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

"I see!"

Ximen Qing looked at Zhou Qingyun.

"So, you thought I was arranged by your father, which is why you easily believed me and even gave me medicine to clear my name?"

"No, no, no, even if they are just ordinary fellow cultivators, I will still save them if we fight side by side."

Zhou Qingyun waved her hand.

"Ahem, alright, now that we've laid this out, should we pursue this demon or not?"

"They must pursue them! This demon's crimes are countless! Killing him is the only way to appease public anger!"

Zhou Qingyun patted his chest, thinking of Sister Shi who had been turned into steamed meat, and then of the people who had been harmed, and gritted his teeth.

"Then let's go!"

Ximen Qing nodded and continued to lead the charge.

Since the entrance to the tunnel has already collapsed, instead of wasting time digging out, we might as well try to see if we can get through this way.

Besides, in the mountain demon's memory, this passage should be the same place that Granny Mountain just visited.

It looks like a temple?

To be honest, this old woman from the mountain may not be good at much else, but her faith is incredibly broad, and she has many demons and monsters living under her.

Given time, she might really become a force to be reckoned with.

"Oh, right! Wait a minute!"

Zhou Qingyun seemed to suddenly remember something and ran to the side.

He aimed the black gourd at his waist at a few ordinary gold and silver ornaments in the cave and sucked them in.

"Is this also a magical artifact?"

Ximen Qing asked curiously.

"It's just ordinary gold and silver items. Even sword immortals need to spend money! What's wrong with that?" Zhou Qingyun looked at him with a matter-of-fact expression.

"N-nothing!"

Who says sword immortals don't buy things!

The two plunged into the deep tunnel, which was extremely straight and smooth, perhaps because it was an escape route.

With the infusion of magic, they moved at great speed, and after about two hours, they could feel the tunnel rising noticeably.

"Time to go out!"

When we entered the cave, it was just after nightfall; when we came out, it was already late at night.

The morning dew was heavy, and a chill filled the air.

The exit was a place disguised as a bear cave, and a few hundred steps directly opposite was a small temple.

The temple was dimly lit by firelight, and shadowy figures could be seen moving about.

Ximen Qing sniffed, even though he didn't have any magic or tools to detect ghosts.

But as the saying goes, experience makes perfect, and based on his experience of encountering demons and monsters almost every day these days...

This temple is 99% wrong.

"The air is thick with yin energy, and the demonic mist hangs heavy! The mountain demon must be here! Young Master Ximen, what do you think?"

"I?"

Ximen Qing looked into the distance.

The eerie atmosphere is palpable; where is the demonic mist?

However, he couldn't show any weakness at a time like this, so he nodded emphatically: "Senior sister! I think this is the place!"

"good!"

Clang!

The jellyfish sword was drawn, and Zhou Qingyun flew out with the sword.

"Follow me to slay demons!"

"So hasty?"

Ximen Qing was stunned for a moment, and only after seeing that Zhou Qingyun was no longer in the same place did he realize what was happening and rushed towards the small temple.

At this moment, Zhou Qingyun had already landed in front of the temple gate.

He kicked open the dilapidated wooden door, and the night wind blew into the temple, making the bonfire on the ground crackle and sparks fly everywhere.

When Ximen Qing arrived, he saw a bunch of people lying haphazardly on the ground.

Among them were scholars, swordsmen, and even woodcutters.

Without exception, they were all snoring loudly, with faint smiles on their faces.

"A drug?"

"No, no, look at the wall!"

Ximen Qing pointed to the wall directly opposite the temple gate.

This is an empty temple, as if it had been robbed and all its contents taken away.

Only one mural remains, yet it is remarkably lifelike.

Above, there are pavilions and palaces, dance halls and singing stages, scholars reading at night with beautiful women adding fragrance to their sleeves, and swordsmen and heroines wandering the world.

In addition, there is the hunchbacked mountain god, a giant statue in golden armor; and the woodcutter's dream of Nanke, where he is surrounded by women on both sides.

Even through the walls, you can feel the bustling and enchanting world within the painting.

"What a bizarre painting!"

Zhou Qingyun sheathed his sword and came to the painting. He looked at the mural and couldn't help but examine it for a while. Then he looked at the people sleeping by the fire behind him.

The scholar, the swordsman, and the woodcutter—all three are here!

And isn't the mountain woman they're chasing the hunchbacked mountain god from the mural?

Isn't this a bit too bizarre? Could it be that this mural is alive?

The more Zhou Qingyun looked, the more chills ran down her spine, and she began to search for Ximen Qing's figure.

"What are you doing?"

She looked at the two scholars who were sleeping on the ground while Ximen Qing was squatting down, and couldn't help but call out to them.

"Oh, I ran into an acquaintance and took a second look."

Ximen Qing stood up and scratched his head in confusion.

"acquaintance?"

Zhou Qingyun glanced at the two scholars on the ground.

One, with red lips and white teeth, and a tall and slender figure.

There was another one, with a dark complexion and a large mouth, who looked like the kind of person who didn't care about details.

"That's right, this person is called Zhu Xiaolian."

Ximen Qing pointed to the one with the big mouth and said with a sigh.

Who the hell would have thought that we'd run into Old Zhu in this godforsaken place?

Wasn't he preparing to get married in Guobei County?

How did I end up here?

"Look at that mural!"

Zhou Qingyun glanced at Zhu Xiaolian, then forgot about him and pulled Ximen Qing to look at the mural.

"I know, isn't this Painted Skin?"

Ximen Qing nodded, looking quite moved, as if he had expected this.

Wasn't that expected?

The moment he pushed open the temple door and saw this scene, he immediately thought of this famous story from his previous life, "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio".

The story of the mural tells of two scholars on their way to take the imperial examination. They find lodging in a dilapidated temple and dream of entering the mural, where they fall in love with the fairy in the painting.

Unexpectedly, this old woman from the mountain was connected to the mural; it was truly a case of serendipity.

"Painted murals? What are these? I've never heard of them before. And how do we find these people and that mountain demon?"

Zhou Qingyun scratched his head.

Well...

Ximen Qing glanced at the mural. He remembered that there should have been a monk in the story.

Why isn't it there?

Are we supposed to chisel this mural off?

After a moment's thought, Ximen Qing took out his precious sword, preparing to step forward and test it out.

As soon as they got close, they discovered that a radiant light had appeared on the mural.

A white arm emerged from the painting, and several beautiful fairies in revealing clothes circled around Ximen Qing, extending an invitation to him.

"Huh?"

Before Ximen Qing could send a signal to Zhou Qingyun, he felt his body lift into the air. After a cloud of mist, a palace complex appeared in front of him.

Meanwhile, the outside world...

Zhou Qingyun watched as Ximen Qing stood frozen in place, then slumped against the mural with a thud and fell asleep.

"Hey? Junior brother? Young Master Ximen? Ximen Qing!" She stepped forward, patted Ximen Qing's face, and shouted loudly.

But there was no response.

The jellyfish sword was instantly drawn. Zhou Qingyun frowned as he looked at the murals covering the wall. He used the sword to make several cuts on them, which were repaired in an instant.

Helpless, he could only sit beside Ximen Qing, staring at the image of Ximen Qing appearing amidst palaces and buildings on the mural, muttering, "Damn it! Could it be that this mural only harms men?"

Meanwhile, Ximen Qing, inside the mural, uttered a similar complaint: "Damn it! This mural is discriminatory against women! It only arrests men and not women?!"