Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Taoist Priest

Zhao Qian and Yu Xiaoxue had suffered a bitter experience at the hands of the Zhang family outside. I certainly wouldn't let them easily and satisfactorily resolve the matter; at the very least, my expression toward Zhang Xiaofei wouldn't be very pleasant, and I might even have to put him through the wringer again tonight, which was why I made him summon the people from the Zhang family.

Coupled with the information from Song Wanyi, I knew the matter was actually not that simple. It would be one thing if your Zhang family just went grave robbing, but to go grave robbing while constantly cursing ghosts at the same time—it would be a miracle if the ghosts didn't make trouble for your entire family.

After sending Zhang Xiaofei away, I had dinner with Zhao Qian. She ate a full bowl and seemed somewhat happy, a natural blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Brother Tian, if it weren't for you, I truly wouldn't have known what to do..." Zhao Qian said to me in a low voice, referring to the incident earlier when she had angrily run back to her room.

Earlier, when she saw that I had suddenly died and Zhang Xiaofei came to cause trouble, her entire composure had collapsed. She was not someone who could hold her ground in a big situation, so panicking when facing a major crisis was inevitable. Fortunately, I came back to life in time and properly resolved all matters, big and small, in one fell swoop. Otherwise, she really wouldn't have known what to do.

"It's nothing. After freeloading off you for so many days, I have to help out somehow." Living in the villa for free these past few days made even my old face blush a little. The truth was, I really didn't have much money left; if I didn't freeload, it seemed I wouldn't be able to survive anymore, and I needed to think of some side-door ways to make some quick cash.

"Brother Tian was invited by me. The longer you stay, the better. How can you call it freeloading? Besides, you've saved me so many times—that can't be measured by money at all!" Zhao Qian hurriedly retorted, only to end up choking and coughing.

"Alright, alright, you have the final say. Don't rush." I hurriedly walked over and patted her on the back, helping her steady her breathing.

"Then Brother Tian... you won't blame me for what happened today, will you..." Zhao Qian looked at me pitifully, making me feel as though it was precisely because of that incident that I had been scared to death in my room.

"My vital energy and blood were severely depleted today, and I was somewhat dazed as well. I spoke without thinking, so don't take it to heart." I comforted her. After all, she had experienced major events, and her mind had been far too delicate these past few days.

"Mm, I won't. It's just that I was too sensitive," Zhao Qian nodded hurriedly, her face flushed red.

Looking closely at her breathtakingly beautiful appearance and the patch of fair skin below her neck, my heart couldn't help but flutter like a frightened deer. Blushing and flesh-and-blood warmth were things ghosts did not possess, and they could always leave me spellbound.

However, the moment I thought of Sister Wife-to-be, I didn't dare to make any further moves.

"That's right, my little ghost still needs you to perform the ritual to send her clothes over. She's really looking forward to it. Do you have time now?" I seized the opportunity to ask. Xijun liked her clothes far too much and was still fondling them in her room.

Fearing that Xijun might ruin them, I hadn't let her wear them on her body yet.

"Of course I have time. I finished tailoring them today and wanted to show them to you during dinner, but then... Fortunately, it was just a false alarm." Zhao Qian gently patted her chest, causing her ample breasts to heave rhythmically.

I swallowed hard, forced myself to turn around and return to the study, retrieved the red funerary garments, and released Xijun from the soul urn.

Xijun held the red ancient-style dress and spun around in place. She seemed extremely excited; I figured this clothing was probably the only thing she had never thought of eating.

"Mm, it suits her so well." Zhao Qian and Xijun were quite familiar with each other by now. After all, she had been stared at by this little female ghost in the car several times, leaving a deep impression.

"Then let's go perform the ritual to send it to her now," I suggested, taking Xijun up to the Taoist altar. Cute as Xijun was, I never dared to let her out of my sight. She had a criminal record, and I was terrified she might do something completely unexpected.

Zhao Qian had also finished eating and was just in time for this task.

As the flames rose, the clothes on Xijun, who stood before the divine altar, gradually became transparent and began to fade away.

Zhao Qian looked at me with some confusion, wondering why I was staring at Xijun so intently. Only when I noticed that Xijun's clothes were about to vanish did I snap back to reality and turn away with a dry cough.

"Done," Zhao Qian soon said to me.

I turned around and found that Xijun now looked graceful and exceedingly pretty. Her figure was slender rather than chubby like an ordinary child, her hair fell past her shoulders, her arms were as slender as lotus roots, and her face leaned toward the slender side.

The clothes fit her perfectly. The bright red edges were trimmed with small gold threads like wisps of light gauze, giving off a distinct court-lady dress vibe that was in a completely different league compared to her previous casual red outfit.

Although Xijun didn't mind her manners when eating, her cultivated foundation was internal. After putting on the clothes and spinning around casually, every glance and smile made her look as innocent as a little princess, to the point that I suddenly didn't want her to go into battle anymore. I felt it was much better to hold her in my arms as a dress-up doll and quietly admire her by myself in secret.

Just as I was gazing at her infatuatedly, Xijun flew over again, threw her arms around my neck, and giggled, then turned her head to look at Zhao Qian, looking as though all hostility had completely vanished.

Seeing that Xijun liked it, Zhao Qian was very happy herself, but after all, Xijun was a malicious ghost, so she didn't dare to get within half a step of her.

Xijun was truly a bit too clingy, so I had no choice but to place her on my back, letting her dangle from my neck and play.

Remembering that there was still an urgent matter burning my eyebrows—I needed to go see Old Hai—I said to Zhao Qian, "You and Xiaoxue should go to sleep early tonight. It's already seven o'clock. I'm heading out and might need to make a trip to the Zhao Family Village to find Uncle Hai, and by the way, resolve Zhang Xiaofei's business."

"Brother Tian, I want to go with you," Zhao Qian said, following me downstairs.

"Aren't you tired today? You should just go to sleep. I can handle these trivial matters myself," I suggested.

"I'm not tired. I took a short nap after finishing cutting the paper in my room earlier..." Zhao Qian said with some worry.

"Be a good girl and go get some rest. Nothing will happen tonight. Be good, I'll take you out to play tomorrow." Seeing that her complexion was still not quite right, I didn't let her tag along.

Zhao Qian blushed. Why was he coaxing her as if she were a child? But deep down, she felt wonderful and nodded, "Then Brother Tian, be careful."

"Rest assured." I still had the keys to Zhao Qian's car. Since she hadn't been using it much lately, I was temporarily keeping custody of it.

Zhao Qian saw me out, and on the way, I called Old Hai, but the call went straight to voicemail. A shadow of doubt arose in my heart—could it be that they hadn't returned from the path separating the yin and yang realms yet?

However, judging by the time, they should have been back by now. After all, if mortals stayed in the netherworld for too long, problems were bound to arise, and they couldn't venture deep into freezing, gloomy places. He should have retreated long ago, perhaps just failing to turn his phone back on in time.

I gave Lin Feiyu a call, but Lin Feiyu was still sleeping and cursed me out before asking who I was. Only after I made a sound did he snap to his senses, coughing several times as his mind lagged.

He said he wasn't quite sure what Old Hai was up to either. After exchanging a few polite pleasantries, I hung up. By that time, I had already driven to the Zhao Family Village.

Many relatives and friends of the Zhao family were still present. Because Old Hai was still holding down the fort in the village to guard Old Man Zhao's soul, Zhao Xi hadn't left yet. The moment I arrived, he quickly came out.

"Ah, look who's here! It's little Tian!" Through the contact over the past two days, Zhao Xi and I had become quite familiar with each other, and he held me in high regard since I had indirectly helped him regain control of the Zhao family.

Moreover, having specially requested him to change how he addressed me left him with a very favorable impression of me. Besides, I was half-working for his daughter anyway, so calling me "little Tian" was quite appropriate—neither he nor I lost out.

Besides, I wouldn't dare accept being called a senior; people like Old Hai, Old Lin, and Wang Cheng were the seniors. Calling me this made me feel much more comfortable, more like a friend to his daughter. Of course, as for old bastards like Wu Zhenghua, I would slaughter every single one I saw without a shred of mercy.

"Uncle Zhao, I'm looking for Old Hai. Is he here?" I asked.

"Not here. He went into the mountains with a strange young man," Zhao Xi said with some astonishment. He didn't know why I was looking for Old Hai, but given my relationship with Uncle Hai, the fact that I didn't know where Old Hai was actually surprised even him.

"A young man? What does that young man look like?" I hurriedly asked, feeling a shock in my heart as I recalled the figure of Zhang Yidan carrying a peach-wood sword on the path of the living and the dead, filled with doubts.

"About the same height as you, um, rather dark-skinned, very ordinary-looking, but with deep, profound eyes and dressed like a Taoist priest." Zhao Xi tried his best to recall. However, the people around Old Hai were either Taoists, monks, or practitioners of the mystic arts, and one couldn't casually inquire about them. To be fair, putting him on the spot like this was a bit difficult for him.

"Did he say when he'd be back?"

"Seemed like it wouldn't be too long. Ah! Isn't that Old Hai?" Zhao Xi suddenly pointed at the small path outside the village.

I hurriedly looked over and saw Old Hai returning covered in sweat. I waved at him, and upon seeing me, he let out a sigh of relief, closing one eye half-shut as he panted heavily.

"Aish, you really gave this old man a cold sweat! Little Brother Xia! You really know how to make things interesting!" Uncle Hai bent over, half-squatting on the ground, and laughed using his habitual catchphrase.

A wave of emotion washed over me. Mystic arts practitioners like this were true grandmasters, truly worthy of being capable people who inherited the Daoist lineage of the School of Yin-Yang.

"Old Hai, it's only been a short while, yet you were already worrying about me." I walked toward him and helped him up.

"You think I wanted to? You're far too clever; you even knew to run right over here and wait for me. If you had just stayed stupidly at home, things wouldn't have been pretty."

Old Hai had also lost a fair amount of vital energy and blood in last night's battle and had even rushed to the path of yin and yang to save me, which must have exhausted him to the bone. Now that he was back, I was the very first person on his mind. The way such senior experts did things truly demonstrated the demeanor of a true master.

"Uncle Hai, Little Tian, you two must have important matters to discuss, so I won't disturb you. My mother is still lying in bed," Zhao Xi said, knowing we definitely had a lot to talk about, and took his leave. Old Mrs. Zhao couldn't get used to the hospital, so she had returned to the village right after her surgery.

"Mm, very well. Taking care of your mother is what matters most," Old Hai nodded.

I also bid farewell to Zhao Xi and then accompanied Old Hai to his guest room.

The guest room in the Zhao Family Village was quite well-decorated, fully equipped with tea sets and ornaments. I hurriedly helped Old Hai sit down, boiled water, and brewed some tea.

Meanwhile, Old Hai remarked from the side, "Little Brother Xia, when we were on the path of yin and yang, I seemed to hear you call Daoist Master Li something like 'Zhang Yidan'? Did I hear that right?"

The moment I heard this, I knew trouble had arrived.