"

Ding Ling asked, both frightened and nervous.

"It's just a pity. You went through so many hardships and dangers and finally created an Averting God. With its help, you ought to have found it easier than other people to master the Breathing of the Ghost...

"But perhaps mastering this breathing technique really is much harder than the Draft of Divine Makeup and Ghost Painting. I can't ask you to risk your life trying."

As he spoke, Zhou Yang was about to take control of Ding Ling's body.

Just then, Ding Ling suddenly said, "I-I'll try again!

"Sir, let me see if I can use the Averting God's power-use its power to control the Breathing of the Ghost!"

Ding Ling then closed her eyes and took a long breath.

The Averting God, slender like her and with long hair hanging loose, silently appeared at the edge of her vision.

She had listened to Zhou Yang.

But she really did not know how to use the Averting God to control the Breathing of the Ghost.

She only thought that before trying to control the breathing technique, she first had to suppress the fear in her heart.

She had to steady herself and stop the flayed figure opposite her from continuing to take on her appearance.

The only thing that could suppress that overwhelming terror was another undercurrent of emotion surging in her heart-

Ding Ling's eyes snapped open.

A smile played on her lips, her almond-shaped eyes brimmed with affection, and a hint of allure showed in her expression.

She pointed one hand forward, looking timidly at the terrifying shadow opposite her with her beautiful eyes. Her other hand formed a flower-pinching gesture beside her cheek. She giggled, then suddenly sang:

"Look at the two reflections in the well, a man and a woman, both smiling so bright.

"Green lotus leaves on a clear-water pond, mandarin ducks paired together, two by two.

"Brother Liang... if Yingtai were a woman dressed in bridal red, would Brother Liang be willing to pair with her like mandarin ducks?"

This was a passage from The Butterfly Lovers.

It told of Zhu Yingtai seeing Liang Shanbo home, subtly revealing her identity as a woman along the way and sounding out his feelings.

Ding Ling was now wholly immersed in the scene. With the Averting God's help, she naturally brought out the delicate probing and lingering affection in the song to perfection.

The girl's lively reserve, her cleverness and charm, all showed in her eyes and expression.

Watching from the sidelines, Zhou Yang was momentarily spellbound by the sight of Ding Ling.

Beautiful things could captivate people whenever and wherever they appeared.

Ding Ling must have adored The Butterfly Lovers too, and must often have practiced it secretly before.

But what she faced now was the flayed ghostly figure within the Breathing of the Ghost.

Wasn't singing this scene to a ghost like casting a flirtatious glance at a fool?

Just as the thought crossed Zhou Yang's mind, he suddenly sensed that the chaotic breathing from the Ghost Mouths open along Ding Ling's arms had turned low and subdued in an instant!

Before long, the rising and falling breaths fell completely silent.

In their place came a faint ghostly wail.

The wavering ghostly cries took the initiative to follow the rhythm of Ding Ling's breathing, falling into perfect unison in moments!

"Woooo-"

She had actually used a passage that sounded like a love song to control the Breathing of the Ghost!

That worked too?

Zhou Yang was astonished!

After his surprise came heartfelt delight!

Now that Ding Ling had mastered the Breathing of the Ghost, she could use it alongside her Averting God. If she really encountered the Opera Ghost next, she would have a better chance of escaping!

Afterward, Zhou Yang could also use the Knife Credit Ledger to test whether the Good Karma he had gained could imprint Ding Ling's two abilities, Breathing of the Ghost and Curse Creation God.

"Sir, does this mean I've mastered this breathing technique?"

Ding Ling asked Zhou Yang.

She seemed cautious, yet her thoughts held a hidden note of anticipation.

"That's right!" Zhou Yang said excitedly. "You really are clever and brave!

"To think you came up with a way like that to master the Breathing of the Ghost!"

As he spoke, he willed the Knife Credit Ledger to turn to the page containing Ding Ling's personal record before his eyes:

"Karmic Retribution Body: Ding Ling.

"Mindfulness: 11 (own 4 + Blade-Credit Merchant 7)

"Identity: final disciple of the Lampstand Opera Troupe's leader.

"Abilities: skilled butcher, capable cook, self-taught folk opera performer, Draft of Divine Makeup and Ghost Painting (Gate of Opening Averting God), Breathing of the Ghost (first level)."

Breathing of the Ghost had indeed appeared among the abilities in Ding Ling's personal record.

This further showed that she had completely mastered the Breathing of the Ghost.

"Sir, did I sing well?" Ding Ling giggled and suddenly asked Zhou Yang.

"Yes!" Zhou Yang praised her sincerely.

"Did I look good?" As if possessed, Ding Ling asked another question.

The faintly teasing intent hidden in the woman's thoughts was both clear and charming.

Zhou Yang was taken aback, then smiled. "You looked good!"

"Ah..." His straightforward answer made Ding Ling flustered instead.

Ding Ling responded without thinking, and only after a long while did she stammer, "I never thought it, never thought singing a scene like that to a g-ghost would work on it too. That works too..."

"You used the Averting God's power, and sang the passage from The Butterfly Lovers with its emotions perfectly expressed. The performance reached the divine...

"That should be the main reason this scene worked on the Breathing of the Ghost," Zhou Yang said thoughtfully. "But I truly never expected it either. It wasn't an opera about gods and ghosts, and you weren't playing a mighty god or immortal, yet it still worked on a ghost.

"Could it be that an opera that reaches the divine actually contains some kind of aura similar to Ghost Rhyme, one that can affect ghosts?"

Ding Ling calmed her somewhat flustered mind and thought carefully about Zhou Yang's words for a while, then shook her head:

"I don't know."

"We'll pay more attention to these things from now on.

"The Breathing of the Ghost is also connected to breathing and Ghost Mouths. Perhaps that's another reason singing The Butterfly Lovers worked on it," Zhou Yang said. "Now, let me explain when to use this breathing technique and its various taboos."

After that, Zhou Yang taught Ding Ling all the specific tricks and taboos of the Breathing of the Ghost.

Ding Ling was currently hiding in an abandoned house on the very edge of Daliang Village.

Her current location could hardly be called safe. A short walk out along the path behind the house led to where the opera troupe was.

Once Chang Dafeng came down the slope, he could easily find Ding Ling among the abandoned houses if he took care to look.

What was more, although none of Daliangzi Village's villagers could be seen in this abandoned house, the neighboring houses and courtyards clearly showed signs of long-term habitation.

If Ding Ling was the least bit careless, she could run into those "villagers" of Daliangzi Village here.

Those villagers had been deeply tainted by the Opera Ghost's Ghost Rhyme, and most had already become corpses.

Ding Ling absolutely could not come face-to-face with them now.

So, after learning the Breathing of the Ghost, Ding Ling climbed over the courtyard's rammed-earth wall and followed a narrow path out of the village. She circled the outskirts and observed from a distance, then followed the road around the village toward a certain place.