Gu Zhao was strolling through Xiuyue County with Zhuo Qingyan, the Silk Embroideress, and others, while a few Daoists were at work within the borders of Changping Prefecture.
「Wuhe County, Changbei Town.」
"Sir, wait a mont. I see the skin around your eyes is discolored and the space between your brows is dark. Your Heart Fire is weak, your Qi is deficient, and your body is frail. Have you run into sothing unclean?"
"Go on, get out of here. Always so mysterious, trying to scare people. I’ve seen plenty of your type. Step aside. I’m in perfect health!"
"Your liver fire blazes while your kidney water surges. This clash of water and fire makes you seem full of vigor, but in truth, you have no stamina. It’s an on that your life is at risk! If you refuse to heed my warning, sir, I fear you’re headed for a bloody disaster!"
"Believe it or not, if you don’t get lost, you’ll be seeing your bloody disaster right now!"
"Blessed Infinite Celestial Venerable! It’s no matter, no matter. As you wish, sir. I am staying at the Yuelai Inn by the town entrance. If you happen to see anything on your way ho today that frightens you, feel free to co find ."
Yan Wenhong shook his head. His mind, still fuzzy from the wine he’d had at noon, suddenly felt clear. Even his vision seed to sharpen. He instinctively looked back, but the old, blue-robed man he had just been speaking with was gone.
"Huh?" Yan Wenhong grunted, trying to recall what the man had said. ’He just ntioned... what was that inn called?’
He couldn’t recall it right away, but Yan Wenhong didn’t give it much thought. He strolled ho casually, where a lovely young woman ca out to greet him.
"Darling!"
"My love!"
"I made so soup for you, darling. Drink up and get a good rest tonight."
"With you here, my love, how could I possibly get any rest? Hahaha!"
The sky had already grown dark. Yan Wenhong’s desire stirred, and he embraced his new wife, leading her back to their room. He had just sat down, not yet making a move, when he saw the woman pick up a nearby bowl of soup. "Drink your soup, darling, and then we can have our fun."
"Alright, alright!" Yan Wenhong took the soup bowl and drained it in one gulp. He felt strength slowly returning to his body, which began to grow restless. Even his mind, which had been clear a mont before, beca cloudy.
’Huh?’ But Yan Wenhong still sensed sothing was wrong. ’The soup is usually so sweet. Why does it taste a little bitter today?’
"Is sothing wrong?" the woman asked softly.
"It’s nothing." Yan Wenhong shook his head. He thought about how full of life he’d been recently, which was undoubtedly due to his new wife’s tonic soups. "Just add a bit more rock sugar next ti."
A glint flashed in the woman’s eyes. "Did you et anyone today, darling?" she asked.
Yan Wenhong shook his clouded head. His mind was filled with thoughts of passion, and he had long forgotten the earlier encounter. He simply shook his head and said, "Just my teachers and classmates. The sa people I see every day!"
The woman sized Yan Wenhong up for a mont but found nothing amiss. She nodded in agreent. "Alright."
Hearing her reply, Yan Wenhong reached out and wrapped his arm around his wife’s slender waist. "It’s getting late," he said with a grin. "Let’s go to the bedroom!"
The woman didn’t resist. Clinging to one another, they made their way from the hall to the bedroom and tumbled onto the bed.
Yan Wenhong eagerly started to undress while the woman leaned in, a playful smile on her lips.
The next mont, a chill seed to fill the room. Yan Wenhong’s vision suddenly beca crystal clear, and he saw the beautiful woman before him abruptly transform.
Her eyes were vicious, the corners of her mouth twisted into a savage grin. She looked at him as a predator looks at its prey.
"AH!" Yan Wenhong shrieked. He shoved the woman away and scrambled off the bed, knocking over the bedding and a nearby stool in his panic, creating a loud crash.
"Darling?" The woman quickly rose to her feet. A strange glint flashed in her eyes as she reached for Yan Wenhong.
But in Yan Wenhong’s eyes, it was a grotesque Fierce Ghost extending its sharp claws, about to snatch him and crush the life out of him.
Just then, provoked by the sudden surge of Yin Qi, a cool sensation flashed between Yan Wenhong’s eyebrows. A stream of True Qi erupted from his body, shielding him and searing the woman’s fingertips as they drew near.
"Hmm?" The woman snatched her hand back, her eyes wide. "Who exactly did you et earlier?"
The mont she spoke, it all clicked for Yan Wenhong. Every word of his conversation with the man on the road ca flooding back to him, crystal clear. Hearing her question, any doubt he had vanished.
Yan Wenhong turned and fled!
The woman reached for him again, but a searing pain shot through her fingertips. She watched as Yan Wenhong, screaming and oblivious to the pain, slamd into the doorfra before bolting outside. A vicious glint flashed in her eyes, but she didn’t give chase. Instead, she reined in her aura and sauntered into the front hall, a gentle smile playing on her lips.
...
Yan Wenhong fled his courtyard in a panic, sprinting straight for the Yuelai Inn at the edge of town without a single glance back. He ignored the astonished stares of the townsfolk, racing past three or four intersections before finally reaching his destination.
The mont he burst through the door, Yan Wenhong saw the old Mage he had t on the road. The Mage wore a long blue robe and was small and thin, looking rather wizened. But his face held a mischievous, childlike smile, as if he had known all along that Yan Wenhong would co seeking his aid.
"There you are," Taoist Ming Yu said with a smile, looking at the gash on Yan Wenhong’s forehead that was bleeding freely. "Didn’t I tell you you’d face a bloody disaster?"
Yan Wenhong collapsed to the ground. "Mage, save ! Please, save !"
Taoist Ming Yu shook his head and asked bluntly, a grin on his face, "So, who in your family is the Ghost?"
Seeing that the old man had seen right to the heart of the matter, Yan Wenhong’s last shred of doubt evaporated. "It’s my wife," he wailed. "My new wife! She’s still at the house! I’m begging you, Mage, save !"
"Tsk, tsk. It’s like sothing straight out of a ghost story!" Taoist Ming Yu chuckled knowingly. He looked the disheveled Yan Wenhong up and down, then teased, "You two hadn’t gotten started yet, had you?"
Yan Wenhong froze, not understanding what Taoist Ming Yu ant.
"Getting interrupted like that is the worst," Taoist Ming Yu said sympathetically. "How about you go back and finish what you started? I can head over in a little while."
Yan Wenhong felt like he could die from embarrassnt. He was speechless and could only kneel on the spot, banging his head on the floor.
Having had his fun and received Yan Wenhong’s bow, Taoist Ming Yu didn’t delay any further. He stood up and said, "Alright, let’s go. Take to your house. I hope this Ghost has plenty of Evil Qi. It would be a sha to make this trip for nothing."
Seeing Taoist Ming Yu stand, Yan Wenhong finally breathed a sigh of relief. He scrambled to his feet, still trembling, and straightened his clothes while panting for breath. Drenched in sweat, he led Taoist Ming Yu back toward his ho.
But when he reached his gate and peered through, he saw his new wife sitting calmly in the front hall. The sight terrified him so much his legs went weak, and he didn’t dare take another step inside.
Taoist Ming Yu, however, looked at the woman seated in the hall, and his eyes lit up.
Likewise, when the woman saw Taoist Ming Yu appear, a savage smile spread across her face. "I didn’t chase him because I was waiting for you to walk right into my trap. An old Mage who has cultivated a pitiful amount of Magical Power dares to ddle in my business?"
"You’ve ruined the auspicious hour for to absorb this Three Yang Body and advance my technique! For that, I will perform Soul Extraction and Essence Refinent on you, torturing you for forty-nine days before I let you die!" The woman thrust her hand forward, and a gust of Yin wind manifested from nothing.
Yan Wenhong felt a powerful gale at his back that sent him stumbling helplessly into the courtyard. His face drained of color as he turned to beg for help, only to find that the old Mage had also entered.
Yan Wenhong’s eyes widened in sheer terror as overwhelming regret flooded his heart. He couldn’t believe this old Daoist was just a fraud—all show and no substance!
"Old fool, you will—"
Before the woman could finish, she saw the old Mage across from her reach into his robes and toss out three paper effigies with a flick of his wrist.
The paper figures floated weightlessly in mid-air and began to glow. In the span of a breath, the light intensified, and they transford into three divine figures. They instantly flew into the hall, coalescing with Incense Divinity and radiating a grand, righteous aura as they pointed a sword, a whip, and a spear at the woman.
"We are the Celestial Warriors of Daluo Palace!"
"Fiend! Prepare to die!"
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