Chapter Four: The Beauty Saves the Hero

Ning Shuang fell to the ground, and the wooden stake weapon in her hand had vanished somewhere. Luckily, the bell at her chest managed to shield her for a moment; otherwise, she too would have been possessed by the vengeful spirit. A wave of despair swept over her heart—her grandfather had warned her that spirits capable of manifesting their forms were terrifying beyond measure. In ancient legends, it was said that generals on the battlefield would borrow the power of ghostly soldiers—these very spirits—to wage war.

The three spirits seemed to sense that Ning Shuang was about to falter, emitting a series of chilling, cackling sounds. Ning Shuang glanced back and saw that Xu Yufeng and the others had already run far off. She felt a little relieved; at least she wouldn’t drag anyone else down with her. Still, if her family found out, surely they would be devastated. Or perhaps, knowing her grandfather’s temperament, he would consider her a disgrace and not even bother to arrange her funeral.

The spirits swooped down on her again with a howling rush.

“Foul creature! Begone!”

Bang!

Suddenly, a thunderous shout exploded through the air, loud enough to make the ears ring. The three spirits were immediately struck with terror, recoiling a great distance. Ning Shuang’s slender body trembled as well, and she hurriedly turned her head to see, by the flickering light not far away, that Su Ye was charging toward her.

He held nothing in his hands, simply rushing forward with righteous fury.

A warmth unexpectedly blossomed in Ning Shuang’s heart. She hadn’t thought that at this moment, a stranger—a young man she barely knew—would charge to her rescue. But she couldn’t help but shout at him, “What are you playing the hero for? Run!”

Su Ye coming to her aid was a surprise, but he ought to consider the situation! These were vengeful spirits capable of possession! Even if one had cultivated their body through breaking through acupoints, how could they possibly contend with spirits?

“Just run! I can escape by myself, I don’t need your help! Go now!” she cried.

“I’m not here to save you. I just want to destroy them,” Su Ye replied, his usual smile fading to reveal a resolute, determined expression as he clenched his fists.

By now, he understood a few things. If he was not mistaken, the three spirits had been driven mad by the shock of heavenly thunder. Ancient texts spoke of the awe-inspiring might of thunder, able to shake the heavens and earth and terrify both spirits and gods. Even the first thunder of spring could awaken all creatures from hibernation, spirits included. Normally, without the shock of thunder, these spirits would be invisible to the naked eye. Now, even Xu Yufeng and the others could see them—the thunder was surely the cause.

“Take the Soul-Calming Nails!” Ning Shuang was nearly beside herself with fury at Su Ye. She scrambled to her feet to search for the wooden stake she’d dropped. Of all the times to encounter a reckless fool—clearly another so-called spiritual student from some academy, convinced that just because he’d broken through a few acupoints, he could take on the world.

Boom!

Just then, Ning Shuang heard another thunderous sound.

Su Ye charged in, his fist shimmering faintly with white light as he struck out at one of the spirits.

Bang!

The spirit let out a piercing wail as it was knocked backward, writhing desperately, as though some unspeakably dreadful force had invaded its form.

“What… what kind of exorcism is this?” Ning Shuang had witnessed many exorcisms before—charms, paper dolls, black dog’s blood, peachwood swords, soul-calming nails, even the borrowed rites of a celestial master—but she had never seen someone drive out evil with their bare fists. This looked more like a street fight than an exorcism!

Bang!

Su Ye was already swinging another fierce punch at the second spirit. He had no choice but to use such means, knowing that the thunder within him was especially effective against these entities.

The second spirit, enraged, leapt at him from midair.

“You wish to be utterly destroyed? I’ll oblige you!” Su Ye gripped his fist tightly, feeling half the thunder within him drain away in an instant. With a thunderous blow, the spirit scattered like grains of sand.

The third spirit, witnessing Su Ye’s terrifying might, turned and fled toward the sea, heading for the small burning wooden boat on the waves—the very boat Ning Shuang had prepared to send the spirits away.

“Having become a vengeful ghost, you still wish to escape?” Su Ye shouted, chasing after it. Wading out into the water, he was soon submerged up to his waist. Though his body was transformed by thunder, he could not walk on water. Yet, unwilling to let the spirit escape, he plunged in and swam after it.

On the shore, Ning Shuang used a soul-calming nail to pin down the last remaining spirit, then spun around and yelled, “Are you insane? That’s the sea! Are you out of your mind?”

Born into an exorcist family, Ning Shuang had always upheld righteousness and detested evil, but even she was taken aback by Su Ye’s recklessness. For some reason, she suddenly couldn’t bear the thought of this nameless young man dying before her eyes.

Under the distant glow of the lighthouse, she stripped off her outer garment and plunged into the sea.

“Hey! Come back! Come back!” she shouted, swallowing a mouthful of seawater in her haste. But she saw that Su Ye was nearly upon the burning boat.

Crash—

Another punch!

Su Ye smashed the boat to pieces. Without this vessel, the spirit would have no place to dwell, and within a few days it would dissipate completely.

“Damn!” Su Ye cursed inwardly, realizing he had no strength left to swim back. In his haste to stop the spirit’s evil, he had not held back at all.

He choked on several mouthfuls of seawater, his limbs growing heavy.

Many people do not realize that, though the surface of the sea may appear calm, beneath the waves powerful currents surge. Just then, he felt a sudden grip around his waist—an arm encircled him from behind, pulling him along through the water.

Su Ye, in his exhaustion, reflexively reached back, his hand closing around something soft and yielding. Under the water, the sensation was startlingly distinct; his hand could hardly encompass it.

“Ah… you—let go! Do you want us both to drown?” Ning Shuang’s embarrassed and angry voice rang out.

Though she shouted twice, there was no time to argue. Determinedly, she kept swimming toward the shore.

After a while, Su Ye realized what he was doing and quickly let go, propelling himself forward again. There was no need for words; the two simply struggled together toward land.

As soon as they reached the shore, Su Ye collapsed onto the sand, gasping for breath, greedily inhaling the air.

Suddenly, Ning Shuang flipped over and straddled his stomach, her wet hair falling in rivulets, droplets like pearls splashing onto Su Ye’s face. Her soaked clothes clung to her, accentuating her exceptional figure, the faint light lending the scene a peculiar thrill.

Especially in that posture, with no one else around, the subtle scent of her closeness wafted through the air. She was clearly exhausted, her slender waist as limp as a boneless water snake, longing to lie down as he did.

Still, she forced herself upright and scolded, “Are you insane? If I hadn’t saved you, you’d be dead by now!”

Su Ye had no energy to argue, panting, “If I hadn’t destroyed it, it would’ve come for revenge tomorrow!”

“Hmph! With me, a Celestial Master, here, what’s there to fear? You reckless fool, do you think you’re a hero? If you’d died, what was I supposed to do?” Ning Shuang snapped.

Su Ye didn’t reply, only staring absently at the faintly glowing bell at her chest.

Seeing him silent, Ning Shuang assumed her rebuke had left him speechless. Her anger eased a little, and she barked, “Even I, a Celestial Master, don’t throw myself into danger like that. Who do you think you are? Next time, no one will be there to save you!”

Su Ye was taken aback; he couldn’t recall the last time anyone had asked who he really was.

At ten, he had left his family for Yang City, later staying with the Jiang family. Many had once called him a genius, later a failure. But only he knew that he belonged to a family revered by countless others, a family that guarded all of China—yet was also cold-blooded and rife with intrigue.

“All right! Get off me now—you’re too heavy!” Su Ye wheezed.

At that, Ning Shuang’s anger flared. She pressed down harder, gritting her teeth, “How am I heavy? I barely weigh a hundred pounds! It’s because my clothes are soaked! How dare you call me heavy!”

Su Ye was about to lose his temper at her wriggling when, suddenly, the sound of cars approached from the road above the shore.

Screech—screech—screech!

One vehicle after another pulled up, and leading the group was none other than Jiang Shao, who had been chasing them from the school all along…