The beggar ghost raised its head slowly, a sinister grin on its face.
Through its disheveled hair, two black, hollow eyes gradually revealed themselves.
With its sallow, shriveled face, it looked utterly terrifying under the bright moonlight.
Lao Mo and I remained unfazed, appearing very calm.
A mere minor spirit could no longer pose any threat to us.
Only Chen Yao seemed somewhat tense, not as relaxed.
As the beggar ghost lifted its head, it began to laugh.
"Cackle, cackle, cackle" – the sound was piercingly unpleasant in the night.
Its hollow eyes then shifted towards the triangular yellow talisman in the broken bowl.
As its gaze swept over and registered the talisman, its body visibly stiffened.
The laughter abruptly ceased.
Its expression instantly froze.
For a moment, the air itself seemed to still.
After a couple of seconds, it suddenly reacted, throwing away the broken bowl in its hand.
With two "clangs" as it hit the ground, it stammered in alarm:
"Y-yellow talisman!"
As it spoke, it threw its head back and, from its sprawled position, sprang upright.
"Are, are you, you Taoist priests?"
Its voice now laced with fear, it looked at all of us.
Finally, its gaze locked onto me, standing at the back.
Its hollow eyes widened noticeably:
"Y-you, you, you were, were the kid from last year... last year..."
The beggar ghost's voice faltered, and it involuntarily took two steps back.
I remained silent, a faint smile playing on my lips.
Lao Mo, standing in front, said coldly:
"Didn't you say you'd take anything we dared to give?
What's wrong? Don't want it anymore?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Yao on the side drew her Crimson Phoenix Peach Wood Sword.
This peach wood sword was imbued with potent Yang energy, and its unsheathing immediately intimidated the beggar ghost.
It now knew it had picked a fight with someone formidable.
It had tried to extort money from the wrong people.
The beggar ghost was merely an ordinary minor spirit, not some malevolent wraith.
Hearing Lao Mo's words, it was utterly petrified.
It repeatedly waved its hands:
"No, no, don't want it, don't want it.
This old man, this old fellow will leave now, will leave now..."
As it spoke, it cast a deliberate glance at me.
Then, it turned, intending to flee into the nearby woods just as it had last time.
But how could we let it escape?
Lao Mo formed a hand seal with his right hand and pulled out a black leather tape measure with his left, tossing it forward:
"Demon Entanglement Spell,敕 (Chì)!"
With a "snap," the leather tape measure shot out.
The beggar ghost, limping, had barely taken a few steps before it was ensnared by the tape measure.
Stumbling, it fell face-first onto the ground.
"Taoist master, spare me, Taoist master, spare me..."
The old ghost lay on the ground, begging for mercy.
At this point, Lao Mo and I slowly walked up with Chen Yao.
As Lao Mo approached, he delivered two kicks:
"Why are you running? Weren't you pretty bold earlier? Why are you cowering now?"
"Tao, Taoist master, what are you saying?
This old man, this old fellow just wanted to collect some money for travel expenses to pass on to the afterlife sooner.
Please, Taoist master, show mercy and spare this old man's life!"
The beggar ghost was extremely fearful.
Although it begged Lao Mo for mercy, its gaze was more fixed on me.
It must have been terrified by Qing Dai, who had secretly protected me a year ago.
It still had psychological trauma, which was why it kept staring at me.
I looked at it and said calmly:
"Junior Sister, the eyes of ordinary ghosts are gray.
Any ghost whose eyes turn black or white is an evil spirit or a fierce apparition.
Deal with such ghosts by simply killing them."
"Understood, Senior Brother Qin."
Chen Yao nodded earnestly.
Saying this, she held up the Crimson Phoenix Peach Wood Sword and prepared to strike.
The beggar ghost panicked completely:
"No, no, don't!
I won't dare again, I won't dare block the road and beg for money again.
It was, it was the dead woman on the mountain who made me do it.
Yes, yes, it was the dead woman on the mountain who made me do it.
Miss, please don't, spare me, spare me!"
The beggar ghost struggled and pleaded incessantly, but its strength was too weak to break free from the tape measure.
It looked up at Chen Yao with a pleading expression.
Chen Yao, holding the peach wood sword, was about to act.
But the beggar ghost's sudden words made the three of us freeze for a moment.
The dead woman on the mountain?
Chen Yao also suddenly stopped and looked back at Lao Mo and me.
Clearly, this beggar ghost knew something.
Frowning slightly, I gestured for Chen Yao to pause.
Then I said:
"What dead woman? Explain it clearly!"
The beggar ghost, perhaps seeing a glimmer of hope, quickly explained:
"On, on this burial mountain, there is, there is a very powerful seductive ghost.
She specializes, specializes in harming passing living people and, and eats ghosts.
She has almost eaten all the surrounding wandering souls.
I, I was listening to her, listening to her."
"Oh! So, there's a fierce ghost on this old burial ground as well?"
"Yes, yes, yes, right here in this old burial ground.
I, I can lead you, lead you..."
The beggar ghost kept talking to save its life.
Chen Yao listened and asked Lao Mo and me:
"Two Senior Brothers, do you want him to lead the way?"
I shook my head slightly:
"No need. Kill him!"
The beggar ghost's expression changed drastically:
"Ah! No, no..."