Liaozhai: Immortality Begins with Becoming Yan Chixia's Apprentice

Chapter 7 Whispers at Midnight

After Manager Zhao left, Zhou Ning did not fall asleep.

He sat on the edge of the bed, his mind replaying the scene he had just witnessed in that small courtyard.

The woman in white knelt and wept, her figure was eerie in the moonlight, and Manager Zhao uttered the words, "That's a painted skin ghost."

Painted Skin Ghost.

He had read similar records in ancient books.

Legend has it that she was a female ghost with extremely strong resentment, who wore human skin to disguise herself as a living person, and specifically seduced men to extract their hearts to practice evil magic.

These kinds of evil spirits harbor deep resentment and are extremely difficult to exorcise; ordinary methods are simply ineffective against them.

Zhou Ning looked down at his hands.

After months of cultivation, he had made some progress in his "Innate Qi," but it was still only at the entry level, not even reaching the Qi Refining stage. If he were to truly encounter that Painted Skin Ghost…

He shook his head, suppressing those thoughts.

Since his master sent him down the mountain to make purchases and specifically instructed him to "preserve yourself if you encounter trouble," he must have anticipated the strange situation in Qingshan Town.

He only needs to complete the purchase, return to the mountain early tomorrow morning, and report the matter to his master.

but……

Zhou Ning closed his eyes, and the mournful weeping seemed to echo in his ears again.

In that voice, there was resentment, hatred, and... endless sorrow.

Was a woman who waited for her husband for three years and ultimately committed suicide in despair truly just pure evil?

Zhou Ning sighed, got up, and opened the window.

The night was deep, and the moonlight was like water.

The streets remained deserted, with only the occasional rustling of fallen leaves carried by the wind.

He was about to close the window when suddenly...

"Waaaaah..."

The crying started again.

This time, it was clearer than before, as if it were right outside the window.

Zhou Ning felt a chill run down his spine and looked in the direction of the sound.

Under the moonlight, a white figure stood in the middle of the street, her back to him, weeping softly.

It was the woman from that small courtyard just now.

Why did she come out?

Zhou Ning instinctively gripped the window frame, her heart pounding like a drum.

But just as he was about to close the window and hide, the woman in white suddenly turned her head slowly...

The moonlight shone on her face, revealing a delicate yet pale face with exquisite features. However, two lines of bloody tears hung at the corners of her eyes, making her appear eerie and desolate.

She didn't look at Zhou Ning, but stared blankly at the end of the street, her lips moving slightly as if she were saying something.

Zhou Ning held his breath and listened intently.

"...Come back...you promised...you would come back..."

Intermittent words, mixed with sobs, drifted into Zhou Ning's ears.

He was startled.

Is this woman... waiting for her husband?

Just then, a gust of cold wind blew by, and the figure of the woman in white vanished like smoke, as if she had never appeared at all.

The streets were deathly silent again.

Zhou Ning closed the window, leaned against the wall, and his heart pounded for a long time.

That female ghost... didn't seem to be purely evil, as Manager Zhao had described.

She's more like a pitiful person trapped in an obsession.

Zhou Ning took a deep breath and decided to stop thinking about it.

He returned to the bedside, sat cross-legged, and began to circulate his "Innate Qi" to calm his mind.

Silent all night.

The next morning, Zhou Ning got up early, washed up, and went downstairs for breakfast.

Manager Zhao was doing accounts behind the counter when he saw him come down and hurriedly came to greet him:

"Young man, did you sleep well last night?"

Zhou Ning nodded:

"It's alright. Shopkeeper, I'd like to ask you a few more questions."

Manager Zhao's expression changed slightly. He looked around and lowered his voice, saying:

"Brother, you'd better not ask about that matter."

Zhou Ning took a small piece of silver from his sleeve and placed it on the counter:

"Shopkeeper, I'm not trying to meddle, I just want to find out. My master is a cultivator on the mountain, perhaps he can be of help."

Manager Zhao looked at the broken silver, hesitated for a moment, and finally sighed, pushing the silver back.

"Brother, it's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just... this matter is too eerie."

He led Zhou Ning to a table in the corner, and after he sat down, he lowered his voice and said:

"The female ghost's surname in life was Liu, and her name was Liu Niang. Her husband's surname was Zhang, and he was a carpenter. He was skilled and honest. Three years ago, the imperial court conscripted laborers to repair the city wall, and Carpenter Zhang was taken away."

Manager Zhao sighed:

"Liu Niang was alone at home, hoping day and night for her husband to return. The first year, someone brought back news from the construction site that Zhang the carpenter was still alive. The second year, there was no news. The third year..."

He paused, a hint of reluctance flashing in his eyes:

"In the third year, someone returned from the construction site and said that Zhang the carpenter had died from exhaustion and his body was buried at the foot of the city wall."

Zhou Ning's heart sank.

"When Liu Niang heard the news, she cried all night. The next morning, the neighbors found her hanged from the roof beam."

Manager Zhao shook his head:

"I thought that was the end of it. But who knew that not long after, people started dying in the town."

"The first one to die was Wang Laowu, the butcher in town."

Manager Zhao's voice lowered even further:

"He died in his own home, his chest cut open, his heart gone. He was covered by... a woman's skin."

Zhou Ning's pupils contracted:

"Human skin?"

Manager Zhao nodded:

"It was Liu Niang's skin. After she died, her body was collected by the neighbors and buried in the back hill. Somehow, her skin... was peeled off."

Zhou Ning felt a chill run down her spine:

"Who peeled it?"

"Nobody knows," said Manager Zhao.

"Some say she peeled it herself, others say she was possessed by an evil spirit. Anyway, from then on, she became a 'painted skin ghost,' specializing in seducing men and ripping out their hearts."

"Then why would she want to harm people?" Zhou Ning asked.

Manager Zhao smiled wryly:

"Some say she harbors hatred. Hatred that men are all heartless, hatred that her husband doesn't come back, hatred that God is unfair. She wants to turn all men into heartless people like her husband."

Zhou Ning remained silent for a long time.

hatred……

A woman who was abandoned and forgotten became a vengeful ghost after her death, seeking revenge on the world.

This is certainly evil, but...

"Then why does she only appear at night?" Zhou Ning asked again.

Manager Zhao said:

"The old Taoist priest said that she is afraid of light. Sunlight can reveal her true form. So she dares not come out during the day, and only dares to move around at night."

Zhou Ning nodded:

"The copper coins hanging at the door..."

"It was given to me by the old Taoist priest; he said it could ward off evil spirits," said Manager Zhao.

"Ever since she hung the copper coins, she really hasn't dared to go near. But every few days, someone still gets murdered."

"Where is the old Taoist priest now?" Zhou Ning asked.

Manager Zhao shook his head:

"Six months ago, the old Taoist priest said he was going to find a way to get rid of her completely, and he never came back after he left. Some people say he died, some people say he escaped. Anyway... nobody knows."

Zhou Ning understood.

It seems that the matter of the Painted Skin Ghost in Qingshan Town is more complicated than he imagined.

He stood up and said to Manager Zhao:

"Thank you for informing me, shopkeeper. I will return to the mountain immediately and report this matter to my master."

Manager Zhao quickly replied:

"Young man, you must be very careful. That thing... is extremely dangerous."

Zhou Ning nodded, went upstairs to pack his bags, then left the inn and embarked on his journey back to the mountain.

Throughout the journey, he kept replaying Manager Zhao's words in his mind.

Liu Niang... Zhang the Carpenter... the Painted Skin Ghost...

A woman who waited for three long years eventually turned into a vengeful ghost.

Her hatred, her resentment, her obsession...

Zhou Ning sighed.

Perhaps, what she needs is not to be destroyed, but... to be released from suffering.

It was already afternoon when we returned to Lanruo Temple.

Yan Chixia was sitting cross-legged in the main hall, resting with his eyes closed.

Hearing footsteps, he slowly opened his eyes.

"You're back?"

"Yes."

Zhou Ning placed the purchased medicinal herbs and cinnabar paper aside and bowed respectfully.

"How is Qingshan Town?"

Yan Chixia asked.

Zhou Ning told his master everything that Manager Zhao had said.

After listening, Yan Chixia remained silent for a moment, then said calmly:

"The Painted Skin Ghost... is not difficult to deal with. The difficulty lies in her heavy resentment. If it is not resolved at its root, even if her physical form is destroyed, her resentment will attach itself to other things and continue to harm people."

Zhou Ning's heart stirred:

"Does Master mean... to resolve her resentment?"

Yan Chixia nodded:

"What she hates is her husband's absence and the heartlessness of men in the world. If her husband could 'come back' and make her understand that he did not intend to abandon her, perhaps her obsession could be resolved."

"But her husband is already dead," Zhou Ning said.

"It is the physical body that dies," Yan Chixia said.

"His soul is still here. If we can find Zhang the carpenter's soul and let him meet with Liu Niang, perhaps we can resolve this karmic entanglement."

Zhou Ning's eyes lit up:

"Master, can you summon a soul?"

Yan Chixia shook his head:

"Summoning the soul is not difficult; the difficulty lies in finding Zhang the carpenter's soul. He died in a foreign land, and his soul may not be able to return to his hometown."

He stood up, put his hands behind his back, and looked out the window:

"There's no rush. Your cultivation is still too shallow. Even if you find Zhang the carpenter's soul, you might not be able to protect him. Focus on your cultivation first, and we can discuss this matter again once you break through to the Qi Refining stage."

Zhou Ning nodded:

"Disciple understands."

But in his heart, he secretly made up his mind.

He absolutely had to get involved in the matter of the Painted Skin Demon.

It wasn't to play the hero, but...

The woman who wept under the moonlight should not live forever in hatred and pain.