Chapter 60: Chapter 60 Shen Ying’s Story

A demon and a ghost, their bodies perish and their Dao dissipates.

“Buzz!”

The Jade Seal trembled lightly again, and seven strands of Light of Fortune were accounted for.

“Hmm?”

Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow. Where did these seven strands of Light of Fortune come from? The fortune from the Cyan Robe Ghost and the Wild Boar Demon had already been collected?

Unless…

Lu Zheng turned around and looked at Shen Ying, who was gracefully walking towards him from the ground.

Unless Shen Ying had escaped her predicament, causing a change in fortune, and he had taken another share from it.

Tsk tsk, earning from enemies and friends alike, this Jade Seal in my mind truly spares no one!

“Thank you, Young Master, for saving my life.”

Shen Ying came before Lu Zheng, knelt directly, and bowed gracefully.

“Please don’t, Madam Shen, please stand up. It’s only right for friends to help each other; you honor me too much by doing this.”

Lu Zheng hastily helped Shen Ying up, and what met his eyes was her soul-stirring pink eye shadow and matching red lips.

“Young Master, practicing Daoist Technique, I am just a half-ghost by nature. Do you still consider me a friend?”

Lu Zheng nodded and took a step back.

“Of course, I make friends based on feelings, not identity. Madam has given me books and our chats have been pleasant. I’m friends with you, the person, what does it matter if you are a half-ghost?”

Shen Ying gazed at Lu Zheng, her beautiful eyes shimmering like water, “It’s no wonder that you, Young Master, are skilled in both Daoist and Martial Dual Cultivation. Just your open heart already sets you apart from mere mortals.”

“You’re too kind.”

Lu Zheng waved his hands repeatedly, thinking that if those words were true, then wouldn’t the billions of youths in Hua Country all be cultivation geniuses?

Shen Ying’s lips curved lightly as she tucked her hair behind her ear with a graceful hand, “Am I that old that you use formal terms for me?”

Lu Zheng immediately replied, “Madam Shen is elegant and graceful, looking no more than twenty years old!”

“Smooth talker!” Shen Ying playfully scolded and then glanced at the messy front yard.

With a pinch of the Seal Technique in her hand, countless peach tree roots emerged from underground, sweeping away the chaotic branches, roots, juices, and blood beneath, then the roots combed the Earth Vein underground, and in just a moment, the front yard was neatly arranged.

Only the corpse of a large wild boar remained, and a bead emitting a cyan-black glow left behind after the Cyan Robe Ghost’s disappearance.

Shen Ying reached out and summoned the bead into her hand, “This is Yan Laogui’s Ghost Pearl. He cultivated for thirty years and became a great general under the Ye Lan King. He received many rewards and managed to condense this Ghost Pearl. Its essence is quite pure, and if you, Young Master, are into Artifact Refining, you could use this to create a ghost-controlling Dharma Artifact.”

“Since you are half-ghost, is this of any use to you?” Lu Zheng asked.

Upon hearing this, Shen Ying’s eyes flickered, and she nodded in acknowledgment, “It benefits me as well.”

Lu Zheng waved his hand with a smile, “Then naturally, it should be kept by Madam. I have no interest in Artifact Refining, nor in controlling ghosts.”

After speaking, he pointed at the large wild boar’s corpse, “I just want to ask, how does the wild boar pork taste?”

Shen Ying lifted her sleeve, laughing lightly, “A Pig Demon that has cultivated for decades, the meat and fat are refined, so the taste should indeed be quite good.”

“Then I’ll take two boar legs with me!”

“Also, the two curved sabers, forged from tusks, are considered good weapons.” Shen Ying reminded.

“That battle bounty I will keep!” Lu Zheng nodded in agreement.

Shen Ying beckoned, calling Uncle An and Uncle Qian to handle the pork.

Once the subsequent matters were arranged, Shen Ying took a deep breath, “Young Master Lu, would you like to hear my story?”

“May I?”

“Please this way.”

…

Thirty years ago, in the Shen Family of Yaozhou, a woman’s family fell into decline, and she followed the custom to marry into her betrothed’s family.

In the early days of her marriage, her husband received a family assignment to work in Yizhou, bringing along his newlywed wife.

As they traveled to Peach Blossom Plain, captivated by the beauty of peach blossoms, they missed their lodging.

They intended to travel overnight but were caught unawares by bandits.

The bandit, mesmerized by the woman’s beauty, intended to abduct her for daily pampering, thus slaughtering the man and several servants.

The woman seized the chance to flee into the Peach Grove, but no matter how she tried, she couldn’t escape the bandit’s clutch.

In despair, she dashed her head against the old peach tree deep within the grove.

Her warm blood blended with the tree, and the Peach Tree Spirit’s essence nourished her Divine Soul, unintentionally making her a half-ghost, half-tree spirit entity.

Seeing the woman’s death, the bandit had no choice but to leave alone, leaving behind another robbery and murder case for Tonglin County.

Months later, the bandit hid in the Peach Grove again, intending to rob passing merchants, but fate turned as the woman had been reborn.

It’s sorrowful that though the bandit had barely begun cultivating the Martial Dao and did everything to escape, he couldn’t outrun the woman and met his end at Shen Ying’s hands in the grove.

Sadly, Shen Ying transformed into a ghost, while her husband had already returned to the earth as a spirit.

Having been reborn through the Peach Tree Spirit’s essence, Shen Ying was also bound by it, eternally confined within Peach Blossom Plain, unable to leave.

Yet, she didn’t care. Her parents already passed away, and returning to her husband’s family as a half-ghost was impossible.

She chose to live in seclusion deep within the Peach Blossom Plain, withdrawing from the world.

Later, with the addition of a maid and two old servants, the woman finally took action and established a manor.

…

The woman was, of course, Shen Ying.

“I see,” Lu Zheng nodded, “so the Cyan Robe Ghost was that bandit?”

“Exactly,” Shen Ying replied regretfully, “it’s a pity that at the time, in my confusion, the bandit’s Divine Soul slipped into the Netherworld, caught the eye of the Ye Lan King, and became a Ghost General.

Though he didn’t excel in the Martial Dao, who’d have thought he’d have a talent for being a ghost, achieving great success in a short time.

Filled with resentment, he would come to trouble me at every month’s new moon.”

Lu Zheng pondered and asked, “I’ve heard the City God’s Underworld is supposed to deal with the Netherworld. How could he come out monthly?”

“The City God mainly defends against the Netherworld’s Ye Lan King influencing mortals. Yan Jie is just a Ghost General, settling personal grudges monthly, and the City God wouldn’t interfere.”

Shen Ying chuckled self-mockingly, “In the eyes of the City God, I’m just a half-ghost, half-spirit anomaly, and it’s best if I and Yan Jie fight to mutual destruction. Why would they intervene and weaken the Underworld?”

Lu Zheng fell silent.

“Later on, I didn’t have many friends to talk to, but I was fortunate to meet the Liu Family Sisters and you, Young Master. Although we’ve only met twice, it felt like old friends at first sight.”

Shen Ying tenderly smiled, “I had no intention of revealing my identity, but…”

Lu Zheng waved his hand, “Friends should help each other; there’s nothing you can’t say. Since I have the ability to help, I naturally am obligated.”

Shen Ying’s gaze was as soft as water, suddenly she rose and took a few light steps toward Lu Zheng.

“Young Master?”

“Hmm?”

“You don’t mind this half-ghost, half-spirit body of mine?”

“Of course not.”

“Between friends, no words are left unsaid?”

“Uh, right?”

“Then I’ll speak plainly, I just entered your dream, and the way you looked at me was quite suggestive~”