<h4>Chapter 35: Birds of a Feather</h4>


    The gourd was only about the size of a fist, and its surface was bright and lustrous. It had a wooden stopper, and it felt smooth to the touch.


    “The wooden stopper is a piece of Soul-Soothing Wood. It seems Wu Ruoqiu used the gourd to store and nourish souls.”?When this thought urred to him, Su Yi’s expression went a little strange.


    He dug in his nails and pulled. The wooden stopper fell to the ground, and a blood-red, ghostly mist surged out.


    Whoosh~!


    The ghostly, sinister fog brimmed with malevolence and a sense of oppression.


    A toddler soon appeared within the mists. He looked only three or four years old. His skin was ghastly white, and his eyes were bright red. His face, which ought to have looked innocent and adorable, looked as if it had been smeared with red lipstick. The sight was terrifying!


    When the toddler appeared, a terrifyingly evil presence rippled around him, wilting the nts of the courtyard.


    The ghost in the red dress shrieked from the locust tree, “A ghost baby! That’s the ghost baby?Daoist?Wu has been raising for six years!”


    At almost the same time, the ghost baby let out a shrill wail. Shockingly, its mouth split apart, revealing two rows of long, knife-like fangs.


    It charged, and as it neared Su Yi, it tried to bite him!


    But before?it got?the chance, Su Yi stabbed with his sword.


    Splurt!


    The peach wood sword pierced right through the undead toddler’s open mouth, running it through.


    Peach wood was a natural counter for ghosts.


    The section of peach wood Huang Qianjun had prepared for him was twenty years old and brimming with pure yang energy.


    Fwoosh! Fwoosh!


    ck smoke billowed from the ghost baby’s body. Its face distorted, and it cried hideously, frenzied and struggling with all its might to charge and kill Su Yi.


    But it was all in vain.


    In the blink of an eye, its ethereal body burned and disappeared in a puff of smoke.


    The peach wood sword’s luster had faded, and it was showing signs of corrosion; it was clearly no longer usable.


    Su Yi tossed it away, then examined the gourd once more. “Not bad. This item was clearly grown in a spiritual ground; it has a hint of spirituality. In the world of the mundane, that’s extremely rare.”


    He could already tell that the gourd had been Wu Ruoqiu’s true secret weapon. Had he called upon it as soon as the battle started, he might have caused Su Yi a bit of trouble.


    “Come on out.” Su Yi sat back in his bamboo chair and casually reached for the lustrous, smooth yellow gourd.


    The red-ddy ghost, Qing Wan, emerged from the locust tree. As she hovered before him, she lowered her head and trembled.


    “Mystic Master, I beg you, please don’t kill me,” she said, voice quivering. “I…. I can serve you!”


    “What can you do?” asked Su Yi with great interest.


    Qing Wan thought for a moment, then said meekly, “I can sing, dance, y the zither and the flute, y chess, paint…. I know a little about all of them.”


    Su Yi was stunned.?What the—? A multi-talenteddy ghost?


    Qing Wan’s dress was red as blood, offsetting her snowy whiteplexion. She was petite, with a bit of baby fat left on her beautiful face. She was pretty and lovable.


    She looked about fifteen years old, right at the cusp of womanhood.


    s, she was only a yin soul, not a living person.


    When she saw Su Yi fall into a lengthy silence, Qing Wan grew increasingly unsettled. “Mystic Master, so long as you spare me, I’ll do anything. I can help you scare people too!”


    Her soft, sweet voice was racked with faint sobs; the sound was pitiful.


    Su Yi sighed. “If I had an Origin Dao cultivation, I could redeem your soul and release you from this world, but I’m afraid I can’t help you now.”


    Qing Wan was briefly stunned. Then, she said delightedly, “Mystic Master, so you don’t n on killing me after all? That’s wonderful!”


    She smiled so broadly, her eyes narrowed like crescent moons. In doing so, she inadvertently revealed her shocking charm. Thebination of her pure, bright smile and timid nature was uniquely appealing.


    Su Yi’s eyebrows shifted up.?If she knew a cultivation technique suitable for ghosts, she’d undoubtedly grow into a monstrous beauty, the bane of entire nations and all who live there….


    “You really don’t remember anything about when you were alive?” asked Su Yi.


    Qing Wan looked dazed. Her little face contorted in distress, and she sounded aggrieved. “Mystic Master, I won’t lie to you; I still don’t know why I wound up like this….”


    Su Yi stared intently at her for quite some time. Finally, he said, “Right now, there’s one thing I know for sure: either you’re lying, or there’s a problem with your yin soul.”


    Qing Wan shook, then said hurriedly, “Mystic Master, I wouldn’t dare deceive you in the slightest! I swear by the heavens themselves.”


    “It doesn’t matter which possibility is correct,” said Su Yi tly. “It has nothing to do with me. I’m not going to kill you, but I won’t just let you go, either.”


    Qing Wan sighed in relief. “I’ll be grateful so long as you spare me.”


    Su Yi raised the yellow gourd and said, “This is a Soul-Nurturing Gourd. If you hide inside, you’ll have no need to fear the light of day. Go on in.”


    Qing Wan hesitated. “Mystic Master, you… You will let me out, won’t you?”


    Su Yiughed. “Don’t think so little of me! I won’t seal it, andter, when the time is right, I might even teach you a ghost cultivation technique.”


    Qing Wan nodded delightedly. “I’m willing!”


    With that, she blurred into a streak of red light and shot into the gourd.


    For a mere yin soul to possess such a pure spiritual body is rare indeed, yet she has no memories of before she died. That’s a problem in its own right…


    But with the methods at my disposal, I’ll naturally have the chance to find an answer sooner orter.


    As Su Yi pondered, he rose and got to work. Before long, he’d cleaned up. No corpses or blood remained in the courtyard.


    Afterward, he returned to his room, hung the gourd by his desk, andy down. Before long, he was fast asleep.


    The next morning, Su Yi rose before the sun, nced at the hanging yellow gourd, then ignored it and left the room.


    The Soul-Nurturing Gourd wasn’t sealed. Qing Wan could leave whenever she wished.


    However, the meek, beautiful ghost had been quiet throughout the night, not making the slightest peep.


    After washing up, Su Yi gnawed on a piece of raw Nine-Leafed King Ginseng, then practiced the Pine and Crane Body Refining Technique beside the locust tree.


    After three rounds of practice, he sensed that his sinews werefortably loose, and his whole body felt lighter, almost as if he were floating.


    This was a sign that he’d entered the early “Refining Sinew” stage!


    Upon cultivating to this stage, one’s blood and qi were concentrated, their breathing controlled and regr. When they attacked, they were as mighty as a tiger or leopard, as flexible and nimble as a civet.


    .


    Shortly after, Hu Quan, the steward, emerged from the clinic carrying a te of food. He served it with a smile. “Sir, Elder Wu prepared this himself. It’s a medicinal meal, just for you.”


    Su Yi nodded. “Please thank Elder Wu on my behalf.”


    He nced at the medicinal cuisine. It included quite a few precious medicinal herbs. Thebination of medicinal ingredients and the generous portions made it highly suitable for martial artists who needed to replenish their bodies.


    “Alright, sir. Enjoy your meal. I’ll head back to the clinic.” Hu Quan smiled and left.


    Living here really is far preferable to living with the Wen Family,?thought Su Yi.


    Just as he finished eating breakfast, he heard a familiar voice from beyond the courtyard.?Huang Qianjun charged inside, his eyes full of enthusiasm. “Brother Su, I already sent someone to notify Old Man Wang Tianyang. We can head over now.”


    Suddenly, he red his nostrils. “Huh? Why does the courtyard smell faintly of blood?”


    The kid’s got a surprisingly keen nose.?Su Yi nced at the young silkpants, then said casually, “A ghost showed upst night.”


    “A ghost?” Huang Qianjun jumped. He recalled the rooster blood, willow, and peach wood he’d assembled, and terrifying mental images flooded his consciousness. He trembled from head to toe.


    “Let’s hurry,” said Su Yi. He was already headed out of the courtyard. Huang Qianjun had no time for blind terror; he cast those thoughts aside and chased after him.


    …..


    A swordsmith’s workshop owned by Huang Family stood facing the street in the east of Guangling City.


    When Su Yi and Huang Qianjun arrived, there was already a long line of people waiting outside, almost all of them young men and women.


    “Is business that good?” asked Su Yi in surprise.


    “Our business has always been decent,” Huang Qianjun hurriedly exined, “But it’s not usually this packed. It’s like this today because we’ll be holding the next ‘Dragon’s Gate Banquet’ on the Great Azure in just half a month.


    “Young elites from Guangling City and our neighbors from across the river, Cloudfall City, will cross des andpare martial arts to see who’s stronger.


    “If a martial artist of Guangling City takes home first ce, the Cloudfall City Lord will give them a thousand taels of gold, three stalks of spiritual medicine, ten clusters of pearls, as well as a peak yellow-grade secret technique!


    “Conversely, if a martial artist of Cloudfall City takes first ce, the Guangling City Lord must offer the same reward!”


    When Huang Qianjun finished his exnation, Su Yi said, “The prize is awfully generous.”


    Huang Qianjun’s gaze filled with longing. “More than the prizes, it’s about prestige! The winner of each year’s Dragon’s Gate Banquet’s name will spread throughout both cities, and they’ll even gain easy admission to continue their cultivation in Blueriver Sword Manor’s inner sect!”


    Su Yi nodded.


    He’d cultivated in Blueriver Sword Manor for three years. He was naturally well aware that to the youths of Cloudriver Prefecture’s neen provinces, just entering Blueriver Sword Manor was already iparably difficult.


    Those who became inner sect disciples were like carp jumping over the dragon’s gate.


    Back then, it took Su Yi three years of bitter cultivation to be the Sword Chief of Blueriver Sword Manor’s outer sect. He was qualified to enter the inner sect, but due to an unexpected incident, the Blueriver Sword Manor cast him out instead….


    But then, fortune and disaster went hand in hand. It was because of this that he reawakened his memories of his past life.


    “So you’re saying that the people in line n to use their newly-purchased weapons to participate in the banquet?” asked Su Yi.


    “That’s right.” Something suddenly urred to Huang Qianjun, who whispered, “Brother Su, Elder Wang Tianyang has a fiery temper, and he’s a bit surly. Even my father has to treat him with respect. When we meet him, please don’t take offense if he says something unpleasant.”


    “Lead the way,” said Su Yi.


    Huang Qianjun rushed ahead. As Huang Yunchong’s son, there was naturally no need for him to wait in line.


    But just as he was about to enter the swordsmith’s workshop, a group of youths walked out.


    Their leader was none other than Wen Jueyuan, the leading figure of the Wen Family’s younger generation. The group tailing after him were all Wen Family youths.


    Wen Shaobei was among them too.


    When he saw Su Yi and Huang Qianjun, Wen Jueyuan was stunned despite himself. A momentter, he shook his head hatefully. “A live-in son-inw and a silkpants? Birds of a feather sure do flock together!”