I'm Ximen Qing, living in a ghost story!

"They've already been interrogated, but these people aren't afraid of death; they just don't dare go into the mountains! They say the mountain god will punish traitors!"

Simon Da helplessly pointed to the bandits crouching on the ground behind him.

Nie Xiaoqian, who had dark circles under her eyes, took out a sketchbook and handed it to him, saying, "Based on their descriptions, I drew a picture of the mountain. If the mountain god hadn't interfered, we could have crossed Black Wind Mountain in two days at most. On the other side of Black Wind Mountain is Songshan County outside Qingzhou Prefecture."

"You can do this too?"

Looking at the map in his hand, Ximen Qing sketched out a road with just a few strokes.

"Painting and calligraphy are essential skills for a lady."

Nie Xiaoqian didn't pay much attention and replied casually, then gritted her teeth and said, "I still think that asking Judge Yan to rescue Guo Bei County is the most important thing. Young Master Ximen, give me a few men, and I'm willing to risk going myself, carrying that demon's body! Maybe we won't be discovered by the mountain god?"

She was in a hurry.

Especially after listening to the incessant meowing of cats all night and not getting a good night's sleep, I felt even more irritable.

She should be anxious too.

After all, it was her father who remained in Guobei County.

"good!"

"Listen to me, I think I'm confident... Hmm? What did you just say?"

Nie Xiaoqian continued to offer her advice until she suddenly realized something and looked sharply at Ximen Qing.

"I said—I agree! However, I don't trust anyone else with this; I have to do it myself!"

Ximen Qing patted the trunk of the tree demon hanging behind him.

Just kidding, he didn't take this thing off his body even when he was diligently cultivating yesterday, how could he possibly hand it over to someone else?

This is the Tree Demon Granny. He remembers that even Yan Chixia couldn't kill her. Even a single clone of her would require serious preparation.

"Father, I want to..."

Ximen Qing looked at his father.

However, Simon waved his hand before he could finish speaking and said directly, "Since you've made up your mind, I'll go with you."

"No, Father! You stay here, or rather, most of our family stays here. You take those people to repair the roads outside, and make preparations for both scenarios."

Ximen Qing looked at them and said, word by word.

"No! Absolutely not! You're going into the mountains alone?"

"I won't be alone; I'll bring a few bandits as guides!"

"Isn't that still just one person? That's too dangerous! What if they lure you into a trap, or sell you to that mountain god?"

Simonda shook his head frantically.

"father!"

At this moment, Ximen Qing walked up to a servant, raised the dagger in the servant's hand, and amidst everyone's gasps, slashed it down onto his own arm.

scoff!

A sickening metallic clang rang out, and sparks flew everywhere.

Ximen Qing wiped the white mark on his wrist and said in front of everyone, "What if they hadn't sold me out, but I had asked them to take me to that mountain god? I didn't go into the mountains to run away like a rat. I wanted to have a good talk with that mountain god. Father, you see! Don't worry, I can get out of here unscathed!"

Pfft!

As soon as he finished speaking, the servant whose dagger had just been snatched by Ximen Qing immediately collapsed to his knees.

Those bandits who had been terrified by Ximen Qing the night before immediately prostrated themselves before him, kowtowing frantically and calling him "the immortal."

"Ugh!"

Simon stepped forward, his eyes filled with a mixture of relief and bewilderment.

He patted Ximen Qing on the collar and laughed, "You little rascal, be careful next time you show off, your father can't take a scare."

He had seen the real secluded places, and he had also seen sword immortals and Gu immortals who could fly high and low.

Naturally, I wouldn't be intimidated like these guys.

"hey-hey!"

Ximen Qing had actually wanted to test whether the crossbow could pierce him, but he switched to a dagger halfway through because he wasn't confident.

Even so, it was still shocking and unconventional.

"Since you insist on going, then go! We'll cover your retreat! If you encounter any danger, fire a signal arrow, and I'll find you even if I have to turn this mountain upside down!"

The next moment, Simon looked at him, handed him a signal arrow, and spoke heavily.

His words were filled with determination; anyone who didn't know better would have thought that Simon Da was a true cultivator.

"good!"

"But you're not allowed to go!" Ximen Qing said, looking at Nie Xiaoqian, who was eager to go.

Successfully earned a sour face.

……

In the afternoon, although it was already autumn, the summer heat still lingered.

Less than twenty miles in a straight line from Black Wind Village at the foot of the mountain, a grand feast is being held.

The canopies of the giant trees in the mountains blocked the sunlight, allowing only slivers to fall, creating patches of light of varying sizes on the ground.

Under the shade of the trees, drowned ghosts with all four limbs intact carried wooden sedan chairs, nimbly dodging the pillars of light that descended from the sky.

One of them lost its footing and fell into the sunlight, instantly burning and screaming in agony.

A pale, delicate hand reached out from the sedan chair, pulling it back into the shadows and calming the situation, before it resumed its journey towards the nearby temple.

The temple was a stone house covered in moss, and the roof tiles and eaves had been weathered beyond recognition.

However, the towering dome still demonstrates the temple's former grandeur.

A steady stream of sedan chairs entered the temple.

The shrill voice echoed all around, startling a flock of crows into flight.

"The Red Lady of Qingxi River has arrived!"

"A birthday gift, two pairs of fine placenta!"

"King Tiger Might of Green Mountain has arrived!"

"A birthday gift: a healthy baby boy with all five internal organs intact!"

"Master Yangshan E has arrived!"

"A birthday gift: a tortoise shell painting for someone who has lived for six hundred years!"

"Lord Huang has arrived at the fifty-mile-long cemetery!"

"A birthday gift, a handwritten eulogy!"

……

A pangolin, standing upright with its ferocious tail dragging behind it, its claws flailing about, was checking the items on the altar in front of it while shouting at the top of its lungs.

Behind him, a group of demons and monsters had gathered.

A female ghost with elongated limbs and wet, black hair covering her face stared at a yellow fox that had just entered, her eyes taking up the entire surface of her face. She chuckled and said, "Master Huang is getting stingier and stingier. Even his New Year's gift to Granny Shan is so meager?"

The short, yellow fox, though dressed in well-fitting scholar's robes, paid no heed to the female ghost's teasing. Instead, he said seriously, "The Matchmaker is quite cunning. Dozens drown in that river every year. Be careful not to attract those swordsmen, Taoist priests, and bald monks, lest everyone suffer!"

"Who are you talking about with such sarcasm?!" Upon hearing the yellow fox's words, the female ghost instantly bristled.

In a physical sense, it means the hair is puffed up.

The jet-black hair flew out like tentacles, heading towards the yellow fox.

Roar! ! !

At that moment, a tiger's roar resounded.

A dozen or so transparent ghosts blocked the black hair from all directions.

The tiger's head, as tall as the yellow fox, lowered down, its golden pupils sweeping over the female ghost and the fox. It grunted, "Shut up! You're making too much noise!"

The yellow fox grinned smugly and bowed to the tiger, saying, "Your Majesty is mighty!"

The female ghost was shaken by the roar, turning her head 180 degrees, not wanting to look at these people anymore.

"Gentlemen, let's talk this out. You are all prominent figures in this community. On this joyous occasion, why be like this?"

Seeing that the situation had calmed down, the pangolin that had been hiding under the incense table finally came out with a smile and said.

"Little insect, what brings you here? Where did Brother Crow go?"