"Hehehe... hehehe..."
Not long after the two disciples from Fierce Wind Hall left, a ghost servant, possessing the body of a rotting corpse, appeared at Xu Taiping's courtyard. The ghost was cloaked in a black robe, riding a demonic wolf.
"Do you think those useless fools can catch me? What can they possibly do?"
The ghost servant sneered as it called out to Xu Taiping, who was standing atop the roof of the building.
"If I close the door, what are you going to do about it?"
Xu Taiping coldly retorted, then released his fingers. An arrow, imbued with residual spiritual energy, shot through the air with a sharp whistle.
"Boom!"
But to Xu Taiping's surprise, the ghost servant suddenly drew a long sword from its robe and effortlessly cut the arrow in half mid-flight.
"If it weren't for your sneak attack yesterday, how could a little brat like you—someone who hasn't even reached the opening realm—possibly harm me?"
The ghost servant mocked, pointing the blade of its sword directly at Xu Taiping.
Seeing this, Xu Taiping's expression grew serious.
From the ghost servant's sword strike, he could tell that its strength was far beyond his own. Yesterday, he was only able to force it to abandon its possession of Liu Qingmei's body through a surprise attack.
"The opportunity for a sneak attack only comes once. From now on, this ghost servant will definitely be much more cautious. Trying to force it out of the body again and using wine to kill it will be extremely difficult."
Xu Taiping thought to himself, while once again drawing an arrow.
"Little brat, don't think that just because you're hiding in your courtyard, I won't be able to do anything. In ten days, I will dig up the underground channel leading to your herb garden at the back. Once I block it off, your garden will have no water, and all the spiritual herbs you've planted will turn to dead grass!"
The ghost servant sneered, its voice dripping with malice as it spoke.
Xu Taiping's heart sank when he heard this.
The water source for his herb garden indeed came from a hidden underground channel. Water flowed into the garden's channels, making it easy to irrigate. If the ghost servant really could sever the underground water source, he would be forced to go out and fetch water, and soon, all the freshly planted herbs would die.
"If I store up enough water in advance, I can last for four or five days after the water is cut off. That means I only have fifteen days to prepare."
Xu Taiping's mind raced as he considered his options.
"Little brat, the reason I'm telling you this is because I see some cleverness in you. I'm offering you a way out: surrender and become my ghost servant. Otherwise, I'll turn your soul into a lamp wick, and you'll experience what it's like to suffer a fate worse than death!"
After threatening Xu Taiping, the ghost servant revealed its true intentions for coming.
After the events of yesterday, it had recognized Xu Taiping's intelligence and wanted to make him its servant after offering up his body to the Tiger King.
In this world, even spirits were short on help.
"I am a righteous cultivator of Qingxuan Sect. How could I ever become your lackey?"
Xu Taiping sneered, then released another arrow with a swift motion of his fingers.
"Swish!"
As expected, the arrow was effortlessly cut down by the ghost servant's sword.
"A righteous cultivator?"
After knocking down Xu Taiping's arrow, the ghost servant laughed loudly, as if it had just heard the funniest joke.
"The Daoists say, 'One creates two, two creates three, and three creates all things; all things eventually return to one.' Therefore, all Daoist paths are different ways to the same end. There's no such thing as right or wrong, good or evil. If you follow me, I'll teach you the way of ghost cultivation. With time, you'll also be able to achieve success!"
Seeing that threats were not working, the ghost servant changed tactics and began to offer Xu Taiping a tempting deal.
"The Dao might not distinguish between good and evil, but people do. As the Sage of Books said, 'Born a human, you must cultivate yourself, guide others, and be like water—dwelling in dark abysses yet being kind!'"
Xu Taiping spoke, drawing his bow once more, his voice cold and unyielding as he met the ghost servant's gaze. "You were born a human, yet you do no good, instead serving the Tiger King, harming your own kind, bullying the weak—this is pure evil and must be eradicated!"
At that moment, Xu Taiping, though only a mere five feet tall, seemed to tower over the ghost servant, whose figure reached eight feet.
"Since you seek death, I'll grant your wish!"
The ghost servant snorted in anger. It turned its demonic wolf around and shouted at Xu Taiping, "Do you think severing the water source will only kill your herbs? The water channels in your garden are the source of the spiritual energy that sustains the barrier around this courtyard. Once the water is cut off, the barrier will collapse on its own!"
Perhaps because it was enraged or perhaps because it had underestimated Xu Taiping, the ghost servant inadvertently revealed an important detail.
"Wait for it, within half a month, I'll take your life!"
With that, the ghost servant rode its demonic wolf, vanishing into the nearby mountains with a single swift motion.
"Half a month... that's enough!"
Xu Taiping stared at the spot where the ghost servant had disappeared, then clenched his fist tightly.
The arrows he shot earlier had not been random; he had been testing the ghost servant's abilities.
"After shooting three arrows, the ghost servant blocked each one. That means its host body takes damage when I strike. Furthermore, when I shot the second and third arrows, it was noticeably slower to block. If I can improve my cultivation, it's possible that the ghost servant won't be able to react as swiftly next time."
Xu Taiping continued to think, his gaze sharp. "If I can make it let its guard down, there's a chance I can injure it."
With this in mind, Xu Taiping jumped off the roof and quickly looked around the courtyard, muttering to himself, "Based on my current cultivation, I can't fight it unless I break through the opening realm. Even if I manage to improve my Residual Glow technique to the Ice Phase within half a month, killing the ghost servant will require a trap—catching it by surprise."
"There's only one chance. I need to be fully prepared."
Xu Taiping could choose to flee—perhaps by dousing himself in strong liquor to prevent the ghost servant from approaching. But the problem was, the surrounding mountains were wild and uninhabited. How far could he run?
"Rather than thinking about escape, it's better to face it head-on."
Xu Taiping turned and walked quickly towards his bedroom.
He had little time left; not a moment could be wasted.
What he didn't know, however, was that his confrontation with the ghost servant was being watched from a distance by someone hidden in the mountains.
A frail old man, lying on a tree branch, his hair gray and his clothes ragged, observed the scene closely. The old man wore a bronze sword at his waist and held a gourd of wine in his hand.
4o