Lu Zheng halted, his heart tightening.
Looking up, he saw a plainly dressed old Taoist priest blocking their path, appearing to be in his fifties, with neatly combed grey hair and beard.
The priest’s face was grim, his eyes with large whites and small pupils, giving them a deep, eerie look as he stared intently at Lu Zheng, making him uneasy.
“Reverend, what do you mean by this?” Lu Zheng asked cautiously, his eyes flickering.
Could this man sense his intimate encounter with Shen Ying?
But that was days ago, and even with his own perception, Lu Zheng couldn’t detect Shen Ying’s presence on him anymore.
Could this old priest be a master?
Lu Zheng tensed, noting the man’s stern appearance. Was he one of those rigid demon-hunters?
If he found out, would Shen Ying be in danger?
Seeing Lu Zheng startled, the old priest’s lips curled into a mocking half-smile, “Young man, you’re entangled with a ghost.”
Liu Qingyan quietly stepped behind Lu Zheng.
“Don’t jest, Reverend. I’ve been in the county all this time, how could I attract a ghost?”
“A jest? Ghosts don’t care if you’re in the county when they mean to harm,” the priest shook his head, sighing, “Pity the ignorant, facing death yet unaware.”
Lu Zheng blinked, wondering if his cultivation was lacking. Could the extra round with Shen Ying have led the priest to think she meant him harm?
But he had since made up for it and even boosted his cultivation with the light of fortune, so there shouldn’t be an issue, right?
So Lu Zheng probed cautiously again, “Reverend, you exaggerate. I’m in good health, brimming with vitality, how could I be facing death?”
“Ghosts are yin in nature, they drain yang energy. Your vitality is strong now, but if a ghost clings to you for half a month, it’ll leave you withered and half-dead!”
Lu Zheng swallowed, imagining half a month of continuous entanglement with Shen Ying…
But the priest’s words reassured him. As a martial artist full of vitality, and with Shen Ying being rational and restrained, their future joyful days seemed secure.
Lu Zheng shook his head, “Thank you for your concern, Reverend, but I’ve been in the county lately, not wandering about. I believe I haven’t been targeted by a ghost. Perhaps I brushed past one and picked up some ghostly aura?”
With that, Lu Zheng took Liu Qingyan’s hand, preparing to leave.
Though he coveted the priest’s light of fortune and cultivation skills, the abrupt confrontation left him unsure how to proceed.
He’d think it over at home.
How long would this priest stay in the county?
Would there be a chance to approach him?
Noticing Lu Zheng shift from wariness to ease, a flicker of doubt crossed the priest’s eyes.
Had he said something wrong?
“Young man, I’m not trying to scare you. The ghostly aura on you isn’t from a passing encounter, but from prolonged contact. Recently, it’s even been to your home!”
Good heavens, a true master!
Sharing a bed wasn’t that exactly what happened at home?
But the priest misunderstood, it wasn’t a ghost coming to Lu Zheng’s home, but Lu Zheng visiting the ghost’s lair.
Sorry, I’ll be off then!
As Lu Zheng quickened his pace, the priest’s eyes flashed with displeasure and a hint of scorn.
“Young man, ghosts are sinister, beyond mortal resistance. I’m staying at the Tonglai Inn in the west of the city. If you encounter a ghost at night, come find me.”
Lu Zheng turned and bowed, “Noted, thank you for your concern, Reverend!”
…
Once in the alley, the priest vanished from sight.
Liu Qingyan said timidly, “Lu Lang, that priest was quite frightening.”
“Mm, quite unsettling,” Lu Zheng nodded.
Liu Qingyan continued, “He was probably just trying to scare you with his alarming talk, right?”
Lu Zheng nodded, “Definitely. Apart from that corpse ghost two months ago, where would I encounter a ghost? Besides, I’m practically a lay disciple of Baiyun Temple, I’d know if I’d met one.”
Liu Qingyan pursed her lips, a fleeting smile crossing them before vanishing.
“Exactly, exactly!”
After seeing Liu Qingyan home, Lu Zheng returned to the modern world to handle some messages, then went back to ancient times.
“Should I warn Shen Ying about the old priest in the county?”
“Would that expose her instead?”
“Should I lie, say I defeated a corpse ghost, and use the *Taiyin Supreme Soul-Cleansing Scripture* to meet the priest and trade for something valuable?”
“No, too many holes in that story.”
“Or go the classic route, treat him to good food and wine, then ask for some skills?”
That would’ve been ideal, but the priest had immediately pointed out the ghostly aura on him!
If the topic came up, how should Lu Zheng respond?
Deny it? Then asking for skills over dinner wouldn’t make sense.
Believe it? That’d lead to more complications!
Lu Zheng lay in bed, his thoughts racing, pondering how to maximise his gains.
Just then, a chill filled the room.
The next moment, a sinister presence appeared outside his bedroom.
“What the—!”
Lu Zheng shot up, staring at the window.
This wasn’t Shen Ying’s aura!
Besides, Shen Ying could only appear in dreams, not physically here.
Had a real ghost targeted him, and not Shen Ying?
Had he not noticed, but the priest had?
The next moment, a figure passed through the wall, entering his bedroom.
It was barely three feet tall, clearly a child of five or six, dressed in blood-red short robes, with a deathly pale face, no trace of colour, and pure white eyes without pupils.
Yet, despite those pupil-less eyes, Lu Zheng felt the child staring right at him.
Or rather, locking eyes with him.
Lu Zheng’s gaze grew serious, but he wasn’t overly nervous.
Though the ghost looked terrifying, its aura was weak, far less than the green-robed ghost official from Peach Blossom Village.
Lu Zheng reached under his pillow, grasping an exorcism talisman. If the ghost dared approach, he was ready to strike hard.
The next moment, the ghost child tilted its head, gave a creepy giggle, made a terrifyingly real ghost face, then shrank back, retreating through the wall and vanishing.
At the same time, the chill and sinister aura receded like a tide.
“It’s gone? What was that?”
