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"Sister, you've appeared before me to tell me this story. Do you have a request for me?"
Xu Taiping had also guessed the female ghost's intentions.
"Young man, you're right. I've appeared before you because I have a favor to ask."
The female ghost nodded repeatedly.
"I have a younger sister named Liu Ziyin. Three years ago, we came up the mountain together. However, due to her exceptional talent, she was directly accepted as a disciple by the Fifth Peak. Originally, we had agreed that once I passed the Fifth Peak's selection next year, I would be able to cultivate alongside her on the Fifth Peak."
"But around this time last year, a disciple from the Fifth Peak suddenly came to my residence. He claimed to be my younger sister's third senior brother, saying he had come down the mountain to deliver a letter from Ziyin and to check on my well-being."
"Naturally, I treated him with great respect, serving him fine wine and food for half the day."
"But after a few rounds of drinks, the scoundrel became wild and, like a beast, violated my purity. Afterward, he threatened me, forbidding me from telling anyone about the incident. He even intended to keep me as his personal plaything, to be used whenever he pleased."
"I initially wanted to end my life, but he threatened me with my younger sister Ziyin. If I didn't comply, he would frame Ziyin and have her expelled from the Fifth Peak."
"Helpless, I could only submit to him, hoping to wait until Ziyin had firmly established herself on the Fifth Peak before finding a way to reveal everything to her."
"But a few months ago, while the scoundrel was heavily drunk, I overheard him plotting to use me to blackmail my younger sister Ziyin, intending to make her his plaything as well."
"If it were just me suffering, I could endure it. But he dared to set his sights on Ziyin. I could not let him succeed, even if it cost me my life."
"So, while he was heavily intoxicated, I took out a weapon I had hidden in the room, intending to end the life of that shameless villain."
"But I had underestimated the cultivation of a mountain disciple. The moment I revealed a hint of killing intent, he subdued me instead."
"Furious, the shameless villain tortured me before killing me and throwing my body into the deep mountains near my residence. Not long after, I was captured by the ghostly servant and became its slave."
After listening to the female ghost's long story, Xu Taiping felt a surge of anger and frustration.
He never imagined that such evil people and deeds existed on this sacred mountain. Compared to the Fifth Peak's fifth disciple, the ghostly servant seemed almost benevolent.
Of course, this was assuming the female ghost was telling the truth.
"How can you prove that everything you've said is true?"
After calming down, Xu Taiping asked the female ghost.
"To expose that shameless villain, I spent two years' worth of merit points to purchase Chenxiang from the Dongming Pavilion."
The female ghost pointed to the sleeve of the corpse below and continued, "Chenxiang consists of one mother incense and three child incenses. When the mother incense is burned, it records everything that happens in the room until the incense burns out."
"To view the recording, you simply need to burn one of the child incenses, and the past events will be revealed."
Hearing this, Xu Taiping nodded slightly to himself.
He had seen this treasure mentioned in the bronze mirror before.
"So, sister, you want me to deliver the remaining child incenses to your younger sister Ziyin?"
Without waiting for Liu Qingmei to speak, Xu Taiping directly asked.
"Exactly!"
Liu Qingmei nodded vigorously, her voice filled with despair as she said, "The Fifth Peak's fifth disciple, Lu Chen, is said to be the nephew of one of the Fifth Peak's elders. The Qingxuan Sect would never punish him for the sake of an outer sect disciple like me. So, I don't seek justice for myself. I only hope that my younger sister Ziyin won't be deceived by that shameless villain anymore!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a cold wind swept through the courtyard gate, and her form began to fade.
"Young man, if you ever have the chance to go to the Fifth Peak, please deliver the Chenxiang to my sister!"
Seeing that she was about to dissipate, Liu Qingmei's tone became urgent, her eyes pleading as she waited for Xu Taiping's response.
"If everything you've said is true, I will definitely deliver the Chenxiang to Sister Ziyin."
Without much hesitation, Xu Taiping firmly promised.
"Thank you, young man!"
Upon receiving Xu Taiping's promise, the female ghost Liu Qingmei immediately knelt and kowtowed, her head hitting the ground heavily.
"Young man, the ghostly servant won't give up after failing today. Although it's extremely difficult to deal with, it does have a weakness. During the time I was captured by it, I accidentally learned that the ghostly servant died from drunkenness in its past life. Alcohol is like poison to its spirit. Perhaps you can find a way to force it out of its host body and then use alcohol to deal with it."
Liu Qingmei suddenly raised her head and revealed the ghostly servant's weakness to Xu Taiping.
"The ghostly servant's weakness is alcohol? Thank you for the reminder, sister!"
Xu Taiping was pleasantly surprised and thanked her. Although he hadn't yet burned the Chenxiang, his trust in Liu Qingmei had increased.
"Young man, you must deliver the Chenxiang to my sister."
The female ghost shook her head and pleaded once more.
"Sister Qingmei, don't worry. If I ever make it up the mountain, I will find a way to deliver the Chenxiang to Sister Ziyin."
Xu Taiping nodded solemnly.
Hearing this, the female ghost Liu Qingmei finally showed a faint smile on her bitter face.
"Oh, young man, the ghostly servant is backed by a tiger spirit. Its methods are extremely formidable. If possible, avoid confronting it!"
Just as the female ghost's form was about to dissipate completely, she urgently reminded Xu Taiping.
"A tiger spirit?"
Watching the green flames scatter above Liu Qingmei's corpse, Xu Taiping murmured in surprise.
"So the story of the tiger and its ghostly servant is true."
Upon learning that the ghostly servant was backed by a tiger spirit, Xu Taiping was shocked but also recalled the old tale of the tiger and its ghostly servant.
"Although I now know the ghostly servant's weakness, according to Elder Ziyang, before breaking through to the Open Door Realm, encountering a ghost could be fatal if I'm not careful. So, it's best not to deal with it myself but to report it to the sect and let them handle it."
As Xu Taiping thought this, he jumped down from the top of the courtyard gate.
"For now, I'll report this to the sect. When they come, I'll also bring the body of the demon wolf from the mountains. They can't possibly ignore that, right?"
He muttered to himself as he retrieved a small wooden box from Liu Qingmei's sleeve.
Opening it, he found three sticks of incense inside.
"As for the Chenxiang and Sister Qingmei's story, I'll burn one stick tonight to verify its authenticity. Tomorrow, I'll see how the sect handles the ghostly servant. If they're willing to deal with it, I'll inform them of Liu Qingmei's plight and hand over the three sticks of incense."
Xu Taiping stood up and carefully stored the wooden box containing the Chenxiang.