Three
This ghost’s dwelling turned out to be a desolate temple, and right at the entrance stood a fierce-looking statue of Zhong Kui.
It seemed this ghost feared nothing at all.
Ban Xia, who had been captured, felt a chill and sat on the ground, wrapping her clothes tightly around herself. “My friend is a Master, an expert in collecting spirits with profound magical powers. You’d better let me go now.”
The male ghost remained silent, removing the long bow from his waist before starting to sharpen his gleaming unsheathed sword.
Yes, it was a sword—a three-foot-long blade, not the usual arrows one would pair with a bow.
Lord Zhong was a stone statue, and the ghost was now using one of Zhong Kui’s legs as a whetstone, meticulously dragging the sword back and forth against it with intense focus.
Ban Xia began to move, silently rising to her feet and inching her way toward the exit.
Soon, she reached the temple door. She took a step, then immediately broke into a frantic run.
Only then did the male ghost sharpening his sword inside the temple look up. Unhurried, he slowly picked up his large bow, placed the long sword against it, and drew the bowstring taut.
With a whoosh, the sword shot through the air. There were no fancy tricks—just sheer force and precision. It quickly caught up to Ban Xia, piercing through the fabric of her shoulder and pinning her to a tree like a wild boar.
Later, as the male ghost carried her back over his shoulder like a dead pig, Ban Xia spoke up: “You must have been a hunter in your lifetime. Definitely.”
The male ghost couldn’t speak, but his expression clearly confirmed it.
“Then can you tell me why you captured me? If you can’t speak, at least write it down. I deserve to know why I’m going to die.”
The male ghost ignored her, carrying her back into the temple and tossing her roughly to the ground. He bound her hands and feet and resumed sharpening his sword.
Lying on the ground, Ban Xia deeply empathized with the feeling of livestock awaiting slaughter on a chopping block.
Finally, the male ghost finished sharpening his sword. It gleamed brilliantly, looking sharp enough to slice off Ban Xia’s head with the slightest touch.
Seemingly doubtful of the blade’s sharpness, he lightly pressed his finger against the edge.
Blood immediately welled up. Satisfied at last, he picked up the sword and approached Ban Xia.
“Sister Ban Xia, it’s time we set off.”
The next day, Chi Xue knocked on Ban Xia’s door.
There was no answer. The door was slightly ajar, and when Chi Xue pushed it open, she immediately noticed the drawing on the wall.
It was a crude, childlike scribble, but upon closer inspection, it depicted a temple.
Beside the temple was a character, equally poorly drawn with strokes splayed outward.
It was the character for “hatred,” and like the temple, the drawing appeared to be made with blood.
“Elegant Confinement!”
Though Chi Xue’s reflexes were slow, she finally grasped the severity of the situation and rushed out the door in a panic.
Holding the sword, the male ghost seemed hesitant. First, he measured it against Ban Xia’s thigh and shook his head. Then he measured it against her arm and shook his head again. After fumbling awkwardly for a while, he finally settled on placing the gleaming blade directly against Ban Xia’s face, its cold edge pressing close to the bridge of her nose.
“I have sinusitis! My nose is always full of pus and snot! Please, Ghost Lord, you absolutely must not eat my nose!” Ban Xia wailed.
The male ghost paused, apparently deterred by the mention of pus and snot, and moved the sword to her little finger, pursing his lips tightly.Sip after sip, until finally Ban Xia began to understand. She looked at him: "Do you want to chop off something of mine to threaten my friend?"
The male ghost nodded.
"Does my friend have a grudge against you? Did Xuan Ye take your wife?"
The male ghost immediately shook his head.
"It can't be that you have a grudge against Chi Xue, right? That little fool probably doesn't have the ability to offend anyone."
The male ghost grew somewhat anxious, tugging at his hair. Finally, he simply stuck his finger into his mouth, dipped it in the blood from his mouth, and began writing on the ground.
Hate.
The character was written large and clumsy, accompanied by a drawing of some sharp-mouthed, monkey-faced creature.
"What is this, a fox?" Ban Xia tilted her head, studying it for a moment before suddenly understanding: "You mean you hate Hu Po?!"
The male ghost immediately nodded, slightly opening his mouth from which blood hissed and flowed.
"She killed you, drained all your vital essence?"
The male ghost shook his head.
"She killed your family, your wife?"
This time the male ghost began nodding, very forcefully, tears actually welling up in his eyes.
"Debts have their creditors, grievances their origin, ghost brother! She killed your wife, you should go after her. Why come after me?" Ban Xia began to feel wronged, muttering a few complaints before understanding: "Damn, you don't think we're in cahoots with her, do you? So you took me to threaten Xuan Ye and the others to release her to you?"
The male ghost then frowned, making an expression that said "Aren't you?"
Seemed like a rather simple and easily fooled ghost.
Ban Xia quickly cleared her throat, having prepared several explanations, but before she could speak, she heard the camphor trees outside the door suddenly rustle without any wind, their leaves shaking uniformly with a "swish" that vaguely conveyed great fury.
Hu Po had arrived. Though she hadn't spoken, she had expressed her intent through the treetops.
Entangled grievances have nothing to do with others.
The male ghost quickly stood up, grabbing Ban Xia and putting on a fierce expression, pressing his sword against her throat.
The standoff lasted about half a moment before Hu Po sighed, stepping forward slowly. She stopped Xuan Ye and Chi Xue, then gradually spread her arms, standing firm before a towering camphor tree.
"She means for you to release me, draw your bow and just shoot her," Ban Xia hurriedly explained.
The male ghost was surprised, quickly looking up at Hu Po.
In the gentle autumn breeze, Hu Po nodded in unison with the camphor tree.
Twenty paces, bow fully drawn, sword sharp - certain kill.
The male ghost, full of confidence, didn't hesitate to release Ban Xia. He drew his bow, nocked the sword, and with all his strength, sent the freshly sharpened sword whistling through the air.
Ban Xia sprinted wildly, barely clearing the temple door before Xuan Ye caught her in an embrace.
"Upwards!" Xuan Ye commanded softly, simultaneously flicking his fingers to release Moon Glow.
The curved blade lacked sufficient weight and wasn't known for its power, so although it struck the longsword, it could only slightly alter its trajectory.
Meanwhile, Hu Po remained completely still, making no movement whatsoever, still standing with arms spread wide, motionless before the tree.
Thus, the longsword carried by the wind, though not hitting her forehead as intended, plunged straight into her shoulder, nailing her alive to the tree trunk behind her.
For a moment, blood gushed from Hu Po's shoulder like a waterfall.
The male ghost seethed with hatred but also felt satisfaction. Stamping his foot, he soon pierced through the roof, vanishing into the night through the gap.
"That ghost just now said Hu Po killed his wife."After removing the amber figure, Xuan Ye immediately stopped her bleeding right there in the center of the Zhong Kui Temple. Ban Xia gazed at Hu Po and uttered these words with some hesitation.
"A tongueless male ghost, not even handsome, just a hunter—why would Hu Po go through all the trouble to harm his wife?"
Even without Xuan Ye speaking, Ban Xia could find many logical inconsistencies on her own.
"Everyone has their own motives. Perhaps there’s something on him that she wants." Xuan Ye seemed distracted.
Ban Xia tilted her head to look at Hu Po, who lay slumped on the ground, unconscious.
With her sharp, charming oval face, fine soft hair, and slender frame, she hardly looked like a cunning and sinister monster.
"Appearances can be deceiving," she sighed. Before she could finish her sigh, she heard Chi Xue running over hurriedly from behind the small temple.
"Elegant Confinement, come take a look," he said, his face full of terror as he approached.
Xuan Ye and Ban Xia followed him to the backyard.
It was a very small backyard, likely once inhabited by monks, with an earthen kang stretching across the room.
A kang less than ten feet long was densely covered with at least twenty heads of various foxes.
As for the fox fur and tails, they were scattered all over the room.
A tiny chamber contained the skinned and decapitated corpses of dozens of foxes, along with no fewer than ten bloody, terrifying characters for "hatred" scrawled on the walls.
"It seems he holds a grudge against foxes—a grudge spanning eight lifetimes."
After observing for a moment, Ban Xia spoke, then caught a whiff of the bloody scent carried by the wind and couldn’t help but retch.
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