Chapter 34

Lu Man didn’t think she was talking nonsense. She looked down at the obedient white crane several times, feeling that her guess was becoming more and more reasonable.

Lu Man believed that the kind soul occupying the body in front of her had forgotten all past events and didn’t remember committing so many evil deeds. Such crimes would definitely mean death if they fell into Yan Chixia’s hands. But now, she was still alive and well, and what was with this white crane? As Yan Chixia’s spiritual pet, it had always been indifferent to everyone, but now its head was almost glued to her leg.

Lu Man scrutinized her face momentarily and asked, “Did Yan Chixia change your face?”

Xue Ming was puzzled. She took out a mirror from her pouch and saw her face in the reflection, then shook her head without explaining. Lu Man patted her shoulder and said, “As long as you know your mistakes and can correct them, reform yourself, and start anew, that evil soul did all past evil deeds. It has nothing to do with you. Don’t worry about it.”

Xue Ming thought to herself: I never cared in the first place. What does it have to do with me?”

Lu Man continued, “I will transform into your appearance and find a few more people to confuse them. You should hide well. As long as the Yin Gathering Array is completely destroyed, she won’t be able to cause any trouble. Her soul has been separated from her body for a long time. Even if she merges with you in the end, you will occupy the main soul and devour the evil soul.”

Xue Ming thought this was a good plan. Once things were almost resolved, she would have Yan Yuhe kill Jiang Ruoming’s soul. By then, who would care about merging into one? She nodded and sincerely said, “Then you must be careful and not get hurt.”

“No need to worry about me,” Lu Man said. “Yan Chixia’s spiritual pet is already here. It’s only a matter of time before he comes to find you. When the time comes, say some nice things to him, use some charm to bewitch him, and everything will be fine.”

Xue Ming nodded perfunctorily. After bidding farewell to Lu Man, she found a mountain path and walked down. There was only the setting sun here, clearly still in the ghost realm, but she saw terraced fields below. Perhaps some people lived near the foot of the mountain. Whether they were humans or ghosts, most farmers were good people, Xue Ming thought.

Jiang Xing followed her like a pet that didn’t need a leash. Sometimes, it walked ahead, creating distance, but it would stop and wait for her. Watching the lively Jiang Xing, Xue Ming recalled what Lu Man had said and began to doubt again. Jiang Xing seemed to have a completely different personality from Yan Yuhe. Just the joy it showed while flapping its wings and running was something she felt Yan Yuhe would never display in his lifetime. However, thinking back, Jiang Xing had always shown affection towards her since it appeared. Previously, they had no interaction; at most, it carried her while she was asleep. Xue Ming began to wonder if small animals had always liked her. She walked and pondered, not knowing how long she had been walking. Looking down, she felt the scenery hadn’t changed. The mountain path was still narrow, with overgrown weeds on both sides and layers of terraced fields below. After walking for so long without any change in scenery, Xue Ming didn’t know how long the mountain path was. She took out a bell and shook it, wanting to call out Nie Xiaoqian. Who knew that Nie Xiaoqian didn’t respond at all after calling out several times? So she hurriedly called Ning Caichen, but there was only the low sound of the bell and no sign of the two ghosts. At this point, Xue Ming finally realized something was wrong. She sensed that there was an issue with the environment, as she couldn’t even summon Nie Xiaoqian.

She looked down at Jiang Xing, feeling a bit panicked because Jiang Xing had appeared suddenly and very quickly. Before the terrain changed, it was clearly fighting with those crows. Xue Ming couldn’t be sure if this suddenly appeared Jiang Xing was real or fake.

Xue Ming swallowed hard, squatted down, and asked Jiang Xing, “You are Jiang Xing, right? Not something else pretending to be?”

Jiang Xing rolled its round eyes, seemingly thinking about her words for a moment. Then, as if it understood Xue Ming’s words, the red feathers on its head suddenly flared up, and it flapped its wings around Xue Ming’s legs, making short, sharp crane calls, like a rooster in battle, expressing its anger to Xue Ming.

Seeing this, Xue Ming quickly patted its neck and wings to soothe it. “Dear Crane, I’m sorry I wronged you. You are the smartest celestial crane in the world. It was my mistake.”

After coaxing it for a long time and carrying it for a while, she finally smoothed Jiang Xing’s feathers. After realizing there was a problem with the environment, Xue Ming began to pay extra attention to her surroundings. Although the scenery on both sides of the mountain path was similar, some distinctive features still exist. It wasn’t until she saw the half-human-height stone pillar by the roadside for the third time that she realized why the scenery hadn’t changed after walking for so long. She was trapped, walking the same mountain path repeatedly.

Xue Ming stopped and sat on the half-human-height stone pillar to wipe her sweat and rest while Jiang Xing obediently lay by her legs. Xue Ming raised her voice and said, “I don’t know which deity I have offended. Could you please come out so I can sincerely apologize?”

She waited a while. As if talking to the air, no one responded. Xue Ming thought momentarily and said, “Don’t hide in the dark playing tricks. I’m giving you a chance now. If my powerful friend comes later and obliterates you, don’t blame me for not warning you.”

Although Xue Ming was only trying, she didn’t expect this provocation to work. Shortly after her words fell, a voice sounded, “Then I really want to see who it is.”

The voice sounded like a young man. Xue Ming looked around but didn’t see anyone, so she tried to talk to him, “Have you heard of Yan Chixia?”

The man was silent for a moment, then said, “I’ve heard of him. So what? Do you think you can be associated with him?”

Xue Ming chuckled and pointed at Jiang Xing, “I won’t argue with you about your ignorance. Look carefully; this is Yan Chixia’s spiritual pet. If you don’t believe me, we can wait here. When he comes and pierces your head with a sword, you’ll know if I have any connection with Yan Chixia.”

At this moment, Jiang Xing cooperatively let out a call. Its cry was different from ordinary cranes, clear and melodious. Whenever Xue Ming heard it, she felt like her ears were being cleansed, filling her with clarity.

The man seemed to ponder for a while, then appeared before Xue Ming. A puff of white smoke floated from the roadside, gradually forming the shape of an adult man floating in front of Xue Ming. This man looked about twenty years old, with features that, while not handsome, were very proper and dignified, without any sign of evil. He said, “Even if Yan Chixia comes, it won’t matter. I’m not an evil spirit causing trouble. He has no reason to kill me.”

Xue Ming asked, “What are you, and why are you blocking my way?”

The man replied, “I am a passing immortal. Blocking your way naturally means I don’t want you to go forward.”

Xue Ming thought this was pure nonsense. She didn’t understand what a passing immortal was, but she knew that not all sinister things would have evil written in their names, so she didn’t believe him. She said, “You think just saying you’re an immortal makes you one? I don’t believe you.”

The man said, “Believe it or not, but if you want to continue forward, I will need to collect a toll.”

Xue Ming was furious. She stood up and scolded, “Did you build this mountain path? How dare you ask me for a toll? I think you’re just looking for trouble! Jiang Xing, bite him!”

Jiang Xing responded immediately, pecking at the man with its long beak, turning him into a puff of white smoke. Xue Ming walked around the stone pillar several times but didn’t see the passing immortal reappear. So, she decided to continue forward, but after about ten minutes, she saw the familiar stone pillar by the roadside again.

Xue Ming sighed deeply, realizing it was futile. She called out, “Passing immortal, come out. Let’s discuss this again.”

Before long, the man floated out again, giving Xue Ming a disdainful look.

Xue Ming gestured and said, “Let’s start over. Who are you?”

The man replied, “A passing immortal.”

“Alright, if I want to go forward, you’ll definitely charge me a toll, right?”

Xue Ming asked. “What do you want?”

The man said, “I want a portion of the yin energy from your body.”

Xue Ming was delighted, thinking, “You should have said so earlier. I was just annoyed by the excess yin energy.” She immediately said, “I’ll give it to you. How do you collect it?”

The man said, “In the grass behind this stone pillar, there is a shrine. Just drop a few drops of blood on the statue in the shrine.”

Following his instructions, Xue Ming searched for a small shrine hidden in the tall grass. It was about half the height of her calf, with a palm-sized statue inside, looking dilapidated from years of neglect.

Xue Ming pointed at the small statue and asked, “Is it on this statue?”

The man nodded, “Yes, just a few drops will do.”

Xue Ming took out the small knife Lu Man gave from her pouch. Although it was nicked from cutting the Immortal Binding Rope earlier, the tip was still sharp enough to cut her finger. However, as she pressed the knife tip to her finger, she suddenly remembered that she had also needed to use blood to form a contract with the bell earlier.

Blood was clearly a medium for establishing connections. What if this so-called passing immortal wasn’t telling the truth and had another use for her blood?

A thought flashed through Xue Ming’s mind, and she immediately wanted to withdraw the knife, feeling that she needed to clarify things with this passing immortal. Then, she felt a gust of wind by her ear, and something flew past with a swoosh. The next moment, she heard a loud bang in front of her, which startled her so much that she instinctively closed her eyes and stepped back. When she opened her eyes, she saw a sword had flown from somewhere and was now embedded in the middle of the shrine, splitting the small statue in half. The sword was still vibrating and humming.

Then, she heard the passing immortal’s scream from behind. She turned around and saw Yan Yuhe standing there.

She didn’t know when he had arrived, but after a fierce battle, he still looked neat and unscathed. He was standing about ten steps away, with the endless mountains and a golden sky behind him, making him look ethereal and extraordinarily handsome. However, his face was grim, and his usually emotionless eyes seemed to be filled with ice, covered with a layer of frost colder than winter snow.

Xue Ming didn’t pay much attention to his grim expression; she was just happy to see him. She quickly rose and walked to his side, saying, “You finally came. I was entangled by this passing immortal. Please save me.”

Yan Yuhe didn’t respond. His cold eyes turned to the man, who was now kneeling on the ground, crying and begging for mercy, saying things like, “Killing me will harm your virtue.”

But Yan Yuhe ignored him, walked to the shrine, pulled out the sword, and then, with a swift motion, split the dilapidated shrine in half, shattering the small statue into pieces.

The man who had been shouting about virtue screamed as his body began to emit smoke. He evaporated like steam in just a few seconds before Xue Ming’s eyes.

Yan Yuhe sheathed his sword and raised his hand. Jiang Xing spread its wings and flew up, transforming into a small paper crane that flew into his sleeve.

Xue Ming quickly walked over and saw that the shrine was destroyed entirely. She couldn’t help but ask, “He said he was a spiritual being. Will killing him like this have any consequences?”

Yan Yuhe’s expression was still grim, but he seemed a bit calmer because Xue Ming had taken the initiative to talk to him. He replied in a flat tone, “He had evil intentions and needed to be eliminated.”

Xue Ming asked, “Was it because he tried to trick me into dripping blood on the statue? But I realized it in time and didn’t cut my finger.”

Yan Yuhe replied, “He wanted you to replace him, making you guard this mountain path. Once the shrine was destroyed, his soul would dissipate with it.”

In relief, Xue Ming patted her chest, “Luckily, I’ve been tricked many times since coming here, so I was cautious. Otherwise, he might have succeeded. But what exactly is a passing immortal? What is its purpose?”

Yan Yuhe explained calmly, “Passing shrines are mostly built in dangerous places to protect those who stray onto the wrong path, helping them turn back and avoid disaster.”