The night was pitch black, the moon obscured by drifting clouds, and darkness surrounded them with not a single ray of light. Waves of eerie wind blew from all directions into the depression.
In the scorching heat of summer, even sleeping outdoors felt too hot, yet this place was bone-chillingly cold—clearly abnormal. The group was driven to hysterical screams by the ghostly wind.
"Why won't the flashlight work?! My phone's dead too—help!"
The group huddled together crying, not noticing a figure walking down the hillside.
Until they heard a clear voice right beside them: "Through the vast and dim, the Celestial Master commands—one pure heart, binding all evil spirits, spirit and breath clear and bright!"
Bai Xianxian gripped the Six-Spirit Sword and made a slashing motion in the air.
Clang!
An invisible sword intent slashed in all directions. Instantly, a series of shushushu sounds erupted around them, like countless foul things fleeing in panic.
Bai Xianxian didn't need to open her Heavenly Eye to know this place was currently being treated as a playground by wandering ghosts. She had no intention of enduring such a fright, so she directly used the Celestial Master's Evil-Expelling Incantation to drive those terrifying things away.
The eerie wind stopped, and the moon emerged from behind the clouds.
The flashlights in their hands, no longer affected by the magnetic field, flickered twice and came back to life.
Several beams of light trembled toward her. Bai Xianxian shielded her eyes with her hand and said irritably, "Turn those off!"
The group huddled together, staring in shock and uncertainty at the beautiful girl who had suddenly appeared in the dead of night. One of the guys broke down and said, "How are there fox spirits on this mountain?!"
Bai Xianxian: "?"
From behind came an utterly stunned voice: "Bai Xianxian?!"
Bai Xianxian looked over by the flashlight's glow and was equally taken aback: "Du Yingzi? What are you doing here?"
The others all looked over: "You two know each other?!"
Du Yingzi choked for a moment, her gaze on Bai Xianxian filled with shock and doubt: "We're… college classmates…"
Everyone in the class knew that Bai Xianxian's father was a Taoist priest.
She remembered that on the first day of college, Bai's father had escorted Bai Xianxian to registration, enthusiastically handing out a stack of talismans to her roommates, which had caused quite a scene.
Later, some bored person on the forum held a "department beauty" contest, and Du Yingzi lost to Bai Xianxian by a single vote. Driven by feminine jealousy, she began finding fault with Bai Xianxian in every way.
On top of that, every time Bai's father came to pick up Bai Xianxian, he wore his Taoist robe and always brought her various talismans and incantations. Du Yingzi's clique would mock her behind her back as a charlatan.
Once, someone even reported Bai Xianxian to the school's Youth League branch for promoting feudal superstition. That infuriated Bai's father, who stormed to the school, threw down his Talismanic Decree and Taoist priest certificate, and told them he was a government-certified official Taoist!
After that, Bai's father never came to the school to see his daughter again.
So much so that when Bai Xianxian reported for work at the hospital recently, Bai's father had to hide an evil-warding talisman inside a Pikachu plush before daring to give it to her.
He was afraid his daughter would face more criticism because of him.
On her first day at work, Du Yingzi had still been making snide remarks in the class group chat. Bai Xianxian thought she'd never see her again after graduation and hadn't planned to hold a grudge, but she never expected to run into her here.
Hearing Du Yingzi say they were college classmates, the others finally breathed a sigh of relief, their looks at Bai Xianxian shifting from shock to reverence.
They had all heard the shushushu sounds of evil spirits fleeing in terror when Bai Xianxian struck with her sword. By now, the temperature had returned to what a summer night should be. The flashlights and phones were working, and the chilling yin energy that had made their hair stand on end was gone.
Looking again at the jade sword in Bai Xianxian's hand, which seemed to radiate a holy glow, they were so moved they nearly cried.
The guy who had called her a fox spirit asked nervously and curiously, "Master… are you… are you here specifically to catch ghosts on this mountain?"
Bai Xianxian: "…"
Did she have some kind of illness—staying up at midnight to come catch ghosts in the mountains?
Wasn't she scared??
But she couldn't very well admit she was here to train her courage, so she had to play it cool and reply, "Cultivation."
The group grew even more reverent.
Even Du Yingzi's gaze toward her changed. Thinking of all the petty things she'd done in the past, she regretted it deeply and stammered, "Xianxian… I…"
Bai Xianxian had no intention of settling old scores with her on the spot. She only asked, "How did you all end up here?"
Du Yingzi mustered her courage to answer: "We're all new colleagues at the company. We wanted to take advantage of this weekend to find a scenic spot to camp and bond with each other."
Bai Xianxian: "…?" She looked up at the area above: "Camping and bonding… in a mass grave?"
The group was horrified: "A mass grave?! By the time we drove over here, it was already dark. We saw the flat terrain and decided to set up camp—"
Bai Xianxian was completely speechless: "Pack up your things and get out of here, now."
The group scrambled to gather their belongings.
With Bai Xianxian standing there holding the Six-Spirit Sword, the wandering spirits naturally dared not come near. The campsite finally returned to the sounds of the living world—crickets chirping and frogs croaking.
Du Yingzi packed up her belongings, then stealthily glanced at Bai Xianxian, who seemed to be resting with her eyes closed in the middle of the camp. Biting her lip, she carefully shuffled up behind her and whispered, "Bai Xianxian—"
Bai Xianxian: "Holy crap!"
Du Yingzi: "…?"
Bai Xianxian: "…"
Clutching the Six-Spirit Sword tightly, she put on an aloof expression. "Don't blow in my ear!"
Du Yingzi quickly said, "Sorry, sorry!"
She pressed her lips together, curling in on herself, all traces of her former arrogance before Bai Xianxian gone. "I was too narrow-minded before. I didn't know that there really are… are… I'm sorry for the things I said and the mistakes I made. I hope you'll be magnanimous and forgive my immaturity! I'm sorry!"
After speaking, she suddenly bent at the waist and gave a deep bow.
Startled, Bai Xianxian dodged to the side.
This Du Yingzi could really bend when needed.
But Bai Xianxian wasn't the type to hold grudges, nor did she intend to make a big deal of it. She only said coolly, "Just don't go spreading rumors."
Du Yingzi shook her head repeatedly. "I won't, I won't! I wouldn't dare touch the taboos of your line of work!"
Bai Xianxian hugged her sword and gave a curt nod with a blank expression, like some reclusive master, making the nearby boys stare in awe.
The boss lady was both beautiful and badass!
The guy who had called her a fox spirit mustered his courage and came over to introduce himself. "Boss lady, my name is Yang Haotian. Could I get your contact info? If I ever run into trouble again, I'd like to be able to call on you to save my life!"
Bai Xianxian cleared her throat. "Sure." Then she looked away and said casually, "But I charge a fee."
Yang Haotian nodded eagerly. "Of course, of course! I won't shortchange you for this rescue either. Once I add you on WeChat, I'll transfer the payment right away!"
Yang Haotian was a rich second-generation heir—the company they'd just joined was owned by his family. He'd only taken the job out of boredom, and he'd agreed to this camping trip with the new coworkers just to do Du Yingzi a favor.
But now, Du Yingzi was no longer in his sights. His mind was full of Bai Xianxian's coolness when she'd driven off the evil ghost with a single sword strike.
Not that he dared to entertain any romantic thoughts—his worldview had just been completely reshaped, and all he felt was utter reverence for her.
Unfortunately, there was no signal in the mountains, so they couldn't add each other on WeChat, and only a phone number was exchanged. After everyone packed up and loaded the car, Yang Haotian sat in the driver's seat of the jeep and asked eagerly, "Boss lady, aren't you coming down the mountain with us?"
Bai Xianxian wished she could.
She brushed it off. "I still have things to do. You all go ahead."
Another girl asked timidly, "But what if we run into… something again?"
Bai Xianxian had already given her only evil-warding talisman to Yang Haotian, and there were two more cars behind. She thought for a moment, then asked them, "Do you have a pen?"
They all shook their heads. Du Yingzi said, "I have lipstick!"
Bai Xianxian said, "Give it here."
Du Yingzi hastily dug a bright red lipstick out of her bag and handed it over. Bai Xianxian asked Yang Haotian for the talisman back, then began drawing on the car body while copying from it.
The onlookers: …Boss lady didn't seem too skilled at this particular craft.
Bai Xianxian hadn't studied talisman drawing yet. She didn't know that the elders bathed, burned incense, and prayed to the gods three times before drawing each one. She just dashed it off with the lipstick, thinking it was pretty easy.
After finishing the talisman, Bai Xianxian returned the lipstick to Du Yingzi and clapped her hands. "Alright, go now. Drive carefully."
The red talisman markings over the white car body were like a sedative. The group finally felt at ease, thanked her repeatedly, and drove off.
The engine sounds faded into the distance, and the mountain fell silent again.
Bai Xianxian, hugging the Six-Spirit Sword: …Holy crap, that was scary—hurry back to the tent and hide!
After that little episode, Bai Xianxian was too exhausted to be afraid. She crawled into her sleeping bag and fell asleep instantly, sleeping all the way until dawn. When she yawned and crawled out of the tent, she saw the Second and Third Elders crouching outside, flashing her warm smiles.
Third Elder: "Looks like you slept pretty well. Want to spend the night here again tonight?"
Bai Xianxian: "!!"
Second Elder patted her anxious little head and shook his head with a chuckle. "Alright, come down the mountain with us to prepare the seventh-day offerings for your First Elder."
Bai Xianxian scrambled up to get ready.
The seventh day after death, known as the "returning soul night," has inspired many classic novels and films. As a child, Bai Xianxian had the "good fortune" of being dragged by her cousin to watch a few, and they scared her so badly she couldn't turn off the lights or close her eyes for nights on end.
But today was the First Elder's seventh day, and she felt no fear. If anything, she was a little hopeful and anxious as she ran to ask Second Elder, "If I open my Heavenly Eye tonight, will I be able to see the First Elder?"
Her eyes were red. "I still have so much I never got to say to him."
Second Elder let out a sigh, then turned and said to the First Elder, who was crouching in the ancestral hall absorbing incense smoke, "You should see Xianxian tonight."
First Elder gave a humph and said nothing.
By evening, the offerings were prepared—this was the final day the departed soul could linger in the mortal world. After partaking of the offerings and bidding farewell to loved ones, it was time to report to the Underworld. If the soul still failed to depart after today, the ghost messengers would come to seize it.
On the seventh-night ritual, the living typically kept their distance, scattering only a layer of ash on the ground before the hall. The next day, they would check the ash for footprints to see whether the departed soul had returned.
The Second Elder and Third Elder went to bed at dusk. Watching their lights go out, Bai Xianxian slipped on a coat and crept behind the stone plinth outside the main hall to hide.
The moon was exceptionally bright that night, its clear light illuminating everything with perfect clarity.
Counting the time, Bai Xianxian formed hand seals and recited the Heavenly Eye Opening Incantation. After a flash of spiritual light, she eagerly scanned her surroundings.
Nothing had changed.
A pang of disappointment struck her, but she refused to give up. Peering toward the main hall, she called out, "First Elder? Are you back, First Elder? First Elder? Come eat the offerings, First Elder!"
A huffy voice suddenly sounded from behind her: "Are you calling for a soul or what?!"
Bai Xianxian: "!"
She jolted in fright, then, snapping back to her senses, she spun around with wide eyes. When she saw the First Elder's semi-transparent figure bathed in moonlight, she rushed toward him in excitement: "First Elder, I missed you so much, wuwuwu—"
But she lunged into empty air. Stunned, Bai Xianxian stared at her own arms, which had closed around nothing, then looked at the faint, translucent figure before her. Tears streamed down her face in an instant.
The First Elder looked exasperated: "I knew you'd cry!" He reached out to wipe her tears, but his hand stopped mid-air and quietly withdrew. He sighed softly. "Little Xian'er, you've grown up now. You need to be strong—don't go shedding tears at the drop of a hat."
Bai Xianxian nodded vigorously even as the tears kept falling.
The First Elder extended his palm and gave a weightless pat above her head. "After I'm gone, you must take good care of your two elders. I know the burden of the Bai family is heavy, and carrying it all alone in the future will be exhausting. But this elder believes you can do it wonderfully."
Bai Xianxian looked up at him through tear-blurred eyes.
The First Elder smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. "You are the pride of the entire Bai family!"
Bai Xianxian nodded through her tears. "I will! First Elder, I will definitely restore the Bai family's name! You have to watch over me! Wherever you go, you have to keep watching over Xianxian!"
A faint, ethereal bell tolled in the distance.
The First Elder glanced back, then wiped the corner of his eye. "Little Xian'er, I have to go now."
Bai Xianxian choked back her tears, knowing that life and death follow their own course. With things as they were, she sobbed, "First Elder, is there anything else you need to tell me? I'll make sure it's done!"
The First Elder said wistfully, "Nothing much else, really… just that job at the hospital…" He winced in pain. "It's got social insurance and housing fund, after all! If you can take it, you should!"