Chapter 18

The sun set behind the hills, and the last ray of light disappeared on the horizon. A faint moon hung high in the sky, and clouds drifted slowly between day and night.

“Bang!” A loud noise exploded in the silent temple, with dust rising and white silk dancing wildly in the smoke, scattering debris everywhere.

Xue Ming was knocked to the ground by the immense force, rolling several times before getting up. She felt severe pain in all her joints but dared not stop for a moment, wishing she had two more legs to run faster.

Nie Xiaoqian’s hatred for her had increased several times, and her almost rotten face looked extremely hideous and terrifying, to the point where just one glance would cause nightmares.

Surviving in this temple was like uninstalling various antivirus software on a computer; if she weren’t careful, it would turn into downloading a bunch of pop-up adware. Just like now, if she relaxed her vigilance even a little, some inexplicable ghosts would crawl out from various corners, either scaring her in her dreams or chasing her from behind. The deadly part was that the only place she could hide was ruled by a master who was too domineering about his territory. He stubbornly sent her back every time, unwilling to let Xue Ming stay in his house overnight. Xue Ming didn’t dare to intrude at other times unless she offered her yang energy voluntarily, as the consequences were unknown. Last time, she barely escaped by entering the Rakshasa Ghost Market. This time, she had repeatedly reminded Chun Ye and Qiu Sheng to wake her before dusk, but unexpectedly, Nie Xiaoqian went on a killing spree and killed the two servants. If she hadn’t reacted quickly and fled at first sight, she would probably have been disemboweled by now.

Nie Xiaoqian went mad, chasing closely behind. Her roaring voice was right at the back of Xue Ming’s head, as if those sharp ghost claws would pierce through her skull the next moment. The ghost’s sharp, shrill voice grew louder, putting immense psychological pressure on her. Despite Xue Ming running with all her might, she could still feel Nie Xiaoqian rapidly closing in. Fear spread in her heart, and with a moment’s distraction, her foot got caught on something, causing her to fall heavily.

Just as she fell, Nie Xiaoqian’s ghost claws swiped over her head, slicing off a few strands of her long hair with a sharp wind. Xue Ming’s fall was severe, and she was in too much pain to get up immediately. Looking up, she saw Nie Xiaoqian standing a few steps away. Her eyes were completely black, filled with intense malice, and she was staring at Xue Ming with a sinister gaze. Her black claws were as long as half a chopstick. Xue Ming felt that if those claws came down, they would crush her brain to a pulp.

Nie Xiaoqian lightly touched the festering wound on her face with her fingers and sneered, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you die so easily. I will peel your skin off bit by bit to vent my hatred.”

Xue Ming panted heavily, thinking how unjust this was. If she had intended to harm Nie Xiaoqian, being chased to this extent would be understandable. But she had initially planned to make a deal with Nie Xiaoqian, and they became enemies by mistake. She raised her hands, made a gesture of peace, and sincerely said, “Listen to me, last time was really a misunderstanding. I didn’t know there was a spell on me. I genuinely intended to give you yang energy.”

It might have been better not to mention it, but as soon as the previous incident was brought up, the black mist started emanating from Nie Xiaoqian’s body, and her face grew increasingly hideous. She shouted fiercely, “Whether you lied to me or not, your face will first take two of my claws, and then we can discuss the truth!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she lunged at Xue Ming.

Xue Ming screamed in fright and instinctively raised her hands to shield her face. At that moment, a crane’s cry soared into the sky, its clear and melodious sound reaching her ears and causing her heart to tremble.

Simultaneously, Nie Xiaoqian abruptly halted her actions, showing a wary expression. She quickly scanned left and right, searching for the source of the crane’s cry.

The second crane’s cry followed closely, and Nie Xiaoqian’s sharp gaze pierced over. Xue Ming then realized the crane’s cry was coming from her body. To be precise, it was coming from her chest as if a crane was hidden inside her chest cavity. Nie Xiaoqian thought it was some trick Xue Ming had used to make the sound and angrily said, “How dare you trick me!”

“My goodness, I’m truly innocent!” Xue Ming raised her hands in surrender.

The next moment, something crawled from her collar and floated shakily into the air. Xue Ming looked closely and found that it was the small paper crane she had found in her room earlier. At that time, she was so tired that she had casually put the paper crane in her pocket. Later, when she went to the Rakshasa Ghost Market and changed clothes, she didn’t lose the items she carried, so the paper crane had stayed with her all along.

The small paper crane seemed to come to life, flapping its paper wings and floating in the air for a while before landing on the ground. It stretched out its toothpick-like legs, took a couple of steps, and then suddenly spread its wings and shook them a few times. Just then, a gentle breeze blew, and Xue Ming watched in amazement as the small paper crane soared up and transformed into a half-human-sized white crane. It had snow-white feathers, with the underside of its wings and tail dipped in ink. The feathers on its head were slightly longer and a dazzling red, pure and beautiful in color. It looked like a celestial crane descending to the mortal world when it stretched its body.

Xue Ming was dumbfounded, staring wide-eyed at the white crane that had suddenly appeared before her. The crane kicked its slender legs and, with a flap of its wings, charged at Nie Xiaoqian, aiming its sharp beak at her eyes.

Nie Xiaoqian was highly wary, a look of terror flashing across her face. She retreated more than ten steps before waving her long sleeves and disappearing into the air as a wisp of green smoke.

The white crane fully extended its wings, flapping them proudly several times, then turned and walked over to Xue Ming. Seeing its long, sharp beak, Xue Ming instinctively raised her hands to cover her eyes in fear. To her surprise, the crane seemed to understand her actions and got angry, flapping its wings and letting out a couple of short, angry cries.

Xue Ming quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, Mr. Crane. I was just scared. Please forgive me, and thank you for saving my life.”

The white crane stopped flapping its wings and circled behind her, grabbing her collar with its beak. With wind whistling in her ears, Xue Ming’s vision suddenly widened as she was swiftly lifted into the sky.

Although Xue Ming wasn’t afraid of heights, the suddenness of the situation made her scream in fear. She was terrified, thinking that if the white crane let her go, she would surely fall and become a pile of mush. So, she didn’t dare to move. However, the white crane held her steadily as if it had done this many times before. It flew effortlessly over the temple buildings, and Xue Ming felt the cool breeze on her face. She tried to open her eyes and saw the lotus pond swaying in the distance.

Xue Ming suddenly remembered that she had found the paper crane in her room. It seemed that Yu He had sent this crane to carry her back to the small house while she was asleep. As for why she slept so soundly and didn’t wake up while being carried through the air, it was probably due to a spell cast by Yu He.

As Xue Ming was thinking, they were about to fly over the lotus pond when a barrier-like thing suddenly appeared. Both the crane and Xue Ming were unprepared and crashed into it. However, the crane’s long neck hit the barrier first and absorbed most of the impact. So, when Xue Ming hit it, it wasn’t as severe. She just felt a pain in her forehead and her head buzzing.

Fortunately, the white crane was very professional. Even after the crash, it didn’t let go of her. It held onto her until they landed on the ground before releasing her. The crane, dizzy from the impact, staggered around in circles before collapsing. Xue Ming turned to look and vaguely saw some faintly glowing patterns in the air, which seemed to form an invisible barrier.

As expected, Yu He had set up a protective barrier around his territory, which didn’t differentiate between friend and foe. So, when the white crane flew over with Xue Ming, they crashed into it.

Xue Ming wasn’t surprised. She rubbed her forehead and turned to look at the white crane lying on the ground. Judging by the sound of the impact, it must have hit the barrier hard. Despite this, it still managed to place Xue Ming safely on the ground. This single act earned Xue Ming’s complete trust in the white crane.

Poor thing, having such a heartless boss like Yu He, even blocking his own employees.

She crouched and gently called, “Mr. Crane, are you okay?”

The crane’s beak was stuck in the ground. Xue Ming helped pull it out, and the crane shook its head slowly. Then, it stood up, raising its long neck and making a few cries towards the sky, sounding somewhat resentful. Soon after, the floating patterns in the air began to disappear. The crane cautiously tested the area with its long beak and, finding no barrier, turned to call Xue Ming over.

Xue Ming followed the crane, watching it flap its wings and stride along the path, happily running. She found it fascinating that the white crane seemed to have surpassed ordinary animals’ understanding of humans. It had rich emotions and had its own thoughts, like a brilliant but young child. She hadn’t expected Yu He to have such a sentient creature under his command.

She followed the crane into the house, only to find Yu He wasn’t there. He was probably still at the ghost market, which made Xue Ming breathe a sigh of relief. Her yang energy was already limited, and she had to offer some every time she entered this house. She hoped to avoid doing so if possible.

With Yu He absent, the house became strange, with many corridors she had never seen before appearing like a maze. Xue Ming couldn’t find her way. She walked over to the white crane, stroked the fiery red feathers on its head, and coaxed, “Dear Crane, you’re so smart. You can definitely lead me to the hot spring, right?”

The white crane was very pleased with this and immediately puffed out its chest and led the way for Xue Ming. Its claws made a “tap-tap” sound on the ground. Sometimes, when it ran too fast, it would stop and look back to wait for Xue Ming. It successfully led her to the hot spring.

Xue Ming soaked in the spring water, her tense body relaxing. She briefly checked her wounds and found that her knees and elbows were scraped, with blood washed clean by the spring water, causing a slight pain. At this moment, Xue Ming had no energy to care about these minor injuries. Although her physical strength had somewhat recovered after a day’s sleep, she was mentally exhausted. Since she crossed into this world, not a single day has been peaceful. She was almost always running for her life, and now it seemed like she was shrouded in a thick fog, with countless mysteries surrounding her, making her feel ignorant and lost.
Previously, when she worked overtime for a month straight for a bonus, she thought that was the limit of her life. But now, after just a week in this world, she had far surpassed her previous limits.

General Douglas MacArthur once said: If Xue Ming wrote a book titled “If I Had Three Days of Peace” now, it might become a literary masterpiece.

She leaned back, closed her eyes, and soaked in the spring water, thinking that living was so hard it might be better to die. She slapped herself twice a moment later and angrily said, “What evil thoughts are invading my mind? Get out of my head immediately.”

The deaths of Chun Ye and Qiu Sheng had plunged her into a negative emotional state, which was not good. Xue Ming was now like a clay Buddha crossing a river, barely able to protect herself, let alone care about others’ lives and deaths. To have temporary peace in the temple, she had to deal with Nie Xiaoqian first.

She blew several bubbles in the spring water. After soaking enough, she climbed out, wrapped herself in her wet clothes, and left the hot spring room, only to find the white crane waiting outside the door. Seeing Xue Ming come out, it eagerly led the way, taking her to Yu He’s bedroom.

Xue Ming had been here a few times but was still unfamiliar with the place. Now, she had the chance to observe it carefully. The room was very spacious. Although it didn’t seem very large when she stood at the door, the space expanded as she walked in. The eastern wall was occupied by a large bookshelf filled with books. Yu He seemed fond of reading; she had seen him with a book before and thought he was pretending to be a cultured ghost. Next to the bookshelf was a long table with the Four Treasures of the Study and some scattered books, along with a half-human-tall incense burner. Opposite was a jade screen with a landscape and cranes. The room was adorned with wall lamps hanging with long yellow tassels, numerous porcelain vases, and jade ornaments. Further inside was a luxurious canopy bed. The room was tastefully decorated, with various colors interwoven, giving it a warm feel, unlike Yu He’s cold demeanor.

Xue Ming wasn’t sleepy at all. She wandered around the room for a while and noticed a book casually placed on the desk as if Yu He had left it there after reading. Curious about what Yu He read, she couldn’t resist picking up the book to take a look.

As soon as she opened it, she was greeted by images of men and women entwined together. What was worse, there were no mosaics to obscure the details; everything was depicted clearly, with vivid colors and distinct shading. Even the expressions of pleasure on the woman’s face and the man’s exertion were realistic. This scene caught Xue Ming off guard, instantly turning her face red. She couldn’t control her hand and flipped through several book pages. Each page showed a different posture, incredibly erotic.

She quickly closed the book in fright, shocked that its serious-looking cover concealed such content!

Before she could put the book back, she heard a faint sound at the door.

Startled, Xue Ming turned to see Yu He pushing the door open. He was still dressed as he had been at the ghost market, his face excessively beautiful. His calm eyes swept over her flushed face and then fell on the book in her hands.

Xue Ming jumped in surprise and quickly tossed the book back onto the table as if it were a hot potato, forcing a smile and saying, “Lord Yu He, you’re back?”

Yu He didn’t respond. Instead, he closed the door behind him and asked her calmly, “Do you enjoy it?”