The Gusu Mistake - Chapter 9

“I’m tired, I’m not walking anymore!” On the winding path, Jiang Yilan suddenly and unceremoniously sat down on the ground. “Why couldn’t we ride horses for this trip?”

“Riding a horse is too fast!” Yuan Ruo also sat down next to Jiang Yilan. “Then our trip would be meaningless!”

“That’s true,” Jiang Yilan said, listlessly putting a blade of grass in her mouth. “But now I’m wondering, is this really going to work?”

“Oh!” Yuan Ruo gave a half-smile. “Why wouldn’t it work?”

Jiang Yilan said, “What if your brother was harmed by mountain bandits or something like that?”

“While that’s a small possibility,” Yuan Ruo said, “my father already sent people to search the area. There are no mountain bandits around.”

“Oh, I see,” Jiang Yilan pouted. “Then there’s really no other way.”

“But you’re the one who wanted to come along!” Yuan Ruo raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you want to go anymore?”

“When did I say I don’t want to go?” Jiang Yilan got up, patting the dead grass off her clothes. “Let’s go, let’s go right now!”

Yuan Ruo, however, didn’t move. “If you really don’t want to go, I can go alone. Go back.”

“Don’t even think about it!” Jiang Yilan rolled her eyes. “I, Jiang Yilan, always keep my word. I never give up halfway.”

“That’s good,” Yuan Ruo finally got up. “Let’s go.”

“I wonder if those people have gotten wind of us yet,” Jiang Yilan said as they walked.

“Probably,” Yuan Ruo wasn’t very certain herself.

“So when we get to the Land of the Fallen Bodhisattva, do you have a plan?” Jiang Yilan asked.

“What other plan could there be?” Yuan Ruo looked up at the sky. “Avenge what needs avenging, of course!”

Jiang Yilan also looked up at the sky. “To be honest, I’ve never really done anything proper in my life. I’m a little nervous about this.”

Yuan Ruo asked, “Nervous about what?”

“I’m afraid there will be no result, and even more afraid…” Jiang Yilan gave a bitter smile. “…of there being a result.”

“The Jiang family is the Jiang family, and you are you,” Yuan Ruo said. She then suddenly pointed ahead. “There are a few trees over there. I see it’s getting dark, so let’s rest there for the night.”

Jiang Yilan looked at the trees for a moment. “I’m fine, my skin is thick. Are you sure you can handle it?”

Yuan Ruo said, “Mount Yumang is big, and I’ve spent many nights outdoors. This isn’t a problem for me.”

“Then it’s settled!” The two of them quickly agreed and went to the trees, built a fire, and divided their rations. But they hadn’t even had a couple of bites when a disheveled man stumbled towards them, causing them to immediately become wary.

“You…” Just as they expected, the man ran toward them, but as soon as he reached them, he collapsed to the ground.

“What… is he…?” Jiang Yilan looked at Yuan Ruo with a puzzled expression.

Yuan Ruo was also baffled. “He’s not moving.”

Jiang Yilan leaned in to look at the man on the ground. “Is he dead?”

Yuan Ruo poked the man with the sheath of her sword, but he didn’t move. “Probably.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Yilan went over and kicked the man, rolling him onto his back. Seeing his face was a bluish-green, she said, “That’s a bit strange.”

Yuan Ruo moved closer. “It’s very strange.”

Jiang Yilan asked Yuan Ruo, “In your opinion, what’s the cause of his death?”

“I’m not a doctor,” Yuan Ruo shrugged. “How would I know?”

“Aren’t you a Daoist cultivator?” Jiang Yilan pointed at the man’s face. “Does he look like he’s been possessed?”

Yuan Ruo carefully examined the man for a moment. “The yin energy is indeed a bit heavy.”

Jiang Yilan asked, “Is he really possessed?”

Yuan Ruo shook her head. “I’m not sure.”

“How can you not be sure? You’re…”

“Don’t chase me, don’t chase me… Ah!”

Just as Jiang Yilan was speaking, the man suddenly screamed. After flailing on the ground, he got up and looked around with a wary expression.

“He’s not dead!” Jiang Yilan patted the man’s shoulder. “It’s okay, stop screaming. No one is chasing you here.”

“Ah!” The man let out an even louder scream, and then actually knelt down in front of Jiang Yilan. “Please, don’t arrest me! I have old parents and young children to support. I was just foolish for a moment, I heard that there was… there was… so I…”

Jiang Yilan frowned. “There was what?”

The man started to cry. “I really just heard people say that the widow who lives here is extremely beautiful. I… I…”

“Heh!” With that one sentence, Jiang Yilan’s desire to help vanished completely.

“Pervert!” Yuan Ruo said the words Jiang Yilan hadn’t.

“I really wasn’t! I was just foolish for a moment!” The man cried even harder. “I didn’t know a Daoist priestess lived here. I truly didn’t mean to offend you!”

“A Daoist priestess?” Yuan Ruo was confused. “Where did a Daoist priestess come from?”

The man pointed behind him. “Just… just over there at the village entrance, at Widow Zhou’s house!”

If it were just based on the man’s character, Yuan Ruo would not have gotten involved, but the Daoist priestess he mentioned was living in an ordinary person’s home, so she couldn’t remain indifferent. “What does this Daoist priestess look like?”

“She…” The man recalled carefully, and in the middle of it, he even showed a lecherous smile, which caused Jiang Yilan to give him a slap.

“Just talk! What are you thinking with that expression?”

The man clutched his face. He had been counting on being a man, and seeing that Jiang Yilan was just an ordinary woman and not the Daoist priestess he’d mentioned, he felt a bit of anger and was about to lash out. “You…”

“Speak properly!” Yuan Ruo’s sword suddenly came out, its cold gleam reflected in the man’s eyes, instantly suppressing his anger. He didn’t dare to move recklessly again.

“Please… please spare my life, brave hero! I… I’ll tell you everything…” Yuan Ruo was dressed in men’s clothes, so the man took her for a man. He dared not act out again and finally told his story: “I heard from the villagers that Widow Zhou was beautiful and… and hospitable. Many men had already been there, so I had the idea to go myself.”

“What a vile person,” Jiang Yilan said with disdain.

The man gave an awkward laugh. “Men… how many aren’t lustful?”

“Don’t use your filthy mind to look at others!” Jiang Yilan’s face turned cold. “Keep talking!”

“Yes, yes!” The man continued. “I went to her house, and she did let me in. But when I got inside, I found another woman there, and she was… extremely beautiful!”

Jiang Yilan asked, “What happened then?”

“Then…” The man glanced at Jiang Yilan guiltily. “She… she was with me, and halfway through, I just felt like my body was being drained. So I wanted to run…”

As the man said this, his body involuntarily began to tremble, as if he was reliving some terrifying memory.

“What’s wrong with him?” Jiang Yilan asked Yuan Ruo.

Yuan Ruo looked at the man for a moment, then formed an incantation with her hand and placed it on his forehead. Within a moment, the man sobered up.

“Okay, continue,” Jiang Yilan didn’t care if the man had recovered and just wanted him to keep talking.

“It was a ghost, a female ghost!” The man said, shrinking back. “Her face was gray, her fingernails were three inches long, and she was wearing a red dress. She was a very powerful vengeful spirit!”

Hearing this, Jiang Yilan asked Yuan Ruo, “What do you think?”

Yuan Ruo nodded. “He probably encountered a Charm Spirit.”

Jiang Yilan asked, “What is a Charm Spirit?”

“It’s…” Yuan Ruo touched the tip of her nose. “A malevolent spirit that specializes in draining the life essence of men!”

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