My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 761 - 480: Nightly Sobbing Ghost (Extra 3-in-1)_2

"Ah..."

"This little girl... is afraid of the dark." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The night was profoundly deep as Lu Caiying snapped out of his daze and lowered his gaze to search for a lantern.

The only sound in his ears was the increasingly rapid beat of his own heart.

But he couldn't see,

that Miss Shen's face was ghastly pale, resembling that of a corpse.

She wore a silent smile, with corpse spots emerging at the corners of her mouth...

...

Outside the inn's entrance, two distant silhouettes—one tall, one short—approached along the night road.

The few armed guards immediately grew alert, each instinctively reaching toward their weapons, while Du Sheng—his eyelids half-closed—was repeatedly tapped on the shoulder by the person next to him, prompting him to turn around.

The pair's attire was mostly plain. The man donned a Taoist robe yet bore neither a Peach Wood Sword nor a Lotus Crown or Yanyue Crown; only a single white jade hairpin secured his locks. The woman wore a thick red cotton jacket, and the faint moonlight traced out an alluring silhouette.

Strangers appearing at an isolated inn naturally warranted vigilance from the guards.

"Friends, please be at ease. This humble Taoist and my junior sister merely seek shelter for the night."

Chen Yi performed a respectful bow, his expression kind.

It was, of course, Chen Yi and Yin Tingxue. After leaving Taiyang County, the duo had been journeying southward. Chen Yi had drawn two Wind-Travel Talismans and affixed them to their bodies, allowing them to traverse faster than even riding horseback.

Not wanting to antagonize a courteous face, the guards exchanged glances. Du Sheng then spoke,

"This desolate inn—like yourselves—we are merely seeking shelter too. The two Daoists, be at ease."

Chen Yi nodded slightly, not bothering to linger in the main hall, and proceeded to lead Yin Tingxue upstairs.

He shut the door to their room and turned his gaze, seeing that Yin Tingxue's ears twitched slightly and her brows furrowed deeply.

Ah, the scent of demonic energy.

...

"When you arrive there, your father will leave. We cannot stay long, or else your aunt will be displeased."

"What aunt? What aunt?! Father, you're just selling me off there."

"Selling you? No, your father can no longer afford to raise you!"

"Father, I would rather die than go!"

In the dead of night, a sudden sound of a woman crying emerged, followed by the sound of the door being flung open.

Outside the guest rooms.

Amid the oppressive darkness, a strange and unsettling silence reigned.

Miss Shen had left Lu Caiying and knocked on Du Sheng's door, but there was no response. This time, she had come to the door of the room where the Taoist resided.

She tugged at her collar, revealing skin as pristine as moonlight, a faint cleft exposed to the air—exquisite and enchanting. With both hands, she lifted her hair bun and didn't rush to knock; there was no need. Adjusting her appearance first would suffice. Once the Taoist opened the door, he would behold the mortal-stirring charm she had prepared.

Miss Shen straightened her bun, then lowered her collar further, ready now to summon tears.

Knock, knock, knock...

Suddenly, the sound of knocking resounded—from the inside outward.

Miss Shen's breath inexplicably caught, momentarily dazed, until she saw the door swing open by an unseen force.

Sitting within the darkness, a dim figure perched upon a chair, his gaze obscured by shadows.

"Miss Shen? I heard... everything just now."

Miss Shen regained her composure, secretly mocking these Jianghu Mages for pretending to be mysterious and spooky. Her face, stained with the teary fragility of a blossoming pear flower, lifted as she cradled her bun and stepped inside.

"Daoist... you heard it all?" Miss Shen timidly asked.

"With your family in decline, forced to sell you to distant relatives as a bride—what a tragedy." The voice emerged from the darkness, the speaker letting out a long sigh.

Fresh tears welled in Miss Shen's eyes as she replied, "This maiden doesn't wish it, but there is no choice!"

After speaking, she appeared to be somewhat afraid of the dark, shrinking into herself as she hesitated, "Daoist, could you find a lantern?"

"No," he replied indifferently.

"This little girl... is afraid of the dark," she murmured slowly, her tone softening.

"I do not fear the dark."

Miss Shen froze briefly, clearly caught off guard by his response.

She said nothing further, only trembling anxiously in the darkness. Cold winds seeped through the window lattice, causing her to shiver. Her searching gaze seemed that of an ordinary timid girl inching unconsciously closer to the Daoist.

"Daoist, Daoist... without light, aren't you afraid of ghosts?"

"If you're afraid, the lantern is there on the table," the man finally conceded, his tone tinged with mild warmth.

Caught in the trap after all, Miss Shen groped through the darkness to find the fire striker, striking until a faint flicker of light emerged.

"The Daoist truly possesses profound cultivation, unafraid of ghosts. As for someone such as myself, a mere girl, I cannot endure such terrors..."

Holding the lantern, Miss Shen approached slowly, her breath soft and fragrant. The intense yang energy emanating from the Daoist—a vitality far surpassing a hundred men such as Lu Caiying—felt like a sumptuous feast laid before her.

"Are ghosts so frightening?"

Miss Shen paused mid-step; within the shadows where the voice came from, something faintly writhed.

Her trembling voice merged with uncertainty, half-acted or perhaps genuinely fearful, "Not... not frightening?"

The figure in the gloom raised his head; between his fingers lay a weathered talisman.

"Then tell me... is it I you fear—or yourself?"

Miss Shen's mind abruptly went blank.

...

The flickering of the lantern's flame mirrored a trembling bean of light.

They had come to this inn guided by divination, so encountering a female ghost did not shock Yin Tingxue in the least. In fact, it piqued her curiosity. Among her study of miscellaneous texts was the famed "Liaozhai" tales.

Within them, stories such as "Nie Xiaoqian" immortalized unforgettable phantom romances, Chen Yi had once remarked. Yet, because of such accounts, many in the world blindly sought the favor of female ghosts, disregarding latent dangers cloaked beneath.

Yin Tingxue clapped her hands and hopped off the bed, staring at the ghost trapped below her.

Golden roots—each gleaming brightly—had risen magically from the floor, forming a prison-like structure that subdued the ghost entirely. She trembled, her ghastly pale face barely able to emit a stifled wail.

Yin Tingxue picked up a book and paced around the ghost, inspecting it like one would examine some rare curiosity. As Yin Tingxue wandered, she spoke in a lighthearted tone, "Ah, so this is a female ghost."