Chapter 57

Chapter 57: The Female General

If one looked from above, amidst the layers of dark trees, the vengeful ghost Meng Yuniang, the Jianghu guests, and many of the Tan Family Manor spirits once again formed a three-layered encirclement.

Meng Yuniang stood in the center, while the Tan Family Manor spirits made up the outermost circle. As for Bai, Mei, and the Jun brothers, they were surrounded by the former two, unable to advance or retreat!

Fortunately, the Jianghu guests had no intention of retreating.

They knew full well that there was only one path before them. If they could face the Blood Demon before, then they could face the vengeful ghost today!

The blood talismans were either wrapped around or tightly held in their hands, with everyone preparing their weapons.

Bai Zhengliu's "Twenty-Eight Generals", Mei Yinghan's "Zhenxing", and the Jun brothers' "White Rainbow" and "Purple Lightning"... Under the cold smile of Meng Yuniang, they all charged at the female ghost just two steps away. Four cold weapons seemed poised to pierce Meng Yuniang's body, yet she showed no sign of concern, even giving a faint cold smile: "You Jianghu people really never learn your lesson—"

Her voice paused slightly.

Meng Yuniang slowly lowered her head, looking at what had just been slapped onto her by the crowd.

It was clear they had planned this. They had pretended to strike, but at the last moment, they withdrew their sharp weapons, instead using this object against her.

And that was...

From the side, the trees began shaking with a rustling sound.

The spirits had already charged in. Unfortunately, they were never skilled in fighting even when alive, and now, as Ma Er had said earlier, too much of the "Qi" that supported their ghostly bodies had been released, causing their figures to waver and their movements to become unstable. Even when they collided with the Jianghu guests, they posed no real threat.

However, they were still a bit of a nuisance.

Bai Zhengliu and the others no longer wasted blood talismans on them. The swordsman stretched out his hand and took a belt from the closest spirit. Then, with a flash of movement, he tossed the other end of the belt to Mei Yinghan. Both of them circled around several spirits, quickly binding them together. After securing the last part of the belt to a tree, the spirits were immobilized.

The Jun brothers, who had been struggling with how to handle the situation, now saw the actions of Bai and Mei. Their eyes brightened, and they started to imitate them. In no time, the tree trunks nearby were filled with struggling spirits, all tied up.

Though the process seemed lengthy and tedious when described, it actually happened in the span of a few breaths. By the time they had cleared the outer circle of "minor enemies", the group turned back to find Meng Yuniang still surrounded by many blood talismans, motionless.

This was the scene the Jianghu guests had been hoping for. Now that it had really happened, they felt more disbelief than joy.

They exchanged glances and cautiously moved closer to the vengeful ghost covered in blood talismans.It was not enough to simply keep Meng Yuniang in her current posture. However, the group had already discussed earlier that with the situation where "Jun Yang stabbed Meng Yuniang with a sword, but ended up injuring himself," it was clear that acting as usual and grabbing weapons to attack directly would not work.

According to plan, Bai Zhengliu’s Twenty-Eight Generals should have had an effect, but the long sword had already been corroded by Meng Yuniang’s power, and after repeatedly awakening the spirits, its spiritual light had dimmed. Even though Bai Zhengliu still didn’t understand the mechanism behind the spiritual light above the Twenty-Eight Generals, he could tell that his beloved sword was already on the brink of breaking, and if he struck now, the result might be just like what happened with Jun Yang earlier.

The swordsman was not afraid of sacrifice, but he did not want to make a pointless sacrifice either.

So, the group focused their attention on Meng Yuniang's bracelet.

According to Ma Er's previous explanation, Meng Yuniang’s current condition was caused by a combination of her resentment and the bracelet's power. Once the bracelet was gone, she would either disintegrate into nothingness or her strength would greatly diminish.

Recalling how Mei Yinghan had been frozen and unable to move after briefly touching a spirit who didn’t want to talk to them, they hesitated before choosing not to engage in direct combat. Instead, they picked up a small twig from the ground and used it to nudge the bracelet.

Jun Tao’s face lit up with joy: “It worked! If we touch it with this thing, we’re fine!”

The group felt a slight relief. Even though "taking the bracelet from Meng Yuniang with a small stick" was still no easy task, they now saw hope.

As long as they destroyed the bracelet afterward, it should work, right?

They moved cautiously and carefully.

Behind them, not far away, Qian Gui was watching the scene in fear and anxiety.

While the Jianghu guests’ attention was fully on Meng Yuniang’s bracelet, she moved!

She lowered her head, and blood tears once again flowed from her eyes, her lips curling into the familiar strange smile.

But that was not all. While her left hand was being studied by the Jianghu guests—at this moment, the bracelet had already retreated to the place between her thumb and forefinger, seemingly continuing to move downward—suddenly, her shoulder sprouted several twisted, grotesque arms, reaching at strange angles toward the chests of the Jianghu guests!

Qian Gui opened his mouth: "Everyone—" He was horrified to realize that he couldn’t make a sound!

As he opened his mouth, a ghostly face appeared from Meng Yuniang’s side, looking at him with a ferocious, vengeful glare!

After everything that had happened, although Qian Gui was shocked by the sight, he was not about to just stand by and watch as Meng Yuniang attacked the Jianghu guests.

Unable to make a sound in that moment, his blood surged, and he suddenly rushed out from his hiding spot, intending to wake up the others.However, however—

He had just taken a step forward when suddenly a chill wind blew from behind. The moment it touched him, Qian Gui felt half of his body freeze and go numb, as if he were made of ice.

He immediately realized that this was the state that Mei Yinghan had experienced earlier. Qian Gui was overwhelmed with anxiety and panic. In a moment of desperation, his whole body began to heat up, and a buzzing sound filled his ears.

"Where is Uncle Qian going?" The merchant, unable to turn back, heard a faint female voice from behind. Even in such a dire moment, Meng Yuniang still seemed gentle and soft, telling Qian Gui, "My grandfather is waiting for you."

She continued, "There have been many times he hasn't been this happy. He’s keeping you here because he truly values you, not just for your fine qualities. Otherwise, why would everyone else leave tonight, but only Uncle Qian and his friends stay in our house?"

"Don’t be afraid, don’t panic. It’ll be over soon. We’ll go home right away—hmm! Damn it!"

Like she had done with the other Jianghu guests, she gently placed her finger on his back, at the heart. At this point, Qian Gui had no illusions. Those Jianghu guests were probably not "dazed and unable to come to their senses," but had already been controlled just like he had.

How could this be! How could it be? Even though they had prepared so much, were they still unable to escape their inevitable fate of death?

Li Niang was still at home, and his children were still young. When Bai Zhengliu and Ma Er had earlier spoken about "checking on your homes," he had thought that, unlike these wandering souls, he still had the chance to reunite with his family. They would never return home, but he could. Who would have thought, only a few moments later, he would follow in their footsteps?

Qian Gui's chubby face trembled, and tears began to fall from his eyes. He could already feel the pain, and at the same time, he saw the ghost’s hand sinking into the backs of the Jianghu guests, leaving trails of fresh blood.

Her fingers had already entered the Jianghu guests’ backs, and they were already far worse off than him.

Blood talismans might indeed be effective against wandering souls, but in front of Meng Yuniang, they were still far from enough.

Qian Gui felt dazed, so much so that he didn’t even hear Meng Yuniang's "damn it." It wasn’t until after a few breaths that he came to his senses. The pain seemed to vanish, replaced by a familiar warmth.

The man slowly looked down and saw a familiar sight. A faint glow was pouring out of his chest in large amounts—it was the hairpin! It was still working!

Qian Gui’s heart surged with joy, feeling his heart pounding in his chest, almost leaping out of his throat.

Was he saved? Meng Yuniang was wounded by the hairpin, and no longer a threat to him?

He frantically, yet carefully, took the hairpin from his chest. Though it was so small and delicate, now that it was in his hand, Qian Gui felt as though his whole body was filled with strength.

With this, he could survive! The female ghost couldn’t do anything to him! He could move freely within the "Tan family" territory!——And then?

After a brief moment of joy, Qian Gui’s mood quickly sank again.

He remembered the discussions of the Jianghu guests. There was no food, no water, and the meals provided by the Tan family were clearly not real food. If he really escaped relying on the power of the hairpin, within two days, he would starve to death!

So what should he do? What could he do?

Despair washed over Qian Gui, and his vision began to blur once again. Just at that moment, he noticed the Jianghu guests not far from him.

A glimmer of hope suddenly flickered across Qian Gui's chubby face!

……

……

The pain was real.

But, compared to the pain, the sense of impending death was even more tangible.

At this moment, Bai Zhengliu only felt deeply apologetic. He hadn’t done anything, and in the future, Meng Yuniang would still cause harm.

But no matter how much resentment he felt, at this very moment, he couldn’t move.

Yes, where would things be so easy? Since the wandering souls had all been controlled by Meng Yuniang, it was clear that the power on both sides was not on the same scale. He had still underestimated the situation. Unfortunately, there was no chance for a do-over...

Was there?

Bai Zhengliu felt a warm flow of energy.

The flowing power was immense and abundant, like a stream rushing into his body, quickly breaking the control Meng Yuniang had over the swordsman, and washing away the intense cold pain from Bai Zhengliu’s body.

The strength returned to his body, and the four Jianghu guests straightened up again. Only then did they realize that it was Qian Gui, who had recklessly charged forward and placed the hairpin by their side!

The previously smooth and lustrous, emerald-green hairpin now had some faint dark marks on it. But it still worked tirelessly, healing everyone, even sending a ray of luminous energy to the twenty-eight generals.

Hold on, let me correct that.Bai Zhengliu realized it. The jade hairpin had likely used most of its power on the twenty-eight generals, and that was why it had quickly dimmed!

With the small flickers of light coming from the hairpin—now the swordsman understood, this was the "qi" that Ma Er had mentioned earlier—the twenty-eight generals had regained their sharpness in the shortest time.

But that wasn't enough.

The glowing energy continued to surge and overflow! Above the twenty-eight generals, a half-figure began to take shape.

This person wore a golden helmet, a full set of heavy armor, and her face was full of determination.

Upon closer inspection, she was holding a weapon in her hand. But it wasn’t one of the twenty-eight generals’ weapons; instead, it was a much heavier long sword!

The female general raised her long sword.

The twenty-eight generals simultaneously moved Bai Zhengliu’s right hand to raise the sword.

The two long swords drew close in the air, merging together, then bursting into a brilliant flash of light—

And then, they swung toward Meng Yuniang!

The author has something to say:

Little Bai's golden finger has arrived—