Baili An suddenly felt that this girl was not only strange but also intriguingly interesting.
Though he knew she was dangerously powerful, and he knew she was untouchable, he couldn't help but want to befriend her.
"May I have the honor of learning the young lady's name?"
Perhaps it had been many years since anyone had asked her name, for in this world, anyone who saw her in red with two swords could recognize her true identity at a glance.
At that moment, a touch of haziness flitted across that beautiful pair of almond-shaped eyes in red, followed immediately by a smile: "But my name is only told to friends whom I trust—and you are not one, not now."
Even though the whole world knew her name by the thousands, there was only one deserving of hearing it from her own lips.
Baili An couldn't help but take another look at her and said, "Young lady..."
"What is it?"
Baili An hesitated for a moment, then candidly said, "I just wanted to say, your smile doesn't look good at all; could you not smile like that anymore?"
The woman's smile stiffened a bit; she raised her fingertips to touch the corners of her upturned mouth, then spoke slowly: "I'm used to it, it cannot be changed."
The moonlight was clean and cold, shining down on people.
A group of people finally disappeared into the mountain path.
After a long while, a cursing voice rose from the empty Stone Forest.
It was Jin Sheng, who had parted with Baili An ten days ago.
He crawled out from under a particularly concealed boulder, rubbing his red and swollen right eye.
"Damn! How did that Evil Star woman come here! That little corpse demon doesn't listen to advice! I told him not to mess with good-looking women in red clothes, but what does he do? He goes and provokes one, and now it's landed on me; how am I supposed to secretly protect you like this?"
The redness in his right eyelid took on the shape of a leaf, as if it had been smacked hard by a leaf.
Bowing his head, he looked at the half-withered, yellow leaf on the ground, his voice filled with despair:
"Little corpse demon, you're on your own. I've seen people courting death, but not like how you do it; you don't run when you see her, even asking for her name. You must be uncomfortable rising from the coffin, wanting to lie back down again."
"But when did the Evil Star become so kind-hearted? Not only did she save the little corpse demon, but she even took out the precious Five Directions Cold Ice for him to use. There's something very unusual going on..."
He shivered hard, and then with a heavy expression said, "That woman's temper is fickle, and it's not strange for her to do strange things."
"Damn it!" Jin Sheng started cursing again, as if caught in an incredibly difficult dilemma: "I eat one of your 'fruit', and it attracts the last person I want to trouble, damn it, you're my bane!"
Saying this, he took up his sword and chased after the mountain path where Baili An had disappeared.
...
...
The hunter's home was not far, located halfway up Kongcang Mountain.
A simple thatched hut was nestled among the trees, and from a distance, one could see the curling smoke rising from the villages and tribes at the foot of the mountain.
Baili An carefully placed the hunter on a rattan bed outside the thatched hut, gazing distantly at the village and tribe shrouded in cooking smoke, not quite sure what he was feeling.
The girl propped herself against the door and said, "Please have a seat for a bit, I'll go cook dinner; it won't take long."
As evening approached, the scorching sun that was poison to Baili An wobbled down West Mountain, its dying light like blood before being gradually devoured by darkness.
The red-clad woman leaned against the Ancient locust tree, observing the girl who, despite her limp, was busily sweating as she prepared dinner for them, without any intention to help—instead, she looked down at the small coffin in her hands.
After a solemn inspection that lasted for a while, as if sensing the yin spirit's energy within the coffin stabilize, the concern in those almond eyes faded a bit.
Baili An, seeing that the energy in the small coffin was still a bit wilted, suddenly spoke up, "Young lady doesn't look like a Ghost Cultivator, so why keep a ghost child?"
As if the ghost child inside the coffin heard Baili An's words, the coffin shook vigorously, indicating its desire to come out.
The woman's tone was gentle: "No, you need to rest properly."
Still, the coffin continued to shake.
Helpless, she slightly pushed open a corner of the coffin lid, and the little ghost, dressed in a crimson bellyband, jumped out onto the ground with his bare feet.
His skin was deathly pale, and his pitch-black pupils were twice the size of a normal person's, showing barely any whites.
Despite his chubby and somewhat adorable appearance, he mostly gave off a cold and eerie feel.
The girl who was naturally afraid of ghosts softened her legs at the sight, leaning against the wall just enough to prevent herself from falling.
Her lips quivering, she said, "Miss... miss, this... this..."
The red-clad woman's eyes were half-closed as she spoke lightly, "Oh, this is my son, don't be afraid."
As if they would not be afraid.
The girl, pale-faced and unsteady, fled towards the inside of the hut as if escaping, "I'll go get the last dish."
The little ghost circled around the red-clad woman before biting his fingers and, with his large, uncanny eyes filled with longing, began to toddle towards Baili An.
The red-clad woman's expression changed slightly, "Shou, he can't eat."
Her tone was filled with concern, obviously not for Baili An, but for the little ghost.
It's not that she had forgotten Shou's intense discomfort after consuming a piece of Baili An.
But Shou, who usually listened to her, was now heedless and continued to sprint towards Baili An.
Baili An faced the black, shiny eyes and felt the healed wound on his arm start to ache again, instinctively wanting to take a step back.
But the little ghost stopped right in front of him.
He lifted his chubby lotus root-like arms high, making a pitiful gesture for a hug.
His mouth babbled inarticulately, his eyes intensely imploring.
The red-clad woman was shocked.
Jin Sheng, secretly watching everything, nearly swore out loud when he saw this scene, his sword almost falling from his hands.
Baili An looked up silently at the sky.
It was already dark, but during the day, this little ghost had boldly appeared in the sunlight.
And was not at all affected by the scorching sun, which suggested his true strength was far beyond Baili An's.
But what was the meaning of this current scene, with him acting so pitiful, begging for affectionate hugs?
Baili An was at a loss for words, but as he looked down and met those strangely endearing watery eyes, he felt an unexpected softness in his heart and slowly crouched down, setting the Glazed Umbrella on the ground, and lifted the little ghost by the armpits.
The little ghost was surprisingly light, owing to the fact that he was an intangible yin spirit.
His body was cool to the touch, quite comforting to hold.
He cradled the little ghost in his arms, stroked the tuft of hair on his forehead, and smiled, "Your name is Shou, right?"
The little ghost Shou, immensely joyful, flailed his short arms and legs, beaming with innocent delight, showing none of his former ghostly ferocity.