Chapter 54
Extra 1 : Yan Yuhe

When Yan Yuhe was fifteen, he first went down the mountain to gain experience. The first ghost he killed was a male ghost who liked beautiful appearances. This male ghost had fallen in love at first sight with a courtesan while he was alive. He spent all his money to redeem her, and they lived happily for a while. However, their happiness was short-lived. Some jealous neighbors, envious of his beautiful wife, plotted against him. They killed him by setting him on fire and then tried to take his wife. The woman refused to submit, and with no one to help her, she had no choice but to return to the brothel. The male ghost, unable to rest in peace, cultivated for several years and became a vengeful spirit. He killed those who had wronged him and then went to find his wife, only to discover that she had taken over the brothel. She attracted many clients because of her beauty, but she only entertained those who were attractive. The male ghost, whose face had been burned, was turned away several times. In the end, he killed a handsome scholar, skinned him, and wore his skin to reunite with his former lover. However, human skin eventually rots, so the male ghost has to keep killing to replace his skin. When Yan Yuhe found him, he was wearing the skin of his third victim. Accompanying Yan Yuhe was an old Taoist with a white beard. Seeing the male ghost’s pitiful state, burned and crying on his knees, and considering his unjust death, the old Taoist advised Yan Yuhe, “Young brother, his evil thoughts stem from love. He was blinded by passion and made mistakes. Why not spare his life and send him to the underworld to be judged by the officials there?”

Yan Yuhe did not respond. He raised his sword and struck, scattering the male ghost’s soul. Only then did he say, “Vengeful spirits must be eradicated. If everyone used love as an excuse to commit evil, the world would be in chaos.”

The old Taoist was not angry. He stroked his beard and smiled, “Young brother, you are still young and do not understand the power of ‘love.’ When you encounter it in the future, you will find that even the most logical reasons must yield to it.”

Yan Yuhe was already quite tall at that time, but his face still showed signs of youth. With a cold expression, he said, “Absolutely impossible.”
During his subsequent travels, Yan Yuhe encountered similar situations more than once. Whether male or female, people committed evil deeds for love, like moths to a flame. Yan Yuhe never hesitated. He would mercilessly slay the evil spirits as long as his sword rang. When he returned to the mountain at twenty, Shui Xi held a coming-of-age ceremony for him, giving him the name Chixia.

The Tai Xu Sect was not a Taoist sect, so it did not forbid the love between men and women. However, Yan Yuhe was pure-hearted and focused solely on cultivation, which made his junior brother Liu Mengyuan seem lazy and indulgent by comparison, spending his days happily reading romantic stories from the mortal world.

Liu Mengyuan had a bit of a temper, similar to Yan Chixia. He was brought to the sect at a very young age and naturally relied on others. When he was young, he tried to get close to his only senior brother but found that his senior brother was colder than a snow mountain and didn’t like to interact with people. After his heart was hurt several times, Liu Mengyuan got used to his senior brother’s temperament. During the five years when his senior brother was away from the mountain, he lived freely, but after his return, Liu Mengyuan continued to work hard.

The same year, an uncle from the sect brought back a young girl from the mountain and took her as a disciple, naming her Jiang Ruoming. Liu Mengyuan was usually lonely, and seeing that this little junior sister seemed to have a gentle temperament and a timid look on her face as she entered the unfamiliar environment, he enthusiastically showed her around the Tai Xu Sect.

Unexpectedly, they ran into Yan Yuhe, who had just returned from outside. Usually, he ignored his junior brother, but this time, he stopped after a brief encounter. Liu Mengyuan greeted him with a bow, and when he looked up, he saw his senior brother staring at the new little junior sister beside him.

This was the first meeting between Yan Chixia and Jiang Ruoming. The girl was gorgeous, with a pair of enchanting fox-like eyes, a fair and rosy face, and a black mole on her nose, making her look charming and radiant. She half-hid behind Liu Mengyuan, peeking out with timid eyes. Her moist black eyes seemed to fear Yan Yuhe, but she tried hard to meet his gaze.

“Senior brother?” Liu Mengyuan asked in confusion when he saw Yan Yuhe standing still. “What’s wrong?”

Yan Yuhe looked at Jiang Ruoming with indifferent eyes. From her appearance, she seemed to be just an ordinary girl with outstanding looks, perhaps brought to the sect for her talent. At this moment, she was still mortal, exuding a worldly aura with no apparent issues.

But his sword was humming. Moments later, as Yan Yuhe drew his sword, his figure suddenly blurred, and in an instant, he was in front of Jiang Ruoming. Under Liu Mengyuan’s astonished gaze, Yan Yuhe’s sword hilt struck Jiang Ruoming’s neck fiercely. With a shrill scream, Jiang Ruoming flew out like a kite with a broken string, hitting a tree heavily before falling to the ground. With just one simple strike, she was left barely breathing.

“Senior brother! What are you doing!?” Liu Mengyuan was scared half to death. He dared not shout at Yan Yuhe, so he quickly ran to check Jiang Ruoming’s injuries. “This is the new disciple that the second uncle has taken in. Master will severely punish you if you suddenly attack and hurt her!”

Yan Yuhe didn’t respond, his sharp gaze fixed on the half-dead Jiang Ruoming. He said coldly, “If I strike again, I won’t use the sword hilt. Reveal your true form!”

“Senior brother!” Liu Mengyuan screamed, afraid that he would strike again, and hurriedly protected Jiang Ruoming.

Yan Yuhe appeared completely cold-blooded. After waiting for a moment and seeing no reaction from Jiang Ruoming, he brought his fingers together. With a thought, his sword flew into the air, emitting a faint golden light, and rushed towards Jiang Ruoming’s head like a gust of wind.

Even if ten Liu Mengyuans were to block it, they couldn’t stop this sword. However, at the critical moment, Shui Xi suddenly appeared, broke a tree branch, and blocked the sword. She sternly scolded Yan Yuhe for harming his fellow junior sister and took him to the main hall for questioning.

Yan Yuhe only trusted his sword, not people. He believed there was something wrong with Jiang Ruoming, which was why his sword vibrated, and he did not admit his mistake to Shui Xi. Later, Shui Xi used the sect’s treasure, the Yin Reflecting Mirror, to test Jiang Ruoming, but it showed her as an ordinary person with no trace of evil.

As a result, Yan Yuhe had made a grave mistake. His second uncle, who had long been displeased with him, seized the opportunity to have Shui Xi punish him with a whipping, intending to take half his life. However, Shui Xi, who had watched Yan Yuhe grow up, wouldn’t take half her senior disciple’s life for a newcomer. Instead, she punished him by sending him down the mountain to eliminate demons as atonement, with the condition that he could not return until summoned.

Yan Yuhe went down the mountain and was gone for six years. During this time, he traveled across the country, slaying countless evil spirits and becoming a feared figure in the ghost world. It wasn’t until he killed the Ghost Emperor that the Tai Xu Sect summoned him back. Upon his return, Yan Yuhe learned that Jiang Ruoming had killed her Master and another uncle, stolen the sect’s treasure, injured dozens of disciples, and fled. Her whereabouts were now unknown. Shui Xi and Emperor Qing Chao explained the situation to him and entrusted him with the plan to summon heavenly thunder to exterminate the ghosts.

Although six years had passed, Yan Yuhe told Shui Xi before leaving, “I was not wrong with that sword strike.”

Knowing her disciple still held a grudge, Shui Xi admitted her mistake first and then told him that his years of slaying evil had earned him great merit. She advised him to handle the current task carefully, as it could lead to his ascension.

Before Yan Yuhe left the mountain, Liu Mengyuan came to see him off. He excitedly told Yan Yuhe that he had cast a divination the previous day, predicting Yan Yuhe’s marriage.

“Marriage?” For the first time, Yan Yuhe showed some emotion. When he looked at Liu Mengyuan, it was like he was looking at an incurable fool. He thought he should ask his Master why he had taken Liu Mengyuan as a disciple. In Yan Yuhe’s view, Liu Mengyuan had no need to cultivate in the mountains; he could pretend to be blind in front of a temple and be a charlatan, doing work that required neither brains nor physical effort.

Yan Yuhe only dealt with evil spirits and didn’t concern himself with mortal affairs. So even if he encountered Liu Mengyuan pretending to be blind and deceiving people, he wouldn’t take him to the authorities, at least preserving their brotherly bond.

Of course, Yan Yuhe didn’t say these words out loud, as he felt that doing so would worsen his relationship with his useless junior brother before leaving the mountain.

“Yes!” Liu Mengyuan excitedly shared his divination with him, saying, “I predicted that your Red Luan star is moving, which means good things are coming your way.”

Yan Yuhe, expressionless, continued to wipe his sword. Thinking of his junior brother’s frail health since childhood, he decided to endure his foolishness one more time and said calmly, “Don’t speak nonsense.”

Liu Mengyuan, oblivious to the subtle tension, eagerly showed him his results, confidently saying, “Master said I have great talent in divination. Besides, I’ve kept records, and nine out of ten of my predictions come true. This time, I definitely didn’t get it wrong! Senior brother, pay more attention to the girls around you when you go down the mountain. You’ll surely bring back a sister-in-law for me.”

After hearing this, Yan Yuhe could only think of the word “ridiculous.” With a wooden face, he said, “You don’t seem to put this much effort into your cultivation. You laze around and play all day. I’ve been away for years, and you still haven’t progressed. Master spoils you too much, which is why you’re so undisciplined. Today, go to Shui Cliff and kneel for two hours to reflect on your actions, and copy the scriptures twenty times. I’ll check them when I return.”

Liu Mengyuan, scared to tears, bowed repeatedly to Yan Yuhe, “Good senior brother, please spare me. I won’t dare to do it again.”

Yan Yuhe guessed that his junior brother would try to find a way out, perhaps by pleading with their Master to avoid punishment, so he ignored him and sent him away.

After that, Yan Yuhe was ordered to go down the mountain, chasing Jiang Ruoming for thousands of miles, almost catching her twice.

However, Jiang Ruoming, though half-ghost, had human blood flowing in her veins. She appeared as an ordinary person when she walked into the mortal world. Using face-changing techniques and her cunning mind, she was extremely difficult to capture. Yan Yuhe used a star chart to divine that Jiang Ruoming would flee to a temple in the ghost realm. It was then that he learned she possessed the Hundred Ghosts Flag.

The Hundred Ghosts Flag was originally a treasure of the underworld. A thousand years ago, during a great chaos, the previous Ghost Emperor seized the banner and refined it into his evil weapon, establishing the ghost realm and becoming an unsolvable problem for the underworld.

Jiang Ruoming, the Ghost Emperor’s daughter, had the support of his former followers and aspired to succeed him as the new Ghost Emperor. At the same time, the four great ghost kings were also vying for this position. Yan Yuhe approached the Jade Face Ghost King, and when he killed him, he was injured but did not treat the wound, allowing ghostly energy to invade his body. He disguised himself as the Jade Face Ghost King.

The Jade Face Ghost King was known for his many faces and cautious, timid nature, never showing his true face. With his unpredictable temperament, Yan Yuhe hardly needed to pretend. Just sitting there, he could take over his identity. Using the Jade Face Ghost King’s name, he sent invitations to the other three ghost kings, summoning ghosts from both the mortal and ghost realms to gather in the ghost realm under the pretext of electing a new Ghost Emperor. He arrived at the temple first, temporarily settling in the center of the lotus pond. The next plan was to wait until midnight of the Ghost Festival, when all the ghosts would gather, and the thunder would strike down evil. Killing Jiang Ruoming would merely be a matter of convenience.

Plans may be like this, but they often can’t keep up with changes. Sometimes, surprises come suddenly, catching people off guard.

Jiang Ruoming somehow sensed the approaching danger. After entering the temple, she didn’t even have time to activate the hidden Yin Gathering Array inside; she hurriedly fled after killing Ning Caichen. On the way, she encountered Gu Jinglan, accompanied by the Black and White Impermanence. When she woke up, it felt like she had forgotten everything. She wandered around, asking questions, completely different from the person she used to be.

Gu Tianlan couldn’t tell whether this was a trick by Jiang Ruoming to save her life or if she had truly abandoned her physical form to escape. He could only take her back to the temple first and simultaneously send the news to Yan Yuhe.

Yan Yuhe did not take it to heart. Jiang Ruoming must possess an extremely yin body to activate the Hundred Ghost Flag. The numerous Yin Gathering Arrays she set up are all for this purpose. She would never give up her physical body, whether she pretends to have amnesia or genuinely replaces her body with a new core. As long as her extremely yin body was destroyed, she couldn’t stir up any trouble.

The original plan was like this; however, on that night, when the moon was dim and the stars were few, a flustered young girl stepped into the lotus pond area, ran across the long walkway, and fell in front of the hall, completely disrupting the plan.

Yan Yuhe had an absolute obsession with his territory. Even during the years he spent wandering outside of the Tai Xu Sect, he wouldn’t allow anyone to intrude into his vacant residence casually. There were a few times when Liu Mengyuan tried to sneak in, but he caught him and even sent Jiang Xing to give him a good pecking. So the moment someone broke in, he had already sensed it.

Yan Yuhe stood in the shadows, dressed in a black robe. When no light shone on him, he was completely concealed in the darkness, causing the girl lying on the ground to be entirely unaware of his presence. She looked as if she had just escaped from death, collapsing on the ground and gasping for breath. The entire silent hall was filled with the sound of her heavy breathing. Yan Yuhe did not need to get closer; just by looking at the blurred outline of a figure, he knew this was Jiang Ruoming, whom he had been pursuing for a long time.

Yan Yuhe was a bit puzzled about why she ended up here. If Jiang Ruoming comes to him, it’s like seeking death. Even if he were to kill her now, it wouldn’t matter. When the Ghost Festival arrives and the gates of hell open, he can still summon lightning to slay countless ghosts. With a light tremor of the sword, he stepped forward, approaching the girl lying on the ground, gasping for breath. She was very alert; as soon as Yan Yuhe made the slightest sound, she suddenly sensed someone behind her. She flipped over, sat up, and turned to look at him.

Yan Yuhe saw her face clearly under the full moonlight. It was a completely unfamiliar face, with eyes as bright as obsidian, startlingly luminous. The lips were like cherry blossoms, red but not gaudy, and the pale skin was tinged with a rosy hue from intense exertion. Amidst the panic and confusion, there was a hint of timidity, as if having survived a calamity.

This person had eyes completely different from Jiang Ruoming’s. The deep black ink seemed to reflect a clear and pure soul, allowing one to see through to the heart, revealing all the fear, vigilance, and shock without reservation. However, that was not all; within the turbulent ink pool, a vigorous vitality struck straight into Yan Yuhe’s eyes. A gentle breeze passed through the hall, blowing directly at him.

The cicadas chirped from the tall trees in the distance, the lotus flowers swayed outside the house, and everything sounded and ceased with the wind, all falling silent at this moment, with no sound at all.

He only heard the intense buzzing of the sword blade, each sound louder than the last, numbing his arm. He also heard the heavy breathing of the girl in front of him, still not calmed down despite her efforts to suppress it. It was very abrupt and impossible to ignore. There was also a faint, irregular thumping sound from an unknown source.