My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 756 - 478: No Shortage of Heroes (Two in One)_2

Shao Po's spine felt cold, sweat poured out profusely, and his entire body froze in place.

A foot stretched out from behind him.

Without a word, Chen Yi delivered a ferocious kick to the alley gate.

Boom!

With an ear-splitting noise, the gate burst open, sending dust swirling before settling back down.

Trembling, Shao Po caught a glimpse of a disheveled-haired woman's back turning a corner and disappearing deeper into the alley.

"Oh my god!"

He could no longer hold himself upright, his body tilted backward as he staggered several steps, nearly collapsing to the ground. The Taoist caught him from behind.

Shao Po went limp like mud, his limbs powerless, even forgetting to tremble. After some time, his face began quivering uncontrollably,

"Dao… Daoist… Daoist… No more searching, no more searching, let's go back, let's go back!"

Chen Yi's expression showed hesitation as he said, "We ought to at least figure out where the ghost resides."

"No… no need, I can't do anything to her. Last time, I was scared off. I… I…"

Shao Po repeated the word "I" numerous times, stammering incoherently.

Chen Yi extended his fingers toward Shao Po's Tan Zhong acupoint and shouted, "Calm down!"

The external stimulus seemed to work. Shao Po straightened his neck, regaining some composure, and leaned against the wall, slowly steadying himself.

He took several deep, gasping breaths, calming down after quite a while.

"Dao… Daoist, can you truly subdue such a demon?"

Chen Yi spoke calmly, "Constable, do not panic. From what I've seen thus far, this ghost relies entirely on scare tactics. It seems weak in essence, so it resorts to such base tricks."

Though he said so, Shao Po barely managed to recover his senses from the fear and still dared not proceed further.

Clutching his knife, sweat droplets as large as beans dripped downward. He said tremulously, "Daoist, you have mana that reaches the heavens. You can go seek it out alone without trouble. I'll just show you the way and head back…"

Chen Yi didn't press him, nodding with understanding and empathy.

Shao Po quickly pointed out the direction, hurriedly explaining the specifics at the intersection, then replaced his knife in its scabbard and briskly walked past Chen Yi, heading back.

"Wait, Constable Shao hasn't described her appearance yet."

Constable Shao halted in his tracks as a chilling image flashed in his mind. Suppressing it, he slowly said, "Wearing bloodstained white clothes, disheveled hair…"

As he recounted, he could only feel a piercing chill creeping up his spine, prompting uncontrollable shivers. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an unsettling detail—a young girl's lips were faintly moving, though she hadn't spoken a word. It was as if there was some sound…

"Yen yawn tail yawn yawn, one yen follows another yen, Young Master Shao, come and meet, one person, for a good meet…"

"The alley cold and still, yen flies here, pecks the county nephew, the county nephew dies, pecks the County Magistrate…"

Was that… a nursery rhyme?

Shao Po felt a chill surge to his brain.

And then, the Taoist before him seemed to transform—his figure drifting eerily, his Taoist robes vanishing, replaced by bloodstained white clothes and disheveled hair!

"Constable Shao, is this… what you were describing? Like… this?"

......

Knock, knock, knock, knock...

After three long knocks followed by a short one, the cold, weathered wooden door creaked open slowly.

Chen Yi looked up to see a woman with a desolate expression. She stepped back a few paces and moved off to the side.

Entering the room, he glanced casually around. In the not-so-spacious house, there was only a pitch-black stove and five or six large jars with a dull hue. As he surveyed the room, the woman brought over its only chair.

"Dao… Daoist…" the woman called out timidly.

Chen Yi didn't take the seat; instead, he gestured for Yin Tingxue to sit down. The girl didn't refuse and sat herself down.

He rubbed his neck, about to speak, when suddenly a shadow was reflected unnaturally on the window lattice.

"Come out."

Chen Yi reached out his hand into the air and grabbed abruptly, hearing rapid chirping sounds. In his fingers was a struggling skylark.

The skylark flailed and cried, "Let me go, let me go!"

"So you're Little Seven? Pretending to be a ghost, I'd thought there was really some monstrous **Guhuo bird**."

Chen Yi sneered coldly.

"Let Little Seven go!"

Thuds rang out as several children's heads popped out from the large jars and lunged forward to rescue—not him—but the bird.

The children jumped to the ground. Dust flew everywhere, and Chen Yi was about to be knocked over.

The woman shouted, "Stop it! Don't be rude to the Daoist!"

The children reluctantly halted, staring longingly at the skylark in Chen Yi's hand.

Chen Yi casually released the skylark. The bird named Little Seven immediately flew onto the woman's shoulder. Chen Yi naturally realized that the sorrowful-looking woman was none other than Yan Lady.

"She has explained everything to me." Chen Yi said.

"Looks like the Daoist already knows…" Yan Lady spoke with a forced smile, "There's no Guhuo bird at all. It was merely several families hiding from county debt collectors."

Chen Yi remained silent, signifying agreement.

Yin Tingxue had helped him calm down first, then recounted the story. As it turned out, she had encountered Yan Lady carrying fake bloodstained clothes back home. When she pursued her, Yan Lady, realizing she couldn't scare her off, had no choice but to explain the truth.

It turned out that the county had been imprisoning people one after another, frightening the populace. The county government wouldn't openly sentence people to death because death penalty cases had to go through formal procedures—reported from the county to the Inspector's office, then to the provincial governor and the Ministry of Justice, before finally reaching the Emperor for the final verdict. The process was lengthy, and the entire province only submitted twenty to thirty death cases annually. But if someone was locked away for ten days, a hundred days, or even a thousand days, who could guarantee that they wouldn't perish in the cell?

In such a climate, the skylark Little Seven unintentionally encountered Yan Lady's eldest son who had gone missing. Upon learning about the situation, they decided to use the legend of the Guhuo bird. Yan Lady even disguised herself as insane, donning bloodstained clothes. The neighborhood followed suit, hanging bloodied clothes and hiding their children. Little Seven's minor mana couldn't harm anyone, but scaring away those government officers was easily accomplished.