Chapter 107: A Chorus of Specters

“Junior Brother Qian, scour the surrounding shrines. If you discover any spectral artifacts, do not make direct contact—destroy them on the spot.”

“Understood, Senior Brother Li!”

Qian Wen turned on his heel and hastened out of the dilapidated main hall. As his footsteps faded into the night, a stifling silence descended upon the ruins.

Hua Biying felt a sudden, frantic flutter in her chest. The solitude was heavy, pressing against her ribs. To be alone with Senior Brother Li now… it was a prospect that terrified and thrilled her in equal measure.

“Li… Senior Brother Li,” she stammered, her voice trembling, “I… I should go search as well.”

She spun around, desperate to escape the mounting tension.

“Junior Sister Hua.”

She hadn’t taken two steps before his voice, calm and resonant, tethered her in place. Her body went rigid. Her feet refused to lift.

Li Meng moved with a leisurely, predatory grace, gliding past her stiff form to stand in the crumbling archway of the main entrance. The moonlight washed over him, illuminating his transformation. No longer the withered old man of the past, he stood tall and broad-shouldered. His hair was a cascade of pristine white silk, framing a face of unearthly, youthful beauty—a true sage of the Dao.

He turned, his eyes locking onto hers across the shadows of the hall.

“Junior Sister,” Li Meng said softly, a teasing lilt in his tone. “You didn’t truly believe my presence here was mere serendipity, did you?”

Under the weight of his scorching gaze, a flush rose from Hua Biying’s neck to her cheeks. The ruined Buddha statue looming in the darkness seemed to judge the sudden heat in her veins.

Did he come… for me?

A faint, knowing smile touched Li Meng’s lips. He closed the distance between them, the dust on the floor undisturbed by his steps. When he stopped before her, the scent of ozone and ancient herbs filled her senses.

He reached out, capturing her trembling hands in his own. His palms were warm, firm, and undeniably alive.

“This Senior Brother had a dream,” he murmured, his voice dropping to an intimate register. “I dreamed my Junior Sister was in peril. And so, I descended the mountain.”

A dream?

Hua Biying stared up at him, dazed. The Li Meng of the past loathed leaving the sanctuary of his cave. He was a recluse, a man who sought only longevity. Yet now, this god-like figure claimed to have broken his seclusion for a mere phantasm of her safety?

“Perhaps our hearts are linked,” Li Meng continued, his thumbs brushing the back of her hands. “As long as you are safe, my mind is at ease. As for our… agreement…”

Hua Biying’s breath hitched. The agreement. Her body for his protection. A transaction made in desperation.

“Do not let it weigh upon your Dao Heart,” he said, his expression the picture of benevolence. “I was merely jesting with you. Do not take it as truth.”

She looked at him, confusion warring with desire. His touch was so warm, so grounding. Do not take it seriously? Was he severing the karma between them? Was he saying he didn’t want her?

“Senior Brother may treat it as a jest,” she whispered, a stubborn light igniting in her eyes, “but this Junior Sister cannot.”

A promise was a promise. A debt was a debt. And now that he had achieved Foundation Establishment, now that he stood before her as a paragon of power and vitality, the thought of fulfilling that agreement made her knees weak—not with dread, but with a sinful anticipation. To renege now would leave her thoughts obstructed, her spirit incomplete.

[System: +10 Favorability] [System: +50 Sub-profession Experience]

Li Meng’s smile deepened. He saw through her protestations. She claimed honor, but her pulse betrayed her delight.

He raised a hand, his fingers tracing the curve of her jaw. The sensation was electric.

“Senior Brother,” she gasped, her lashes fluttering, “you… don’t…”

He chuckled, a low, rich sound, and withdrew his hand. “Very well, very well. I shall behave.”

Hua Biying’s face burned. She couldn’t meet his eyes, terrified he would see the disappointment lingering behind her shyness.

[System: +10 Favorability] [System: +50 Sub-profession Experience]

Li Meng glanced around the decaying hall. The expedition to Sunset Glow Mountain had been a resounding success. His Spirit Vision revealed that Hua Biying’s Luck had exploded to a value of 2000. Her Life-Death Tribulation was shattered. Barring a catastrophe from the heavens, her path to Foundation Establishment was now open.

“Come, Junior Sister. Let us leave this place.”

He turned to walk away, but a hand caught his sleeve.

Hua Biying stood there, head bowed, twisting the fabric of his robe. “Senior Brother… please do not misunderstand. It is not that I dislike you. I am simply… not yet prepared.”

Li Meng’s gaze swept over her—the curve of her hips, the fullness of her chest, the mature allure that she carried so effortlessly. She was a sensitive creature, prone to overthinking.

He patted her hand gently. “Cultivation is the only truth, Junior Sister. All else is fleeting. Follow your heart and place no shackles upon yourself. I am a patient man. I can wait.”

She looked up, stunned by the gentleness on his handsome face. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. A numbness spread through her limbs, followed by a surge of warmth that pooled in her lower belly.

[System: +5 Favorability] [System: +25 Sub-profession Experience]

She released his sleeve. A sudden boldness overtook her, a flash of coquettish charm that transformed her demeanor. She offered him a smile that was equal parts seductive and warning.

“Senior Brother, if you are too good to a woman, you will eventually suffer a loss.”

She glanced one last time at the darkness of the hall, a fleeting melancholy in her eyes, before turning away.

Li Meng stroked his beard, amused. “And will you be the one to make me suffer, Junior Sister?”

Hua Biying pursed her lips, glancing back over her shoulder with a playful wink. “Guess.”

With a sway of her hips, she walked briskly out into the moonlight. “Coming, Senior Brother?”

Li Meng chuckled and followed.

The night was deep, the full moon hanging like a suspended lantern in the ink-black sky.

The trio had scoured every accessible structure of the Sunset Glow Temple. No further artifacts were found.

In the central plaza, Hua Biying descended from the sky, her flying sword retracting with a hum. A moment later, a streak of azure light cut through the air—Qian Wen, landing heavily nearby.

“Senior Brother Li?” Qian Wen asked, scanning the area. “Did you find anything?”

“Nothing,” Qian Wen answered his own question with a shake of his head before looking at Hua Biying. “And you, Junior Sister?”

“Nothing.” Hua Biying frowned, looking around the empty plaza. “Where is Senior Brother Li?”

The vast temple grounds were silent. Only the two of them stood in the moonlight.

“Wasn’t he with you?” Qian Wen asked, surprised. “When I left the main hall, you two were together.”

“No,” Hua Biying replied, a flicker of worry in her eyes. “We separated after leaving the hall.”

Where could he have gone? Had he gone to report to the Martial Uncle?

“Let us go find the Martial Uncle,” she suggested.

“Agreed.”

They mounted their swords, streaks of light shooting up into the night sky, leaving the temple behind.

Meanwhile, in a secluded wing of the temple’s rear courtyard.

Creeeak.

Li Meng pushed open a rotting wooden door.

The interior was a choking tapestry of spiderwebs, thick and gray with age. To enter would be to shroud oneself in filth. Standing at the threshold, Li Meng didn’t bother to step inside. He simply flicked his wide sleeve.

Whoosh!

A surge of spiritual wind blasted into the room, tearing the webs from the rafters and scouring the dust from the floor in a single violent gust.

Satisfied, Li Meng walked in.

The room was barren, save for a single wooden bed frame. Piled upon the rotting slats was a grotesque collection of funerary urns. Pasted onto each ceramic jar was a violently yellow ghost talisman.

Li Meng’s expression remained impassive. He waved his sleeve again.

Fwoosh!

The talismans on the urns ignited simultaneously.

Green flames erupted, casting long, dancing shadows against the peeling walls. The temperature in the room plummeted, the air filling with the scent of ozone and burning paper.

In less than three breaths, the talismans were reduced to ash.

As the binding magic faded, thick tendrils of black mist began to ooze from the mouths of the urns. The mist coalesced, twisting and forming into shapes—human shapes.

One by one, the translucent figures of young women appeared, their faces pale and streaked with spectral tears. They fell to their knees, their foreheads touching the cold floor.

“Great Immortal, spare us!”

“Mercy, High Immortal! We did not wish to harm anyone! We were enslaved by the demonic cultivator!”

The room was instantly filled with a cacophony of weeping and pleading. It was a flock of sorrowful spirits, a tragic harem of the dead. At a glance, there were no fewer than a dozen female ghosts prostrating before him.