58. The Red Ghost
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The next day, Zhang Furen and Zhang Cheng were summoned to Lord Xu's residence, while Lord Xu and the Sect Elders battled with the Xu Elders to settle on a befitting punishment.
Most of the Xu elders had now seen Zhang Furen for who she was, but quite a few remained stubbornly on her side.
"Don't you know how powerful that family is?!" The First Elder Xu argued. "It isn't simply one or two ties they have!"
The Zhang family indeed had ties in almost all twelve top sects, but most notably with five powerful families, two in the Yunchi Sect, and three in the Huofeng Sect...
The very top two sects!
Lord Xu still insisted Zhang Cheng should at least be disqualified from the tournament, but...
"No matter what, he's still the strongest Junior Disciple!" 1st Elder Xu argued. "And he's now a Xu clan disciple!"
"Ha! Isn't that because you made him one?!" Xu Fengyan scoffed. "Soon the 'Xu' surname will turn to 'Zhang'!"
"Xiaofeng! Don't bring up petty worries!" 1st Elder Xu warned. "'Live and Let Live'! We must tolerate the Zhang Family and coexist peacefully! You also know which families step in whenever the Zhang family is distressed! If they haven't done so already..."
He mumbled the last part, and Xu Fengyan's eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"What do your words mean?!" Xu Fengyan demanded, but 1st Elder Xu looked away, a brief flicker of guilt in his expression, and a mild worry settled on Xu Fengyan's brow, as he wondered what those families might do to avenge the Zhang Family.
After several heated arguments, the Xu and Sect Elders finally settled on taking away Zhang Cheng's second position and making him the least among the qualifiers.
This meant Zhang Cheng could still compete, which did nothing but raise dissent amidst the disciples.
"Isn't this merely a slap on the wrist?"
"Hmph! It must be nice being born into a prestigious family!"
But the Zhang family was run through the mud again, and Zhang Furen had lost her reputation as a beautiful, innocent white lotus.
To worsen the situation, Zhang Cheng visited the Pill Pavillion the next day to pick up a few pills, but was shocked when a few burly guards blocked his path.
"What is the meaning of this?!" He demanded, eyeing the guards, who were all Sect Warriors. "Why are you blocking my path?!"
"Forgive us, 1st Young master Zhang! We were instructed to never let you in!" One politely bowed, as two others grabbed Zhang Cheng's arms.
"Ei?!! How dare you!" Zhang Cheng protested, as two burly guards dragged him to the wide doors. "Do you know who I am??!!" He demanded, but,
"Throw him out! Quickly, quickly!" The Head Alchemist instructed, appearing from the stairway. "Clean everywhere his feet have stepped on!!"
The guards tossed Zhang Cheng out onto the street, and he landed spectacularly on his backside. "You-! You-!!" He struggled to his feet.
"Where is the sign...?!" The Head Alchemist swivelled to two young servants. "Put up the sign quickly! Do you want us to lose our *Golden Goose?!"
(*Someone or something bringing in a lot of money! In this case, Luoyin, as he makes high-level pills for them!)
Zhang Cheng dusted himself, but nearly slipped back to the ground when he saw a large sign by the Pill Pavillion's wide doors, which read:
ZHANG FUREN, ZHANG CHENG, AND DOGS ARE NOT ALLOWED!
"H- How have we offended you?!" Zhang Cheng demanded, but with a snap of the Head Alchemist's fingers, the guards swung the doors shut in Zhang Cheng's face.
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Meanwhile, Luoyin was invited to the Xu Residence that day, but Lord Xu was a bit surprised to see Weiyan accompanying him, both bearing gifts.
Luoyin cupped his hands in a bow. "Father-in-law! The tournament began three days after the wedding, so we've not had the customary visit!" He explained, and Lord Xu beamed at him.
*It's customary for a bride to visit her parents three days after the wedding, accompanied by her husband to show they were doing well.
"Hao, Hao!" Lord Xu patted Luoyin's back and led them in.
Since the hunt two days ago, Xu Fengyan felt like a fisherman who had cast nets for fish, but ended up drawing out a pearl!
After a light meal and tea, a few Sect Elders arrived, interrupting the visit, and making Lord Xu remember the original reason he had invited Luoyin...
"Xiaoyin! Please teach that hunting technique to the Sect!" Lord Xu requested before all the Sect elders who seemed impressed. "With that technique, our hunts would be a hundred percent successful!"
"Yes, yes!" The Graying elder put in. "It was even capable of breaking our control over those the beasts!"
Luoyin had no real reason to refuse, so he explained the technique to them, but made sure he left out Yinying's name...
"There's a plant that attracts beasts with its scent!" He lied. "I simply magnified its effect with a talisman!"
In the end, it didn't matter how he had attracted the beasts. What mattered was how he had slowed them down, making it easy to kill them, and he taught them how to create the flag talismans for the formation.
In the following two days, the Sect elders led a few Sect warriors to test the formation, and they returned with far more beast cores than ever before!
But while they celebrated, Luoyin had another worry...
'This woman in red...' He thought.
Since he had exposed the Zhang mother and son, the ghost was now closer than ever, sometimes appearing right next to him!
And he was now completely certain that no one else could see her, as she presently crouched on a table between he and Xu Min, who continued chatting as if she wasn't there at all!
Luoyin struggled to appear calm as she cocked her head, staring intently at him, her completely black eyes unblinking, and he could clearly see the black veins fanning outwards from her eyes.
Like an Evil Spirit.
But she was too calm. More like a ghost.
More importantly, she was now close enough to identify, and he sighed.
She was the late Zhang Furen...
Luoyin's Mother!
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That evening found Luoyin and Yinying absent-mindedly paced his bedchamber, while the late Zhang Furen sat primly on the bed, looking between the two.
"Ow!" Luoyin collided with Yinying, who reached out to steady him.
The two turned their heads to the ghost, but she merely cocked her head.
"I can't believe you invited it in!" Yinying accused in a whisper, turning back to Luoyin.
After leaving Xu Min earlier, Luoyin had boldly held the Yan house gate open, and said,
"You might as well follow me in!"
And she had!
Now Luoyin leaned in to whisper, "She's 'Luoyin's' mother!"
"Still! She's creepy!"
"How can a Shadow Tiger be afraid of a mere ghost?!"
"Look at her eyes! My fur isn't even that black!"
They both turned, but were startled to find her suddenly right next to them, making them jump!
Yinying pointed at Luoyin. "Ha! Why did you jump if you're not afraid?!"
But Luoyin let out a calming breath.
"'Life is but a cycle...'" He recited, then opened his eyes, boldly turning to the ghost.
"You... Do you remember who you are?"
Silence.
"Er... Do you know me?" Luoyin pointed at himself, but,
Silence.
He switched to telepathy.
~"Are you here for a reason?"~
~Silence!~
~"Are you a ghost or evil spirit?!~
~Silence!!~
"Oye! Then why are you haunting me?!"
Still Silence!!!
"Xiaobai, I think you can only communicate with her through soul-searching... Remember the teachings?" Yinying reminded him.
"Ah! Most Silent Ghosts are Evil Spirits with a chance at redemption!" Luoyin recalled.
Evil Spirits were corrupted ghosts, and were destined for eternal destruction, with no chance at rebirth.
Unless something changed their fate, cleansing them from their bloodthirsty state.
Such Evil spirits were usually dragged into the Sea of Fate to initiate their rebirth, but there were a few ones powerful enough to linger in the world for a short period.
However, once they were cleansed, their thoughts and words were sealed, which explained......
Luoyin studied the late Zhang Furen.
She certainly resembled an evil spirit, yet was calm and guileless.
And her thoughts were silent.
Most likely a cleansed evil spirit!
Luoyin nodded at Yinying, who instantly transformed into his tiger form.
Gold rings flared out from around him, surrounding the bedchamber in a bright bell-shaped light which shimmered across the walls.
Luoyin grinned. This was Yinying's legendary 'Golden Bell' technique, an impenetrable shield, Luoyin hadn't seen in years!
The shield could hold for at least an hour, and 'Bailong' only knew of one instance where it had been broken before the hour was up.
And that had been by the previous Sky Emperor!
Any way, the shield currently made Luoyin feel very secure as he sat in the lotus position.
'Soul-searching' was an advanced method of telepathy, and it was extremely dangerous, especially if anyone interrupted the process.
Luoyin shut his eyes and began with a series of hand seals. The late Zhang Furen, almost as if she knew what he was doing, sat down opposite him, holding her hands over her knees, her palms facing upwards.
A yinyang appeared beneath them, circling in place, and light tendrils wound from Luoyin, spiralling between them, and then entering the late Zhang Furen's forehead.
Her head reared back, her eyes widened, and a series of visions suddenly filtered into Luoyin's mind...
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