Qin Xin tensed up, at a loss for what to do, when a ghostly wail suddenly came from behind her. When she turned her head, she saw that Zhao Yuezhu had already stabbed a steelyard into the back of the human skin.

The firelight erupting from the steelyard's golden star spread along the human skin's limbs, almost burning the entire skin into a ball of fire.

Before Qin Xin could react, Zhao Yuezhu pushed her aside, raised a steelyard weight, and smashed it down on the ghost's head in the cloud of mist.

"You..." Qin Xin wanted to say, "Come back," but before she could, she saw Zhao Yuezhu smash the person's head into their chest cavity with the weight. When scarlet fire erupted from the corpse's neck, the human skin withered and fell to the ground.

Zhao Yuezhu held the steelyard weight in one hand and the steelyard in the other, coldly gazing at the four figures in the cloud of mist. "Qin Xin, step back. You and Li Po have been protecting me all this time; now it's my turn. I'm also a shushi (a type of exorcist)!"

Ye Xiansheng (Wild Exorcist) are people who can fight ghosts without magical implements.

Ghosts fear things that represent justice. A merchant's steelyard, a tailor's ruler, a carpenter's ink marker—all can be used to fight ghosts. The premise is that no one has "tampered" with these items. If the steelyard or ruler is inaccurate, it will not only fail to fight ghosts but also easily provoke their ferocity.

Before Qin Xin could react, Zhao Yuezhu threw the steelyard weight and steelyard into the cloud of mist. No one knew what those two items had hit, but a thunderous roar instantly erupted in the sea of clouds, and the sound of ghosts wailing rushed through the door and into the secret chamber.

Qin Xin was stunned by the scene before her. She couldn't understand why something thrown by a Ye Xiansheng (Wild Exorcist) would have such power.

I wasn't there at the time. If I had been, I probably would have been just as shocked.

Zhao Yuezhu didn't seem to think much of it. She took out eight red chopsticks from her backpack, wedged them between her fingers, and looked grimly into the depths of the sea of clouds.

She knew that there were still ghosts in the mist that hadn't died, and she was on guard against a sudden attack.

What she didn't know was that the explosion had startled the old man across from me. As his hand gesture faltered slightly, the Soul-Chasing Rope in my hand suddenly vibrated violently, and the wall near it was blown open.

As the old man across from me turned back in alarm, my Midnight Curved Saber had already pierced through his chest. Wisps of black gas spread out along the blade, and a human skin fell to the ground.

I stepped forward, holding the curved saber in one hand, and walked through the broken wall into a hall that looked like a Juyi Tang (Hall of Brotherhood).

The old man who had been staring at me was sitting on a tiger-skin chair, playing with my Daylight Curved Saber. "You dare to enter my Ren Pi Zhai (Human Skin Stronghold)? You're quite brave, aren't you?"

I looked at him. "Are you Chang Jiuzhen? Or should I say, are you Sun Qing?"

Chang Jiuzhen raised his head. "It's not hard to guess that I'm Chang Jiuzhen. How did you guess that I'm Sun Qing?"

I said calmly, "The Yin Si (Netherworld) secret order told me to find Chang Jiuzhen's Earth Soul, which revealed your identity."

"How long has Chang Jiuzhen been dead? At most, it's been less than half a month. You're not a human emperor, why would Yin Si (Netherworld) care about an ordinary Earth Soul?"

"Since my debut, every secret order I've received has been for Earth Souls that have been lost for more than one reincarnation. Would someone who died more than sixty years ago go back and open a tattoo shop?"

Chang Jiuzhen's face darkened. "What else?"

I took two more steps forward. "You couldn't make up a second story. The first time, you used Sun Qing's identity to create the person of Chang Jiuzhen, just to confuse me and make me look for someone who was already dead."

"When I asked you about Sun Qing's background, you didn't dare to reveal too many secrets and could only be vague. So, I can be sure that you are Sun Qing."

Before Chang Jiuzhen could speak, I locked onto his vital points. "You've waited long enough. We've said enough nonsense. Aren't you going to make a move?"

"You're right!" Chang Jiuzhen suddenly slammed the armrest of his chair. More than a dozen secret compartments suddenly opened on both sides of the hall, revealing twelve living people fixed to the wall with their backs to the hall.

All twelve of them had their upper garments removed, and their limbs were nailed down, exposing their spines.

Chang Jiuzhen sneered, "I know that the human skin secret technique can't deal with you. So, I have to wait for the arrival of the ghost god. Anyone who dares to disturb the ghost god from teaching the *Ren Pi Jing* (Human Skin Sutra) will be killed."

"Do you want to save these people?" Chang Jiuzhen laughed. "If you have the guts, try to stop the ghost god!"

As soon as Chang Jiuzhen finished speaking, patches of ink-like stings appeared on the twelve people's bodies. At first glance, it looked like someone was standing behind them, using needles to tattoo some kind of incantation on their bodies. The twelve people's screams instantly filled the secret chamber.

Chang Jiuzhen laughed maniacally. "I've spent one hundred and twenty years, and I've finally waited for the last three chapters of the *Ren Pi Jing* (Human Skin Sutra). You're too late!"

Chang Jiuzhen glanced at me and said, "Aren't you a shushi (a type of exorcist)? Why aren't you saving people? Are you afraid of the ghost god? If you're afraid of death, don't call yourself a shushi (a type of exorcist)."

"You shushi (a type of exorcist) are all cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong. You swagger around when you meet ordinary people, but you're worse than dogs when you meet ghost gods!"

"Listen to how miserably those people are screaming! Can you stand it?"