Chapter 19-Part 6

Teng Yuyi asked, “If we leave, will you be able to handle this on your own? Won’t you be scared?”

Qi Zhi patted his chest confidently. “I’m a Golden Boy of the Three Purities under Taoist Master Qingxu. It’s always the evil beings that fear me, not the other way around.”

Teng Yuyi turned to E Ji.

“Go stand next to the little Taoist and see if it’s warmer over there.”

E Ji hesitated, moved closer, but quickly ran back, shivering as she said, “Cold, cold, cold!”

Teng Yuyi frowned, realizing that Qi Zhi’s cultivation wasn’t strong enough to handle the situation.

Qi Zhi noticed her hesitation and took out a talisman from his robes.

With a flick of his hand, a faint blue flame ignited at his fingertips.

“Madam E, I didn’t use any spells earlier. Try coming over now and see if it’s warmer around me.”

But E Ji had already dashed out of the small hall.

“Little Taoist, you can have your fun alone. I’m heading back to the front building. Young master, if you don’t leave now, I’m going ahead without you.”

Teng Yuyi called after her, “Hey, what about Juan Erli, whose fate is still unknown? Aren’t you worried about her, considering you’re her madam?”

E Ji replied from afar, “I can’t catch demons or expel evil spirits. Staying here won’t help, and I might even lose my life. With the Taoist priest from Qingyun Temple here, what do I have to worry about?”

Teng Yuyi figured that with Lin Chengyou’s abilities, he wouldn’t let anything happen to his junior brother.

Since she wasn’t a Taoist priest herself, she had already meddled enough.

With the spell on the jade sword lifted, she had no reason to stay any longer.

She said to Qi Zhi, “We’ll be going now. Take care.”

Qi Zhi nodded vigorously.

Teng Yuyi and Huo Qiu stepped outside.

As E Ji walked further ahead, fear grew with each step.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned back and hurried to catch up with Teng Yuyi.

After walking a short distance, they heard a woman’s eerie laughter coming from the darkness.

Someone darted through the flower bushes, running straight towards the small temple where Qi Zhi was.

E Ji covered her mouth, trembling as she said, “Y-Young master, did you hear that? That couldn’t have been a human. Who can run that fast?”

Teng Yuyi listened intently, and from the small hall, she heard Qi Zhi shouting, followed by a brief commotion, and then silence.

Her heart tightened, and she gripped her jade sword.

“Let’s go check it out.”

Huo Qiu hesitated.

“Young master…”

But Teng Yuyi had already turned back.

She wasn’t someone who easily softened, but it was Qi Zhi who had helped restore the jade sword’s power.

Though his method had been somewhat clumsy, he was still just a child.

Moreover, when they were ambushed by the flower-hairpin man on the second floor, Qi Zhi’s wooden tablet had already been shattered in two.

Now, with his injured hand and no one to assist him, things might go wrong.

E Ji was surprised to see Teng Yuyi return and hesitated in place, listening to the wailing wind that sounded like ghosts crying.

She stomped her foot in frustration and reluctantly chased after them.

“Young master, wait for me!”

When Teng Yuyi reached the small hall, she found Qi Zhi with one hand gripping his throat, while the other hand struggled to attach a talisman to his back.

Even though no one was behind him, his face was clearly marked with several dark red handprints.

His face was pale, and his lips were beginning to turn purple.

Huo Qiu, witnessing this eerie scene, stumbled back in fear.

Teng Yuyi drew her sword and rushed past him, aiming to strike at whatever was behind Qi Zhi.

But before she could reach him, Qi Zhi managed to place the talisman on the back of his neck.

The air filled with a faint smell of something burning, and the invisible force choking him loosened.

Gasping for breath, Qi Zhi said, “Young master, I can handle it. It’s just that there were too many of them all at once; otherwise, I would have cleared them out already.”

Teng Yuyi sat down beside him, crossing her legs.

“Yes, you can handle it, but it’s quite a struggle. Your senior brother was right—you all need more training. Is your senior brother coming out soon? This place is too strange; I’ll stay and help you out to make sure you don’t get killed by these creatures.”

Qi Zhi looked at Teng Yuyi gratefully.

He got up and drew a protective array around her, then moved over to Huo Qiu and E Ji to do the same.

E Ji looked down at the array he was drawing.

“What are you doing?”

Qi Zhi explained, “You don’t have the Heavenly Eye, so you can’t see them. But there are still a few left in the room. They don’t dare approach because they’re afraid of Young Master’s sword. I’m drawing a Chizi Taizun Array around you all so that they’ll be even more afraid to come near. I was caught off guard earlier, which is why they managed to sneak up on me.”

E Ji bit her tongue in fear.

“There are still a few left in here?”

Qi Zhi glanced at the door.

“Don’t worry, they’ve already retreated outside.”

Teng Yuyi asked quietly, “These ‘things’ you’re talking about—what exactly are they?”

Qi Zhi whispered, “They seem like ghosts, but they have demonic energy. It’s not a common occurrence. It looks like… they might be fierce ghosts, born from resentment after being killed by a demon. They’ve been under the demon’s control for so long that they’ve picked up its evil habits.”

A demon that could control fierce ghosts must be quite cunning.

Teng Yuyi felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively looked toward the offering table.

“No wonder such a powerful array was needed to suppress whatever’s down there. What exactly is it?”

She suddenly remembered the moment she encountered the demon at the end of the corridor on the second floor, when the perfectly normal room turned into an abandoned courtyard.

“Earlier, when you were trapped by the demon at the door, there was a thick fog in the courtyard behind you. I vaguely saw a well there. Your eyesight is better than mine—did you see anything else at that time?”