Book 4: Chapter 15: River in the depths of the mountain

Book 4: Chapter 15: River in the depths of the mountain

Xiao Xia only realized she was practically half-naked after seeing Ruan Zhan leaving weirdly. Although she was already alone at this point, she still felt desperately awkward.

However, she knew something must have happened. That was a womans scream earlier. Therefore, there was no time to worry about her violated chastity. She hurriedly got dressed and prepared to offer help at any moment.

Did that little ghost find its way here?

The tattered banner was at the door. She knew it could absorb souls and spirits wouldnt dare approach. Therefore, she boldly opened to door to see what was going on outside. The lights were on and everything seemed in order. This proved that the two men had made preparations in advance. This gave her an inexplicable feeling.

They had long expected this but had kept it from her. This feeling of being protected was pretty nice, but it also made her feel excluded. She knew they did it for her own good, but she didnt want to be a burden. She was also their companion!

The regular thumping sounded against the glass once more. This made Xiao Xia feel irritation due to her unease. Whats wrong with the seal? She grumbled. She walked up and opened the curtains. There was indeed a thin strip of darkness dangling in front of the window. When the wind blew, it knocked against the window.

She stretched her hand out to grab the drifting strip, but felt a clammy and soft sensation. It was likea persons twisted limb!This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Is it the window seal? A rigid voice suddenly sounded by her ear.

She hurriedly withdrew her hand in fright, but before she could get away from the window, a black little face swiftly leaned in. At the same time, a twisted little hand suddenly grabbed at her!

She instinctively leapt back. At the same time, thanks to her Bodhisattva amulet, the fiendish little hand shrunk back from her neck as though burnt. However, it was clearly different from other ghosts, and also from the previous time it tried to harm her. No ghost had ever succeeded in touching her neck through the amulets protection before, but it had succeeded. Furthermore, it cut the red thread loose, the amulet tumbling to the floor.

Xiao Xia didnt have time to pick it up and instead leapt towards the tattered banner. She felt a gust of wind behind her. By the time she turned around, she realized there was nothing there. Only the fierce mountain wind blew into the room, making everything in the room flutter about.

Another cry of help sounded from the open window.

This time, Xiao Xia could tell it was a male voice, possibly an aged one. The voice only rang out once before falling silent. The silence was extremely ominous.

Xiao Xia stood anxiously by the tattered banner. She once again faced a difficult choice. She wanted to shout for Ruan Zhans help. He could definitely hear her in this silent night. At least she could draw his attention. However, she also knew what he was facing at the moment. She was afraid of distracting him and putting him in danger.

This was even more so for Wan Li. He had no spirit power, and was just a brave man with brimming yang energy. Ruan Zhan had probably put him on watch or support duty. He also didnt have any spirit treasures in hand, only the peachwood sword from Bloody Marys case back then. Calling him over would only harm him.

However, she also recognized the voice as that of the entertaining and amiable old man. She couldnt just ignore it!

She hesitated for a second before grabbing the tattered banner. Only now did she realize how heavy the slightly red golden banner was. It actually didnt budge when she pulled. She didnt know how Ruan Zhan wielded it with one hand normally. Regardless, she wasnt able to pick it up. She could only drag it along the floor to the window.

The thin strip was still hanging by the window. The stench of blood rode on the mountain wind. Xiao Xia resisted the urge to vomit and squinted her eyes to look outside.

The snowstorm had stopped at some point. The ground was covered in a layer of white. Although there was no moonlight, the rooms light reflected off the white snow, allowing Xiao Xia to see the vast courtyard. A dark shadow was walking in the snow.

After entering the depths of the mountain, she felt it was different from the level mountainside. She kept sensing something following behind her. She didnt know what was in the mountain, whether it was ghoul or fiend. She merely remembered firmly not to look behind her and continued her pursuit of the woman. She wondered if Elder Yan would be fine after being dragged like this at his age.

Hey, where are you dragging an old man off to? Exhaustion and indignation caused her to become courageous.

That woman seemed not to have heard and continued walking. However, a minute later she suddenly disappeared along with the old man.

This gave Xiao Xia a fright. She hurriedly rushed over but suddenly realized she wasnt able to move anymore.

Then, something grabbed her shoulder with a lot of force. The sensation penetrated into her bone, the pain and fear making cold sweat flow.

Hey, where are you dragging an old man off to? Behind her, a strange voice mimicked Xiao Xias shout from earlier.

Before the voice fell, it was repeated by another voice in the darkness. Then a third time, a fourth time, all accompanied by the echoes from the mountains. This made Xiao Xia feel as if the surrounding darkness was filled with weird things.

She struggled for a bit but wasnt able to move. She could only secretly reach her left hand into her pocket. She urged herself not to be afraid, despite feeling the cold sweat trickling down her neck.

She stood still as though frozen stiff, but was actually waiting for the right moment. When she felt something climb onto her leg, she finally couldnt endure any longer. She fished out the stone and threw it behind her. At the same time, she chanted: Borrow Mt. Tais might, stone general, strike!

A howling started up and Xiao Xia felt the grip loosen. She hurriedly ran towards the place the woman in white had disappeared.

Swishing sounds came from behind her. Xiao Xia felt something gaining on her as she ran. She kept Ruan Zhans warning in mind about not looking back, and merely kept throwing rocks behind her. After her left pocket was emptied, she put the stone from her right pocket into it. She felt her palm emitting heat. She snuck a glance down while running for her life. The invisible talisman Ruan Zhan had drawn for her had now appeared, glowing faintly red.

He was great! He would always protect her!

She thought of this within her terror, and also praised herself for picking up so many stones while pretending to fall along the way. However, the stones were not inexhaustible. When she hurled the last one, she convulsed with fear and felt she was about to be swallowed alive by mountain ghosts. This was because while she was happily throwing rocks earlier, she could hear from the sounds how unhappy the people being hit was.

As she prepared to become a snack for those mountain ghosts, things suddenly fell quiet.

This sort of feeling was rather terrifying because it signified something even more terrible was about to appear!

Xiao Xia slowly turned around but didnt see anything. A gurgling sound came from the side.

It was the sound of flowing water. There was actually water flowing in the depths of the mountain in winter! Furthermore, it had suddenly appeared. It hadnt been there a minute ago!

Xiao Xia walked towards the sound. When she climbed a small hill, she was surprised to see a small river below her. The noise was coming from this small river.

Xiao Xia was scared stiff. In the winter night, she could clearly see the rivers water was red, with a clump of hair floating on the surface.