Chapter 64

I was so scared that my legs went weak, and I plopped down on the bed. That thing was no longer human; its face was stiff, its eyes black with a strange red ring around them, and it wore silver armor, clearly a ghost general.

Looking at it, it seemed to be on the same level as Song Wanyi and Xijun. Could the City God have sent a ghost general to take me?

But that didn’t make sense. If he were to send someone, it would be a higher-level one. Although this ghost general’s yin energy was much stronger than Xijun and Wanyi, I had two of them, and he only had one. What could he do to me?

After thinking it through, I regained my composure and started wondering why this ghost had come.

"Hey, I’m about to go to sleep. If you want to fight, come back tomorrow. Are you going to keep this up all night?" Seeing that my wife hadn’t raised the alarm, I scolded and gestured to Xijun and Wanyi to keep an eye on the ghost.

Xijun bared her fish-scale teeth, ready to attack, while Song Wanyi remained indifferent, as if I were the only one in her eyes.

The ghost, seeing two ghosts of similar strength surround him, didn’t retreat at all. Instead, he leaped in from the window and stood right in front of me.

What does this ghost want? I don’t seem to have provoked him, do I?

"What do you have against me? Is it worth coming to me in the middle of the night? Or are you sent by the City God? People don’t visit without a reason, and neither do ghosts. Since he’s looking at me like this, there must be something. I can’t just attack him on sight."

The ghost didn’t say a word but immediately knelt before me, as if begging.

"Wanyi, go ask him what’s going on." I quickly stepped back to avoid his bow. "Come on, I want to use a ghost general to help me, not have one bow to me."

"Ghost General Liancheng, here for a serious matter." Wanyi wrote a few words with water from a kettle.

"Do you know him?" I asked quickly.

"From the neighboring mountain." Wanyi nodded and wrote a few more words.

So that’s it. You have such a powerful neighbor? Is he trying to join me? He kneels right away? Tell him, one drop of blood in the morning, no meals in the evening, protection at all times, and a willingness to risk his life when needed. If he can do it, he can follow me. If not, he should find someone else. I thought this might be a good thing since I’m short on powerful ghost generals to fight the City God and Li Po-xiao.

You must have thought this out already, right? Wanyi rolled her eyes and wrote on the ground: "He has something to hold onto, impossible to leave."

"Oh, he doesn’t want to be my subordinate. Then why is he kneeling? Is he just here to kneel for fun?"

Wanyi started talking to the ghost in ghost language. Midway through, the ghost general sighed and then looked agitated.

After a while, the ghost general finished, and Wanyi looked at me with a difficult expression.

I immediately knew it wasn’t that simple. "He can’t serve me and has many demands? Do I look like the Red Cross? Why should I help you for nothing?"

Wanyi reluctantly said a few more words, but the ghost general still couldn’t offer anything to persuade me.

I thought if this went on, I wouldn’t see my wife tonight. Besides, Master Hai told me to do nothing but cultivate my qi when I returned. So I said, "Write down what happened. I’ll read it and then set some conditions. If we agree, we’ll work together. If not, we’ll part ways."

The ghost general nodded and started writing with tea water. It took a whole pot of tea for me to understand the whole story.

It turned out that the ghost general was from the tomb within the tomb on Liancheng Mountain, named Jiang Han. In life, he was a general responsible for guarding a small town. He lost the town due to a ruse, and all the elderly and children were killed. He returned to see the carnage and, in anger, threw himself into the river, dying with deep resentment, which turned him into a ghost.

The other in the tomb was a gentlewoman named Liu Fengyi, who was supposed to become a concubine in a prince’s palace. However, she was raped on the way and became pregnant. Her family beat her to death and dumped her body in a mass grave. Due to the special location, she and Jiang Han became powerful ghosts, causing chaos in the city and the surrounding area.

Later, a high-ranking Taoist moved Jiang Han’s body to his hometown, Long County, and placed it in the乱葬岗 (mass grave) under Liancheng Mountain, which finally calmed the situation.

Over the years, Jiang Han and Liu Fengyi, influenced by the special geographical environment of Liancheng Mountain, developed intelligence and emotional bonds, becoming inseparable.

Later, Zhang Dafei and Zhang Xiaofei robbed the tomb, angering Liu Fengyi. She parasitized her child in Zhang Dafei’s body, intending to kill all the Zhangs.

During the heavy rain tonight, the old lady of the Zhang family appeared, taking Liu Fengyi away to remove the child from Zhang Dafei’s body, or else she would torture her soul.

Jiang Han, despite his strength, couldn’t fight the many people, so he fled and sought help, even going to the desolate mountains behind Zhao Family Village to find Song Wanyi. Finally, with the help of a ghost in the mountains, he found me after waiting for a long time.

I was relieved that Jiang Han had some morals; otherwise, he could have easily killed Zhao Qian and Yu Xiaoxue.

Without the Celestial Compass, it’s very dangerous. Even feng shui can’t stop a ghost of this level. I need to think of a good plan or get the Celestial Compass back from Wu Zhenghua!

Is Liu Fengyi as strong as you? I asked.

The ghost general started talking to Xijun, and after a while, Xijun wrote a bunch of words for me to read.

Oh, you mean the one who came out last time? She seems a bit weaker than you, no wonder the old lady of the Zhang family could take her. I nodded, thinking that at that time, Xijun’s strength hadn’t increased, so this ghost general must be a good ghost. He didn’t harm me when I did nothing wrong, but if I had done something bad, I might not have come back.

I didn’t expect the old lady of the Zhang family to be so powerful, able to take Liu Fengyi right in front of Jiang Han.

I can’t do this. Besides my lifespan, yin-yang eyes, and treasures, I don’t want anything else, and you can’t give me those. I waved my hand to drive him away. Why help a ghost instead of a human? Even if I helped you build an empire, what would I get? You want to be with Liu Fengyi, so what’s left for me?

I’m not being selfish, but it’s very dangerous. If even a ghost general of your level can’t handle it, what difference would a few more make?

Jiang Han didn’t seem disappointed but rather happy and started writing a bunch of words.

I was delighted. Could he really give me yin-yang eyes and a chest of treasures? Is this real?

I turned to Song Wanyi and asked, "Is this true? Can he really give me yin-yang eyes?"

Wanyi nodded and wrote some words for me.

I read it and learned that ghosts of Wanyi and Jiang Han’s level could not only possess bodies but also enhance human eyes to create yin-yang eyes, at the cost of a significant drop in their own strength.

Ghosts generally wouldn’t expend so much strength to give a body yin-yang eyes unless they planned to possess it permanently.

That’s a good condition, but I’m currently very weak. I can’t transform your eyes into yin-yang eyes. I sighed, tempted by the yin-yang eyes and treasures but knowing the risks. Possessing a body would drain my qi and make me sick, just like when Zhao Qian possessed me.

Thinking of this, I suddenly remembered that Zhao Qian said I had a golden light when she woke up in Zhao Family Village. Could she have opened her yin-yang eyes?

Looking at Song Wanyi, she confirmed it. If she hadn’t opened Zhao Qian’s yin-yang eyes, she wouldn’t have lost so much strength and dropped to Xijun’s level.

I need to think about this carefully. I can’t risk my life for you. Go back for now. I have things to do. If my qi recovers by tomorrow night, I’ll consider it. Just come back then. As long as Liu Fengyi doesn’t take the ghost child back, the old lady of the Zhang family won’t kill her, only torture her. It’s a cause and effect of her parasitizing the Zhangs. If you’re still worried, go and watch the Zhangs. With your strength, you can come and go freely. I have concerns about the safety of Zhao Qian and Yu Xiaoxue when I’m not around.

The ghost general looked disappointed but had no choice. He looked at Song Wanyi.

Wanyi muttered something to him, and he happily bowed to me and floated out the window.

I don’t know what Wanyi said, but since Xijun didn’t report her, I didn’t care. I was eager to see my wife.

As the ghost general disappeared, I quickly closed the window. Even though it wouldn’t stop the ghosts, I didn’t want to see a pale face while sleeping.

Although I’m used to seeing ghosts, who can get used to being scared? Better to be safe.

I used the Spirit Communication Talisman to contact your lady. Keep an eye on everything. Don’t wake me up for any ghosts; just drive them away. I warned them repeatedly.

Xijun and Wanyi, hearing that I was going to see the lady, were so scared they trembled, with no objections.

I stuck the talisman to my chest, lay down, and started chanting. The chanting slowed down, and I eventually fell asleep, feeling Song Wanyi gently stroking my hair and Xijun curiously watching me.

In a daze, I felt like I crossed a golden bridge into my dream.

The surroundings were dazzling with golden light, blinding my eyes. I couldn’t see clearly where I was.

You’re always causing trouble. Since you’ve found me here, let’s see where you can go next. My sister-in-law’s arrogant voice came from ahead, and I was in tears.