Mutual Mockery

A jade bit is a horse’s bridle bit made of jade, an important tool for controlling horses.

Qi Xianqing held the jade bit between her fingers and asked, “What is this?”

Yan Jue naturally knew Qi Xianqing was testing her, so she frowned slightly and said, “It looks like a ghost bit.”

“Exactly.”

Yan Jue had read related books before and knew that demonic cultivators used jade bits to command ghosts.

This kind of jade bit was also called a ghost bit.

And a ghost bit had appeared in the back courtyard of this household...

That meant the vengeful ghost hadn’t materialized out of thin air; someone was controlling it and sending it here.

Yan Jue’s pupils contracted slightly.

Xiaoxing Village was very small, with barely a hundred people in it.

Every year, several households were haunted.

If every haunted household then sent its children to Suyang Immortal Mansion to have the evil spirits exorcised, more than forty children should already have been sent there by now.

None of the children sent away had ever come back.

Was it because the evil spirits hadn’t been fully driven out, or because their immortal arts hadn’t yet been mastered?

The villagers, because Heavenly Master Su Yang was said to be an old immortal, naturally felt the instinctive awe of mortals and didn’t dare ask.

...

Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing returned to the village chief’s house.

Before they even got close, they saw a despondent man standing at the door saying, “Village Chief, it’s already nightfall. Why hasn’t Immortal Su Yang come yet?”

The village chief seemed long used to this; he didn’t even bother opening the door. “The immortal master has been kind to our village. Tonight you’re the one in danger; how could he possibly not come? You should go home and keep watch over your wife and children. That’s what matters.”

The man clutched his head, his face deathly pale. “But I don’t dare go back. I won’t feel at ease until the immortal master comes. Is he really not coming tonight?”

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him and whirled around to see two women in black cloaks.

“You...”

“We just happened to pass by.” Yan Jue cupped her hands toward him and smiled politely. “May I ask who you are... and what happened?”

The man looked terrible; the area between his brows was dark, and his face was white as paper.

Even Yan Jue, an inexperienced outer sect disciple, could tell something was wrong with him.

He was in a state of being haunted by evil spirits.

When the man saw the long sword behind Yan Jue’s back, his eyes lit up slightly. “Hero! Please, save me.”

“Then tell me what happened.”

The man trembled. “A few days ago, the immortal said that a vengeful ghost would come to my house tonight, and he promised to help me exorcise it. But tonight he still hasn’t come.”

...

On the way, Yan Jue had learned the general situation from the man.

The man’s surname was Fang. He was a poor scholar, and everyone usually called him Fang Sheng.

It all started with the curse of vengeful ghosts that had plagued the village for years.

Since the Li family had been killed by a vengeful ghost five years ago, every spring, someone’s household was sure to be targeted by a demon.

Fang Sheng: “We’ve only been able to make it this far thanks to an old immortal who knows how to drive ghosts away.”

“Because the ghost’s target changes every year, none of us know who it’ll strike next. Fortunately, the old immortal comes to the village a month in advance every year to warn us before the vengeful ghost arrives, so we can prepare.”

“But...” As he spoke, his expression suddenly changed. “A month ago, the old immortal suddenly sent someone to tell us that this time, the vengeful ghost’s target would be our Fang family!”

“Since then, our family’s luck has gone downhill. My wife went mad, and our mules and horses were stolen!”

“Tell me, isn’t this old immortal a true divine calculator?”

Yan Jue: “...”

It was already this obvious, and Fang Sheng still hadn’t seen through it.

What vengeful ghost was there causing trouble?

This was nothing more than Heavenly Master Su Yang putting on an act!

In this world, four things were born to stand opposed to the righteous path: demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters.

Ghosts ranked third.

During the past few days, Yan Jue had practically run to the Library Pavilion every day, so of course she knew there were three types of ghosts in this world.

The first type was the vengeful ghost. These ghosts generally transformed from people who had died unjustly; they carried extremely strong resentment and were highly aggressive. Their attacks were often directed at the person who had killed them. Over time, as that resentment grew, they could cause immense harm to the human world.

The second type was the soulless ghost.

A person’s soul had spirituality, but the corporeal soul did not have intelligence. Ghosts that lacked awareness and attacked people indiscriminately, such as zombies, belonged to this category.

There was also the bound-earth ghost. As the name implied, these could only appear in a specific place, such as blood-eating ghosts in slaughterhouses or water ghosts by the riverbank. Their attack strength was usually not high.

Though the ghosts and specters in the world came in countless varieties, these were the main types.

A righteous immortal sect would not use ghosts.

Only demonic cultivators could control ghosts.

If such vicious, mindless things were controlled by people, the consequences were obvious.

That was why the immortal sects feared the Demonic Cult’s return so much.

Based on Fang Sheng’s description, combined with the tragic deaths of the previous households, Yan Jue could be certain that the one causing trouble in Xiaoxing Village was a vengeful ghost.

That was strange. The families who had died before had not held any deep grudges against anyone, which meant this vengeful ghost could only have been released by someone else.

There was also a big problem with this Heavenly Master Su Yang.

First release the ghost, then come to exorcise it; not only did that make the villagers of Xiaoxing Village grateful beyond measure, it also allowed him to achieve his own goals through the affair.

If... this Heavenly Master Su Yang really was a demonic cultivator.

After Qi Xianqing heard her out, the corner of her lips curved almost imperceptibly. “Very good. You’ve made progress.”

Yan Jue smiled. “Senior Sister taught me well.”

Fang Sheng sank into deep despair. “What do we do? It’s this late and the old immortal still hasn’t come. What if our family ends up like Old Liu’s...”

Qi Xianqing lifted her chin slightly. Yan Jue immediately understood what she meant, turned around, and said to Fang Sheng, “We can help you.”

Fang Sheng froze. “But who are you, and how can you know exorcism?”

Yan Jue took out a token from behind her. “To be honest, we’re disciples of the Five Dragons Sect, sent here under orders to exorcise the ghost in Xiaoxing Village.”

What she held was Qi Xianqing’s identity plaque.

The first disciple of Thunderflame Sect had a very useful identity plaque; the dark red jade carving on it looked like an imposing symbol of status.

Fang Sheng was stunned and immediately widened his eyes.

He was a scholar; having read widely in the classics, he naturally knew that the Five Dragons Sect, one of the six great immortal sects, used the qilin as its sect mascot. The token before him was exquisitely made and could not possibly be fake.

Out of the corner of his eye, he then caught sight of the black sword on the back of the silent woman behind the girl, and his legs went weak. He nearly dropped to his knees. “Immortal master...”

“Immortal master, my wife and I have always been honest and proper. We’ve never committed any great wrongdoing. You have to save us!”

In this world, there were six great immortal sects, as well as countless smaller sects.

Besides the six great immortal sects, the rest were all rather hard to describe.

Although Fang Sheng called the Su Yang immortal master an old immortal, he wasn’t stupid enough to really think the man was a god.

He understood very well that the cultivation of the Su Yang immortal master was probably not as deep as that of the major sects among the righteous immortal sects.

In the eyes of ordinary commoners, the six great immortal sects were heaven itself.

Besides, Fang Sheng wasn’t foolish; he had long been wondering why Heavenly Master Su Yang came every year to exorcise ghosts, yet the ghosts still came to Xiaoxing Village year after year.

Could it be because his cultivation wasn’t deep enough and the ghosts hadn’t been fully driven out?

Yan Jue hurriedly helped him up. “Don’t kneel.”

“I have a way to make Xiaoxing Village free of ghosts and monsters forever.”

Yan Jue changed the subject and smiled. “But I’ll need your cooperation, sir.”

-

By the time Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing arrived at the Fang household, the house was already in complete chaos.

Madam Fang, cursed by the vengeful ghost, had a darkened brow and a foolish expression as she sat on the bed, looking extremely weak.

Madam Fang muttered, “She comes every day... every single day!”

The Fang family’s girl and boy were huddled in the corner, trembling with fear.

Fang Sheng led Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue inside respectfully. “You two... young ladies, this is my wife.”

Then Fang Sheng called out, “Da-lang, bring your little sister over quickly!”

Under Madam Fang’s ghostly muttering, the boy hesitated for a long while before finally leading the little girl over by the hand.

The two children stopped in front of Qi Xianqing.

Fang Sheng: “The boy is my son, Fang Hu. My daughter is called Fang Hua. They just turned eight this year.”

Qi Xianqing studied the children’s faces for a long moment, then took a talisman plaque from her Qiankun bag.

Yan Jue still remembered this talisman plaque.

It had storage functions.

All sorts of abilities from cultivators could be stored within it.

Qi Xianqing crushed the talisman plaque.

A faint halo seeped out from the cracks in the shattered plaque and gradually enveloped her.

When the white light faded, Qi Xianqing was gone.

In her place stood only a boy who looked exactly like the Fang family’s Da-lang.

He had a pale face, refined features, and wore plain white coarse cloth. Those black, clear eyes looked exactly like Fang Hu’s!

Immortal Art: Thousand Forms, Ten Thousand Changes.

Qi Xianqing glanced at Yan Jue lightly.

Earlier, outside the door, Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue had already reached an agreement.

Since they had come this time to probe the truth behind Qingyu Taoist Temple and root out the person behind it, their identities could not be exposed.

So transforming into the Fang family’s children was the safest choice.

Besides, after Heavenly Master Su Yang came to exorcise the ghost from the Fang family, the family would then send their children off to the daoist’s cave dwelling.

Before leaving the mountain, Qi Xianqing had already prepared two talisman plaques containing Immortal Art: Thousand Forms, Ten Thousand Changes. When necessary, one only had to crush the plaque to become whatever form the user wished.

Yan Jue also did as planned and crushed her own talisman plaque.

Then she turned into the Fang family’s little daughter.

The girl wore a worn gray-white cotton jacket and had her hair in two childish buns.

Only those eyes were bright and spirited, far livelier than Fang Hua’s, and her skin seemed... even fairer than before.

Qi Xianqing: “...”

Yan Jue gave an awkward laugh. “I didn’t remember what Fang Hua looked like, so I didn’t make myself look very similar.”

Forget it. Heavenly Master Su Yang’s cultivation wasn’t high, and besides, he might not even know what the Fang siblings looked like. Yan Jue should still be able to fool him, more or less.

Qi Xianqing then walked over to the real pair of siblings and gently draped the Miexi Canopy over the boy and girl’s heads. “Wear this garment and hide in the wardrobe; you’ll be able to conceal your tracks.”

Little Fang Hu tilted his head and looked timidly at the person standing before him, who looked exactly like him. “Thank you.”

Qi Xianqing then looked at Fang Sheng. “Whether the vengeful ghost can be fully exorcised depends on your cooperation, sir.”

Night had deepened.

Madam Fang on the bed became even more restless, writhing about with her eyes wide open and a terrified expression.

As for Fang Hua and Fang Hu, who were now Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing, they huddled in the corner just as the Fang siblings had earlier.

Would the vengeful ghost really come tonight?

Yan Jue stared at Madam Fang, who seemed lost in a daze, and suddenly said, “Brother, I have a question that doesn’t really matter.”

The expressionless boy beside her glanced at her and silently motioned for her to continue.

Yan Jue turned her head and looked at Qi Xianqing, then teased, “When you turn into a boy, does everything on your body change too, or...”

The air around them instantly went silent.

Yan Jue had originally wanted to enjoy the sight of Qi Xianqing’s embarrassed reaction, but when she looked over, she suddenly met Qi Xianqing’s dark, clear eyes.

Even though her appearance had changed, Qi Xianqing’s eyes had not changed at all.

They were still so beautiful and profound, carrying an oppressive presence.

“...”

“Why does little sister ask that?” Qi Xianqing nudged Yan Jue’s waist with her knee and looked at Yan Jue’s profile with a half-smile. “Do you want to know that badly?”

Her tone carried a faint, suggestive meaning.

Yan Jue’s face instantly turned bright red. She said expressionlessly, “I don’t want to know at all!”