Chapter 563: Chapter 555 Save the Ghost Please
Qin Liuxi propped up her chin, half asleep inside the carriage, when suddenly Teng Zhao nudged her, prompting her to open her eyes.
"Are we there?"
Teng Zhao shook his head, got off the carriage, and said, "Take a look."
Qin Liuxi, puzzled, poked her head out and squinted her eyes. She jumped off the carriage and, staring at the space above the mansion, asked, "Is this some kind of haunted house?"
Such thick yin energy with evil spirits, what the hell is going on?
The driver stopped in this alley, constantly rubbing his arms atop the carriage shaft, so cold. It’s nearly April, yet this late spring chill is so biting, truly deadly. And yet, this master and disciple had to stop here.
Qin Liuxi went around to the driver’s side and pointed at the mansion, "What place is this? Whose is it?"
The driver glanced at it and replied, "This is the Changchuan Marquis Mansion."
Qin Liuxi uttered, "Oh," recognizing that she didn’t know the place, then prepared to board the carriage again.
Suddenly, Teng Zhao grabbed her arm. Following his line of sight, she saw a ghostly shade scaling the mansion’s wall and floating out. The shadow was so faint it was nearly dissipating, careening erratically, as if an Evil Ghost was chasing after it; once over the wall, it drifted towards Qin Liuxi and the others.
Qin Liuxi didn’t make a move as the ghostly shade floated past them, then reversed and drifted back.
"Master, is it you?"
Huh, a familiar ghost?
Qin Liuxi regarded the diffuse ghostly shade; it looked vaguely familiar. After a moment, she sent a Soul Calming Talisman its way.
The ghostly shade immediately became more defined, revealing its true appearance.
Indeed, a familiar ghost. Qin Liuxi frowned and asked, "Yiqiu, didn’t you go for reincarnation? How did you end up looking like a ghost?"
The current ghost before her was introduced by Ding Yongliang as an old schoolmate, the bellyband ghost named Yiqiu, whom He Shou had brought along. After escaping from her bindings, she came straight to Shengjing seeking the woman who wronged her for revenge. But now, looking at her, her soul body was shattered and in dire straits; without Qin Liuxi’s Soul Calming Talisman, she might have dissipated entirely. Who knows what she’d been through recently?
"Master, please save me." Yiqiu’s soul body trembled, as if she had experienced great terror, occasionally looking back in fear.
Qin Liuxi took out a Jade Bottle from her hand, uncorked it, and said, "Get inside."
Without a second thought, Yiqiu whooshed into the Jade Bottle.
Qin Liuxi patted the bottle, "Rest in there for now."
The bottle jerked in acknowledgment.
Giggle, giggle, giggle.
Qin Liuxi heard the chattering of teeth and turned to see the driver staring at her with a pale face, his teeth clattering.
She stepped forward, and the driver immediately backed away, "You, don’t come closer." Then remembering her identity, his face turned paler, bent forward to apologize, "Great Master, it wasn’t on purpose, I mean..."
"It’s fine, let’s go." Qin Liuxi tossed a talisman to him, "Here, take it."
The driver accepted it as a reprieve, clutching the peace charm, feeling warmth returning to his body, heaving a sigh of relief. He quickly placed the peace charm on his chest, tremblingly climbed back onto the carriage.
Heaven knows how panicked he was when he saw Qin Liuxi speaking to thin air.
Qin Liuxi looked at the Changchuan Marquis Mansion with a flash of disgust in her eyes—this Shengjing indeed teemed with all manner of bull ghosts and snake gods.
Inside the Changchuan Marquis Mansion, a slender man with a pale complexion but blood-red lips tenderly caressed the beauty bottle within the book, as if holding a beloved, rubbing his face against the body of the bottle and taking a deep breath, his face a picture of intoxication.
Suddenly, a burst of rushed footsteps came from the courtyard.
The man put down the beauty bottle and looked indifferently at the person who rushed in, frowning, "What has you in such a panic?"
"A ghost has escaped." The comer was an old Taoist without a beard, looking around nervously, his brows furrowed deeply.
The man asked, "To escape from your grasp, who is it?"
"That old ghost who accidentally stumbled into our mansion before," the old Taoist said. "This ghost was nearly fully refined, yet she could still escape. I truly underestimated her."
"There won’t be any issues, will there?"
"It shouldn’t be. Her three souls and seven spirits are nearly scattered. If not for my momentary lapse, she wouldn’t have escaped." Though the old Taoist stated confidently, there was a hint of doubt, even unease, at the bottom of his heart.
The man said, "Be cautious. The scandal at Jinhua Temple has been the talk of the town these past few days, with Daoist Taiyang being driven by Marquis Chang’an to hide here and there, not daring to show his face."
"Don’t worry, I also treasure my Daoist Cultivation." After a few words, the old Taoist said, "But a ghost has escaped from me, and now I can’t refine the Ghost Drum. What do you think..."
A flash of disgust crossed the man’s eyes, "I will find another one."
The old Taoist immediately beamed with a smile, "Then I’ll be waiting." Noticing the man’s disgust, he went on, "Don’t feel like I’m taking advantage of you, we’re both just getting what we need, right? Otherwise, you would have been victimized by these female ghosts long ago."
His gaze flicked over the beauty bottle as he turned to leave, revealing a hint of mockery in his eyes—pretending to be a gentleman? We’re all cut from the same cloth.
The man stared at the retreating figure of the old Taoist, his pale face looking a bit sinister.
The An family’s carriage stopped behind the auction house. Qin Liuxi and Teng Zhao got off the carriage, and Feng You lazily commented from the rooftop, "I thought you would have stayed out for the night."
Qin Liuxi told the driver to go back, and after receiving the order, he ran off like smoke.
Feng You jumped down and, watching the speedy disappearance of the carriage, asked, "What did you do to that carriage?"
"Guess it got scared seeing a ghost," Qin Liuxi yawned and walked in.
Following her, Feng You said, "The Lord Yellow Immortal and others came to pay their respects. Had we known it was the little devils from the Yellow Immortal Clan causing trouble, you wouldn’t have needed to go. We could have just sent a message to the Yellow Immortal Clan, and all that fuss would’ve been unnecessary."
"What fuss? This was the easiest work, and more such jobs would be most welcome next time. The An family gave a whole ten thousand taels as a reward; they’re so generous. The people here in Shengjing are wealthy and generous—I like them very much," Qin Liuxi said, smiling merrily.
Getting a windfall without any effort, where else could you find such a stroke of luck?
Feng You: "..."
She looks pitifully broke, who did she inherit this love for money from?
Qin Liuxi: "But why would the Yellow Immortals have clan members moving here? Don’t they mostly operate in the northeast?"
"After all, it’s under the Emperor’s feet; there’s Dragon Qi to be absorbed during cultivation, which can bring great Qi Fortune," Feng You explained. "Besides, a clan can’t stay in one place for generations; otherwise, if someone wipes them out in one fell swoop, wouldn’t that be the end of them?"
"What you say makes sense." Qin Liuxi thought of something and said, "However, beneath the Emperor’s feet, there are also many evil spirits and foul things."
She picked up the Jade Bottle and released Yiqiu, saying, "It’s safe here. What exactly happened to you? Could it be that your rival found a Taoist to capture you? That mansion doesn’t seem to belong to the Lou family."
Yiqiu trembled violently, "No, not that, Master Qin, please be a good person and save us ghosts!"