Awakening

At this thought, Su Qing’s mouth twitched slightly.

She was genuinely speechless. How were there so many ghosts and monsters in this place?

It was absurd, but she also had to admit that the Commandery Princess’s luck was quite remarkable. Even after stumbling into a den swarming with entities, she hadn't been devoured by a horde. Instead, she had managed to hang on until Su Qing arrived to save her.

“Then again, the Princess’s luck is truly bizarre... When she was gravely ill and near death, she met me and was cured. When she was being assassinated, I happened to be there to save her. And now, she comes to a place like this and, instead of being torn apart by ghosts, she waits long enough for my rescue to arrive.”

Su Qing sighed inwardly as she pondered this.

“Her luck is truly one of a kind. I honestly don’t know whether to call it incredibly good or incredibly bad. She encounters a crisis every time, yet she gets saved every time.”

Su Qing shook her head and stopped dwelling on it. Thinking about it further was just a waste of energy; she might as well spend that effort dealing with the remaining ghosts.

Although the process of clearing them out was a bit of a chore, Su Qing had to do it. She wasn't just doing it for the Princess, but also for any future travelers who might pass through this way.

Because of this, she planned to completely destroy the pavilion once the Princess and her party left. Only then could she truly say she had eliminated the problem at its source.

Time ticked by.

Su Qing slowly made a full circuit of the building, seeking out and exorcising every hidden ghost she could find. As for those that were buried so deep or hidden so well that even she couldn't detect them...

There was nothing she could do about those for now. After all, she was currently using a clone, and its capabilities were limited. If she couldn't find them, she couldn't find them.

Continuing the search would be a waste of time. She decided not to worry about them; as long as she was here, they wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble. If they fled, so be it. If they stayed inside the pavilion, she would simply destroy them along with the structure once the Princess departed.

If she couldn't find them, she would just level the whole place. It was a crude and simple method, but undeniably effective.

“But this means my plan to go back tonight and return tomorrow to destroy the place is ruined,” Su Qing thought, shaking her head with a hint of exasperation. “Oh well, if I can’t go back, I can’t go back. There isn’t anything at the clinic that absolutely requires my presence right now. Besides, with Ao Yiyi and the others there, things won't fall apart even if I'm gone for a while.”

She had great confidence in the abilities of Ao Yiyi and the rest. After all, they were only treating mortals. They weren't rigid people; if they encountered a case that couldn't be solved with the mortal medical skills she had taught them, they would naturally use divine pills and elixirs.

Therefore, she didn't need to worry too much about the clinic. The only thing that concerned her slightly was Su Qingyu—whether the girl would actually cultivate properly without her around.

Su Qing pursed her lips and smiled. “Whatever, I’ll just consider it a one-day holiday for her.”

With those matters settled, she stopped overthinking. She found a comfortable spot to sit and waited for the Commandery Princess to wake up and leave so she could finish her work.

At the same time, Su Qing kept a close eye on the Princess’s condition. The Princess’s tightly furrowed brows had smoothed out, her expression was no longer pained, and she was now sleeping quite peacefully. The guards with her were also in much better shape, all of them having returned to a state of sleeping like babies.

Time continued to pass.

In the blink of an eye, Su Qing had been waiting for an hour. Despite the long wait, the Princess and her party were still sleeping soundly, showing no signs of waking. This made Su Qing a bit grumpy, as her patience was wearing thin.

While there was nothing urgent at the clinic, sitting here was incredibly boring. She had nothing to do but sit and wait—it was far too dull.

Thus, Su Qing decided to take action to speed things up, ensuring they woke up, took their medicine, and left as quickly as possible so she could move on to the next step.

“I’ll just give each of them a flick on the forehead. It’ll serve as a way to vent my own annoyance!” Su Qing curled her lip, her mischievous side surfacing.

No sooner said than done. Su Qing performed a hand seal, condensing her magic into a spectral palm in mid-air. She then gave every person sleeping soundly on the floor a sharp flick on the forehead.

She didn't hold back much; it was more than enough to snap someone awake. If they didn't wake up from that, they were either dead, sleeping like a log, or had a head made of literal iron.

Fortunately, Su Qing’s strength was perfectly calibrated to wake them up without issue. Sure enough, after receiving a flick from Su Qing, the Commandery Princess was the first to stir.

“Hiss... it hurts. Why does it hurt so much? And why am I sleeping on the floor? What on earth happened?”

The Princess sat up, clutching her forehead. She felt a sharp pain there, as if she had slammed it against the corner of a table. She rubbed the spot, trying to soothe the ache, while her thoughts drifted to other things.

For instance... the nightmare she had just had. And the dream that followed, where she saw One-Leaf Bodhisattva. And the question of why she was on the floor and what had actually transpired.

As she rubbed her forehead to dull the pain, she recalled the nightmare. While she was lost in thought, her guards also began to crawl up from the floor, clutching their heads.

“It hurts... hiss. Commandery Princess, are you alright?” One guard, seeing her rubbing her head, ignored his own pain and hurried to check on her.

The Princess shook her head. “I’m fine. Go and wake the others.”

The guard nodded quickly. “Understood! But, Princess, why are we all collapsed here? It wouldn't be strange if it were just me, but for all of us to be down... what happened?”

As they spoke, the other survivors who had received a flick also began to sit up, groaning and holding their heads. Some who were harder to wake had even received two flicks.

Rubbing her own head, the Princess turned to look at the people slowly coming to their senses. She thought for a moment before answering, “We encountered ghosts... and One-Leaf Bodhisattva saved us.”

“Ghosts? Why would there be ghosts in broad daylight?” the guard asked, looking completely bewildered.

The Princess looked up at the guard and saw the large bump on his forehead, realizing he had also been struck by something. However, she didn't comment on it, only saying, “Don't worry about that for now. Go wake the rest. Though, I suspect some of them won't be waking up at all.”

She didn't know how many were still alive; perhaps those currently waking were the only ones left. But she decided to keep trying. What if? What if there were more survivors? Until she was certain they were dead, there was still a chance.

So, even though she suspected most were gone, she ordered the survivors to check on the others. She wanted to hold onto a sliver of hope.

Unfortunately, that hope was misplaced. Those who had been woken by the flicks were indeed the only survivors. And even they had suffered a massive blow to their vitality; without a long period of recovery, it would be difficult for them to return to their former state.

“It seems we are the only ones left,” the Princess sighed, her voice heavy with helplessness.

“Commandery Princess, what exactly happened? Why... why are so many of our brothers dead?” one of the guards asked, his mind reeling from the sight of the bodies.

The Princess glanced at him and shook her head slightly. “We met ghosts. We were possessed and almost lost our lives, but we were lucky enough to be saved by One-Leaf Bodhisattva.”

“Wh-what? Possessed by ghosts?!” the guard exclaimed, his face pale with shock. After the initial shock, he looked relieved—relieved that he wasn't among those who had been taken.

The Princess didn't blame him for his reaction; she knew such news was terrifying. But now wasn't the time for shock. The priority was to find the spirit pills the Bodhisattva had mentioned and then get out of this cursed place.

She didn't know if there were other ghosts lurking, and she wasn't willing to gamble. It was better to leave as soon as possible.

“Take the fallen brothers outside and give them a simple burial,” the Princess instructed the guards. “I need to find something in this pavilion. Once I have it and our brothers are laid to rest, we leave immediately. There might be other ghosts here. We can’t count on being lucky enough to be saved by One-Leaf Bodhisattva every time.”

Hearing this, the guards snapped out of their daze. They might not have caught everything she said, but they heard the part about more ghosts clearly. Not daring to delay, they nodded frantically. “Yes, Commandery Princess!”

The guard who had woken first spoke up. “I will accompany you to find it, Princess. I don’t feel right leaving you alone in this building.”

He didn't know what she was looking for, but he knew the place was dangerous. His duty was to protect her, and he intended to do so, even if it meant sacrificing his own life. The Princess had saved him and his family in the past; his life belonged to her. He had long ago sworn to protect her at all costs.

The Princess looked at him and didn't refuse his kindness. “Then I’ll trouble you to help me search.”

She knew his loyalty well. The guard saluted her and said, “At your command!”

Soon, everyone was in motion. Those tasked with burying their comrades nervously carried the bodies out of the pavilion. They moved with frantic speed; despite their weakened states, fear gave them strength. They were terrified that more ghosts would appear at any moment. If that happened, they were truly finished, as they couldn't be sure the Bodhisattva would save them again.

On the other side, the loyal guard followed the Princess through the pavilion. Along the way, he couldn't help but ask, “By the way, Princess, what exactly are we looking for?”

The Princess glanced back at him and didn't hide the truth. “A bottle of spirit pills.”

“Spirit pills?”

“Yes. Didn't I say so? One-Leaf Bodhisattva saved us,” the Princess explained with a nod. “After she rescued us, she told me there was a bottle of spirit pills hidden in this pavilion—pills left by the immortals. They can restore the body and heal the damage we suffered from the possession.”

“The Bodhisattva told you this?” the guard asked in amazement. “I had no idea One-Leaf Bodhisattva favored you so much, even telling you about the pills.”

The Princess smiled slightly, herself still a bit surprised by the turn of events. She simply replied, “Perhaps it is because I am devout. Isn't it said that the gods favor those who are sincere?”

“Is that so? Perhaps I should start sincerely worshipping One-Leaf Bodhisattva as well,” the guard mused thoughtfully.

The Princess gave a small nod and said, “It should be just up ahead.”

“Let me go first. If we encounter any ghosts, it will be easier for you to escape,” the guard offered.

The Princess paused for a moment, then nodded.

And so, the two of them entered the room. Both the guard and the Princess were tense, but fortunately, no ghosts appeared. They successfully found the hidden pills. Once the bottle was in her hands, the Princess and the guard didn't stay for another second. Tucking the pills away, they immediately ran toward the exit.

From the shadows, Su Qing watched as the Princess secured the medicine and nodded in satisfaction.