Chapter 83
Chapter 83
The Female Ghost retreated again and again, then severed her own right hand outright to stop the flames from spreading any farther.
Having narrowly escaped death, Ding Jingshan’s heart was still pounding wildly. He turned toward the direction the Talismans had come from and saw only a fair, cool-looking little girl standing ten meters away.
At the sight of Xia Sheng, Ding Jingshan froze for a moment, then hurriedly shouted, “Who told you to come here? Get out of here, now!”
Perhaps Xia Sheng looked far too harmless, because Ding Jingshan did not connect the immensely powerful Talisman from moments ago with the little girl before him at all. All he could think was that no more ordinary people could be allowed to get hurt tonight, and he wanted the girl to leave this place as quickly as possible.
Yet the moment he finished speaking, he saw the little girl pull two more Heavenly Thunder Talisman from her pocket and throw them straight at the Female Ghost.
After taking that first hit, the Female Ghost knew full well that this little girl was no ordinary person and that she was no match for her. She was just about to flee when the Heavenly Thunder Talisman sealed off her escape route.
Two bolts of heavenly thunder struck the Female Ghost one after another. The Female Ghost let out a series of shrill, ear-piercing screams before finally collapsing to the ground, charred black from head to toe, with no ability to move again.
Ding Jingshan stared at everything before him, dumbfounded. He could hardly believe this little girl was actually able to summon heavenly thunder.
And in less than a minute, she had subdued the Female Ghost who had driven both him and Lan Chenghai into a dead end.
So what Lan Chenghai had said was true. This Little Fellow Daoist’s strength really was above both of theirs.
And then there was the Heavenly Thunder Talisman.
Ever since his master had passed away, there was now only one ninety-year-old elder in the Mystic Sect who could draw this Talisman.
He and Lan Chenghai had trained bitterly for half their lives, yet even now, neither of them could draw a complete Heavenly Thunder Talisman. But just now, this little girl had casually thrown out two of them, as if she were tossing out a pair of cabbages.
It seemed he had no choice but to reassess this little girl.
Thinking back to how, when this Little Fellow Daoist had read his fortune earlier today, he had dismissed her with contempt, Ding Jingshan now felt truly ashamed.
After the Female Ghost fell, Xia Sheng glanced at the injuries on Ding Jingshan and Lan Chenghai. Only after confirming that neither of them was in mortal danger did she walk over to Lan Chenghai, open her medical kit, and treat his wounds.
Seeing that the Female Ghost was not yet completely dead, Ding Jingshan reminded Xia Sheng, “Little Fellow Daoist, that Fierce Ghosts isn’t dead yet. I’m afraid it may recover very soon…”
“It’s fine,” Xia Sheng said lightly. “The damage caused by the Heavenly Thunder Talisman is irreversible to a yin soul. She can’t repair it.”
Ding Jingshan was still somewhat worried, but as he looked at the little girl’s calm, seasoned manner, he somehow felt at ease and simply believed her.
If this had been in the past, Ding Jingshan would never have believed, even if beaten to death, that he would one day find a sense of security in a teenage girl.
He walked over to Xia Sheng, and Xia Sheng treated his wounds as well while she was at it.
Then Ding Jingshan was astonished to discover that the bloody hole that had still been bleeding moments ago was actually healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Ding Jingshan was deeply shocked. “Little Fellow Daoist, which sect or school did you inherit this medical skill from? Why have I never seen anything like it?”
At least when he was young, he had seen his master use the Heavenly Thunder Talisman that Xia Sheng had used earlier. But the medical skill Xia Sheng was now using was something he had never seen or even heard of before.
He had heard that among the Mystic Sect practitioners from a thousand years ago, there were some who could revive the dead and restore flesh to bare bones, but that had only ever been a legend.
He had lived to be over seventy years old, yet this was the first time he had ever seen an ordinary person possess such ability.
“I belong to no sect or school. My master also passed away two months ago.”
Hearing this, Ding Jingshan felt a pang of regret.
Such a great master had passed away just like that, unknown to outsiders.
If Xia Sheng’s master were still alive, the overall strength of their school would probably be able to rise another level.
Once their injuries had been treated, Lan Chenghai and Ding Jingshan walked over to the Female Ghost.
By now, the Female Ghost was on her last breath. Her body was gradually turning transparent; from the look of it, it would not be long before she suffered Soul Dispersal.
The sins weighing on her were extremely heavy. Lan Chenghai could not tell exactly how many people she had killed, but it was at least in the triple digits.
Thinking of all the people this Female Ghost had caused to die unjustly, anger stirred faintly in Lan Chenghai’s chest. He asked, “Your cultivation is not shallow. If you had devoted yourself to doing good, perhaps you could have cultivated into a Ghost Immortal and found yourself a fine post in the Underworld, living free and easy. Why were you so determined to slaughter living beings in the mortal world?”
Even though the Female Ghost was near death, the rage around her had not diminished in the slightest. “Everyone I killed deserved to die. What was wrong with that?
“Not one of you men is any good! You spend your days chasing pleasure, abandoning your wives and children. By killing you, I was carrying out justice on Heaven’s behalf!”
Lan Chenghai said, “Absurd. You cannot condemn an entire boatload of people with one swing of the pole.
“I may never have married, but I have seen plenty of loving couples. After their other half died, they never remarried, pining away from longing for the rest of their lives.
“Even if you met a scumbag, you should not have projected one person’s wrongdoing onto all men, much less taken the lives of so many innocent people because of it.”
“Why are you wasting so many words on this Female Ghost?” Ding Jingshan, standing beside him, took out his peach wood sword again and pointed it at the Female Ghost. “This Female Ghost has harmed who knows how many lives and even left the two of us gravely wounded. I will finish her off right now!”
With that, he swung the peach wood sword down at the Female Ghost.
The Female Ghost no longer had the strength to resist. With a single slash, she suffered Soul Dispersal.
And the moment the Female Ghost vanished, the memories of her life appeared before their eyes.
When she was alive, this Female Ghost had been the treasured daughter of a wealthy family.
In those days, people thought it useless for women to study. The Female Ghost’s father had never allowed her to attend school either; he had only taught her how she ought to serve her husband.
At sixteen, she fell in love with the young master who lived across from her, and they pledged themselves to each other for life.
The two were deeply in love and had already reached the point of discussing marriage.
But not long after, the young master’s family arranged for him to study abroad.
Before he left the country, the young master whispered sweet nothings to her beneath the moon, took her body, and promised that he would marry her when he returned.
The Female Ghost believed his words and waited for him with foolish devotion.
Later, when she discovered she was pregnant, she ignored the judgment of the world and gave birth to her and the young master’s child alone, waiting only for him to return and fulfill the promise he had once made.
Winters passed into summers, and she waited year after year.
Finally, when she was twenty, the young master returned from his studies abroad.
However, coming back with him was a delicate, pretty woman.
That woman had also studied overseas.
Her thinking was progressive. She knew astronomy and geography, spoke with elegance and restraint, and could compose polished words as soon as she opened her mouth.
The young master despised the Female Ghost for being uneducated, for knowing only petty household concerns and schemes, so he wanted to break things off with her and marry that woman instead.
Naturally, the Female Ghost refused.
She had already borne his child. In that era, if she were abandoned, people would curse her so viciously it would be as if they were breaking her spine.
When the young master refused to marry her, she even lowered herself and said she was willing to become his concubine, but even that failed to make him turn back.
The young master said he wanted one person for one lifetime. He said he loved only that woman.
The Female Ghost was unwilling to accept it and threatened him with her life. In the end, she forced the young master to marry her.
Forced into the marriage, the young master bore resentment in his heart. His attitude toward the Female Ghost and their child remained cold from beginning to end. He never agreed to spend the night in the Female Ghost’s quarters. To retaliate against and humiliate her, he even made the Female Ghost kneel outside the room and listen to them making love night after night.