Three days later, Chen Ning stood before Mu Jing’s newly erected tombstone.
With Mu Jing’s death, the Death Qi clinging to Li Ergou had dissipated, and the boy had obediently returned home.
Shortly after, the old village chief had passed by. Judging from the sword marks on Mu Jing’s remains and the small corpses of the children found in the hut, he had deduced what had happened.
Consequently, the old village chief had burned down the thatched hut and discovered the full two hundred taels Mu Jing had saved for his journey to the capital to take the Imperial Examination.
Using the excuse that Mu Jing had been overcome with guilt over the three missing children before his death, the chief gave the silver to the children’s parents.
Although Mu Jing’s sins were far from being fully atoned for, he had at least recognized his errors in his final moments.
Chen Ning poured a jar of wine over the grave and sighed deeply.
“To acknowledge one’s faults and amend them is the greatest of virtues. I hope that if there is a next life, you can repay your debt to those three children.”
【Ding! This sentence is most excellent!】
【Detected host speaking Golden Words.】
【Congratulations to the host for obtaining 1 point of Noble Qi.】
The system offered heartfelt praise for this selection from the 《Zuo Zhuan》, which fit the atmosphere perfectly.
Chen Ning: “...”
He suddenly felt a bit fortunate that he hadn't read too few books after transmigrating; otherwise, he feared this pedantic system would eventually grow to despise him.
Over the past three days, Chen Ning had asked the system many questions about this world.
He learned that the cultivation systems in this world were not singular.
Martial Artists, Confucianists, Daoists, and Monks could all cultivate, each with their own corresponding systems.
Among them, the Confucian path of cultivating Qi through poetry and classics was particularly unique. However, because of this, Confucianists were often seen by the world as prioritizing the literary over the martial, making them a faction with relatively weak combat power.
After the events of a few days ago, Chen Ning’s attitude toward the system had changed.
After all, while this world appeared peaceful and serene on the surface, it was actually teeming with demons and monsters in the shadows, making it extremely dangerous.
To survive in this world and travel across vast distances to the capital for the examinations, he had to possess sufficient strength.
After pouring the last drop of wine, Chen Ning left the grave amidst the afterglow of the setting sun.
Just as he arrived at his front door, he encountered Qing Yan, who was rushing back excitedly.
“Young Master, Sister Hong Ye sent us more tofu again.
And... this time, there’s this!”
As she spoke, Qing Yan suddenly pulled a cloth bag from behind her back.
Inside, there was not only tofu but also a fragrant, freshly roasted clay-baked chicken.
“Sister Hong Ye heard that you were teaching the children the other day, Young Master, so she brought this roasted chicken specifically on behalf of the villagers to thank you.”
Qing Yan’s face was full of joy, and she couldn't help but praise, “As expected, Sister Hong Ye is a wonderful person!”
“That is certainly true.”
For once, Chen Ning affirmed Qing Yan’s words without hesitation.
Since arriving in the village, the master and servant had received no small amount of care from Hong Ye.
Food, clothes, and even the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones she had cherished for years—she had given them to him without the slightest hesitation.
Even when he and Qing Yan first moved into the village, it was thanks to Hong Ye standing her ground against the others that they were allowed to stay.
“I just wonder why Sister Hong Ye has never married, despite having such excellent looks and character,” Chen Ning mused.
“That’s obviously because Sister Hong Ye has had someone she liked for many years,” Qing Yan said seriously.
“Really? How come I’ve never heard that?”
This was the first time Chen Ning had heard such a rumor.
Qing Yan immediately held up three fingers.
“It’s absolutely true! I heard it directly from Wang Cai... no, I mean, from Auntie Wang in the village!”
Auntie Wang knows everything from astronomy to geography, doesn't she...
Just as Chen Ning was about to retort.
“Ghost! There’s a ghost!”
“A ghost is trying to kill someone! Someone help!”
At that moment, several terrified screams suddenly echoed through the quiet night sky.
“A ghost?”
Based solely on the cries for help, Chen Ning instantly identified the source of the sound.
It was roughly two hundred meters away. If he hurried now, he should make it in time!
A powerful ghostly qi surged into the sky from the distance.
Chen Ning could clearly feel that this ghost’s strength was several times greater than that of the newly formed Wraith Mu Jing.
But such a ghost was exactly what he wanted to hunt.
Demons and monsters infested this world, and even the tiny Ning’an Village hid so many ghosts. There was no telling what kind of opponents he might encounter on the road to the capital.
Slaying ghosts with the Noble Scholar's Sword could grant him a large amount of Noble Qi.
Before heading to the capital, he could use the ghosts in the village to blood-consecrate the Noble Scholar's Sword.
Chen Ning was as light as a swallow, sprinting rapidly toward the source of the ghostly qi.
Soon, he discovered that the screams had come from the Zhang family estate.
Several conspicuous talismans were pasted on the low outer wall, now stained with cold blood.
“This blood... is actually from a ghost?
Shouldn’t it be a Specter committing evil? What exactly happened?”
Chen Ning sensed something unusual and quickly vaulted into the courtyard.
At the main entrance, he saw two figures dressed in Daoist robes lying on the ground.
The blood-stained iron chains in their hands had been snapped, and a pile of ghost-suppressing talismans was scattered around them.
Clearly, a fierce battle had just taken place in the Zhang family estate.
Right then, a man in silk robes suddenly ran out from the inner courtyard, his face pale with terror.
“Help me! Save me!”
The moment his voice fell, a chilling wind suddenly gusted behind him. A female ghost in a red bridal dress, her face completely obscured by long black hair, charged straight for the man.
Her ten fingernails were as sharp as knives, gleaming with a cold, sinister light under the moon, as if she intended to tear the man to shreds.
“Purple Qi Protection.”
The female ghost was incredibly fast, but Chen Ning was not lacking in speed either.
In an instant, he appeared in front of the man, with Purple Qi swirling around his body.
The Purple Qi, radiating Noble Righteous Qi, acted like a solid barrier, enveloping the two of them.
Clang!
The red-clothed female ghost struck the barrier viciously, only to have three of her fingernails snapped off.
Yet she still refused to give up the chance to kill the man in silk robes. After circling once, she lunged again from behind.
Clang!
This strike was far more powerful than the last, even causing several ripples to form on the Purple Qi barrier.
The intense airflow scattered in all directions, blowing back the long hair of the red-clothed female ghost.
At that moment, even Chen Ning couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock.
Beneath the black hair, the face of the ghost was none other than the woman who had looked after him and Qing Yan in the village for years... Hong Ye!
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