Fan Fangfang trembled with fright. "What does it mean for a soul to be... to be out of the body?"
"The reason your husband won't wake up is that his soul has been lost. If he isn't brought back soon, he won't survive!" Shen Mingshu frowned and scanned the room. The ghost she had been controlling was nowhere to be seen.
"W-w-what should I do?" Fan Fangfang stammered, terrified by her words.
"To Liu Cheng's room!" Shen Mingshu dashed toward the door and charged into the room Liu Cheng had emerged from earlier.
As soon as she crossed the threshold, a thick, cloying fragrance rushed to meet her. She immediately held her breath. The cold, ghostly aura inside the room was so dense that it felt even sharper than the chill of midwinter.
Yun Niang waved her hand. "Why does this room smell so strong?"
Fan Fangfang covered her nose and mouth. "I have no idea when my son started taking an interest in flowers. A few days ago, I tried to help him change the water in his vase, and he chased me out, looking furious."
Shen Mingshu turned to face the two of them. She held her index and middle fingers together, a golden light flickering at their tips. "Auntie Fan, you need to watch closely now."
She pressed her fingers against the center of their foreheads. Fan Fangfang jumped in surprise, but Yun Niang remained calm; she knew Shen Mingshu was opening their Heavenly Eye.
Fan Fangfang felt a sudden warmth in her eyes, which made her close them in relief. When she opened them again, her vision felt remarkably clear. "What does this mean?"
Shen Mingshu walked toward the inner part of the room. "You'll know in a moment."
Yun Niang muttered, "It’s even colder in here than it is outside..."
"I even burned charcoal in the brazier for him, so why is it still this cold?" Fan Fangfang asked, confused.
Shen Mingshu called out, "Little ghost, where are you?"
She could sense the ghost she controlled was in the room, but she couldn't pinpoint its exact location. This body had never practiced Mystic Power, and the lack of internal energy meant her proficiency in the Mystic Arts had been greatly diminished.
The vase on the headboard wobbled. Shen Mingshu noticed that it contained several charred, withered branches.
Fan Fangfang exclaimed in surprise, "How did they turn into withered branches? They were blooming with pink peach blossoms just a few days ago!"
"Hmph," Shen Mingshu chuckled softly. "Should there even be peach blossoms in this season?"
Fan Fangfang suddenly realized. "That's true, so then why did I see..."
"It was nothing more than an illusion cast by a peach tree spirit. Before, your mortal eyes couldn't see through it, but now that I have opened your Heavenly Eye, you can naturally see the true form of these branches."
Shen Mingshu walked to the vase and reached for the branches. Suddenly, a mass of black mist erupted from within. The temperature in the room plummeted instantly, causing Yun Niang and Fan Fangfang to huddle together. Fan Fangfang asked, trembling, "What kind of monster is this..."
Yun Niang was terrified too, but seeing that Shen Mingshu was unfazed, she put on a brave face. "Don't be afraid. Shenshen will handle it."
Shen Mingshu was indeed unafraid. She plunged directly into the black mist and grabbed a dark shadow, saying in a cold, deep voice, "Trying to take the opportunity to run?"
"You can see me!" A young woman's voice came from within the mist; it sounded quite pleasant.
Shen Mingshu yanked her out of the black mist and kicked the vase, which shattered with a sharp sound as it hit the floor. After a "crack," two more dark shadows drifted out.
Fan Fangfang squinted. They appeared to be Liu Xingde. "Husband!"
Liu Xingde’s eyes were cloudy, and he gave no reaction.
However, the dark shadow clutching him spoke, "Master! This female ghost is incredibly powerful! She almost swallowed both of us! If it weren't for the Spirit Pattern the Master left on me, I would have disappeared last night!"
Shen Mingshu held the female ghost with her left hand while her right fingertips flashed with crimson-gold fire. A Spirit Pattern appeared out of thin air, and she pressed it against the ghost's heart.
"Ah!" A look of agony crossed the female ghost's face as she let out a piercing, melodious scream.
Shen Mingshu gripped her neck and shook her, shouting coldly, "Get out of there!"
A flash of pink light shot out from the female ghost and flew toward the door without pausing. Fan Fangfang was no longer afraid, and she shouted, "Something is getting away!"
Shen Mingshu wasn't in a hurry to chase it. She looked at the female ghost she was holding, whose appearance was slowly changing. She looked at Fan Fangfang. "Do you recognize who this is?"
"I recognize her! This was a maid my father sent me a while back, but then she ran away in secret!" Fan Fangfang said, astonished. "She's actually dead?"
"We'll settle that account later," Shen Mingshu scoffed. She picked up a peach branch from the floor and temporarily sealed the ghost inside it. She looked at the little ghost holding Liu Xingde’s soul and nodded slightly. "You did well. If you hadn't protected Liu Xingde, he would likely be dead by now."
"The Master said not to hurt his soul, and I have kept that in mind!" The little ghost's eyes turned red with excitement; had he been able to shed tears, his face would surely have been soaked.
Shen Mingshu waved her hand. "Take him and return his soul. Wait for me in the room."
The little ghost hurried away with Liu Xingde, vanishing into the room in the blink of an eye. Fan Fangfang wanted to check on Liu Xingde, but she frowned and changed her mind, following closely behind Shen Mingshu instead.
After turning a corner, they saw a peach tree at the base of the wall engulfed in flames.
"Why is it on fire!" Fan Fangfang’s eyes widened in shock.
Shen Mingshu walked up slowly and touched the burning trunk. Her gaze was stern. "Once you've touched my fire, let’s see how far you can run!"
She plucked a wisp of flame from the trunk and flicked it; the flame turned into a thin, thread-like filament and darted forward.
"Follow me. That peach tree spirit won't get far," Shen Mingshu said coldly, picking up her pace.
She charged from the backyard into the medical clinic and scanned the room, her gaze locking onto Liu Cheng. Liu Cheng was taking someone’s pulse, his entire form shrouded in demonic aura. A faint purple light traveled from the patient's wrist to Liu Cheng’s fingers, drifted up to his head, and burrowed into a hair stick made of peach wood.
Purple light?
Shen Mingshu quickly looked at the patient, seeing only a veiled hat; judging by the build, it should be a man. She had no time for further investigation, so she dashed over, grabbed Liu Cheng's wrist, and shoved him aside. "Let go of him!"
Liu Cheng looked up at her, displeased. "What are you doing?"
Shen Mingshu reached out and grabbed at Liu Cheng’s head. His body had been hollowed out day by day, making his reactions slow, and he failed to stop her. She snatched the peach wood hair stick and just as a spark of fire ignited on her fingertip, a ball of pink light flew out from within.
The pink light landed on the ground and quickly took the shape of a person—or rather, not quite a person, as the lower half of her body was still a mass of charred tree roots. Because the spirit had a physical form, everyone in the clinic could see the peach tree spirit crouching on the ground.
"Master, watch out!" Leng Feng drew his sword instantly, shielding the man in the veiled hat behind him.
Shen Mingshu glanced over sideways, then turned to the peach tree spirit with the scorched roots on the ground. Her expression was cold and stern. "You are bold indeed. You used a Ghost Cultivator to form a human shape; all your centuries of cultivation have been ruined by your own petty cunning!"
The peach tree spirit’s face, still covered in tree markings, was far from beautiful. She pleaded softly, "Master, please spare me. I will never dare to do it again..."
Shen Mingshu pointed at Liu Cheng. "Spare you? Look at what you've done to him!"
Liu Cheng was sallow and thin, his cheeks sunken and his eyelids dark; his life force was nearly drained. He said in disbelief, "This voice sounds so familiar..."
"Of course it sounds familiar. It was this peach tree spirit who was intimate with you every single day."
As soon as Shen Mingshu finished speaking, visible fear appeared on Liu Cheng's face, and he began to retch.
Fan Fangfang hurried over to support him. "My son, your soul was stolen by a demon! Mingshu is here to save you!" She said to Shen Mingshu, her voice trembling, "Kill this monster quickly! Don't let her harm anyone else!"
Shen Mingshu did not hesitate. She flicked a spark of fire from her fingertip onto the peach tree spirit. The spirit's face contorted rapidly as she emitted a shrill, piercing scream. Everyone covered their ears, frowning at the sight. Before long, only a pile of black ash remained on the floor.
Fan Fangfang said, "I knew it! Ah Cheng hadn't been sleeping at night, laughing in his room, and was lethargic all day. It turns out it was all this monster's doing!"
Liu Cheng seemed to have suffered a massive shock and fainted on the spot. Fan Fangfang quickly had the clerks carry him back to the backyard. Shen Mingshu remembered she still had an account to settle, but she was stopped after only a few steps.
"Miss, please stay." The voice was cold, like quenched ice; the chill in it was sharper than the lingering snow on the highest peaks of a mountain.
Shen Mingshu turned around slowly. "Is something the matter?"
"There is."
Pei Jingheng slowly raised his left hand. As his sleeve slid down, a red string was revealed, tied around his elegant, fair wrist bone. "Would the young lady care to explain?"
Shen Mingshu followed the line of the red string and slowly raised her own right hand. A red string was tied around her slender wrist as well! This red string had bound her to the man in front of her.
"What is this? When did you put this on me?" She hurriedly reached out to pull it, but her fingers grabbed only empty air. "Why can't I touch it?"
Pei Jingheng spoke leisurely, "I do not possess such abilities. However, since the young lady was able to make a demon reveal its true form with the flick of a finger, this red string must have been tied by you."
"Nonsense! I was focused on exterminating the demon just now; I didn't even touch you!" Shen Mingshu glared at his veiled hat and said coldly, "It’s you—coming for a medical consultation while hiding your face behind a tattered veil like a sneaking rat. You are the most suspicious one!"
"Who are you calling a sneak!" Leng Feng stepped forward, leveling his sword.
Yun Niang hurried over to pull Shen Mingshu behind her. "What do you think you're doing! Two grown men bullying a young girl like my Shenshen! Have you no shame?"
Pei Jingheng commanded indifferently, "Leng Feng, stand down."
Leng Feng reluctantly sheathed his sword and stepped back, eyeing Shen Mingshu with hostility. Pei Jingheng raised his hand, his long, slender, well-defined fingers gently lifting the veil and hooking it onto the rim of his hat.
A face as handsome as a demon’s met Shen Mingshu’s gaze. Under his dark, sword-like brows lay a pair of narrow phoenix eyes filled with loneliness and coldness. His nose was bridge-high, his thin lips were a pale pink, and his features were sharp and deep-set. His skin was so fair it lacked any trace of blood.
He had the face of an emperor, a star-pattern of the North Star. But his time was running out; a thick aura of death swirled between his brows. If not for the faint traces of Purple Dragon Qi remaining on him, he would have long been lying in the earth in an eternal slumber.
Shen Mingshu performed a quick calculation with her fingertips. Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked at the red thread on her wrist, exclaiming in surprise, "This is the Red Thread of Fate!?"