Shen Ying’s serene face showed no emotion, only a cold gaze fixed on the two, her hands forming seals as the miasma spread and peach blossoms swirled.
The grey-robed figure flickered, dodging a root, then extended a hand, five long, sharp, dark-green nails slashing three gashes into the root, brown sap spurting from the wounds.
“Rustle…”
Two peach blossoms landed silently on the grey-robed figure’s back, turning into beams of light that sank in, making him grunt and dart aside.
Meanwhile, Peng Keshan was lashed by countless roots but stood firm, his twin short blades flashing up and down, movements crude but effective.
“Heh, competing strength with your Pig Grandpa? Pig Grandpa’s strength is unmatched!”
A ferocious grin curled Peng Keshan’s lips as he neared Shen Ying.
Unlike the ghost, whose attacks barely harmed the peach tree, he could topple it with one charge.
All he needed was to cut through these pesky roots, simple enough, right?
As for the swirling peach blossom miasma, deadly to ghosts, it couldn’t scratch his tough hide.
“Heh, Miss Shen, bound to this old peach tree, stuck in Peach Blossom Plateau, what’s the point?
Why not yield to Pig Grandpa? Let Yan Jie refine the tree, and come with me to Yangzhou.
Fine food, fine drink, Pig Grandpa will give you whatever you want!”
As he spoke, Peng Keshan grabbed another root, stuffed it in his mouth, and bit down.
“Crunch!”
A tearing sound rang out, brown sap gushing from the broken root, splattering his face, making his ugly features even more grotesque.
“Hm?”
Peng Keshan froze, catching a glimpse of an unfamiliar man’s face through a gap in the roots.
What the—?
Before he could react, Lu Zheng flicked his fingers, and three Frost Talismans landed on him.
“Swish!”
Visibly, Peng Keshan’s body stiffened, frost forming instantly on his hair and skin.
Cold, pure cold!
“Talismans, a master!” Peng Keshan’s heart pounded with dread.
“Clang!”
A blade flashed, blood energy surging, whistling as it slashed towards Peng Keshan’s face.
“Blood energy! A martial artist!” Peng Keshan’s mind reeled.
“This wench has backup!”
As Lu Zheng’s blade gleamed, the grey-robed figure spotted him, “Brother Peng, watch out!”
“Humph!”
A pig-like grunt erupted from Peng Keshan. Before the blade reached him, his eyes blazed red, muscles bulging, demonic energy surging as he raised his curved blades to block.
But in his shocked gaze, Lu Zheng’s blade tilted, slipping past his guard.
Frozen stiff by the talismans, Peng Keshan couldn’t react.
“Slash!”
“Agh!”
One strike, blood sprayed, and Peng Keshan’s left arm flew into the air.
The blade followed, turning into a long snake, white light flashing towards his throat.
Peng Keshan roared, blood gushing from his severed arm, expelling most of the cold. He leapt back, dodging the Embroidered Spring Sabre’s thrust.
“Humph!”
A deafening pig squeal echoed, and he crouched, transforming into a three-metre-long wild boar.
But its left foreleg was gone.
“Swish!”
Two white flashes, and the curved blades he’d held turned into light, merging into the boar’s mouth as foot-and-a-half-long tusks.
“Humph!”
The boar shook its head, snapping roots with its tusks, then bolted for the manor’s exit.
“Think you can escape?”
Lu Zheng sneered, roots parting before him.
With a step and a leap, he was beside the boar.
“Humph!”
The boar whipped around, tusks thrusting upward at Lu Zheng’s chest.
Peng Keshan knew escape was futile, feigning weakness to counterattack.
But Lu Zheng reacted swiftly, his blade swinging horizontally, using the momentum to flip above the boar.
Three more Frost Talismans shot out, landing on the boar’s back.
“Howl!”
The boar wailed, trembling violently.
Lu Zheng’s eyes sharpened, teeth clenched. Mid-air, he raised his sabre.
Blood energy surged, infusing the Embroidered Spring Sabre, its blade glowing brightly.
“Spare me!”
“Slash!”
A radiant arc lit the courtyard, the sharp blade, empowered by blood energy, beheading the boar in one strike.
“Roll…”
The head, larger than a basin, tumbled across the ground, blood spurting from the neck like a fountain.
“Boom!”
Like a toppling pillar, the three-metre body crashed down, shaking the manor.
The wild boar demon was dead!
“Buzz!”
The jade seal in his mind quivered, fourteen strands of fate’s light absorbed.
Lu Zheng spun, eyes blazing, locking onto the grey-robed ghost still entangled with Shen Ying in mid-air.
…
When Lu Zheng appeared, severing Peng Keshan’s arm, the grey-robed ghost had tried to help.
But Shen Ying wasn’t idle, sending dense peach blossom miasma and roots to block his path.
As Lu Zheng’s blade decapitated Peng Keshan, blood energy surging, the ghost exclaimed, “*Eighteen Forms of Mountain Bearing*!”
Shen Ying sneered, “Exactly, your *Eighteen Forms of Mountain Bearing*. You’re dead, and I found an heir for you.”
“Wench!”
Shen Ying only smirked, attacking with relentless peach blossom miasma.
Lu Zheng heard her words, curious about their connection but knowing now wasn’t the time to ask.
“Madam Shen, shall we keep him alive?”
Shen Ying replied instantly, “Of course, please act, Young Master! Keep him if possible, but don’t risk your blood essence fighting him!”
The ghost’s eyes glinted coldly, “Your talismans won’t work on me! Don’t force me to ruin your martial foundation!”
Ghosts, being yin, made ordinary people shiver, and Lu Zheng’s Frost Talismans weren’t yet potent enough to freeze them.
But without Frost Talismans, he still had Exorcism Talismans!
