Chapter 7: Volume 1: Mountain Ghost Rumor, Chapter 7: Sisters

Bai Youjun shook her head, exceptionally honest: "Sister warned me not to tell."

Zhao Chan looked calm, but his heart was surging.

Some questions don't need to be asked out loud. For example, are the two sisters practitioners? Why are they sure he actually contacted a Mountain Ghost? Why choose him instead of Wang Huan...

The answers to these questions were already lying in his heart.

If he were in their shoes, he would also choose a youth who was easier to control.

Wang Huan was a master of the Youju Town Demon Slaying Division, and there were registers in the county and prefecture.

As for the marriage that Bai Yuqing designated for the two, Zhao Chan would never believe it, nor dared to believe it.

There were storytellers in the town who often told stories of scholars and fox girls, causing young people to feel restless, but Zhao Chan was a poor man with no family property and no fame. He didn't fantasize about a beautiful woman falling from the sky.

The autumn rain gradually slowed down.

Zhao Chan intended to tell her that the Mountain Ghost was dead.

After weighing it repeatedly.

He slowly opened his mouth, trying to make his tone stable, not letting his chaotic mood show on his expression: "Miss Bai, to tell you the truth, the Mountain Ghost has already been slain on the mountain by Master Wang of the Demon Slaying Division. Your plan to use me as bait to catch the Mountain Ghost is afraid it won't work."

"Ha, impossible. The Mountain Ghost will never be slain by you. What you killed was probably a substitute," Bai Youjun answered confidently.

Zhao Chan said urgently: "I saw with my own eyes that the Mountain Ghost died."

"The gentleman was deceived by the Mountain Ghost," she smiled shallowly, "The Mountain Ghost is a ghost spirit raised by the essence of the mountain. To kill the Mountain Ghost, you must completely destroy its form; otherwise, it is like weeds, blowing in the spring breeze and regenerating."

"The Mountain Ghost didn't die? Wasn't killed by Brother Wang?"

"With the ability of the Youju Town Demon Slaying Division, I can conclude that it is absolutely impossible to kill the Mountain Ghost."

Bai Youjun stared at him. The youth had a pair of narrow, long eyebrows, different from her thin, long ones, like sharp sword blades. His eyes were pure and untainted, like a clean, lively spring.

His facial features were distinct, as if they had been increased or decreased by the mountains and water on all four sides of Youju Town. From whichever angle he looked, he was like a half-drawn sword.

Instead, his lips became soft, not too sharp.

He was thinking silently, his lips tightly pursed, the lip line contour clear.

The short jacket washed white was soaked and stuck to his body. His right hand always gripped the three-foot peach branch diagonally at his waist. The peach branch seemed to be an extraordinary divine weapon. If Bai Youjun suddenly attacked, he could immediately counterattack and kill her with the peach branch with new buds.

After a while.

Bai Youjun asked playfully: "Can I know the gentleman's name?"

"Zhao Chan."

"Legend has it that there is a three-legged golden toad on the moon, so the moon is called Chan, and there is a palace on the moon called Toad Palace, and there is a very beautiful cinnabar osmanthus tree in the Toad Palace. Scholars who have worked hard to achieve fame are honored by the world as 'Toad Palace Folding Osmanthus'." Bai Youjun said with bright eyes.

Zhao Chan was indifferent and ignored her show of closeness.

She stared at Zhao Chan and asked again: "Is there only you at home?"

"Mm."

"What about your father and mother?"

"Died of illness."

"As long as you are willing to promise to be the bait for catching the Mountain Ghost, Sister can give you two Mountain Ghost Flower Money. With Mountain Ghost Flower Money, you can exchange for many, many things, and you can live a good life."

Bai Youjun said with a blushing face.

What she didn't say was that Sister had designated this marriage for them.

Zhao Chan's good life would also be her good life in the future.

"Can I see your sister?" Zhao Chan tried to ask.

"Uh, I have to ask Sister for her opinion."

"Is she staying at the Xizhao Inn tonight?"

At the inn, he had noticed the sisters Bai Yuqing and Bai Youjun.

"Yes." Bai Youjun hesitated for a moment and nodded.

Zhao Chan stood up suddenly, looking at the autumn rain that was slowing down. "I want to see your sister now."

"Okay, okay."

"Go."

He was still wary of Bai Youjun.

Carefully locking the gate, Bai Youjun walked in front, and he followed her silently, returning to the Xizhao Inn in the rain.

Bai Yuqing, in a white dress, seemed to know Zhao Chan was coming back.

She didn't stay at the Xizhao Inn, but paced the deserted street with an oil-paper umbrella.

Like a fairy who had wandered into the mortal world by mistake.

"Sister!" Bai Youjun shouted and returned to her sister's side playfully.

Only in front of her sister did she release her nature so much.

Hiding under the oil-paper umbrella, Bai Youjun said: "Zhao Chan wants to see Sister."

This place was very close to the Xizhao Inn.

The lantern under the eaves was shining, stubbornly shining on its own one-third of an acre of land, and the few rays of light generously shared dyed Bai Yuqing's snow-white face.

A Ping appeared outside the Xizhao Inn at some point, looking at them from afar.

Zhao Chan lowered his head. If Bai Youjun, who was about the same age as him, was a gardenia flower that hadn't bloomed yet, then sister Bai Yuqing was an epiphyllum blooming in the dark night.

Beautifully unreal, as if a light breeze blew, she would dissipate.

Bai Yuqing looked at Zhao Chan, who was in the rain, and smiled: "When we sisters came to Youju Town, you had already seen us."

"Yes, you were in the troupe." He answered respectfully.

Bai Yuqing glanced at her sister, who didn't take her eyes off the youth: "You are the marriage I designated for Qing. Since you are my brother-in-law, I won't harm you."

"Not happy?"

Zhao Chan didn't answer for a long time, and Bai Yuqing's eyebrows raised.

He wiped the rain off his face and looked up at Bai Yuqing: "I want to confirm whether the Mountain Ghost is really dead?"

Bai Yuqing laughed: "With you and that man in the Upper Grade Body Refining Realm, you definitely couldn't kill the Mountain Ghost."

The Upper Grade Body Refining Realm is still a mortal, not a mountain cultivator. Wanting to kill the Mountain Ghost is truly overestimating one's own ability.

You should be thankful now that the Mountain Ghost didn't kill you; otherwise, you should have been a corpse in the wild long ago.

Zhao Chan didn't find any traces of lying on her face.

"I understand." He said.

"I'm waiting for you to agree to be the bait for catching the Mountain Ghost."

"I agree." Zhao Chan asked earnestly, "When will we act?"

This time, a trace of doubt flashed in Bai Yuqing's eyes.

Could it be that he came to find me just to confirm whether the Mountain Ghost died or not?

If there was only this one thing, Qing should have told him already.

"Don't rush, wait for me to find you."

"Okay, I live in the third house in Nongsui Lane."

"Mm." Bai Yuqing nodded. She wasn't afraid he would lie to her.

Immediately after, Zhao Chan bypassed them and ran toward the Demon Slaying Division in the rain.

A Ping, standing under the eaves, looked at Zhao Chan's back in confusion.

On the other side, Bai Youjun chattered about everything between her and Zhao Chan.

For her, this was a novel experience.

"His hand has always gripped the peach branch tightly?"

"Yes!" Bai Youjun nodded, "Sister, is the peach branch a Dharma artifact? I guess it is, but he is such a... such a poor man, how could he possess a Dharma artifact?!"

Bai Yuqing turned to look at Zhao Chan, who was completely hidden in the night: "It should be a Dharma artifact, right?"

She was also unsure.

Demon Slaying Division.

Wang Huan, who had already fallen asleep, was startled by the urgent knocking on the door.

Putting on a single garment and holding an umbrella, he opened the door and asked in surprise: "Can't wait? Don't worry, I said thirty copper coins, and I definitely won't give you one less."

"Brother Wang, the Mountain Ghost didn't die." Zhao Chan said, gasping for breath.

"Mountain Ghost?"

"The man-eating demon we encountered is called a Mountain Ghost..."

He briefly told what had just happened.

"Come in and talk."

The two entered the room.

The Youju Town Demon Slaying Division was really shabby; it rained outside, and it rained inside.

"Say it again, in more detail."

After Zhao Chan told it again.

Wang Huan was silent for a long time: "It's very late, you've been tired all day, go home and rest."

"Brother Wang..."

"Don't worry, I know you came to remind me, but this matter exceeds the ability of the Youju Town Demon Slaying Division. Tomorrow I will send someone to report it to the Yang County Demon Slaying Division.

Also, the town is undercurrents, and some outsiders have come. They are not easy to mess with. You must be careful."

"Okay."

"I'll send you..."

"No need, Brother Wang, rest early." Zhao Chan said, ran into the rain, and turned back to close the gate of the Demon Slaying Division.

Wang Huan opened the door with an umbrella and stood in the rain. Only when he couldn't see Zhao Chan's figure did he return to the Demon Slaying Division.

Zhao Chan's right hand always gripped the peach branch.

As if he, the Demon Slayer, was also a demon harming the youth.

The landlady Xie Wan stood at the entrance of the Xizhao Inn.

Bai Yuqing sisters and A Ping were gone.

"Sister Wan'er, hello." Zhao Chan ran and said.

"Remember to wipe your body dry when you get home, don't catch a cold."

"Thanks for the reminder, Sister Wan'er."

When he got home, Zhao Chan took off his wet jacket and carefully wiped his body dry.

Although he was tired all day, he had no sleepiness.

Changing into dry clothes, he sat on the wooden stool, staring at the autumn rain that was getting heavier.

The sound of rain was like a complex piece of music.

The things that happened today came one after another, and he could only deal with them carefully, like a small boat about to be overturned by wind and waves.

He let out a heavy breath.

The Mountain Ghost didn't die.

Then he would still have nightmares in the future.

After confirming this news, he first confirmed whether it was true, then reported it to Brother Wang, and by the way, told Brother Wang about the existence of Bai Yuqing and Bai Youjun.

"Tomorrow I will be a Demon Slayer of the Demon Slaying Division. They might restrain themselves because I am a Demon Slayer."

"I still have to go to the private school to audit. Without knowledge, everything is difficult."

"The practice of sword skills cannot be broken."

"Sister Wan'er is not an ordinary person."

"The outsider beside Sister Wan'er is likely a practitioner."

"I offended a group of merchant thugs. Even if I rely on the identity of the Demon Slaying Division, they will hate me."

"Brother Wang was very surprised by the peach branch."

"I promised Sun He to give him that book. His father is the town's constable, but I became a Demon Slayer."

"With money, I can let Lao Liu be buried in peace."

Zhao Chan talked to himself, saying it for himself to hear.

Since he couldn't sleep, he practiced sword skills in the room.

Gripping the peach branch, pulling, hitting, thrusting, pointing, collapsing, slashing...

He didn't stop until he was sweating profusely.

It was hard to have sleepiness.

He lay on the hard bed, feeling at ease only when he put the peach branch by his side.

"I have to find a way to kill the Mountain Ghost."

This autumn rain didn't stop until dawn.

Zhao Chan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He had another nightmare last night.

It was still the Mountain Ghost with monkey brows, dog eyes, cow ears, leopard nose, and tiger mouth.

He turned over and pulled a tattered book from the gap between the bed and the wall.

It was six or seven points similar to the strange book in his mind.

After getting up, he tucked the peach branch diagonally at his waist and walked out of the room with the book.

There was water in the courtyard, and Sun He was indeed squatting on the low courtyard wall.

"The treasure book you want."

Zhao Chan walked to the wall and reached out to hand it over.

Immediately, he stepped back a few steps.

Sun He's state was very strange, as if he were absent-minded, or as if he were indifferent to everything in the world.

"Sun He?" Zhao Chan shouted softly.

It was as if he had returned to his senses.

Sun He grinned and asked a question Zhao Chan didn't expect: "Has your house grown mold?"

"Grown mold?"

"Yes, if your house has grown mold, then you have to be careful." Sun He said with a smile.

The large black mole on his left cheek jumped as he spoke.

Zhao Chan turned his head to look at the roof beam.

The mold spots were even more unscrupulous than yesterday.

They had already connected into a piece, like a disgusting rotten cloth.

"It grew mold because it rained, right." Zhao Chan said.

Sun He laughed, turned his head, and jumped into his own courtyard, actually not wanting the "treasure book" he had coveted for a long time.

Zhao Chan waited for a while, put the treasure book on the table in the room. If Sun He remembered, he could come to his house to get it.

Small people have their own cunning.

Zhao Chan actually didn't want to lie to people, but he couldn't pry open his own head and let Sun He take the book, right?

He didn't have much moral sense, just wanted to let his parents in the nine springs rest assured that his child was really trying his best to live.

Standing in the courtyard on the dry ground, he picked up the wooden sword that had been knocked down by the autumn rain and practiced sword skills meticulously.

When the time was enough, he simply cooked a pot of porridge with the wild vegetables he had picked a few days ago, and drank it slowly with pickles.

Washed the bowls and chopsticks.

Zhao Chan locked the door and jogged toward the Demon Slaying Division.

The sky cleared, and there were more pedestrians on the street.

Although Youju Town was a town, it was actually just a bit larger than an ordinary village. The people saw each other every day. When he went to the street, someone raised their hand to greet him.

"Little Toad hasn't harvested lacquer these days, do you have money to buy rice and flour?"

"Yes."

"Where is Little Toad going?"

"Demon Slaying Division."

There were also a few strange outsiders standing aside, not knowing what they were talking about with their heads down.

"Zhao Chan!"

"Sister Zhang."

Zhang Cui Cui stood behind the wonton stall and waved at him: "Come over, I saved a bowl of wontons for you."

"Thanks, Sister Zhang, I've already eaten."

"Just that little vegetable porridge you ate? It's not enough to pad your stomach. Listen to me, come over quickly."

"Sister Zhang, I..."

"Zhao Chan! Do you dislike me? That's why you don't want to eat the wontons I made?"

Zhao Chan walked to the wonton stall.

"You won't come over unless I say something harsh every time."

"Sister Zhang is working hard alone."

"Sit down."

"Yes."

Zhang Cui Cui gave Zhao Chan a stool and served a bowl of steaming wontons.

She returned to the stall and got busy: "I heard you say you're going to the Demon Slaying Division?"

"Mm, Brother Wang agreed to let me join the Demon Slaying Division." Zhao Chan scooped up a wonton, blew it cool, and put it in his mouth.

Chive filling, delicious.

"Demon Slaying Division..." Zhang Cui Cui sneered imperceptibly.

She said immediately: "Zhao Chan, let me tell you, the things the Demon Slaying Division does are dangerous jobs with heads tied to their belts. You must think clearly!"

"Brother Wang looks up to me, I can't brush off his kindness."

"Bullshit kindness!" She raised her head and glared at him, "Those demons won't eat chive wontons, they will eat people!"

Zhao Chan didn't say a word and slowly finished a bowl of wontons.

"I'm full!"

With that, he threw two copper coins on the wonton stall and ran toward the Demon Slaying Division.

"Stinky kid!" Zhang Cui Cui shouted helplessly.

She was the Zhang widow that Lao Liu said he would marry in style once he earned enough money.

Today is the tenth day of the eighth lunar month.

It was clearly written on the calendar.

Suitable for travel, sacrifice, and nothing else. ===== CHAPTER 8 =====