Late at night.
Xitun Mountain.
“Ming Jing? Junior Brother Ming Jing, where did you run off to? If you can hear me, answer me quickly!”
“Darn it, the Ghost Qi nearby is starting to get thicker and thicker. Could it be...”
“Junior Brother Ming Jing?”
...
The interior of the dark, dilapidated wooden house was deathly silent, save for the small wooden fish under the bed that continuously emitted a faint sound.
This wooden fish was a Buddhist dharma tool, capable of transmitting sound.
The young monk hiding under the bed didn’t dare to answer.
Only after tremblingly poking his head out and repeatedly confirming that there was nothing unusual in the room did his pale complexion soften slightly.
Ming Jing lowered his voice as much as possible.
“Sorry, Senior Brother. I was being chased by a Headless Ghost just now, and in my desperation, I found a place to hide.”
“What? You encountered a Headless Ghost?”
The other side was clearly startled.
The two had come to Xitun Mountain originally just to slay some weaker minor demons and ghosts as a form of training.
They hadn’t expected to actually provoke the Headless Female Ghost who ruled over the entire Xitun Mountain!
“Tell me quickly where you’re hiding. I’ll request reinforcements from the temple right now.
If Senior Brother Jingkong brings people here immediately, it might still be in time!”
Ming Jing let out a long sigh of relief, appearing to have relaxed quite a bit.
“Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I’m hiding safely under the bed; I shouldn’t be found.
You just stay where you are. I’ll go and meet up with you in a while.”
“Under a bed? But your location is on the south side of Xitun Mountain. That place is a mass grave. Where would there be a house?”
The voice coming from the wooden fish caused Ming Jing’s scalp to suddenly go numb.
“Senior Brother, you’re joking, right? I clearly saw a house before I hid inside.”
“I’m not joking! There are only tombstones there. Where could a house come from?
Quickly, what color is that house?”
“I remember it should be... blood... red?”
A chill suddenly surged up Ming Jing’s back.
Only then did he abruptly realize the strangeness.
A blood-red house? Who would build a house of that color?
But why, when he entered, had he been completely unaware of how bizarre the color was?
More importantly...
Ming Jing clearly remembered that when he was passing by the mountainside, he had seen a tombstone stained red with blood.
That feeling was exactly the same as this house...
“Creak.”
Just then, a crisp sound suddenly came from the wooden floorboards of the house.
“She’s here!”
Ming Jing’s heart instantly leaped into his throat, and even breathing became difficult.
He squeezed his eyes shut in terror, desperately trying to calm his heartbeat.
‘It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m hiding under the bed. She definitely won’t see me...’
‘Creak.’
‘Creak.’
‘Cre...’
The room returned to a deathly silence.
“Did she stop?”
“Or has she already left?”
Enduring his fear, Ming Jing slowly opened his eyes.
Instantly.
He froze.
Water was dripping down, drip-drip-drip.
Pitch-black long hair hung down to the floor, and a deathly pale face was staring directly into his eyes.
No wonder the footsteps sounded so strange.
It turned out the female ghost had been upside down, jumping toward the bedside one hop at a time.
“You... really are here.”
Those pale corners of her mouth curled into an eerie and piercing smile.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!”
“...”
From the other side of the wooden fish, Ming Jing’s voice soon vanished.
...
[Slayed one Specter, gained Noble Qi x1]
[Slayed one Walking Corpse, gained Noble Qi x1]
[Slayed one Specter, gained Noble Qi x1]
At the foot of Xitun Mountain, Chen Ning had been slaying from evening until night. He moved with unstoppable momentum, having already cut down an unknown number of demons and ghosts along the way.
Ginseng babies were truly good things. Throughout this journey, demons and ghosts attracted by their fragrance had continuously popped up.
Thanks to them, Chen Ning had fought to his heart’s content. His proficiency with the Poem and Wine Sword Art had improved significantly without him even realizing it.
But the two ginseng babies were scared out of their wits, shivering as they hid beside Chen Ning’s legs.
Having left the deep mountains, this was the first time they realized they were such delicious morsels in the eyes of monsters.
Fortunately, they had asked this Sword Immortal for help. Otherwise, they probably would have been eaten several times over by now!
Terrifying! This world was truly terrifying!
“Lord Sword Immortal is truly amazing.”
“Yes, yes! Lord Sword Immortal is the most powerful Sword Cultivator I’ve ever seen!”
The two little babies looked up, incessantly flattering him.
They seemed to fear that if Chen Ning became unhappy, he might just dump them.
“Forget the flattery. It’ll be enough if you two just stop grabbing onto me.”
Chen Ning looked helplessly at the two ginseng babies.
These two little fellows had been clutching his pant legs since earlier, making it feel as if two sandbags were tied to his legs, which made movement extremely inconvenient.
If he had known ginseng babies were this much of a hindrance, he should have just thrown them into some wine to soak and drink them back then!
Fortunately, however, they were about to arrive.
Following Chen Ning’s gaze, the two ginseng babies also looked at Xitun Mountain, which was right before their eyes.
“Great! We’re finally almost there!”
Just as they were cheering and jumping for joy, a young monk with a bald head walked over from the distance.
Seeing the group, the young monk’s face revealed a gratified smile.
“Amitabha. I have been waiting here specifically, and I didn’t expect to actually meet you, Benefactors.
Demons and monsters run rampant nearby, making it extremely dangerous. However, my senior brother and I are currently slaying them.
You may travel with me. With us here, you don’t have to worry about being harmed by demons at all.”
“It’s a monk!”
That friendly smile caused the two ginseng babies to become excited instantly.
They knew that human monks were a group of devout vegetarians who chanted sutras. Hearing that there were many monks nearby exorcising demons, their hearts were immediately set at ease.
“Little monk, where is the senior brother you mentioned?”
“Hehe, with Lord Sword Immortal and Buddhist monks here, we don’t have to worry about being eaten anymore.”
The ginseng babies walked forward with confidence, but after taking only two steps, their bodies were suddenly grabbed by Chen Ning.
A faint layer of purple qi covered Chen Ning’s eyes as he shook his head.
“Don’t go near him. This guy isn’t human at all.”
“W-what?”
The two little fellows widened their eyes, almost scared silly by those words.
In their eyes, that was a young monk who looked very friendly!
That was a monster in disguise?
But shouldn’t monsters be the kind with pale faces and thick Ghost Qi emanating from their entire bodies?
Just then, another young monk from Mingji Temple also rushed over, following the sound.
Seeing that little monk, the young monk immediately cried out in alarm.
“Junior Brother Ming Jing? How could you possibly be here?”
Given the sound that came from the wooden fish earlier, wasn’t it possible that his junior brother had already met his end?
The young monk suddenly felt a chill run through his body, his eyes widening in horror.
“No, you’re not Ming Jing at all! You... who on earth are you?”
“Senior Brother, what are you saying? I’ve practiced with you for so many years; could it be that you can’t even recognize me?
I am Ming Jing. Just now, I used a small trick to easily escape from the Headless Ghost.
Buddha is merciful. Seeing that these outsiders are in danger, isn’t it normal for me to want to save them?”
Ming Jing’s head twisted one hundred and eighty degrees to look at the young monk.
But by accident...
Thud, thud, thud...
That large head rolled right off his neck.
“Ah, it’s all my fault. This bald head is so slippery that I didn’t set it properly, and it actually fell off by mistake.”
The head on the ground was still speaking calmly, but an eerie curve had risen at the corners of its mouth.
Rate on N.U.
