The Four Ghosts of the Liu Household

The Four Ghosts of the Liu Household were temporarily staying in a mortal settlement in White Sand called Wild Horse Village. They had been there less than a month, yet they had enslaved and tormented the village's thousand-odd residents until only a handful were still alive.

Bai Bian had paid for this information.

Every place had cultivators who made a business of digging up information. As long as you could afford the price, they could even find out what style of undergarments a Golden Core cultivator's favorite concubine wore beneath her skirt.

The Four Ghosts of the Liu Household were brothers born of the same mother, and all four had Spirit Roots.

Given the odds of that happening, if their parents were still alive and happened to run into an Evil Cultivator, they would most likely be captured and taken away for breeding.

The eldest was skilled with a white bone sword.

Rumor had it that whenever he killed a cultivator, he would take the hardest bone from the victim's body. Once he had gathered ten, he would add them to his white bone sword and refine it anew.

By now, he had refined it three times. He was the most formidable of the four brothers, having reached the sixth layer of Qi Refinement, just one step away from the late stage.

His reputation was considerable even among Evil Cultivators. He was said to have been born with golden eyes and ape-like arms, resembling the "Purple Sage Vajra Physique" recorded in ancient texts.

Kang Dabao knew, of course, that this was nonsense. If the man truly had such a gift, countless true Foundation Establishment cultivators would be begging to take him as a disciple. How could a minor Qi Refinement cultivator like Bai Bian be worthy of having any grudges or feuds with him?

The second brother had suffered Qi Deviation in his early years of cultivation, leaving him deranged. His favored Law Artifact was a flying wheel, and he delighted in cutting people in half at the waist. His violent temperament was unlike that of an ordinary person.

The third brother was cautious and possessed a folding fan Law Artifact that could command fierce winds against his enemies.

The fourth was the least capable, with a cultivation of only the fourth layer of Qi Refinement. Yet he possessed a rare first-tier, mid-grade defensive Law Artifact, making him difficult to deal with as well.

The four brothers were ruthless and had a long record of wicked deeds.

Their most famous exploit was an attack on a Qi Refinement Lineage half a year ago, in which more than a dozen cultivators, including two late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, had all perished at the hands of the four villains.

Their fearsome reputation had spread far and wide, leaving everyone in the smaller nearby powers fearing for their lives.

In recent years, the older cultivators of the White Sand Bai Household had steadily dwindled, some from injuries or illness, others from cultivation battles.

The White Sand Bai Household had once been considered quite prosperous among the nearby Rogue Cultivator Lineages. Now, apart from Bai Bian, a late-stage cultivator, it had fewer than five Qi Refinement cultivators left, all of them at the early or middle stages.

The trouble was that the Bai Household had acted far too overbearingly in its heyday and made enemies of many of its neighbors.

As a result, even after finally tracking down Evil Cultivators like the Four Ghosts of the Liu Household, who bore deep, longstanding grudges against the Bai Household, they had little choice.

Aside from Bai Bian, the old cultivator, most of the Household's cultivators had to be kept at home to guard the mountain, and he still had to ask a few old friends with whom he was on somewhat better terms to keep an eye on the place.

Bai Bian was, after all, already in his eighties or nineties. He had been eager to fight in his youth and carried many hidden injuries. His strength was far below what it once had been, and the outcome was uncertain if he faced the Four Ghosts of the Liu Household alone, while they were in their prime.

But if he missed this chance, there was no telling when the Evil Cultivators, who excelled at fleeing, would show themselves again.

Perhaps by the time Bai Bian was at death's door, one of the Evil Cultivators would have made another great leap in cultivation and be able to storm into Bai Household Stockade and wash the Bai Household into a bare patch of earth.

That was why he had sought out Second Sister Song, with whom he had some acquaintance and who had worked as a broker at Linghe Market for more than a decade, and asked her to invite some people to lend a hand.

But few respectable cultivators were willing to take on such a life-risking job, so they could only pick their generals from among the short men.

Niu Gui'er was about the worst of the lot. That day, he had pretended to be a good man and comforted Daoist Wu's widow, only to turn around and sell her to a brothel in Great Zhai Market.

Daoist Wu's widow, who had also been his sister-in-law, was ordinary in both figure and looks, but female cultivators fetched a high price, and her status as a widow added to it. Niu Gui'er had made quite a profit.

He had even tricked Daoist Wu's mortal descendants into leaving the market and slaughtered every last one of them right in front of the Zhai Household cultivators guarding the gate.

Unless there was no other choice, Kang Dabao must never have the slightest further involvement with a man like that.

Gu Laoliu had injured his foundation practicing unorthodox, evil arts in his early years and had almost no chance of advancing any further in this lifetime. He therefore hoped to establish a Rogue Cultivator Lineage like the Bai Household before he died.

Over the years, he had taken in concubines by the dozen and fathered a great many sons and daughters, yet not one of them had a Spirit Root.

He had come this time to redouble his efforts and earn a sum for the betrothal gifts needed to marry a female cultivator from a Rogue Cultivator Lineage in Cloud Horn Prefecture.

Second Sister Song had told Kang Dabao all this on the way to Wild Horse Village.

The two had known each other since they were young. Second Sister Song's uncle had been only a mortal county magistrate's aide, but he and Kang Dabao's master had been chess friends despite the difference in their ages.

When the elders played chess, they naturally brought their juniors along to attend them. As time went by, seeing that the two youngsters were close in age and Second Sister Song also had a Spirit Root, the elders on both sides began to consider a marriage between them.

But Second Sister Song had turned around and married a young master of a Foundation Establishment Lineage in Xuanwei City as a concubine.

She had been gone for more than ten years. By the time Kang Dabao saw Second Sister Song again, she was already living as a widow in Pingrong County.

By then, Kang Dabao had long forgotten the few tender feelings he had harbored in his youth, and there was even less reason to speak of resentment.

Their relationship had never been bad, and living nearby, they began to see more of each other.

When Second Sister Song opened a business on her own at Linghe Market, Kang Dabao had brought Jiang Qing and Yuan Jin along to help her with a few small things. As they saw more of one another, their relationship naturally grew closer.

Kang Dabao had originally intended to travel with Second Sister Song this time, but she had some matters to deal with at the last minute, so they had gone separately.

Kang Dabao understood well enough that his friend from youth was not some pretty doll people could toy with as they pleased just because she had a lovely face. She had more than a few lives on her hands.

Still, she probably had some limits. If not for her, Kang Dabao, who had always treasured his life, would never have joined this band of vicious people alone to risk his neck against desperate Evil Cultivators, no matter how hard-pressed he was.

Wild Horse Village was a remote settlement deep in the mountains, unmarked on Great Wei's administrative maps.

The luckier settlements of this kind could hire a cultivator like Kang Dabao's martial uncle at White Ram Monastery to guard them.

Though such a cultivator might spend an entire lifetime circling between the first and second layers of Qi Refinement, he was still a genuine cultivator, enough under ordinary circumstances to protect a village of nearly ten thousand people.

Those without such good fortune could only purchase weapons and armor, then organize their able-bodied men and train them in martial arts.

If a low-level Demon Beast attacked, they could normally survive even if half their people died. Perhaps the remaining half could find a kindhearted cultivator to buy the Demon Beast's materials and live even better afterward.

But if they encountered Evil Cultivators like the Four Ghosts of the Liu Household, all that awaited them was the scene before their eyes.

At dusk, the settlement that should have held a thousand-odd people in several hundred households was almost silent. Only now and then came sounds like the wailing of women.

No cooking smoke could be seen, only broken walls and ruins burned to the ground.

The sight did not change anyone's expression. They had seen too much for their emotions to stir, though Gu Laoliu might even have been reminded of his own lair at Five Birds Mountain.

Bai Bian found a place outside the village and led the others into hiding. The dead of night was the proper time to kill.

He pulled out a small, drab gray formation plate and fitted several Spirit Stones into its grooves, setting up a crude little concealment formation.

Its advantage lay in its ease of use: all it needed was Spirit Stones. Ordinary low- and mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators who knew nothing of formation principles could not detect it. It was truly a fine aid for murder and robbery.

Kang Dabao cast a quiet, envious glance at it. Before his master died, the Chongming Sect had possessed a few of these as well.

What surprised Kang Dabao even more was that Song Erniang's red dress was a scouting Law Artifact. Two white butterflies were embroidered on it, and they could actually flutter out and serve as scouts.

Niu Gui'er's face flushed red as he snorted two clouds of black vapor from his nostrils. When the vapor dispersed, twenty or thirty little ghosts appeared around him.

The little ghosts were all about the size and build of children of seven or eight, but their heads were as large as buckets, their teeth and ears were pointed, and their faces were covered in fine black scales.

Each held a weapon. Some appeared to be crying, others laughing, their mouths stretched wide, yet not a sound came out.

They now pressed tightly against Niu Gui'er, who was exceedingly affectionate toward them. It was a truly bizarre sight.

Kang Dabao knew this was another of the methods for which Niu Gui'er was famous: he pulled out the tongues of children he had stolen, bought, or snatched, then extracted their souls and refined them into Ghost Children.

He had obtained only a fragment of this unorthodox art, so not only was its power somewhat weaker, but the refining method was even more difficult.

Often, he could not refine a single Ghost Boy from a hundred children, yet he had casually released twenty or thirty just now. That showed how many lives he had ruined.

No wonder he released the Ghost Boys to protect himself now. He's guarding against an enemy attack, but he's guarding against us too, Kang Dabao thought to himself.

Kang Dabao, like Gu Laoliu, did nothing. He was just about to find a corner to meditate.

But Second Sister Song came over and spoke to him. "Brother Bao, you haven't been in a battle for a long time. Blades and swords have no eyes, so don't charge too far ahead."

"Don't worry, Second Sister. With no one behind me forcing me forward at spearpoint, how could I charge quickly? Better to scavenge the dead than be the man who leads the charge." Kang Dabao smiled as he answered.

"Hehe, Brother Bao, you're still so amusing." Second Sister Song covered her mouth and chuckled for a while. "But Brother Bao was more fun when he was little, all fair and chubby, like a lump of dough.

"Back then, when Brother Qing wanted to ride you like a horse, you'd crawl along the ground, and Brother Jin would chase after you, slapping your bottom and pulling down your trousers."

Kang Dabao's old face reddened. "Don't talk nonsense. None of that ever happened."

"The old days were more fun. I'd wait for you to sneak out of the scripture hall and skip evening lessons, and we'd roast sweet potatoes on the slope. Now it's all fighting and killing, and there's no fun in it at all." Second Sister Song suddenly sighed, propped her fragrant cheek in her hand, and gazed blankly into the distance.

Her words suddenly reminded Kang Dabao of a time when he and Second Sister Song had lain together on the grass and watched the sunset.

She had been only thirteen or fourteen then.

Her hair had been done in two little braids, and her small face had been rosy and plump. Lying beside her, Kang Dabao had so wanted to take a hard bite.

How could Kang Dabao have imagined then that such an innocent girl could become a ruthless female cultivator who brought a band of vicious people together to take heads for a reward?

Cultivating immortality, cultivating immortality... Was what they cultivated truly immortality?

He was about to say something else when Bai Bian's voice came from the other side. "We'll soon be fighting for our lives, fellow Daoists. It would be best if you stopped chatting and laughing."

With a great battle at hand, we did go a little too far. But why did the old man's tone sound a little strange...?

Kang Dabao lowered his head slightly in apology, only to see Second Sister Song turn her back on Bai Bian and softly spit. She then took his hand and pressed something into it, turned back and winked at Kang Dabao with a smile, and only then lifted her skirt, rose, and walked away.

"Why is Second Sister acting a little strange today?" Kang Dabao said thoughtfully.

He looked at what Second Sister Song had just pressed into his hand. It was a red mountain fruit he had often eaten as a child. Though it was only an ordinary mortal fruit, it was exceptionally sweet and juicy, and particularly hard to find.

When they were children, they would often search all day and find only a few. Jiang Qing had been the youngest and could usually find none at all.

Kang Dabao was normally willing to play horse for him, but he was greedy for treats too. At most, he would let Jiang Qing take one little bite and refuse to share any more, often prompting him to roll on the ground and make a fuss.

At the thought, the corners of Kang Dabao's mouth lifted slightly. He was about to take a bite when he suddenly stopped.

He turned away and secretly used two or three simple methods to test it for poison. After all, he felt somewhat guilty toward Second Sister Song for doing so.

After all that, he confirmed there was nothing wrong with it, but he no longer had much appetite.

He decided to put it in his Storage Bag and take it back to share with Jiang Qing. Hmm, he's grown a little this time, so I'll give him half.

"Something's wrong. Someone's coming!"