Chapter Twelve: The Third Daughter

  This sound was like a thunderclap that exploded next to my ear, causing a stormy wave in my mind. My movements involuntarily slowed down, and I instinctively retreated backward, creating some distance between the female ghost and me. The scene before my eyes seemed to have changed, no longer being as gloomy as before. Everything had returned to its original quiet night color. However, at this moment, I felt like I had been struck by a stick, and my face involuntarily changed color. I had already reached the edge of a cliff, only a few steps away from the precipice. The female ghost was floating outside the cliff, her face changing unpredictably, with a hint of anger mixed with a hint of grievance.

  The scene before my eyes made me break out in a cold sweat. If it wasn't for the sudden voice, I would have continued to entangle with the female ghost and might have taken a wrong step, falling directly down the cliff. I realized that I was still under the female ghost's spell, although she couldn't defeat me, but she could confuse my vision, making me unaware of the danger in front of me. If I had taken a few more steps forward, I would have fallen off the cliff and even if I didn't die, I would have been seriously injured. I really need to thank that female voice from just now.

  "Xiao Hai Ge——" Yang Xiufeng's voice came from behind, and then I felt a warm body suddenly embracing me from the back. The voice was filled with panic and worry, with a hint of crying: "I called you but you didn't hear me, I wanted to come over and grab you but I couldn't catch up, so I could only watch as you were about to fall——"

  It's just as I thought, I was bewildered by the female ghost and walked step by step towards the cliff. Perhaps the female ghost's loss was intentional, who knows? And Yang Xiufeng was blocked by the female ghost and couldn't get through at all. Thinking of these things, my heart sank involuntarily. It turns out that the female ghost is not so easy to deal with after all. I thought I could defeat the ghost and then I wouldn't have to be afraid anymore. But it seems I was wrong. The most terrifying thing about ghosts is not their ability to harm people directly, but their ability to deceive you, making you hallucinate.

  I took a deep breath, turned around and looked back. At the gate of the mansion not far away, under the bright light, stood a woman wearing an ancient cheongsam, looking like she was in her thirties. Her face was pale, but without that seductive charm or blood-red lips. Although her expression was gloomy, it gave people a sense of righteousness. It was this woman's loud shout that woke me up from my confusion, preventing me from falling off the cliff. However, I could tell that this woman and the female ghost were deeply connected, perhaps they were one and the same, but with different personalities. I swallowed my saliva, the shock on my face subsiding, and turned to bow to the woman: "Thank you..."

  The woman saw me being so polite, slightly stunned for a moment before smiling, and instead bowed to me. It seemed she still couldn't forget her habits from when she was alive: "It's my sister who's at fault again, losing her temper and almost harming you. I should be the one apologizing to you. Here, I'll apologize on her behalf, hoping you won't blame her anymore."

  "It's okay, it's okay——" I forced a smile, although I knew the woman in front of me was also a ghost, but my heart wasn't particularly afraid. People have good and bad people, ghosts should too, right? This woman should be a good ghost, otherwise I wouldn't feel any positive energy. But saying I'm not afraid, my heart is still racing, I scratched my head: "I was the one who made the first move, I even hit her, that's what provoked her, it's me who should apologize."

  At this time, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Turning back, he looked at the female ghost and saw that pale face. The corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily, but he still managed to squeeze out a faint smile: "Sorry, it was my fault earlier—"

  "It doesn't matter—" The female ghost replied with a sense of satisfaction, as if everything was just the way it should be. I didn't get angry, anyway, adults don't hold grudges against children, and there's no point in arguing with a ghost.

  However, I don't mind, but that doesn't mean others won't. Just as the female ghost finished speaking, a woman from the other side suddenly scolded: "Third sister, it's obviously your fault, and you still have the nerve to respond like this. They're giving you face, are you saying you don't even want to save face yourself?"

  The female ghost, Sanmei, stiffened her face and saw the anger on her older sister's face. She shrunk back in fear, the blue aura on her face dissipating. Taking a few steps forward, she bowed to me and said reluctantly, "I'm sorry, it was all my fault for scaring you initially and later trying to pull you off the cliff. I sincerely apologize and won't hold it against you for punching me. Also..."

  "It's my fault, don't be polite——" Sanmei didn't have the slightest intention of apologizing sincerely, nor did she really not care about it. I also didn't want to say anything more, as long as I could get through today, I vowed never to come to Sangu Niangshan again.

  Third sister naturally heard that my words were not sincere, but in front of the eldest sister, she wouldn't say anything, only her eyes kept flickering. Each person had their own thoughts, leaving the eldest sister behind feeling helpless. Third sister was usually not like this, but more thoughts were placed on me, constantly sizing me up and down. A guy who hadn't learned any magic could actually hit a ghost, which was really unthinkable. After all, ghosts were formless and shapeless.

  "It's late and dew is heavy, why don't you come to my home and stay for a while until dawn before leaving." The elder sister was very curious and only then spoke to detain him.

  "No need, no need, let's just go home and not disturb them——" Although I'm not as scared as before, it doesn't mean I'm really not afraid. The wilderness still has a bit of safety, but if we really enter the female ghost's home, who knows what will happen? After all, it's someone else's territory.

  However, my refusal seemed to have come too late. The elder sister smiled slightly and waved her hand, and the scenery in front of me changed instantly. Yang Xiufeng and I were already in a large room, which was filled with ancient colors and flavors. Several pillars were carved with dragons and phoenixes, exuding an air of solemnity and solidity, but it felt somewhat oppressive.

  "Ah, Little Hai Ge——” Yang Xiufeng was shocked, shrinking behind me and grabbing my arm with a look of panic. In fact, I was stunned too. Is this what they mean by "sudden change"? Could this be some kind of divine magic?

  Seeing that both of us were foolish, older sister smiled and said in a low voice: "Is it not too used to, no problem——"

  As soon as the voice fell, my sister waved her hand again, and the scene changed greatly. In a flash, the magnificent hall with carved dragons and painted phoenixes disappeared from view, and we found ourselves in a luxurious guest room. Everything I could think of that was gold and glittering was on display here, making me swallow hard and feel a little awestruck. I even felt a sense of trepidation, thinking that this wasn't a place where someone like me should be staying. But as soon as this thought arose, the scene changed again. Before my eyes, it had transformed into an ordinary living room, about 30 or 40 square meters in size, just like the one in our own home. There was a plain sofa, a plain coffee table, and on TV, they were showing a soap opera that I didn't particularly enjoy.

  "Please sit down," said the older sister with a gentle laugh, as if she understood the foolish look on our faces.

  "Ah——ah——" My mind was still reeling from the shock, and I mechanically sat down following my older sister's words. Meanwhile, my third younger sister just rolled her eyes, probably mocking me for being a country bumpkin.

  Looking at my silly appearance, the elder sister 'heh' laughed and stopped laughing for a long time: "Don't be so surprised, this is not some kind of earth-shattering magic, it's just an illusion, in your worldly terms, it's called a blindfold method. I just used my mind to make you have an illusion, everything can't be true, take a look——"

  As she spoke, the older sister picked up a cup of water, turned it over in her hand, and with one breath, sprayed it onto the surface. The cup transformed into a stone, leaving me stunned and my face flushed with embarrassment, wondering if I had indeed been foolish. Only then did I hear the older sister continue: "Actually, what was originally something is still that something, but your eyes have been deceived by you. I wanted to let you see the cup, so the power of suggestion influenced your vision, and thus you saw a cup of water. In reality, everything before your eyes is false, most of it doesn't exist; it's just that I wanted you to see it, so you did."

  As I took the stone from my sister's hand, I was thinking about what she had said - "Nen"? Although I didn't quite understand it, Nen is supposedly a kind of mental energy. Many magicians claim to possess incredible mental powers, such as moving objects with their minds or bending spoons, although these are all just tricks. However, it's undeniable that Nen does exist - it's a mysterious form of energy. But why did my sister explain all this to me? I don't think there's anything special about me that would warrant her attention, and I'm sure she doesn't go around explaining things to everyone.

  After a long silence, my elder sister didn't say anything more until I thought for a while and suddenly raised my head to look at her. Hesitating for a moment before speaking in a low voice: "Elder sister, why did you explain so carefully to me? You must have something to ask me."

  The older sister let out a sigh and chuckled: "You're indeed not stupid, since you know I have something to ask, why don't you take a guess what it is?"

  "I don't quite understand the concept of 'willpower'," I took a deep breath, "If there's anything interesting about me, it's definitely not because I'm handsome or anything like that. I wouldn't even believe myself if I said that. I'm just an ordinary young man, and I have nothing to do with being 'high-class'. So the only thing that could possibly interest a ghost is that I was able to hit one earlier. I looked up at my sister and bit my lip: "Earlier, I didn't think about anything else, I just thought about fighting with all my might. I believed that if ghosts can hit people, then people must be able to hit ghosts too. That's all I thought."

  "Uh-huh——” The older sister nodded and let out a soft sigh: “Actually, this is just the power of concentration. Concentrating all your spiritual energy can cause an explosion. When the body and mind are in sync, it forms a resonance, which amplifies the thought to produce force. As for how to explain this kind of power, I'm not too clear either. The power of concentration is really mysterious. Actually, legendary immortals are the same way."

  That night, I talked with my elder sister for a long time, and indeed benefited a lot. However, I felt that my sister was not as calm as she seemed to be, but rather seemed to be searching for some meaning on me, and unknowingly chatted till very late. Finally, I was so sleepy that I leaned against Yang Xiufeng who had already fallen asleep and fell asleep in a daze.