Chapter 20: The “Ghost” Who Dared to Show Up!

Ye Qingning slightly nodded, genuinely impressed by the acting skills of Qin Changsheng, the so-called “deadbeat” man. She followed him as they made their way toward the scene of the incident.

This solidified her suspicion that Qin Changsheng had indeed seen the victim before, which made him a prime suspect. It was becoming more and more likely that he was the culprit.

Along the way, she couldn’t shake the feeling that several pairs of eyes were watching her from the shadows. She was sure that apart from her and Qin Changsheng, there must be other test disciples within the estate.

Under the guise of being the second daughter of the Yu family, it wasn’t surprising that she would become a suspect. She had to pretend not to notice these prying eyes.

As she walked, she couldn’t help but reflect on the test—it was certainly testing everyone’s acting skills. After all, cultivators often had to hide their identities while dealing with demons, and this required a certain level of discretion.

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Soon, the three of them arrived at the scene. Apart from them, there was a crowd of servants, maids, and attendants already gathered.

Everyone had a fearful expression on their faces, whispering nervously:

“Manager Li has really brought this upon himself! His only son was fine just yesterday, but how did he die so suddenly?”

“Granny Sun, could it be… was it a ghost that drained his soul?”

Granny Sun shook her head, “It’s hard to say. I’ve heard that fox spirits suck the life force of humans to cultivate. Those who lose their life energy become dry corpses.”

“Both the second master’s nephew and Manager Li’s son were young men full of life. Maybe they were drained by a fox spirit to become dry corpses.”

“If it’s a fox spirit, at least we women don’t have to worry. But if it’s a vengeful ghost… these talismans won’t do anything!”

“Exactly! These talismans can expel ghosts but not spirits. Who dares to leave their rooms at night now? I’m going back to my quarters!”

The crowd dispersed, and a few servants attempted to remove the body, but when they saw Manager Li and his wife still clinging to their son’s corpse, crying and unwilling to let go, they could only wait.

Ye Qingning stepped forward and observed the dry, shriveled corpse. Its skin was drawn tight, and its eyes were sunken—evidence that all the life force had been drained.

She discreetly placed a Yin Talisman in her sleeve, channeling spiritual power into it.

The Yin Talisman was commonly used by cultivators to reveal ghosts, and it had a short duration of about fifteen minutes. After using it, Ye Qingning found that the corpse was surrounded by thick black sinister energy. She also noticed a strange symbol next to the body.

Although it was scribbled carelessly, she recognized it immediately. The symbol was the emblem of the Penglai Sect.

This indicated that the person responsible had deliberately left this mark, perhaps in a rush, leaving a clear signature.

She suddenly understood. The person who killed Manager Li’s son must be a test disciple who drew the “ghost” identity.

Her own identity as a cultivator allowed her to earn points by exorcising demons, while those with the “ghost” identity likely earned points by draining souls.

Of course, the “people” in the test were not real but were instead fabricated by the trial’s realm.

The symbol left behind was proof that the “ghost” identity test disciple had already gained points.

【Ningning, it’s not demonic or monstrous energy, it’s definitely sinister energy. And this symbol—looks like someone with the “ghost” identity has already earned points!】

【If it really was that deadbeat Qin Changsheng, I underestimated him. But, then again, Qin Changsheng managed to enter the inner sect and caught the eye of a high-ranking elder. He must have some skills.】

【Ningning, what do you think?】

【What else is there to think? We’ll verify his identity later. If we can boot him out of the game, that would be great.】

She was already certain that Qin Changsheng was the one behind it. The next step was to verify his identity and see if she could eliminate him from the competition.

“Miss, let’s go back? I’m scared…” Green Lotus, the maid, began to regret coming to see the terrifying corpse. She felt an eerie presence around her, and her hair stood on end, certain she would have nightmares that night.

Ye Qingning looked toward the grieving Manager Li and decided that they should first settle the body.

“Manager Li, my condolences. When my elder sister returns tomorrow, she and her sect will help capture this evil spirit. For now, we need to lay your son to rest properly.”

With that, the servants stepped forward, helping the still-wailing Manager Li and his wife to leave. The body was also carried away for proper burial.

Once the situation settled, Ye Qingning looked at Green Lotus, preparing to return to her room. She glanced at Qin Changsheng and shot him a stern look.

She snapped, “How could you be so useless? Why aren’t you leading the way for me?”

“If there’s anything dangerous lurking, you better stop it with your life, do you understand?”

“Yes, yes, I’ll escort you back right away, Second Miss!” Qin Changsheng replied, his voice trembling, but internally, he was already planning to kill Ye Qingning.

Having drawn the “ghost” identity, he knew his identity token contained special power, allowing him to consume souls and gain points from the trial.

As long as it was someone in the trial, they could be his target—unless he made a mistake and killed the wrong person. If he mistakenly targeted a test disciple, his identity would be exposed.

But Qin Changsheng didn’t mind. Whether she was a test disciple or not, if she dared speak to him this way, he was ready for a showdown. Let’s see who gets eliminated first.

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Ye Qingning wasn’t one to hesitate. As soon as she returned to her room, the first thing she did was take out her identity token.

Before sending Green Lotus away, she had already learned the name of the little servant. Verifying identities didn’t require writing down the names of the test disciples. Instead, she just needed to write down the name of the person in the trial realm and the identity she suspected.

Just as she was about to write, a loud knocking came from outside her door, followed by a panicked voice.

“Second Miss, are you inside? I have something urgent to report!”

Ye Qingning and the system exchanged a glance. She hadn’t expected Qin Changsheng to come looking for her at this moment.

【Ningning, be careful! That deadbeat man is coming—he’s definitely up to no good!】

Ye Qingning’s gaze sharpened. She could have ignored the knock and proceeded with verifying identities, but since Qin Changsheng dared show up, she felt compelled to do something. However, she kept a clear mind.

“The door isn’t locked. Come in if you have something important.”

As soon as Qin Changsheng stepped inside, he froze, momentarily distracted by Ye Qingning, who was casually rolling up her sleeve, exposing a delicate arm.

He was so stunned by the sight that he forgot about his mission to “kill” her.

Ye Qingning, knowing how villains often perished from talking too much, said nothing. She quickly slapped a talisman onto herself and advanced, kicking Qin Changsheng squarely in the ribs.

“Bang!”

“Thud!”

Qin Changsheng, too slow to react, was sent flying. He crashed to the ground with a bone-crunching impact, blood spurting from his mouth.

Grimacing in pain, he slowly got to his feet. He now understood—Ye Qingning, like him, was a test disciple. But since the trial altered their appearances, he couldn’t recognize her right away. However, he noticed the yellow talisman stuck to her.

“You’re a talisman cultivator? Do you really think a talisman will be enough to defeat me?” he sneered.

“You got the jump on me earlier, but now you’ll see how it feels to be eliminated!”