Chapter 96

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Compared to the wet beauty in the pond, the chill that rose in Xiaohou Jianke's heart was even more intense. All thoughts of lust and soul-granting were dispelled. Xiaohou Jianke's earlobe twitched, and he immediately identified the source of the unease—above!

"Fiend! Cease your madness!"

Huangwu did not originally intend to shout such a foolish opening line, but after experiencing countless cycles of worlds, he despairingly discovered that in such ambiguous situations, failing to shout before attacking had a 60% chance of being seen as a malicious sneak attack by both sides, a 21% chance of killing the one being attacked, an 11% chance of the skill missing, and the remaining 8% being uncertain factors. Therefore, the more battle-hardened cycle warriors were, the more they would shout before attacking, whether to help the good or the bad, to clarify their stance.

Sure enough, with this shout, Xiaohou Jianke felt he was not the fiend, stopped his forward rush, and switched from offense to defense, maintaining a neutral position.

Huangwu descended from the sky, using the momentum of the waterfall. The high-frequency oscillating blade, like a white ribbon, split the air and struck down. Xiaohou Jianke could even see the blade tip touch the cascading waterfall, the high-frequency oscillating edge rapidly vibrating, turning the full water droplets into a mist.

At the end of the blade tip was the poetic and picturesque beauty!

"Boom~~"

Huangwu, like a bomb falling into the water, instantly splashed up a four to five-meter-high wave. Xiaohou Jianke retreated five steps, avoiding the splashing water while also preventing any sneak attacks from the water.

Xiaohou Jianke was overthinking. Huangwu had no intention of attacking him. The high-frequency oscillating blade met no resistance, the sensation of emptiness making his strike fall short. Instead of splitting the pond, he lost balance and fell into it.

"An untouchable female ghost?" Huangwu emerged from the water, drenched, and walked to the shore, thinking to himself. If he couldn't touch her, the high-frequency oscillating blade couldn't trigger the enchanted runes, and thus couldn't activate the dual physical and magical damage attributes. In that case, he had to use his own abilities, but...

"Hey, kid, what did you do?" Xiaohou Jianke called out several times, but seeing Huangwu lost in thought, he immediately went over and pushed him.

"Ah! Oh, friend, there was a female ghost in the pond just now. You almost fell victim to it." Huangwu, regaining his senses, looked at Xiaohou Jianke and explained the identity of the female ghost. "Near the Lansi Temple, there is a group of demons and ghosts who use their beauty to lure and kill mortals. I have seen many victims' corpses in the Lansi Temple. If you are fine, you should leave quickly."

Xiaohou Jianke was not a fool. Huangwu's intervention helped him regain his composure, and he naturally noticed the woman's odd behavior. Not to mention how she escaped from Huangwu, Xiaohou Jianke was quite confident in his sword heart, yet he had been bewitched by the woman, losing his mental defenses and becoming disoriented.

"Indeed, thank you, young friend!" Xiaohou Jianke, thinking of how close he had come to falling for the trick, was almost sweating. He quickly thanked Huangwu and then thought, "No good, Yan Chixia is still at the Lansi Temple. I need to warn him!"

Xiaohou Jianke and Yan Chixia were both enemies and friends, and he did not want such a formidable opponent to die so miserably.

"No need. Yan Chixia doesn't need your worry. He is a master of mystic arts, and with his magic, he could easily take out two hundred of you." Huangwu did not want Xiaohou Jianke to return to the Lansi Temple, a den of tigers, and directly revealed Yan Chixia's hidden identity to discourage him.

"What? Yan Chixia knows magic!" Xiaohou Jianke had seen some minor magic users in the past, but their abilities to spout fire, water, or create paper figures were no match for his invincible sword qi. However, he did not believe Yan Chixia knew such minor magic. Based on his understanding of Yan Chixia, his hidden strength was likely far beyond his expectations.

"Yes, you should leave quickly. Find a deep mountain or an old forest, find a master, and train for ten to eight years before challenging Yan Chixia again." Huangwu, not having received the reward for saving Xiaohou Jianke, was anxious and repeatedly urged him to leave. Perhaps once he left, the mission prompt would come.

"Alright, I will repay this life-saving favor someday!" Xiaohou Jianke, being straightforward, cut off all distractions, packed his belongings and sword, bowed to Huangwu, and left.

When Xiaohou Jianke decided to leave, Huangwu received a notification from the Overlord, earning 3000 points and a C-level side quest, a small but significant bonus.

Whistling, Huangwu returned to the Lansi Temple, but his mood immediately turned sour. On the ground lay a corpse, shriveled and twisted like a towel wrung out, clearly one of the newbies.

Yan Chixia burst in, carrying another corpse, that of Fang Sheng from the north wing. There was a small hole in the sole of his foot, as if pierced by a needle, from which all the flesh and fat had been sucked out, leaving a terrifying, aged skin covering the bones.

"Greedy and lustful, they brought this upon themselves." Yan Chixia threw the corpse to the ground and said to Huangwu and the others, "If you don't want to die, leave quickly."

After that, no matter how the newbies tried to talk to Yan Chixia, they received no response. Huangwu, however, had some skill, earning a bit more respect from Yan Chixia, but still gained nothing. During this time, the tree demon grandmother attempted to send ghostly women to诱发 the newbies' evil thoughts, but the newbies, prepared mentally, were not swayed. The tree demon grandmother, fearing Yan Chixia, did not dare to kill them outright.

Three days passed. That afternoon, Huangwu, sitting on the roof of the highest hall in the Lansi Temple, suddenly saw a white-faced scholar, carrying a bookshelf, wiping sweat, approaching the temple.

Ning Caichen?

Huangwu's eyes narrowed. Once the plot unfolded, the Lansi Temple would no longer be safe, and the tree demon grandmother would surely turn against Yan Chixia. Huangwu also realized this was not the world of Liaozhai, as Xiaohou Jianke, an original character, could not exist in it. However, he did not blame Chuci, as Chuci's misjudgment was based on his understanding, not out of malice. Moreover, excluding the Liaozhai world, in the world of A Chinese Ghost Story, only the giant corpse and the false imperial advisor remained. Huangwu believed Chuci could not defeat the false imperial advisor, and the rewards from the giant corpse would likely be similar to those from Xiaohou Jianke, with no significant conflict of interest.

Instead, seeing the scholar who looked like Ning Caichen, Huangwu laughed heartily, "Ha ha, looks like the biggest side quest will be mine!" He didn't care about the newbies, but a task with substantial rewards was not something he could let go. A shadow crept up Huangwu's ankle and swallowed him in an instant.

At the only path up the mountain, Huangwu squatted on a large rock, munching on an apple, leisurely waiting for the scholar to arrive.

But what he did not expect was—

"Life's road, a dream as long as the road

The road is filled with wind and frost, wind and frost on the face

In the red dust, how many directions do dreams have

Find the cherished dream in the heart, the road follows the wandering people

..."

A bright-eyed, rosy-lipped, handsome young scholar—Ning Caichen—made a dazzling entrance!

Seeing the familiar smile in this 'Ning Caichen's eyes, Huangwu felt a million horses trampling his heart!

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