Chapter 1 The Underground River

This underground river was larger than I had imagined. At least, it wouldn't be difficult to row a small boat in it.

Moreover, the banks of the river were lined with white grass that looked like reeds, except that each tip was topped with a string of will-o'-the-wisps.

Zuan Shan Bao stammered, "This...this is the grass river...Isn't that Huangquan grass by the river? Are we in the underworld?"

Legend says that the banks of the Huangquan River aren't empty. In some places, Huangquan grass grows, capable of entangling ghosts.

It is said that the firefly-like flower spikes on the Huangquan grass are the ghosts trapped by it. Therefore, Huangquan grass is also a magical artifact dreamed of by warlocks.

Huangquan grass, used for puppets, curses people to death. Used as a magical artifact, it can capture ghosts and gods!

"This is Huangquan grass..." Ye Yang said weakly, "Li Po, if you take the Huangquan grass back, you can... you can..."

"What's wrong?" When I realized something was wrong, I saw that Ye Yang's clothes were stained red with blood. His right hand was pressed tightly against his stomach.

My hands trembling, I touched Ye Yang's wound, and my face drained of color. "Ye Yang, hang in there. I'll get you out of here right now."

"No need!" Ye Yang laughed miserably, "The head of the Bei Yi Ye family actually couldn't avoid the traps in the water. How laughable."

"Stop talking nonsense!" I grabbed Ye Yang's hand and was about to put it on my body, but Zuan Shan Bao stopped me. "Don't touch him. His stomach is cut open. If you move him, he'll die."

I froze on the spot. In the distance, a cold laugh rang out, "So he's dying already? What a waste of his lifespan!"

"Get out here!" Enraged, I drew both sabers at the same time, and with a crossed slash, both blades pushed towards the direction of the voice.

Shen Youyou's figure slowly appeared amidst the harsh sound of the blades, carrying a head dripping with fresh blood.

"Chen Shuyu!" Zuan Shan Bao exclaimed, "She killed Chen Shuyu!"

"Kill—" In a fit of rage, I wielded my sabers like a whirlwind, wave after wave of saber energy slashing continuously towards Shen Youyou with the force of thunder.

The black and white saber light, like bloody lightning, repeatedly tried to tear through the vast sky, but Shen Youyou's figure was like a sky-covering cloud. No matter how violent the thunder, it could only shuttle through the clouds, unable to tear them apart.

I watched as Shen Youyou approached me step by step, and shouted sternly, "Zuan Shan Bao, hurry and leave. I'll hold her back!"

Without looking to see what Zuan Shan Bao was doing, I charged at the approaching ghost and god with my sabers.

Before my sabers could even touch her, I was sent flying by a huge force, crashing towards Zuan Shan Bao.

As I flew through the air, my eyes inadvertently fell on my hands. At that moment, I clearly saw the skin on the back of my hands aging rapidly, and my flesh withering at a visible rate.

Shen Youyou is the bane of Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren (Yang Jian Life Borrowers). No one can withstand her frontal palm strike.

My eyes wide, I crashed down next to Zuan Shan Bao. After tapping me on the head, he turned and ran into the depths of the dark river.

Shen Youyou, wearing only one red shoe, slowly walked past me, following Zuan Shan Bao at a leisurely pace.

After running for hundreds of meters, Zuan Shan Bao finally came to an open space. When he saw the grave in the middle of the clearing, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat down cross-legged.

Shen Youyou slowly walked to Zuan Shan Bao's side, the blood-stained red shoe falling just within his peripheral vision. The pressure of the ghost and god arrived, but Shen Youyou wasn't in a hurry to kill him. Instead, she asked coldly, "Do you understand?"

Zuan Shan Bao replied calmly, "I understand, but I also don't understand."

Shen Youyou asked like she was speaking in riddles, "What do you understand? What don't you understand?"

Zuan Shan Bao said unhurriedly, "This is a feng shui arrangement. Building a grave near a river can gather wealth if it meets a 'righteous bow water' formation. However, the river water here is as cold as ice, the current is turbulent, and it forms an arc in front of the open space, which is clearly a 'curved blade cutting the throat' formation. This is an inauspicious place, not suitable for building a grave."

Shen Youyou said again, "And then?"

Zuan Shan Bao continued, "Huangquan grass grows on the grave, the fluorescent light on the tips is dim, and the blades droop. The grass blades are dense on the right side of the grave and sparse on the left. This indicates that a woman is buried in the grave, and an elderly woman at that! This is not my great-grandfather's grave."

Shen Youyou sneered, "That's indeed not Zuan Shan Bao's grave!"

Shen Youyou said in a stern voice, "Hand over the method to open the grave and return my true body. I'll leave a trace of incense for your Huang family. This is my bottom line."

Zuan Shan Bao asked in return, "I want to know, who exactly is in the grave? And where was my great-grandfather buried?"

Shen Youyou said coldly, "You don't need to know who's in the grave. As for that old dog Huang Bai..."

Shen Youyou suddenly waved her hand, and the Huangquan grass on the opposite bank was immediately divided into two sides by the power of the ghost and god, revealing the piles of white bones hidden beneath the grass. Looking further away, one could faintly see a mound that looked like a grave.

Judging from the positions of the two graves, the grave in the distance should be the main one, and the grave in front, where the woman was buried, was the servant's position.

Zuan Shan Bao sneered, "Now I understand. Do it!"