Chapter 1740: Ordeal
When he saw how much of a hurry Wei Suo was in, Zu An quickly stopped him, saying, “Be careful! It might be a trap!”
They were in the wilderness right now. Forget about people, he hadn’t even seen a single animal. Why would there suddenly be zither music, and then a lovely lady asking for help? That didn’t make any sense at all!
Wei Suo shook off his hand and said, “This is exactly why I’m here.”
Zu An and Qiu Honglei were bewildered.
Wei Suo dashed forward a few steps, but then seemed to have suddenly remembered something. He quickly ran back and told Zu An, “You guys, don’t move. I’ll be the one to open the door later.”
Zu An and Qiu Honglei exchanged a look. They weren’t really sure what he was doing.
Wei Suo quickly took out a set of scholarly clothes from his bag. At the same time, he ran over to the back of the worn-out buddha statue and took out a scholarly bag. Only when he put them on did he nod in satisfaction.
Zu An had to admit that such an appearance really did make Wei Suo look refined in manner. Unfortunately, he still had buck teeth, and together with his wretched appearance, the outfit seemed a bit incompatible.
Qiu Honglei couldn't help but ask, “Why did you do all that?”
Wei Suo smiled proudly and replied, “Have you never heard of this? A scholar and a female ghost are a perfect match. I prepared this outfit when I heard that this place was haunted.”
Qiu Honglei had a blank expression as she asked, “Who said that?”
“Have you never heard of ‘A Chinese Ghost Story’?” Wei Suo replied in confusion.
“I heard that it was something a young master brimming with talent gave to a courtesan queen. The stories are extremely popular nowadays,” Qiu Honglei said, shaking her head. For quite some time, she had been cultivating in preparation for the battle at Violet Mountain. She didn’t know much about the details of the outside world.
She wondered which courtesan queen had been able to experience such a blessing. That young master hadn’t given that person any material goods, but rather a story, and he was even an elegant man. She had acted as a courtesan queen in the past too, and understood its details. There were local tyrants everywhere, but earnest and sincere scholars were one in a million. She sincerely wished the best for the two of them.
Zu An now had a strange expression, because ‘A Chinese Ghost Story’ was what he had given to Kong Nanwu in the past, after adapting it to Nan Xun’s situation. He hadn’t expected the story to have circulated around.
Mi Li said in his mind, “Tsk tsk, you actually wrote a story just for a female ghost. When are you going to write something for your master too?”
Zu An felt happy when he heard her voice. He replied, “It’s not as if you’re a female ghost.”
Mi Li harrumphed. “Wasn’t it because of you that I don’t have a body and only have a soul? What difference is there between what I am and those female ghosts?”
Zu An quickly replied apologetically, “Am I not working hard to find those materials needed to fix your body? I’ve already found more than half…”
“That’s more like it,” Mi Li said, nodding in satisfaction.
…
Meanwhile, Wei Suo ran over excitedly to open the door. Sure enough, there was a beautiful woman at the entrance. Her clothes were a bit damaged, clearly as a result of running away in a hurry and being scraped by the tree branches along the way.
When he saw the woman’s appearance, Wei Suo’s eyes widened. Even though she was a bit below Qiu Honglei, her looks were enough to make her a courtesan queen in most brothels. For Wei Suo, she was already completely unreachable. When he saw her exposed, snow-white skin, he immediately became stiff.
Qiu Honglei secretly said to Zu An, “Ah Zu, there seems to be something strange about this woman.”
Zu An nodded. With their current cultivation, he also keenly realized that there was something different about the woman’s aura. It seemed very vague and illusory, as well as being cold and gloomy. Strangely, however, it wasn’t like that of the skeleton soldiers he encountered before. This ghost didn’t carry any death energy.
Zu An secretly asked, “Master empress, can you tell what is going on with this woman?”
Mi Li replied indifferently, “Isn’t she just a ghost?”
Zu An was briefly speechless. He couldn't help but ask, “Why does she seem different from the other ghosts I’ve seen?”
There had been a large group of departed spirits in the dungeon where he met Mi Li, and he had encountered Zhang Han. Those were pretty much all the ghosts he knew.
Mi Li knew what he was thinking and replied, “What you met before were only low-level departed spirits. They didn’t have any intelligence. These ghosts are different. Apart from being intrinsically different, their outer appearance and characteristics aren’t too different from those of humans.
“As for that Zhang Han you encountered before, strictly speaking, he wasn’t really a departed spirit, but rather a creature who, due to a special formation applying a curse, became neither living nor dead. He couldn't return to the cycle of reincarnation until you released him again.”
Zu An asked in surprise, “There really is a cycle of reincarnation in this world?”
“Of course,” Mi Li said matter-of-factly, as if she found his question rather strange.
“Since there are deities and immortals, there is naturally a cycle of reincarnation. Only then can the world’s life energy and death energy maintain a state of balance…” she continued, but trailed off midway. She said with a puzzled expression. “But I noticed that the many worlds you’ve experienced don’t seem to have a cycle of reincarnation. Could it be that the cycle has been separated from your world, just like the immortal realm?”
Suddenly, the ghost woman said in a pitiful voice, “Young master, this one…”
When the door opened, she instinctively ran toward Wei Suo’s arms, but when she saw what he looked like, her body clearly stiffened. Just then, she happened to see Zu An, which immediately made her eyes widen. Zu An was handsome, and beauty was relative to begin with. With Wei Suo as a comparison, he only looked even more handsome.
The woman twisted her waist and skillfully avoided Wei Suo. She leaped toward Zu An and cried, “Young master, please help me!”
Wei Suo had already spread his arms excitedly, already ready to enjoy that soft and wonderful feeling, and yet who would have thought that such a situation would happen? He was completely stupefied, practically turning into a rock.
Zu An took a step back vigilantly as he asked, “Miss, what’s wrong?”
The woman fell directly to the ground when she missed and cried out in a lovely manner. She looked up at Zu An with a hint of a grudge, but she still called out, “Young master~”
When the petrified Wei Suo saw that, he immediately ran over to help her to her feet out of pity, saying, “My lady, you must be more careful!”
The woman dodged Wei Suo and arrived at Zu An’s feet. She grabbed his legs to crawl back up, then suddenly blinked her large, beautiful, and enchanting eyes at him, saying, “Thank you for helping me, young master.”
Wei Suo pulled back his hands in embarrassment. Just how many times have I encountered this kind of thing now? I think I’m already used to it…
Zu An brushed her arms away without batting an eye and asked, “May I ask who this miss is? Why have you appeared here?”
Even though he knew that she was a female ghost, he didn’t have enough information. Exchanging some words with her could bring some useful clues.
“This lady’s name is Little Ying. My father was recently transferred to the nearby city as the county magistrate. He promised to reunite with me after everything was settled, but we were attacked by bandits along the way. My maid risked her life in order to allow me to just barely survive. I wonder if the young master could escort me to the city? My father will definitely reimburse you generously, and this lady will also engrave this favor deeply in my memory. I will work as hard as an ox or horse for you...” the woman said, continuing to blink while her tongue also stuck out a bit. Anyone who saw her would get lost in wild and fanciful thoughts.
Zu An shook his head and replied, “I’m not a farmer, so what would I need oxen and horses for?”
Little Ying was speechless. After some hesitation, she still said with a bashful look, “Young master, oxen and horses can actually be… ridden.”
Now it was Zu An’s turn to be speechless. Why are all female ghosts in this world so tough?
Mi Li couldn't help but laugh before remarking, “Why don’t you consider it? This female ghost does have some looks. Rather than fighting to the death, what’s the worst that could happen? Just let her suck out a bit of masculine yang energy. Either way, you have more than enough of it.”
Zu An thought to himself, Is that how a master should be acting? Just what are you saying?
The woman named Little Ying was about to continue when she suddenly saw the amused Qiu Honglei sitting off to the side, as if she were watching a performance. In that instant, she was completely intimidated by Qiu Honglei’s looks. Even as a woman, she thought that Qiu Honglei was just too beautiful. She finally understood why her seduction had failed.
She really wanted to cry and sounded dispirited as she said, “So it turns out the young master already has such an incredible beauty at your side. No wonder you didn’t favor this one’s looks. I won’t disturb you any longer then…”
Afterward, she covered her face with her sleeves and ran away. She was clearly acting weak, and yet she ran so quickly, it made her look as if she were floating.
Wei Suo couldn't even catch up to her. He couldn't help but beat his chest and stamp his feet, calling out, “Come and seduce me then! I’m really easy to seduce, you know?”
Zu An and Qiu Honglei were speechless.
…
Meanwhile, Yun Jianyue and Xie Daoyun both woke up in a ruined house. They discovered that the two of them were really close to each other, but they didn’t find anyone else.
Yun Jianyue frowned and asked, “Why am I with you? Where are the others?”
Xie Dayun remembered that this was the legendary murderous demoness and began to shudder, saying, “I… I don’t know either…”
Yun Jianyue was full of experience and quickly realized that this wasn’t the chaotic void stream, but rather a different world, something resembling a secret dungeon. After looking around, she didn’t find Zu An and Qiu Honglei. She felt more and more annoyed, and said, “Lass, don’t drag me down, or else I’ll end you.”
Xie Daoyun nodded like a little hatchling pecking rice. They had suddenly entered a new world and she didn’t know anything. Having someone she knew with her would at least make her feel a bit more at ease, even if the other woman was a bit fierce.
Yun Jianyue thought to herself, This woman’s cultivation is a bit low, but she has some skills in formations. She might actually be of some use later.
As such, the two tacitly allowed each other’s company.
Suddenly, Yun Jianyue’s eyes narrowed. She called out, “Who's there?”
Xie Daoyun looked vigilantly in the direction Yun Jianyue was looking at and prepared for battle.
“Je je je…” A harsh and ear-piercing laugh filled the air. The entire place began to feel a bit strange.
Then, a monster suddenly appeared on the house’s beam. Even Yun Jianyue felt a bit alarmed. The monster had the body of a lion and the face of a woman. It was as freakish as could be, with a deeply unsettling presence.
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