56: Chapter 56 The Old Man with No Way Out

The bright moon rises above the Heavenly Mountains, amidst the vast sea of clouds.

A bright, clear moon hangs high in the sky, overlooking this ancient land of the Nine Provinces.

Tonight's moonlight is exceptionally bright; even in the alleys without a single light, one can still clearly see their own shadow.

On the silent, deserted street, the chirping of summer cicadas drifts from the trees on both sides, while the slightly sultry night breeze carries fallen leaves along, dancing under the dim streetlights.

Tap~ tap~ tap~

Suddenly, a steady, unhurried sound of footsteps rings out on the street, appearing exceptionally distinct in the silent night.

In the distance, an old woman with gray hair and a hunched figure walks slowly along the sidewalk with her hands behind her back.

The weathering of time has left many traces on the old woman's face; her wrinkled visage wears an inseparable look of sorrow.

As she walks, the old woman stops at the entrance of a small alley. She lifts her head with difficulty to glance at the moon in the sky, then walks into the alley.

The humidity in the alley is heavy. As the old woman walks through, moss nearly half a person's height grows beneath the walls on both sides.

After walking about ten meters inside, until reaching a spot where the dim light from the streetlamp cannot reach, the old woman stops her steps.

At this moment, she is standing with her back to the bright moon, and her shadow is already in front of her.

The old woman slowly lowers her hands, presses her palms together to bow to her shadow, and then carefully takes a step.

"Yi Xiaoyu." As the first step falls, the old woman whispers a name.

"Yi Xiaoyu." As the second step falls, the old woman whispers the name again.

...

Eleven, twelve, thirteen. By the time the thirteenth step falls, the old woman has also recited the name Yi Xiaoyu for the thirteenth time.

Suddenly, the shadow in front of the old woman begins to sway, just like a calm, waveless water surface into which a stone has been thrown, rippling with waves.

Thirteen seconds later, the old woman's shadow splits into two under the swaying; one shadow remains lying on the ground, while the other is projected onto the wall of the alley.

"Yi Xiaoyu!" A deep, blurry voice echoes in the alley.

When the voice sounds, the old woman cannot help but tremble all over, yet she persists in pressing her palms together and bowing to both of her shadows.

"Yi Xiaoyu!" This time the voice is still deep, but much clearer than before.

The old woman turns around and looks up at the shadow on the wall. This time she hears it clearly; the voice is coming from the shadow on the wall.

"Great Immortal, I beg you, my son is addicted to gambling, please help him break this gambling addiction!" The old woman says, her palms pressed together, her face filled with agitation.

After the plea is finished, the shadow on the wall remains unresponsive for a long time.

Just when the old woman is about to despair, the shadow speaks: "Very well!"

This single word fills the desperate mother with immense joy; her child is finally saved.

"Thank you, Great Immortal! Thank you, Great Immortal!" The old woman's hands tremble with excitement, and she keeps whispering, head bowed.

Just as this mother, who has passed the age of sixty, is still overwhelmed with excitement, the shadow on the wall begins to gradually detach from the wall, breaking the connection with the other shadow, and transforms into a pitch-black Ghost.

Because the old woman has poor eyesight and her attention is not focused, she does not notice this immediately.

After detaching from the wall, the pitch-black Ghost comes behind the old woman and begins to approach, looking as if it intends to possess her.

"A mere evil Ghost, daring to impersonate a Great Immortal!" Just as the Ghost is about to touch the old woman, a voice rings out beside its ear.

[Shadow Ghost is terrified, who is behind me? Fear value +79!]

"Who?" The Ghost feels its scalp tingle instantly and spins around violently, only to see a large hand.

Immediately after, that large hand clamps directly onto its face.

The Shadow Ghost instinctively prepares to resist, but suddenly feels its whole body go limp, its internal Yin Qi draining away continuously.

[Shadow Ghost is increasingly terrified, why is my Yin Qi draining away? Fear value +86!]

"Come here!" Lu Siye grabs the Shadow Ghost's head and instantly vanishes from the alley.

"That's wonderful, Great Immortal, let's go quickly then!" The old woman, having finally calmed down, turns around and speaks to the wall.

"Great Immortal? Great Immortal, where did you go?" The old woman looks at the empty wall and is instantly dumbfounded.

In the next alley, the Shadow Ghost is pressed to the ground by Lu Siye. He pinches the Shadow Ghost's mouth with one hand, preventing it from making a sound.

His other hand raises a finger to his lips, making a gesture for silence.

Then Lu Siye whispers: "Quiet, I don't want your screams in a moment to be heard by others."

[Shadow Ghost is extremely panicked, screams? What is he going to do to me? Fear value +99!]

[He's not thinking of doing that to me, is he!? Fear value +99!]

[...]

The Shadow Ghost's eyes widen, its pupils shaking in terror.

Lu Siye's highly ambiguous words cause it to imagine more than a dozen miserable fates for itself in just a few short seconds.

Listening to the notification sounds constantly ringing in his ears, Lu Siye's mouth twists into a grin; he loves these kinds of Ghosts that imagine things on their own.

As a reward for the other party being so obedient, Lu Siye decides to be clean and swift when he strikes later.

A few minutes later, Lu Siye walks out of the alley. His internal Qi surges, and the Ghost blood on his hands is instantly evaporated.

Behind him, there is no longer a trace of the Shadow Ghost, only two kidneys slowly dissipating, and a small, circular black shadow.

Atop a high building in the distance, a red-eyed crow tilts its head, watching the scene in the alley, then flaps its wings and disappears into the night.

On the street, Lu Siye straightens his slightly messy clothes. After reporting this unexpected gain of the Shadow Ghost to the exorcism app, he looks back at the alley.

What is this called? 'After the deed is done, brush off one's clothes and depart, hiding one's merit and fame.'

Returning to the previous alley, Lu Siye approaches the old woman, pats her shoulder, and secretly removes the Yin Qi that had contaminated her.

The old woman is of advanced age; if this Yin Qi is not removed, she would likely fall gravely ill because of it.

"Grandma, it's so late, it's dangerous to be out alone. Go back quickly!" Lu Siye leans in and speaks loudly near the old woman's ear.

Elderly people are generally hard of hearing; otherwise, she wouldn't have failed to notice the movement behind her just now.

"Oh, alright!" The old woman nods, letting Lu Siye support her as she stumbles toward the outside.

At this moment, the old woman looks somewhat dejected, her eyes revealing a sense of despair.

Having finally found hope that her son could break his gambling addiction, it turned out to be nothing more than a false joy.

Under the dim streetlights, the old woman's small figure casts a long shadow, and she appears utterly forlorn.