The Cool and Aloof Senior Sister Always Flirts with Me

Chapter 46: Mutual Mockery

The jade bridle is a horse's bit made of jade, crucial for controlling the horse.

Qi Xianqing held up the jade bridle, asking, "What's this?"

Yan Jue knew Qi Xianqing was testing her knowledge. She frowned slightly and said, "It looks like a ghost bridle."

Qi Xianqing nodded. "Exactly."

Yan Jue, having read up on the topic, knew that dark cultivators used jade bridles to control ghosts—hence the name "ghost bridles."

The fact that a ghost bridle appeared in this family's backyard...

This meant the malevolent spirits haunting the village hadn't appeared out of nowhere; someone was controlling them.

Yan Jue's pupils narrowed slightly.

The village of Xiao Xing was small, home to just over a hundred people.

Every year, several families experienced hauntings.

If a child from each haunted household was sent to Suyang Immortal's Manor to be cleansed, then by now, more than forty children would have been sent there.

And none of those children had ever returned.

Was it because the evil was not fully cleansed or because their training in the immortal arts wasn't complete?

Out of reverence for the "old immortal," Suyang, the villagers feared to ask.

Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing returned to the village chief's house.

Before they got close, they saw a disheveled man standing at the door. "Chief, it's nightfall already—why hasn't Immortal Suyang come yet?"

The village chief, clearly accustomed to these circumstances, didn't bother opening the door. "The immortal has blessed our village. If he said he'd come tonight to help, he'll be here. Go home to your wife and kids; that's the right thing to do."

The man held his head in his hands, his face pale as a ghost. "But I don't dare go home! I can't rest easy until the immortal arrives. What if he doesn't come tonight?"

Suddenly hearing footsteps behind him, he turned sharply to see two women in dark cloaks.

"You..." he began.

"We just happened to be passing by," Yan Jue said politely, bowing to him. "Might I ask what's going on?"

The man's face was ghastly, his brow darkened as if something malevolent hovered over him.

Even Yan Jue, still just an outer disciple unfamiliar with the world, could tell something was wrong.

This man was clearly cursed.

The man's eyes brightened slightly at the sight of Yan Jue's sword. "Please, warrior maiden, help me!"

Yan Jue replied, "Tell me what happened."

The man trembled as he spoke, "The immortal said a few days ago that my house would be haunted by a ghost tonight. He promised to come and exorcise it, but he hasn't shown up."

On the way, Yan Jue learned more from the man.

His name was Fang, a poor scholar whom everyone called "Mr. Fang."

He explained that the village's troubles had started years ago, with the appearance of vengeful ghosts.

"Thankfully, we have an old immortal who can expel the spirits," Fang explained.

"Every year, the ghosts target a different family, and none of us knows who will be next. Luckily, the immortal always warns us a month in advance, so we can prepare."