"Is this girl really dead?"
"She’s dead through and through. The yin energy she’s cultivated is ours for the taking!"
"A great supplement! Quick, absorb it!"
Shen Mingshu was still immersed in the stinging, charred sensation of being struck by heavenly lightning when she felt something cold, slimy, and damp brushing against her face. Her entire body felt as if it had been plunged into an ice cellar, chilled to the bone.
"Something's wrong! Why is my hand burning?"
"Ah—"
A shrill, ghostly wail pierced her ears, causing her to knit her brows in annoyance. "Shut up!"
The wailing around her continued, the spectral noise grating against her eardrums. Impatient, she opened her eyes and glared at the dark, nebulous shapes. They were rolling on the ground, their forms—shrouded in black ghostly mist—igniting with brilliant, crimson-gold flames. It would not take long for them to be reduced to ash.
"Chiyang Gold Fire?"
"When did I unleash that?" Shen Mingshu sat up, then looked down at her fingers, her eyes widening in shock. "What is going on?"
The slender, fair, and rosy fingers she had always kept well-manicured were now skeletal, like ten withered branches attached to her palms. Beneath the pale skin, faint blue veins were practically bursting through the surface. A sharp pain stabbed at her brain for a moment, and memories that did not belong to her flooded in, flashing through her mind like scenes from a play.
"Shen Mingshu... she shares the same name as the mortal one I held before I ascended."
Shen Mingshu slowly opened her eyes. The room was deathly quiet; the malicious ghosts had already vanished into ash. Moonlight spilled through the dilapidated, drafty lattice window, allowing her to see the bare, crumbling walls of the shack. A cold gust of wind blew in, and she couldn't help but hunch her shoulders.
She channeled the Chiyang Gold Fire within her to warm her body before putting on her shoes and walking toward the door. The ghosts had intended to consume the yin energy from the corpse, never expecting that her soul would inhabit it, instantly filling the body with the power of the Chiyang Gold Fire. The ghosts had mistakenly absorbed the flames, leading to their own destruction.
As the door opened, it emitted a harsh, creaking sound. The night wind, carrying the brilliant moonlight, brushed against her cheeks, causing the stray locks by her temples to dance. Shen Mingshu was now certain: she had died under the lightning of her tribulation, yet she had been resurrected through soul-transference into this corpse.
She sighed faintly. "Time and fate. Since I have come here, it must be a trial ordained by heaven. I must overcome this tribulation to reach the Deity Transformation stage."
She took a few steps into the ragged, dirt-floored courtyard, only to hear voices outside the gate. A woman’s pleading voice reached her: "As long as Dr. Liu can cure her, Yun Niang is willing to work like a beast of burden for you!"
"Heh, let’s take a look first." The man’s voice sounded deceptively gentle.
The gate was pushed open. When Yun Niang saw the silhouette in the yard, joy instantly lit up her eyes. "Shenshen! You’re awake!"
Shenshen was Shen Mingshu’s courtesy name. Yun Niang hurried to her side, gripping her hands. "Why did you come out? The night air is cold, and you’ve just fallen into the water—you shouldn't be exposed to the wind. Get back to your room and let Dr. Liu take a look at you."
Shen Mingshu tightened her grip on Yun Niang’s hand, her gaze locked on the man walking into the courtyard. His eyebrows were sparse, his eye sockets deeply sunken, and his eyelids were bruised-looking. A perfect picture of a lecherous scoundrel.
Liu Xingde spotted the girl standing gracefully in the moonlight, a glint of greed flashing in his narrow, slit-like eyes. "Listen to your mother, girl. Go back to your room and let me have a look."
Yun Niang began pushing Shen Mingshu’s shoulders, urging her to return to the room, but Shen Mingshu said, "I have troubled Dr. Liu to make this trip, but I am feeling quite well. There is no need to bother you further. Please, return home."
Hearing this, Liu Xingde was instantly displeased. "Your mother cried and begged me to come, and now you want to drive me away before I’ve even seen the patient? Do you mean to make me run this errand for nothing?"
Sensing his anger, Yun Niang hurriedly urged, "Shenshen, let Dr. Liu examine you and prescribe some medicine. The water was bone-chilling cold when you fell in; Mother is afraid you’ll suffer long-term illness."
Liu Xingde scoffed and started to walk inside, but Shen Mingshu raised a hand to block him. Her tone was cold and distant. "I will not let Dr. Liu leave empty-handed. I shall bring the consultation fee to your home tomorrow. But it is the dead of night, and it is highly inconvenient for a man and a woman to be alone together. I would hate to ruin Dr. Liu’s good reputation."
Yun Niang coaxed her in a low voice, "Shenshen, what harm is there in just checking your pulse?"
Liu Xingde’s eyes rolled around in their sockets, and he turned to Yun Niang. "Yun Niang, I see the girl’s complexion is poor; she’s likely frozen to the bone. Have her go back to rest. I’ll write out a prescription, and you can pick up the herbs tomorrow."
Yun Niang nodded repeatedly. "Shenshen, Mother will take you back to your room to rest." Then she turned to Liu Xingde, "Dr. Liu, please wait in the guest hall. I will bring some ink and paper shortly."
Shen Mingshu bit her lip in resignation and allowed herself to be pushed back into the bedroom. It seemed she would have to let Yun Niang see Liu Xingde’s true colors for herself; only then would her mother believe what she said later.
Yun Niang watched her lie down and tucked the quilt around her. "I’ll come back to check on you in a moment."
As her mother turned to leave, Shen Mingshu grabbed her finger. "Mother, I have something to tell you."
"Go ahead," Yun Niang whispered, leaning in gently.
Shen Mingshu lowered her voice. "That Liu Xingde is a lecher. He will surely try to grope you later. You must remember not to make a scene, lest you attract the neighbors to watch the show—once that happens, there will be no explaining yourself."
Yun Niang found this amusing and gently touched her forehead. "You silly child, are you burning with fever and talking nonsense? That Dr. Liu is a great philanthropist in our village." She muttered to herself, "She doesn’t even have a fever... why would she talk such nonsense..."
As Shen Mingshu watched Yun Niang close the door and leave, she immediately scrambled out of bed. She pressed her ear against the door to listen to the movements outside. Once she heard the guest hall door creak shut, she quietly opened a crack in her own door and slipped out.
She could faintly hear Yun Niang asking about her condition. Shen Mingshu formed a seal with her hands, the tips of her fingers concentrating the power of the Chiyang Gold Fire to trace a complex Spirit Pattern in the air. The moonlight spilling over her was less dazzling than the crimson-gold light at her fingertips.
With a flick of her wrist, she sent the Spirit Pattern flying, striking one of the ghostly shadows in the courtyard. The shadow was instantly frozen in place, terrifying the surrounding ghosts into a cowering heap in the corner of the yard.
Shen Mingshu beckoned, and the ghost controlled by her Spirit-Control Talisman drifted over. She lowered her voice, "In a moment, possess that man. But remember, you must not damage his soul. If you defy me, I will ensure you are consumed by flames, suffering a fate where you can neither live nor die!"
The ghost trembled and replied hastily, "This lowly one will do exactly as you say!"
*Heaven help me,* the ghost thought, *how did this little girl suddenly become so powerful?* In the past, when they had surrounded her to tease and frighten her, she had only dared to curl up and weep with her eyes shut. Now, she was covered in golden fire—it was terrifying! No, it was soul-shaking!
Shen Mingshu crept stealthily to the door of the guest hall and listened. Sure enough, she heard Yun Niang’s low, sharp rebukes. Peering through the paper window, she could vaguely see Yun Niang dodging Liu Xingde’s advances.