Long Feicheng’s body was covered in a cold sweat when he saw the eerie embroidered shoes appear in his bed.
Without the ghost-repelling talisman, if the female ghost reappeared, Long Feicheng would be no match for her.
If Yan Shouyi hadn't returned in time just now, Long Feicheng's fate would likely have been…
Yan Shouyi, with a somber expression, approached the bed and reached out to grab the embroidered shoes in the bedding.
A strange scene unfolded: the embroidered shoes seemed terrified of Yan Shouyi and began to move on their own.
It looked as if an invisible person was wearing the embroidered shoes and fleeing.
Fortunately, Yan Shouyi was quick. He grabbed the embroidered shoes, but they continued to struggle!
Yan Shouyi bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the embroidered shoes. Immediately, a puff of black smoke rose from the shoes, and their struggles weakened considerably.
The tip of the tongue is the most yang-rich part of a living person. Even ordinary people's tongue blood can harm ghosts, let alone a Lu Ban successor like Yan Shouyi.
Ignoring the pain in his tongue, Yan Shouyi pulled the embroidered shoes back and, at the same time, drew a yellow cloth from his satchel, wrapping the shoes directly.
The yellow cloth was dyed with ginger, possessing great power to suppress evil spirits. Once wrapped, the embroidered shoes dared not struggle and quietly settled down.
Only then did Long Feicheng dare to approach, "How is it? Brother Yan, have you caught the female ghost?"
"You can see for yourself," Yan Shouyi said, creating a small opening in the yellow cloth.
Long Feicheng looked down and saw a woman's eerie face within the opening!
The woman was heavily made up, her face ferocious with bulging eyes. It was clear she had died a tragic death.
Even more terrifying, the female ghost seized the opportunity to extend a hand towards Long Feicheng, as if wanting to take his life with her before she died.
Long Feicheng retreated several steps, his nerves already on edge. He immediately drew out his prized Lightning Palm talisman and, with a shout, summoned lightning to strike the female ghost!
The powerful Lightning Palm struck the female ghost's hand, instantly charring it. However, Yan Shouyi, holding the embroidered shoes, was also affected, trembling from the lightning.
"Damn it!"
Yan Shouyi shouted and quickly threw away the yellow cloth with the embroidered shoes.
"Are you trying to hit the ghost or me?!" he roared.
Long Feicheng chuckled sheepishly, "I… I've been so scared these past few days that I've become a bit unhinged. I just accidentally…"
Yan Shouyi shook his arm. Fortunately, his reaction had been swift enough to throw away the yellow cloth; otherwise, he would have been struck by the lightning along with the female ghost.
Seeing that Yan Shouyi wasn't blaming him, Long Feicheng quickly looked at the discarded embroidered shoes, fearing the female ghost might escape.
But he hadn't expected that while the yellow cloth had come undone, the embroidered shoes had not disappeared.
"Such a waste of a perfectly good Lightning Palm talisman," Yan Shouyi shook his head speechlessly. Then, noticing the state of the embroidered shoes, he frowned, "It's over. This female ghost didn't have much cultivation to begin with. After being struck by your Lightning Palm, she's on her last legs and about to be annihilated!"
"Ah? Is she that weak?" Long Feicheng blinked in surprise.
If he had known the female ghost was so weak, he would have just used the Lightning Palm to kill her on the first day.
It had made him too scared to sleep or even use the restroom for days.
Yan Shouyi picked up the yellow cloth and shook his head helplessly. "Unless we can gather her residual soul, we won't be able to ask anything. I had intended to interrogate this female ghost about why she was fixated on you."
Long Feicheng had no enmity with the embroidered shoe female ghost, yet she had repeatedly tried to take his life. This was clearly abnormal.
If they didn't get to the bottom of it, perhaps green, black, or pink embroidered shoes might show up the next day.
Long Feicheng scratched his head sheepishly, "It wasn't intentional…"
"Alas, if that little girl were here, her soul-summoning bell could temporarily reunite the embroidered shoe female ghost's soul," Yan Shouyi couldn't help but say.
As he was muttering, the female ghost's soul, which had been on the verge of dissipating, actually began to reassemble before Yan Shouyi's eyes.
Even Long Feicheng could now see the female ghost's appearance.
She was a woman with bound feet. Judging by her attire, she had died at least before the founding of the People's Republic of China. If she were still alive, she could easily be the great-grandmother of both Yan Shouyi and Long Feicheng.
However, the woman's soul was not complete at this moment. Even though it had taken form, it merely sat listlessly on the embroidered shoes, staring ahead with vacant eyes.
"Did someone help us reunite the female ghost's soul?" Long Feicheng asked in surprise.
Yan Shouyi walked towards the dormitory door, pushed it open, and saw Huang Hai and Zhou Yuquan standing outside. Zhou Yuquan held the black bell of the Lushan Sect in his hand.
The black bell was precisely the Lushan Sect's soul-summoning bell. This item was not unique, but only people from the Lushan Sect knew how to refine it. Even Yan Shouyi, a Lu Ban successor, was an outsider in this regard.
"Why are you here?" Yan Shouyi asked in surprise.
Huang Hai chuckled, "We were looking for you for something. After asking around, we found out you lived here. As soon as we reached the door, my junior brother sensed that a soul was about to dissipate, so he acted rashly and reunited the soul."
Zhou Yuquan added, "However, this soul won't last long."
If it wouldn't last long, they had to ask their questions quickly.
Yan Shouyi didn't want the two from the Lushan Sect to get involved, so without a word, he closed the door on them and went back to interrogate the female ghost.
The two who were shut out felt somewhat awkward. Huang Hai lit a cigarette and said to Zhou Yuquan, "Let's wait a while."
As soon as Huang Hai lit his cigarette, he was reprimanded by the dorm supervisor who happened to pass by. Smoking was strictly prohibited in the dormitories of Shanghang Art School. Sneaking a smoke might go unnoticed, but if this formidable dorm supervisor saw it, she would surely scold them. It didn't matter if they were great masters of the Lushan Sect.
Inside the dormitory, Yan Shouyi closed the door and hurried to the female ghost, questioning her sternly:
"Who sent you?"
The female ghost slowly, word by word, replied: "Bai… Yu… Sheng…"
As soon as the last word was spoken, the female ghost couldn't hold on and her soul dissipated.
Long Feicheng clenched his fists, cursing, "It's that bastard Bai Yusheng!"
Long Feicheng still had a vivid impression of the young man in white he had seen that day at Zhou Mingyuan's altar in the northern suburbs of Rongcheng.
He also knew that Bai Yusheng was planning to make a move against them, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon!
Yan Shouyi said with a grim expression, "Although Bai Yusheng is busy preparing for his ancestor's birthday, he hasn't been idle regarding us. He sent a minor ghost to harass us."
Long Feicheng suggested, "Perhaps it was a test."
"It must have been a test," Yan Shouyi asserted. "If this female ghost could have killed us, he would have been delighted. If not, it would be time for him to settle accounts later."
Although he had only met Bai Yusheng once, Yan Shouyi had already formed an understanding of his character.
He was ruthless, arrogant, and resorted to any means to achieve his goals, completely disregarding human life!
Being targeted by such a character was very troublesome.
Long Feicheng said, "Brother Yan, since Bai Yusheng wants to deal with us, why don't we make the first move and deal with him?!"
"No rush."
Yan Shouyi shook his head and recounted his meeting with the Liu family.
If Liu Jingkang's intervention could resolve his conflict with the Bai family, then he wouldn't need to escalate the conflict with Bai Yusheng.
After all, the Bai family was the local power in Rongcheng, and no matter how capable Yan Shouyi, a Lu Ban successor, was, he was only waiting here for his father's release from prison.
Yan Shouyi did not wish to court unnecessary trouble.
Upon learning about the Liu family's situation, Long Feicheng was still somewhat indignant. "Zhou Mingyuan was also misled by Bai Yusheng, which is why he ordered the female ghost at Shanghang Art School to bewitch people. So, in the end, my master was harmed by Bai Yusheng! Brother Yan, you're leaving in December, but I might have to live in Rongcheng my whole life! I can't tolerate this insult!"
Yan Shouyi looked at Long Feicheng and said helplessly, "A person must first be able to stand firm before they have the right to make grand pronouncements. Even if I agree to deal with Bai Yusheng now, do you have any ideas? Any plans?"
Long Feicheng was momentarily speechless.
He realized then that his previous words were not a display of backbone, but rather youthful impetuosity, eagerness, and naivety.
And although Yan Shouyi didn't say it aloud, he had clearly placed Bai Yusheng on his blacklist.
Bai Yusheng was currently in a very precarious position. Yan Shouyi was unwilling to have too much conflict with him, but once the conflict intensified to an irreconcilable point, Bai Yusheng would surely be the one to suffer!
With this thought, Long Feicheng calmed down.
He grinned at Yan Shouyi and said, "Regardless, Brother Yan, as long as you want to deal with Bai Yusheng, your brother will definitely offer his full support!"
Yan Shouyi smiled, "Alright. Let's put this matter aside for now and go out to meet our old friends."