Chapter 1: The Haunted Forest of Demons (Part 1)

  Ding Ling comforted him for a while before Guo Mohan stopped crying, letting out intermittent sobs.

  She tearfully picked up her luggage, just like a mother holding her newborn baby who was seriously ill from birth.

  "Alright, alright, Guo Mei will wait here with the luggage for a while. I'll lock up that Huang Niu Jing and we can go out, okay?" Ding Ling Xiu patted Guo Mo Han's head, his face full of affection.

  "Good." Guo Mohan nodded with her cherry lips, but still didn't stop sobbing, looking pitiful.

  Ding Lingxiu thought to himself: It's really heaven helping me, it seems that this yellow cow spirit is destined to belong to me, Ding Lingxiu.

  He took out the Hundred Ghosts Painting again and mobilized his spiritual energy, causing the Hundred Ghosts Painting to slowly rise into the air.

  "Humanity is lost, ghosts disrupt the norms. The Holy Spirit saves all, and good fortune appears in times of hardship."

  The yellow bull spirit slowly opened its eyes, and the fierce and evil aura all over its body had already been retracted into its eyebrows. It struggled to get up, but Ding Lingyu squatted down lightly, holding onto the yellow bull spirit's thick arm and said:

  "Huang Niu Jing, your ominous aura has dissipated, but I'm afraid your stubbornness won't change anytime soon. You should return to the Sacred Domain and rest for a while; don't get up now and look at me with disdain, or you'll aggravate the injuries on your body." Ding Ling Xiu spoke, his wounds still throbbing in pain, his voice barely squeezing out from between his teeth.

  The ox spirit gazed at Ding Ling, sighed, and its fist-sized cow eyes became crystal clear as it choked back a response: "Young Master is so kind and righteous... I treated you like that... but you..."

  "Never mind, let's just head back for now, your body is still very weak." Ding Lingyu smiled and replied, as if the injuries he had suffered earlier had nothing to do with the yellow cow spirit in front of him.

  Then, Ding Lingxiu stood up straight and recited the incantation of the Yellow Ox Spirit that appeared in the Hundred Ghosts Painting:

  "A young master, spending money like rain. Lowering his noble status, all for her."

  When he finished speaking, Huang Niu Jing transformed into a yellow light and merged into the Hundred Ghosts Painting.

  Ding Lingxiu closed the cowhide book, just exhaled, and was about to turn around when he suddenly felt a drastic change in temperature inside the cave. He suddenly felt an intense heat behind him, with waves of air surging towards the sky.

  Ding Lingxiu hastily turned his head around, but what he saw behind him made him break out in a cold sweat.

  Only then did Guo Mohan appear behind her, his face gloomy as he stood with his arms around a luggage case in front of a pair of resplendent and beautiful light wings, yet his complexion was like that of a resentful wife.

  That pair of light-winged creatures were all too familiar, they were Red-crested Cardinals.

  The red oriole didn't know when it was summoned by Guo Mohan, this dazzling aura was in stark contrast to Guo Mohan's coldness at the moment.

  The Vermilion Bird flapped its two flame-like wings, glaring angrily at Ding Lingyu. The damp and dark cave was suddenly swept up in a strong heat wave by the fierce flames of its wings.

  The bird's round and staring eyes made the originally silly-looking Vermilion Bird suddenly appear ferocious, as if it could swallow Ding Lingyu with one mouthful.

  Guo Mohan's pale face had a blood-red mouth that slowly opened and closed, his voice once again becoming cold and resolute, devoid of emotion:

  "Master Ding's young master, after waiting for so long, you've finally shown your true colors, haven't you?"

  These words were like a thunderclap on a clear day, shocking Ding Lingxiu so much that his whole body broke out in goosebumps.

  Good heavens! What's going on? Ding Lingxiu was shocked, his six senses gone, and he didn't dare to believe the scene in front of him. The sudden turn of events was too abrupt. Just now, Guo Mohan was still a lovely little loli that made people feel both pity and love for her, but how did she suddenly change back into an aloof ice beauty? They say that a child's face can change with the weather in June, but at least there are signs of changes in the weather. Guo Mohan was like two different personalities switching directly, this is not something that can be described by just saying "June sky".

  Could it be that Guo Mohan had suspected herself earlier and was pretending after waking up? This... this pretence is too realistic. It's not something a person can fake, Ding Lingshu couldn't believe it. The previous Guo Mohan was like a poker face, her emotions almost invisible on her face, as if even smiling seemed extremely unnatural, only when she encountered things that made her proud would she look like a normal person.

  But this "cold-faced zombie" was actually able to disguise itself as a little loli just now, inducing Ding Lingxiu to subdue the Yellow Ox Demon in front of her.

  Guo Mohan stroked the small box, slowly putting it into her handbag, took out a embroidered handkerchief to wipe away the tears on her face, and walked slowly towards Ding Lingshu.

  "You don't have to be surprised. With your family's cunning and deceitful ways, these schemes of mine are not even one ten-thousandth compared to yours, old fox Ding."

  Ding Ling swallowed hard, for a moment not knowing how to respond, only tightly grasping the Hundred Ghosts Diagram, thinking that since his identity had already been exposed, he might as well knock Guo Mohan unconscious and make an escape.

  "It's all, it's all, you Ding family are all bad eggs! Look at our young master being hurt all over." The red bird chirped loudly, originally it didn't like Ding Lingyu, now it was even more severe.

  The first thought that flashed through Ding Lingxiu's mind was to explain to Guo Mohan that this book was stolen from the Ding family, and he wasn't a member of the Ding family. But thinking twice, considering Guo Mohan's cunning and sinister nature, such a trick would not deceive him, so the words were swallowed back down his throat.

  Since reasoning is ineffective, I can only try to persuade with emotions. After all, through contact, Ding Lingxiu found that Guo Mohan, although proud and cold, seems not to be an absolutely heartless person.

  Then Ding Lingxiu put down his hand that was about to turn the page and looked at Guo Mohan with a gentle gaze, saying:

  "Miss Guo, since things have come to this point, I won't hide it from you anymore. I am indeed the 49th generation descendant of the Ding family, and my real name is Ding Lingxiu. But please don't get excited, I think no matter what grudges our ancestors had, they've all passed away, and their right and wrong should also be buried with them. So, shouldn't we, this generation, try to turn hostility into friendship instead of deepening the feud between the Ding and Guo families?"

  Guo Mohan didn't respond, still with a gloomy face, but the beautiful and clear eyes on his pale and haggard face were filled with coldness, like a sharp knife, ready to pierce into Ding Lingxiu's heart at any moment.

  Ding Lingxiu's body was still trembling slightly due to weakness and pain, but he calmed himself down and said:

  "This time traveling with you, I found that not only have you grasped the essence of the Guo family's Feng Shui and demon-subduing techniques, but also with your own intelligence and wit, you can come up with countermeasures against various monsters and ghosts that I couldn't think of."

  Ding Lingxiu had just flattered him a few times, and Guo Mohan's face showed some complacent color again. But this expression was fleeting. In order to cover up this complacency, Guo Mohan became even more gloomy and coldly said:

  "Nonsense! We, the Gu family's demon hunters, are originally the most powerful in the world. What do you want to say?"

  Ding Lingxiu swallowed and continued:

  "Miss Guo, don't get agitated. I'm saying that since you're so understanding of the bigger picture, your thoughts must be aligned with mine。 It's better to resolve grievances than to harbor them。 Our cooperation in subduing the demon this time has been a rollercoaster ride, and we've helped each other out multiple times in precarious situations。 I think this is a heaven-sent opportunity for us to put an end to the feud between our families once and for all。 Why don't we turn our animosity into friendship and let bygones be bygones?"

  After listening to Ding Lingxiu's sincere words, Guo Mohan coldly laughed and replied with disdain:

  "Turn enmity into friendship? Haha, okay then. Your father, the old fox Ding, suffered retribution after killing my father, it's his own doing. I can let bygones be bygones and not hold you accountable, but please show me your sincerity in making amends, Master Ding. Give me back the Hundred Ghosts Painting. This Qinglong Hundred Ghosts Painting originally belonged to the Guo family, and my father, Guo Wangchuan, went through untold hardships to obtain it. A reasonable person like Master Ding wouldn't refuse to return it, would he?"

  Ding Lingxiu's eyes widened and his tongue was tied, thinking that this Guo Mohan was really difficult to deal with. He had originally planned to subtly tell Guo Mohan that he was the one who saved her, and she should spare him out of gratitude, but unexpectedly, she didn't mention this at all and directly brought up the interests and harm of the two families - the Qinglong Baigui Tu. This made Ding Lingxiu, who had always emphasized righteousness, feel like he had hit his own foot with a rock.

  Ding Lingxiu's expression didn't change, she furrowed her brow and replied:

  "Miss Guo, it's not that I'm being unreasonable. The grudge between the Guo and Ding families was only mentioned by my elders, and we don't know the true circumstances. However, this Hundred Ghosts Painting is a family heirloom entrusted to me by my father before he passed away. He told me not to give it to anyone, and I must obey his wishes. Moreover, everyone knows that your father, Guo Wangchuan, entrusted the painting to my father, Ding Lin. Miss Guo, you're being too forceful, and I'm afraid I won't be able to accept this."

  Guo Mohan's expression changed drastically, her face pale. Her eyes, like ancient wells of ink, flashed with infinite killing intent, and she gritted her teeth, shouting in a delicate voice:

  "Good, and before my father died, he also told me to kill all of you Dings! You can just die!"