Xiaoxing Village
Yan Jue stared at the little tail in the mirror and fell silent.
This scene felt all too familiar.
It was just like a few months ago, when she had suddenly grown a second tail as well.
The original owner came from the Ghost Mansion Fox Clan; could it be…
Yan Jue wrinkled her nose, still a little doubtful.
Then she shook her head, tucked the little tail under her belly, and made her way to the Cold Pool with a heavy heart.
When Yan Jue dragged her two big tails to Frozen Peach Haven, she suddenly heard a strange sound coming from inside the fence.
Ta… ta… ta…
It sounded like someone drinking water.
“…”
Yan Jue expressionlessly poked her head into Frozen Peach Haven, and sure enough, she saw the watermelon-striped little wild pig from that afternoon.
The little wild pig was tiny all over, its head lowered as it drank milk from a bowl.
Qi Xianqing was sitting in a bamboo chair beneath the peach tree, resting her chin on one hand as she watched it.
Yan Jue: “…”
She was actually watching that pig.
Qi Xianqing was actually watching that pig.
Yan Jue’s fox brain instantly flared with rage; she dashed over in a fury and let out a long howl!
The sound was earthshaking. The little wild pig’s fur stood on end, and it spun around abruptly.
Then the little pig saw a fiery red fox crouched beside Qi Xianqing’s leg, looking at it darkly, her ink-black ears twitching faintly.
The little pig froze.
It seemed… it seemed as if it caught a trace of extremely faint gold in those amber fox eyes.
This fox was giving off a scent that felt intensely familiar to the little pig, just like… just like the older sister who had saved it in the forest this afternoon!
As a demonic beast, the little pig’s instincts kicked in the moment it saw those amber eyes, and it understood everything.
So the sister who had saved it in the forest today was a senior after all!
The little wild pig snorted softly, lowered its head, and took a few tiny steps to the side. Then it kept its head down while glancing at Yan Jue from the corner of its eye.
Qi Xianqing paused. “Aren’t you two usually like fire and water? Why today…”
Before she could finish, the little wild pig lay down and exposed its soft belly to Yan Jue.
But its legs were too short; lying there with all four paws in the air, it looked awkward and clumsy, and a little stupid besides.
Yan Jue lifted her eyes, then suddenly sprang forward and jumped into Qi Xianqing’s arms, huffing once.
Qi Xianqing stared at them in surprise. Something in her arms suddenly trembled.
Yan Jue felt it too; she looked down and saw Qi Xianqing take out the wooden token from her chest.
Yan Jue froze.
This badge of Qi Xianqing’s was inset with flame-shaped jade. In the center was a faint qilin pattern, and at the very middle, in graceful dragon-and-phoenix script, was the character “Qi.”
It was a Thunderflame Sect disciple identity badge.
The badge Yan Jue had been thinking about day and night was exactly this shape.
With this badge, one could go down the mountain at any time.
Yan Jue was from Watercloud Sect, but she had seen Du Ying’s Watercloud Sect identity badge; it was inset with black jade.
Identity badges were very important within the sect. They not only proved one’s status as an officially recognized disciple of the Five Dragons Sect, but could also be used for communication when necessary.
One only needed to send Divine Sense into the token to exchange brief messages with others.
Qi Xianqing stared quietly at the badge, seeming to sense the information it carried, then patted the little fox’s head. “I’m going out for a bit.”
Qi Xianqing lifted the little fox by its armpits, set it on the ground, and left.
Now only the little wild pig and Yan Jue remained in Frozen Peach Haven.
The little pig looked at Yan Jue and gave a cheerful cry: “Hmph-hmph—”
Yan Jue: “…”
This little wild pig’s attitude toward her had changed dramatically. It had probably figured something out.
She just hoped it wouldn’t go blabbing everywhere.
The little pig trotted happily over there and actually ran toward the direction of the small wooden house in Frozen Peach Haven.
Yan Jue was afraid it would mess up Qi Xianqing’s things, so she followed behind it.
The little pig circled around Yan Jue. “Hmph-hmph!”
Then Yan Jue saw its short little hooves blindly scratching under Qi Xianqing’s desk, and it actually dug a tiny ball out of the clutter.
Yan Jue had never dreamed that she would end up playing ball with a pig in a room.
The little pig nudged the ball with its nose, then suddenly slammed its watermelon-sized body into it, sending the ball flying.
Yan Jue hadn’t intended to play at first, but seeing the ball move, she couldn’t help herself and started running too.
“Chirp chirp chirp—”
“Hmph-hmph!”
“Woo woo woo awooo—”
When Qi Xianqing came back, she heard the happy cries of little animals coming from the room.
Qi Xianqing stood at the doorway with her sword on her back, then fell silent as she looked into the room.
The shuttlecock rolled about under the table; the room was a mess.
The inkstone on the desk had been knocked over, and thick black ink was spilled all over the floor.
The little fox baby with fiery red fur was standing on a stool, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, her tail swishing back and forth.
Then both animals heard footsteps at the door.
Yan Jue turned sharply and met Qi Xianqing’s beautiful peach-blossom eyes at the entrance.
“…”
The little wild pig stood petrified for a long moment, then kicked up all four hooves and fled, snorting all the way.
When Yan Jue reacted, her heart suddenly clenched. She jumped down from the chair and tried to run too.
Qi Xianqing shut the door with a backward sweep of her hand. “Little fox baby, come with me for a moment.”
Then the little fox was picked up by Qi Xianqing.
The little fox struggled and wheezed, thrashing all four limbs wildly, staring in terror as Qi Xianqing took something from the box beside the bed—a long, slender whip.
Qi Xianqing folded the whip in half.
Yan Jue felt all the blood in her body rush backward in an instant. She crouched on the floor with both paws over her head; her two big tails, together with that little tail, were clamped tightly between her legs, and her ears were pressed flat against the back of her head.
“One… two… three.”
Qi Xianqing tapped her bottom three times with the whip. “The pig’s teeth aren’t that sharp; that mattress was bitten by you, wasn’t it? I just changed that mattress yesterday, and you already ruined it.”
The base of a canine beast’s tail was its most sensitive spot. Qi Xianqing had folded the whip, so the blows didn’t hurt, but Yan Jue’s teeth still started chattering. The skin on her back tightened sharply, her hind legs kicked out, and her whole fox body flattened against the floor as she opened her mouth and cried out in a messy, “yip yip yip.”
Qi Xianqing pinched the scruff of her neck. “I’m serious, and you’re still acting spoiled?”
Yan Jue’s eyes slid toward the mattress over there, and she couldn’t even bear to look at it.
While playing with the little wild pig just now, she had somehow gotten too excited and bitten the mattress.
This was really…
Qi Xianqing pressed one hand on her back and suddenly noticed something; her arm paused slightly.
Between the little fox’s two tails, there was somehow another little tail, firmly pressed against its belly.
Qi Xianqing froze. Her fingertips pinched the tiny tail, and an instant later a tingling sensation spread through her whole body. Yan Jue felt like she was about to go mad; she turned her head and cried out in a jumble, but her lower body was pinned down and couldn’t move at all.
Qi Xianqing stared. “Little fox baby, you are…”
Three tails…
Could it be a three-tailed spirit fox?
Qi Xianqing frowned slightly. She remembered that the little fox had only just grown a second tail a few months ago.
This rate of tail growth didn’t seem quite right either.
Yan Jue cried out aggrievedly, lying on the floor with no strength left at all.
Qi Xianqing quickly let go of her, lifted her little fox up under the armpits, and said sternly, “You’re not allowed to demolish the house anymore. Understand?”
Yan Jue recovered a little, but when she met Qi Xianqing’s deep peach-blossom eyes, she immediately tilted her head again, looking utterly lost.
Qi Xianqing really had no way to deal with her and could only murmur a soft curse: “Little fool.”
A three-tailed spirit fox, then so be it.
Qi Xianqing frowned slightly. It couldn’t be a nine-tailed fox…
…
Qi Xianqing… really did know how to train a dog.
The whip had been folded into a rounded shape, and when it hit someone, it didn’t hurt at all.
And that tone of hers—no one could help being afraid of her.
She didn’t know that canine beasts listened to tone of voice?
Yan Jue curled into a ball and was placed on the bed by Qi Xianqing. She swished her three tails and couldn’t help thinking to herself.
If she were reborn as a real fox in her next life, she would definitely choose someone like Qi Xianqing as her master!
Qi Xianqing very much liked having the little fox baby sleep in the room with her.
Because every time she slept with the little fox baby, her sleep quality was very high, and the frequency of her nightmares also decreased.
Qi Xianqing turned over and got into bed, pulled the stiff little three-tailed fox baby into her arms, said nothing, and very quickly fell asleep.
-
Mount Luoyun was one of the main routes from the southwest to the Central Plains.
Several great mountains were linked together, mist swirling all around them like a fairyland.
Because the fog was so thick, passing merchant caravans could, with the slightest carelessness, be lost forever in the mountains.
Midnight.
Mount Luoyun.
Suyang Immortal Mansion.
A Daoist with white hair and a child’s face, dressed in a purple robe, sat cross-legged.
Under the dim light, his cheekbones stood out unnaturally high, and his eye sockets were dark and shadowed.
The temperature in the huge limestone cave was high, thick with the stench of rot and a bitter medicinal smell.
Beneath him sat a huge black alchemical furnace.
Its body was forged of purple-gold, with faint carvings of celestial fish and dragon-phoenix patterns. Wisps of flame seemed to rise from beneath the furnace, sending up waves of thick smoke.
The cave was packed full of people.
Little boys wearing worn Daoist robes looked up at the Daoist, their eyes full of reverence and worship.
Then there were older youths with exaggerated rouge on their cheeks and red smeared across their lips, standing obediently beside the Daoist.
“Master…”
There were dozens of people in the cave altogether, crowded together in a black mass.
The Daoist closed his eyes, mumbling incessantly.
“Heaven and earth, mysterious and righteous; ten thousand energies their root, through countless tribulations I cultivate, to prove my divine powers…”
Water droplets fell from the cave ceiling. The Daoist abruptly opened his eyes; his bloodshot eyeballs rolled around, and he extended a long, thin finger, pointing deep into the cave.
On either side of him, the Daoist boys with rouge-smeared faces wordlessly walked in the direction he indicated, and soon dragged a boy wearing a worn Daoist robe out from the crowd.
The boy stared with terrified eyes and burst into tears with a wail.
“Disciple, don’t be afraid. By helping your master refine pills, after death you can ascend and become an immortal attendant.” The Daoist smiled, exposing a mouthful of rotten teeth. He held a whisk and suddenly swept it upward toward the sky!
The black alchemical furnace opened with a clang, and a huge amount of smoke poured out!
The furnace was already filled with black medicinal ingredients.
Vaguely, one could see many writhing little worms among the herbs, their black bodies covered in dense white spots. Sensing the furnace opening above, the worms lifted their heads and opened their mouths; their tiny teeth flashed coldly in the dim light.
Viper worms.
A Daoist boy roughly grabbed the boy by the collar and threw him into the alchemical furnace.
The furnace lid closed again, and the flames roared back to life.
Several children could no longer hold back their tears. The Daoist stroked his beard lightly and said with a smile, “To be able to serve your master as medicinal material is the honor of your whole lives. Master guarantees that you will all become immortal attendants in the future.”
“Body of golden light, cover and reflect my body…”
“Though seen, it cannot be seen; though heard, it cannot be heard…”
The alchemical furnace then opened. The medicinal materials and the person inside were already gone; what met the eye were several blue pills… and bones.
Those blue pills were covered in bloodshot veins, and black streaks twisted through their centers.
They looked just like the boy’s blood mixed together with the black viper worms.
The Daoist beckoned to the Daoist boy beside him. “Come, come over here.”
“I’ll give you an immortal pill.”
The Daoist boy froze, then his eyes suddenly lit up. He hurried forward and knelt down, trembling as he said, “Thank you, Master!”
The Daoist handed him the blue pill. The Daoist boy’s face turned pale, and he swallowed it in one gulp. Afterward, faint traces of red actually rose on that pale face.
Black worms crawled out from his eyes.
The Daoist boy let out a painful whimper, both fists clenched, veins bulging all over him!
The Daoist: “When my Demon Lord descends into the world, all of you will share in the glory.”
-
Because she would soon be going down the mountain with Qi Xianqing to complete a mission, Yan Jue had gotten up early today and sat at the table to sort through the things in her Qiankun bag again.
Her only magical tools were the iron sword used by outer sect disciples and the Northern Sea black iron around her neck.
Sheming Xu, sleeve arrows…
Yan Jue roughly inventoried her magical tools, then stared blankly at the pills in her Qiankun bag.
The antidote pills and hidden-aura pills were nothing special.
There was only one jar of ointment left for driving away mosquito demons…
The mosquito demons didn’t seem interested in her anyway. Since that time she had gone to Nanxing Town with Qi Xianqing, she had never run into mosquito demons again.
This jar of ointment was basically sitting idle now. She had originally planned to give it to Qi Xianqing, but later there were too many things going on, and she forgot to hand it over.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Yan Jue opened it and saw Duan Luxi standing outside, holding two freshly rune-tempered sleeve arrows in her hands. “I’ve finished the sleeve arrows you gave me before.”
Yan Jue took the sleeve arrows and put them into her Qiankun bag. “Thank you.”
Duan Luxi: “I’ve been so bored lately, Junior Sister Yan. Do you have any new magical tools here I can try making?”
Yan Jue gave a wry smile. She also wanted to hand over magical tools for Duan Luxi to refine, but she needed enough materials for that.
For example, the last time she was at the Refining Hall, it was by fusing that thousand-year-old ice crystal with black iron.
Where was she supposed to find that many thousand-year ice crystals for refining?
Yan Jue suddenly thought of something and took out a jar of ointment from her Qiankun bag. “Senior Sister Duan, this is ointment for repelling mosquito demons.”
When the lid was opened, a faint herbal fragrance wafted out; just by the smell alone, one could tell the ointment was of no low quality.
Yan Jue: “I have a friend who, whenever she goes out, always attracts a lot of mosquitoes and insects. If this ointment is applied to the hands, there may inevitably be places where it doesn’t reach.”
Duan Luxi quickly understood what Yan Jue meant. She frowned, took the ointment, and gently rubbed it with her finger.
The texture of this ointment really was excellent; most of it was creamy, but the top layer was a fine powder.
Yan Jue asked, “Could this jar of ointment possibly be made into something like mosquito-repelling incense?”
This world was full of wonders. As long as he had the raw materials, the most top-tier artifact refiner could make anything.
After all, a few days ago, Qi Xianqing had carried her back to Thunderflame Sect.
That favor, Yan Jue would definitely repay.
…
Yan Jue had only asked Duan Luxi casually and hadn’t thought there would be any chance; who would have expected Duan Luxi to consider it for a moment and say, “It’s worth trying. Your mosquito-repelling ointment is excellent material for refinement.”
Yan Jue was slightly startled. “That works too?”
Duan Luxi: “Because part of your ointment is already in powder form, I can make a simple dispersal device to see whether it can drive away mosquito demons.”
Yan Jue came back to herself from her shock. “I don’t really understand any of that either; then I’ll trouble Senior Sister Duan.”
-
The next day.
Today was the day she would go down the mountain with Qi Xianqing.
Yan Jue got up early, sorted through the things in her Qiankun bag once again, and took out the iron sword to tie it tightly across her back.
Once she had packed everything, she looked up at herself in the mirror.
A perfectly capable little female hero.
Yan Jue tied up her hair, when suddenly she heard the sound of wings flapping from the windowsill behind her.
Yan Jue turned around and saw that the Immortal Crane used by Five Dragons Mountain to send messages had somehow landed there.
Around the crane’s neck was a small flower basket, and inside the basket was something.
Yan Jue froze and took it out.
It was actually a delicate jade tube.
The jade tube looked somewhat like a bamboo whistle. Holding it in her hand, Yan Jue could faintly smell a trace of medicinal fragrance similar to her mosquito-repelling ointment.
There was a short note in the basket.
Duan Luxi: Junior Sister Yan, yesterday I fused your mosquito-repelling ointment with this jade tube. There is a small launch array on this jade tube; you only need to send Divine Sense into it, and the top end of the tube can launch a tiny amount of mosquito-repelling powder.
I call it: the Mosquito-Repelling Jade Tube.
I don’t know whether it will work, but this jade tube was bought by me at the Refining Hall. Because it was fused with array patterns, it was quite expensive, 100 lower-grade Spirit Stones.
Since Duan Luxi had said so, Yan Jue would definitely have to give her the money for the jade tube.
Yan Jue took two middle-grade Spirit Stones from her Qiankun bag; their value was roughly equal to 100 lower-grade Spirit Stones, and placed them into the basket hanging from the crane’s neck.
The Immortal Crane flapped its wings and flew away.
Yan Jue couldn’t help sighing. She really was not just poor now, but desperately poor. What little middle-grade Spirit Stones she had left were already few to begin with, and after previous expenses, she only had the last eight middle-grade Spirit Stones left.
She was about to go down the mountain and run away; without enough money, that simply wouldn’t do.
But Yan Jue knew this was not the time to think about that.
She looked up at the sun and knew the time was just about right.
She should be going down the mountain with Qi Xianqing.
Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing met at the mountain gate.
Qi Xianqing wore a black fitted outfit, crossed-collar and narrow-sleeved, with a long sword on her back. She stood behind a large boulder and looked up slightly at Yan Jue.
She had peach-blossom eyes, with deep folds at the outer corners. In the sunlight, those pupils were black and clear, the ends of her eyes deep and restrained.
Yan Jue greeted her. “Good morning, Senior Sister.”
Qi Xianqing looked at her and gave a slight nod. “…”
Fine, she was already used to it.
Qi Xianqing gave her a cloak, her meaning extremely concise: “Put it on.”
The cloak was pitch-black all over and exquisitely made; along the hem, beautiful dark patterns could be faintly seen.
Yan Jue paused slightly.
This type of cloak looked very familiar to her.
It was like the one worn by that Beast Taming Pavilion girl, Xue Shuangxing, whom she had met in the inn at Nanxing Town when she and Lin Xi had gone out on a mission last time.
Qi Xianqing answered her confusion. “This is called a Concealing Cloak. To prevent our identities from being exposed, we usually wear this when going down the mountain.”
Yan Jue: “All right, thank you, Senior Sister.”
Then she put the cloak on.
Today Yan Jue wore a lotus-green pleated skirt, with a snow-white cross-collar narrow-sleeved top. The golden choker around her neck flashed brilliantly in the sunlight, making her lips even redder and her teeth even whiter.
With the black cloak draped over her, it added a touch of heroism to the young girl’s features.
…
It wasn’t as if Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing had never gone out on missions together.
It was just that last time they went to Nanxing Town, there had been four people in the team.
Now there were only the two of them.
On the road, Qi Xianqing briefly explained the mission to Yan Jue in her cool voice.
The Daoist from Qingyu Taoist Temple whom they had met at the inn in Nanxing Town last time actually had a stronghold in Mount Luoyun, not far from Five Dragons Mountain.
It all began with Xiaoxing Village in Mount Luoyun. Xiaoxing Village had been haunted by ghosts for five years.
The vengeful ghosts caused the villagers endless suffering.
One day, a Daoist suddenly came to the village; he was the so-called Heavenly Master Su Yang, and claimed he could drive away ghosts.
The villagers hurriedly invited Heavenly Master Su Yang into the village, and after he expelled the vengeful ghosts, everyone discovered that this Heavenly Master really could exorcise them!
Then this Heavenly Master took up residence in a cave not far from the village.
The Heavenly Master said that the reason those families had encountered vengeful ghosts was because their sins were too deep.
After helping them drive away the ghosts, those families needed to send their children to his cave mansion to cleanse away evil spirits, so that the children, whose ability to protect themselves was the weakest, would not continue to be disturbed by them.
Besides, after the children learned immortal arts in the cave mansion and returned home, they could still help the village eliminate evil spirits.
Because of this, more than forty children in the village had already been sent to Heavenly Master Su Yang’s cave mansion.
The immortal sect suspected that this Heavenly Master Su Yang was a Daoist from Qingyu Taoist Temple, and a crooked cultivator.
And their purpose in going now was not only to eliminate this demonic Daoist, but also to use every possible means to get close to him and find out who was standing behind Qingyu Taoist Temple.
…
Along the way, Yan Jue kicked stones as she walked, gradually putting more and more distance between herself and Qi Xianqing.
When she was with Qi Xianqing, Yan Jue always felt that the atmosphere was somehow off.
Ever since that night when she slept with Qi Xianqing… ever since the day she fainted in class and Qi Xianqing carried her back to the dormitory…
That awkward feeling always lingered in Yan Jue’s heart and refused to go away.
Maybe she was overthinking it.
Perhaps Qi Xianqing treated every junior brother and junior sister this well.
Although when she turned into a little fox, she really liked being close to Qi Xianqing.
But the little fox was the little fox, and she was her.
If this Heavenly Dao really couldn’t be changed, then Qi Xianqing would always belong to the male lead.
All she needed to do was quickly repay the favor she owed Qi Xianqing, and everything would be settled.
The spring wind brushed against her face. Qi Xianqing narrowed her eyes slightly, watching the young girl in front-left absentmindedly kick stones along as she walked, and with a rather good mood, she carried her sword and strolled forward at an unhurried pace.
-
Xiaoxing Village was located in Mount Luoyun, not far from Five Dragons Mountain.
After coming down the mountain, the two of them took a carriage, and by evening they had reached their destination.
The setting sun sank in the west; the mountains were blood-red.
Xiaoxing Village nestled among the surrounding peaks; true to its name, the whole village was filled with the fragrance of apricot blossoms.
The carriage stopped at the village entrance, and two people got down.
Both were women, both wearing black cloaks. They looked like ordinary people, but their faces were faintly indistinct.
These two were Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing.
Because Xiaoxing Village was originally located in Mount Luoyun, a major route in the southwest leading to the Central Plains, merchants often stayed in the village to rest. So when the villagers saw outsiders, they didn’t find it strange, and no one paid attention to these two ordinary women.
After getting off the carriage, the two went to the village head’s house.
Qi Xianqing took the talisman token from her waist before the village head.
The token was inlaid with a deep dark-red jade stone, and a qilin pattern was carved on it with exceptionally exquisite brushwork.
The village head couldn’t help freezing, and his whole body instantly went rigid with fear.
“It’s… it’s an immortal master from Five Dragons Mountain!” He hurriedly knelt and kowtowed to Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue.
Yan Jue exchanged a look with Qi Xianqing. Yan Jue stepped forward and helped him up. “Please rise, Village Head.”
The village head trembled as he stood and asked, “May I ask what business the immortal masters have here? Could it be that Five Dragons Sect also knows Xiaoxing Village has suffered a great calamity these past five years…”
Yan Jue glanced at Qi Xianqing and asked, “May I ask the old village head to explain Xiaoxing Village’s haunting in detail; we’ll naturally help you.”
The village head: “No need, no need! There’s no need to trouble the immortal masters.”
“Hm?”
“Actually, as early as five years ago, a venerable immortal passed by here and learned that our village was cursed by a wicked god, so he had already performed rites to resolve it.”
Yan Jue asked knowingly, “May I ask which immortal that was?”
The village head smiled. “Ten li from here there is a Suyang Immortal Mansion; inside lives a Heavenly Master. Whenever our village encounters ghosts, it is always that old immortal who comes forward to resolve it.”
Yan Jue caught the key point and frowned. “Whenever you encounter ghosts… does the village head mean that even now, Xiaoxing Village still sees vengeful ghosts?”
The village head: “Exactly. The old immortal said that the families who encounter vengeful ghosts are deeply sinful, which is why the Heavenly Dao brings punishment down upon them… For some reason, every year our village has several households targeted by vengeful ghosts, but whenever the Daoist comes at the time the ghosts descend and performs rites, he can drive them away.”
Yan Jue pondered. “There’s actually such a thing…”
Her gaze shifted to Qi Xianqing, who looked up and asked, “In this situation, what should we do?”
The two were on a mission right now, so naturally Qi Xianqing was once again the lead senior sister.
Qi Xianqing was extremely skilled at this as well, speaking softly and gently; she was completely different from Lin Xi from last time.
Yan Jue felt very comfortable being with her, and answered naturally, “Where is the household that was haunted most recently?”
The village head looked at this little Daoist priest carrying a sword on her back and wearing a cloak.
For some reason, this person’s looks… it wasn’t that they were ugly, exactly, but they felt extremely ordinary, as if one would forget them immediately after seeing them.
So the village head said, “Right at Old Liu’s house by the village entrance. Last year on this very night, because the Daoist had urgent matters and arrived late, Old Liu’s entire family was killed by the vengeful ghost.”
Yan Jue’s expression darkened.
Although Xiaoxing Village already had immortal assistance, the reputation of Five Dragons Mountain was after all very great, so the village head did not resist either.
It was always good to have a few more immortal masters take a look at their village’s situation.
So Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing came to the Liu family at the village entrance.
The afterglow of the setting sun scattered across the thatched roof.
Perhaps because of the haunting they had once suffered, Old Liu’s door had been sealed with strips of paper; from the outside it looked gloomy and eerie.
Yan Jue pushed the door open, and tiny specks of dust floated in the air.
She lifted her eyes; everything was covered in dust.
With a fox demon’s keen sense of smell, Yan Jue could even catch the lingering scent of blood in the air.
Qi Xianqing: “Last year on this day, the Liu family was haunted.”
The originally honest farmer, Old Liu, suddenly went mad in the middle of the night, swung a blade to hack his beloved wife to death, and then used a hemp rope to hang himself alive.
Only one son and one daughter remained in the family.
Of course, those two children were sent to Suyang Immortal Mansion outside the village, where Heavenly Master Su Yang cleansed them of evil spirits and turned them into immortal attendants.
Qi Xianqing said thoughtfully, “Every year on this day, ghosts descend upon this village.”
Yan Jue couldn’t help getting goosebumps.
The two of them quickly reached the backyard.
Qi Xianqing took out a dagger from her Qiankun bag, squatted down slightly, and dug away the dirt beside the well. Seeing nothing, she lowered her brows slightly, then stood and walked seven steps east.
She dug up the soil under her feet again.
Yan Jue froze slightly.
In the earth lay a… pale yellow jade pendant.