Chapter 204: Another Corpse Ghost

"Whoa—"

"Clip-clop... clip-clop..."

The two horses gradually slowed down their pace, bringing the carriage to a stop by the roadside.

"Screech!"

The carriage door had been modified into a side sliding design.

The woman turned back and saw a scholar with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, dressed in a green robe, stepping off the carriage in one stride.

Once the scholar disembarked, he turned back and extended a hand. A delicate hand gently reached out, holding onto the scholar’s hand, and then a breathtaking woman in a light cyan gauze and fine silk dress gracefully alighted from the carriage.

Watching this perfect couple disembark and recalling the burst of blood qi from the carriage just now, it was evident that this was a martial expert taking his non-martial wife on a leisurely journey.

The woman lying on the ground brightened up, a look of yearning in her eyes.

Lu Zheng assisted Liu Qingyan off the carriage. Without acknowledging the woman lying on the ground, he made a sweeping motion with his hand, using the Transportation Technique to gather the bodies and weapons of the men into a pile, then with another wave of his hand, he tossed them all into the depths of the forest.

They were far from towns, and by nightfall, the wild beasts would ravage these bodies, likely leaving not even bones by morning.

Daoist technique!

Daoist and Martial Dual Cultivation!

The woman’s pupils contracted, and she immediately lowered her gaze, averting her eyes.

Although Lu Zheng had disposed of those bandits’ bodies, he left untouched the first corpse lying on the ground, which upon closer inspection was a scholar in a plain white Confucian robe.

"This..."

Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow, then turned his gaze to the woman, only to find Liu Qingyan already by her side.

The woman seemed to be eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a moonlight-colored epiphyllum silk gown, a bronze pin adorned with a flying sparrow in her hair, revealing a fair face, her looks delicate and lovely, eyes clear, her expression pure.

"Miss, don’t be afraid, the evildoers are dead," Liu Qingyan gently bent down, supporting the woman’s arm, intending to help her up.

However, at the moment she touched the woman’s arm, Liu Qingyan’s expression changed, and she cast a glance at the woman. Once the woman was upright, Liu Qingyan discreetly released her grip.

The woman stood up, disregarding the dirt covering her, and bowed, "I, Luo Yun, greet my benefactors!"

Lu Zheng nodded, then gestured to the corpse on the ground, "Who is this..."

Luo Yun bit her lip, her expression sorrowful, "Li Lang said he would marry me, but who would have thought..."

"Uh... my condolences..."

Lu Zheng smacked his lips, not good at comforting people, so he said, "Why don’t we take you to Li Men Town ahead, and find a Yizhuang?"

That was the extent of his help.

Luo Yun frowned slightly, her eyes watery, shaking her head, "I don’t even know where Li Lang’s family is..."

"Huh? You don’t know either?" Lu Zheng was taken aback.

"I met Li Lang who was headed to Yizhou Prefecture for exams in Yuhe County," Luo Yun said timidly, "Li Lang said he would take me as a concubine after the exams, so I followed..."

Lu Zheng blinked, this story seemed more off the more he heard it.

Sure enough, before Luo Yun finished, Liu Qingyan had silently moved to Lu Zheng’s side, pointing at Luo Yun and exclaiming, "You’re not human!"

"Hmm?" Lu Zheng was startled by Liu Qingyan’s shout.

Luo Yun’s pupils shrank, her expression besides a tinge of grievance bore a pitiful look.

"Madam, why say such things about me?" Luo Yun’s tone was quite aggrieved.

"I’m a physician," Liu Qingyan said sharply, "When I helped you up, you had a pulse, yet it was stiff without the variability of a living being’s pulse, clearly a simulated beat. You are not a living entity!"

Luo Yun froze.

Lu Zheng took Liu Qingyan’s hand, looking at Luo Yun with interest, his eyes sparkling. "Not a living entity?"

Truth be told, after examining her for some time earlier, he didn’t sense any non-human aura from the woman, and since there was a deceased companion scholar, he had assumed she was an ordinary person, but who could have anticipated...

Luo Yun dropped her pained expression, slowly retreating towards the forest behind, "Sir, let’s mind our own business. You go your way, I’ll go mine. Whatever I am, it has nothing to do with you."

"No, it does." Lu Zheng nodded.

Luo Yun narrowed her eyes.

"I and this brother here are both scholars; you caused his death, so naturally, I must avenge him," Lu Zheng said matter-of-factly.

"But I didn’t kill him!" Luo Yun immediately retorted, "It was those bandits who killed him!"

"But you were preparing to kill him," Lu Zheng said matter-of-factly.

Luo Yun: ???

"What is this reasoning? The Da Jing Law doesn’t convict one for uncommitted deeds!"

Lu Zheng shrugged, "Learned it from the Anglo-Saxons."

Without waiting for Luo Yun to respond, Lu Zheng waved his hand, casting an Exorcism Curse.

"Swish!"

Luo Yun’s form flickered, and instead of resisting, she dashed into the forest.

"Stop!"

Lu Zheng pointed a finger.

"Gaw—"

Luo Yun’s body suddenly froze in a running posture, inexplicably immobilized, unable to even move her eyes.

"Bang!"

The next moment, the blue light of the Exorcism Curse smashed into Luo Yun.

"Screech—screech—"

A black smoke rose, enveloping Luo Yun entirely, with tendrils of a foul odor emanating from it.

Liu Qingyan frowned, waving her hand dismissively in front of her nose in distaste.

The black smoke slowly dissipated, and the once charming woman’s visage vanished.

What appeared on the spot was a grotesque ghostly entity, skin slate-gray, oozing pus, features terrifyingly distorted, with fangs and sharp teeth.

"Corpse Ghost!" Liu Qingyan gasped in horror, then immediately frowned, "How disgusting!"

Lu Zheng shook his head, sending two more Exorcism Curses flying towards it.

"Screech—screech—screech—"

"Boom!"

The Corpse Ghost disintegrated under the Exorcism Curses, exploding into several wisps of black smoke that slowly dissipated.

"Hmm?"

Lu Zheng furrowed his brow. Something was amiss—why was there no Light of Fortune credited?

The Corpse Ghost wasn’t dead yet!

The next moment, a gentle breeze seemed to rise along the official road, and as it blew, the black smoke wafted towards Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan.

"Supreme Decree, Exorcism, disperse!"

Three more Exorcism Curses shot into the black smoke, accompanied by a wretched scream, leaving only a wisp of black smoke that flew towards Liu Qingyan.

"Destroy my Dharma Body, and I’ll have your wife’s skin!" a raspy voice sounded out of nowhere, "Die!"

The next instant, before Lu Zheng could react, Liu Qingyan, radiating excitement, fiercely waved her tiny hand forward.

"Rip! Rip! Rip!"

The gale imbued with demon power swept through, instantly shredding the black smoke into nothingness.

"You are... Ahhhhh!!!!"

"Buzz!"

Twelve strands of Light of Fortune credited.

Having clawed the Corpse Ghost apart, Liu Qingyan’s face flushed with excitement as she somewhat apprehensively yet eagerly glanced toward Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng, "..."