The Sword of the Taoist Priest

The white-clad girl walked straight into the yard without even looking at Changqing.

Changqing raised his hand to stop her, "Miss, please wait. Are you here to find someone?"

The white-clad girl continued walking, seemingly not hearing him.

Changqing hurriedly took a few quick steps and blocked her path.

"Miss, you'd better not go in just yet."

Changqing's expression was serious as he kept glancing toward the main room, afraid that Widow Wang might suddenly pop out.

The white-clad girl finally turned her head to properly look at Changqing, her beautiful eyes filled with surprise.

She even glanced back, seemingly to confirm that the person blocking her was indeed him.

"The situation is a bit complicated, I can't explain right now. How about you wait outside for a bit?" Changqing suggested.

The white-clad girl's expression grew wary, her eyes narrowed with a cold gleam.

She took a few steps back, her gaze still locked on Changqing.

Inside the room, the child's cries grew louder.

Changqing, waiting for no one else to arrive, took a nearby hatchet, clenched his teeth, and made up his mind to enter the main room.

Standing before the door to the inner room, Changqing took a few deep breaths before gently pushing it open.

"Help my child!"

Widow Wang stood at the door, stiffly holding the crying child in her arms.

Changqing's scalp tingled, and he almost swung the hatchet in his hand.

"Changqing, please, help my child again!" Widow Wang's voice sounded eerie, her face emotionless, eyes still dull and lifeless. But her tone was full of pleading.

Changqing gripped the hatchet tightly, then relaxed his hold, placing the hatchet on the ground before taking the child from Widow Wang's arms.

The child's crying quieted significantly.

"How long has he not eaten?" Changqing tried to comfort the child.

"Three days." Widow Wang replied, concerned. Then, without hesitation, she began to unbutton her clothes.

"Make some rice soup." Changqing quickly stopped her.

"He shouldn't be weaned yet..."

"Listen to me."

"Okay."

Widow Wang slowly walked toward the kitchen, each step seeming shaky. Her legs seemed incapable of bending properly, walking stiffly as if she might fall at any moment, yet also as though she could spring up at any time.

The white-clad girl, who had intended to leave, saw this and walked straight in.

She stood beside Changqing, looking him up and down.

"She actually..." Changqing didn't know how to start.

"She's inconvenient. How about you help her make some rice soup?" Changqing suggested to the white-clad girl.

"I'm not convenient either." The white-clad girl shook her head, her eyes never leaving Changqing.

"Then hold the child. I'll make the rice soup." Changqing tried to hand the child to the white-clad girl.

She still refused, "I'm not convenient."

Changqing furrowed his brows. "Are you here to find her?"

"Yes."

"What's your relationship with her? Why aren't you helping?"

"My relationship with her is the same as yours."

"??" Changqing was confused. "What do you mean?"

"We're both here to kill her."

"Ah!"

Changqing's mind raced as he suddenly understood.

"You're a cultivator?"

"Sort of."

"You can catch ghosts?"

"A little."

"So what do we do now?"

"As I said earlier, kill her."

Changqing fell silent, holding the child tightly.

The white-clad girl tilted her head, studying Changqing's expression before speaking, "You should know. She has already turned into a corpse. If we don't kill her now, she'll turn into a vengeful ghost. When that happens, everyone in this town will die."

"Is it that serious?" Changqing's heart sank.

The white-clad girl glanced at the child and continued, "She turned into a corpse because she died suddenly, and her attachment was too strong, causing her soul to linger. It seems she's afraid no one will take care of her child after her death. Right now, she still has some sanity, but it's incomplete."

Saying this, the white-clad girl seemed puzzled. "You should know all of this."

"Why should I know?"

"Because you have abilities beyond my understanding."

"What abilities?" Changqing was confused.

"Because you can see me."

"!!!"

Changqing's brain practically exploded, and he struggled to swallow his saliva. From the kitchen, he heard Widow Wang fall, but there were no screams, suggesting that despite her struggle, she was still trying to make the rice soup for the child.

Changqing's face turned grim.

He suddenly remembered that he had chanted a spell earlier, used a technique, and opened the Yin-Yang Eye...

Changqing walked calmly toward the hatchet, and the white-clad girl watched everything without intervening.

Changqing grabbed the hatchet and raised it against himself.

The white-clad girl smiled faintly. "Ordinary weapons can't harm me."

"That's not necessarily true!"

Changqing encouraged himself in his mind. Since he could open the Yin-Yang Eye, the other spells he had learned through the Hundred-Year Dream should also be effective!

"She's already turned into a corpse. If you don't kill her, why kill me?"

The white-clad girl asked.

Changqing froze.

The white-clad girl clicked her tongue. "I thought you were a powerful cultivator, but it turns out you're just a little martial artist at the Body Refining stage. Your abilities are indeed strange, but... not very powerful. To put it simply, they're useless."

"Those who hesitate like you, indecisive, are countless. The final result is usually regret and lifelong suffering."

The white-clad girl glanced at the hatchet in Changqing's hand with disdain. "Fine, with your hatchet, you can't kill her. Let me do it."

"Wait!"

"Why wait? Are you going to wait until she turns into a vengeful ghost?"

"The rice soup should be almost done."

"…"

The white-clad girl frowned, her gaze turning serious. "This is not a joke! I'm only at the Qi Condensation stage, just a little stronger than you! She already has the strength of the Qi Condensation stage, and once she turns into a vengeful ghost, she'll reach the Spiritual Awakening stage!"

"I'm not afraid of death, and I'm sure you're not either." The white-clad girl said slowly, "But what about the people in this town? I can't let them fall into danger!"

"Can't you wait just a little longer?"

"I can't wait."

"Then don't blame me for being rude!"

Changqing held the child in one hand and tightened his grip on the hatchet with the other.

In the white-clad girl's contemptuous gaze, Changqing quickly began chanting a spell.

"Heaven and earth are round, the law has nine chapters!"

"Summon the Lord Lao to dispel the ominous!"

"Heavenly Master's power, cutting through all!"

"First, slay the evil spirits, then the night ghosts!"

The hatchet in Changqing's hand began to glow with a mysterious light.

This light seemed to break the dawn, causing Zizhu Town, which had already entered the night, to seem like it was at dawn again.

Such a phenomenon made the white-clad girl change her expression. She could not help but retreat in shock.

"What is this?"

Her words were unclear whether she referred to the hatchet, the phenomenon, or Changqing himself.

The white-clad girl's perception of him shifted. She had no doubt that the hatchet in Changqing's hands could easily annihilate her into dust right now!

"Please, Lord Lao's divine sword!"

Changqing awkwardly performed a sword dance with the hatchet.