Chapter 63

Bang!

Shen Gongbao's sharp claws were instantly grabbed by a pair of powerful hands, his face changing dramatically. Xingke smiled at Shen Gongbao.

At this moment, Cui Yu, who had been watching from the side, suddenly moved. He was like a true cheetah, circling around the battlefield, calmly observing and looking for the best opportunity.

Now, Cui Yu had found it. As Xingke reached out to grab Shen Gongbao, a huge opening appeared!

A cold light flashed, and the exquisite fan turned into a terrifying weapon, slicing toward Xingke's throat. If he were hit, his head would surely roll.

At the critical moment, a cold gleam flashed in Xingke's eyes, and a victorious smile appeared on his lips.

Suddenly, the wind howled. Xingke roared and grabbed Shen Gongbao, using him as a human club to sweep across. With a swish, the fan cut through Shen Gongbao's brocade robe, sparking against the exposed steel armor.

Thud! After throwing Shen Gongbao at Cui Yu, Xingke immediately let go, causing Shen Gongbao to collide with Cui Yu.

Xingke realized that he had always been wary of Cui Yu, anticipating his attempt to find an opportunity to attack. Since Cui Yu was looking for it, Xingke deliberately exposed an opening, inviting him to take the bait.

Cui Yu indeed fell for it, and his attack was ruthless, aiming to decapitate Xingke with a single fan strike.

However, he failed, accidentally injuring his teammate and being hit by Shen Gongbao, who was used as a projectile.

"You, Cui Yu, you're trying to take advantage of the chaos and get rid of me!" Shen Gongbao, with his fiery temper, was still angry about the near decapitation.

"Enough, let's deal with the enemy in front of us first." Cui Yu's face was grim as he sternly said.

"We'll settle this later!"

Shen Gongbao glared, his gaze shifting to Xingke. His gaunt face fell, and his claw-like hands trembled behind his back. Xingke's grip had been strong!

"He's too... brutal." Shen Gongbao glanced at Cui Yu and muttered.

Cui Yu was taken aback, then nodded solemnly, "When did the new ghost servant become so fierce?"

"Shall we flank him from both sides?"

"Flank!"

"..." Xingke was speechless. The two ghosts discussed for a while and then flanked from both sides.

"In the face of absolute power, your little tricks are just desperate struggles!" Xingke shook his head and said.

"Watch this!" Shen Gongbao shouted, instantly drawing Xingke's attention.

Xingke was stunned, sensing something was wrong. He immediately looked at Cui Yu, only to be speechless.

Cui Yu, agile and quick, circled around to Xingke's back, picked up the kneeling Cui Qi, and ran away.

When Xingke turned back, he saw that the mighty Shen Gongbao, taking advantage of Xingke's distraction, had grabbed Shen Shi and fled in a different direction.

"Trying to run? Where to?" Xingke's eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes widened. In a moment, his toes dug into the ground, and he kicked up, sending the marble tiles flying like bullets toward Shen Gongbao.

He then stomped the ground, causing cracks to spread, and his ghostly body shot up, leaping dozens of feet high, as if he had wings on his back.

Bang! Xingke descended like a divine soldier, landing in front of Cui Yu, the force of his impact shattering the ground, the cracks extending to the stunned Cui Yu.

"Are you trying to kill us?" Cui Yu snapped, though he was already a ghost and couldn't die.

"You're a ghost, you can't live anyway." Xingke smiled, appearing demonic in Cui Yu's eyes.

"Damn, too brutal!" Cui Yu cursed, then had a sudden idea. He pushed Cui Qi toward Xingke and fled.

"Brother!" Cui Qi suddenly regained consciousness, crying out in distress, tears streaming down his face. He had been abandoned by his brother.

"Brother, I'll go get reinforcements!" Cui Yu shouted without turning back, his speed increasing, clearly affected by carrying Cui Qi.

"Get what reinforcements? You're just a minor leader in the Spring Breeze Courtyard!" Cui Qi gave up, and as he was about to fall into Xingke's arms, he closed his eyes and fainted.

Thud! Xingke took a step back, and Cui Qi hit the ground hard.

"Ouch!" Cui Qi cried out, waking up from his faint. He glared at Xingke, "Do you have any humanity? Couldn't you catch me?"

"Ha, why should I catch you?" Xingke blinked, then looked in another direction, where the ground was littered with debris. Shen Gongbao and Shen Shi were gone.

"It seems they've escaped. I didn't use my full strength, hoping they would learn a lesson!" Xingke said calmly.

In a field of thriving cabbages, two heads were buried, one with a bump, belonging to Shen Gongbao and Shen Shi.

"Phew, it seems that brutal ghost servant didn't chase us."

"Ouch, that bastard hit too hard, giving me a bump on the head from the marble!" Shen Gongbao exhaled, then inhaled sharply, looking at the now awake Shen Shi, his eyes blazing with anger.

"Never provoke that brutal ghost servant again!" Shen Gongbao warned sternly.

"But Uncle..."

"No more excuses, I won't stand up for you anymore!"

Shen Gongbao was furious, not only with the bump on his head but also with having to hide in a smelly vegetable field. He slapped the ground and jumped out.

"Get out! If the kitchen chefs see us damaging their crops, they'll go crazy and cook us!" Shen Gongbao said.

"Yes." Shen Shi nodded, a hint of malice and resentment in his eyes.

On the other side, Xingke was dealing with the ghost servants on the ground. As he approached, they immediately begged for mercy.

"Brother, please let us go, I'll be your little brother!" One clever ghost servant, despite the pain, crawled up and pleaded pitifully.

Seeing this, the other ghost servants immediately knelt and begged, crying to become Xingke's little brothers.

"Hmm?" Xingke's expression changed, and he pondered for a moment.

Having a batch of cheap little brothers wasn't bad, and he needed some test subjects for alchemy. Xingke chuckled, sending chills down the ghost servants' spines.

"Alright, seeing your sincerity, I can't refuse." Xingke nodded and waved his hand.

"What?" the ghost servants asked, confused.

"Cough, you don't get to be my little brother for free. Of course, you need to give me something, like red packets!" Xingke glared, wondering why they were so clueless, how did they live before!

"Oh, oh!" The ghost servants immediately understood, some digging for money, others for ghost qi pills.

Xingke unceremoniously stuffed the ghost money into his pocket, but didn't take the ghost qi pills.

"Keep the ghost qi pills to improve your cultivation. I don't need them, and you can owe me the red packets for now!" Xingke said sternly, almost making the ghost servants cry in gratitude.

They didn't know that Xingke was telling the truth. These low-quality ghost qi pills, even if he had hundreds, wouldn't be enough to advance him to the ninth level of ghost soldier or form a new seven-soul wheel.

"What about you?" Xingke walked to Cui Qi and poked his pale face.

"I..." Cui Qi was speechless, staring blankly at Xingke.

"Join me, I'll take you to Spring Orchid!" Xingke smiled.

"But I like Winter Plum in the West Courtyard!" Cui Qi said.

"Both, follow me, and you'll have some ambition. We'll get all four maids from the four courtyards!" Xingke said boldly, like a snake tempting Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.

Cui Qi's eyes lit up, and he firmly said, "Brother Xing!"

"Good!" Xingke laughed happily, "Little brother, I have a question. What did you see when I released my aura?"

"I saw..." Cui Qi thought seriously.

Xingke looked at Cui Qi expectantly, knowing that fully understanding his aura was crucial for further development and self-awareness.

After a long moment, Cui Qi said, "I don't know!"

"You don't know!?" Xingke was taken aback, almost losing his temper.

"Then why were you so shocked?" Xingke said irritably, remembering how Cui Qi had knelt in fear when he saw the aura.

"When you released a bit of your aura, a bright light blinded me, causing temporary blindness, so..." Cui Qi's voice grew softer, and he lowered his head.

Xingke's eyes twitched, and he was almost about to strike.

"Never mind." Xingke stood up, giving up on the question. He looked at the dozens of little brothers and said, "If you follow me, I have some things to say upfront."

"First, I won't treat you as cannon fodder, but you must prove you're not trash!" Xingke's eyes swept over them, his gaze suddenly sharp.

Earlier, Shen Shi had called them trash and cannon fodder, chilling their hearts, which was one reason they wanted to follow Xingke.

"We are not cannon fodder, and we are not trash!" The ghost servants shouted with determination, their eyes filled with tears.

Being treated as cannon fodder was one thing, but being called trash was a matter of proving their worth!

"Good!" Xingke nodded, satisfied.

Xingke took a deep breath and shouted, "Second, being my little brother means having principles! Do not bully the good, and do not flatter the evil!"

"Do not bully the good, and do not flatter the evil!" The ghost servants shouted, some of them truly moved to tears. If Xingke's words were true, following him would be worth it!

In this era of power, living with principles and "not bullying the good, not flattering the evil" was not easy. They all wanted to live with passion and purpose!

"Third, we are ghosts, but we must live like humans!" Xingke continued, the image of the red fish and the fledgling bird on the old tree flashing in his mind.

"Red fish, I will turn this 'fledgling bird' into a strong one!" Xingke silently vowed, becoming more serious. He didn't notice the subtle change in his heart, the seed planted on the Homeward Bridge beginning to sprout.

"Third, as long as the green hills remain, there will be no lack of firewood! A man can bend and stretch!"

"Fourth... a man must be strong!"

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