Chapter 4: The Bell of a Thousand Souls

  "What's that in your hand, the Thousand Soul Bell?" Chang Qingzi asked in surprise. The Thousand Soul Bell itself wouldn't make any sound, but once it was rung, the sound it produced had no effect on living people, but for ghosts, it was a lethal attack. Of course, it also depended on how many times this ghostly young lady could ring the bell.

  "What's wrong, what do you want?" The ghost spirit raised an eyebrow and asked.

  "Of course." Chang Qingzi acknowledged without hesitation.

  "Hand over the peach wood sword in your hand." The ghost didn't get angry, but instead looked at Chang Qingzi and stretched out his hand.

  "Do you know?" Chang Qingzi asked curiously, holding up the peach wood sword in his hand.

  "The Mo family's ancient heirloom, the blade that can kill ghosts and demons, how could I not know?" The ghost sneered. That peach wood sword was more precious than the Thousand Soul Bell in his hand. "Let's begin, how many Fire Talismans do you have left?"

  "About two hundred." Chang Qingzi replied calmly.

  "Let's do it," the ghost said, quickly taking out all the Li Huo symbols from the cloth bag and scattering them everywhere. The ghost clasped its hands together, closed its eyes, and muttered to itself. Then, suddenly opening its eyes, it spread its hands apart with palms facing outward, and the scattered Li Huo symbols instantly burst into flames. At the same time as the ghost took action, Zhang Qingzi changed direction and also started moving. His actions were not a fraction slower than the ghost's, and the Li Huo symbols on both sides almost ignited at the same time.

  The red glow that shrouded the courtyard had faded slightly due to the Li Huo Fu. The bloodstains in the courtyard began to slowly fade away, but the expressions of the two people did not become any lighter because of this, instead they seemed even more solemn than when they first saw these things.

  "What should I do?" the ghost asked in a low voice.

  "No choice, I can only force him to show up." Chang Qingzi said, biting his index finger and applying the blood to the peach wood sword. He grasped the hilt with both hands and held it in front of him. Suddenly, he swung the sword down with great force, crouching in a horse-riding stance. The entire courtyard was immediately swept up in a fierce gust of wind, causing Chang Qingzi's clothes to flutter loudly. The ghost understood Chang Qingzi's intention at once, standing behind him with one hand hanging by his side and the other arm stretched out with his palm facing outward. The Thousand Soul Bell hung from his middle finger, and although the wind blew against it, making the two bells collide, there was still no sound.

  The wind grew stronger, and the dust of the tree leaves in the courtyard was blown high into the air, swirling around Chang Qingzi and the ghost's bodies without getting close to them. However, the color of the red light shield above had faded, with a hint of cracks appearing.

  "It's out." The ghost said faintly all of a sudden.

  Chang Qingzi was taken aback, sheathed his peach wood sword, bit his index finger and drew a symbol on his palm. He faced his palm towards his eyes, let out a soft cry: "Open!" And slowly moved his palm away. What he saw was the entrance to Zhao Ting's bedroom, the daughter of Zhao Yuanwai. A woman in white brocade stood there, her clothes fluttering in the strong wind. Her hair was completely disheveled, dancing with the wind, revealing a small and delicate face, only slightly too pale. Her eyes were dull and expressionless, staring blankly at Chang Qingzi and the ghost.

  "Are you Zhao Ting?" the ghost asked directly.

  Chang Qingzi couldn't help but look at the ghost with some amusement, and she actually asked out loud. As everyone knows, when a person dies, they will go to the Yellow Spring Road, and occasionally some resentful spirits can stay in the world, but their souls are already incomplete and cannot communicate with living people, nor can they hear the words of the living. Just as Chang Qingzi was about to laugh at the ghost, she suddenly saw the female ghost nod almost imperceptibly.

  "Why are you still lingering here? You should have reincarnated long ago. And what's with this blood curse?" the ghost asked in one breath.

  Only to see the female ghost's mouth opening and closing, as if saying something. This time, Chang Qingzi was completely stunned, actually being able to communicate with ghosts, what kind of talent is this? Could it be that the Wheel of Rebirth also has this effect?

  "What about him?" The male ghost suddenly looked at the female ghost and shouted loudly.

  Chang Qingzi quickly took a look at the female ghost's reaction, only to see that she suddenly covered her mouth, shook her head vigorously, and slowly backed away, as if she would immediately flee if asked another question.

  "You won't say, huh?" The ghost gave up questioning the female ghost and said in a low voice.

  "What's going on?" Chang Qingzi asked. The ghost's expression seemed to know something.

  "She saw her sister and fiancé having an affair, got caught, and was silenced." The ghost briefly recounted what she had heard from the female ghost. Moreover, this happened with the knowledge of the second mistress, and the three of them joined forces to poison her to death.

  "This Zhao employee is not only the richest, but also has a more cunning mind than other merchants. Doesn't he have any idea what's going on with his own daughter? He doesn't seem to care at all?" Chang Qingzi sneered, guessing that it was tacitly approved, and the reason for this was nothing but profit.

  At this time, the ghost stared at the woman and said: "It seems that man went to avenge you, what conditions did you promise him?"

  Chang Qingzi gazed at the female ghost and said to her spirit: "It seems you're unwilling to speak. What do you want to do?"

  The ghost's face slowly became more and more gloomy, with a wave of his hand, a talisman suddenly attacked that female ghost Zhao Ting. Zhao Ting seemed to be frightened, hurriedly escaped, but the talisman was one step faster, sticking to her body, Zhao Ting was trapped in place, unable to move.

  "It's useless to ask me now, since you chose this path from the start, you should have known what would happen today."

  "I know you died unjustly, but why didn't you go to the King of Hell to plead your case instead of teaming up with that person to cause trouble!"

  "You're too impulsive." The ghost sighed helplessly.

  Chang Qingzi stood beside the ghost, listening to her speak sentence by sentence. If he hadn't known that she could communicate with ghosts and monsters, he would have thought she was possessed. "What do we do now?"

  "We'll join forces and shatter this red light shield. I think that person will definitely show up." The ghost said faintly.

  "Good." Chang Qingzi responded concisely. Only to see Chang Qingzi bite his index finger and draw a talisman on the peach wood sword, with both hands clasped together, the peach wood sword sandwiched between the two palms. Suddenly separated, each hand appeared with a peach wood sword.

  The ghost was not to be outdone, and the hand hanging beside it pulled out a needle-like weapon from the cloth bundle. The fingers condensed into three, clamped between the fingers. The fingers were slightly curved, and the tip of the needle between the fingers emitted a crystal clear light.

  Chang Qingzi gazed at the needle, his eyes shining brightly once more. This ghost's treasures were truly numerous. "Together." Chang Qingzi suddenly spoke up, swiftly tossing the Peachwood Sword into the sky, his hands forming a seal, his thumbs and index fingers touching, as he abruptly pointed in the direction of the Peachwood Sword.

  The ghost almost simultaneously threw the silver needle into the air, and without seeing any movement from the ghost, the needle automatically struck the red light shield. The two forces collided violently with the red light shield, which also shattered in this force. The silver needle and peach wood sword immediately returned to their owner's hand.

  ……

  "It's shattered, the red light shield is gone." Zhao Waiwai exclaimed in surprise. "Bai Yu Gongzi indeed lives up to his reputation, and that ghost girl isn't an ordinary person either."

  "Master?" Guisheng looked at Guiyan with inquiring eyes. Muyao also immediately turned to look at Guiyan, silently asking for the outcome.

  As everyone looked at him, the ghostly eyes retracted their usual smile and gazed calmly at the courtyard: "This has only just begun."

  "What?!"