"Turns out, Sister Qingmei, you and I are both unfortunate souls. Since you don't mind, why don't you stay in my courtyard tonight?"
Xu Taiping nodded sympathetically.
Upon hearing this, Liu Qingmei's face immediately lit up with joy, and a hint of excitement flashed in her eyes.
"Thank you, Young Master Taiping. Once Qingmei recovers from her injuries, I will certainly bring a generous gift to thank you for saving my life."
Liu Qingmei said, her eyes brimming with tears and her face full of gratitude.
"Sister Qingmei, the demon wolf might still be lurking nearby. If I open the courtyard gate rashly, it might sneak in. Why don't you turn around and keep an eye on the surroundings? I'll open the gate and then you can quickly rush in. This way, it will be safer."
Xu Taiping said to Liu Qingmei with a cautious expression.
Liu Qingmei was slightly taken aback by his words but then nodded repeatedly.
"You're absolutely right, Taiping. I'll keep watch for you. Just let me know when you open the gate."
With that, Liu Qingmei quickly turned around.
The moment she turned, the gentle expression on her face vanished, replaced by a fierce and ruthless look. She then smiled, and in a barely audible voice, she whispered:
"Seems cautious, but actually foolish. You're about to die and haven't even noticed. How laughable."
However, as soon as she spoke, her ears twitched, and the sound of a taut bowstring reached her ears.
Liu Qingmei was just about to flee, but the sound of an arrow piercing the air echoed behind her. An arrow covered in frost penetrated her chest straight through.
Looking at the arrow in her chest, Liu Qingmei's face turned ashen as she roared in anger. But before she could finish her roar,
Another sharp arrow pierced the air, completely through her throat.
At this moment, Liu Qingmei, who had turned around, met the gaze of the young man standing on the courtyard gate. She asked in disbelief:
Xu Taiping raised his hand and shot another arrow, which pierced Liu Qingmei's forehead, leaving a fist-sized hole.
"Sister, next time when you go out to gather herbs, remember to wear a pair of suitable shoes."
Xu Taiping, while continuing to nock and draw his bow, said calmly, as if he were greatly insulting her.
Liu Qingmei, seemingly humiliated, suddenly flew into a rage, ignoring her injuries, and leaped up, using her suddenly enlarged claws to swipe at Xu Taiping, who was standing on top of the courtyard gate.
Before Xu Taiping could react, a green light from the courtyard's barrier shot out, like a heavy slap, sending Liu Qingmei flying backward, even though she had been hit by three arrows and was still alive.
Liu Qingmei, who had fallen to the ground, let out a piercing scream.
Then, a black smoke emerged from her mouth, transforming into a black whirlwind that swept up dust in front of the courtyard.
"Boy, unless you never leave this courtyard again, you will eventually fall into my hands. When that time comes, I will make you beg for death but not be able to die!"
A sharp, fierce voice roared from the black whirlwind.
"I don't seem to have wronged you. Why do you want to harm me?"
Xu Taiping, encountering such a creature for the first time, was trying to remain calm. As he questioned the monster, he drew his bowstring again.
"You will know soon enough!"
With a mad laugh, the black whirlwind howled and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Is this the spirit monster mentioned in the jade slip?"
Xu Taiping muttered to himself, looking in the direction where the black whirlwind had disappeared.
According to the jade slip, in the forest where the outer disciples lived, besides the demonic beasts in the deep mountains, there were also spirits and ghosts.
These spirits and ghosts often possessed wild animals or corpses to deceive other living beings, feeding on their flesh and life force to cultivate.
Since they were spirits without physical bodies, only certain spells could completely destroy them.
"Having such a monster lurking in the shadows and ambushing me will make it difficult to hunt in the surrounding area in the future. The most critical issue is that I know nothing about it."
Xu Taiping glanced at the corpse on the ground, his brows furrowing slightly.
In theory, he could report this to the sect, but from his experience, he knew that even if he did, no one would come to investigate.
In their eyes, he and the other outer disciples were dispensable, and they wouldn't spend much effort on them.
Just as Xu Taiping was pondering how to guard against the ghost, a cold wind suddenly blew through the courtyard gate.
The sky had already turned completely dark, so when the cold wind blew, it felt particularly eerie.
"Could the ghost be coming so soon?"
Xu Taiping immediately became alert, nocking an arrow and scanning the surroundings.
Just as Xu Taiping found nothing, green fireflies suddenly flew out from the corpse of the woman at the gate, eventually forming a nearly transparent female figure.
This apparition looked exactly like the corpse on the ground.
"You dare to show yourself?"
Xu Taiping immediately aimed his arrow at the female apparition.
Before the freezing period, his arrows, though unable to kill the ghost's soul, could still cause some damage with the residual true qi, as Purple Sun True Lord had mentioned in his teachings.
"Please spare me, young man, please spare me. I was only coerced by that ghost to lure you out. I had no choice."
The female ghost pleaded repeatedly.
Xu Taiping, seeing that her tone did not seem fake and hearing her mention the identity of the previous ghost, slightly moved his bow and arrow to the side.
"Yes, it was a ghost. I was harmed by it and became its ghost servant, suffering its torment every day."
The female ghost spoke with clenched teeth, her eyes full of regret and hatred, clearly hating the ghost deeply.
However, having learned from the previous experience, Xu Taiping naturally did not trust her words and would not leave the courtyard to meet her.
"Young man, don't worry. My soul is already incomplete, and the three arrows you shot with true qi have further weakened me. In a short while, I will be completely gone."
The female ghost, seemingly understanding Xu Taiping's thoughts, quickly explained, but her voice was filled with sorrow by the end.