An Su pushed the door open, receiving a fright upon seeing the walls densely packed with wards
“Ghost-jiejie… W-what was Mr Feng trying to do?” ‘Why did he put up so many wards to trap you?’
“Rip them off.”
“Oh, okay.” An Su shut the door behind her and went to tear the wards off the walls. But the moment she touched one, her hand was scorched. She retreated and hesitated for a moment, eventually deciding that she was able to tolerate this level of pain. She bore with it as she tore the remaining talismans off the walls.
By the time she had finished, her hand was a bloody mess.
“I’m done, Ghost-jiejie.” An Su hid her hand behind her back.
“Dummy.” Shi Sheng floated over to her. “Give me your hand.”
“Ah? It’s fine…” An Su retreated with a red face.
“Hurry up.” ‘My(bbb) time is measured by the second, okay?’
Only after Shi Sheng’s urging did An Su stretch her hand out. She felt a cooling sensation engulf her hand as soon as Shi Sheng took it it.
The burn wounds caused by the wards healed before her very eyes.
“This’ll do for now. I have to save my spirit energy for later, otherwise I won’t be able to win any fights.” Shi Sheng released An Su, revealing the wounds that had already scabbed over. Although they were a bit ugly, they didn’t hurt anymore.
An Su was surprised. ‘Ghosts can do this?’
Shi Sheng was too lazy to explain the difference between ghosts and ghost cultivators to her. She floated outside.
“Ghost-jiejie, where are you going?” An Su hurriedly chased after her.
Shi Sheng’s brows wrinkled slightly as she stopped in place. It seemed that she didn’t know where Feng Jin was heading to… ‘I don’t recall a venue written on the invitation… No wonder he dared to show it to me.’
“Ghost-jiejie?” An Su gave her an uncomprehending look. ‘How come you suddenly stopped when you were in such a rush just now?’
Shi Sheng scratched her head in frustration. Deciding it couldn’t hurt to try, she asked An Su, “Do you know where the Exorcist Gathering is being held?”
‘Exorcist Gathering?’
An Su shook her head innocently. She knew of exorcists — but had never actually met one until recently. It really wasn’t a surprise that she’d never even heard of an Exorcist Gathering.
……
Mt. Tiandu, the place where several of the most famous monasteries were located.
A massive explosion startled its sleeping inhabitants awake, causing them to rush down the mountain without even putting their clothes on properly.
“What’s going on?”
“Did something explode? …I felt the whole mountain shake—maybe it was an earthquake?”
“I didn’t see a flash, dunno what it is. Hurry down and take a look.”
A large, blackened hole greeted those who rushed down to the foot of the mountain. The crater severed the path towards the peak, flashing with intermittent lightning.
A lot of people had come down to take a look, but they were clearly divided into two different camps.
“W-what is this?”
“What kind of explosive could create such a large hole?”
They hadn’t seen any flashes, and only heard the bang.
“Remember that recent news report?” A young, baby-faced man timidly voiced his thoughts.
“Xiao Bai, you’re referring to the news about a hole filled with lightning appearing in a neighbourhood?” A middle-aged man immediately replied.
The young man Xiao Bai nodded his head. “Don’t you think this hole is very similar to the one described on the news? A sudden explosion without any flash beforehand. A massive hole filled with lightning suddenly appearing…”
“Xiao Bai’s right. Could it be that aliens have descended on our Mt. Tiandu?”
The other party immediately mocked the speaker, “We always knew that you Baiyun Monastery scrubs weren’t intelligent or cultured, but you lot have always acted like it was something to be proud of. Don’t you know science? Where the hell would aliens come from?”
Blah blah blah…
“Oh, so your Zhangchun Monastery’s that awesome eh? Then how come your donations can’t measure up to our Baiyun Monastery’s?”
“You pickin’ a fight?!”
“Come on then! Let’s fight! As if we’re scared of your Zhangchun Monastery…”
And etcetera…
Right as it seemed like an all-out brawl was going to break out, someone suddenly spotted a human figure on the other side of the hole and shouted, “Quick! Look over there!”
Lightning crackled and the intermittent flashes of light revealed a flickering figure on the other side of the hole. All in all, it was quite a creepy sight.
“Is that a human or a ghost? Or is it an alien?”
“A ghost…” The young man Xiao Bai spoke quietly, but since his voice was too soft, it was drowned out by the others.
Shi Sheng nearly fell to her knees. ‘These people belong to monasteries? Couldn’t tell at all… they act exactly like normal townspeople… My image of Taoists is being destroyed.’
The figure they saw was An Su. Shi Sheng was floating beside An Su, but apart from the young man called Xiao Bai, no one else could see her.
“Go over and ask them where the Exorcist Gathering is held.” However, Shi Sheng didn’t hold much hope. ‘Those people are clearly useless! They probably only use their monasteries’ fame to trick normal people… Yet they can’t even see me! Bad reviews! It’d be stranger if they did know about a gathering of actual exorcists…’
An Su had worn a constantly confused expression ever since following Shi Sheng here.
‘She actually blasted such a large hole at the foot of Mt. Tiandu… And she wants me to ask those people over there where the Exorcist Gathering is being held?
With such an aggressive attitude, will they really say?
And this hole… It’s exactly the same as the one in my neighbourhood!
That’s right! I thought her voice sounded familiar! That time with Nalan Ying… the voice that suddenly appeared was hers, wasn’t it? How did I miss that sword until now?!’
Recalling what Shi Sheng said back then, An Su’s heart felt warm. ‘She warned me that Nalan Ying had ulterior motives, but I didn’t take it to heart.’
A fierce blush crept up An Su’s face, causing her to feel like it was burning. ‘Ghost-jiejie saw me and Nalan Ying do that! How much did she see? I don’t have the face to see her…’
An Su quickly ran to the other side like she was escaping from something.
This time, since she was faced with a group of people and not monstrosities, she didn’t feel too afraid. But the massive crater beside her made her feel a bit guilty.
“He’s coming over… What does he want?”
“Eh? It’s a lady.”
Countless flashlights swept over her, the light nearly blinding and causing her to fall into the hole beside.
Amidst the odd gazes of the crowd, An Su nervously made her way over. ‘They won’t attack me, will they…?’
“Lady… A-a-are you an alien…?” A man wearing a teddy bear patterned shirt stuttered.
“I’m a human!” An Su couldn’t help but feel exasperated. ‘Do I look like an alien?’
“Oh, a human. That’s good.” Teddy-Bear Man patted his chest as he calmed himself down. But not before a question occurred to him. “Hey wait a minute. What’re you doing out here this late? And did you make this hole?”
An Su shook her head as she answered honestly, “No.”
‘Ghost-jiejie made the hole, so I wasn’t lying…’
“Then can I ask what you are doing on our Mt. Tiandu this late?”
“Ah? Er…” An Su scratched her head awkwardly. “I wanted to ask you guys if you knew where the Exorcist Gathering is being held. Does anyone know?”
“Exorcist?” Teddy-Bear Man asked.
An Su nodded her head like a chicken pecking rice as she looked at the man expectantly.
Teddy Bear Man had a confused expression. “What’s that?”
An Su, “…”
‘As a Taoist of Mt. Tiandu, how do you not know what an exorcist is?! Are you kidding me?’