My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

The old fox thought to himself with delight, and quickened his pace.

After passing through a grove of trees, the view suddenly opened up before us.

In the mountain hollow, a campfire was still burning. Around the fire, several hunters were sitting, talking about something.

The old fox stopped and squinted to observe carefully.

The hunters looked no different from ordinary people; some were warming themselves by the fire, some were talking, and some were drinking water. It counted them; there were five in total.

"Just these few?" the old fox muttered. "Not many."

Just as it was about to order the two cougars to attack, it suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Why are those hunters all huddled together?

They weren't sitting, they were crammed together. The five of them were squeezed into a tiny patch of ground, even though there was such a large space around the campfire, as if they were afraid of stepping on something.

The old fox squinted and carefully examined their feet.

There was a mark on the ground.

A faint, black mark formed a circle. The hunters stood inside that circle, not daring to step out.

The old fox's heart skipped a beat.

Those marks... why do they look so much like they were left by magic?

As it was thinking this, the male ghost couldn't wait any longer.

"What are you dawdling for?" it floated forward and shrieked, "Let me go and kill those mortals!"

The old fox quickly shouted:

"etc!"

It's too late.

The male ghost floated to the edge of the circle, stretched out a hand, and tried to reach in and grab someone.

The moment its hand touched that unseen boundary, a golden-red light suddenly shone!

The light was incredibly fast, flashing by in an instant, but that brief moment of light illuminated the entire valley!

The male ghost let out a piercing scream!

Its hand, the hand that reached into the circle, is burning!

The golden-red flames started spreading from its fingertips and quickly reached its wrist, arm, and shoulder!

The flames weren't like ordinary fire; they seemed alive, climbing upwards and impossible to extinguish no matter how hard you tried to slap them out!

The male ghost screamed and ran back, but after only a few steps, his entire body was engulfed in flames.

It fell to the ground, rolling around, screaming, struggling—then turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished completely.

Not even ashes remained.

The old fox and the female ghost stood at a distance, watching this scene, their bodies stiff.

That fire...

What kind of fire is that?

The old fox had lived for over a hundred years and had seen many kinds of sorcery and magic, but he had never seen anything like this before.

That fire was clearly a restriction set up by someone, specifically to deal with these demonic creatures!

The hunters stood in the enclosure, their faces pale with fright, but none of them were injured.

The fire only burned the male ghost, and had no effect on them at all.

The old fox's heart sank.

That circle was deliberately set up by someone.

That person is a master.

......

Several hunters in the circle jumped in fright at the sudden flash of light.

The young hunter's legs went weak and he almost sat down on the ground, but the bearded man caught him.

"Don't panic! Don't panic!" the bearded man shouted. "The Taoist priest said that as long as we don't leave the area, nothing can hurt us!"

The young hunter pointed outside, trembling:

"That...that just now..."

Another hunter said:

"It's a changgui! It must be a changgui!"

The bearded man stared into the darkness outside and said in a deep voice:

"Don't be afraid. Did you see that? The ghostly hand was burned away as soon as it reached in. This Taoist priest's technique is incredibly powerful!"

The hunters calmed down a bit after hearing this, but their eyes remained fixed on the darkness outside, as if afraid that something else might rush out.

......

The old fox and the female ghost hid behind a large rock, not daring to breathe.

The female ghost was so frightened that she trembled all over, her voice shaking:

"W-what do we do? That fire...that fire..."

The old fox glared at her:

"Shut up!"

It stared at the circle, its eyes darting around rapidly.

Forcing our way in is not an option.

It witnessed firsthand how powerful the fire was.

Although it was stronger than the male ghost, it wasn't strong enough to withstand that kind of fire.

If the hard approach doesn't work, try the soft approach.

It lowered its voice and said to the female ghost:

"You, go."

The female ghost shrank back in fright:

"Me...me go there? Isn't that suicide?"

The old fox cursed:

"Who told you to force your way in? Go and lie! Pretend to be a woman in distress and ask them for help!"

Those mortals fall for this trick the moment they see a pitiful woman; they forget everything else!

The female ghost was stunned for a moment, then understood.

It took a deep breath, straightened its tattered clothes, and wiped its face a few times, making itself look miserable.

Then he emerged from behind the rock and stumbled towards the campfire.

"Help...help..."

It ran and shouted, its voice high-pitched and thin, with a sobbing tone:

"Brothers, help me..."

Hearing the shouts, several hunters turned to look.

Under the moonlight, a woman in tattered clothes was stumbling and running this way.

Her hair was disheveled, her face was streaked with tears, and she looked pitiful.

The young hunter paused for a moment, instinctively wanting to take a step outside, but was pulled back by the bearded man.

"What are you doing?!"

The young hunter asked urgently:

"Brother, it's a woman! She's screaming for help!"

The bearded man stared intently at the woman and said in a deep voice:

"You idiot! Have you forgotten how that ghost died just now?"

The young hunter was taken aback.

The bearded man said:

"In this desolate wilderness, in the middle of the night, where would a woman come from? You can't even tell if she's human or ghost, and you dare to go out like that?"

The young hunter opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.

The female ghost ran to the edge of the circle, stopped, and looked at them with a pleading expression:

"Brothers, please have mercy and save me... I'm being chased by bandits and have fled to these mountains, but I can't go any further..."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face; she looked utterly pitiful.

The hunters exchanged glances, all somewhat hesitant.

Another hunter whispered:

"Big brother, she looks...like a human..."

The bearded man frowned and glanced at the hunter.

"Are you out of your mind, or did you get your head stuck in a door? Are you prioritizing your brain over your brain? What kind of woman would be wandering around outside in the middle of nowhere at this hour?"

"Even a fool like you knows that's impossible! If the fire ring left by the Taoist priest hadn't failed to affect you, I'd think you were the one who was the accomplice!"

The hunter blushed after being spoken to and dared not say another word.

Then they saw the bearded man speaking to the female ghost.

"Since you say you're human, then come over here. There are divine arrangements here that prevent evil things from getting in."

The female ghost was inwardly furious, but outwardly maintained a delicate and fragile appearance.

"I'm afraid my legs will give way. Could you gentlemen please help me inside?"

As she spoke, she wiped away her tears with a pitiful expression.

However, before she could continue acting, the bearded man decisively drew his arrow and shot it.

To the other hunters' surprise, the sharp arrow pierced right through the woman.

No one could have guessed that this was a courier ghost!