Chapter 23: The Water Ghost Sisters

The dog xiaos clustered around, crouching on their hind legs like hunting dogs, jaws wide open, long tongues lolling out, their entire bodies reeking of a nauseating fishy stench.

Originally eight, they had circled the surrounding hills and now only four remained.

Where is this place? This is Ghost Witch Mountain!

Here, conducting a “mountain sweep”… the eerie entity gladly accepted it.

Of course, to the Pingtian Society, these medicinal beasts were expendable—no loss at all.

The Dan cultivator gave an order, and the remaining four medicinal beasts shot into the forest like arrows released from a bow.

The Holy Maiden adjusted her robe, and before charging forward, she stomped squarely on the central “vital point” of the humanoid object on the ground—only for the humanoid to shatter with a crisp “crack” as if struck by a heavy blow!

Twenty li away, Xu Yuan stirred: “They’ve found them…”

Which means they’ve begun the pursuit.

Xu Yuan stood atop a large rock beside a small stream, the rock rising three zhang high; numerous such massive boulders lined both banks, with tough shrubs growing in the crevices.

Ahead rose a towering, sheer cliff; the river had, over millennia, silently carved a groove into its base.

Xu Yuan leapt from one rock to the next, moving with practiced ease.

Around the cliff, a burst of girlish laughter suddenly reached him; behind it lay a pool, where two white, glistening forms splashed playfully in the water.

Xu Yuan instinctively glanced twice—when the water ghosts saw him, they didn’t even bother pretending, spitting irritably: “It’s that bastard again!”

“Always watching the show but never buying a ticket.”

“We sisters are so unfortunate…”

“Never meet a good man…”

Xu Yuan swept his eyes over the pale flesh one more time before looking away: “I’ll make a deal with you—I can bring you a large batch of blood offerings; in return, show me a place to spend the night in the mountains.”

“Giggling…” the elder sister covered her mouth with her hand: “The place we point to—dare you go there?”

Xu Yuan thought a moment: “You don’t want just a one-time deal, do you? If I survive tonight, I can bring you more business later.”

The younger sister saw through him instantly: “The blood offerings you’re luring are the people chasing you—you want to use our blades to eliminate your enemies?”

The elder sister sneered: “We’ve lived for hundreds of years—you’re just a little brat trying to play games with us?”

The younger sister pinched the elder’s chest: “Stop talking nonsense—you’re eighteen, I’m sixteen.”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

Xu Yuan feigned to leave: “Ungrateful. Fine, if you don’t want it, I’ll take it to Blind Tiger next door.”

Doesn’t matter if they’re my enemies—this is rare blood offering.

You two stay here, always luring men with the same tricks—townspeople have seen it all, villagers you dare not bother, miss this chance and you won’t taste warm flesh for another few hundred years.

“Wait!” The younger sister couldn’t hold back: “How many?”

“Eight total—men and women.”

The sisters couldn’t help but lick their lips.

Then they sank beneath the water, bubbling as they whispered to each other.

After a while, they surfaced again: “We’ll take the deal!”

Xu Yuan nodded as expected: “Tell me where I can spend the night.”

“Not yet—we’ll tell you after we’ve eaten them.”

Xu Yuan nodded: “I’ll hide first.”

The elder pointed to an old plum tree by the pool: “Hide in the hollow.”

The plum tree had lived for countless years, thick as a man’s body; only when the elder pointed did Xu Yuan notice a hollow at its base.

He’d come here many times before and never noticed the hole.

…Probably because he was too busy looking elsewhere.

Xu Yuan slipped inside—and instantly heard strange dog barks approaching.

The barks sounded half-wolf, rapidly drawing near, soon reaching the back of the cliff.

The sisters, preening and ready to feast, turned pale as death, trembling like leaves: “Dogs—”

Their voices cracked, and without hesitation, they leapt from the pool, zipping into the tree hollow all at once!

Xu Yuan immediately felt two soft, furry masses press into his chest, followed by a thick, pungent odor.

Xu Yuan instantly understood: “You’re afraid of dogs—you’re not water ghosts, you’re…”

This was bad.

Xu Yuan had led the Holy Maiden here to make her seduction clash with the water ghosts’—to see whose allure was stronger.

But these sisters were useless—they’d already cowered before even seeing the Holy Maiden, terrified by a pack of dogs.

Xu Yuan gritted his teeth: “I’ll deal with these dogs—you two get ready!”

“Yes yes yes!”

“Jiji, this young man is the best!”

Several furry little paws shoved him out.

Xu Yuan stepped out, listened carefully, and quickly counted: four.

As a child, he’d encountered wild dogs in the alley—he had some experience handling them.

But these four were different—their growls carried wild fury, and they closed in far faster.

Xu Yuan slipped into the pool.

Soon, the four dog xiaos dashed to the pool’s edge—the tree hollow fell utterly silent. Even the hollow itself seemed to vanish!

Two furry forms trembled inside, while the four “dogs” towered larger than humans, eyes blood-red, fangs interlocked in gaping maws, radiating a terrifying aura that triggered their innate fear.

“Will that young man make it…?”

The dog xiaos began circling the pool, sniffing the ground constantly.

They snorted in disgust—there were too many unpleasant scents on the ground.

One dog xiao sniffed its way to the pool’s edge, then glanced down at the water.

The pool’s surface was as still as a mirror.

The dog xiao lowered its guard—suddenly, a powerful hand burst from the water, seizing its throat and yanking it under with a splash!

The other three dog xiaos recoiled, fleeing from the pool’s edge.

The submerged dog xiao thrashed violently—splash! Crash!—churning up waves, but slowly sank.

Underwater, Xu Yuan clamped his grip on the dog xiao’s throat, dragging it deep into the pool.

Thick clusters of aquatic grass grew here; he wrapped the dog xiao in them, then silently swam toward the other side.

The dog xiao struggled tighter the more it fought, its legs twitching uncontrollably—each twitch drew in a mouthful of water, spewing out a stream of bubbles.

The three on shore watched the rising bubbles and dared not approach the pool.

But they spread out around it, eyes locked on the water—ready to pounce and tear apart anything that emerged.

The bubbles rose four or five times—then the pool fell still again, the forest sinking into deathly silence.

The dog xiaos grew even more alert—the thing was about to surface.

Suddenly, a soft “gurgle” from one spot in the pool—a shadow shot upward.

Today’s third update. Stats are a bit low—please follow and vote for monthly tickets~

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(End of Chapter)