Chapter 109: 131, 132

Snow fell in scattered flakes. In the Training Room of the An Family courtyard, Song Cheng scanned his status panel.

【Name: Song Cheng】

【Talent: Chang Sheng Bu Lao】

【Add Points: 588 points】

【Realm: Mysterious Grade Grade C】

【Cultivation Methods】

Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit Scripture (Mysterious Grade Grade C) (Fourth Tail) (Completion)

【Skills】

Fourth Tail Huxia (Mysterious Grade Grade C) (Completion). His strength stats had changed from the original "647~1294" to "1007~2014".

This was already a complete surpassing of the Su Family Head's "525~1050".

Even if he stood still and let the Su Family Head attack him, the Su Family Head would likely only be able to tickle him.

Compared to him, the strength of others was advancing at a snail's pace—it wasn't that they weren't progressing, but that it was too slow.

Song Cheng recalled the past briefly.

Since successfully crossing the Reappearance Tribulation, he had stepped directly into the Third Tail realm, but reaching the Fourth Tail required more contemplation and thought. He had spent a full two months more to change the status of the Fourth Tail cultivation method to "Not Yet Initiated," and then, naturally, he "tasted the sweetness after the bitterness," cultivating the Fourth Tail directly to Completion.

Accompanying this cultivation progress were the Third Tail Huxia and Fourth Tail Huxia.

Without combat techniques, cultivation methods only added pure power.

However, once a cultivation method reached Mysterious Grade Grade C, the points required from "Not Yet Initiated" to "Completion" had doubled compared to before, reaching 960 points.

Song Cheng had cultivated the "Third Tail, Fourth Tail" methods and combat techniques, and the points he had stored were almost entirely consumed.

However, as he contemplated the cultivation method step by step, the deduction probability for his original "Xuanwu True Qi" had also changed from 0.0004 to 0.00032.

Yet, compared to the rapid gains of the "Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit Scripture," the deduction of "Xuanwu True Qi" was too slow; Song Cheng chose to cultivate the existing methods first, and when he was free and had a large amount of points, he would turn back to deduce his own cultivation method.

In this process, his deduction probability would inevitably increase step by step.

At this moment, the "Fourth Tail cultivation method" was already at Completion.

Song Cheng began to ponder the "Fifth Tail cultivation method."

He knew that the "Fifth Tail" was still a "Mysterious Grade Grade C" technique.

He had to contemplate the three words "Not Yet Initiated" as quickly as possible.

Some things that had happened recently made him feel an inexplicable panic, a panic just like "the fear that arises in one's heart after watching documentaries about the universe and Earth before transmigrating."

In the universe, stars are nothing but grains of sand. He, too, was one.

When a great wave crashes, how could the grains of sand decide where they go? Therefore, he had to strive to become a larger grain of sand.

Thus, Song Cheng collected his thoughts and continued to close his eyes and ponder.

At this time, in the courtyard, A Ting was pulling the Young Miss Fox Immortal, saying in a milky voice: "Draw me, draw, very good."

Two-year-old A Ting's ability to express herself had already improved.

The Young Miss Fox Immortal had long been able to translate properly, and she laughed: "You can draw too?"

"Mm!"

A Ting nodded heavily, then said, "No, Daddy, knows."

The Young Miss Fox Immortal was stunned for a moment and said in astonishment: "Your dad doesn't let you draw?"

"Mm!"

A Ting nodded heavily again, clenching her fist as she said, "No, Your Ladyship, knows."

"Your mother doesn't allow you to draw either?" The Fox Immortal was amused and curious.

"Mm!"

A Ting nodded angrily.

The Young Miss Fox Immortal decided to satisfy the wish of her "future child's sister," and she whispered: "Little Mom will secretly take you to draw."

"Ha!"

A Ting grinned.

Looking at A Ting's cute appearance, the Young Miss Fox Immortal also began to imagine what her and Song Cheng's child would be like. However, Song Cheng had been in seclusion recently.

And after he came out at night, he would divide his time among several places, fairly bestowing his favor; when he was with her, he would inform her of the key points of the "Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit Scripture" Second Tail cultivation method one by one after their intimacy, and even teach her hand-in-hand on the bed how to do it.

Therefore, the Young Miss Fox Immortal felt that her own cultivation was going quite well, and in her heart, she only felt that her man was worthy of being a descendant of a mysterious force; this talent... was simply monstrous.

If one can breakthrough, one must breakthrough first; after all, this can increase one's lifespan.

As for having children... that can wait for later.

On another side, Tong Niangzi was visiting White Camel Manor in Huahaifang.

She was holding Xiao An, while Ouyang Chuchu on the other side was holding Xiao Lingxue.

The two mothers-in-law, who had arranged a marriage for their children since they were small, gathered in front of the fireplace, watching the snow while chatting.

Zhao Hua had left in September of this year, and now nearly three months had passed; this matter had already settled... At this moment, Ouyang Chuchu only had a trace of worry between her brows; she worried about her father and her husband, envied how Tong Niangzi's man was so family-oriented, yet also felt that "a man should roam the world, and her own man's approach was the correct one."

Holding such worries, she chatted with Tong Niangzi in fits and starts.

And just at this moment, a rustling sound suddenly came from the ice and snow, a sound that was only a little at first, but soon became dense, making one's hair stand on end.

However, Ouyang Chuchu was not panicked in the slightest, but instead smiled at Tong Niangzi and said: "Sister, it's here, it's here."

Today she had invited Tong Niangzi to the manor to formally invite her to enjoy the "Snake Dance."

This type of "Demonic Beast Snake" was called the "Water-Patterned Flat-Ridged Snake," a type that, while not comparable to "python-type demonic beasts," was easy to tame and possessed extraordinary toxins.

Although its combat power was only comparable to an ordinary Martial Artist of the Force Realm, in terms of Qi and blood, it could rival a Martial Artist of the Jin Realm, and its toxin could even paralyze a Martial Artist of the Jin Realm.

This was also one of the reliances that White Camel Manor had previously used to roam Hanping Prefecture.

Ouyang Sha, the Elder in charge of snakes, had both gone on the expedition with Zhao Hua's army, but the Young Manor Master Ouyang Gong, who was also Ouyang Chuchu's older brother, had remained behind.

Ouyang Gong, however, was also well-versed in the art of snake charming.

Today, he played a transverse flute, inciting a group of snakes to come into the courtyard to amuse his little niece and the son of Mr. Song's household.

The flute melody was not melodious, carrying a strange sharpness and exotic flair, yet the group of snakes in the white snow twisted their bodies, slithered forward, and upon reaching the courtyard, hissed and raised their heads, flicking their long tongues, before dancing along with the flute music.

Xiao An looked at those strange things, suddenly threw himself into Tong Niangzi's arms, wailing loudly, and shouting: "Scary! Scary!"

On the other side, Xiao Lingxue was waving her fists excitedly, giggling.

Tong Niangzi felt her son's urge to burrow into her arms and felt helpless; Ouyang Gong opposite them stopped playing and smiled in apology.

Tong Niangzi said: "Manor Master Ouyang, there is no need for this; Xiao An is still young, he will be fine when he is older."

Ouyang Gong smiled and said "Yes" repeatedly, then his expression turned solemn: "I heard that Mr. Song has been seriously ill recently and has been in seclusion. Now that the weather has suddenly turned bitterly cold, I fear a large-scale Ghost Tide is coming again. Sigh."

Speaking of this, Ouyang Chuchu, who was to the side, also slowed her breathing and listened intently.

Since Zhao Hua led twenty thousand elite troops and the experts of White Camel Manor away, and the "Big Hall Master" Tie Zhenyi followed with three thousand elite troops, whether the entire Hanping Prefecture can be defended actually depends on Zhushan Temple.

But Zhushan Temple is only the main defensive force in the eyes of the common people.

In the eyes of the higher-ups, everyone is extremely nervous about that "North Land Blade King" who has been in seclusion.

Everyone knows that Song Cheng is ill.

Everyone also knows that Song Cheng began his seclusion after falling ill.

Could it be that his strength has declined, and he is desperately trying to recover? Ouyang Gong is also one of those who thinks so.

He is exceptionally nervous.

Tong Niangzi said: "Manor Master Ouyang, there is no need to worry; Mr. Song is doing very well."

She naturally knows that her husband has become stronger, but she would not casually reveal how strong her husband is to outsiders.

How much to reveal is her husband's own business; she would not go around showing off.

"That is good, that is good," Ouyang Gong replied, but he was still very nervous because Tong Niangzi's words were too superficial.

At noon.

Because of the snow, the weather was gloomy and cold everywhere.

Creak. In Chenyang Prefecture, a wooden door opened a finger's width, as if blown open slightly by the wind, and just as the owner of the wooden house stood up to find something to prop the door shut, his figure suddenly froze.

He stared fixedly at the direction of the wooden door, his pupils constricted, his Adam's apple bobbing; outside the crack in the door, a white-paper-like smiling ghost object was squeezing in. The ghost object entered the room, its figure swelling as if being inflated, transforming into the appearance of a beautiful woman, then walked up to the dumbfounded owner of the wooden house, raised a hand, passed through his cotton coat, went through his chest, and pulled out his heart.

Creak, creak, creak, creak. Doors everywhere were sounding.

Some were closed doors, some were open, and some were doors where business was being conducted.

But no matter what the scene was behind these doors, after a split second, they would emit screams that did not sound human, along with the startled cries and running of people.

This year's Ghost Tide had arrived quietly, yet it was even more silent than the previous two times.

The first time, it was still humanoid ghost servants.

The second time, it was still ghost servants attacking the city.

But this time... just as it began, quite a few ghost servants had already entered the city; at this moment, they scattered and began to slaughter within the city.

This is the instinct of ghost servants.

They follow the will of the evil ghosts.

And one of the wills of the evil ghosts is to flatten the Yang land and make all eight directions Yinrang.

As humans are the main source of "Yang Qi," they are naturally their targets for slaughter.

Like Hanping Prefecture, Chenyang Prefecture also has local forces.

One of the forces is called "Brocade Pavilion," and this Brocade Pavilion deals in gray business, with cultivation techniques focused on assassination and one-hit kills, and the gambling dens in the city are all its subordinate peripheral forces.

Another is called the "Iron Spear Association," which is a force with mediocre cultivation techniques, not even having Qi Realm methods, but the disciples in the association all have special experience in commanding troops; even when commanding a hundred men, they can exert the power of military momentum.

It was precisely these two forces that held off the first two Ghost Tides.

At this time, upon sensing the noise in the streets, the people of the Brocade Pavilion and the Iron Spear Association suddenly realized that the "Ghost Tide had arrived," and they each took action.

For a time, gray-clad assassins walked the streets, and iron-armored spearmen led troops.

Soon, an External Affairs Envoy of the Brocade Pavilion named Bao Guang confronted a ghost servant.

It was a paper person, a strange paper person born with flesh and blood; from the outside, it looked like a withered and thin woman, but the clothes on the woman were already tattered, and from those ragged holes, one could vaguely see that what was inside was not flesh at all, but white paper!

"Damned thing, come here."

Bao Guang cursed angrily, attracting the ghost servant's attention, then circulated his Gang Qi, causing the dagger in his hand to also be plated with a faint layer of airflow.

Whoosh! Bao Guang gripped the dagger and dashed across a distance of a zhang in an instant, and as if using some secret technique of light-body movement, he circled behind the strange paper person in one turn and one fold.

Whoosh! The dagger was swung with his arm, drawing a sharp arc in the air; the airflow surged, accompanied by the whistling of a sudden gale.

The strange paper person quickly raised its hand.

Clang! The dagger and the paper hand collided, emitting the sound of metal striking stone.

The Gang Qi on the dagger dissipated in an instant, but the paper hand also showed several cracks, as if someone were tearing at white paper to shred it.

Bao Guang wanted to exert force again, but the paper person did not slow down at all.

At this moment when "the old force was just spent and the new force had not yet been generated," the paper person rushed out and fiercely stabbed at the External Affairs Envoy with its other paper hand.

The External Affairs Envoy had not yet gathered all his strength and blocked in a hurry.

Clang, clang, clang! The man and the ghost servant began to trade blows like a violent storm.

And after exchanging blows, this External Affairs Envoy secretly lamented.

The paper person did not fear death at all, and during the battle, the clothes all over its body had fallen off, now completely revealing a strange paper sheet supporting a beauty's head.

Every part of the paper sheet contained the power of "Form Realm Completion," and the Yin Qi inside surged through the paper person's flesh and blood, giving its body a power equivalent to Gang Qi.

However, fortunately, this is within a Prefecture City, a place where Yang Qi is abundant; if these paper people are injured, they cannot recover, just like the previous cracks in the paper sheet—once cracked, they will remain cracked there, and when the cracks increase, it will be completely destroyed.

Bao Guang fought desperately, while at the same time, a sense of despair began to grow in his heart: this was just one paper person, and it required him to fight desperately to cope, and he remembered that the whole city was in chaos now, and there were paper people everywhere... This... after this wave in Chenyang Prefecture, even if they can kill the ghost servants, who knows how many people will die?

Damn it!

He remembered that during last year's Ghost Tide, these paper figures were still attacking the city; how had they suddenly appeared inside the city this year?

Bao Guang swung his dagger frantically, and just as he was about to be exhausted, the paper figure before him finally shattered due to his repeated, continuous strikes, then with a "Boom—" it exploded and dissipated, turning into shredded spirit money.

Bao Guang panted heavily, staring at this spirit money, when suddenly a terrifying thought drilled into his mind.

He understood how the paper figures had gotten in.

In the early spring three years ago, during the first Ghost Tide, these ghost things still completely resembled humans, only with a paper figure skeleton inside their skin. Their strength was primarily in the Jin Realm, with the Form Realm being rare.

In the early spring of last year, during the second Ghost Tide, those ghost things no longer looked human, but were paper stuck to flesh and blood, pouncing from the vast forests outside the city to attack it. Their strength was mostly in the Form Realm, though some Jin Realm ones were mixed in.

And now, during the third Ghost Tide, had these ghost things completely turned into spirit money descending from the sky, only to then melt into paper figures? As for their strength... if he hadn't guessed wrong, he feared most were now in the Form Realm. As for whether there were any in the Qi Realm, he dared not even believe it.

However, at this moment, he could not rest.

Quickly pulling a fast-acting recovery Pill from his bosom and tossing it into his mouth, this External Affairs Envoy named Bao Guang hurried to the next location.

High up in a certain pavilion, the Master of the Brocade Pavilion, Hong Wen Huai, was holding a scroll, gazing out at the chaotic Prefecture City in the distance.

The Prefecture City was in extreme chaos; even if they could barely hold out, they would still suffer heavy losses.

And there was more than one wave of the Ghost Tide.

Hong Wen Huai finally let out a long sigh, then turned and strode into the pavilion.

In the pavilion's shrine, the incense had long been prepared, and the offerings were also complete.

Hong Wen Huai unfolded the scroll and hung it above the shrine, then lit three pillars of clear incense, and looked up at the Fourth Tail Youhu on the scroll, recalling the story of this "Fourth Tail Youhu" in his mind.

This story had already been spread by the gambling den owner, and many people knew it.

The story was:

Xuan Nu Niang Niang cultivated in a celestial Tower, unconcerned with the common people of the world, but one day, looking down upon the human world, she felt pity, and thus descended to the earth, dispatching an envoy to bestow the scroll. Those who know its form, and understand its heart, if they contemplate it with piety and kowtow with incense, there will surely be a response.

Hong Wen Huai had heard of the faith of the Zhushan Temple in Hanping Prefecture, but he had never believed in this, and even less so did he believe that this so-called Fourth Tail demon fox claimed to be "Xuan Nu Niang Niang."

However, at this moment... as if holding an attitude of trying it out, he said: "Worship!"

In the darkness behind him, many disciples of the Brocade Pavilion walked out.

The disciples bowed down one after another.

However... there was no reaction.

Hong Wen Huai was stunned for a moment.

He said again: "Worship!"

Still no reaction.

"Sure enough, it's useless!" Hong Wen Huai snorted coldly and stood up, casually knocking over the offering incense burner, then led his disciples out to engage the ghost servants.

A day and a night of slaughter.

In Chenyang Prefecture, blood flowed like a river.

And the weather seemed to be influenced by some supernatural power; the deeper into the night it got, the more the snow flew like a sea.

The white snow filling the sky swirled with invisible, eerie spirit money, falling to the earth, where it completed the assembly of paper figures in the snow, then slowly stood up, "exercised" their bodies, and continued to go and conquer the city.

And in just a day's time, many people in the Brocade Pavilion had died.

The survivors caught their breath briefly, knowing that this great battle had only just begun.

Hong Wen Huai also felt his hands go weak... even though he was a Qi Realm expert, he would still be tired after facing fearless Form Realm monsters for an entire day.

At this time, he was resting with his subordinates in a shop in the Prefecture City, thinking of that "portrait of Xuan Nu Niang Niang," and the more he thought, the angrier he became, so he called someone and said: "Go, burn that painting in the pavilion for me!"

As the words fell, suddenly a person hurried out of the ranks; it was the gambling den owner who had previously been bestowed the portrait by Song Cheng.

The gambling den owner said hurriedly: "Pavilion Master, you cannot..."

"What is there that I cannot do? I worshipped it, and it simply didn't work!"

"Pavilion Master, I have seen the envoy of that Xuan Nu Niang Niang... his strength is truly terrifying."

"Heh, stronger than me?"

The gambling den owner was silent for a moment, but still said: "Stronger than you."

As these words fell, a group of people laughed out loud.

Hong Wen Huai said in a mocking tone: "Yes, yes, yes, she is Xuan Nu Niang Niang, of course she is powerful."

The group continued to roar with laughter.

The gambling den owner's face turned red.

Hong Wen Huai waved his hand and said to the person he had called out earlier: "Go, burn the painting. It's annoying to look at!"

Everyone dispersed, and after the gambling den owner returned home, he sighed and lamented, which his children soon learned of.

This pair of children were also people with quite a bit of reputation in the pugilistic world, and they were the ones who had seen Song Cheng's abilities that day; hearing this, they were stunned for a moment, and then the son suddenly said: "It cannot be burned! That should be real!"

The gambling den owner said helplessly: "The Pavilion Master couldn't summon anything, so he said it wasn't effective."

His daughter said: "Then why isn't it because the Pavilion Master's heart was not sincere? He didn't believe in Xuan Nu Niang Niang at all, he just worshipped it casually."

Having said this, she exchanged a glance with her brother at her side, and the two hurried out.

They ran through the dark night and the long streets.

The two hurried to the upper floor and stopped the person who was about to burn the painting.

And that person burning the painting had received the order from the Master of the Brocade Pavilion, so how could he yield?

As the three were struggling, a strange sound suddenly came from the crack of the door downstairs.

The three stopped arguing and looked at each other.

The person burning the painting hurriedly jumped out the window and left, but he hadn't gone a few steps when a scream came from the distance, and following the faint red light of the lanterns, the brother and sister saw clearly that the person who had just been arguing with them had been split in two, his organs scattered all over the ground, and his intestines dragged through the snow.

And looking around, they saw paper figures approaching from other directions as well.

In their despair, the two suddenly looked at each other, then hurriedly took out the scroll, hung it back up on the shrine, lit incense, and kowtowed with complete sincerity and devotion.

Creak, creak—the door downstairs began to shake.

Boom! The door opened.

The two were terrified, their faces full of tears.

This kind of paper person has strength comparable to the Form Realm; the entire Prefecture City must either fill the gap with human lives, rely on experts from the Brocade Tower, or have disciples of the Iron Spear Association lead small squads of troops to resist.

They certainly couldn't do it.

"Xuan Nu Niang Niang, save us from suffering, Xuan Nu Niang Niang, save us from suffering."

"Xuan Nu Niang Niang."

The brother and sister bowed bitterly.

In the void, a transparent figure arrived suddenly from afar, flew out through the door and window, and looked down at the paper people outside the door; the person who came was naturally Song Cheng.

The reason for leaving behind such a high-profile banner as "Xuan Nu Niang Niang" was, firstly, to facilitate publicity, as everyone is easily inclined to believe in deities with very powerful names;

Secondly, it was because he did not want people to associate it with him; he was so low-key, and a man at that, so how could a "Xuan Nu Niang Niang" who was clearly a goddess possibly be him?

Regarding this kind of thing, even if he told An Jie, told Tong Niangzi, or told the fox fairy Young Miss, they would absolutely not believe that "their own man, the dignified North Land Blade King, actually opened a female account for Xuan Nu Niang Niang"—how shameless that would be.

And as for this kind of thing that was purely for "reputation" and "protecting the North Land," without the slightest practical benefit, and even potentially inviting "strong enemies," let "Xuan Nu Niang Niang" take the credit.

Only a fool would expose their identity for such a thing.

If it were for resources or for "permissions," Song Cheng would expose his strength under the conditions of "favorability reaching the standard" and having completed a "risk assessment."

But in this kind of place? He absolutely would not.

Besides this, there was one more point, which was "faith" itself.

The reason a god is a god is because He is high above, and no one knows who He is.

If it were known that He was someone by your side, your sense of awe would also disappear; as long as a god has existed with "traces of a mortal," then He is not perfect.

Song Cheng understood all these principles.

Therefore, "Xuan Nu Niang Niang" is "Xuan Nu Niang Niang," not him, Song Cheng.

When he "built" this "female account," he, Song, never thought about being honest with anyone.

But having said that, in the world before he transmigrated, those mythological stories often contained sayings like "a certain female Bodhisattva was once a man" or "Bodhisattvas do not distinguish between male and female"; could it be that a certain male Bodhisattva was also keeping a low profile and built a "female account"? Suddenly, the wind and snow outside the building gathered wildly like a vortex, like ten thousand white scales dancing in the deep sky, converging in one place, and then immediately condensed into a nearly ten-zhang-tall four-tailed wind and snow giant fox.

The giant fox's eyes were deep and gloomy, revealing a terror that made it impossible for people to look directly at it; and the wind and snow taking shape gave it actual lethality.

With the Youhu as the Soul and wind and snow as the body, the power displayed was "Mysterious Grade Grade C in the soul," and its Soul Fire was also enough to produce terrifying power.

But since Soul Fire is the power of "Mysterious Grade Grade C" that directly extinguishes the soul, it would be a bit stupid to use this power to deal with cannon fodder; therefore, wind and snow took shape.

The form condensed by Song Cheng, who is "Mysterious Grade Grade C," was that of the "Qi Realm."

And Song Cheng's power data when in the Qi Realm was: 419~838.

This data is about the same as Su Ning Xian's true form; it far exceeds that of a normal Qi Realm expert.

Even for Tie Zhenyi, a leader among Qi Realm experts, his strength is only 160~292.

The existence of the Ghost Tower made Song Cheng's Manifestation time nearly infinite, whereas the spirits that come out of ordinary Yin She only last for a short while.

The wind and snow giant fox condensed instantly; although it was Qi Realm, its massive size inadvertently increased its lethality.

Silver-bell-like laughter rang out over Chenyang Prefecture.

The brother and sister from the gambling house owner's family rushed to the railing in astonishment, looking at the giant snow fox suspended in the high sky.

The Youhu swept its giant tail lightly.

Boom! Two terrifying paper people huddled together were both blasted apart!

The giant fox floated in the wind, overlooking the earth; wherever its gaze fell, the data of the pale red Ghost servants it saw would be shot at, or it would sweep its tail, or lift its claws... among the paper people in the whole city, there was not one enemy that could withstand a single blow.

And for Song Cheng, these actions had almost no consumption.

Only then did Song Cheng begin to realize: the youth who had once fled in terror from Tanghe Village to the county town, and then fled to the Prefecture City... perhaps he was already able to completely guard this place.

This night, he killed with the wind.

The Ghost servants in the whole city were all like ants.

He killed however he wanted to kill.

Hong Wen Huai rushed out of the shop, looked at the giant four-tailed fox in the snowy night sky, and was stunned for a long time, but then immediately slapped himself twice, then led his subordinates to kneel on the ground together, chanting "Xuan Nu Niang Niang," and then kowtowed to her; this time... there were no more ulterior motives.

After kowtowing three loud knocks, Hong Wen Huai directed his subordinates to rush into the city and began to assist "Xuan Nu Niang Niang" in eliminating the Ghost servants.

Song Cheng killed for a day and a night, killing until almost all the Ghost servants who had entered Chenyang Prefecture were dead, and only then did he return to his true body with a single thought.

In Chenyang Prefecture, there were clearly heavy casualties.

Clearly, the heavy snow was still falling, yet people suddenly found their backbone; everyone ran to the shrine where the portrait of Xuan Nu Niang Niang was hung and began to kowtow.

The Brocade Tower Master and the Iron Spear Association President all arrived there, each burning incense and kowtowing, and they had people follow the appearance of the portrait to craft a golden body and jade statue, establish the Xuan Nu Palace, and at the same time spread the deeds of Xuan Nu Niang Niang.

As for the gambling house owner's pair of children, they became the Young Boys of the Xuan Nu Palace.

The Xuan Nu Palace had no Palace Master.

Song Cheng naturally did not know about the affairs in Chenyang Prefecture; he had a good kill, and he also felt happy in his heart.

It was not that the killing was happy, but that a sense of security had suddenly arrived.

After he returned to his body, it was still night; he picked through the back residence of the An Mansion and chose Su Ningyu's room.

Subsequently, that Song Cheng drank three large bowls of wine first, and then looked at the "Jue Jin Jin Jin" not far away.

Even though it was said that white tigers often appeared in that Jue Jin Jin Jin, Song Cheng still did not believe in evil, and emboldened by the wine, he entered that place, then found a spot and fell asleep.

After sleeping for a while, he saw fragrant breezes blowing, and a fierce white tiger pounced over.

Song Cheng woke up in shock and flipped over to ride on the white tiger.

How could the white tiger allow a person to be on top? It lifted its claws and kicked its legs, wanting to tear and bite.

For a long time and then a long time... Song Cheng tossed and turned for a good while, and the white tiger finally lay dying.

And Song Cheng also felt his body go soft, the effects of the wine surging up, and he lay on the motionless white tiger and fell asleep.

Just as he was sleeping soundly, Su Ningyu, who had suddenly recovered her spirit, leaned over, lay by his ear, and said: "You knew early on that A Ting had something strange about her, didn't you?"

Song Cheng was stunned and immediately opened his eyes, though he was not surprised.

Since Su Ningyu was in his home and spent every day with A Ting, it was normal for her to discover A Ting's situation.

This was also something he had allowed.

After all, A Ting's talent could not be hidden away forever; it had to be revealed eventually.

Therefore, he said, "Xiao Yu'er, what do you think?"

"I've never seen it before."

"How about we ask Sister Su?"

"Why ask my sister?"

"Your sister is knowledgeable and experienced. She said that from your home continent to here, you were asleep the entire time."

"She even told you that?"

"She said it when we saw the Ghost Pit outside."

"Oh."

Su Ningyu was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "My sister might not know either. A Ting's situation is too unique; she doesn't seem like a natural Soul, yet she possesses abilities that even Souls don't have. It looks like the ability of a Ghost, and specifically a Skin-Ghost at that."

"This should be an unprecedented ability."

"Then Xiao Yu'er, what do you think should be done about this child?"

"Don't stop her; let her utilize her talent."

"I didn't expect you to be quite like a mother."

The two chatted for a while longer and reached a consensus.

They would ask the sister-in-law if there was an opportunity later, but for now, the plan was "on the basis of helping A Ting keep her secret, let her utilize her talent as much as possible."

The next day, Song Cheng sought out An Jie and Tong Niangzi to discuss this matter.

With the permission of her parents, the three-year-old (by lunar reckoning) A Ting finally regained her "right to draw."

Song Cheng vaguely saw A Ting and Su Ningyu secretly high-five each other; for a moment, he was puzzled—was it actually Su Ningyu helping A Ting last night?

This made him, the father, seem heartless. Thinking of this, he took the initiative to find An Jie and asked her to help get more various animal skins.

With the animal skins, the entire An Family back courtyard seemed to come alive.

Leather-skinned little beasts walked swaggeringly through the back courtyard: there were hopping leather rabbits, strutting leather birds, leather ducks wiggling their bottoms, and even slowly, strong little leather bears and leather tigers began to appear. The An Family back courtyard seemed to have become a bizarre fairy-tale world.

Whenever Song Cheng walked out of the Training Room, little animals would greet him.

"Dad."

"Dad."

"Dad."

Even though Song Cheng knew what these were, he still found it strange.

And about half a month later, all the "leather beasts" in the An Family residence disappeared; they turned into real rabbits, birds, ducks, bears, and tigers, but they only had the appearance and did not possess the characteristics of these animals.

For example, the tiger and the rabbit had no difference in strength; they were both soft and easy to push over, falling with a single kick.

This kind of change had exceeded the understanding of Song Cheng and Xiao Yu'er.

The two pondered: even a Skin-Ghost wouldn't be like this, right? On the other side, the faith in Xuan Nu Niang Niang from Chenyang Prefecture had not yet spread here due to the Ghost Tide sealing the city.

And Hanping Prefecture ushered in the third Ghost Tide.

This time, it was still a Ghost Tide of Skin-Ghosts.

(End of chapter)