Chapter Twenty: The Scheme Against the Hyena

As I glanced toward the torch, the flame flickered as if pulled by an invisible force, leaning sharply toward my back right.

I turned my head slightly, and in the corner of my eye, I saw a mangled, gore-streaked ghost with only one eye remaining. He was standing directly behind me, stealthily reaching a hand toward my shoulder.

A ghost placing a hand on a living person’s shoulder isn't just to give them a fright; it is waiting for you to turn around and scream, so it can siphon away your life essence.

The ghost behind me was Old Bachelor, the man I had killed with a single strike of my blade.

He hadn't warned Qin Yun of my position, yet here he was, seeking revenge?

I flicked two fingers of my left hand into my sleeve, discreetly gripping a ghost-slaying coin.

Old Bachelor sneered from behind me: "Put that ghost-slaying coin away. You came to find me, didn't you? Hoping to dig up some secrets?"

"Qin Yun will never trade with you in good faith. Right now, I am the only person you can count on."

"Give me your life essence, or you won't learn a single thing."

Old Bachelor was truly an old hand in the underworld; from the few words exchanged between Qin Yun and me, he had already deduced my intentions.

If we were in a safe place, I wouldn't mind giving him a portion of my life essence. But this place was fraught with danger; if I gave away a bit of my essence, I would be left severely weakened, and if Qin Yun attacked, I would be reduced to a sitting duck.

Holding my breath, I used internal energy to project my voice: "I cannot give you my life essence. If you are afraid of your soul dissipating, I can protect it for you instead."

Old Bachelor hissed: "I don't trust you."

"Either you give me your life essence now, or I will go out there and lure Qin Yun here, and we can all perish together."

"You're overthinking it!" I snapped. With a flick of my left wrist, the ghost-slaying coin shot out from behind my back.

Upon contact with the yin energy, the coin erupted in a crimson glare, spinning like a wheel of fire as it grazed his chest and sliced vertically toward his chin.

Old Bachelor clearly hadn't expected me to strike at that moment. By the time I turned around, a scorched, fire-like gash already ran from his chest to his brow.

I clapped my hands together, pinning both sides of his head: "The moment I let go, your soul will scatter. Can we speak properly now?"

Old Bachelor grinned, his mouth splitting: "Let me tell you something, too—you're the one overthinking it!"

As he spoke, wisps of green flame drifted from his mouth and nose. He had abandoned his will to live and was dissolving his own soul.

"Dying isn't going to be that easy!" I sneered. I pressed my palms against the top of his head, pinning it with my elbows, and crossed my hands behind his neck. With my right hand, I pulled a button from my left sleeve, drawing out a steel wire as thin as a hair. I wrapped it around him three times, forcibly suppressing his dissipating soul.

I had anticipated Old Bachelor pulling this stunt. Old Thief Yuan had once told me that "Mountain-Watching Dogs" were just like dogs—they could be tamed, but never crushed. If pushed too far, they would rather die than bow their heads.

Once I had him bound, I didn't waste any more breath. Using my fingers to hook the "wandering soul wire," I dragged him deeper into the secret passage.

"People tell me that Mountain-Watching Dogs have a dog's temperament: fierce, loyal, and hardy," I said as we walked. "But I think we should add 'mad dog' to that list."

"You got cheated out of everything by Qin Yun, so you came to me to scavenge for burial money?"

"If all Mountain-Watching Dogs are like this, then I don't think much of their lot."

Old Bachelor gritted his teeth: "You can insult me, but you cannot insult the Mountain-Watching Dogs!"

"Tsk," I scoffed, looking back. "If you can do such things, why are you afraid of me saying it?"

Old Bachelor growled: "My methods may be dishonorable, but they are all to get a grip on Qin Yun."

I stopped in my tracks: "Is the Immortal Fate in this tunnel?"

Old Bachelor was now nothing but a remnant soul; his only chance for a comeback was that very fate. I was certain he hadn't known the Plum Blossom Temple was below until he saw this tunnel and realized the underlying mystery. His desperate demand for my life essence was merely to sustain himself long enough to find the treasure.

Old Bachelor froze; he hadn't realized that the words he’d blurted out in his rage had become a clue in my hands. He simply clamped his mouth shut.

I continued to drag him forward: "Immortal Fate is for those who are destined to find it. Looking at you, I really don't see any sign of that."

"Anyway, I have a bone to pick with Qin Yun, and you’re about to kick the bucket. Why don't you tell me the secrets of the Mountain-Watching Dogs, and I'll avenge you?"

Old Bachelor was so enraged his eyes bulged: "I have never seen such a shameless person!"

I chuckled: "If you don't use me for revenge, who else can help you? Come on! A man has to know when to bow his head. It’s just the two of us here; even if you knelt down and called me Father, no one would see, right?"

"Yuan Zheng, you just wait!" Old Bachelor roared. "When my fellow disciples arrive, that will be your death day."

I turned around: "If your fellow disciples come, will they even recognize who I am?"

Old Bachelor beckoned: "Come closer, and I'll tell you."

The moment I leaned in, Old Bachelor suddenly grabbed my wrist. I felt a sharp, piercing pain as if stung by a needle. When I pulled my hand back, a circle of bloody holes resembling a bite mark had appeared on my wrist.

Old Bachelor cackled: "As long as you bear this mark, every Mountain-Watching Dog will treat you as their sworn enemy. Just wait to be torn to pieces!"

I crouched down in front of him and whispered, "Thank you."

"You..." Old Bachelor’s expression shifted violently, and he lunged at me like a madman. I flicked my finger, and the wandering soul wire retracted into my sleeve.

Phosphorescent flames erupted from the wounds on his body. Pointing at me with eyes full of regret, he cursed: "You are even more..."

Before he could finish, he exploded into a cloud of ghost-fire right before my eyes.

I had never expected Old Bachelor to give me the Immortal Fate, nor did I have the time to keep him alive to slowly extract his secrets. I only wanted to provoke him into drawing out more Mountain-Watching Dogs.

However, I hadn't expected him to leave such a mark upon me. If one or two came, I could handle it, but if too many arrived, Old Thief Yuan and I would have to find a way to escape.

But at that moment, I had no energy left to worry about the future.

I felt that I had reached the end of the secret passage. The secrets of the Three Ridges were likely not far off now.