Everyone was speechless, "..."
Hitting a ghost with a Thunder Technique and still pretending to want others to shout loudly, those who hadn't been exposed to modern movies didn't find it humorous. At this mont, they looked at Lu Zheng with eyes akin to looking at a pervert.
Only Rong Song understood Lu Zheng's personality, and perhaps managed to sense a bit of his thoughts, so he chuckled dryly a couple of tis.
The atmosphere beca even more awkward...
"Ahem ahem!"
Lu Zheng coughed twice, "Well, it's not too late now. Why don't we go out first? The Yin Qi in this Haunted House is too heavy; Young Master Ning staying here too long would be bad for his health."
Not much Light of Fortune was gained, just for killing this ghostly entity, indicating that without him, they would also have turned misfortune into fortune?
"Exactly! Exactly!"
Upon hearing Lu Zheng's words, Yi Xiaoqian nodded repeatedly, holding onto Ning Zhiqui's hand, which she never let go.
"Exactly exactly!" The Man surnad Zhang, noticed sothing off about Lu Zheng but still stepped forward to pay his respects.
"I am Zhang Kai from Luoxia Peak at Huilong Mountain, greetings Young Master Lu!"
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow, "Huilong Mountain? Huilong Mountain in Chuandong Dao Junzhou?"
"Precisely, does Young Master Lu know of it?" Zhang Kai seed more pleased upon hearing this.
"I t a Sword Cultivator from Huilong Mountain, Xu Yihong from Gu Yan Peak. Do you know him, Brother Zhang?"
"What a coincidence, Luoxia Peak and Gu Yan Peak aren't far apart. Younger Brother Xu has also gone down the mountain?" Zhang Kai seed to have co down earlier and did not know that Xu Yihong also left for sword refining materials.
With soone known in common, the atmosphere got much better, alleviating the earlier awkwardness.
Ning Zhiqui pulled Yi Xiaoqian again to thank Lu Zheng and the others for saving them from peril.
Lu Zheng nodded, "It's a small matter, don't ntion it."
Zhang Kai waved his hand, "Eliminating evil and upholding justice are our duties."
Rong Song smiled, "If Brother Lu hadn't appeared tily at the end, we would've faced further troubles."
The group talked while leading the horses away from the Ghost Manor.
Upon reaching the gate and looking back, they saw the Ghost Manor still eerie with Yin Qi. However, without magical power enhancent, the Ghost-Inviting Dao had vanished, leaving only a weedy, deserted path.
"Strange, this place doesn't seem like a convergence area of Yin Qi; why is it so heavy?"
"There appears to be a source of water here. Even without the ghostly entity, this Ghost Manor remains full of Yin Qi; it's a good place for ghost cultivation."
Yi Xiaoqian said, "A hundred years ago, it was a small village until a mountain flood caused a landslide, subrging the village in one day. Many wandering souls lingered here afterward. Later, the Half-forest Ghost King erged, consud these wandering souls, took over this Yin place, built the Half Forest Manor, and hard passing rchants."
"I see."
Rong Song nodded, "So, this is a post-natal Yin convergence area. To resolve it, the ruins need to be excavated and exposed to sunlight for half a month."
Zhang Kai looked at Ning Zhiqui, "Now that the ghostly entity at the Ghost Manor is eradicated, you should contact the elders in the town and organize manpower for excavation promptly. Otherwise, if delayed too long, another ghostly entity might occupy it."
Ning Zhiqui nodded repeatedly, indicating he would report back once he returned.
They mounted their horses; Ning Zhiqui naturally rode with Yi Xiaoqian. Zhang Kai intended to ride with Rong Song but then found Lu Zheng floating up in the air.
Zhang Kai was speechless, "..."
Only now did he truly realize that Lu Zheng's Dao Practice had reached a certain high level.
...
On the journey back, through their recounting, Lu Zheng learned the whole incident.
Ning Zhiqui was an ordinary scholar from Wohu Town; his mother cared for the ho, and his father repeatedly failed the exams, now working as an accountant in a shop, making a living.
Though the family conditions were average, Ning Zhiqui was very promising, having beco a scholar at a young age and passed the autumn imperial examination the year before. He is preparing for this year's spring examination.
If he fails the spring examination, he could at least beco a minor official locally. If he passes, the future would be limitless.
Yi Xiaoqian, a ghost cultivated for decades with exceptional beauty, usually secluded herself for cultivation. She accidentally t Ning Zhiqui during an outing last year; they admired scenery together, composed poetry, and grew fond of each other, creating a delightful romantic tale.
The two had agreed that regardless of Ning Zhiqui's success in the spring examination, Yi Xiaoqian would accompany him to his post, nurturing her Ghost Body with human presence, attempting to walk the path of a Ghost Immortal. Even if she couldn't beco a Ghost Immortal, she aspired to transform into a human, bear children.
Recently, Rong Song and Zhang Kai arrived at Wohu Town and imdiately noticed Ning Zhiqui showed signs of interaction with a ghostly entity.
However, Ning Zhiqui, despite being surrounded by Yin Qi, had a good constitution, without the pale weakness and loss of Primordial Qi typical in such cases.
This was due to Yi Xiaoqian ensuring she only spent intimate monts with Ning Zhiqui once each ten-day cycle, and sought herbal redies to strengthen his Qi for physical well-being.
Rong Song and Zhang Kai naturally did not know this and assud Ning Zhiqui had just been targeted by a ghostly entity, thus planning to slay the ghost to rescue him.
But Ning Zhiqui would rather die to protect Yi Xiaoqian, while Yi Xiaoqian willingly faced death to allow them to spare Ning Zhiqui.
This made Rong Song and Zhang Kai look like the villains.
Upon hearing that they had been dating for nearly a year, Rong Song and Zhang Kai let go of their intention to kill Yi Xiaoqian.
After all, if Yi Xiaoqian intended harm, Ning Zhiqui wouldn't withstand a month of being drained.
What they didn't realize was, despite letting go of Yi Xiaoqian, on the night they acted, it inadvertently alard a Half-Mountain Ghost visiting the town.
The Half-Mountain Ghost, skilled in Dao Practice, stayed hidden from Rong Song and Zhang Kai, observed the situation, and was struck by Yi Xiaoqian's beauty.
Thus, the following night, it transford into a black wind and abducted Yi Xiaoqian.
This led Ning Zhiqui to seek out Rong Song and Zhang Kai, still in town, and together they followed Rong Song's lead to the Half-Mountain Ghost Manor.
As for the subsequent events, Lu Zheng was already aware.
...
"I see, then this scripture..." Lu Zheng looked at the bamboo slip in Ning Zhiqui's hand.
"It was given to last sumr by an old monk. Only when the Half-Mountain Ghost abducted Qianqian did I realize this Buddhist scripture was actually a Dharma Artifact," Ning Zhiqui said.
"Presumably, a High Monk foresaw Ning Shusheng was entangled with a ghost and left it to protect him. However, since Miss Yi was not harmful to him, the Buddha Light had never manifested," Rong Song added.
The four people and one ghost returned to Wohu Town, sending Ning Zhiqui and Yi Xiaoqian back ho. Lu Zheng and his friends didn't follow them inside but instead returned to the inn and rented another room.
The next morning, Ning Zhiqui wanted to host a al for the trio. However, all three politely declined; Rong Song and Zhang Kai left the town, and Lu Zheng rode the clouds heading southwest.
...
Tonglin County.
Lu Zheng arrived back around noon and from the sky saw Shen Ying and Liu Qingyan playing chess under the persimmon tree in the backyard.
Seeing these two, the impulsive feeling from yesterday, having been fed dog food by Ning Zhiqui and Yi Xiaoqian, finally found an outlet.
"I'm back!"
...
Not having seen them for a month, Shen Ying's greetings were warr, and even Liu Qingyan's shyness slightly reduced, she proactively revealed her tail.
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