A moment later, the female ghost led Li Guanqi beneath an extraordinarily thick tree.
The woman pointed toward the tree's roots, and Li Guanqi proceeded to dig up the skeletal remains buried underground.
A foul stench assaulted his nose, yet the youth's expression remained unchanged, his brow only furrowing slightly as he looked down at the skeleton.
Judging from the bones, they belonged to a woman in her twenties.
Examining the skull and bone structure, they bore an uncanny resemblance to the woman's features.
Li Guanqi carefully reburied the bones, taking this as confirmation that her words were true.
Then Li Guanqi said softly, "In that case... do you wish to enter the Yellow Springs of reincarnation? I can ferry you across."
This ferrying method was something Li Nanting had taught him, consisting of basic techniques. So long as one could mobilize heaven-and-earth spiritual energy, it could be performed, so it was hardly an impressive spell.
A look of hesitation appeared on the woman's face, and she murmured, "Immortal Master... may I enter reincarnation in another two days?"
Li Guanqi shrugged. Not knowing why she asked this, he assumed she merely clung to the mortal world and urged her no further.
He rose and returned to the ruined temple. Having been thoroughly cowed earlier, the woman naturally did not dare venture half a step near the temple now.
Early the next morning, the youth hurried down the mountain with dark circles under his eyes.
Yet just as Li Guanqi descended the mountain, the sword spirit of the sword casket appeared on the mountainside without him noticing when, casting a long, searching gaze at the woman's translucent figure.
Her eyes were filled with disdain and condescension.
The sword spirit's voice also echoed in Li Guanqi's mind.
"She... is somewhat strange."
The youth shrugged, his eyes showing no reaction.
The sword spirit looked deeply at Li Guanqi, unexpectedly at a loss for what he was thinking.
Her brow furrowed slightly; she had never imagined a day would come when she could not see through a youth's mind, and Li Guanqi clearly had no intention of explaining anything to her.
With a cold snort, the sword spirit retreated into the sword casket once more.
Li Guanqi smiled faintly, thinking to himself that this sword spirit was indeed quite aloof...
Xingyun Town.
The moment he reached the entrance of the town, Li Guanqi saw a noisy crowd of people continually shoving and jostling one another.
Li Guanqi leapt onto a tree branch and sat down to watch the commotion.
Many in the crowd wore colorful, mottled clothes, likely stained with dyes.
Surrounded at the center of the crowd was an elderly man in a Daoist robe.
Holding a peach-wood sword, he scurried around with his head clutched between his hands like a cornered rat.
"Daoist priest, my foot! You're nothing but a charlatan trying to swindle our money!"
"Exactly! We fed and served you the best food and drink, yet you didn't do a single thing!"
"Hmph! If you ask me, he's just here to cheat us out of our coin. We'd better wait for the Immortal Master from the Great Xia Sword Sect!"
The white-browed old Daoist shielded his head, howling shrilly, "I cast my spells for three days! By all rights, that ferocious ghost should have shown itself last night! How was I supposed to know it wouldn't appear?! Ow, don't hit my face!"
While Li Guanqi was enjoying the spectacle from the tree, someone suddenly pointed at him and shouted, "Whose child is that? Come down right now!"
"That's our town's sacred tree! How did you get up there?"
The youth paused, only then noticing that many red cords hung from the branches, with wooden plaques dangling beneath them.
Tap, tap!
He dropped lightly to the ground.
The noisy crowd fell silent at this moment, every pair of eyes turning toward the youth with pure white eyes.
The crowd gradually parted, and a white-haired elder stepped forward.
The elder looked Li Guanqi up and down, his voice carrying a tentative whisper: "Might you be the Immortal Master from the Great Xia Sword Sect?"
With a wave of his hand, Li Guanqi retrieved his identity jade slip to reveal his identity.
At once, the villagers of Xingyun Town bowed deeply to the youth.
The leading elder said solemnly, "This old man's humble name is Gu Yihong. Leading the villagers of Xingyun Town, I pay respects to the Immortal Master of the Great Xia Sword Sect!"
Every person bowed with sincere expressions.
This sight shook the youth's heart deeply!
What kind of sect could ensure that even an ordinary disciple received such reverence within its territory?
For the first time, Li Guanqi felt immensely proud to be a disciple of the Great Xia Sword Sect!
With a wave of his sleeve, Li Guanqi changed into his sect robes, adjusted his lapels, and bowed in return. "I am Li Guanqi, disciple of Tianlei Peak of the Great Xia Sword Sect. I have come at your commission!"
Gu Yihong was past eighty, his grizzled hair and haggard face making him look all the more aged.
The elder hurried over to the youth's side and said in a heavy voice, "Immortal Master, you must save our Xingyun Town!"
"In just a few short days, four people have already died!"
"The entire town is gripped by panic now, and many claim they saw the ghost haunting with their own eyes."
Li Guanqi nodded slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a group of burly men tossing out the yellow-robed old Daoist.
At first, the old Daoist wanted to shout a few curses, but when he caught sight of the youth's eerie eyes, he swallowed his words right back down.
Scrambling to gather his things, he scurried away in disgrace.
Noticing the youth's gaze, the elder spoke somewhat awkwardly, "Word of what's been happening recently has already spread to the neighboring villages for ten li around."
"Because of that, it's drawn quite a few charlatans trying to swindle us."
"Immortal Master, please come with me. Rest a while at my home, and I will explain the current situation to you."
Li Guanqi nodded slightly, and surrounded by the crowd, he walked toward the mayor's residence.
The mayor was well-to-do; his family courtyard alone spanned nearly a hundred zhang across.
By now, word had spread throughout the town that the Great Xia Sword Sect had sent someone.
Those who had previously stayed indoors all flocked to the mayor's residence.
In the main hall, there were three elders including the mayor, all esteemed figures in the town.
After brief pleasantries, Li Guanqi took the initiative to ask, "Elder Gu, when I descended the mountain the day before yesterday, the mission briefing said only three people had died. Now it's four?"
At these words, everyone's expressions shifted slightly.
Gu Yihong fell silent for a moment before speaking softly, "Indeed. Wang Ergou from the town died the night before last!"
"His manner of death was horrifying!"
Seeing the elder's pale face, Li Guanqi frowned and inquired gently, "How horrifying?"
The elder glanced at the men beside him and said with lingering dread, "How about... I take you to see for yourself?"
Li Guanqi rose slowly and said in a low voice, "Very well. It will help me understand what's really going on."
The group then stood up and headed toward the back street.
Along the way, Li Guanqi saw many townsfolk—men and women, young and old.
Dyehouses appeared every ten paces, but Xingyun Town as a whole was rather bleak at the moment. Traveling merchants who had heard of the ghost sightings no longer dared to come.
Before long, led by the elder, Li Guanqi arrived at a somewhat secluded courtyard.
Li Guanqi walked with an impassive expression, observing the faces of everyone in the town the entire way.
Chapter 35