Chapter 1: The Haunted Yōlin (Part 1)

  Ding Lingxiu's ears were struck by the three words, and the girl's true identity coincided with his secretly worried thoughts.

  Guo Mohan? Feng Shui Exorcist? There's no need to doubt, this Guo Mohan must be a demon hunter from the Guo family clan. Even if she isn't the daughter of Guo Wangchuan, she is definitely a relative of his.

  Although the rumor circulating in the demon-hunting community is that Guo Wangchuan lost a bet and gave the Hundred Ghosts Painting to Ding Lin, both the Ding and Guo families know the truth. Especially the Guo family has been harboring resentment towards this matter for a long time, considering it a deep-seated vendetta. They even hired assassins to plot against Ding Lin. However, fate had other plans. Ding Lin's luck was about to change, and he passed away before the assassins arrived. Heaven seemed to have avenged the Guo family, but they did not consider this as an end to their feud.

  There's a saying: "A father's debt is repaid by his son." Whether it makes sense or not, the Guo family thinks it does.

  Ding Lingxiu stared blankly at Guo Mohan, thinking that this abbot was intentionally harming himself. He usually kept a low profile and concealed his identity for two reasons: one was because he possessed the Hundred Ghosts Painting, and the other was to avoid encountering the Guo family and suffering an accident. Now, how could he clearly know his identity yet still deliberately encourage him to meet with Guo Mohan?

  Guo Mohan looked at Ding Lingxiu with a strange expression and asked in confusion:

  "What's wrong? Is my name strange?"

  "No, no... The name sounds good." Ding Lingxiu waved his hand and shook off the cigarette ash.

  "What's your name then?" The girl asked softly with her arms wrapped around herself.

  "Hello, I'm Zhao Linxiu, nice to meet you, Miss Guo." Ding Lingxiu extended his hand.

  "Let's skip the handshake, we all know each other anyway." Guo Mo looked at him coldly, his clothes fluttering in the wind. "I'm going to find them now, are you coming or not?"

  "Of course." Ding Lingxiu hastily extinguished his cigarette and restored his normal expression. "But how did you find them?"

  Guo Mohan raised his head, and his jade finger slowly pointed towards a small stone platform on the east bank of the lake, which was only one meter high.

  "When I saw that stone platform was gone, the stone platform is Han Wang's pointing platform, it is said to be the remains of the year when Qing Taizu adjusted his troops and dispatched his generals. At that time, the person who built the pointing platform did not know why he would choose a location there, maybe just thought it looked comfortable and could oversee the whole situation. In fact, the direction of that position is Geng water, which is very auspicious for the military, while the opposite direction on the other side of the lake is Gen water, Gen water is wise and spiritual, this place is where the most quiet and spiritual energy gathers, and most monsters and demons will also unconsciously choose this place as their lair."

  "Oh, I see. In that case, the range we're looking for is still a bit too broad." Ding Ling looked towards the opposite shore of the river, where the mountains and forests blocked her view, making it impossible to see through.

  "It doesn't matter, let's just go ask the ticket vendor and we'll know," said Guo Mohan.

  "Good."

  Jiangnan climbed up Guo Mohan's leg and into her windbreaker hood, wrapping his small hands around her neck. The two walked along Xiuhu Lake towards Dianjiang Pavilion.

  "Miss Guo, you said that Xiuhu Lake looks so peaceful, how can it still be haunted?" Ding Lingxiu tentatively brought up a topic she was interested in, trying to further pry into her background.

  "Don't be fooled by the sparkling waves of Xiuhu Lake, its glittering golden light makes it seem like a treasure trove of good fortune, but in reality, it's not. Although Qipan Mountain has excellent feng shui, and Xiuhu Lake is located in a flat and open area, ordinary feng shui masters can't see what sets Xiuhu apart. Most feng shui practitioners only know how to use the 'drinking shape' method for mountains, which means comparing them to animals to judge their feng shui, but they don't know that water can also be used in this way. For example, Xiuhu Lake's winding and twisting shape can be compared to a snake, and snakes are inherently associated with evil spirits and ghosts. Even if the lake itself doesn't give birth to monsters, external evil spirits will still be attracted to its environment." Guo Mohan explained seriously, feng shui being as easy for her as elementary school arithmetic.

  Jiang Rou was swaying back and forth in the hood of Feng Yi's windbreaker, her small face stuck to Guo Mohan's neck, playfully grabbing his hair and sniffing it on her nose.

  "Oh, I really didn't expect Miss Guo to be so accomplished in Feng Shui, where did she learn from?" Ding Lingxiu showed a look of admiration, asking with feigned ignorance.

  Guo Mohan's face, as beautiful as a flower, only showed a smile when she was pleased. She had her hands clasped in front of her chest, and her exceptional figure became even more pronounced. She patted the mischievous pocket on her back and said:

  "I didn't expect you to know that I'm a master of Feng Shui and demon-subduing techniques, yet you don't even know that I'm Guo Family's Demon Hunter."

  Ding Lingxiu's nerves tightened, and every time he heard the two words "Guo Jia", he felt a sense of psychological discomfort. This discomfort wasn't just plain fear, but rather a sense of guilt that stemmed from Ding Lingxiu knowing the truth, making him unable to bear this hatred.

  Ding Lingxu did not conceal his astonishment:

  "Unexpectedly, Miss Guo is really a descendant of the Guo family? I originally just guessed that Miss Guo might be a demon hunter from the Guo family's branch, didn't expect to guess correctly."

  "Yes, I am the 56th generation of orthodox demon-hunting masters from the Guo family. How about it? Are you surprised?" Guo Mohan gazed coldly at Ding Lingxiu, with a smug expression on his face.

  Ding Lingxiu tried hard to control her emotional changes and smiled:

  "The Guo family is indeed a case of the rear waves of the Yangtze River pushing forward the front waves. People all say that Guo Wanchuan subdued demons with mountains and caught ghosts with water, but unexpectedly, Senior Guo's daughter is even more formidable."

  "That's natural, after my Guo family switched from Feng Shui to demon hunting, we've always been a major force in the demon hunting world. Otherwise, that despicable Ding Lin... " Guo Mohan said, staring at Ding Lingxiu with a cold gaze that sent shivers down his spine, as clear as autumn water and as cold as dark ice.

  "If it weren't for Ding Lin's evil deeds that killed my father, the Guo family would have possessed all of the Bai Gui Tu by now." Although Guo Mo Han's voice was clear and melodious, his tone was devoid of warmth, with an air of majesty that made it difficult for others to disobey.

  Ding Lingxiu nodded and asked with a guilty conscience:

  "Everyone says that it was your father who gave the Hundred Ghosts Painting to Senior Ding, so why do you say that he killed your father?"

  "Cut it out, I've told you before but you won't believe me anyway. The Ding family is just not a good bunch of people." Guo Mo replied coldly.

  Ding Lingxiu stopped speaking, and before they knew it, they had already arrived at the Pointing Platform, where the surrounding scenery suddenly became clear.

  This point stands upright in the midst of a ten-mile fertile plain, showing off Nurhaci's heroic spirit back then. Two people climb up onto the stone platform and can look out over the entire Xiuhu Lake, standing on top feeling majestic and refreshing.

  Guo Mohan wore a white dress that fluttered in the wind, her beautiful face was like a snow-covered jade, and her crystal-clear skin and bones looked even more cold and elegant on the stage. The wind blew through her hat, and the ribbon inside tightly grasped the brim, her lips were tightly closed together, shivering slightly, whispering softly into Guo Mohan's ear:

  "The wind is so strong, I'm scared...I'm scared...Let's get down quickly."

  Guo Mo's cold and elegant face revealed a hint of warmth, she lovingly stroked the flute case, hugged it again in her arms, and pointed to the opposite side of the stage at Ding Lingyu.

  "See that cliff?"

  Ding Lingxiu looked in the direction she was pointing, and indeed found a cliff on the opposite side of Dianjiang Pavilion, which resembled a ferocious and terrifying ghost face.

  "Look at that, the shape of this cliff is just like a ghost face. Could it be that the lair of these two demons is there?"

  "That's right, this mountain itself is a hole-back-pressing mountain, used as a hole pillow. There must be a cave nearby, and the cliff looks like a ghost face. This cave must also have demons and monsters." Guo Mohan said, walking down from the observation platform.

  The two of them turned back again, walked to the vicinity of the cliff on the other side, and searched for a long time in the mountain forest. Finally, they found a cave with a very large entrance, like a heavenly moat, but the inside of the cave was pitch black and immeasurable.

  The little monkey felt a bit nervous and let out a sad cry towards the entrance of the cave.

  Guo Mohan looked back at Ding Lingxiu and said:

  "Should be here, how about it? Dare to come in with me?"

  Ding Lingxiu smiled and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, saying slowly:

  "What's there to be afraid of?"