Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman - Chapter 37 Unraveling the Mystery

The sun set and the two women finished gossiping with Li Guanqi. As they left to hurry back home, Li Guanqi stood still and sorted through the information that they’d given him.

“Li Lanhua, Zhang Cuifen…”

“Abductions…”

He ruminated over these words, expression unchanging. He had started piecing together all the parts of this mystery. All that was left was to confront the ghost that was haunting this town.

Night fell and the mayor’s house was empty except for Li Guanqi. Before setting up his trap, he had asked the mayor to evacuate his home for his own safety. He sat by a south-facing window, with only a small oil lamp to give him light.

The time had just reached the hour of the Ox, and Xingyun Town was now eerily silent. Even the stray dogs that patrolled the back alleys were too afraid to bark.

The only noise Li Guanqi could hear was the rustling of leaves, kicked up by the chilling wind. As the winds grew stronger, he could sense a disturbance at the village entrance!

The ghost darted towards a house at the west end of town, breaking into the room of a sleeping man. His snores echoed loudly as the ghost crawled towards him, its crimson tongue writhing in the air before shooting at the man’s forehead!

The man woke with a start, sensing the impending danger. His body stiffened and eyes opened up in terror!

As this was happening, an elder rushed towards the Mission Pavilion at the Great Xia Sword Sect.

“Hurry! Raise the Xingyun Town mission to level three!”

“No one below the Foundation Establishment stage may take this mission!!”

The female disciple at the counter hurried to change the mission requirements only to pause. She discovered that two days ago, a disciple from their sect had already accepted this mission.

She let the elder know, and his expression darkened.

He urgently asked, “Who was it! Quick, tell me who took the mission!”

“I just received notice that the vengeful spirit in that town is more dangerous than we’d thought!”

The female disciple quickly investigated and then whispered with a pale face, “I… I found it…”

The elder’s stomped impatiently, and he demanded, “Speak up! Who accepted the mission!!”

“It’s a disciple from Heavenly Thunder Peak… Li Guanqi…”

Upon hearing this, the steward’s face turned ashen. During this time, everyone knew about Li Nanting’s disciple descent in realms. He had only just learned about Li Guanqi voluntarily leaving the inner sect.

The elder knew that if Li Guanqi got into trouble, his position would be in jeopardy, and he would face severe penalties for dereliction of duty.

Back in Xingyun Town…

The ghost held tightly to a faint, blue thread coming from the man’s forehead.

The man, with stiff movements, slowly moved towards the kitchen, placed his left hand on a cutting board, and slowly reached for a sharp kitchen knife with his right hand.

His eyes still held that look of terror, evidence that he was still fully conscious of what was happening.

“Hehehe, what’s the matter? Are you scared?”

The eerie laughter resonated in the man’s ears. The man’s eyes widened like brass bells, his lips turned pale, and cold sweat streamed down his forehead. He was unable to control his building fear.

His right hand, wielding the knife, slowly rose, ready to strike!

Suddenly!

From a shadowed corner in the room, a mysterious voice reverberated.

“Should I call you Li Lanhua or Zhang Cuifen?”

“Who?!”

The vengeful spirit, enveloped in black smoke, swiftly turned its gaze toward the wall’s corner.

Furious voices erupted one after another!

“I’m not Zhang Cuifen, that wretch!”

“F*** you! F*** you!”

The vengeful spirit’s emotions were in turmoil after she heard that name. Li Guanqi slowly rose and removed the concealment talisman from his body. As the ghost saw the young man, the black smoke momentarily froze. During that split second, Li Guanqi had a clear view of the woman’s face. It was the same woman he had encountered in the abandoned temple!

But now, her aura was completely different. The woman’s eyes were ice-cold, and with a swift hand gesture, a pitch-black palm print shot towards Li Guanqi. Li Guanqi’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately dodged the attack, narrowly avoiding the strike.

As he looked at the pitch-black mark on the wall, Li Guanqi felt a sense of danger. If that strike had hit him, he would have been seriously injured!

Clang!

His longsword was drawn in an instant, and his internal energy surged throughout his body. A thin layer of lightning-infused spiritual energy covered the sword, with electric arcs visible to the naked eye.

Although Li Guanqi knew that he was outmatched, he still chose to advance.

The sword technique he chose to unleash was the Heavenly Lotus Blade, one of the martial arts he had grasped to intermediate completion during his cultivation at the inner sect.

Three lotus flowers formed from sword light clashed with the ghost! This was the strongest attack Li Guanqi could use!

Bang!

The ghost brushed off the lotuses as if they were nothing. After all, she was a discarnate soul, and ordinary energy attacks couldn’t harm her.

What was worse, after unleashing his strongest move, Li Guanqi had no means to retreat.

He could only channel his internal energy into the sword desperately. In an instant, Li Guanqi’s iron sword emitted a grinding noise, and cracked appeared all over the blade.

Sensing an opening, the ghost lunged towards the young man. Li Guanqi struck again, infusing his lightning elemental energy into the Heavenly Lotus Blade! These new lotuses, crackling with lightning, collided with the ghost and pushed her out of the house, several dozens of meters away.

The thread connecting the man’s forehead was completely severed, and Li Guanqi’s sword was reduced to just a hilt. The man regained his sanity and shouted in terror, “Li Lanhua! Weren’t you supposed to have died years ago?!”

“Is it my turn… to be taken by the ghost…?!”

“No… I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die!”

After uttering these words, the man bolted out like a madman.

Li Guanqi frowned and ignited a Binding Soul Talisman. A golden rope abruptly bound the ghost. Then, he swung the sword hilt in his hand toward the back of the man’s head.

Thud!

The man crumpled to the ground, and Li Lanhua gradually regained her senses. Her bloodshot eyes locked onto him.

“Are you going to protect him?”