Ghost Fighter 05

He suddenly pulled the door open, startling the woman outside who was just about to knock.

"Could this humble woman perhaps borrow a place to stay for a..."

"Sleep, sleep, sleep! Sleep wherever you want!"

Fang Zhiyi only cast a passing glance, catching a fleeting glimpse of a bald tail beneath the hem of her skirt.

The demon didn't say anything either, silently entering the room.

But when she clearly saw the items on the nearby table, her entire body stiffened.

Had she just delivered herself right to his doorstep?

"What are you looking at? Never seen a poor family's house before? The bed is over there, if you want to sleep, go sleep on it yourself!" Fang Zhiyi was in a foul mood. He skillfully dipped his finger into the cinnabar on the side, muttered a couple of words, and pressed and flicked his finger directly onto a yellow talisman in one smooth, flowing motion.

In that moment, the rat demon was certain—this man was definitely a Daoist priest! And a ridiculously powerful one at that!

"Um, I just remembered I have some matters to attend to at home, I'll be leaving now..."

Fang Zhiyi ignored her, and the rat demon turned and backed out the door.

"Halt!"

The rat demon's eyes instantly shrank, her pitch-black pupils darting around frantically. Was this Daoist priest going to obliterate her?

In that case, maybe she should strike first...

"Do you want a job?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if you want to work for me?" Fang Zhiyi asked.

The momentum the rat demon had painstakingly gathered was cut in half when facing this Daoist radiating monstrous resentment. After a moment, she asked, "Um, sir, what would you have this humble woman do?"

"Carry things."

"Carry things?"

"Nonsense, carry things. There'll be plenty of benefits for you."

Under Fang Zhiyi's arrangement, the rat demon obediently squatted by the door. And because she stood guard there, the night passed very peacefully.

Little Hei was laughing uncontrollably. "Seriously, I finally get it. With your empty posturing combined with that intimidating aura of yours, even if the female lead turned into a ghost, she'd have to think twice before messing with you."

In the blink of an eye, it was dawn. Fang Zhiyi unceremoniously kicked the rat demon, who was dozing at the door. "Hurry up, put this basket of things on your back and lead the way!"

Kicked, the rat demon wanted to get angry, but seeing Fang Zhiyi's expression, her heart pounded with fear.

She was originally just a rat living here that had gained sentience. In these years of continuous disasters, with either wars or famines, she had accidentally stumbled upon an opportunity to become a demon. Several families had moved in one after another before, and she had used her demonic magic to scare them all away. But facing this guy... she really didn't dare.

Frustrated as she was, with Fang Zhiyi rushing her, she could only obediently follow his orders.

She just wondered when such a young Daoist had arrived in Jiang Town.

Fang Zhiyi's request made her even more confused; he wanted her to lead the way to the nearest temple or Daoist shrine.

The rat demon answered hesitantly, "Daoist Master, I'm afraid that might be a bit difficult."

"Hm?"

The rat demon simply stopped pretending. "You humans have been fighting wars for so many years. Those Buddhist temples and Daoist shrines have either been smashed or burned down. There really aren't any places like that near Jiang Town..."

"What about further away?" Fang Zhiyi began to understand why there were so many demons and ghosts in the world. It turned out the institutions that could manage them were all gone.

"Further away?" The rat demon thought for a moment. "There seems to be a small Daoist shrine on Dragon Head Mountain, but it takes a day and a night of walking."

"Then stop spouting nonsense and let's get moving!"

The more Fang Zhiyi acted this way, the more terrified the rat demon felt inside. Faced with Fang Zhiyi's orders, she didn't even dare to say no.

And so, one man and one demon left Jiang Town, heading east.

As they walked along the road, Fang Zhiyi's mood grew somewhat heavy. From time to time, he would see uncollected skeletal remains lying by the roadside.

The rat demon said rather attentively, "Most of these are people who died while fleeing from disasters. Some ran into bandits, and some... were robbed and killed by deserters. In these cases, usually the whole family died, so there's no one left to collect their bodies. In the past, the wealthy families nearby would pay people to collect the corpses, but now... I heard that the wealthy families in the area have all fled."

Seeing that Fang Zhiyi remained silent, the rat demon continued, "Jiang Town is actually quite well off, it still manages to hold on..."

Fang Zhiyi suddenly sighed. "Damn it, after experiencing this so many times, why can't I ever learn?"

"Daoist Master, what did you say?"

"None of your business. Give me the basket and go find a shovel."

"Huh?"

The rat demon never expected that this young Daoist would earnestly dig graves by the roadside to bury the bodies. Though, while he did so, the words coming out of his mouth were an entirely different matter.

"The conditions are poor, and I can't tell who is who among you. Since you all died together, I guess it's fate... Please be understanding and make do with this, everyone." Saying this, he pushed the skeletal remains into the pit and then called the rat demon over to help bury them together.

Although the rat demon didn't understand, she didn't dare defy Fang Zhiyi's wishes. Yet, while doing this task, she inexplicably felt a trace of sympathy for these deceased humans.

What was originally a day and a night's journey was stretched out considerably because whenever they encountered remains on the road, Fang Zhiyi would go dig a grave and bury them. Later on, the rat demon became much more proactive. Without needing Fang Zhiyi to say anything, she would shoulder the shovel and dig the graves herself.

"See that? Now that's what I call having a promising future." Fang Zhiyi looked at the rat demon burying her head in work. The scene was somewhat bizarre: a woman dressed like a wealthy noble lady was strenuously swinging a shovel to dig a hole.

Little Hei spread his hands, offering no comment.

That night, Fang Zhiyi found a random spot in the wilderness and prepared to sleep, but the sound of a suona suddenly echoed from the surroundings.

Fang Zhiyi had just closed his eyes when he suddenly sat bolt upright.

Although he had lost his Daoist magic, his perception of danger was still fully intact.

Cold moonlight spilled down through the leaves. The environment, which should have been quiet, now seemed incredibly noisy.

Fang Zhiyi turned his head to look east. Something seemed to be approaching from that direction, and the piercing sound of the suona was coming from there. He then abruptly turned his head to look west. There was the sound of a suona coming from there as well. Listening closely, it wasn't just a suona, but also the crashing of gongs.

The rat demon Xiaobai was already trembling with fear.

As a demon, she could perceive that terrifying malicious energy much more clearly.

Xiaobai pressed herself tightly against Fang Zhiyi's body. It would be fine, this Daoist priest was still here!

Finally, the sounds drew near. Fang Zhiyi saw clearly what was coming and couldn't help but gasp.

The procession arriving from the east was dressed entirely in vibrant red clothing. Two people walked at the very front holding wooden placards, followed by a large red bridal sedan chair carried by eight people. The people following behind the sedan chair held red lanterns in their hands, the light emitting from them looking incredibly eerie.

A group of people also arrived from the west, except this group was dressed entirely in mourning clothes. Similarly, two people at the front held white funeral banners, followed by eight people carrying a black coffin. The people behind the coffin all carried white paper lanterns.

The faces of these people were completely devoid of blood, and they didn't even make a sound when they walked. The only sounds were the suonas, the gongs, and the intertwining of crying and laughing.

"A wedding procession from the east, a funeral procession from the west. Holy shit! A Red and White Clash!"