71: Chapter 71 Romantic Fortune

However, Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai were ultimately unable to keep their patience.

Their injuries were healing rapidly under the effects of Maoshan Spirit Medicine, and after being confined in the gloomy and dilapidated Mortuary for several days, the two felt their very bones itching for activity.

Lin Jiu remained in seclusion, which made them feel that their "opportunity" had come.

"Wen Cai, are you bored?"

Qiu Sheng nudged Wen Cai, who was similarly fidgeting beside him, and gave him a knowing look.

"Bored to death! It's just like being in prison! Master really is..." Wen Cai complained.

"Let's go to town for a few drinks? I heard a new wine shop opened, and the wine is incredibly fragrant!" Qiu Sheng urged.

"But Master said..."

"Oh, Master is meditating in the Ancestral Hall; he won't be out for two or three days! We'll go and come back quickly, and neither god nor ghost will know! Let's go, let's go!"

With their youthful Heart-Nature and the fact that their injuries were no longer a concern, Wen Cai was quickly persuaded.

The two slipped out of the Mortuary like thieves and headed straight for the newly opened wine shop in town, "Zuixian Inn."

After a few cups of pungent local brew, the two forgot the prohibition and began to air their grievances, cursing the overbearing Ding Qing and Li Wujiu.

Just then, a voice as clear as an oriole's rang out from the neighboring table:

"Hey, you two, who are you cursing? How dare you badmouth such fierce people behind their backs?"

The two looked toward the sound and saw a young girl dressed in a water-green skirt and blouse looking at them sideways.

The girl was about seventeen or eighteen years old, with fair skin and curved eyebrows, appearing pretty with a touch of lively spirit.

In particular, those big, watery eyes seemed as if they could speak.

Qiu Sheng stared blankly, forgetting to put down the wine cup in his hand.

Wen Cai's eyes also lit up.

"This young lady is..."

Qiu Sheng quickly struck up a conversation, a smile spreading across his face.

"My name is Liang Xiaoyu, from Liang Family Cloth Shop at the west end of town."

The girl was quite poised and actually walked over carrying her wine cup.

"Judging by your clothes and your injuries, you must be the Disciples of Daoist Master Lin from the Mortuary outside the town, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I am Qiu Sheng, and this is my Junior Brother Wen Cai!"

Qiu Sheng introduced them quickly, his heart racing for some unknown reason.

Liang Xiaoyu seemed very interested in Daoist arts and asked all sorts of questions.

To show off in front of the beauty, Qiu Sheng boasted extravagantly about some Minor Exorcism Arts that Lin Jiu strictly forbade sharing with outsiders.

Wen Cai chimed in from the side.

The three of them found each other more and more agreeable as they talked, and they drank more and more wine.

The night grew deep, and the wine shop was closing.

"Oh dear, it's already so late!"

Liang Xiaoyu looked at the pitch-black sky outside, a hint of fear appearing on her face.

"My house is at the west end of town, a bit remote... I'm a little scared to go back alone..."

With the wine going to his head, Qiu Sheng looked at Liang Xiaoyu's pitiable appearance, and a surge of heroic spirit mixed with an indescribable emotion rushed to his head.

"What's there to fear! I'll walk you back!"

"Really? That's wonderful!"

Liang Xiaoyu broke into a smile, her eyes sparkling, leaving Qiu Sheng dazed once again.

Wen Cai let out a wine-induced burp. "Senior Brother, should I head back to the Mortuary first? About Master's side..."

"You go back first! I'll return as soon as I've seen Miss Liang home! It'll be quick!"

Qiu Sheng promised readily, his mind already entirely on Liang Xiaoyu.

Wen Cai staggered away alone.

Qiu Sheng, meanwhile, followed Liang Xiaoyu through the quiet streets of Guiyun Town, where paper money drifted through the air.

Liang Xiaoyu's home was indeed in a remote part of the town's west side.

It was a fairly tidy courtyard.

But strangely, the lights in the courtyard were dim, and aside from two dull and silent old servants, not a single elder was to be seen.

"My parents... went back to the old family home in the countryside a few days ago."

Liang Xiaoyu explained, her voice soft.

Although Qiu Sheng felt it was a bit strange,

with a beauty by his side and the wine still in his system,

and being stirred into a restless state by the faint, ethereal fragrance on Liang Xiaoyu's body, that bit of doubt was cast to the back of his mind.

"Brother Qiu Sheng, it's so late, and the road isn't safe... Why don't you... stay here tonight?"

Liang Xiaoyu stood at the door to her room, biting her lower lip, her cheeks slightly flushed, and her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

Yet her eyes boldly beckoned Qiu Sheng.

Stay here?

Qiu Sheng's heart skipped a beat.

Reason told him of his Master's prohibition and the strangeness of this place.

But looking at Liang Xiaoyu's shy, bashful face so close to him, a surge of lust flared up.

As if possessed, he nodded.

"Alright... alright..."

Over the next few days, Qiu Sheng seemed to be under a spell.

During the day, he forced himself to stay alert at the Mortuary, dealing with Wen Cai's curious questioning.

As soon as night fell, he would slip out like a ghost and head straight for the Liang residence in the west of town.

Lin Jiu finally stepped out of the Ancestral Hall the day before the Ghost Festival.

His expression was much calmer.

His aura was also more refined and steady than before his seclusion.

Only in the depths of his eyes was there an added touch of seasoned weariness and cold sternness.

He immediately saw Qiu Sheng, who was feebly chopping wood in the courtyard.

His steps were unsteady, his eyes were sunken, and there was a faint bluish tint on his forehead—a clear sign of depleted vital essence and a massive drain of Yang Qi!

Lin Jiu's brow instantly furrowed into a knot, his eyes sharp as knives.

"Qiu Sheng."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness.

Qiu Sheng jumped in fright, nearly dropping his axe.

"Mas... Master! You've finished your seclusion?"

"Where have you been going at night these past few days?"

Lin Jiu's voice betrayed no emotion.

But that invisible pressure made Qiu Sheng feel cold all over.

"Nowhere... I haven't been anywhere... just here at the Mortuary..."

Qiu Sheng's eyes darted around as he tried to prevaricate.

"Hmph!"

Lin Jiu gave a cold snort and stepped forward, his fingers as fast as lightning as they pressed against Qiu Sheng's wrist.

A wisp of True Qi probed inward, instantly confirming his judgment.

Vital essence was depleted; a significant amount of Yang Qi had been sucked away by something evil!

"Still not telling the truth? Do you really think I can't tell? What kind of thing has been sucking your Yang Qi?!"

Lin Jiu's voice suddenly became stern.

Qiu Sheng's face turned ashen. Knowing he could no longer hide it, he fell to his knees with a thud and spoke with a sob.

"Master... Master, have mercy! It's... it's Liang Xiaoyu from Liang Family Cloth Shop in town... I... I was momentarily confused..."

"Liang Xiaoyu?"

A cold light flashed in Lin Jiu's eyes.

In the town again!

With the Ghost Festival approaching and resentment filling the air, a woman of unknown origin entangling his Disciple to feed on his Yang Qi...

This was by no means a coincidence!

He took a deep breath, suppressing the anger and worry in his heart, and his expression actually softened slightly.

"Forget it, get up. You have a youthful Heart-Nature, and it's hard to restrain one's feelings; I can't entirely blame you. This matter... I am aware of it now."

Qiu Sheng felt as if he had been granted a grand pardon and scrambled up tremblingly, but his heart was still in turmoil.

Master's reaction... was so calm it frightened him.

That night, just after the Hai Hour.

Just like the previous days, Qiu Sheng quietly slipped out of the Mortuary and headed toward the Liang residence in the west of town along the familiar path.

He was both apprehensive and filled with a hint of unspeakable expectation and hope.

However, not far behind him, a figure followed silently.

Lin Jiu's eyes were as cold as frost.

In his hand, he had already readied a Copper Coin Sword that glowed with a faint golden light and a Talisman inscribed with a Thunder Rune.

The night wind whipped the hem of his faded old Daoist robe, making it flap loudly.

He followed closely behind the sleepwalking-like Qiu Sheng, his form like green smoke merging into the night, silent and soundless.

The night wind carried stray bits of paper money, striking the face with a bone-piercing chill.

The pale lanterns on both sides of the street swayed in the wind, casting shifting ghost-like shadows that made Guiyun Town look like a realm of the dead.

Qiu Sheng's steps were weak, but his goal was clear as he turned directly toward the most remote corner of the town's west side.

Lin Jiu's heart sank inch by inch.

That area was near the Mass Grave, where the Yin Qi was heaviest.