Chapter 23.2

“I killed someone?!” Xue Ming was shocked, suddenly recalling her previous dream, and it dawned on her, “Was it a young man, wearing blue clothes, with his mouth sewn shut?”

Nie Xiaoqian nodded and replied, “Exactly.”

Xue Ming felt like she had fallen into an ice cave, her hands and feet breaking out in cold sweat, her scalp tingling with fear. No wonder she kept dreaming of that man. It seemed he had come to seek revenge, but he couldn’t harm her for some reason. From his sewn mouth and the blood tears, it was likely that the original owner used some dark magic to kill him. But wasn’t Yan Chixia a righteous person? How could she use dark magic to kill?

“Knock, knock, knock—”

Just as Xue Ming’s thoughts were in turmoil, a knock on the door suddenly echoed in the quiet room, startling her.

“Brother, why are you still up so late? Who are you talking to?” Ning Caichen’s voice came from outside the door.

“So it’s Brother Ning.” Xue Ming breathed a sigh of relief, calming her racing heart, and walked to the door. At that moment, she suddenly heard Nie Xiaoqian shout, “Wait!” and there were some rustling sounds like fingernails scraping the door frame. Her hand was already on the latch, and although she could have pulled back, some impulse made her open the door.

A gust of cold wind hit her face, and Xue Ming saw that it wasn’t Ning Caichen standing outside but an elderly woman, about fifty or sixty years old, with gray hair and simple clothes. She slowly raised her head and gave Xue Ming a kind smile, speaking softly, “Miss, my girl hasn’t returned home for two days. I don’t know where she might be lost. I wanted to ask if you have seen her.”

Xue Ming was not unfamiliar with this person. She remembered clearly that on the first night she came to this ghost temple, she had accidentally seen this old lady chatting with another woman when she got up at night. She was the “Grandmother” that Nie Xiaoqian and the other female ghosts mentioned.

“Haven’t seen her.” Xue Ming replied expressionlessly, then slammed the door shut with a loud bang. She turned around, her expression changing to one of terror, and shouted, “Nie Xiaoqian, save me!”

After running only a few steps, there was a loud “bang” behind her. The entire door was blown off from the outside, shattering into pieces inside the room, followed by a cacophony of sounds filling her ears.

Xue Ming turned her head and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Countless little yaksha ghosts were crawling in from all parts of the door frame, some on the ground, some climbing up the ceiling, densely packed together, forming a dark mass.

Nie Xiaoqian swung her sleeves, and the flying white ribbons repelled the yaksha ghosts rapidly approaching Xue Ming. She said in a deep voice, “It’s Grandmother. I can’t defeat her. Run!”

Xue Ming ran with her head down. “She blocks the doors and windows. How can I run?”

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Nie Xiaoqian leap forward, her sleeves transforming into winding snakes, suddenly lunging at the old woman standing by the door. However, the old woman remained unhurried, merely waving her hand, and Nie Xiaoqian seemed to be whipped out of thin air. She screamed and spun half a circle in the air before crashing hard against the wall.

“Xiaoqian, when you turned into a wandering ghost and were almost captured by the underworld officials, I saved and took good care of you. How dare you repay kindness with enmity and come here to seek death today?” The old woman’s eyes were sinister, staring at Nie Xiaoqian with no trace of kindness on her face.

Nie Xiaoqian got up, looking pitiful and miserable, “Grandmother, Xiaoqian is also under someone’s control…”

Xue Ming immediately shot her a sharp look, and Nie Xiaoqian changed her tone, angrily saying, “You old witch, you have persecuted me for years, making me kill and commit countless sins. Now that I am free, I naturally seek revenge on you!”

“It seems I can’t let you live. I’ll let you taste the pain of having your bones ground to dust!” The old woman spat out viciously, then flashed into the room, seemingly heading straight for the corner where Nie Xiaoqian’s bones were piled.

Xue Ming reacted quickly, leaping forward and grabbing the bones wrapped in an outer robe and straw mat before the old woman could. In the process, the Yang Gathering Talisman was flung out under her clothes. As the old woman approached, the talisman suddenly emitted a golden light, hitting the old woman squarely in the face. She let out a miserable scream, retreating several steps. When she turned her head back, her face was extremely hideous. Strange, jagged wrinkles covered her skin, her eyes were completely white with no pupils, and her wide-open mouth was full of sharp triangular teeth, emitting a hoarse screech.

Seeing such a face up close, Xue Ming screamed in fright, hurriedly stepping back and falling to the ground. Nie Xiaoqian’s bones, already missing the spine, broke into two upon impact. At this moment, the old woman swiftly grabbed the lower half of the bones with her ghostly claws.

Nie Xiaoqian let out a sharp wail.

Xue Ming, unwilling to let this old witch defeat her only ally, suddenly felt a surge of courage. She got up and leaped, landing directly on the old woman’s body.

The Yang Gathering Talisman flashed with golden light again, and the old woman screamed, “Yang Gathering Talisman!”

Xue Ming sneered, pressing the talisman to her face, “You recognize it, old hag? Drop the bones!”

The old woman, clearly afraid of the talisman, turned into a gust of wind, abandoning Nie Xiaoqian’s lower half bones and escaping from under Xue Ming, retreating to the doorway. But she wasn’t giving up. She blew a loud whistle, and the Yaksha ghosts in the room surged like a tide, crazily pouncing on Xue Ming, their sharp claws aiming for her face.

The Yaksha ghosts were also terrified of the talisman’s light, but there were so many of them. The front layer acted as a shield while countless others swarmed in, quickly engulfing Xue Ming.

Pressed against the wall, Xue Ming shook the bell desperately, shouting, “Help me, help me!”

Following orders, Nie Xiaoqian dragged her injured body and swung her white ribbons, struggling to drive away the yaksha ghosts. With both of them trapped, the old woman seized the opportunity, grabbing the scattered bones with her ghostly claws.

This move completely hit Nie Xiaoqian’s weak spot. Unable to focus on driving away the yaksha ghosts, she knelt and pleaded, “Grandmother, Xiaoqian knows she was wrong!”

Xue Ming was furious, thinking this ghost must be a turncoat! Spineless creature!

Seeing the Yaksha ghosts swarming like a family of cockroaches, Xue Ming’s knees went weak, and she felt an inexplicable urge to kneel. At this moment, a crane’s cry echoed clearly through the chaotic noise, reaching Xue Ming’s ears. She was suddenly overjoyed, her knees immediately firming up, and she shouted, “Jiang Xing! Jiang Xing is here!”

The Yaksha ghosts surrounding her retreated like a receding tide, and Xue Ming’s vision cleared. She saw a figure leisurely walking to the door, dressed in black and white robes, with long hair tied up high. His ink-black eyes calmly looked over, and under the light was an extraordinarily handsome face. It was Yu He himself, who had walked out of the lotus pond and arrived at Xue Ming’s door, looking calmly at the chaotic room. A white crane darted out from beside his leg, flapping its wings happily, and gave Xue Ming a short cry as if greeting an old friend.