Chapter 1 A Clueless Task

Bai Wuchang gave me such a clueless task right off the bat, testing me.

Most things in the world are interconnected. It was true that I inherited the Yin-Yang Meridian lineage, but the founding master wouldn't unconditionally protect all disciples. Survival of the fittest was the foundation for a sect's continued existence.

I knew that Bai Wuchang was giving me this task to determine whether I was worth their protection. At that time, I wasn't afraid of encountering demons or monsters in Yuluo Village, but rather that Yuluo Village wouldn't be haunted.

I pondered by the puddle for a while, then walked downstream along the river. After walking for a long time, I saw a house built by the water.

I glanced at the front of the house and estimated the distance from the door to the water's edge.

Seven steps!

Seven steps from the water, three nails in front of the door.

Sure enough, there were water-guarding sorcerers here.

I could only find clues by finding them.

I went around to the front of the house and lightly swept the ground with my foot, but I didn't see the three nails in front of the door.

The water-guarding sorcerers put three nails upside down in front of the door to block ghosts. If the nails in front of the door were gone, wouldn't the ghosts outside be able to enter unimpeded?

I took a step forward and gently touched the door with my hand. The door opened at my touch, and my gaze fell on the threshold. Six finger-shaped water stains were clearly imprinted on the threshold in front of my feet. At first glance, it looked as if someone completely made of water had grabbed the threshold and moved himself into the house.

I squatted down and used the handle of my knife to shave off a piece of the threshold, pinched the wood chip, and smelled it—the threshold had a strange smell of ghost Yin energy.

After taking a deep breath of Yin energy, the scene before my eyes instantly changed. A row of handprints with water stains climbed from the door all the way into the kitchen, finally disappearing beside a water tank.

It wasn't unusual for a water ghost to enter a house, but it was strange for a water ghost to look for water.

Water ghosts would enter a house seeking help because they lacked food and clothing, but the water ghosts here were looking for the thing they had the most of.

I opened the water tank and looked inside. It was empty, except for a little water vapor that hadn't completely evaporated.

The whole house didn't look like anyone lived there, but the outside of the house was clean and bright, not at all like an abandoned house.

How could there be such a big contrast between the inside and outside of the house?

While I was still pondering in the house, I heard someone outside shout, "Who's doing what in the house?"

I quickly walked out of the house and smiled at the man carrying a fishing net, "Brother, I'm an art student. I came here to find inspiration. I think this house is good and want to rent it for a few days. Who does this house belong to?"

"Student?" The man looked me up and down, obviously not believing my story.

I held out my hand, "Look, this is my student ID."

I actually had nothing in my hand, but I could make him see what I wanted him to see. My master said that after eating the Ghost King's relic, I became half-human and half-ghost, which meant that I could do what ghosts could do. Confusing mortals was one of them.

I could see the traces left by ghosts without using spells because I could briefly transform into one of them.

The man looked at my "student ID" before saying, "This place is unlivable. Go back!"

I quickly said, "Why can't I live in this house? I think it's pretty good."

The man hesitated and said, "In short, don't live here. It's not a good place."

I saw the man was about to leave, so I quickly took two steps to catch up, "Brother, do you know who owns this house? Can you show me the way so I can find him to rent the house?"

The man was probably annoyed by my questions, "Why don't you listen, kid? Are you courting death? Can you live in that house casually? If you're not afraid of dying in there, go ahead and live there. No one will stop you."

As soon as the man said that, he realized he had misspoke and quickly added, "Anyway, just don't live there. Got it?"

I took a step forward while the man was about to leave, "Look into my eyes."

"Ah—" The man shouted and stood there like a fool, unable to move.

I stared into the other person's eyes with my slightly flickering green eyes and said, "Tell me, what's going on with that house?"

The man was stared at by my ghost eyes and fell into a state similar to being hypnotized. He said whatever I asked, "That house is used to store corpses. Whether it's corpses salvaged from the river or dead people from the village, they're all stored in that house. They have to lie there for three days before they can be buried."

I could understand storing corpses salvaged from the water in the house, as that was to resolve the baleful aura. But normal dead people also lie in the house for three days?

It seemed that I had been too gentle, and the man's subconscious still resisted the ghost eyes.

I moved my feet slightly, drawing the underground Yin energy into my body through the soles of my feet. The purple light in my eyes became even more妖异. The face of the person in front of me turned paler, and I took the opportunity to ask, "Why are the dead people from the village put in the house?"