In the pitch-black corridor, only a sliver of moonlight dappled through, offering a meager source of light.
Ji Yuan flashed a smile. He stepped aside, pulling Song He to clear a path, and gazed coldly at the two figures before them, signaling that they were free to leave at any moment.
"Little Daoist, this place is swarming with ghosts. We would both benefit from staying together. If we split up, our lives might be in danger!"
The stern-faced man's eyes narrowed. While his words sounded like a plea, his tone was laced with chilling intent.
Beside him, Song He frowned, anger surging within. He thought the man before him must be out of his mind. He hid everything, refusing to reveal anything, yet expected them to trust him and travel together amidst a circle of lurking specters?
Were disciples of renowned orthodox sects truly so 'naive and childish'?
In reality, they were merely shameless, foolish individuals who thought their cunning plans were foolproof.
Compared to the young Daoist, whose emotions were unrestrained, Ji Yuan appeared more composed. He simply stared at the man before him with a blank expression, showing no inclination to engage in further conversation.
However, beneath his robes, his palm had quietly rested on his belt, ready to draw the cleverly concealed soft sword at any moment.
"If that is the case, then kindly produce some talismans, Daoist. Otherwise, my junior sister and I will have no means of self-defense when facing these numerous specters."
After a long silence, a murderous glint suddenly appeared in the stern-faced man's eyes.
He swept his gaze over the two of them. His hand, gripping the sword hilt, tightened subtly. His vital energy was already coiled, ready to strike. Anyone could tell that this man might erupt and attack at any moment.
Though he had anticipated it, Ji Yuan hadn't expected the man to be so brazen, uttering such words without a hint of shame. He was almost amused by the sheer audacity.
It seemed the other party truly believed his strength was enough to easily overpower them?
The young Daoist shook his head inwardly and turned to leave, abandoning any hope of extracting even a single word of information about this place from the man. He figured he'd be better off contemplating how to escape.
Song He cast a cold glance at the stern-faced man, a knowing smile playing on his lips. Then, without looking back, he followed Ji Yuan along the corridor.
"Those two fools are following us," the young Daoist whispered, a hint of disdain in his voice.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan's brow twitched slightly. He glanced at Song He beside him, then quietly said, "Ignore them."
If Li Mufeng were here, or if there were more than three of their fellow disciples, not to mention that arrogant and ill-spoken girl, then he might have felt a need to be wary.
But with only two of them now, even without Song He's presence, the young Daoist didn't believe he would necessarily lose if a fight broke out.
Moreover, at this moment, he harbored a similar intention to his opponents earlier: to use these two as pawns to scout ahead, avoiding unknown dangers.
There was no doubt that this stern-faced man knew some of the inside story, perhaps even the true origins of the specters here.
Since he was unwilling to reveal anything, and adopted such an arrogant, assured stance, Ji Yuan saw no reason not to reciprocate in kind, using the specters here as a test.
As for whether the other party would fall into danger, or even lose their lives in the process, that would simply depend on their fortune.
He was no Confucian sage; he couldn't repay resentment with kindness. Since the other party intended to use him as a scouting pawn, disregarding his safety, and still refused to speak truthfully even now, Ji Yuan saw no reason why he shouldn't employ the same tactics.
"Hm?"
Just as Ji Yuan's plan was forming, he suddenly felt a strange sensation.
Before he could investigate further, as he stepped through the courtyard gate before them, the surroundings instantly shifted. What should have been an elegant courtyard transformed in a blink into a winding path.
On either side of the path, an old tree stood every dozen steps or so. Their cracked bark and bare branches, bathed in moonlight, evoked a sense of chill.
At the end of the winding path, a small hut was faintly visible, shrouded in moonlight and Yin energy.
Song He stood beside him, his gaze sweeping past the winding path towards the small hut, where a faint candlelight flickered.
After a fleeting glance, Ji Yuan quickly averted his eyes and turned to look. To his surprise, the corridor that should have been behind him had vanished, replaced by a quiet path shrouded in white mist.
Within a few breaths, as the white mist swirled, the stern-faced man and the young woman emerged. After a moment of disorientation, they looked around with bewildered expressions.
"Why has it become like this?" the stern-faced man suddenly demanded, his voice tinged with coldness.
He frowned as he looked at Ji Yuan nearby, but the latter seemed to ignore his question, still engrossed in surveying the surroundings.
Seeing this, a look of anger flashed across the stern-faced man's face. However, after a moment of deliberation, he suppressed the urge to attack in his anger, let out a cold snort, and led his junior sister away, striding into the white mist behind them.
But no sooner had they entered the mist than they emerged again, one after the other. In the blink of an eye, they were back where they had been standing.
The stern-faced man refused to believe it. Without even a word to his junior sister, he silently turned and walked into the white mist again. However, no matter how many times he tried, the outcome was always the same.
These repeated attempts caused his expression to darken completely, a chilling aura emanating from him intermittently.
"It seems we can only go forward," Song He said, glancing back at the stern-faced man, who was on the verge of an outburst.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan nodded slightly. The other two had now proven through their actions that turning back was impossible.
He turned his gaze back to the winding path before them but hesitated to take a step. After all, everything that had happened was far too bizarre. Even a young child wouldn't believe that there were no hidden machinations at play.
"Let's go," Ji Yuan said with a sigh, after considerable deliberation.
Since the specters inhabiting this place had deliberately lured them onto this path, who knew what unpredictable events might unfold if they didn't comply with their intentions.
The only course of action now was to take it one step at a time and see what their plan truly entailed.
With a sigh, Ji Yuan took the lead onto the winding path. As his foot touched the stone steps, a cold, faint breeze inexplicably blew past.
Beside the white mist, the stern-faced man watched as the young Daoist and the young woman moved further and further up the winding path. After a brief hesitation, he hurriedly followed, his expression flustered and his eyes anxious, forgetting even to call out to his junior sister.
Seeing this, a look of anger immediately appeared on the girl's face. However, after glancing at her surroundings, she could only suppress her feelings and silently follow closely behind the stern-faced man.