Chapter 57: Finally, the Plot of Murder for Treasures Begins

Humans follow the human Dao, ghosts follow the ghost Dao; the visible and the hidden take different paths, their Daos are not the same.

Xiao Yu increasingly felt this saying held great truth.

She had personally experienced it during her soul separation—human and ghost spatial perceptions were fundamentally different.

A crippled ghost like Guisheng could cover over a hundred li in half a night; the theater-obsessed Qin Squire even rode a donkey, treating Sun Family Village hundreds of li away as if it were next door.

At the time, Xiao Yu herself had been disoriented for a moment, following the ghostly cries for a few steps, and found herself outside Hengsha Pass, in the desolate wilderness a hundred li away.

Now she sensed again the familiar “ghost Dao” aura.

As she cautiously extended her foot forward, though the entire world was shrouded in mist and utterly devoid of direction, the “space” itself felt normal.

With Duan Laoshu leading the way ahead, walking while calling out “Xiao Yu’s soul,” she once more felt the dazed sensation of that night when her soul had wandered.

Her current realm was too low, her experience too shallow—she could not clearly articulate the difference between ghost Dao and human Dao, only a vague impression: the human world’s time-space was like a solid pane of glass—perhaps transparent, but impossible to cross; the ghost world’s time-space was like a mosaic of water-surface mirrors—not very transparent, its surface rippling, vision blurred, yet ghosts could pass through the water and arrive directly on the other side.

Xiao Yu’s soul was strong and resilient, impervious to dark influences; she should not have felt dazed while awake, yet as she followed Duan Laoshu through the rippling mirror-surfaces, it felt like crossing dimensions.

It was not the yin aura of ghosts that made her soul dazed—it was the spatial fluctuations of another dimension that blurred her thoughts.

Like a three-dimensional being entering a four-dimensional space, unable to fully adapt to the environment or process the incoming four-dimensional information, thus becoming dazed and confused.

Xiao Yu did not know how many dimensions the “ghost Dao” had.

Or perhaps the world of gods and demons didn’t even speak of dimensions?

She was certain of only one thing: humans and ghosts truly walked on different “paths”!

“Duan Laoshu, how far have we walked? Why haven’t we left the fog?”

If Duan Laoshu were a living person, she would never have questioned after such a short time.

But Duan Laoshu was a ghost, and now she too had stepped onto the ghost Dao—ghost Dao’s “space” was short; a few steps could cover vast distances.

They were still in the back courtyard of Yunlai Inn.

The back courtyard wasn’t small—it was four or five hundred square meters—but how long could it last against ghostly strides?

“Miss Yu, don’t rush. Old Duan has been lost since the beginning, doesn’t know the way. But Old Duan hears all directions, sees all sides—I’ll ensure no evil doer gets close to you.” Duan Laoshu spoke calmly.

—So since he was lost from the start, rushing now was useless?

Xiao Yu was speechless.

“Last time, Qin Squire also got lost in the fog, but he eventually found his way out.”

Duan Laoshu said: “Master Qin is a local, knows the terrain well. I’m a stranger who wandered here—don’t know the roads.”

“Where are you from, Duan Laoshu? Last time I thought I heard you mention Ning Mansion—is Ning Mansion the Ning family’s estate, or a county town?” With nothing else to do, Xiao Yu decided to chat with Duan Laoshu.

Regardless of whether Duan Laoshu could find the way out, she acknowledged and remembered this kindness.

“It’s Ning Mansion, the capital of Guide Commandery in Great Shu, thousands of li from Feixian Ferry—hey, Miss Yu, did you hear that? I think I’ve located General Guan’s position.”

Duan Laoshu turned to call out to Xiao Yu and quickened his pace.

Soon Xiao Yu heard the sound too.

“Wang Bao, Li Qing, Ma Anguo, Li Shangxian—you—you… how did you come back?”

It was Guan Zhong—surprised, yet tinged with panic.

Hearing the names Guan Zhong shouted, Xiao Yu’s heart lurched.

They were the very men Guan Zhong had summoned earlier to carry Xiang Huchen’s “remains.”

After Xiang Huchen was moved to the wine cellar, they all left with Song Changqing.

When they left, Lei Yuanzi had still been casting the Nine-Nine Fire Wheel Thunder, Yu Mian Wenchu Dou Yilin hadn’t delivered her “Eight Immortals Speech,” and the flag gate technique of the hunter-immortal Kong Zan hadn’t been activated.

So at that time, they could have easily reached the Yangyang Marquis’s encampment.

After all, the Yangyang Marquis’s encampment was right in the front courtyard’s grain-drying yard, while the wine cellar was in the back courtyard—the distance wasn’t far.

Since they had already gotten close to the encampment, there was no reason for them to return—unless…

“Duan Laoshu, are these the evil ones who intend to kill me and my righteous father and steal the treasure pill?” Xiao Yu whispered.

Before Duan Laoshu could answer, the men inside had already confessed.

“Old Guan, no more talk—hand over the Nine-Turn Bone-Transformation Pill, and Brother Bao will give you a quick death!”

It was Wang Bao—his tone cruel and impatient.

“Wang Bao, what are you saying? Dare you repeat that?!”

Guan Zhong’s voice trembled with fear, but even more with furious outrage at being so gravely insulted.

“Clang~~”

“Brother Bao, don’t act rashly!”

It was the “common soldier” Li Shangxian.

Just now, Wang Bao had drawn his blade at once over a word, and Li Shangxian had stopped him.

“Guan Zhong, the Nine-Turn Bone-Transformation Pill is a divine pill. Now that Guan Huichen is dead, you, an old servant, holding it is like a three-year-old child carrying gold through a crowded market—you can’t protect it.

Don’t talk about the Yingxiang Guan family—this is Feixian Ferry, ten thousand li from Yingxiang Prefecture!

You’re smart—you know what choice to make.” Li Shangxian spoke coolly.

Guan Zhong let out a bitter laugh: “Even if I were a fool, I’d know what happens after I hand over the Nine-Turn Bone-Transformation Pill.”

This time, Li Shangxian fell silent.

Since they returned to the wine cellar, whether or not they obtained the divine pill, killing to silence was inevitable.

“At least you’ll die quickly,” Ma Anguo said coldly.

“Heaven watches what men do. You can kill me, but can you stop me from accusing you, these traitorous servants who murdered your master, before the King of Hell?” Guan Zhong roared.

“Slap! Slap! Slap~~~” Loud, forceful slaps rang out, making Guan Zhong’s cries muffled.

Wang Bao slapped him while snarling: “I just take a few packets of Bone-Washing Powder from your Guan family’s pharmacy every month—do you really think I’m your servant?!”

“You eat our Guan family’s medicine, take our Guan family’s silver, obey our orders—what else are you if not a servant?”

Guan Zhong’s voice was muffled, yet his spirit was unbroken; the venom and hatred in his tone were even thicker than Wang Bao’s.

“Guan Zhong, look here!” Li Qing shouted, drawing Guan Zhong’s gaze.

“I know you old dog aren’t afraid of death—but loyal dogs protect their masters. You don’t want to see Old Guan’s corpse desecrated after death, do you?”

“You dogs, you dogs—I hate you, I hate you! I’ll go to the King of Hell and accuse you! Wait—I swear, my Guan family’s ancestor won’t let you go! You dogs, you dogs~~~”

Guan Zhong screamed blood-curdling curses, writhing and flailing wildly beneath Wang Bao’s feet.

“Duan Laoshu, stay here—what comes next…”

—What comes next? Watch me perform!

Xiao Yu smiled coldly and drew her Dragon Kiss short sword.

“Miss Yu, the villains are cruel and numerous… Old Duan shouldn’t say this, but circumstances overpower people.

Master Guan, even in the netherworld, would rather his corpse be desecrated than see you fall into the tiger’s jaws.” Duan Yu said with great difficulty.

He himself placed great value on filial piety.

If anyone dared desecrate his father’s corpse, he would not care about danger.

But true “ritual” always demands strictness of oneself, and understanding and forgiveness toward others—not judging others from below for not being “noble” enough.

“Duan Laoshu, don’t say another word!”

Xiao Yu looked as if deeply humiliated—her expression and tone were stern and absolute.

Yes, even more intense than the reaction Duan Laoshu had given when she had previously urged him not to risk himself.

“My righteous father treated me with deep affection and great kindness—I have never for a moment forgotten my gratitude and desire to repay him.

Now these villains are openly humiliating his body.

My chest burns with rage that could scorch heaven and earth—how could I fear death and retreat?”

She tucked her right hand holding the short sword behind her back, groped forward while crying out pitifully: “Father, Father, Father~~~”

“Ah, good daughter, your father’s right here!” The wine cellar fell silent for an instant, then Li Shangxian mocked.

—What a pack of black-hearted condemned criminals!

One cry summoned six “fathers.”

Truly, they reaped what they sowed!

Xiao Yu’s face grew colder; her cries of “Father, Father” grew clearer and more urgent, while inside her purple palace, six tiny figures were sketched in dotted lines.

As she pushed open the wooden door and saw the armored riders, a deathline only she could see appeared before her eyes.

“Father, Father—how bold you are, daring to harm my righteous father! I’ll take your dog lives~~~”

In her gaze and expression toward Huichen, Xiao Yu displayed natural, layered emotional progression: first shock, then slight confusion; upon seeing Huichen’s plight, confusion vanished, shock turned to fury; then, facing the armored riders, fury deepened into murderous intent.

She didn’t waste words with them.

Tiger Roar Blade!

“Roar~~~”

A massive tiger seemed to merge with her form, unleashing a roar filled with ferocious malevolence.

The armored riders were seized by sudden dread, their movements freezing for an instant.

She wielded the short sword in the Tiger Soul Seven Killings—her swordbone infused with the tiger’s ferocious spirit, bones resonating with a metallic chime.

“Rip the Sky Sword!”

Ma Anguo’s vision blurred—he saw a black tiger, ten feet tall, lunging at him, claws slashing.

“Puch!” His neck went cold, his head tilted, blood gushing like a fountain.

Li Qing, seeing this, eyes blazing, roared and drew his sword.

“Tiger Devour Sword!”

Xiao Yu sidestepped and struck his lower abdomen with a deft force.

Li Qing staggered backward as Xiao Yu’s short sword, like a tiger’s fang, bit upward through his chin and drilled into his brain.

Li Qing is dead!

The Lu Ye Guard’s armored cavalry are indeed elite.

Seeing two comrades slain, they quickly shook off their panic.

Their strikes and movements coordinated seamlessly, hinting at the formation of a military array.

Xiao Yu spun her body, pulling the Dragon Kiss free from Li Qing’s chin, and dodged the slashing blade of another armored knight.

“Slish!” The saber flashed like a silver ribbon, cleaving the lifeless Li Qing into two halves.

Blood mixed with organs gushed out in a splattering stream.

The stench of blood and feces filled the air, nauseating.

Yet neither Xiao Yu nor the remaining armored knights had any stomach for nausea.

They were so utterly focused, they had temporarily held their breath.

“Tiger’s Tail Sword!”

Two armored knights had flanked Xiao Yu; after she dodged the left knight, her empty left hand formed a sword finger, gliding along the steel blade as it swept past—like a celestial immortal descending from beyond the heavens—to strike the knight’s left eye.

This technique, “Tiger’s Tail Sword,” mimicked a tiger whipping its tail, carrying a hint of the reverse spear thrust.

The armored knight was wary—but utterly unprepared.

“Chiiii—Pop~~~”

The power of the finger-sword far exceeded the knight’s expectations: not only did his eyeball burst, but his brain was instantly shredded by an uncanny force.

Xiao Yu was not surprised.

The Shen Shen Elixir was not taken in vain; even if the Sword Bone wasn’t an Immortal Bone, it was still a minor divine art.

“Sword Intent” could be infused into the Sword Bone, making it ring like steel and instantly elevating her physical strength by a full tier.

Xiao Yu could also transmit “Sword Intent” at will through the Sword Bone—the Bone itself was the sword, and even her finger bones were Sword Bones!

The so-called “Sword Intent” was the ferocious Tiger Spirit she had comprehended.

With Huchen’s help, she had largely transformed the “Tiger Soul Seven Kills” from a saber technique into a sword technique... in truth, many aristocratic Guan family youths preferred swords.

“Damn it, I knew Old Man Guan taught her the ‘Tiger Soul Seven Kills,’ but how in hell is this little savage dog so strong after just a few days?”

Li Shangxian’s face darkened with fear; he instinctively broke from the makeshift formation, stepped back a few paces, and retreated behind Huchen, pressing his blade against Huchen’s throat.

“Guan Yu, stop, or I’ll—”

“Slish, slish, slish~~ Thud~ Thud~~”

Amidst the sharp spatters of blood, more corpses screamed and collapsed.

Xiao Yu raised her sword to her lips and blew gently.

The blood droplets on the snow-white blade formed a thin crimson thread, dripping softly onto the stone tiles.

“Filthy soldiers, stick your heads forward—let this lady clean up your trash.”