The sword light was cold and came from above.

But before the ghost pushed the door, Wei Yuan had already used his wind control ability to stand on top of the door. When the ghost entered and took a look, even Wei Yuan felt slightly surprised. The other ghosts in the house already looked miserable, but this ghost looked even more strange.

There were a total of five ghosts, with the four behind following the one in front, walking in a line.

Each of them had long, skinny limbs, pale green hair, and shriveled bellies. They wore tattered and moldy clothes. Four of them had two holes in their noses, and below the black hollows were mouths full of cracked fangs. Above their noses, there was only bare skin. The first ghost even had an extra vertical eye, which looked eerie.

These creatures were neither human nor non-human. As they entered, the room became even darker.

They came while ordinary people were sleeping, walking in unison, and who knows how many lives they had taken.

Seizing the opportunity, Wei Yuan didn't have time to marvel at the ugliness of these ghosts. He descended from the air and swung his Eight-Faced Han Sword, emitting a cold sword light. He aimed directly at the eye of the ghost in front. The sword had already been inscribed with symbols to ward off evil spirits. The ghost only had one eye, and it was fixated on the bed, caught off guard as the sword light approached.

With only a moment to react, the ghost dodged its head, and the long sword grazed its neck, piercing through.

The ghost cried out in pain.

Wei Yuan stepped on the empty air with his right foot, gathering demonic wind beneath him. He moved with the wind, swiftly turning around. With his right hand, he sliced off a large piece of rotten flesh, and with his left hand, he pulled out the broken sword from behind him. When the ghost tried to retreat and bumped into the blind ghost behind it, Wei Yuan thrust the broken sword directly into the eye that occupied half of its face.

He followed up with a fierce kick to the ghost's chest and abdomen, causing it to fall to the ground, wailing in agony.

The other ghosts became chaotic, all screaming and howling.

"What's happening?! Why do they have vitality?"

"Have you started eating?!"

"No, it's rotten flesh and blood!"

The last short ghost turned around and tried to run, but Wei Yuan had already placed a talisman on the door. The small ghost was trapped inside like a mortal encountering a ghost wall, unable to escape no matter how it struggled.

These five ghosts relied on the one-eyed ghost to lead the way. Now that its eye was disabled, all five of them became blind. They screamed in anger and pain, tearing at the air with their sharp hands. Some of them had swollen bellies, struggling to breathe. Wei Yuan felt his body sway, as if his own vitality was about to be sucked out.

If it weren't for his foundation in the Lying Tiger Technique and his connections to the Daoist and Confucian schools, which emphasized cultivating oneself, he would have been in danger.

Realizing the situation, Wei Yuan closed the door and, relying on his agile swordsmanship, engaged with these five evil ghosts. He injured them without killing, wearing down their strength and courage. In just a moment, he had defeated all five blind ghosts.

...............

Wei Yuan sat in a chair, holding his sword.

A strong aura emanated from him.

The five ugly ghosts lay in a sorry state on the ground, transforming into rolling gourds.

The words "Lying Tiger Waist Badge" appeared on Wei Yuan's spiritual platform, and he already knew the true identity of these ghosts.

They were the Plague Ghosts with One Eye, and the five ghosts shared one eye. If a few ghosts approached a person individually, that person would fall ill. But if five ghosts approached together, even a strong person would die within seven days.

They belonged to the Ghost Department, but they were also monsters, evil creatures.

Outside the window, the village remained quiet. Wei Yuan placed his sword on the ground and pretended to be knowledgeable about everything, fooling these ghosts. He said, "I didn't expect to encounter Plague Ghosts like you here. How long have you been here?"

Wei Yuan showed no mercy to the evil ghosts. They were already afraid, and upon hearing his question, the leader of the ghosts struggled and knelt down, begging for mercy. "Please spare us, Daoist."

Wei Yuan ignored their pleas and continued to question them with his sword in hand. Reluctantly, the ghosts revealed the truth.

The entire village was shrouded in a ghost domain.

This ghost domain had a significant background. It seemed to be a modified formation passed down from ancient times. Unfortunately, it fell into the hands of the ghosts and turned into a sinister ghost domain. The door would open after seven days.

Once ordinary people entered, they would encounter various harsh weather conditions, such as strong winds or heavy rain. If a person stayed for less than seven days, they would not be able to leave. Even if someone was physically strong, they would still deplete most of their vitality after seven days. Plague ghosts would possess them, and misfortune ghosts would haunt them. After going through all this, they would lose a significant portion of their lifespan and most likely die a miserable death from tuberculosis before reaching the age of forty or fifty.

And the lifespan that was lost was the same as the vitality and yang energy of ordinary people, which naturally flowed into this village.

The other ghosts were arranged in some way, but the shopkeeper never allowed these five ghosts to absorb the vitality of one person. This way, the guests would die outside, avoiding trouble and the intervention of Daoists from Mount Longhu and Mount Mao.

Wei Yuan asked, "The shopkeeper?"

The Plague Ghosts with One Eye answered:

"He is the master of the ghost domain, running an inn that doesn't sell tea or alcohol."

"Serving meals for the dead, welcoming guests from all directions."

"Where is the inn?"

"To go there, ordinary people must head west."

The voice paused, and then they begged for mercy again. Wei Yuan drew his sword without hesitation. As the sword light flickered, the evil ghosts fell to the ground one by one. The last ghost, knowing it was doomed, let out a desperate roar and rushed towards Wei Yuan. But it was impaled through the throat by the broken sword, emitting a gurgling sound before collapsing to the ground.

The evil ghosts were all defeated, and Wei Yuan remained calm. He wiped the green pus and blood from his sword with a cloth.

The Lying Tiger Waist Badge trembled slightly.

He had killed the Plague Ghosts with One Eye.

He gained three merits.

These ghosts were only slightly stronger than the Skin Slaves he had dealt with before. However, three merits were still three merits. Even if a mosquito's leg was small, it was still meat. Wei Yuan had finally earned some merits after a long time, and he felt slightly more secure in the face of the threat from Shan Jun, who had suddenly emerged from nowhere.

The shopkeeper mentioned by the Plague Ghosts with One Eye should be Wang Hong and the restaurant they mentioned.

This time, he had found the real culprit.

The village was peaceful. Wei Yuan put away his sword and turned to see the fallen evil ghosts. Although the Plague Ghosts with One Eye were ghosts, they were also monsters with physical bodies, which was annoying to look at. Wei Yuan threw these five ghosts out of the window like stones falling to the ground.

Looking around the village, he knew that it was surrounded by the ghost domain. He couldn't leave, but he had his skills.

He decided to sleep peacefully in the place where the evil ghosts had fallen, holding his sword in his arms.

...............

Sounds rustled in the darkness of the night.

Yao and ghosts were slowly approaching.

"Strange, it's been so long, why is there still no movement from the Plague Ghosts with One Eye?"

One of the ghosts' expressions changed, saying, "Damn it, could he have been tempted and actually eaten someone?!"

In this era of spiritual energy revival, there was the Heavenly Masters' Mansion to suppress the region, and disciples from the Buddhist and Daoist schools would come down from the mountains. The ghosts hurriedly rushed to the place where the Plague Ghosts with One Eye were, but under the moonlight, their faces turned miserable. They saw the five ghosts lying on the ground, their bodies almost turned into minced meat.

The group of ghosts stopped, their eyes filled with shock.

Then they all retreated.

A night passed without any incidents.

The next day, Wei Yuan opened his eyes, stretched lazily, and opened the window. He saw two people sweeping the road outside. To the naked eye, they were clearing away weeds and fallen leaves, but in Wei Yuan's eyes, they were sweeping away the rotten flesh of the Plague Ghosts with One Eye.

A couple passed by, seemingly unaware that there were so many fallen leaves in this spring.

"Oh, these? They were blown down by the strong wind last night."

An old lady with a warm and kind face answered.

"Yes, yes, the wind was fast, like a knife. The rain was cold, like a sword."

The other old lady, who was more reserved, said.

The young woman smiled and pulled her boyfriend along, stepping on the fallen leaves. The sound of her boots crushing the leaves made people feel comfortable, as if they were in a lazy afternoon in autumn. Wei Yuan watched as the woman's high-heeled boots lifted and fell, her movements graceful, stepping on the rotten flesh of the ghosts and monsters.

Squish, squish—

The high-heeled shoes crushed the chunks of rotten flesh.

The invisible green pus and blood fell on her white skirt and hands.

Her hands were tightly clasped together.

She was laughing.

The two old ladies who were sweeping stopped and looked kindly at the joking couple.

Their throats moved, as if swallowing saliva.

Clang, clang, clang—

Wei Yuan squinted at the scene, placing his hand on the hilt of his broken sword behind his back.

A knocking sound came from the door.

Wei Yuan released his hand, opened the door.

The thin and friendly shopkeeper stood expressionlessly at the door, scanning the room covered in fresh blood from the ghosts.

He bowed slightly.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

"Hello, do you need someone to clean the house?"

PS: Thanks to Situ's generous reward, thank you~

If I'm not mistaken, it seems to have been updated in the early morning, lying down...

I'll update one chapter at midnight, and then three more during the day tomorrow, probably.