Chapter 88

Chapter 88

Chapter 88: The Green-Clothed Ghost

Previously, as they walked deeper and deeper into the mountain snow, the saber master and the sword master didn’t voice it, but in their hearts, they still felt a bit uneasy.

Although the method the senior had taught them was effective, the deeper they went, the more the surrounding spiritual stones were corrupted. The further they went, the harder it became to distinguish the spiritual stones ahead from those behind…

At this rate, would they get lost? Would they be unable to find the Old Ghost of Tianshan at all, and instead turn this dark area into another “endless snow” region, making it even harder to find a way out?

The voice that arrived now seemed like a beam of light through the fog of confusion, directly pointing the way for the saber master and the sword master!

—Yet this was not something to be happy about.

“Ah, that man really got away.”

Not long after the “Let me go” cry sounded ahead, another voice echoed in the emptiness.

But it did not sound like a living person.

The new voice was sharp and thin, floating vaguely in the air, instantly reminding Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan of the Meng Lady they had encountered before.

The two didn’t have time to exchange glances, but their spirits began to sink. Especially soon after, they clearly saw the scene before them!

A lotus picker was crawling on the ground, limbs pressed to the earth, struggling forward, with two wandering spirits following closely behind him.

The wandering spirits clearly already knew where the lotus picker was. They could have easily whispered right next to his ears, yet they deliberately didn’t grab him directly. Instead, they covered their mouths with their hands, bent their eyes, and smiled while speaking, tormenting the lotus picker psychologically.

“Tell me, if the master can’t eat your flesh, he’ll surely be angry. At that time, will he skin you alive?”

These words came from a green-clothed wandering spirit. Logically, he should have been speaking to his brown-clothed companion beside him. Yet he kept his head lowered, his fingers hovering as if they would pass over the lotus picker’s face.

“Bah, it was clearly you who made him disappear.” The brown-clothed spirit, clearly familiar with his companion’s tastes, echoed in agreement. “Even if skinning, it should be your skin to peel! Then, scraping your flesh inch by inch from the bone, and ssslurp, even sucking the marrow clean.”

By the end, the brown-clothed spirit even began swallowing audibly. His nails lightly touched the ground and slid a bit, producing an extremely grating zzzza sound.

The lotus picker crawling painfully on the ground trembled violently at this.

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan didn’t know him, but from the fine sweat on his face and his panicked expression, they could tell he was almost scared to death by the two wandering spirits.

Crawling along, he anxiously glanced left and right. Unfortunately, for an ordinary person, every inch beneath the ice crevice was pure darkness. He couldn’t see the path ahead and didn’t know which direction he could escape. Even more, he was unaware that the wandering spirit constantly saying “What if we lose him?” was right beside him.

Finally, the lotus picker reached a stone cave.

To his ears, the wandering spirits had already created some distance. The lotus picker trembled all over, as if he had made a firm decision, and suddenly crawled toward the stone cave.He didn’t know that during this process, the wandering spirits were grinning right in front of him. Seeing him struggle in pain, they not only didn’t care but took pleasure in it, saying to their nearby companions: “Yo-ho, if we go this way ten times, there’ll be ten living people crawling into this place.”

The brown-clothed wandering spirit laughed along: “It’s like this every time, don’t you ever get bored of it?”

The green-clothed wandering spirit said: “Hey, you thing, you dare say that to me? I ask you, every time it’s like this, and you’re not bored?”

The two spirits laughed and joked. In front of them, the lotus picker’s face was tight, eyes squeezed shut, and his body trembled violently.

He bit his lips tightly, not daring to make a sound. At the same time, he hugged his legs with his arms, curling himself as small as possible, hoping not to attract the spirits’ attention.

This was not a successful tactic.

As he tightened his legs, his heels touched something.

The object rolled out with a gulu gulu sound. It wasn’t loud, but in the current darkness, it stood out noticeably.

In an instant, the lotus picker froze. He clenched his teeth so hard that they hurt… sweat and tears poured down together, and his eyes stung sharply at that moment.

“Ah!” The wandering spirits made a new sound. “What’s that? Let me pick it up and see.”

“Hehe,” his companion said, “Did you forget? This is the bone Wang Laoer left behind when he stole food before. That dog-nosed thing can smell a living person no matter where they run. Then it finds them precisely.”

While speaking, the wandering spirit licked his lips and began approaching the lotus picker hiding in the cave.

They deliberately amplified their footsteps. Each step was so clear and distinct that, to the lotus picker’s ears, it sounded like a death knell.

Getting closer and closer.

Getting closer and closer.

“I think I smell a little of a living person…”

“Ah, I think I found—uh!”

The first half of the sentence was spoken by the green-clothed spirit, the second half by the brown-clothed one.

The difference was, the green-clothed spirit finished speaking, while the brown-clothed spirit’s pupils suddenly contracted mid-sentence. He lowered his head, looking toward his chest.

There, a sword tip was protruding.

Bai Zhengliu couldn’t help but sigh.He clearly knew… yet habitually stabbed the wandering spirit’s heart!

But it didn’t matter.

The Twenty-Eight Generals slowly pierced deeper into the brown-clothed wandering spirit’s chest. At the same time, the stream of light that had been floating around Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan surged forward all at once, eagerly engulfing the brown-clothed wandering spirit.

As the brown-clothed spirit’s body grew dimmer, the light spots seemed as if they were about to disappear.

But it didn’t matter. Just as Yang Chun Yue had said before, above and below, all around, there were identical spirit stone veins. Even if some parts were corrupted, there were many more hidden below.

As long as a bit of pure spiritual energy was drawn, they could actively surge toward Bai Zhengliu!

They could even glide along him like tiny fish across his fingertips before vanishing into the Twenty-Eight Generals.

Bai Zhengliu almost felt as if he heard the joyous exclamation from the spiritual energy: “Finally! Someone’s here!”

He was slightly startled, but the motion of his hands was unaffected. In an instant, the brown-clothed wandering spirit disappeared from its place.

This was truly, without a doubt, a “soul-scattering” moment. The lotus picker in the cave still had no idea, praying fearfully that the wandering spirits wouldn’t find him. The green-clothed wandering spirit, however, was already dumbfounded by the disappearance of his companion. In just a few breaths, the roles of hunter and hunted in this place had completely reversed.

He instinctively stepped back. At that moment, a sharp weapon pressed against his vest.

As Bai Zhengliu sheathed his blade, he saw Mei Yinghan already standing behind the green-clothed wandering spirit.

He smiled briefly at him, signaling: “Mei, our coordination keeps growing!” — then composed himself, putting on a cold expression as he faced the green-clothed spirit.

Being a ghost, the green-clothed wandering spirit wasn’t naturally fearful like the lotus picker, displaying layers of sweat and tears in a futile plea against death. Yet he still trembled all over, forcing a smile even uglier than crying, and flattered Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan: “Gr-great, great heroes, l-let’s s-speak properly…”

Bai Zhengliu raised his long blade again.

The long blade landed squarely on the green-clothed spirit’s shoulder.

The instant the spiritual light touched the wandering spirit, there was a zzza sound, like a heated metal plate touching cold water. When forging a blade, such a splash doesn’t affect the steel; here, it caused half of the spirit’s shoulder to be engulfed in light, his ghostly face contorting in even greater fear and servility.

“G-great heroes!” If not for the weapons pressing him front and back, the green-clothed wandering spirit would have already knelt. But with Bai and Mei unmoving, he dared not act. Even his plea for mercy came out stammering.

It was understandable.

Since losing his life, the green-clothed spirit had never encountered a scene like this. In the past, he and his gang of desperate spirits had always bullied the living, reveling in their misery, as if doing so could make them forget how they had died… Speaking of which, how had he begged Grandfather Ghost for mercy before dying?

“I have elders above and children below. Spare me! Spare me! Once I get out of here, I’ll burn incense for my grandfathers every single day!”

No thought was needed; the words tumbled out of his mouth automatically. The green-clothed wandering spirit would only realize later that his expression had subtly changed, wishing he could slap himself.But it was no use.

As before, he was restrained front and back; he really couldn’t move.

In his mind, he was both shocked and suspicious. The Master was so powerful—how could a living person break in? And yet, such a formidable living person couldn’t escape the traps set by the Master. By that logic, the Master still seemed stronger.

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, the green-clothed wandering spirit finally heard the two “heroic elders” speaking.

The voice came from behind him. Hey, he was dead, and yet he could still feel a chill on his neck.

Mei Yinghan: “You want to capture this lotus picker and send him to the Master to eat his flesh and drink his blood?”

Green-Clothed Wandering Spirit: “Great hero, clear judgment! Clear judgment! I don’t wish to do such a heartless thing, but my life is completely in the hands of the Tianshan Old Ghost—I am powerless—hiss, great hero, please speak properly, speak properly.”

Mei Yinghan glanced at the blade moving over the wandering spirit’s neck, then at Bai Zhengliu ahead.

At this moment, Bai Zhengliu’s face had long lost its earlier smile, replaced by coldness and disgust.

He looked at the green-clothed wandering spirit with that gaze, then noticed Mei Yinghan hadn’t spoken for a long while, so he raised his eyes to him.

A slight change in angle, yet Bai Zhengliu’s gaze softened. The previous cold ruthlessness disappeared, replaced by a question almost “gentle” in tone.

Even knowing this wasn’t the right moment, Mei Yinghan’s heart stirred slightly.

Without showing it, he still asked in that same calm, emotionless voice: “I’m asking you a question. Why speak words that are unnecessary?”

The green-clothed wandering spirit squealed nervously, not daring to say more.

Mei Yinghan asked again: “How many people have you captured? Where are they kept?”

Having learned from before, this time the green-clothed wandering spirit spoke cautiously: “They’re kept not far ahead. Including the one hiding in the stone cave, there are five or six—wait, great hero, it’s five, yes, five for sure!”

Within a few sentences, half of his body seemed to vanish. He no longer dared to argue; whenever Mei Yinghan asked a question, he answered without hesitation.

He explained that the Master wasn’t always awake, but whenever awake, he needed to consume human flesh or blood. If no humans could be found, other living creatures on the mountain would do.

He didn’t know all the details, but on Tianshan, there was indeed a “circle.” Once anyone entered it, human or creature alike, there was no chance of escape. After that, it was the wandering spirits’ turn—whoever captured the most living beings fastest would be rewarded by the Master.

As for what the “reward” was, the green-clothed wandering spirit’s expression was timid and fearful, speaking no further. From his appearance, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan already understood.

At this moment, they finally exchanged a glance, then looked at Yang Chun Yue beside them.Yang Chun Yue understood: “I’ll first send the people here up above.” She paused, “Whatever you plan to do, wait a moment—don’t act impulsively.”

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan both nodded. Yang Chun Yue approached the lotus picker in the cave. Before anyone could see what she did, the lotus picker’s face showed a dazed expression. He slowly walked out of the cave, leaving behind tiny scattered bones.

Bai and Mei averted their gaze, unable to watch.

Soon, Yang Chun Yue went off into the distance, leaving only them and the green-clothed wandering spirit.

The green-clothed wandering spirit, as before, watched them cautiously, hesitating to speak.

Bai Zhengliu, growing impatient, said coldly: “With that expression, do you still have something to say?”

The green-clothed wandering spirit swallowed nervously—it was difficult for him, having been dead for countless years, to still perform actions resembling the living—and said: “Actually, before that person, we brought another person to the Master… oh, great hero, please strike lightly, lightly!”

Author’s note:

(:з」∠)!