Caught in the Trap

Yan Jue met Qi Xianqing’s white-eyed glare and felt only regret.

She had only meant to tease Qi Xianqing at first.

Maybe because they’d been together too long, or because Qi Xianqing was usually so easygoing, Yan Jue had nearly forgotten how awkward their relationship really was. Without thinking, she’d started joking with her.

...Now she looked like some lecherous rogue.

Only then did Yan Jue realize belatedly that she’d asked a rather stupid question.

The immortal art Thousand Transformations was, to put it plainly, nothing more than an illusion.

For example, after Qi Xianqing used the technique to become a little boy, she only looked like a little boy. If anyone made physical contact with her, they would immediately notice something was off.

No matter how many changes there were, the essence remained the same.

Under the illusion, Qi Xianqing was still Qi Xianqing.

Suddenly, a fierce gale surged into the room!

The candle flames on the cabinet by the window were whipped sideways; in an instant, a cold wind swirled through the room.

Lady Fang on the bed suddenly let out a sharp moan.

A black shadow leaped in through the window and landed squarely on Lady Fang’s stomach.

Yan Jue’s eyes widened.

In the dim light, above Lady Fang’s body, there seemed to be...

A headless ghost dancing on her stomach.

The ghost wore a long red dress; from its graceful figure, one could vaguely tell it was a female ghost.

Its tiny bound feet stomped hard on Lady Fang’s belly. Each stomp drew a miserable cry from her.

Yan Jue frowned. If this went on, Lady Fang’s stomach would really be stomped open.

Qi Xianqing’s words pulled her back. “Look scared. Do you want to expose us?”

Yan Jue shot her a fierce glare, then reached out and wrapped her arms around her waist. Her ears burning red, she stammered, “Brother, I’m so scared...”

Qi Xianqing hadn’t expected it. She was caught off guard and knocked to the ground, landing on her back.

The girl’s warm breath brushed against her ear. Qi Xianqing’s brows twitched slightly, and the tips of her ears reddened with startling speed.

Yan Jue’s waist suddenly went weak. Soft hands caught at her waist. “Sister, that’s enough.”

Qi Xianqing’s voice was very soft, but to Yan Jue it sounded like a thunderclap. She instantly sprang back, dodging the hand pinching her waist.

The two of them spoke almost entirely in whispers. Coupled with the chaos of the scene and the fact that they were practically tangled together, they really did look like a pair of frightened siblings.

The headless female ghost kept dancing on Lady Fang.

Then, suddenly, the Fang residence’s front door was kicked open!

Yan Jue looked over and saw a dao child with an ethereal, immortal air walk in.

The child wore a purple-red robe, had delicate features and a fair, rosy face, and held a horsetail whisk in his hand.

The dao child seemed to have also seen the ghost on the bed, and immediately barked sternly, “Demon, why are you not surrendering at once!”

That loud shout really did startle the ghost. It whirled around sharply.

The dao child took out a bottle from his robe and muttered something under his breath.

The fierce ghost suddenly shrieked, then turned into a wisp of green smoke and flew into the bottle.

Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing both knew this was absurd beyond words.

Exorcising a ghost was not supposed to be done this way.

Ghosts were the only kind of demon, monster, or spirit that lacked intelligence. They were also the most brutal, bloodthirsty, and unrestrained, and the hardest to deal with.

If it was your own ghost, of course you could take it back yourself.

But in reality, exorcism was absolutely not supposed to work like this.

The dao child chanted a few more incantations; the headless ghost transformed into green smoke and rushed into the bottle in his hand. Then the child swept his sleeve, cast a disdainful glance at the “Fang siblings” huddled together on the floor, and turned away coldly.

Outside the Fang residence, a large crowd had already gathered.

Heavenly Master Su Yang had long since predicted that the fierce ghost’s next target would be here, so everyone in the village knew about tonight’s Fang residence incident and had come early to watch.

Who could have guessed that Heavenly Master Su Yang himself would not come at all tonight; instead, he had sent his little dao child in his place.

The child in purple walked out from the courtyard, looking imposing and dignified.

Then a woman suddenly recognized him and cried out excitedly, “Look... that’s my child. He, he’s become an immortal now, slaying demons and subduing monsters.”

“It’s been three years, child, child, do you still recognize me?” The woman rushed out from the crowd and grabbed the dao child’s sleeve.

The dao child looked at her coldly. A trace of disgust flashed in his eyes; with a hard sweep of his sleeve, he turned and left.

Yan Jue stood at the doorway and watched in silence, unable to stop herself from shaking her head inwardly.

No wonder. These children had been sent to that so-called “old immortal’s” cave manor when they were young; it was only normal that they had no feelings for their families.

Suddenly, someone tugged at her sleeve.

Yan Jue turned back and saw the boy Qi Xianqing was disguising herself as standing behind her.

His lips moved, and he said faintly, “Go to the back courtyard.”

Yan Jue understood at once. In a flash, she ran into the courtyard, picked up a shovel leaning against the wall, and, copying Qi Xianqing’s movements, went to the well. She then walked seven steps east, crouched down, and used the shovel to dig once.

Sure enough, a pale-yellow jade talisman was buried in the ground.

A ghost-taming talisman used to control ghosts.

Qi Xianqing’s calm voice sounded from behind her. “Someone deliberately released the fierce ghost, then sent people to exorcise it, in order to build prestige among the common people and achieve their own goals.”

“The only person who could do this is one.”

Yan Jue nodded, frowning slightly. “Heavenly Master Su Yang himself.”

Silence settled around them.

Yan Jue’s eyes flickered. Then she said, “Should we set up a character image for ourselves?”

Qi Xianqing: “A character image?” She had never heard that term before.

Yan Jue: “A character image means... what kind of person you are, what kind of person I am. We should set one up; it’ll make it easier to coordinate, and it’ll also prevent us from slipping up.”

Qi Xianqing found the idea interesting as she listened. “What kind of image?”

Yan Jue looked at the boy in front of her, with his fair skin and composed features. “You’re a little boy who’s excellent in every way and outstanding at everything.”

Qi Xianqing was silent for a moment, then the corners of her lips curved slightly. “Then you’re a little sister who depends on her older brother very much. How about that?”

Yan Jue: “? No!”

Qi Xianqing thought for a moment. “Just now, when I asked Fang Sheng, Fang Hua really is that sort of girl usually. She depends on her brother very much; she always follows behind him and even has to sleep while holding onto him...”

Yan Jue felt her face inexplicably heat up as Qi Xianqing grew more and more serious. “?? No!”

After some discussion, the two finally settled on it.

Fang Hu was a very capable older brother who doted on his younger sister.

And his younger sister, Fang Hua... was an innocent little girl who could not bear to be apart from her brother.

While the two were talking, Fang Sheng suddenly rushed over from the other side, looking anxious. “Immortal... Big Brother, Little Sister! The fairy child is looking for you!”

Earlier at the door, the two of them had already persuaded Fang Sheng to help keep their identities secret.

Fang Sheng was a scholar to begin with, clever to the extreme, and after learning that they were from the Five Dragons Sect, he naturally agreed.

Yan Jue entered the room and saw that the fairy child from earlier, who had just exorcised the ghost, was already standing by the stove, looking at them haughtily.

As soon as the two approached, the fairy child spoke first. “The reason your home is haunted is because you have offended the gods.”

Qi Xianqing: “Immortal Child, what should we do then?”

Qi Xianqing once again refreshed Yan Jue’s understanding of her.

This woman really could play any role and make it convincing.

She played a timid little boy flawlessly, looking up at the fairy child with seven or eight parts reverence in his eyes.

He really looked like a little boy who knew nothing, believing whatever others told him.

The fairy child: “Come back to my cave manor with me and become a serving boy. My master will naturally teach you immortal arts and ensure that you are protected from evil spirits for the rest of your lives.”

Qi Xianqing: “All right. Then my brother and I will return to the cave manor with you, sir.”

-

At dawn, a donkey cart slowly left Xiaoxing Village.

The dao child sat on the cart, with the “Fang siblings” seated beside him.

Although Qi Xianqing had turned into a boy, she still carried a transcendent air, as if detached from the world. Dressed in slightly tight rough hemp cloth, she sat quietly on the cart with her back perfectly straight.

Yan Jue ultimately gave in to her own character image and sat tightly beside Qi Xianqing, keeping her head far away from hers.

After all, they were infiltrating Suyang Immortal Mansion to investigate the situation now; Yan Jue was afraid of giving them away.

It was just that...

She still could not resist Qi Xianqing’s scent. Now that they were sitting so close, that faint, elusive fragrance seemed to drift toward the tip of her nose like a lure, making her heart pound wildly.

The donkey cart climbed onto the mountain road, and thick fog suddenly rolled in all around.

The mist layered on and on, making it impossible to see the way ahead; damp vapor filled the air everywhere.

Yan Jue: “Daoist.”

The fairy child was only about ten years old, after all. Being called daoist by her made his brows lift a little, and he looked rather pleased with himself. “What is it?”

Yan Jue asked innocently, “Where are we going?”

The fairy child: “Naturally, to my master’s Suyang Immortal Mansion.”

Yan Jue took a deep breath of the moisture in the air. “But the fog is too thick. Won’t we get lost if we go into the mountains?”

The fairy child: “You needn’t be afraid. I have...”

Yan Jue frowned slightly; she vaguely caught a strong smell of blood around them!

“Roar!!!” A deafening howl tore through the air.

Suddenly, a strange black shadow appeared ahead!

Yan Jue froze slightly. In the dense fog, a gaunt face suddenly emerged.

The face was pitch-black; one could vaguely make out a pair of eyes flickering with terrifying blue light. It was a monster!

The monster opened its bloody maw and lunged at them with a furious howl!

The dao child frowned slightly and immediately took out a luminous pearl from his robe.

Brilliant white light burst from the pearl, instantly illuminating several li around them.

Yan Jue stared at the pearl, and a wave of nausea suddenly surged through her. She subconsciously shut her eyes.

The monster suddenly let out a shrill scream, then its body began to smoke.

Yan Jue froze. The fairy child’s luminous pearl flickered on and off in his hand.

The screams grew louder and louder.

A pungent smell of burnt flesh began to fill the air; the monster’s black face actually began to turn into thick smoke, disappearing within ten breaths.

Yan Jue: “Daoist, what kind of magical artifact is that? It’s so powerful.”

The fairy child put away the luminous pearl, a pleased expression flashing in his eyes. “This is called the Spirit-Transforming Pearl. It gathers the righteous qi of heaven and earth and is specially used to kill demons and ghosts. The thing that attacked us in the fog just now was a mountain wraith; it fears this Spirit-Transforming Pearl the most.”

So that was it.

This strange pearl specialized in killing demons and ghosts; no wonder a little fox demon like her felt so uncomfortable.

The fairy child: “Once you enter the cave manor, as long as you behave well, in less than three years you’ll be like me, receiving magical artifacts bestowed by my master.”

Seeing Yan Jue sitting obediently against Fang Hu with a pale little face tinged pink, the fairy child, who lived in the cave manor year-round, had never seen such a delicate and lovely little girl before. His heart could not help but tighten, and he waved her over. “Little sister, come sit over here. I’ll tell you more about the situation right now.”

Hah. Men.

Yan Jue rolled her eyes. “Daoist... please put the pearl away first. I’m scared.”

The fairy child put away the pearl and thoughtfully waved her over. “Come, come here and I’ll hold you.”

Just as Yan Jue was about to stand up, her arm was suddenly grabbed. She had no time to react before she was pulled back down beside Qi Xianqing.

Yan Jue turned sharply and looked at the boy’s expressionless face.

A voice sounded by her ear.

“Little sister, sit beside me. Don’t run around.”

“... ”

The dao child looked puzzled at Fang Hua, who had sat back down beside the boy. “What’s wrong?”

Yan Jue gritted her teeth. “I still want to sit next to my brother.”

The dao child: “Why are you so clingy to your brother? You’re already this big, aren’t you ashamed?”

Yan Jue glanced at Qi Xianqing, who hadn’t said a word the whole time; the latter had half-closed her eyes.

For some reason, Yan Jue felt like this woman was trying not to laugh.