Chapter 25 - Chapter 25: Chapter 23: Seeing the Light Across the River

Chapter 25: Chapter 23: Seeing the Light Across the River

Translator: 549690339

“Young Master, the woman in the white dress seems to be a cultivator.”

“I can feel the presence of humans in the entire tavern, most of them are ordinary people, and there are no lack of martial artists like you. There are few cultivators in the Qi Cultivation Realm, but they exist.”

Tushan Qingli’s voice rang in Han Ye’s ear.

“A cultivator?”

Han Ye thought to himself.

If she is already a cultivator in the Qi Cultivation Realm, she shouldn’t be headed to the Dragon Sparrow Sect.

“Brother Han, what are you looking at?”

At the dining table, the food had already arrived. Wang Da Niu noticed Han Ye was still staring downstairs, so he asked curiously. His own gaze swept over the lower two floors, but he found nothing worth noting.

Han Ye turned his head and smiled, “Nothing much, I just saw a pretty woman, quite a feast for the eyes.”

“Oh, is that so. I still think Hongliu is the prettiest. Let’s eat, I’m starving,”

Wang Da Niu laughed and tore off a large chicken leg from the roasted chicken in front of him. He stuffed it into his mouth and chewed freely, his mouth dribbling with a deliciously aromatic oil.

“Eat.”

Half an hour later.

When everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, it was time to board the ship.

But the weather had turned gray, as if a heavy rain was about to fall. The agreed-upon covered boat was docked at the harbor, large enough to accommodate a hundred people.

After bringing the horses onto the ship, everyone began to board.

On the Wuyuan River, night fell swiftly.

The night was tranquil, with only the gentle waves lapping against the hull of the ship, making a soft thud, and the grating sound of the anchor chain was somewhat harsh to the ears.

Han Ye leaned against the railing of the deck, no one was around. He smoothed his wind-tousled hair from his forehead, taking a deep sniff of the air.

This slightly fishy and salty breeze, it somewhat resembled the feeling of being at sea.

Water on all sides, there was hardly a difference being on the sea.

The Wuyuan River would eventually flow into the Eastern Sea, but it had to be said that it was exceedingly long, requiring a day and night’s journey to reach Qingyun State.

Night had fallen, and Han Ye, with his keen eyes, could barely make out the outlines of the distant mountains.

Unexpectedly, the rain had stopped.

Suddenly, a billowing white mist rose from the surface of the river, extremely dense.

Even the flames on the deck were suppressed to the extreme by this thick fog.

“The fog ghosts are obstructing the view, everyone should return to their cabins, no need to pay attention to them!”

The crew on the other side were gesturing, shouting these instructions.

Their voices echoed over here.

“Fog ghosts?”

Han Ye stared into the dense fog in a daze.

This was his first time hearing about such a thing.

A trail of cyan smoke emerged from his sleeve, transforming into a small white fox standing on Han Ye’s shoulder.

It was Tushan Qingli in her true form.

She bared her teeth at the white fog, her green, vertical pupils glowing like a pair of lanterns in the darkness.

The surrounding white fog seemed to know better and slowly retreated.

Seeing this, Han Ye was quite taken aback.

He hadn’t expected this little demon fox to have this kind of ability.

The petite white fox transformed into a thousand strands of white energy, coalescing into the form of Tushan Qingli. Wearing a green gauze dress, she stood next to Han Ye and stared at the white fog, saying:

“Fog ghosts are a very common type of ghost. They usually appear in heavy fog, hiding themselves in the mist and startling people by suddenly terrorizing them.”

“This kind of spirit cannot bring about any major problems, usually robust Jianghu Martial Artists who are brave, are not afraid of it. Just need a bit of a strong spirit, and it could be shattered by the sound of a person’s voice.”

After listening, Han Ye nodded his head.

Just now he had heard the crew members’ instructions – to hide in the cabins until it passed.

“Didn’t the Dragon Sparrow Sect kill all the demons and spirits? How come there are still fog ghosts?”

Han Ye asked, puzzled.

Tushan Qingli explained: “Fog ghosts come with the wind and leave with it. This group probably just arrived. Besides, they are the lowest level of ghost. Generally, no one is afraid of them because they pose no threat. The Dragon Sparrow Sect probably can’t be bothered to deal with them.”

“Han Ye, what are you doing standing there?”

At that moment, Han Ye heard someone calling for him.

In the thick fog, a figure emerged, forming Liu Lingqi’s face.

This Liu Lingqi, however, had an enchanting smile on her face. Her body seemed odd with twisted limbs, and her voice was strange.

“Come here quickly, I have something to look for you.”

Tushan Qingli crossed her arms and looked up to say, “Young Master, this is an illusion of a fog ghost, pay it no mind.”

“I know.”

Han Ye’s face was calm. He made a fist with his fingers, and a faint trail of white energy rose from his Dantian.

“Bam!”

With a strike of his palm through the air, this “Liu Lingqi” was directly shattered into pieces, transformed into a puff of white smoke.

The white smoke had a humanoid upper body, and the lower half resembled a flowing ghost phantasm, and swiftly dissipated.

“Hmm.”

Han Ye snorted coldly, “A clumsy performance. Miss Liu will not smile at me like that!”

He had it figured out now.

These fog ghosts didn’t seem to be capable of inflicting substantial harm on humans, they could only attempt to spiritually attack them at most.

Only those with exceptionally weak willpower would have their souls devoured.

However, being a martial artist himself, his vitality robust, these weak demon ghosts were less likely to harm him. But, ordinary people had no means to withstand these fog ghosts and could only seek refuge.

Such creatures were considered the dregs of the ghostly world.

Regardless, this was a lesson learned for Han Ye.

Ghosts and demons truly were intriguing beings.

He wondered if he’d ever have a chance to study them further.

Gradually, the wind quietened down, leaving only the faint howls of the ghosts and the wolves.

However, they were far away from the area where Han Ye was.

“Han Ye, why are you still on deck? Didn’t we ask you to return to your cabin?”

In the glow of the fire, Liu Lingqi, dressed in a green martial robe, stepped out from her cabin, her cold gaze fixed on Han Ye.

“Miss…”

Turning his head, Han Ye noticed that Tushan Qingli, who had been at his side, had disappeared without him realizing. Only the two of them remained on the deck.

“Hmm?”

Her gaze remained icy, and confusion shone through it.

“On this journey, your lives hold significant value to me too. Every lost life symbolizes a wasted spot for the Liu Family. To manage the crowd on the deck, I found you still standing here. Aren’t you afraid of death?”

Embarrassed, Han Ye laughed awkwardly and rubbed his head.

Indeed, that was a possibility.

“My apologies, I’ll head back to the cabin right away.”

Taking two steps at a time, Han Ye headed for the cabin.

Just before entering, his gaze caught a familiar figure.

At the tip of the ship’s mast, a woman in white stood against the river wind and thick fog. A douli hat covering her face, she stood upright, one foot positioned at the very edge of the mast, one hand clasping a sword sheath, silently gazing off into the distance.

“She too isn’t afraid of death. Why don’t you go ahead and advise her as well, Miss?”

Han Ye directed Liu Lingqi’s attention to the figure with a gesture and a suggestion.

“Who?”

Liu Lingqi followed Han Ye’s directing finger.

True enough, there was an odd woman standing atop the mast.

“Who is she?”

Liu Lingqi clearly didn’t recognize her either.

It truly was bizarre for someone to be standing above at such a time.

“Ooh…”

The eerie cries of wolves echoed around them, the fog writhed on the river surface, the terror concealed beneath the fog couldn’t be discerned, but their ranting and howling were clearly audible.

The ship’s progress slowed to a halt, the waves hit against the sides, it seemed apparent they had decided to wait for the fog ghosts to disperse.

The woman’s hair fluttered in the river wind, the elegant hem of her dress swaying and dancing in the air. Her brilliant eyes squinted as she murmured in an inaudible tone:

“The rain has stopped, isn’t it time to leave? If you intend on obstructing my path, then allow me to escort you out.”

The woman moved all of a sudden.

She unsheathed the sword in her hands and swung it forward.

– Swoosh!

The sound of her sword cutting through the air rang out.

Then, the flowing river water came to a halt.

“Splash!”

A ripple of sword qi, akin to a dragon in motion, split the thick fog in half.

For a fleeting moment, the murmuring of the fog ghosts disappeared altogether.

The shockwave carried by the sword qi cut a path through the river waves.

Where the sword had swung, nothing remained but river rocks and the riverbed.

Upon witnessing this, Han Ye was left in a state of shock.

What the hell!

What on earth…

What the heck is this?!

Is she a Qi Practitioner?

No way, no one told him Qi Cultivation looked like this!

Who knew this woman could be so formidable.

Suddenly, a thought flickered through Han Ye’s mind.

If this woman too, had boarded the ship headed for Qingyun State, could she possibly also be headed toward the Dragon Sparrow Sect? If that were the case, it would be advantageous…

Since that sword stroke, the fog had parted, revealing the moon-lit sky.

The fog ghosts dispersed quickly.

The moon’s illumination reflected off the river, casting a luminous glow.