The female ghost was filled with intense resentment and possessed strong spiritual power. Yet the sudden appearance of the yellow creatures and white foxes protecting me was surprising — clearly, they had little cultivation, but each one fearlessly stood in front of me, blocking the ghost's path.
With a single powerful strike, the yellow creatures and foxes were all flung aside.
At that moment, I was badly injured and could only desperately shield Zhang Yunyao beside me.
Just as the scarlet evil energy that was the ghost was about to crash into me, the immortal entity inside my body suddenly emerged, manifesting behind me as a massive silhouette with eight tails swaying endlessly.
When this immortal appeared, the scarlet energy abruptly took human form again and hovered about two or three meters in front of me, its face showing fear and reluctance, no longer daring to advance.
I could feel the overwhelming aura radiated by that immortal — this was why the ghost feared it.
Moments later, the ghost slowly retreated, its figure fading until it vanished completely.
Seeing it leave, I finally exhaled deeply, my clothes soaked with sweat.
Earlier, I had felt a chill throughout my body; now cold sweat broke out all over me.
I glanced back at the eight-tailed fox shadow behind me and respectfully said, "Thank you, immortal."
The immortal only responded with a cold snort before its shadow disappeared, as if it had never appeared.
Since I was very young, I have known there was an immortal residing within me — my master knew too.
Yet, in all these years of training, that immortal never showed itself.
I once asked my master why the immortal stayed inside me and why it helped me, but he never answered directly. When I asked too much, he'd only say, "You'll understand one day."
Regardless, that ghost was finally gone.
Zhang Yunyao, who had been possessed, fainted in my arms. The experience must have been awful, though the possession didn't last long and didn't do her much harm.
I pressed her acupuncture point, and after a while, Zhang Yunyao woke up.
She looked at me, confused, then her eyes filled with terror: "Young Master Wu… there was a ghost… I saw her!"
She immediately threw herself back into my arms.
"Don't be afraid. She's gone," I comforted her.
At that moment, footsteps approached not far away. I looked up to see Uncle Huzi walking quickly toward us.
He froze when he saw us sitting on the ground, clinging to each other, then gave me a sly smile: "Young Master, I came at a bad time. I'll come back later."
"It's fine. If you have something to say, just say it," I replied, trying to keep calm.
Zhang Yunyao blushed deeply, loosening her grip on me and shifting aside.
"I heard noises and came to check. I didn't expect…" Uncle Huzi smiled knowingly.
"Uncle Huzi, you're overthinking it. The ghost that appeared at the Zhang mansion last night came back again and even possessed Zhang Yunyao," I explained.
"Oh, I see. You two keep busy then. I'll go back and supervise the work; it's almost done," Uncle Huzi said, then stepped closer and whispered into my ear, "Young Master, you're playing a bit flashy. Couldn't fit you in the car, so you ended up on the grass. How come I never noticed you before…"
"Uncle Huzi!" I blushed hard, clearly he didn't believe me.
He chuckled and ran off, leaving us awkwardly sitting on the grass.
Looks like I couldn't clear my name even if I jumped into the Yellow River.
After Uncle Huzi left, Zhang Yunyao helped me back into the car.
Too many things happened today, and I felt utterly exhausted. Before long, I drifted into a deep sleep.
When I woke up again, I found myself lying in a bed at the Zhang family's old mansion. The sun was already high in the sky.
After a night's rest, my body felt much better. The wounds from the remote duel with that person had mostly healed.
I had a dream that felt incredibly real.
In it, I saw the eight-tailed fox — a beautiful white fox lying lazily on the ground, her eyes filled with sorrow as she stared at me.
Then, the fox transformed into a stunning woman standing across from me, watching me silently all night. She didn't speak, but I could sense a hint of grievance in her gaze.
I thought my quick recovery might have something to do with that eight-tailed fox.
The wounds on my shoulder from the zombie's claw no longer hurt; looking at them, I saw they had nearly healed.
Shortly after waking, Uncle Huzi and Zhang Yunyao came in.
Seeing my energy restored, Uncle Huzi was pleased. Given that I had coughed up blood twice the night before, he thought I'd be out for days.
"How do you feel, Young Master Wu?" Zhang Yunyao asked with concern.
"Much better," I said, sitting up and stretching.
When Zhang Yucheng came in, I asked, "How is your son?"
"He's awake but still weak," Zhang Yucheng replied.
"That's normal. He just needs more rest," I said.
"Young Master Wu, I've looked into what you asked. Within ten miles, there are only two carpenters — one named Liu, the other Meng — both nearby," Manager Wang reported.
"Did you check their family situations?" I asked.
"Yes. Carpenter Liu has a wife and kids; the kids are in middle school and live a few miles away in Dongmao village. Carpenter Meng is over sixty, a lonely old man — his son and daughter-in-law passed years ago, and his wife even earlier. I heard his granddaughter had an accident too. Quite tragic," Manager Wang sighed.
I nodded, understanding more clearly now.
After a quick wash and meal, while the sun was still high, I instructed Uncle Huzi to have the workers transport the coffin to the grave site I had selected earlier and complete the reburial.
Nothing unusual happened during the process.
By the time we finished, it was almost dark.
I called Uncle Huzi and headed to Carpenter Meng's house.
This lonely old man was very likely the one secretly targeting the Zhang family!