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Chapter 36

This ghost doctor’s lifelong pursuit was to gain people’s reverence and praise. Even if he himself was still a mediocre doctor, and the medical skills he borrowed were nothing more than demonic powers, he could still immerse himself in this illusion and be unable to extricate himself.

But now, this young lady was looking at him coldly and with disdain, as if looking at foul water in a ditch.

This contemptuous sideways glance, as if an older sister was glaring at her foolish and incompetent younger brother who had caused their father’s death…

In this moment, he was frightened by his guilty conscience, crying with tears streaming down his face. In an instant, he was beaten back to his original form, once again becoming the unconfident person he used to be.

“Please, let me treat your illness, I will do my best, I definitely won’t cause another patient’s death…”

Xiao Xiao looked at his manic, fickle appearance and couldn’t help sighing inwardly: Although the pain from the injuries on her body was indeed difficult to treat, looking at it now, what was most difficult to treat was the human heart.

In her view, the one most in need of treatment was this mediocre doctor who had been possessed by a demon to satisfy his own delusional vanity!

However, after the ghost doctor cried for a while, he suddenly thought of something and looked up with a cunning smile: “No, you don’t dare to kill me! In this world, besides me, there’s no one who can heal your arm. Tsk tsk, injuries from heavenly punishment, it seems you’re not a good person either, why pretend to be a saint in front of me?”

Xiao Xiao also smiled and leaned a bit closer, while pressing her sword tightly against his neck: “Is that so? If that’s really the case, I would rather cut off my own arm than need treatment from a vicious person like you!”

With that said, she swung her precious sword, about to stab into the young man’s Ghost Palace acupoint. Once stabbed, the demon possessing his body would be forced to separate.

But just at this moment, the door to this ghost alley courtyard was forcibly pushed open.

A large group of people carrying swords and sabers rushed into the courtyard.

Xiao Xiao turned her head to look, oh, they were all old acquaintances!

It could be seen that people from the Four Great Sects had once again gathered in the small alley of Luoyi City.

The leader was the long-bearded elder of Ebony Peak. As soon as he saw Wei Jie and Cui Xiao Xiao, he immediately frowned with his long eyebrows and said, “Why is it you two again? What are you doing here? Could it be… the people outside were all killed by you?”

Xiao Xiao quickly pointed to the young man under her sword: “You’ve misunderstood, this person is the real culprit!”

It turned out that the Three Great Sects had received a letter from Soaring Cloud Pavilion, saying that they had discovered something strange in Luoyi City. Every year during the Ghost Festival, there would be evil demons slaughtering people at the vegetable market entrance.

It just so happened that last year, a relative of a disciple from Ebony Peak had come to seek medical treatment and had also become a victim. At the time, they had no idea why he had collapsed on the streets of Luoyi.

Now, after reading the letter from Soaring Cloud Pavilion, that disciple cried and pleaded in front of the sect elders, begging his fellow disciples to uncover the truth. Naturally, subduing demons and monsters was the duty of the Four Great Sects.

This time, the Four Great Sects had gathered a large army to subjugate the evil demons. Timing it just right, they hurried over to investigate.

As a result, as soon as they arrived, they discovered that there seemed to be a demonic aura in this place, and there was even a “Nineteenth Lane” that did not exist in the city.

However, they didn’t expect that when they rushed in along the alley filled with corpses, they would encounter Wei Jie and his master from the Talisman Sect, Cui Xiao Xiao.

Last time at Mount Qilao, the Four Great Sects had an unpleasant confrontation with these two. They didn’t expect to encounter them again this time.

When they heard Xiao Xiao say that the murderer was the young man she was forcing with her sword, the elder frowned suspiciously.

Right now, that young man had a sickly appearance, was as thin as a skeleton, had a deathly pale face, and had tears in his eyes. No matter how you looked at him, he didn’t seem capable of killing anyone.

Moreover, as soon as that ghost doctor saw people rushing in, he immediately cried out, “Save me! I was forced into the courtyard by these two people. They said they needed a living person as a sacrifice to call the ghost doctor to treat an illness… They… They want to use me as an offering!”

Hearing this, several disciples from Wonderful Immortal Mountain angrily shouted, “Wei Jie! You demon, you’re actually so vicious. You and your master are simply in cahoots with each other!”

With someone taking the lead, the others also started making a racket. In an instant, the crowd was in an uproar, seeming like they wanted to immediately apprehend this master and disciple pair from the Talisman Sect. The insults hurled at them also became more and more excessive.

Wei Jie always had a carefree and flippant appearance, but Xiao Xiao now knew what some of his subtle expressions meant.

For example, right now, when the corners of his eyes were curved, but the right corner of his mouth lifted first, it looked like he was smiling, but he was actually truly angry!

Xiao Xiao saw that the people from the Four Great Sects indeed still hadn’t made much progress, galloping forward on the path of seeking death.

According to the original trajectory from two hundred years ago, these people should have come to Luoyi City a few days later to surround Wei Jie’s fox demon mother, and then have an intense battle with Wei Jie.

But now, they had arrived in Luoyi City early and encountered them in this ghost alley, which was very different from the previous trajectory.

Who knew where things had gone wrong again.

However, the Four Great Sects misunderstanding the Talisman Sect disciples of sacrificing living people was a false accusation that disgraced their sect, and couldn’t be borne!

Thinking of this, Xiao Xiao no longer hesitated. She raised her sword and stabbed towards the young man’s Ghost Palace acupoint, the acupoint of that lying ghost doctor.

The gemstones on the ancient treasure sword “Defying the Heavens” were imbued with heavenly punishment energy. The moment the sword light pierced the acupoint, it was like heavenly punishment descending.

That young ghost doctor immediately couldn’t hold on. As his eyes rolled back, he raised his hands, scattering red dust, trying to make a final struggle.

That originally fair face actually took on the ferocious appearance of a skeleton, and then wrinkles rapidly appeared on his face. In an instant, he changed from a youthful young man into an old man with skin like a walnut.

It was clear to discerning eyes that this was a sign of the separation of man and demon. It seemed this young man had been possessed by the demon for quite some time!

To the extent that after the separation, the young man immediately aged. Sobbing, he cried out, “No… Don’t abandon me… I don’t want to become a mediocre doctor again. I’ll help you kill even more people! I can’t accept this…”

Crying until the end, he finally passed away with a whimper. From his bleeding nostrils, a spider-like insect escaped.

After emerging from the nostrils, that insect expanded as if blown up, becoming the size of a fist, and even had a face with disheveled hair.

That demon quickly surveyed the surroundings. Suddenly, its eyes flashed with wild joy. Without any hesitation, it rushed towards Wei Jie, even shouting with ecstasy, “There’s actually such a suitable body for demonification. Quick, I’ll help you fulfill your wish…”

But Wei Jie just stood there motionlessly, with no intention of dodging at all.

Just as that demonic spider spat out demon silk that was about to reach Wei Jie, Cui Xiao Xiao, with quick eyes and hands, slashed with her sword, cutting that large spider into two segments.

And just as Xiao Xiao slayed that demon, the wounds on her arm that had been unable to heal all along seemed to have gotten much better in an instant…

It seemed that slaying demons and monsters counted as an act of merit, seemingly offsetting the wrath of heavenly punishment, allowing her wounds to heal quite a bit.

The moment that possessing demon died, the alley it had transformed also suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Everyone now flashed back to the vegetable market street entrance on the east side of Luoyi City, surrounded by closed shops.

On the ground lay the hunters who had killed each other earlier, as well as the withered corpse of that ghost doctor.

Among the disciples of the Four Great Sects, quite a few had inhaled the red demonic dust the ghost doctor scattered just before dying. The toxicity now took effect, causing their killing intent to be exposed. They actually started chasing and hacking at their own fellow disciples.

Fortunately, the elders leading the various sects had much experience. They pressed on their disciples’ guardian acupoints, knocking them out on the ground.

At this point, Xiao Xiao didn’t need to say anything. The facts were glaringly obvious, slapping the Four Great Sects in the face.

The Four Great Sects swallowed back the insults that had been at the tips of their tongues, not knowing where to spew them now.

The elder from Ebony Peak was the first to recover. He cleared his throat and said, “In the matter of subduing demons and monsters, one must not act recklessly alone. If your Talisman Sect had notified us Four Great Sects earlier, it would have avoided this fearless misunderstanding!”

Xiao Xiao put away her long sword, slightly lifted her chin and said as if suddenly realizing, “So that’s how it is. Senior, this junior and my disciple have learned a lesson!”

That elder was just trying to smooth things over with some irrelevant words. Who knew this young lady from the Talisman Sect wouldn’t make a fuss and only laughingly went along with what he said, making it impossible for them to continue shamelessly blaming her.

Speaking of which, this master and disciple pair had subdued a demon and upheld justice, doing nothing wrong. Instead, it was them who had first committed the verbal wrongdoing of harshly berating this master and disciple pair for no reason.

Just at this moment, just like in the trajectory of the previous life, the night watchman on patrol passed by. Seeing the ground covered in corpses and a group of armed men, he was so frightened that he hurriedly started sounding his copper gong.

Thereupon, a large group of soldiers came swarming over, surrounding them so tightly that not even water could trickle through.

It was now just past midnight, and their clamorous noise echoed through the empty streets.

Under the cover of night, the white-robed man standing on the roof of a tall building not far away heard the words Xiao Xiao and the others had just spoken, and the ancient treasure sword Xiao Xiao held also entered his field of vision.

This sword… Wasn’t it “Defying the Heavens”? It should have been Wei Jie’s sword, how did it end up in Cui Xiao Xiao’s hands?

This man was none other than Qin Lingxiao. As the final owner of this ancient sword two hundred years later, he was also extremely shocked and angry at this moment!

Actually, this segment of Wei Jie visiting the ghost doctor was within his expectations.

Although in the original trajectory, he had not taken Wei Jie as his master at this time and was not in Luoyi City.

But Qin Lingxiao clearly remembered Tang Youshu telling him that after Wei Jie’s arm was severed at Mount Qilao, he had come to Luoyi City to seek treatment from the ghost doctor. Moreover, that ghost doctor was very effective. After Wei Jie returned from seeing the doctor alone, his severed arm had healed.

Although later on, it was said that ghost doctor seemed to have also been killed by Wei Jie and never appeared again.

But as for what exactly happened in between, even Tang Youshu didn’t know.

However, the fact that Wei Jie had committed murder in Luoyi City was absolutely certain. Although Wei Jie later gained King Can’s appreciation and was able to escape the crime of massacre.

But when Qin Lingxiao heard Tang Youshu unintentionally mention this, he gnashed his silver teeth, feeling that Wei Jie was killing people like scything flax, his crimes piling up to heaven.

If he had been in Luoyi City at that time, he definitely wouldn’t have let this demon escape the responsibility for his crimes!

Qin Lingxiao, who had left Mount Tuyun early, didn’t know that Xiao Xiao had taken on most of the heavenly punishment for Wei Jiu.

After leaving the fox mountain, he returned to Soaring Cloud Pavilion. While using the power of the spiritual spring to refine golden cores, he also deduced that as long as Wei Jiu was struck by heavenly punishment, he would still come to Luoyi to seek medical treatment like in the previous trajectory.

In his view, it was only natural for Wei Jie to take action and kill in order to obtain the sole right to treatment.

But this time, Wei Jie wouldn’t be so lucky as to gain the protection of the powerful and avoid bearing the crime of murder like before.

Only if the world saw the vicious heart of this nameless young man early on could they join hands to completely eliminate this scoundrel!

Therefore, Qin Lingxiao deliberately used some techniques to leak the secret of this ghost doctor, and gathered the people of the Four Great Sects to come to Luoyi City early, in order to block the way of the arm-severed, unhealed demon who kills.

But why had everything gotten messed up again? Wei Jie, who should have been receiving treatment, had now become Cui Xiao Xiao with an injured arm.

Moreover, they actually didn’t let the ghost doctor treat the injury. Instead, Cui Xiao Xiao used a treasure sword to force the ghost doctor to reveal his demonic form, exposing the fact that the ghost doctor had set up a trap to kill those seeking treatment. Then, right in front of the Four Great Sects, she personally slayed that chief culprit!

This… Wasn’t this greatly different from the original trajectory?

Seeing that long-bearded elder from Ebony Peak once again muddleheadedly playing the role of peacemaker, Qin Lingxiao felt a surge of anger in his heart!

Damn Cui Xiao Xiao! She must be messing things up again! Could it be that she wanted to support Wei Jie in becoming a world-renowned chivalrous hero?

Seeing the officials and soldiers gathering more and more on the streets, Qin Lingxiao knew that going down there himself would be of no use. He could only angrily clench his fists. After sending a signal to the Soaring Cloud Pavilion disciples to retreat, he turned and left the tall building.

And just at this moment, those officials and soldiers also heard everyone’s explanations. They saw the withered corpse of that ghost doctor, which was truly terrifying and detestable.

Homicide cases occurred in the city every year, but there were no clues. The officials and soldiers had long suspected that it was the work of ghosts and demons. Now, seeing a group of Daoist immortals with an air of transcendence gathered together, and then looking at that repulsive corpse, they could half-believe this story.

The disciples under Ebony Peak were numerous, and some of them made a living in Luoyi City. There were even some who knew the leading officials and soldiers. With such interaction and negotiation from both sides, things became much easier.

However, those officials and soldiers didn’t dare to make arbitrary decisions. They could only temporarily detain everyone and then report to King Can.

This time, it was indeed like the trajectory of the previous life. King Can, who took pleasure in making friends with extraordinary people, heard about it and immediately inquired about who the demon-slayer was. He then invited the two demon-slaying individuals from the Talisman Sect, Wei Jie and Cui Xiao Xiao, to the royal mansion for a chat.

Of course, King Can also extended an enthusiastic invitation to the Four Great Sects to come along.

However, among the Four Great Sects, the disciples of Soaring Cloud Pavilion always walked the path of being untainted by worldly dust. With an order from the young pavilion master, they took the excuse of immediately returning to report and gracefully departed.

As for the other three great sects, they gladly accepted the invitation and were treated as honored guests by the prince, invited into the royal mansion for wine.

It was now past midnight, and dawn would arrive in a few more hours, but from the looks of it, King Can seemed to have stayed up all night. He even personally came to the door to welcome them, showing his respect for the wise and able.

Because it was Xiao Xiao who had slain the demon, after hearing the introduction from the officials and soldiers, King Can couldn’t help sizing up this immortal swordswoman up and down.

It was just that this swordswoman looked really too young. When paired with that pair of big eyes that were gently smiling, there was actually a delicate and gentle feeling, making it really hard to imagine her slender arms swinging a sword to slay demons.

Instead, that tall and handsome unrestrained man beside her, looking at his powerful long arms and the faint sharpness flashing in his purple eyes, even carrying an oppressive aura…

Observing Wei Jie’s faintly purple eyes, King Can’s smile became even more amiable.

And Xiao Xiao, after performing a salute, also lifted her head to size up this young prince.

This prince favored by the current emperor, King Can, looked to be not yet thirty, cultured and refined, carrying the regal air of the royal family, but his speech and conduct were quite approachable.

He lavished praise on Xiao Xiao and the Four Great Sects for their chivalrous hearts and courage, ridding the people of Luoyi City of a scourge. Therefore, he wanted to hold a grand feast on behalf of all the city’s residents to thank the various extraordinary gentlemen!

That demon was slain by Cui Xiao Xiao, so this honor should also be attributed to the master and disciple pair of the Talisman Sect.

But Xiao Xiao discovered that besides a bit of qi in the dantian from cultivation, the skill of this flattery was also quite profound.

Among the Three Great Sects, that smooth-talking elder from Ebony Peak was the most vivid in his storytelling.

He was seen tugging his long beard, with an air of transcendent elegance. He narrated in detail the hardships his sect’s disciples had endured over the past few years, setting up a network of eyes and ears in Luoyi City to investigate Ghost Alley. Hearing this, King Can kept nodding in approval and personally offered toasts.

Even Xiao Xiao, the person involved, had a hazy feeling that she was able to fortunately kill that ghost doctor all thanks to the meritorious efforts laid out by Ebony Peak.

So after a few rounds of wine, the prestige of Xiao Xiao, this little-known sect leader, was quickly overshadowed by the other three great sects.

That elder from Ebony Peak quite enjoyed socializing with the rich and powerful, getting along swimmingly in his conversation with King Can. He even gifted King Can two golden cores he had just recently refined.

The four great cultivation sects had resounding reputations, with numerous world-famous chivalrous individuals among their disciples. King Can was also happy to make friends with them, clinking cups and drinking together. For a time, the atmosphere was harmonious.

Xiao Xiao didn’t need to socialize with the powerful and wealthy, and was actually quite happy. She had spent the whole night in the ghost alley and was also really hungry.

The feast at the prince’s mansion was filled with delicacies and fine foods, things one couldn’t easily eat on normal days.

Just as she picked up her chopsticks and was about to pick up some food, Wei Jie beside her kicked her leg under the table again.

Xiao Xiao had learned her lesson at the Wei family. As soon as her disciple kicked, she immediately put down her chopsticks and turned to look at Wei Jie.

She suddenly remembered that earlier, when King Can offered toasts, the wine cups handed to her had all been blocked by Wei Jie.

However, Wei Jie’s excuse was quite appropriate, saying that his master’s arm had not yet healed and could not be tainted with alcohol. Could it be… he saw something wrong with the food and wine on this table?

Wei Jie grinned at her, as if praising his master for being a good student, but didn’t explain.

Just at this moment, King Can suddenly asked with concern, “Swordswoman Cui, why haven’t you touched your chopsticks? Could it be that the food and wine are not to your liking?”

Xiao Xiao hurriedly smiled and said, “How could the fine delicacies of the prince’s mansion not be delicious? It’s just that my disciple and I are currently in a state of abstaining from grains to refine our qi. We dare not partake of food and drink. I hope Your Highness will not take offense.”

She felt that since she had already clarified the fact that she was not a murderous demon, there was no meaning in staying here clinking cups. So she used the excuse that her arm was still somewhat injured and she was very tired, wanting to bid farewell early and return to rest.

King Can saw that there was indeed still blood on her sleeve and didn’t try to make her stay longer. However, the reward money couldn’t be left behind.

Therefore, after Xiao Xiao declined to rest at the prince’s mansion, King Can had his attendants carry chests filled with gold and silver to send off the two chivalrous individuals.

Xiao Xiao was used to freeloading off her disciples. Rarely earning gold and silver herself today, she wasn’t polite. After thanking King Can, she left the prince’s mansion with Wei Jie.

However, as they passed through the corridor towards the main gate of the prince’s mansion, Xiao Xiao caught a glimpse of someone looking towards them from a tall building not far away.

When she turned her head to look, in that tall building under the moonlight, a woman’s dress seemed to flutter as she trailed her long skirt into the building.

That woman’s silhouette was enchanting, the kind that made one unable to shift their gaze after a single glance. She seemed to be that veiled woman seen that day below the restaurant.

Xiao Xiao immediately shifted her gaze to Wei Jie. He was also looking at that tall building, his gaze cold and his lips pressed tightly together.

However, he quickly came back to his senses and lowered his head to say to Xiao Xiao, “Let’s go, your disciples are still waiting for us.”

Xiao Xiao nodded, not saying anything.

She suspected that woman was the songstress who had sung that soul-stirring song that day, and even more so suspected she was Wei Jie’s birth mother, the fox demoness Si Ling.

Last time, it was her heading to the restaurant to sing for King Can. Now she had appeared in the tall building of the prince’s mansion, clearly already King Can’s close female confidante.

However, if she was truly Si Ling, she definitely wouldn’t be submitting to King Can’s power and taking residence with him. She certainly had other intentions.

Thinking of the fox demoness’s deep hatred for the Four Great Sects, Xiao Xiao couldn’t help glancing back at the brightly lit hall.

In this lifetime, the Four Great Sects had come to Luoyi City early. Right now, the elders of the Three Great Sects were all drinking with the prince.

That fox demoness hated the Four Great Sects to the bone. She couldn’t be making a move now, right?

Wei Jie didn’t let her eat the food and drink the wine at the banquet. Could it be that Si Ling had tampered with all of it?

And Wei Jie’s deep gaze earlier… Did he recognize that woman was his mother?

Thinking of the various trajectories of the original course of events, if the fox demoness ultimately encountered the Four Great Sects and unfortunately lost her life, then wouldn’t Wei Jie fall into a blood feud and begin a slaughter of the Four Great Sects?

But if that was really the case, she should be happy. After all, only in this way could the derailed events return to their proper track, and she could successfully withdraw.

But Xiao Xiao found that her heart seemed to be pressed down by a stone, unable to feel happy no matter what.

On the way back, Xiao Xiao didn’t say anything the whole time. The man beside her also seemed to have something on his mind, only silently accompanying her.

When they reached the entrance of the inn, Xiao Xiao suddenly didn’t want to go in. She turned her head and asked Wei Jie, “Are you… hungry?”

Wei Jie nodded and said, “The shops aren’t open at this hour. I’ll go to the kitchen to find something to eat.”

After he came out carrying a small wine jar he had pilfered from the inn’s kitchen, as well as a bowl of braised beef, he took her to leap onto the inn’s roof and ate a late-night snack with Xiao Xiao under the moonlight.

Actually, without Xiao Xiao saying anything, Wei Jie knew she was hungry.

On the way back, Wei Jie had heard this grain-abstaining immortal master’s stomach growl a few times, almost matching a crowing rooster.

Xiao Xiao picked up the braised beef and took a big bite. Only after that did she ask, “Earlier at the prince’s mansion, why did you kick my leg? Could it be that there was poison in King Can’s food and wine?”

Who knew Wei Jie would raise his eyebrows, shake his head and say, “… I was just afraid your eating manner would be unrefined and scare the prince.”

Hearing this kind of absurdly outrageous reason, Xiao Xiao stared with wide eyes, her cheeks bulging with beef she couldn’t even swallow.

Wei Jie saw Xiao Xiao’s rarely flustered appearance and instantly let out a hearty laugh. Unfortunately, before he finished laughing, Xiao Xiao had already fiercely swallowed the beef in her mouth. Then, using his own hand, she took another big bite of the beef he was holding.

Scoundrel! Making her miss out on a meal of fine delicacies! Did he think that by teasing her like this, she wouldn’t eat?

Wei Jie was afraid she would choke and laughingly poured her a cup of wine.

Too many things had happened tonight. However, when facing that demonized ghost doctor, this little girl’s imposing manner as she said she would rather sever her own arm than let him treat her really made Wei Jie take a new look at her.

So after the joke, he casually said, “I always used to hear you say that the Talisman Sect’s tenet was to subdue demons and slay monsters. I didn’t expect you, this little sect leader, to actually have quite the bearing when push came to shove, indeed much stronger than those fame-seeking hypocrites of the Four Great Sects.”

Xiao Xiao downed a cup of wine and tilted her head, saying, “Then I’ll take that as you praising me.”

The smile on Wei Jie’s face gradually faded. Narrowing his purple eyes, he quietly looked at her and suddenly said in a low voice, “Then if one day… I’m overtaken by a demon, Master, will you also unhesitatingly raise your sword to slay the demon?”

Chapter 35

The main business of Lingshan Talisman Sect was subduing demons and eliminating monsters, so naturally, new disciples also had to be familiar with the strange beasts and monsters in the world.

The murals about those exotic beasts and monsters were carved inside the stone caves for seclusion in Lingshan.

Back then, before Master Tang Youshu passed away, he once took Xiao Xiao into seclusion together and activated the time reversal. At that time, Xiao Xiao saw the illustration of the Enlightenment Beast from the “Classic of Mountains and Seas” on the mural in the Lingshan stone cave.

This Enlightenment Beast had a huge body, shaped like a tiger but with nine heads.

This strange beast was said to be the divine beast guarding the heavenly gate of Mount Kunlun. The nine heads were of different sizes and all had human faces, making the villains who wanted to invade the sacred land of Kunlun tremble with fear.

The description of this beast in the “Classic of Mountains and Seas” was only a few sentences. However, the text on the stone wall emphasized that if one was bitten by it, then before long, tumors of different sizes would grow on the head, just like the Enlightenment Beast’s nine heads.

The most terrifying thing was that once the nine heads fully grew, the person bitten would frantically tear their own intestines and die miserably.

Thinking of this, Xiao Xiao asked again, “May I ask, old sir, why were you bitten by the Enlightenment Beast?”

That old man suddenly exposing his back of the head was not to sell misery or seek sympathy.

Seeing that among these people seeking medical treatment, only Xiao Xiao and Wei Jie were young, he deliberately exposed the back of his head with the thought that the young were easy to bully, actually wanting to scare away this little girl.

But unexpectedly, that person from the other group suddenly interjected, not only revealing his own secret of being bitten by the Enlightenment Beast but also sarcastically saying that seeking medical treatment was a waste of effort.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but look at that hook-nosed man with resentment.

However, the other party also had the advantage of numbers and didn’t look easy to deal with, so the old man still decided to deal with the little girl first.

After Xiao Xiao asked this, the old man sullenly put his hat back on and said gloomily, “Miss, I’ll only ask one question. Are you willing to give the opportunity to me or not?”

Xiao Xiao blinked and before she could say anything, Wei Jie in front of her said lazily, “The Enlightenment Beast of Mount Kunlun would never harm people for no reason. The bold one who dared to break into the heavenly gate alone, why would he need the sympathy of a little girl?”

Rather than saying this old man was ill, it was more like he had committed evil deeds!

That Enlightenment Beast was a spiritual creature and wouldn’t easily take the initiative to harm people. I just don’t know what this old man did to that Enlightenment Beast to end up like this.

Looking at his reputation and thinking about their hunting weapons, the hooks, everything was self-explanatory!

Hearing this, the old man knew that these two young people had no intention of yielding. It seemed that the two thugs who attacked them during the day were these two…

He gave a murderous look to the people beside him.

Since this young couple was so unreasonable, then don’t blame him for being rude!

He was determined to take the only diagnosis quota tonight!

Just as the old man was sending a glance, the two followers beside him suddenly threw out iron hooks connected by iron chains, attacking Xiao Xiao and Wei Jie.

Those iron hooks were generally used by hunters to hook animals like deer or elk, but they looked much larger than the hooks for catching deer.

This was of the same origin as the hooks that Xiao Xiao and Wei Jie found on the two stalking big men during the day.

It seemed that the people who kidnapped those buying lanterns during the day were instructed by this old man!

When the iron hooks attacked, it could be felt that the hooks were enhanced with spiritual power. And in the lantern light, Xiao Xiao found that those hooks seemed to be stained with abnormal-colored liquid, giving off a pungent smell.

Just as Wei Jie said, they were indeed all hunters!

If she guessed correctly, what they hunted were not ordinary mountain beasts, but some ancient strange beasts and fierce monsters, so those hooks were all soaked in lethal poison.

In this world, the emperors and nobles all needed the skin, flesh, and bones of rare and exotic beasts to strengthen their bodies and prolong their lives. So there were some special hunters who captured rare and exotic beasts for those nobles in need. Those iron hooks looked very old at a glance, and who knows how many rare and exotic beasts had died under these hooks.

At this moment, Xiao Xiao suddenly remembered that when her master described accompanying her benefactor Wei Jie to seek medical treatment in Luoyi two hundred years ago, he also mentioned the beast catchers in Luoyi City back then.

It was said that several beast catchers with unique abilities were strange people invited by Prince Can at a high price, specializing in capturing exotic beasts for Prince Can.

When Master Tang Youshu accompanied his master Wei Jie with a severed arm to Luoyi City to seek medical treatment, he happened to encounter the grand occasion of the beast catchers celebrating Prince Can’s birthday and presenting exotic beasts like the Enlightenment Beast and other exotic beasts parading to show off.

Thinking of this, Xiao Xiao realized – perhaps this old man and his followers were the beast catchers that her master encountered two hundred years ago who captured the exotic beasts!

Unfortunately, what they provoked this time was not a beast, but people!

Wei Jie casually waved his hand and formed a spirit shield to block their attack, while Xiao Xiao took out a water-transforming talisman from her bosom and casually waved it, summoning a stream of water.

The powerful impact force instantly washed those iron hooks back, happening to hook onto the shoulders of those two followers. The sharp hooks would immediately trigger the built-in spring when they touched something.

The gripping force that could crush animal bones was astonishing, instantly gripping the two men’s collarbones tightly.

Actually, this injury was nothing. At most, it would cause pain and bleeding.

But those hooks happened to be coated with lethal poison, which immediately took effect. In an instant, the two burly men had already rolled their eyes and died.

It’s just that Xiao Xiao noticed that when those two big men bled, red dust seemed to start spreading around them. At first, it was faint, but then it gradually became thicker…

That old man didn’t pay attention to these things at all. He never thought that two young people would have such abilities!

In shock and anger, he pointed at Wei Jie and Cui Xiao Xiao’s noses and shouted, “How dare you! You actually dare to kill people in Luoyi City! Is there no law anymore!”

Xiao Xiao felt that the old man was really shameless to call a thief to catch a thief. She said coldly, “It was you who instigated your subordinates to attack us first with poisonous hooks. Now the hooks have backfired. You brought this upon yourself!”

At this moment, that hook-nosed man beside them sneered again, “Mighty Hunter King of the East, it turns out that you also have times when you fall! I heard that you were overconfident and wanted to hunt the Enlightenment Beast of Yao Pool… What’s going on? You failed to steal a chicken and lost the rice, and you let the Enlightenment Beast bite you into this state. You actually can’t even beat these two young rookies… It’s really interesting, hahaha…”

That old man had actually recognized the identity of the hook-nosed man long ago, “Humph, I thought it was someone else! It turns out to be the Eagle Clan people from the North! I heard that Prince Can also invited your Eagle Clan to hunt in Yao Pool. How come I didn’t see any trace of your Eagle Clan people…”

The Mighty Hunter King of the East and the Eagle Clan of the North were two major beast-hunting families. In the same industry, it was inevitable to step on each other’s toes and not see eye to eye. Unexpectedly, today, they actually entered Nineteen Li together to seek medical treatment.

The Hunter King squinted his eyes, glanced at that man’s highly raised shoulders, paused, and then continued, “It’s not embarrassing for me to be injured! My disciple and I were about to capture that Enlightenment Beast. Suddenly, a group of masked people intercepted halfway, trying to snatch the unconscious Enlightenment Beast. Although I struggled to resist and injured one of them with my hook, the beast that was captured with great difficulty escaped when it woke up during the fight, and I was also bitten by it… If I don’t avenge this hatred, I swear I won’t be a human!”

As he spoke, that skinny old man suddenly leaped up and yanked off that hook-nosed man’s cloak.

As a result, that man’s bandaged shoulder was suddenly exposed, and there was actually a tightly gripping hook on it, looking exactly the same as the Hunter King’s weapon.

The Hunter King widened his eyes at this, his ferocious appearance fully revealed, “Well, the one who sneak-attacked me was indeed you! You Eagle Clan of the North are really despicable villains!”

This Eagle Clan was also quite capable, actually able to endure the lethal poison on the hooks. But he should also be unable to completely detoxify and couldn’t remove the hooks, so he ran here to seek medical treatment and ran into him.

Thinking of this, he no longer cared about Wei Jie and Cui Xiao Xiao, and brought his remaining men to fight with that Eagle Clan of the North.

Xiao Xiao widened her eyes. At this moment, the old man’s words were like a thunderclap, resounding in her mind!

According to that old man, he and the Eagle Clan of the North both failed to capture the Enlightenment Beast and were both injured, so they all ran to this alley filled with yin energy to seek medical treatment!

This was obviously very different from the original trajectory two hundred years ago! In the previous trajectory, these hunters had grandly paraded with exotic beasts in Luoyi City…

Where exactly did it go wrong again?

Because this beast-presenting segment had nothing to do with Wei Jie, Xiao Xiao didn’t pay much attention to it before, just giving it a quick glance.

Now, taking advantage of the fierce fight on the opposite side, Xiao Xiao went behind Wei Jie and secretly took out the secret manual from her bosom to read it again in the faint light of the lantern.

When she saw the part about presenting exotic beasts in Luoyi City, Xiao Xiao realized that in her master’s secret manual, it was mentioned that Prince Can received two exotic beasts at that time, which were clearly presented by the Mighty Hunter King of the East and the Eagle Clan of the North.

The exotic beast presented by the East was naturally the Enlightenment Beast from Mount Kunlun, and the one presented by the Eagle Clan was… the corpse-eating beast from the underworld!

With this, Xiao Xiao understood everything.

According to the original trajectory, Wei Jie was supposed to encounter the corpse-eating beast in the valley and barely seriously injure it with the help of Master Tang Youshu.

In the end, the corpse-eating beast escaped with serious injuries and happened to be captured by the Eagle Clan of the North and presented to Prince Can. With such an exotic beast, the Eagle Clan naturally had no time to mess with the Hunter King’s plan.

But now, because of Cui Xiao Xiao’s sudden appearance, she and Wei Jie joined forces to capture the corpse-eating beast early and return it to the Wei family.

The Eagle Clan of the North, having not caught any exotic beasts, set their sights on the Hunter King, trying to intercept and snatch it.

As a result, they disrupted the hunt on Mount Kunlun, causing the Hunter King to not only fail to capture the exotic beast but also both suffer serious injuries…

This was truly a chain reaction. In the end, these two groups of unlucky fellows whose fates had been changed all came to seek medical treatment and actually ran into Xiao Xiao, the one who caused the disruption, in an alley in Luoyi…

After understanding the causes and effects, Xiao Xiao was quite moved for a while. The entanglement of these fates, interlocking one after another, was also quite shocking to her.

When she cleared her throat and was about to persuade the two, they had already become red-eyed.

At this moment, the red smoke in the alley became even thicker, as if it was attracted by more thick smoke from people’s splashing blood, quickly filling the entire alley.

Those people were already in high spirits. After inhaling the red smoke, even their eyes seemed to turn red, and the force of their hands became even more frenzied. Amidst the screams of misery, corpses soon filled the alley.

And that old man and the hook-nosed man also stabbed each other with a sword and both died…

Those white lanterns falling on the ground were now stained deep red with blood. In the illumination of the candlelight, the cold alley seemed even more eerie.

At this time, the only living people left standing in the alley were Wei Jie and Cui Xiao Xiao. They both pressed the Fengchi acupoint on the side of their necks in unison, guarding their true spirit…

That red smoke seemed to be still unsatisfied, still lingering around the two of them. However, these two people seemed to have no discomfort and only stood still in their original spots, holding the lanterns.

After a standoff like this for a while, the door of a courtyard at the end of the alley creaked open, and a white-faced boy stood at the door. When he saw that the survivors were actually two people, he seemed a bit unwilling and said in a ethereal voice, “Those seeking medical treatment, please enter…”

After saying this, in just a moment, that boy disappeared.

Wei Jie held Xiao Xiao’s hand, carried the white lantern, stepped over the corpses one by one, and entered the courtyard.

This courtyard looked like it had been uninhabited for a long time, and weeds were everywhere. When they came to the door of the main hall, a short maid carrying tea turned her head to look at them and said coldly, “You came at the wrong time. Someone just died in the house. The master said, if you are sensible, offer a white envelope and leave!”

After saying that, the maid carried the tea and quickly entered the main hall.

Xiao Xiao and Wei Jie walked a bit slower. By the time they entered the main hall, the maid was nowhere to be seen. Instead, they saw that the main hall really had a “memorial” character hanging.

In the center of the main hall, there was a black lacquered coffin. At this time, the lid was tightly closed, looking a bit terrifying.

Wei Jie walked in, knocked hard on the coffin lid three times with his hand, and then said, “I’ve long heard that the ghost doctor’s medical skills are superb, so I specially came to seek medical treatment. Come out!”

At this moment, a strange laughter suddenly came from the coffin, “Interesting, interesting. It seems that those who come for medical treatment this year are a bit more interesting!”

As he spoke, the coffin lid automatically moved aside. A man with a full beard, wearing a loose and ill-fitting burial robe, crawled out of the coffin.

Xiao Xiao looked at this ghost doctor a bit speechlessly and couldn’t help asking Wei Jie in a low voice, “This ghost doctor has a big acting obsession?”

That old man had very sharp ears and actually heard Xiao Xiao’s muttering. He immediately asked in a sharp voice, “Hey, little girl, what are you saying?”

Xiao Xiao had experienced a night of absurd things and was a bit tired of it at this point. She looked at that old man’s excessively white and delicate skin, and said a bit helplessly, “In just a moment, you have played the roles of the boy who opened the door, the maid who served tea, and now the old man with a full beard… Isn’t that having a big acting obsession?”

Hearing this, the old man jumped up like a naughty child and still refused to admit it, “Nonsense, those two were clearly my son and daughter!”

Faced with such an unreasonable person, Xiao Xiao felt a bit powerless and leaned her head against a pillar beside her. Only after regaining some energy did she say, “Your white face can’t be concealed just by applying some rouge or wearing a fake beard. It’s quite late. Do you know how to treat illnesses or not? If not, I’m going to leave!”

Hearing these words, that man finally angrily tore off the gray beard on his face, revealing a youthful and immature face.

He rolled up his ill-fitting sleeves and stared at Xiao Xiao suspiciously, “People who entered this courtyard before were all in a state of turmoil. Why are you two so calm and collected, not showing any panic at all?”

Wei Jie looked down at him and said, “Are you talking about why we didn’t get poisoned by the toxic smoke in the alley and kill each other like those people?”

After saying this, he glanced at Xiao Xiao beside him. The two of them simultaneously dug out two small green balls from their nostrils.

It turned out that these were detoxifying leaves that Wei Jie brought out from the valley on Qilao Mountain. Back then, Wei Jie relied on these leaves to resist the snake venom.

When Xiao Xiao heard the night watchman’s words, she realized that the massacre back then might not have been Wei Jie’s intention.

She had gone through many experiences and reminded Wei Jie that there might be something in the alley that could make people lose their minds.

With her reminder, when they entered the alley, they rolled the leaves into balls and stuffed them into their nostrils, just in case.

So when the alley was filled with miasma and everyone became restless, the two of them were not affected by the poisonous gas.

But the other people in the alley were obviously deeply poisoned and eventually killed each other, all dying.

Xiao Xiao looked at the young man who had caused the deaths of so many people and still had the mood to act, so she frowned and asked, “As a doctor, if you select who to save, that’s fine. But before treating illnesses, why do you harm people first?”

That young ghost doctor was used to seeing flattering and fawning patients bowing and scraping. He didn’t expect that the two people who came today were so tough. Not only were they not anxious to seek medical treatment, but they even started interrogating him instead!

He couldn’t help but laugh wildly, “Nonsense, treating illnesses is very exhausting for me. How can such a precious opportunity be wasted on those short-lived ghosts? If they are not the victors who have emerged from the competition, how are they worthy of me diagnosing and treating them?”

It seemed that he selected patients by gathering those seeking medical treatment in an alley, like raising poisonous worms, letting them fight each other, and only leaving the final victor.

No wonder in the past two years, on the day when the ghost gate opened, there would be several corpses of those seeking medical treatment appearing at the entrance of the vegetable market. It seemed to be the handiwork of this ghost doctor.

As for the previous trajectory where Wei Jie stood in a pile of corpses, it should also be due to this ghost doctor’s trick.

After understanding this point, Xiao Xiao only felt extreme disgust for this so-called divine doctor in front of her.

At this moment, the ghost doctor’s eyes rolled between the two of them, and he spoke again to sow discord, “Only one living person can leave my courtyard, but there are two of you. Why don’t you decide for yourselves who lives and who dies?”

But Xiao Xiao just smiled, “But I don’t want you to treat my illness anymore. Our life and death have nothing to do with you.”

But that ghost doctor wouldn’t accept it. He said angrily, “Once you enter my courtyard, whether to treat the illness or not is not up to you! If I let you leave without treating your illness, won’t it ruin my reputation? No, today, you have to be treated even if you don’t want to!”

After saying this, he suddenly reached out with lightning speed and yanked off the bandage on Xiao Xiao’s arm.

Xiao Xiao’s wound, which had been unable to heal for a long time, was torn open again by this ghost doctor, and blood gushed out.

The ghost doctor stared at the charred burns around Xiao Xiao’s wound with some excitement, his eyes widening, “This… is an injury from heavenly punishment! You actually managed to escape unscathed from heavenly punishment? You’re really not simple!”

When he approached, ready to get closer, Xiao Xiao’s long fingers moved slightly, and she immediately drew the treasure sword “Defying the Heavens” from her waist and steadily pressed it against the ghost doctor’s neck.

This ancient treasure sword emerged from the ground, and the gems embedded in the sword body absorbed the energy of heavenly punishment. The sword light was scorching hot, slaying gods when encountering gods and slaying demons when encountering demons!

How could that ghost doctor withstand it? He was forced to retreat continuously by the sword qi.

Xiao Xiao noticed that the ghost doctor’s side face was reflected on the sword body, and it was actually half a… ferocious skull ghost face.

Looking at the ghost doctor now, the half of his face that was forced by the sword qi rapidly withered and aged, becoming unrecognizable.

Xiao Xiao knew that her guess was indeed correct. This so-called divine doctor… was actually possessed by a demon.

Coerced by the sword light of “Defying the Heavens,” he had already crawled on the ground, no longer showing the arrogance of manipulating people’s life and death just now. He only kept crying and shouting, “Chivalrous lady, spare me! I won’t dare to do it again…”

It turned out that this so-called divine doctor was originally just a quack. He lost his mother at a young age and was determined to inherit his father’s profession and become a famous doctor of the generation.

Unfortunately, he was dull-witted and obstinately trying to show off. At the age of fifteen, when his father was not paying attention, he secretly saw patients and unintentionally prescribed the wrong medicine, causing the death of the patient.

As a result, his father took the blame for him and was exiled to the frontier. On the way, he fell seriously ill and died.

His sister, who relied on him, had to marry an old man in his sixties as a concubine in order to make a living, but was eventually forced to death by the principal wife.

He had no one to rely on and became a beggar, bullied and cursed by others. He unintentionally entered a cave and encountered a possessing demon. Unable to withstand the demon’s temptation, he made a life-and-death contract, exchanging his remaining sixty years of life for the demon’s hands that could bring people back to life and determine their life and death.

And his body was fixed at the age of fourteen, and his body also became the residence of the demon. Once the demon left his body, he would immediately age and die.

It’s just that the so-called medical treatment by the demon was just using the method of secretly replacing, using his sixty years of life to extend the lives of those patients.

And the complete cure of the illness was nothing more than transferring the illness to the young man’s own body.

Relying on the demon possessing his body, he was not afraid of having more illnesses and pains.

And when he saw those patients thanking him with tears, praising him as a divine doctor, it brought great satisfaction to his inferior and distorted heart.

It’s just that the physical body had limited capacity. If he couldn’t bear too many illnesses and pains, that demon would threaten to leave him and find a new host.

He panicked and could only think of ways to prolong his life.

Since his own life was not enough to extend the lives of the patients, he would use other people’s lives to fill it… It’s just that his body was too weak to see too many patients.

So he put on the guise of only seeing one patient a year and tricked those who came to seek medical treatment into the alley, then used the maddening poisonous fog to make them kill each other.

When the ghost alley was flooded with blood, the demon in his body also received enough nourishment and could let him demonstrate the divine power of bringing people back to life again, receiving the grateful tears and praise of others…

And at other times, he hid in the old house in Nineteen Li like a rat that couldn’t see the sunlight, playing the roles of his deceased father and sister alone, as if they were still a happy family of three…

He didn’t expect that today’s clinic opening would be so unsmooth! He was threatened with a demon-subduing divine sword by a little girl.

But what was most unbearable for this ghost doctor was not that he was coerced by the treasure sword, but that Cui Xiao Xiao actually didn’t let him diagnose and treat illnesses.

Chapter 34

It seemed that the singing and dancing in Luoyi also made it difficult for Wei Jie to fall asleep.

Fortunately, even though he didn’t sleep, he also came to the corridor, so he pulled her back in time.

Xiao Xiao came back to her senses and looked back at the restaurant in shock and doubt – that singing voice was so domineering that it could hook people’s souls. No wonder there were so many obsessed people surrounding the restaurant.

What kind of powerful character could mix such enchanting voices into the singing?

Xiao Xiao immediately thought of Wei Jie’s mother mentioned in her master’s secret manual – the female demon Si Ling.

Could it be that the person who was singing for Prince Can in the restaurant at this time was Wei Jie’s mother?

Xiao Xiao had only read descriptions of female demons in books before and didn’t know how powerful they were.

But now, just the remnant sounds transmitted in the wind were so captivating. If that female demon appeared in front of her eyes, how could she resist?

Xiao Xiao suddenly understood the situation where the Four Great Sects shouted and surrounded the Wei family’s Qilao Mountain back then.

If the head of the Wei family couldn’t resist such enchantment, once that female demon had ulterior motives, she could really manipulate him and cause a catastrophe…

And now, Xiao Xiao had no time to worry about the female demon using singing to manipulate people’s hearts. She was more worried about… whether Wei Jie had heard that it was his mother’s singing voice.

However, it seemed that Wei Jie didn’t have much curiosity about that singing voice.

He only glanced at the distant restaurant, then rubbed the acupoint on the side of Xiao Xiao’s neck and said lightly, “Although a lively big city looks full of yang energy, it is actually the best hiding place for ghosts and demons. Whether it’s for living in seclusion or hunting, it’s actually much more convenient than deep mountains and old forests. There seem to be many demons in this city. Your concentration is not enough. Next time, when you feel that your mind and spirit cannot be guarded, you should press the Fengchi acupoint on the side of your neck in time. That acupoint can directly reach a person’s Linggong. If you guard it, you can remain unperturbed.”

When he said this, he was more like Xiao Xiao’s benefactor, patiently teaching and speaking with sincerity.

Wei Jie’s long fingers pressed on the Fengchi acupoint with strength and flexibility. Xiao Xiao felt much more energetic and comfortable.

Moreover, the lingering power of the soul-enticing singing was still there. She even let Wei Jie rub her neck in a daze.

When Wei Jie spoke, she felt a little weak and leaned into the broad embrace of the handsome man, closing her eyes and regulating her breath, trying hard to gather her true qi to resist.

I have to say, his massage was quite comfortable…

At this moment, Yu Ling’er was also awakened by the shouting of the drunkards on the street. When she opened her eyes and found no one on the bed, she transformed into human form, rubbed her eyes and came out to take a look.

But unexpectedly, when she pushed open the door, she happened to see Cui Xiao Xiao nestling in Wei Jie’s arms like a little bird relying on a person…

The silhouette of a handsome man and a beautiful woman nestling under the moonlight, with their hair intertwined in the breeze… was indeed pleasing to the eye.

But Yu Ling’er saw at a glance that Wei Jie was still rubbing the slender neck of the girl in his arms, looking like an urgent scene… No matter how you look at it, it’s a man and woman meeting in secret and getting intimate in the deep of the night!

When Xiao Xiao was taking a bath, her words about her pure and innocent relationship with her disciple were still ringing in her ears. But the little fox felt that she had experienced the ugly side of human nature!

Already getting so intimate, yet still claiming to be pure and innocent? Sect Master Cui was really lying without blinking an eye!

No wonder her mother used to warn her that human nature was cunning and sinister, far surpassing their fox tribe!

At this moment, Xiao Xiao finally came back to her senses. When she turned her head and looked at Yu Ling’er, she naturally also saw her contemptuous gaze. She immediately struggled out of Wei Jie’s embrace and explained, “I was bewitched and lost my soul for a moment. He was just helping me guard my true spirit!”

Yu Ling’er said with a false smile, “Yes, yes, there are really many ways for your Talisman Sect to guard the true spirit! It’s not like you don’t have a room. There’s no hurry to do it in the room!”

Humph, hanging the name of master and disciple, why bother to get intimate and show off in the corridor? Their human race really doesn’t know the two words “shame”?

Faced with the fox girl’s sarcasm, Xiao Xiao was really speechless. Unfortunately, Wei Jie poured oil on the fire from the side and said leisurely, “Master, she’s right. Do you want to go to my room?”

Hearing this, the little fox sneered and disdainfully swished her tail under her skirt. With a snap, she closed the door, not disturbing the secret meeting of the man and woman anymore.

Xiao Xiao looked at the tightly closed door with a guilty conscience and said in a shocked voice, “Men and women should not have physical contact! Why should I go to your room?”

Wei Jie said innocently, “My room’s window faces the inner courtyard and is far from the street. The sound can’t be transmitted over, just right for you to rest. I’ll just squeeze in a room with Tang Youshu.”

Xiao Xiao was stunned. It turned out that she had misunderstood… But since he had such good intentions, why didn’t he make it clear in front of Yu Ling’er?

The singing voice was too domineering, and Xiao Xiao didn’t dare to challenge it. She could only thank her disciple, and then quickly went to his room.

She was not in a hurry to sleep, but was afraid that if she stayed in the corridor, Wei Jie would hear that enchanting singing voice and become curious, and then go to investigate.

After all, once he met his mother, it would be the beginning of a misfortune.

Although the reunion of mother and son, and then the separation of life and death, was a necessary path of tribulation in Wei Jie’s life, Xiao Xiao felt a little cruel just thinking about it.

In her heart, she still hoped that the time when Wei Jie reunited with his mother could be delayed. At least he could live a happy and peaceful life for a few more days…

However, she didn’t know that when she turned around, Wei Jie stood in the corridor, his gaze deep as he looked at the restaurant with swaying candlelight and endless laughter for a long time.

When Xiao Xiao entered Wei Jie’s room and lay on the bed, her face was pressed against Wei Jie’s long robe placed beside the pillow.

Xiao Xiao casually hung up the robe, only to find that there were bamboo strips strung with a rope under the robe.

Xiao Xiao tried it and found that the strung bamboo strips could just support her arm.

Her arm was injured and couldn’t heal. She couldn’t exert any strength, so she had been simply propping up her arm with tree branches and bandages along the way.

During the day, she saw Wei Jie buy a bundle of bamboo strips used for making bamboo slips. She didn’t expect that he used the bamboo strips to make a support board to fix her arm…

She looked at the exquisitely made support board, then put it back in its original place, and brutally covered that well-intentioned gesture with the robe she had just hung up.

Then Xiao Xiao lay down again, turned to her side with a slight frustration, and looked out the window.

She hated Wei Jie’s attentiveness, which would make her feel a little suffocated and make it impossible for her to stand by and watch Wei Jie walk through his destined tragic life.

Xiao Xiao forced herself to recall the shock when the heavenly punishment descended, hoping that the feeling of awe would dispel the inexplicable pity that arose in her heart for him.

But tossing and turning like this, even if she couldn’t hear the singing, she was bound to be sleepless.

As a result, when she got up the next morning, Xiao Xiao had slight dark circles under her eyes and a sleepy look on her face.

When she went downstairs for breakfast, the little fox looked at the yawning Cui Xiao Xiao knowingly, then glanced at Wei Jie, who also seemed to have stayed up all night and looked a little tired. She sneered again and muttered disdainfully, “Tsk tsk, actually not sleeping all night. I think this Talisman Sect… might as well change its name to the Passion Sect!”

Xiao Xiao felt that this fox girl seemed to have become more daring and always liked to sarcastically taunt people.

She didn’t sleep all night and was in a bad mood. She was about to scold Yu Ling’er, but Wei Jie spoke coldly first, “Okay! Let’s change it today. In a while, you stand at the gate of the brothel and dance a fox dance to recruit some strong disciples to practice the art of yin and yang together!”

Hearing this, Yu Ling’er couldn’t eat the egg that had reached her mouth. With a cry, she ran out of the inn in tears.

Tang Youshu understood that Wei Jie and his grand-master were not people who practiced such absurd and evil arts. He could only persuade his master in a low voice to let go of his anger and not to stoop to the level of a fox demon.

After Wei Jie drove away Yu Ling’er, he seemed to be in a better mood.

While drinking hot porridge, he said to Xiao Xiao, “When I was wandering around before, I met a friend who said that there is a ghost doctor in Luoyi City who can change life and death and has magical hands to bring people back to life. He used to see patients all year round, but in recent years, the number of times he sees patients has become less and less. In the past two years, he only sees patients on the day of the Ghost Gate Opening in the middle of July at midnight. If you want him to diagnose and treat you, you need to hold a white lantern and wait at the west end of the vegetable market. However, it is said that he only sees one patient a year, so we will give it a try when the time comes and see if it works.”

Hearing him say this, Xiao Xiao didn’t respond and only ate the dried radish in small bites.

Because she knew that in the original trajectory, Wei Jie also went to seek that ghost doctor for diagnosis.

But at that time, because Wei Jie went alone, Master Tang Youshu was not clear about the process. He only briefly described that there were ten people who went to seek medical treatment that night, but in the end, only Wei Jie survived.

When Tang Youshu rushed to the midnight vegetable market, Wei Jie, whose arm had already recovered, was standing in the middle of a pile of corpses, covered in blood, with a dazed expression.

At that time, it happened that the night watchman passed by. He screamed in horror, attracting the soldiers to surround and capture him.

Fortunately, those soldiers were subordinates of Prince Can, the lord of this city. Prince Can was a generous person and liked to recruit strange people.

At first sight, Prince Can took a liking to Wei Jie. Not only did he suppress this midnight murder case, but he also made Wei Jie his guest of honor…

But paper couldn’t wrap fire. This incident eventually left Wei Jie with a reputation for being violent and bloodthirsty.

If it were before, Xiao Xiao would only think that a demon was a demon. No matter what heinous crimes he committed, it was driven by his despicable demonic nature.

It was not surprising that he killed other people seeking medical treatment in order to obtain the only diagnosis qualification to treat his arm.

But now, she had been with Wei Jie for so long and had some understanding of him.

Although this person was flippant and occasionally sarcastic and teased people, he had no other ill intentions.

She really couldn’t imagine that Wei Jie would kill so many unrelated people for no reason just to reattach his arm.

Could it be… just because he was poisoned by the snake venom and his demonic nature was triggered, the original Wei Jie had become violent and cruel?

Unfortunately, no matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t figure it out. Now she could only take one step at a time and proceed according to Wei Jie’s original trajectory.

However, this time the person seeking medical treatment had changed to her. She believed that at least it would not cause a bloody catastrophe…

When the Ghost Festival arrived, the day when the ghost gate opened wide, Wei Jie took Xiao Xiao to the lantern shop early to buy white lanterns.

On this day, the white lanterns without any patterns seemed to be particularly popular. When Wei Jie and the others went to buy them, they were actually sold out.

When they went to another lantern shop, Xiao Xiao’s peripheral vision swept behind her, and then she casually said to Wei Jie, “Someone has been following us all the way…”

Wei Jie also calmly said, “Not only following us, the customers who bought white lanterns before us seemed to have been followed as well…”

Xiao Xiao’s mind moved, and she guessed the reason for being followed…

The ghost doctor only sees one patient this year. This unique quota is very important. Judging from the sale of so many white lanterns today, there should be quite a few people seeking medical treatment this year.

It seemed that someone was anxious to see a doctor and had already started to take action in advance.

I wonder how this person plans to deal with so many competitors to ensure his unique qualification.

The master and disciple looked at each other, and then they had a tacit understanding. They walked together into a dark and deserted alley.

After they entered the alley, they heard the sound of rushing wind behind them. Two big men jumped out from behind, holding sacks and wanting to cover Wei Jie and Xiao Xiao.

Next, there were groans and screams in the alley, and the sound disappeared after a short while.

When the master and disciple came out of the alley again, they had a few more daggers in their hands, as well as a pair of strangely shaped hooks – these were what they found on the bodies of the two big men.

Those two big men had already been captured by Wei Jie and interrogated. These two men had tight lips. No matter how Wei Jie asked, they remained silent. It seemed that they were not from the Central Plains.

Their weapons were also very special. They looked more like hooks for hunting and capturing fierce beasts.

Seeing that he couldn’t get any answers, Wei Jie knocked the men unconscious, put them back into the sacks, and threw them into the dirty ditch behind the alley.

The water there was not deep, not enough to drown people, but enough for those two men to drink a pot.

When the two of them bought the white lanterns and returned to that alley, they happened to see the two men break free from the sacks and leave in a disheveled state, supporting each other.

So the master and disciple followed them all the way, wanting to see who was behind this person who didn’t allow others to see a doctor.

But those big men were very good at escaping. After Wei Jie and Xiao Xiao followed them for a while, they actually disappeared without a trace.

You should know that they were full of the smell of ditches and should be easy to identify.

Wei Jie had seen a lot and was knowledgeable. He knew the reason, “They should be hunters, best at tracking and concealing their body shape and smell… When it’s tonight, we should be able to see the real culprit among the people seeking medical treatment.”

Xiao Xiao silently nodded. For some reason, she had a feeling that this midnight of the Ghost Festival would definitely not be peaceful!

When they returned to the inn, Yu Ling’er, who had run away in a fit of temper, also came back.

There was no other way. She was bound by the poisonous oath with her mother and couldn’t leave Xiao Xiao and the others for too long.

Because Yu Ling’er still couldn’t flexibly control her tail, when the ghost gate opened wide, the yin energy was too strong, making it easy for the fox girl to reveal her original form.

Wei Jie let her stay in the inn. Of course, the little fox, who was born disliking being alone, had to have someone accompany her, so Tang Youshu also stayed behind.

When night fell, Xiao Xiao and Wei Jie went out with white lanterns in their hands.

Recently, Luoyi City was holding a selection for the top courtesan, and there were prostitutes parading on the streets every day, making it very lively.

But tonight, perhaps because the yin energy was too strong, people who were a little superstitious would not go out.

The huge Luoyi City suddenly became much quieter.

Although there were not many pedestrians, there were more patrolling soldiers on the streets, driving away the staggering drunkards and urging them to go home quickly.

When they walked to the street of the vegetable market entrance, those shops had long been tightly closed. Except for a night watchman slowly walking over, there was no one else on the street.

When the night watchman saw them appearing at the entrance of the street with white lanterns in their hands, he shrank back in fright, then muttered and mumbled, wanting to take a detour.

However, Xiao Xiao was sociable. She walked a few steps forward and chatted with the night watchman, “Uncle, let me ask you, do you know when the magical ghost doctor will come?”

When she finished asking this, she saw the night watchman’s face turn pale, and he was so frightened that even his lips were trembling.

The night watchman originally didn’t want to pay attention to Xiao Xiao, but Xiao Xiao looked pure and delicate. Just looking at her made people feel pity. Seeing her so young and about to rush into the ghost gate, it wouldn’t hurt to persuade her a few words.

So the night watchman lowered his voice and said to Cui Xiao Xiao in a low voice, “Miss, I advise you to leave quickly! In the past two years, there have always been people who died miserably at this entrance on the night of the Ghost Festival. When dawn comes, corpses suddenly appear all over the street! No matter how many soldiers are sent to patrol the streets, it can’t be prevented… Tsk tsk, it’s too terrifying! Didn’t you see the official soldiers patrolling the streets and dispersing the night returnees? Hurry back…”

After saying that, the night watchman hurriedly took his clapper and got far away from this vegetable market entrance.

Hearing the night watchman’s words, Xiao Xiao and Wei Jie looked at each other again.

Wei Jie’s expression also became serious. He had only heard elsewhere that this ghost doctor’s medical skills were superb and had cured many people, but he didn’t know that there were such bizarre murder cases at the Ghost Festival night in recent years.

But listening to the night watchman’s tone, it seemed to be something that had only happened in the past few years. What exactly happened here?

Xiao Xiao suddenly thought of Wei Jie’s original trajectory – he was also found standing in a pile of corpses at the entrance of the street, covered in blood. That year’s murder case… was it really committed by Wei Jie?

At this moment, the night was getting darker. For some reason, Xiao Xiao and Wei Jie stood with white lanterns for a long time, but they didn’t see any soldiers coming to drive them away.

Today happened to be the Ghost Festival. There were paper burning in many street corners and alleys. Although the people had been driven away by the soldiers, there were still pots of burning paper. When the wind blew, sparks flew.

In the pungent smell of smoke, the fog was pervasive. Xiao Xiao suddenly found that this originally four-way intersection suddenly… had another unfamiliar alley.

There was a stone tablet at the entrance of the alley with the words “Nineteen Li” written on it.

Xiao Xiao’s eyes widened slightly, because when she was strolling on the street during the day, she also incidentally looked at the distribution map of the streets and markets in Luoyi City posted at the entrance of the street.

There were a total of eighteen alleys in Luoyi City, named by number, but… when did this nineteenth alley appear?

On that stone tablet, there was also a medicine flag inserted, with the words “Enter the alley for medical treatment” written on it.

At this moment, Xiao Xiao found that one or two groups of people were also walking towards this alley with white lanterns in their hands.

So many lanterns were sold during the day, but in the end, only three groups of people came to seek medical treatment, including Xiao Xiao. It seemed that those unidentified people during the day had successfully made a lot of moves.

Xiao Xiao and Wei Jie looked at each other and also followed these two groups of people into the alley.

At first glance, this alley was no different from other alleys. At night, the doors of every household were tightly closed.

But when Xiao Xiao walked closer, she found something strange – the households in other alleys would have candlelight shining through. But the courtyards of the households in this alley were all pitch-black, without any light or signs of life.

The alley was full of cobwebs everywhere, and there was a bone-chilling coldness.

Did people really live here?

When Wei Jie entered the alley, he was holding the lantern he bought during the day. This kind of plain white lantern was generally only hung under the eaves of the mourning hall during a funeral.

In the dark night, the lit lantern was so white that it was a bit eerie.

After entering the alley, they found that there were already two groups of people holding white lanterns, standing still under two separate walls.

Although these two groups of people were dressed as traveling merchants, judging from their exceptionally dark and rough skin, as well as the exposed tendons and bones on their arms, they didn’t look like they were in business.

These two groups of people first silently sized each other up, and then they all turned their gazes toward Wei Jie and Cui Xiao Xiao in unison.

Compared to their numbers, Wei Jie and Xiao Xiao looked very thin. Just a young man and woman, standing alone with lanterns.

However, no matter how many people came to seek medical treatment, the ghost doctor only saw one.

And now there were three white lanterns in the alley, which meant that three people wanted to see a doctor. So Xiao Xiao found that the other two groups of people looked at her with quite unfriendly eyes, full of hostility.

Those who knew the name of this ghost doctor were not ordinary people.

Xiao Xiao pursed her lips and thought: I just don’t know how this ghost doctor chooses patients. Could it be like the selection of top courtesans on the street, only choosing the pleasing ones?

At this time, the night curtain was low, and except for the distant red-light district, everywhere was silent. This place seemed to be isolated from the world. One could neither hear the sound of patrolling soldiers nor the sound of the night watchman’s clapper.

So in the dark alley, there were only three white lanterns that were so white that they were eerie, emitting a dim light.

At this moment, a thin old man wearing a silk long shirt standing opposite Xiao Xiao hoarsely asked, “Miss, are you the one who wants to see a doctor?”

Obviously, he saw Xiao Xiao’s propped-up injured arm and made such a guess.

Seeing Xiao Xiao nod, the old man smiled bitterly and said, “Looking at your appearance, your complexion is rosy and you don’t look seriously ill. It’s just some external injuries. If you find some rare herbs, it will heal eventually. Why do you have to come here to see a doctor? This ghost doctor only diagnoses once a year. Miss, please be kind and don’t fight with this old man, okay? Look at me, how miserable I am!”

With that said, he suddenly turned around and took off his big leather hat.

On the back of his head, a ferocious and painful face suddenly appeared, glaring at Xiao Xiao with slanted eyebrows and bared teeth. If you look closely, beside this face with bared teeth, there were two more fist-sized faces squeezed together, like tumors, bulging. These few faces were all baring their teeth at Xiao Xiao.

Xiao Xiao seemed to be frightened like an ordinary girl, her face turning pale and hiding behind Wei Jie with teary eyes, looking quite scared by this old man.

However, the little girl was a bit too curious. Even though she was so scared, she still peeked out timidly and asked timidly, “May I ask, old sir, what illness do you have?”

Seeing that he had scared the little girl, the old man sneered and no longer answered.

But at this moment, someone from the other group beside them said, “There are already three heads growing. This is beast poison entering the brain marrow… In my opinion, there is actually no need to treat your illness. I have never heard of anyone surviving after being poisoned by the Enlightenment Beast!”

Xiao Xiao glanced over and saw that the person speaking had a hooked nose, but he was wearing a thick cloak with a collar that was too high to see his appearance clearly.

But judging from the hooked-nose man’s words, he should be clear about the old man’s condition and could even tell the cause.

Enlightenment Beast? Xiao Xiao felt that this name sounded a bit familiar. She seemed to have seen it somewhere.