The chilling sensation suddenly rushed towards the waist!
My reflexes shot up as I leaped upward with great force, one hand grabbing a vine to leverage myself, while the other swiftly extracted the Four Regulations Mirror.
I kicked against the hillside, swiftly rotating my body—a move that seemed almost to be done in one breath!
I was about to shine the Four Regulations Mirror downwards!
However, looking closely at the person behind me, I noticed their more youthful face, slight body frame, and most likely being no older than seven or eight years old.
It was none other than Yu Xiu, the young girl I had seen weeping on the washing stone slab when I first entered Yu Xiu's nightmare!
Her eyes widened, and fear was the predominant expression on her face; there was very little resentment.
My hand quickly tightened, flipping the Four Regulations Mirror, and the mirror's surface covered me instantly.
My eyelid twitched as I looked at the young girl Yu Xiu, and a surge of complexity welled up within me.
"Brother, come down quickly. Don't go up."
The childlike voice, still very innocent.
It was only because she was a ghost, not a human, that her voice carried a sense of ethereality and dissipated in all directions.
My breathing grew heavier, and my heartbeat quickened significantly.
"Xiusu." I whispered.
The young girl Yu Xiu still stared at me blankly, muttering "come down" with her mouth.
The feeling surging up within me was one of endless sympathy and heartache.
At the same time, another thought surged through my mind!
I always thought that nightmares repeated the same events, but now it seems that might not be the case.
Yu Xiu's spirit, brimming with resentment, should have been divided into many parts. Each wedding was a painful separation.
This means that, besides Yu Xiu, there are seven other failures in this village!
Here is one!
Yet, how much hatred and resentment could such a young Yu Xiu have?
"Don't stay here. Find a place to hide; it's not safe in the village." My voice was still hoarse.
If the Li Ziyuhe and the Bearded Sage encountered this young girl Yu Xiu, they might directly attack her, dispatching her spirit and leaving her a lifeless ghost without any awareness.
This would undoubtedly be traumatic for Yu Xiu herself, even if her spirit was pulled back, the other potential issues aside, any relevant memories associated with her would vanish.
"Cold..."
Suddenly, the young girl Yu Xiu hunched her shoulders and slowly crouched on the ground, shaking uncontrollably.
"It hurts..." She spoke with a hint of a sob.
My brows furrowed in worry. I hesitated for a moment, then released the vine in my hand, clattering to the ground.
I put away the Four Regulations Mirror and helped the young girl Yu Xiu to her feet.
Her body was light and insubstantial, without any weight at all.
The young girl Yu Xiu raised her head, and a trace of joy appeared in her eyes.
I have never seen so many emotions on Yu Xiu herself, and seeing her at such a young age with little resentment, I even had a fleeting thought!
If Yu Xiu were to merge with this part of the spirit first, she should be able to suppress the little resentment she has. She would then become stronger, and naturally be able to suppress the other parts of the spirit?
As for her sudden reminder to me and her closeness to me, it's more than likely because of the trace of spirit on me.
"Brother has something to do, you wait for me there? Wait for brother to come back and bring you to meet a sister." I tried to calm my breathing and looked at the nearby thatched cottage.
"Oh..." The young girl Yu Xiu nodded slightly.
"Can you take me there, brother?" she asked cautiously.
Then, she pushed her small hand into mine, but she could only grasp two of my fingers.
I walked towards the right thatched cottage.
I entered the yard and then walked into the main house in the center. The old wooden table and chairs were covered in dust.
"Wait right here, don't go anywhere."
After giving another reminder, I was about to pull my hand back.
However, Yu Xiu's hand suddenly tightened, and she squeezed my fingers tightly without letting go.
"Brother...your body smells very good..."
A glimmer of desire suddenly flashed across her youthful face.
"So fragrant...It seems like..."
Indeed, this young girl Yu Xiu has detected the trace of spirit on me.
I slightly pulled my hand out, preparing to speak.
But suddenly, an unexpected change occurred!
Yu Xiu's hand suddenly became even colder, with a sticky sensation!
The clothes on Yu Xiu's body suddenly became very loose.
Wide is relative, as if a young girl's clothes had been put on her.
Stains of blood marred the white clothes, turning them deep red, with knives inserted at various places on her body.
Her youthful little face disappeared into a childlike appearance, replaced by an intense resentment and poisonous aura. Her eyes, in particular, seemed to be filled with an insatiable longing!
"How cold…once eaten, it won't be cold anymore..."
The sharp, childlike scream seemed to explode in my mind.
With her other hand, she suddenly reached out towards my waist and abdomen!
Everything happened too fast, my scalp exploded, and goosebumps covered my skin.
My right hand was trapped, so I quickly reached into my pocket with my left hand!
The Four Regulations Mirror suddenly fell into my hand, and the mirror faced the young girl Yu Xiu!
There was another bloodcurdling scream.
However, she did not disintegrate instantly!
The resentment on her face disappeared instantly, and her face turned deathly pale. Her clothes returned to their original state, and she still held my fingers tightly, her childlike voice beseeching, "It hurts... Brother, it hurts..."
I shook my hand violently, breaking free from her grip.
I grabbed the Four Regulations Mirror with both hands and shone it on her again!
White smoke rose, and with a bang, she exploded into a cloud of gray mist.
Her pleas and screams seemed to echo in my ears.
I gasped for breath heavily, my arm slightly trembling...
The fear flooded in.
I flipped the copper mirror over and shone it on my own face.
For a moment, I couldn't describe the emotion in my heart.
What I found hard to bear wasn't being caught, but the fact that I thought this young girl Yu Xiu's resentment was weak, but in reality, where was it weak?
It was hidden... It was disguised... It was showing weakness to the enemy...
She likely planned what to do the moment she saw me...
For a moment, a fierce anger rose in my heart.
This wasn't towards Yu Xiu, as she had done nothing wrong.
All parts of her were victims.
Who was the instigator?
It was the Red Ghost!
The gray mist inside the room was struggling and wriggling, about to take shape.
The Red Ghost Village was considered Yu Xiu's stronghold. Being dispersed once by me was not significant.
I did not pause, exited the thatched cottage, and quickly climbed the hill, heading upwards.
After climbing about ten or so meters, I felt a gaze upon me.
I turned my head and looked down the slope, where Yu Xiu was staring up at me with her head.
I continued to climb up, and a few minutes later, the slope's incline became slightly gentler, allowing one to stand up and crawl upwards with a slight incline.
Below, the shadows of trees and bushes blocked my view, and I could no longer see any figures.
From this angle, I could see the scattered houses of the Red Ghost Village and the narrow paths that wound through it like snakelike lines.
And... there are some "people" walking on the road in the misty haze.
Although the distance was far and it was hard to see the details, there wasn't a strong sense of discomfort in my soul. It didn't react.
Among the people I could see, there was no trace of Yu Xiu's soul.
For them, I didn't feel any sense of compassion.
The Red Ghost was the instigator, and those people were accomplices!
Feeding the ghosts with humans and winning their mercy, they enjoyed the benefits of wind and rain in tune, prosperity, and all were at the expense of human lives!
