Chapter 42 The Five Plague Ghosts

The chilling sword light descended from above.

Before that ghost could even push open the door, Wei Yuan had already used his Wind Control ability to float and stand above the doorway. When the ghost came in, even Wei Yuan was slightly surprised at its appearance. The ghosts he'd dealt with at home were already gruesomely dead, but this one was even stranger.

There were five ghosts in total, the last four following the first in a neat line.

Each of them had long, skinny, bluish hands and feet, shriveled bellies, and wore tattered, moldy clothes. Four of them only had two holes where their noses should be, with a black emptiness below leading to a cracked mouth full of fangs. Above the nose was a bald expanse. The first ghost, however, had an extra, vertical eye, which was terrifying to behold.

These things, neither human nor otherwise, instantly darkened the room upon entering.

They came in the dreams of mortals, step by step, and had taken countless lives.

Wei Yuan seized the opportunity, ignoring the ghost's ugliness. He descended from above, the Eight-Sided Han Sword in his hand radiating a chilling light. He slashed directly at the eye of the leading ghost. The sword had already been imbued with the power of the Evil-Breaking Charm. The ghost only had one eye, and that was fixed on the bed, so it was caught off guard. The sword light was already upon it.

It only had time to jerk its head before the sword grazed its neck and pierced through.

The ghost cried out in pain.

Wei Yuan stepped on empty air with his right foot, gathering a gust of demonic wind beneath him, and moved with the wind. He twisted his body and used the Eight-Sided Han Sword to cut off a large piece of rotten flesh. With his left hand, he drew the broken sword from his back and stabbed it directly into the eye that dominated most of the ghost's face, as it stumbled back and bumped into the eyeless ghost behind it.

He followed up with a ruthless kick to the ghost's chest and abdomen, sending it crashing to the ground with a miserable shriek.

The other ghosts were thrown into chaos, howling and screaming.

"What happened?! Why is there the smell of blood?"

"Have you already started eating?!"

"No, it's rotten blood and flesh!"

The last, short ghost turned to run, but Wei Yuan had already placed a talisman on the door. The little ghost was trapped, like a mortal in a ghost wall, unable to escape no matter where it ran.

These five ghosts relied entirely on the one-eyed ghost to lead them. Now that its eye was gone, all five were blind, filled with panic and rage. They shrieked and wailed, tearing forward with sharp claws. Some of the ghosts' bellies swelled, and they breathed heavily. Wei Yuan felt a sway, and his own vital energy was almost sucked out of him.

If not for the solid foundation of the Crouching Tiger Stance, which was related to both Daoism and Confucianism and emphasized strengthening the root, he would have been in trouble.

His expression hardened, and he closed the door. Relying on the lightness and agility of his swordsmanship, he circled around the five evil ghosts, injuring them without killing them, draining their strength and courage. In a short time, he had knocked down all the blind ghosts one by one.

…

Wei Yuan sat on a chair, gripping his sword.

His body radiated killing intent.

In front of him, five ugly ghosts lay on the ground in a miserable state, rolling around like gourds.

Words had already appeared on the Crouching Tiger waist tag, and Wei Yuan already knew the true identity of these ghosts.

The Five Plague Ghosts, one eye for five ghosts, five ghosts one eye, moving and acting as one. If a few of these ghosts went to smell a person, that person would fall ill. But if five of them went together, the person would die within seven days, even if they were strong and healthy beforehand.

They belonged to the Ghost Division, but were also classified as strange, as ghost monsters, evil beings.

The village outside the window was still quiet. Wei Yuan rested his sword on the ground, pretending to know everything, and bluffed the ghosts, saying, "I didn't expect to see Five Plague Ghosts like you here. How long have you been here?"

Wei Yuan showed no mercy to evil ghosts. The five ghosts were already filled with fear. Hearing his question, the leading ghost struggled to get up, crawling forward on its knees and kowtowing, "Please spare us, Daoist priest, please spare us."

Wei Yuan did not respond, continuing to press with his sword. The ghosts had no choice but to reveal the truth.

The village was completely enveloped by a ghost domain.

This ghost domain had a significant origin, seemingly modified from an ancient formation. Unfortunately, it had fallen into the hands of ghosts and transformed into a sinister ghost domain. The entrance opened every seven days.

After entering, mortals would encounter various harsh weather conditions, such as strong winds or heavy rain. Those who entered could not leave in less than seven days.

Even strong and healthy people would lose most of their vital energy after staying for seven days. Plague ghosts would possess them, and Poverty Ghosts would cling to their backs. After all this torment, they would lose at least half of their normal lifespan, and would die of consumption in their thirties or forties at most.

The lost lifespan, which was the vital energy and yang energy of ordinary people, naturally went to this village.

He didn't know how the other ghosts were arranged.

In any case, the shopkeeper never allowed the five of them to absorb the vital energy of one person, so the guests would die outside, avoiding trouble here that might attract Daoists from Longhu Mountain and Maoshan.

Wei Yuan asked, "The shopkeeper?"

The One-Eyed Five replied:

"Exactly, the master of the ghost domain runs an inn, selling neither tea nor wine."

"He cooks for the dead and welcomes guests from all directions."

"Where is the inn?"

"Ordinary people must go west to find it."

His voice paused, and he kowtowed again, begging for mercy. Wei Yuan drew his sword suddenly, showing no mercy. The sword flashed, and the evil ghosts fell to the ground one by one. The last ghost knew it was going to die, let out a miserable roar, and tried to attack Wei Yuan, but the broken sword pierced its throat directly. It made a garbled sound in its throat and fell to the ground with a thud.

With the evil ghosts subdued, the Commandant did not change his expression and slowly wiped the green pus and blood from his sword with a cloth.

The Crouching Tiger waist tag trembled slightly.

Slain One-Eyed Five.

Gained three merits.

These ghosts were only slightly stronger than the face-painted slaves that Wei Yuan had dealt with before.

However, three merit points were still three merit points. No matter how small a mosquito's leg was, it was still meat. Wei Yuan had finally earned merit points again, and he felt a little more at ease in the face of the threat from the Mountain Lord, who could appear at any time and from anywhere.

And the shopkeeper that the One-Eyed Five mentioned should be the restaurant that Wang Hong and the others spoke of.

This time, he had found the main culprit.

The village was quiet. Wei Yuan sheathed his sword and turned to see the ghosts lying on the ground. Although the One-Eyed Five were ghosts, they were also monsters and had a physical form, which was unsightly. Wei Yuan threw the five ghosts out the window, where they landed on the ground like rocks.

He looked around the village, knowing that it was surrounded by a ghost domain. Since he could not escape and had his skills,

He simply embraced his sword and fell asleep peacefully where the evil ghosts had been.

…

In the darkness, there was a rustling sound.

Demons and ghosts slowly approached.

"Strange, the One-Eyed Five has been gone for so long, why is there still no sound?"

A ghost's expression changed and said:

"Damn it, he wouldn't have indulged his appetite and eaten someone, would he?!"

In this era of spiritual revival, the Divine Continent had the Tianshi Mansion to suppress the area, and Buddhist and Daoist disciples were descending the mountains. The ghosts hurried to where the One-Eyed Five had gone, and then, in the moonlight, their faces turned pale as they saw five ghosts lying on the ground, their rotten flesh almost turned into mud.

The ghosts stopped in their tracks, their eyes filled with horror.

Then they all retreated.

Nothing happened all night.

The next day, Wei Yuan opened his eyes, stretched comfortably, opened the window, and saw two people outside sweeping the road. To the naked eye, they were sweeping weeds and fallen leaves, but in Wei Yuan's eyes, they were sweeping up the puddles of rotten flesh of the One-Eyed Five.

A couple passed by, seemingly surprised that there were so many fallen leaves in the spring.

"Ah, these were blown down by the strong wind last night."

A kind-faced old woman answered with a warm smile.

"Yes, yes, the wind was so fast, like a knife, and the rain was so cold, like a sword."

Another dull-looking old woman said.

The young woman smiled and took her boyfriend's hand, stepping on the fallen leaves. The sound of her boots stepping on the leaves was soft and comfortable, like coming to a lazy afternoon in autumn. Wei Yuan watched the woman's high-heeled boots rise and fall, her movements light, stepping on the rotten ghost flesh.

Splish, splosh—

The high heels crushed the pieces of rotten flesh.

Pale green pus and blood, invisible to the naked eye, landed on her beige dress and on her hands.

The hands were still tightly clasped together.

The people were smiling.

The two old women who were sweeping stopped and watched the joking couple with kind smiles.

Their throats moved up and down, as if they were swallowing saliva.

Knock, knock, knock—

Wei Yuan narrowed his eyes at the scene, his hand slowly resting on the hilt of the broken sword behind his back.

A knock sounded on the door.

Wei Yuan let go of his hand and opened the door.

The gaunt and amiable innkeeper stood expressionlessly at the door, surveying the room full of ghost blood.

He bowed slightly.

"Hello, would you like me to clean the room?"