MMJWQC Chapter 21

Translator: Moonlit

Editor: kiki

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Hua Zhen told Chu Ruochun, “After my death, my parents had no power, and the family’s assets were divided among distant relatives. The Divine Beast Sword has changed hands many times with the ups and downs of the Hua family. I have no strong attachment to the Divine Beast Sword, and I’ve never sought it out. Besides, I cannot stray too far from the Lu family. Over the past hundred years, I have no idea where the Divine Beast Sword might be.”

Chu Ruochun didn’t believe that Hua Zhen was speaking the truth. Most other vengeful spirits had strong attachments that led them to leave their confinement. What was Hua Zhen’s attachment?

Although Hua Zhen was now connected to Chu Ruochun, his ghostly nature still couldn’t remain in the mortal world.

In the end, Chu Ruochun said, “Mr. Hua, humans and spirits have different paths, and the ghost fetus cannot stay.”

Hua Zhen knew there was no turning back. He wasn’t with Lu Qing for revenge against the Lu family. The most direct way to take revenge on both families was to release him. Without his aura, the Lu family would gradually decline, and no matter how much wealth they amassed, they wouldn’t be able to save themselves.

Now, Hua Zhen wanted to devour Chu Ruochun.

Chu Ruochun, however, smiled and said, “I asked for the Divine Beast Sword, but you’ve only given me a vague answer.”

Now that Hua Zhen was free, his aura became even more intense, and his true nature as a vengeful spirit began to show.

He abandoned his earlier gentlemanly demeanor and said, “I know the ghost fetus can’t stay, but I can give you the Divine Beast Sword. However, you’ll have to find it yourself.”

Chu Ruochun knew that talking wouldn’t work, so he held up a talisman and directly pasted it on Lu Qing’s abdomen, causing immediate excruciating pain.

“Ah! It hurts!”

Chu Ruochun struck him unconscious with a single palm, and the dense black Yin energy within his abdomen was gradually forced out from his body. The ghost fetus no longer existed.

Hua Zhen witnessed Chu Ruochun’s decisive actions!

His ghostly aura surged, and he exclaimed, “You!” Chu Ruochun wasn’t as easy to manipulate as he had thought.

Hua Zhen directly trapped them within the old Lu family mansion and said, “Master Chu, we just agreed to live peacefully together, and now you’ve ruined my child.”

“It’s you who broke your promise first. If you were trustworthy, you would have naturally handed over the Divine Beast Sword to me, but you obviously didn’t have any intention of giving it to me. Besides, I don’t fully trust what you’ve told us. You’re a vengeful spirit with attachments, and those attachments clearly aren’t related to the Lu family. There’s something else that matters to you, which means that half of what you just told us is a lie. If it were solely based on your aura, the Lu family wouldn’t have developed to its current state. So, what are you hiding?”

Lu Ming and the others hadn’t expected such a twist, as the atmosphere had been quite pleasant just moments ago.

“Hmph, you’re indeed not as foolish as other diviners,” Hua Zhen’s ghostly aura intensified.

“Regarding the nurturing of the ghost fetus, you chose Lu Qing because he’s your family’s enemy. If the ghost fetus had fully formed, it would have become another vengeful spirit because you nourished it with resentment, am I right?”

“That’s correct. Allowing you to release me from the Lu family’s array is the first step of my plan,” Hua Zhen revealed his initial plan.

“The second step is to make us drop our guard for the sake of a bigger plan,” Chu Ruochun said, “What you want is a body.”

“That’s right, and now, Feng Qi is my best choice.”

As they were discussing, he lunged at Feng Qi, who had just taken a sip of tea. No one could have predicted this twist. However, when Hua Zhen pounced on Feng Qi, the latter instinctively blocked him, and Hua Zhen was struck by a strong light. He didn’t successfully enter Feng Qi’s body, nor did he push Feng Qi’s soul out. The talisman Chu Ruochun had prepared for Feng Qi before his arrival had taken effect. It seemed that he had been well-prepared for Hua Zhen’s potential betrayal.

Chu Ruochun pushed Lu Qing aside, leaving Lu Ming bewildered. Weren’t they just discussing their next steps in the living room? Why had things changed so quickly?

Was Hua Zhen not telling the truth? 

And why had Feng Qi become Hua Zhen’s target?

“Master Chu, you’ve played me,” Hua Zhen retreated to the side.

“Yes, I played you, but you played me too,” Chu Ruochun admitted openly, “However, if you hadn’t broken your promise first, my approach might have been gentler.”

“Haha, then let’s see who comes out on top,” Hua Zhen realized that Feng Qi’s body was suitable for his plans when he appeared. However, he never expected that Chu Ruochun wouldn’t be distracted by this, but instead, he lured him into a trap. He decided not to pretend anymore. “Today, none of you will leave here!”

Chu Ruochun pushed Feng Qi toward Lu Ming and Lu Qing.

All the doors and windows in the Lu family’s house were suddenly shut by a strong gust of wind, plunging the room into darkness.

Hua Zhen had disappeared, and a terrifying and eerie voice seemed to whisper in their ears, “You all must die!”

Feng Qi asked, “What’s going on?”

Chu Ruochun replied, “The true nature of the vengeful spirit has manifested.”

Lu Ming, apparently not too easily frightened, said, “But he was just acting all gentlemanly a moment ago,” referring to Hua Zhen’s earlier appearance as a young nobleman from the Republican era.

Chu Ruochun explained, “He’s an old ghost who has lived for hundreds of years. Do you know how he became a vengeful spirit? And do you know the real reason he was trapped in the formation? Furthermore, do you know where his corpse is?”

Lu Ming touched his forehead in frustration, “I don’t know, but if that’s the case, why did we even release him?”

Chu Ruochun replied, “If we don’t release him, how can we deal with him? He won’t reveal anything. Vengeful spirits are masters of deception.”

And there were some things he hadn’t mentioned yet. He still wanted to know who was behind these actions and which sect they belonged to.

Lu Ming asked, “So you had anticipated this?”

Chu Ruochun smiled but didn’t say a word.

Who had more experience dealing with vengeful spirits than him?

While Hua Zhen did want to trap them here, Chu Ruochun wouldn’t just sit around waiting for his next move. He drew a circle around the four of them and instructed, “No matter what you see, do not step out of this circle.”

Feng Qi, seeing Chu Ruochun about to leave, asked, “Wait, where are you going?”

Chu Ruochun turned to look at him and said, “I’m going to deal with Hua Zhen. Remember, no matter what happens, do not leave the circle!” He took a couple of steps outside but then turned back to Feng Qi, “Feng ge, remember.”

Feng Qi nodded and said, “I understand.”

Although his world was still shaken, he managed to keep himself steady. A grown man couldn’t just vanish into thin air, and this wasn’t a magic show. Moreover, with the sudden strong wind turning day into night, the situation was incredibly eerie.

Lu Ming asked his friend, “Feng Qi, are you okay?”

Feng Qi shook his head and replied, “I’m fine.”

Lu Ming said, “I wonder what Master Chu is up to. I haven’t heard him open the door and leave.”

Lu Jie had been observing the situation all along. She was scared, but having two big men around made her feel safer.

“Brother, maybe we should ask Dad what’s going on? What’s the history between the Hua family and our family?”

“Yeah, I hope Master Chu will be okay.”

“He’ll be fine,” Feng Qi had always seen confidence and composure in Chu Ruochun’s eyes, and he never saw any signs of retreat.

“Remember when you used to doubt all this feudal superstition stuff,” Lu Ming teased him.

“You don’t know my dad. He’s into this stuff all the time. I never lived with my parents from a young age. I stayed in the city, while they lived in our ancestral home, plastered with charms everywhere, doing fortune-telling. They were always disappearing all over the country, especially during holidays. They’d use the excuse of feudal superstition. Basically, you know the situation at my home.”

“I know, that’s why you never believed in the existence of ghosts and have been trying to prove there are no ghosts in the world.”

“I don’t believe it because I’ve never seen it with my own eyes.”

“So, you’ve never believed your parents when they said your health was poor?”

“The more they said it, the less I believed it. Now, I don’t know anymore.” He needed to reconstruct his worldview. “I’ve never felt anything wrong with my body. From childhood to now, my health check-ups have always been normal. Most people get checked once a year; I get checked every season, and every time the results come back normal. I mean, look at me, I have an eight-pack, I’m as strong as an ox.”

“That’s probably how they explain it from their metaphysical perspective.”

“So, you see why I could never believe them,” Feng Qi continued. The more they insisted on these things, the less he believed. His rebellious streak was quite strong.

But now, he wasn’t so sure.

Thunk!

A chair flew across the room.

Crash!

The chair shattered into countless wooden pieces. Except for the unconscious Lu Qing, the other three stopped talking.

Lu Ming watched the antique furniture being destroyed, and his heart ached. “Is this a fight?”

Feng Qi, looking at the furniture that had flown into the air seemingly on its own, pressed his temples hard.

A cold wind swept over their heads.

Lu Ming hugged his arms. “Damn, it’s so cold.”

Feng Qi gritted his teeth. “I’m even colder than you.”

Lu Jie said, “Feng Ge, your body can’t really be worse than ours, can it? You look like you’re about to freeze solid.”

Lu Ming opened his arms towards him. “How about I lend you a shoulder?”

“Get lost.” Feng Qi felt like he could still tough it out.

However, it was undeniably cold, and the three of them unconsciously huddled together.

In the darkness, their consciousness gradually became hazy, and they drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

At this moment, Chu Ruochun was inside the mansion, searching for Hua Zhen. He found the array that trapped Hua Zhen’s soul, but he still needed to locate Hua Zhen’s physical body, as that was his true source.

Hua Zhen had harbored murderous intentions towards Chu Ruochun and the others from the start. Absorbing the power of a Heavenly Master was much faster than slowly gaining strength by consuming other souls. His hundred-year cultivation could immediately be elevated to four or five hundred years.

With Feng Qi as their Tang Priest meat and Chu Ruochun’s spiritual power, he certainly didn’t want to let this opportunity slip by.

However, Hua Zhen had underestimated Chu Ruochun’s abilities. During their pursuit, Chu Ruochun had even set up an array.

Hua Zhen stood in the center of the Lu residence, which was also the center of the array. “You triggered the Soul-Devouring Array!”

“No, it’s the Ghost-Devouring Array, my own creation, to purify spirits like you,” Chu Ruochun said as he placed a stone charged with spiritual energy at his location.

Hua Zhen attempted to escape, but countless black iron chains surged towards him, binding his spirit. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break free.

Chu Ruochun stood where the last stone had fallen, channeling spiritual energy into the chains connected to Hua Zhen, gradually dispersing his ghostly aura.

“Mr. Chu, we have no enmity between us. Why won’t you spare me?”

“Because you’re a malevolent spirit, and I’m a Heavenly Master. We are inherently opposed,” Chu Ruochun said mercilessly. “Mr. Hua, you shouldn’t remain in this world.”

“But I still have unfinished business!” Hua Zhen struggled within the invisible iron chains. “As long as you let me go, I’ll tell you where the Divine Beast Sword is!”

As his spiritual power depleted rapidly, Chu Ruochun felt his entire body’s meridians throbbing with pain. Dealing with such a powerful malevolent spirit had almost drained all of his spiritual energy. However, he couldn’t let the malevolent spirit sense this, or the array might rebound on him.

“But I don’t want to know right now. I will find it myself.”

Fortunately, the malevolent spirit had also consumed a considerable amount of energy while nurturing the ghostly fetus. In the end, Chu Ruochun successfully purified Hua Zhen’s malevolent aura!

He looked at the remaining white mist, leaning against the artificial rockery nearby to catch his breath. He sighed deeply and then condensed the white mist into his hand.

His body had exhausted its spiritual energy, and his eyelids grew heavy.

Just as his eyelids were about to close completely, a blurry figure approached him. The figure resembled Feng Qi but also didn’t, because based on Chu Ruochun’s current understanding of Feng Qi, he wouldn’t have such a confident expression.

The figure lightly smiled at him the moment his eyelids closed. “Chu Ruochun, I’ll remember you.”

Afterward, Chu Ruochun fell into darkness, unconscious.

Dealing with malevolent spirits was truly exhausting both mentally and physically.

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Translator’s corner:

Oooooohhh… Who do you think it is?