Because the roof was fixed, Fang Xuan could only sleep in his own room tonight.
The brand-new roof blocked out the moonlight, making the room darker than before.
He lay on the bed.
But he kept feeling... that something wasn't quite right.
It was too quiet.
He didn't know if it was psychological, but he felt that this newly repaired house had an... eerie feeling?
The mountain wind also kept sneaking in through the cracks in the window frames.
It was probably just because the room was new and he wasn't used to living in it yet.
Fang Xuan comforted himself and closed his eyes.
"Whoosh—"
A slightly stronger gust of wind blew in, extinguishing the pea-sized oil lamp on his table.
The room instantly fell into pitch-black darkness.
Fang Xuan: "..."
He silently peeked his eyes out from under the covers, blinking in the darkness.
No way... such a coincidence?
It's psychological, definitely psychological.
But... isn't this wind a bit too well-timed?
After all, this is how horror movie plots go; first, the lights go out, and then a ghost appears.
Another gust of eerie wind snuck in through the floorboards, making his ankles feel chilly.
With a "swish," Fang Xuan retracted his head back under the covers.
"You can't see me, you can't see me..."
According to the countless horror movie theories from his past life, ghosts have no way to deal with people who cover their heads.
As long as he didn't look, the ghost couldn't catch him.
But that bone-chilling sensation didn't disappear; instead, it grew heavier and heavier.
The mattress didn't seem to provide much warmth anymore, as threads of coldness seeped into the gaps of his bones.
Wait... is there really a ghost?
After all...
"Nobody... can kill a ghost..."
Cough, cough...
Was there something wrong with the feng shui of this broken house?
How could it be haunted after being fixed? He felt that being in the same room as his senior sister was much safer.
In the darkness, an eye suddenly glared at him.
"Holy crap..."
Fang Xuan was startled, immediately pulling the covers over himself.
Then he quietly peeked out again.
But the eye was gone...
...
"Knock, knock, knock."
He still couldn't take it and knocked on Ning Xian's door.
A slight sound came from inside, and soon, the bamboo gate was pulled open a crack from within.
Ning Xian stood behind the door, wearing only thin white inner robes that outlined her slender waist.
Under the dim yellow candlelight, her usually cold expression seemed much gentler, though her brow carried a trace of weariness from being awakened.
She looked up at the door, the candle's glow illuminating Fang Xuan's face.
His face was a bit pale, and his gaze was somewhat flighty.
"Senior sister..." Fang Xuan's voice was very low.
"There's... there's a ghost..."
Ning Xian: "..."
"Those who cultivate have no reason to fear ghosts and gods."
"Wicked and yin things are mostly born from resentment. They can be dispersed naturally with spiritual power or masculine qi. You already have a Void Core cultivation..."
"Senior sister... it's real."
Seeing her about to close the door and lecture him, Fang Xuan quickly took a half-step forward.
"I'm not talking nonsense. The lamp went out on its own, eerie wind came in waves, my ankles were freezing, and I... I think I saw an eye glaring at me."
He omitted the detail about hiding his head under the covers.
Ning Xian looked at him for a few more seconds, seemingly judging that he wasn't entirely making things up.
She sighed softly, stepped aside to let him wait, went back into the room to pick up the plain-colored outer garment draped over the chair, and put it on efficiently.
After tying the sash, she walked out again.
"Where?" she asked, her voice now fully awake.
"Just... in my room."
Ning Xian didn't say anything more and walked straight toward it.
Fang Xuan quickly followed her every step of the way.
The courtyard was pitch black, with only a tiny bit of moonlight leaking through.
She frowned slightly.
Fang Xuan followed behind her and asked cautiously, "How is it, senior sister? Does it... feel eerie?"
"There is indeed a residue of dark energy," Ning Xian spoke calmly.
Fang Xuan didn't even need to think to know that this couldn't be a coincidence; it had to be a protagonist's opportunity.
He would just follow behind his senior sister and pick up treasures; safety first, it definitely wasn't because he was afraid of ghosts or anything.
...
"Whoosh—!!!"
An eerie wind, several times more violent than before, suddenly swirled up out of nowhere in the courtyard.
Countless blurry black shadows lunged toward Fang Xuan, who was standing to the side watching the show.
"Ghooooost!"
Fang Xuan was startled and subconsciously wanted to retreat.
In the next second, his vision was instantly blacked out, and he couldn't see anything clearly.
...
Ning Xian watched from a short distance away.
Those twisted black shadows that lunged within a foot of Fang Xuan seemed to hit an invisible barrier, letting out a series of shrill shrieks.
Then, like snow under sunlight, they rapidly melted and vanished, leaving no trace behind.
Not only that, a faint, almost invisible clear light seemed to ripple around Fang Xuan's body.
The clear light carried a noble, grand, and brilliant aura, as if it could suppress all evil spirits.
It wasn't an ordinary protective spirit light.
A trace of realization flashed in Ning Xian's cold eyes.
To possess such a high-grade protective spiritual item that didn't even need to be activated to protect its master on its own...
Fang Xuan's identity was far from being as simple as a direct descendant of some common clan, as she had previously guessed.
If his name really was Fang...
He might be from that Fang family in the Southern Region...
With that kind of scale, even the Qingyun Sect would likely have to bow before them.
Furthermore, the terrifying talent he displayed meant his status in such a family would definitely be transcendent.
But why would such an important disciple come alone to a remote place like the Qingyun Sect for training...
And why was there no sign of a dao-protector.
The only explanation was that the hidden trump cards on him were far beyond imagination.
That clear light just now was perhaps only the tip of the iceberg.
Things like tokens that could instantly summon family experts, substitute puppets that would trigger during a crisis, or even more profound life-saving measures... they would certainly be endless.
As long as the conflict between him and Shen Chen intensified, no matter which side eventually overwhelmed the other, she—a crippled person caught in the middle who seemed insignificant—might be able to find a glimmer of hope.
At this thought, Ning Xian's heart felt as if it were lightly pricked by fine needles.
She lowered her eyes, avoiding the moonlight and avoiding Fang Xuan's confused eyes that were looking around.
Utilization, calculation, watching coldly from the side, waiting for an opportunity...
This was who she was.
"I'm sorry..."
The baseness and calculation in her bones could not be changed after all.
A person like her would probably never be worthy of his unreserved sincerity...
Rate on N.U.
