Chapter 9: You Can Leave

I was completely captivated by his silhouette, my pupils constricting again.

An immortal is truly an immortal… even his words carry such power.

I came to my senses and pointed towards the end of the path, "Immortal, there are still villagers inside. Could you save them too?"

He chuckled softly, "They deserve their fate. You can't help them. I suggest you wisely leave."

At that moment, I didn't dare say more. After all, he saved my life. If he truly refused to help, I couldn’t save the villagers by myself even if I went back.

Seeing me still kneeling, he said with a hint of anger, "Still not leaving? Waiting to be eaten?"

His words jolted my heart. Eaten? I certainly didn't want that.

I looked at his back, stood up, bowed to him three times, and respectfully yet fearfully said, "Thank you for saving me. As an immortal, I believe that faced with the lives of hundreds, you wouldn’t refuse to help."

After speaking, I turned and ran back towards the village, betting that since we had encountered an immortal, he would surely save them.

Halfway there, a sharp pain suddenly shot through my foot, and I couldn’t help but scream.

“Ah…”

The sound echoed throughout the entire back mountain…

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

My body weakened, collapsing to the ground, where I saw Yang Jian’s ghost baby tightly biting my foot.

It was the first time I’d seen him up close. His entire body was purple, with ghostly white eyes and a nose with only one nostril.

The bite made my wound go numb. I didn’t care anymore and picked up a stone to smash him.

He let go and fell into a field ditch, crying out like a cat in the night.

I remembered I had matches. I took off my shoe, grabbed a stick, and made a torch.

Blood from my wound dripped along the path. The ghost baby crawled out of the ditch again, his mouth saying, “Sister, I’m hungry. Can I take a bite?”

I didn’t dare linger, limping and running away, leaving the ghost baby behind.

I didn’t see any paper figures along the way, but my heart was still pounding. The birds on the mountaintop sounded almost like they were speaking human words, making me nervous and on edge.

After a while, I saw the villagers sitting by the fields, meditating with soulless expressions, like they were chewing wax.

I was utterly confused! What was going on? Why did I see the villagers?

I was clearly running out, so why was I back in the back mountain? Did I go the wrong way?

I went up to Aunt Li, who was sitting on the ground, and shook her, but she didn’t respond no matter how much I called or shook her.

It felt like a thousand-pound stone was pressing on my chest, suffocating me.

Suddenly, a chill ran down my back, giving me a bad feeling. I raised the torch and turned around.

Behind me stood Ruo Lan, Yang Jian’s wife, staring at me unblinkingly.

I lost my confidence instantly, “What… What do you want? Don’t… don’t come closer.”

Ruo Lan looked at me for a moment, then spoke in a sharp, operatic voice, “Since you were just a child and not originally from this village, I can let you go, but everyone in Ping’an Valley must die, so don’t meddle and leave quickly.”

Frightened, I took three steps back and sat on the ground, “I’ve lived here for many years. They may be wicked, but the ones who deserved to die already have. Must you take everyone’s lives?”

As I spoke, a decayed hand emerged from behind Ruo Lan, reaching towards me, with Yang Jian’s voice saying, “A rare Yin girl in a hundred years, how could we let you go?”

The decayed hand belonged to Yang Jian. Thinking I was doomed, I suddenly heard a voice behind me, “You really like meddling.”

He leapt in front of me, effortlessly kicking Yang Jian, almost breaking his bones. Clearly, Yang Jian wasn’t fast enough and took the full brunt of the kick.

This was the third time I saw him. The first two times I saw his back, but this time I saw his face. He wore a black mask, its eyes and expression lifelike and terrifying, like a demon from hell. Yet, besides the terrifying mask, he exuded a strong, domineering masculine presence, looking like a king.

Ruo Lan, with sharp teeth exposed, seeing Yang Jian injured, became furious, “Who’s this little ghost, with such audacity to hurt my husband?”

He laughed coldly, the atmosphere growing oppressive, “Then… my woman, you dare harm her?”

He called himself a king? His woman? Was he talking about me? Impossible. I was sold six times as a child and sold to Ping’an Valley at fourteen. I wasn’t allowed to play with the village boys.

Maybe I overthought. Perhaps Ruo Lan hurt someone close to him, and he was settling old scores while saving me.