Chapter 17: Master Wants to Play the Bride
Hearing these words, the expressions of the three people in the distance changed unpredictably, flashing between red and green.
Green from anger—they had no idea what they had said to offend Wu You that she would so righteously persuade Ming Ji to expel them from the sect.
As for the flushed red faces… naturally, that was because Ming Ji had rarely praised them.
Especially Wei Zixi. Upon hearing Ming Ji say he trusted him the most, he felt as if he were stepping on clouds, floating with a sense of weightlessness.
As for Wu You, she felt Ming Ji’s evaluation of the group wasn’t too bad, but she still couldn’t set her mind at ease.
After all, there were plenty of people in this novel who coveted Ming Ji. Even if he hadn’t been humiliated yet, there was no guarantee nothing would happen in the future.
“Immortal Venerable, I wonder if this humble girl could accompany you to the cultivation world?”
Wu You pondered for a long time before hesitantly speaking these words.
She had two purposes. On one hand, because she knew some of the plot, she might be able to prevent Ming Ji from being humiliated by others.
On the other hand, as a modern person, she had never seen sword flight before. What was wrong with fantasizing about it?
Ming Ji fell into thought upon hearing this. Just as he seemed to be considering the feasibility, the three eavesdroppers hiding in the corner became anxious and couldn’t sit still any longer.
Yan Shiman revealed himself directly, saying to Ming Ji, “Master, Miss Wu is a mere mortal; this is inappropriate.”
“Indeed, Master.” Chu Yunduan looked at Wu You, putting on an air of persuading her for her own good. “Miss Wu, studying at the academy is also an excellent choice.”
Wei Zixi’s eyes suddenly darkened as he spoke softly, “Master, too many people would actually attract attention.”
He sighed faintly and advised, “Moreover, our intention this time is to eliminate the Thousand-Faced Ghost. The journey is fraught with danger, so it would not be good to bring Miss Wu along.”
When they spoke, they showed not a hint of embarrassment for eavesdropping. Instead, they all wore expressions of deep concern.
With just a few words, they turned the tide of the conversation. They spoke with awe-inspiring righteousness, each wanting to leave a good impression in Ming Ji’s heart.
Wu You was dumbfounded listening from the side. She thought to herself: It’s bad enough these people were eavesdropping, but how are they so good at pretending now?
However, she didn’t utter any sarcastic remarks immediately—because Wu You’s hearing was extremely sharp, and she had just keenly caught the words “Thousand-Faced Ghost.”
She was always quick-witted and immediately connected this Thousand-Faced Ghost to the ghost Ming Ji had asked her about earlier.
Thinking of this, Wu You let out a long sigh and said, “It is true that I advise you not to provoke this ghost. It’s not as if cultivators haven’t gone before, but they all went and never returned.”
“Furthermore,” Wu You looked up and scanned the group, helplessly realizing that the eyes of the cultivators before her remained determined. She knew that no matter how she tried to dissuade them, she couldn’t shake their resolve.
She changed the subject. “I vaguely heard talk in the streets and alleys that those previous people were at the Foundation Establishment stage…”
“Reasonably speaking, they should have been saving the world and healing the people. Yet, in the name of eliminating harm for the people, they treated human life like grass!”
Thinking of this, she gritted her teeth in hatred, her eyes full of sparks, her voice laced with anger. “To lure the Thousand-Faced Ghost, they used an innocent girl as bait. Later, realizing that even their combined strength couldn’t defeat the Thousand-Faced Ghost, they were cowardly enough to use that girl’s life as a shield.”
“They truly don’t deserve to be human.” Wei Zixi was at an age of high spirits; hearing this, he was naturally indignant.
He then asked, “Miss Wu, how did you come to know this?”
Wu You took a deep breath. Unknown to anyone, her eyes had become moist. To avoid looking disheveled, she wiped the tear stains with the back of her hand.
Her voice was somewhat tart and astringent as she spoke, “My friend told me. That day, the Thousand-Faced Ghost passed by here while she happened to be doing farm work in the fields.”
“Fortunately, the ghost seemed to be heavily injured, which allowed her to escape notice for a moment.”
Wu You suddenly raised a cold sneer, the hatred in her eyes threatening to spill over. “The ghost didn’t discover her, but she was killed by those beasts who cultivate immortality.”
“Those beasts didn’t want anyone to know that they used an innocent person as a shield and then fled in a panic. They killed my friend simply because they were afraid she would spread the word and ruin their so-called reputation!”
Wu You’s previous loathing for cultivators, thinking them hypocritical, stemmed from this incident.
Her only friend here had merely happened to witness the event in passing that day and was harmed by those people.
They had always been bullies who feared the strong. They hastily slit the girl’s throat, afraid the Thousand-Faced Ghost would catch up to them again, and fled in a hurry.
But these people didn’t know—the victimized girl still had a breath left.
When Wu You arrived in a rush, the poor girl was already breathing out more than she was breathing in.
Using her last breath, the girl recounted her experience. After hearing it, Wu You came to despise those cultivators.
Ming Ji felt a mix of emotions. Hearing the girl’s experience, compassion rose in his heart. He thought for a moment and asked, “Then do you know what cultivation level that Thousand-Faced Ghost is?”
“Those beasts in human clothing were at the Foundation Establishment stage. The Thousand-Faced Ghost must be much stronger than them, otherwise, he couldn’t be so rampant there.”
Wu You couldn’t help but clap her hands, feeling much relieved. “Truly, the wicked will be grinded by the wicked; evil has its retribution.”
Listening to her narrative, Ming Ji thought silently: Since several Foundation Establishment cultivators couldn’t suppress it, the Thousand-Faced Ghost is likely at the Golden Core stage.
Although Ming Ji’s own severe injuries hadn’t fully healed, fortunately, while guiding Wei Zixi in cultivation techniques over the past few days, he had also been refining pills to recover his dried-up spiritual power.
Although some pills only suppressed internal injuries, the rest and recuperation during these days were enough to restore his cultivation to the late Golden Core stage.
Considering this, Ming Ji decided to come up with a countermeasure first. He pursed his lips slightly and thanked Wu You for the information. “Many thanks for the reminder, Miss, but I already have a plan in mind.”
Although he appeared cold and gentle, once he decided on something, he wouldn’t change it. Those who knew Ming Ji well understood this.
Seeing this, Wu You helplessly pondered, trying to see if she could help Ming Ji come up with a good strategy.
Soon, her eyes shifted, clearly having an idea. “I heard there is a Lord Shen in Yanjing whose official rank is not low, and he treats his youngest daughter very well.”
After saying this, Wu You slowly revealed the situation of this Miss Shen.
Shen Yi, the youngest daughter of the Minister of Rites, Shen Chi Xu, had a beauty that could be called peerless in Yanjing.
The matter of the Thousand-Faced Ghost had caused a huge uproar. Naturally, Lord Shen had heard of it. Since then, he had been living in fear every day, afraid his youngest daughter would be abducted, yet fearing that openly searching for guards would attract the Thousand-Faced Ghost’s attention.
He came up with a good idea. On the surface, he claimed something had happened at home and he needed to exorcise evil spirits. In reality, he was widely recruiting accomplished masters to prevent Shen Yi from being taken.
Wu You’s mouth felt a bit dry from talking. She paused for a moment before continuing, “Immortal Ming Ji is naturally unlike those ordinary Taoist priests; dealing with that Thousand-Faced Ghost should be no problem.”
“But that thing is very cautious, and its dwelling is unknown. If we really want to deal with him, we should catch him off guard.”
Wei Zixi’s eyelids twitched involuntarily. Intuition told him that what this girl was about to say wasn’t a good idea, and likely quite bizarre.
So he asked, “I wonder, how exactly do we catch him off guard?”
Wu You smiled, putting on a profound appearance as she continued, “You can go find that Lord Shen and come to an agreement with him to disguise yourselves as Miss Shen, waiting for the Thousand-Faced Ghost to come knocking.”
Ming Ji hesitated upon hearing this. “That thing might not necessarily take the bait.”
“That’s simple too.” Wu You spoke openly and continued, “Miss Shen is in the prime of her youth this year. Moreover, she is set to marry the second son of Lord Zhao of the Capital Prefecture soon.”
Ming Ji understood her meaning immediately, and his furrowed brows instantly relaxed. “That is also a good method.”
Wu You’s meaning was that since the Thousand-Faced Ghost had long harbored designs on Shen Yi, hearing this news would surely make him unable to hold back.
If they wanted to lure the snake out of its hole, they should hold a high-profile grand wedding, and then let one of them enter the trap by disguising as Miss Shen.
Given the Thousand-Faced Ghost’s arrogant and impatient nature, he would certainly take the bait.
“Immortal Venerable, you can also dress up as the bride.” Wu You glanced at Ming Ji after speaking.
Wei Zixi finally understood where his vague premonition came from—it turned out it was because Wu You wanted Ming Ji to wear a red wedding dress and marry another man.
Even if it was just an act, he was unwilling in his heart.
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