My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 763 - 480: Nightly Wailing Ghost (Three in One Added)_4

The two ghosts said nothing, only remained silent as if they acquiesced. After a long while, the elderly ghost just barely nodded his head.

"Then there's no need to speak further."

In the next instant, Chen Yi struck his palm down, and the elderly ghost's body quivered violently, stiffening as if struck by lightning, then slowly collapsed to the ground.

This was a fate where not even a ghost could persist.

Witnessing this scene, Miss Shen shivered uncontrollably. When Chen Yi turned toward her, she shrieked, "I'll confess, I'll confess! To attend the banquet, you need the lotus invitation!"

"How does one obtain it, and what if we don't have one?"

"If there's no invitation, then there's only Dream Soul Travel… The Guhuo Bird kidnaps children as if by divine stealth, first luring away their souls, and only then their bodies would follow, wandering in dreams. So ordinary folk are defenseless against the Guhuo Bird," Miss Shen trembled as she explained. "The Guhuo Bird never considers its brood too large. So long as one has not bound their hair by the age of twenty, they will be taken."

Well, that's one idea...

Chen Yi lightly tapped the sword sheath, then turned to glance at Yin Tingxue.

He was already in his late twenties, while the girl was still in her youthful bloom.

Before Yin Tingxue could respond, Miss Shen threw herself to the floor and kowtowed, begging for mercy: "This humble woman was coerced by my father, never intending to harm anyone. I beseech the Daoist priest for a path to survival!"

Chen Yi pointed at himself and said, neither too softly nor too sternly, "I've always been one to honor my words. If I say I'll spare you, then I'll spare you."

Was he truly going to let her live… Hope flickered in Miss Shen's eyes, and her lips managed to curve into a faint smile.

Suddenly, a shout rang out from the corridor beyond the door: "Young Master! The Young Master is gone! The Young Master is dead!"

Miss Shen's expression stiffened slightly.

"Ah, while I do honor my words," Chen Yi's voice fell lightly upon their ears as he sighed, drawing his sword from the sheath, "I forgot to say I'd spare your life."

The sword descended in an instant.

......

......

Lu Caiying's body was shriveled and desiccated upon death, all his vitality drained completely, leaving a sight that could only be described as pitiful.

His corpse was carried to the main hall by the guards from Pingyuan Escort Bureau. Du Sheng's expression was bleak, his fingers trembling faintly.

By the time a stick of incense had burned, Chen Yi had explained the situation, even presenting the two ghosts' husks for all to see, which turned out to be nothing more than the empty shells of one old and one young figure.

"Daoist priest, is there truly no cure?" Du Sheng asked tremulously.

The son of the General Head of Pingyuan Escort Bureau, a man whose renown stretched across Square Land, had met such a fate—not at the hands of robbers but a female ghost—so easily, so bizarrely.

"Even if the soul were called back, this body has been drained of all vitality. There's no path left for it to live."

Du Sheng could only let out a heavy sigh.

The female ghost had knocked on his door as well, but each man swept snow before his own doorstep, refusing to get involved.

Unlike him, who had long walked the razor's edge as a Darts Master, Lu Caiying, though trained in family martial arts and gifted with great talent, was pampered by the General Head, surrounded by flattery within the escort bureau, and lacked the essential caution. He was suited only to opening a prosperous martial arts school, not to the nomadic life of crossing north and south.

Du Sheng glanced at the guards behind him—his brow furrowed with conflicting emotions.

"Head Du, how will this be accounted for…" someone started hesitantly.

Du Sheng snapped out of his thoughts and declared loudly, "On this journey escorting goods, we traveled thirteen days straight, rushing through mornings and nights, and wearied ourselves to exhaustion, ultimately seeking lodging at an abandoned inn due to negligence. Only Young Master Lu Caiying remained alert, uncovering the hidden demons within and, before his death, fought valorously against two ghosts singlehandedly. The Young Master's bravery is without parallel!"

The guards unanimously nodded in agreement.

This preserved Lu Caiying's dignity and upheld the reputation of Pingyuan Escort Bureau.

"Daoist priest, I request you to perform this soul-crossing ritual," Du Sheng turned and said.

Chen Yi did not decline.

But the whereabouts of Lu Caiying's soul remained unknown, requiring the recitation of summoning script:

"Oh soul, return—East is not your haven..."

As the incantation echoed forth, wisps of faintly glowing souls gathered from afar, converging above the corpse and coalescing into unwavering form.

The guards watched as Lu Caiying's features grew distinct and could not help but feel sorrow welling within them, tears brimming at the corners of their eyes.

Though he was not of their rank, he had been a brother traveling with them on the escort mission. Just days prior, they'd shared teasing banter—now his soul was destined for the afterlife. Such bitter and fleeting is the nature of life!

The three souls and seven spirits had returned, merging with his body. Aside from a faintly ethereal aura, he looked just as he had before death. The guards noticed his eyelids quivering, his lips trembling faintly, as though he had something left to say.

Let them hear the Young Master's final words.

"So… I'm dead?" His first words came as a murmur, dazed and unclear.

The guards' eyes grew heavy with grief. To only now realize one's death—how utterly tragic...

In the darkness, under the gaze of the gathered crowd, Lu Caiying suddenly opened his eyes wide, shouting with abandon, "Dying was worth it! Worth it! Completely worth it!"

The guards exchanged confused looks.

The sorrow in their hearts dissolved utterly into nothingness.

Ah, they say that those who are pitiful often have qualities deserving reproach.

"May the great calamities yield mercy, the vast gates of nectar pour blessings… May ten directions transform and ferry all beings…"

The ritual chants began appropriately.