“It’s said that the problem is in the section of the river below Wang Family Village. It’s too late to knock on doors and ask people now, so let’s just take a look here first.”

“Alright.”

The heroine found a small path leading to the riverbank.

It had rained last night, but fortunately, the recent warm weather and sunlight had dried the path. Under the moonlight, the path was a pale grayish-white, while the other areas were black. Even the puddles and cracks were dark, so it was easy for them to stay on course or avoid missteps.

As they approached the riverbank under the moonlight, the river water was calm.

“How do you plan to catch the ghost, heroine?”

The heroine said, “This water ghost has been quite rampant lately. If someone makes a noise by the river, whether it’s bathing or washing clothes, it will surely come if it’s at night.

“Coincidentally, I got into a fight today and broke a sweat but haven’t bathed yet. I’ll go down and lure it. If it’s just a regular water demon, I can deal with it with a single slash. If it’s a ghost, well, I borrowed a slaughtering knife from the butcher in the Western District. He slaughters dozens of pigs and sheep daily and said the knife works well on ghosts. We’ll see if it does the trick. If it doesn’t work, you can step in.”

“Heroine, you’re well-prepared.”

“Of course!”

Song You observed the heroine under the moonlight.

She had already loosened her hair and drawn out a long knife, showing little fear of the water ghost. It seemed she had no intention of involving him at all.

Seeing this, Song You found it interesting.

It was just a minor water ghost. It couldn't even succeed in luring people, and when it grabbed someone's ankle, they easily broke free. It likely didn't have great cultivation skills. As mentioned earlier, she could handle it alone.

Even if it were a ghost that was challenging for a

jianghu

martial artist to deal with, with her skills, ordinary ghosts wouldn’t be able to get close. Even if she couldn’t drive them away, she wouldn’t be harmed by them. And if it were an ordinary spirit that had become a demon, as long as the knife could cut through, it would be difficult for it to withstand her blade, even with the advantage of the river.

She could claim the twenty taels of silver on her own.

It seemed she thought that catching the ghost on Peach Blossom Peaks and then eliminating the demon on Yanhui Peaks were similar situations; Song You didn’t really have to bring her along. She thought that if it were a spirit that had become a demon, bringing him along would be like giving him ten taels of silver for free. If it were a ghost, it would add an extra layer of insurance.

Song You smiled and did not decline. He asked, “Do you know how to swim, heroine?”

“I spent a lot of time in the river when I was young.”

“I’ve heard that the constables have come several times without success, and the soldiers’ arrows couldn’t kill it. It’s most likely a type of yin spirit, so even with the slaughtering knife, you still need to be cautious.” 𝘳

“We’ll see how it goes.”

The heroine had already jumped into the river.

The moonlight, after all, was not as bright as the daytime. While she was close enough to be seen, her figure became indistinguishable as she moved further away, and only a dark, shadowy mass remained visible. Her movements disturbed the calm of the water, creating ripples and glistening silver reflections under the moonlight.

“Is the water deep?”

“Not too deep, it’s up to the chest.”

“That's good.” Song You simply sat on the riverbank, waiting quietly.

Lady Calico had vanished again.

After an unknown amount of time, a low voice came from the river, “I can feel it.”

Song You remained still, looking down.

Under the water, only a mass of yin qi was visible, with no clear shape. As expected, it was a yin ghost lurking beneath the water.

“It's coming!”

As soon as the heroine finished speaking, it seemed something from below had pulled her. Standing in the water was already unstable, and she lost her balance, falling entirely into the river.

It took some effort to regain her footing. She then drew her knife and struck at the water.

“

Splash

!” Water splashed up from the surface.

The knife easily cut through the river water, but despite feeling something grabbing her ankle, the blade did not seem to strike anything substantial.

“It’s a ghost,” the heroine announced.

She threw the long knife back to the shore and drew the slaughtering knife from her waist.

The slaughtering knife indeed had a restraining effect on yin and evil entities. Its essence came from having ended many lives, and having been soaked in qi, lifeforce and malice. It condensed yin qi within it, making it increasingly effective. Among them, a knife used for killing people was best, especially if it was used to kill an enlightened master or martial expert, or even demons and ghosts.

However, such knives were hard to find. A knife that had killed fewer people was less useful.

The slaughtering knife, while not used on people, gained its power through the sheer number of lives it had ended. Slaughtering dozens of pigs and sheep every day for years gave it some restraining effect on yin and evil entities. It was difficult for a slaughtering knife to harm a great ghost but effective against minor ones.

Unfortunately, the slaughtering knife was too short, less than a chi long.

In the water, the water ghost was dragging the heroine’s ankle deeper. She had to balance herself while using the short knife to attack it, which was quite challenging.

Song You, calm and collected, picked up his bamboo staff and threw it into the water.

“Take the staff, and use it to hit it.”

Without even looking, the heroine kept swinging her knife with her right hand, while her left hand reached back and caught the bamboo staff steadily. She then thrust the staff downward with force.

“

Thud!

” She clearly felt that she had struck something. The heroine exerted more force.

Based on the feedback she felt in her hands, with her years of experience in the

jianghu

, she felt as if she had driven the bamboo staff into the body of the thing.

“

Thud! Splash!

”

The water below suddenly boiled and churned violently, as if something invisible was struggling, causing water splashes and bubbles to rise from the bottom.

Strange. The bamboo staff had no blade or point, and the bottom had been worn smooth from years of use. How could it have so easily penetrated the ghost?

Could the water ghost be made of tofu? Or had she struck it in some particular spot?

The heroine had no time for speculation. Feeling it might escape, she gritted her teeth and exerted more force.

The splashes in the water grew fiercer, as if the thing was struggling desperately. Occasionally, sharp, ear-piercing shrieks could be heard until her hand felt lighter, as though she had punctured it.

“

Boom!

”

The water exploded as if a huge object had exhaled, and a large bubble emerged, floating up to the surface.

The bubble burst, releasing a strong stench.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The heroine pulled out the bamboo staff, looking around with a dazed expression. Unsure, she poked around in the river a few more times, but could no longer find anything. When the splashes ceased, the river was still and quiet.

She frowned slightly, swimming slowly back to the shore. She felt the water ghost might be dead but was somewhat hesitant to believe it.

“Did it escape?”

“It’s dead,” the Daoist who was sitting cross-legged on the shore said softly. “With your strength, a mere minor ghost could not withstand your attack.”

“This…” The heroine widened her eyes and held up the bamboo staff. “Is this your artifact?”

“This is the bamboo staff I took from Zoujiao Temple when I left Anqing County,” Song You answered honestly. “It was used for walking. However, over time, it accumulated spiritual energy. Although it’s not suitable for exorcising demons, it’s quite effective against minor yin ghosts. It depends on who uses it. I think it’s best suited for you.”

“Accumulated spiritual energy?” The heroine blinked in disbelief.

A plain bamboo staff used for walking accumulated spiritual energy over time and was able to handle ghosts so easily? Such things she had only heard of in stories about gods and immortals.

The heroine had known that the Daoist was formidable, but she hadn't expected him to be quite so powerful.

Before she could ponder further, there was some movement in the forest.

“Who’s there?” The heroine quickly turned to look.

Under the moonlight, a cat emerged from the woods, carrying a bamboo rat in its mouth. It walked up to them, dropped the bamboo rat, and licked its mouth.

“Eat this rabbit…”

“Thank you, Lady Calico.”

Song You glanced down and then took the bamboo staff the heroine handed over. Looking at the heroine who was drenched, he asked quietly, “Are you cold with all this water on you?”

“It’s warm now, and I’m of good health. It’s no trouble.”

“Well then…”

“We can’t go back to the city now, but there’s a straw hut by the road ahead where we can spend the night,” the heroine said as she wrung out the water from her clothes.

“Alright,” Song You said. “This time, it was all thanks to your effort. I didn’t go into the water or catch any ghosts. I only lent you a bamboo staff, and my clothes are still dry. I really feel unworthy of the ten taels of silver.”

“Nonsense, it was all thanks to your bamboo staff.”

“It only provided a bit of convenience for you, heroine.”

“Stop spouting nonsense. Let’s go…”

The heroine wrung out the water from her clothes and took up her long knife, while the Daoist leaned on his bamboo staff and picked up the bamboo rat. Together, the two and the cat left the area under the moonlight.

On the way, they chatted about the tigers in the city.

***

The next afternoon, Song You prepared and ate the bamboo rat caught by Lady Calico, and it tasted quite good.

He wasn’t sure if it was because she didn’t recognize bamboo rats or didn’t want to call such a large rodent a rat, or was afraid that Song You wouldn’t eat the rat she had caught, but she kept calling it a rabbit.

Ordinary mice were not something Song You would eat, and he had little appetite for them. However, bamboo rats were different. Bamboo rats were about the size of a rabbit and didn’t carry bacteria, so he had little psychological resistance about eating them.

Even in these times, they were commonly eaten in some regions. They were even considered a delicacy in the previous dynasty, with an official decree stating that only nobles could eat bamboo rats.

The most important thing was that their meat was very tender and delicious.

“Daoist priest.”

“Hmm?”

“Do we have no more money?”

“I thought you couldn’t hear us talking while eating.”

“I can hear,” the young girl replied, transforming back into a cat form with a serious expression. “I just didn’t have time to talk.”

“We still have some money left.”

“How much?”

“Not much.”

The finances were indeed running low again. The mountain monster from Yanhui Peaks had initially given them fifteen taels of silver, but most of it was spent on the meal at Yunchun Restaurant.

Although they went to Peach Blossom Peaks first, they received their reward later. Catching the ghostly ladies there also gave them fifteen taels, but the minimum consumption to listen to Miss Wanjiang play the

qin

at Hexian Pavilion was exactly that amount, leaving them with very little.

However, Lady Calico had also earned quite a bit.

It was hard to say whether the money used to buy mirrors and ceramics yesterday or the expenses for accommodation during this period came from the Lady Calico, but it was about the same amount, and a lot had been used up.

“There’s no need to worry,” Song You said to Lady Calico, “We still have enough money to last for another month or two. At the latest, by the end of this month, the bounty for catching demons will be paid out—ten taels of silver, which will be enough for us to stay in Changjing for several more months.”

“Really!” Lady Calico responded and went back to playing.

At that moment, a figure entered through the door, casually placing a long knife on the table. Then, she found a chair to sit down, letting out a deep breath without saying a word.

Lady Calico paused its play and looked up at her in confusion. The woman furrowed her brow, looking somewhat displeased.

The Daoist noticed and asked, “What’s wrong, heroine?”

“Nothing.”

“Was the bounty exchange today smooth?”

“Not very smooth! It almost made me lose my temper!”

“Oh? Do tell.” The Daoist adopted an interested expression.

“When I went to exchange the bounty, I ran into another

jianghu

sorcerer. At the time, I took down the bounty at the west gate, and he took down his at the east gate. Last night, we went to Wang Family Village, and I suspect he went there too. In the end, we killed that water ghost, and he was a bit upset about it. Today, when I went to exchange the bounty, he did too,” the heroine squinted her eyes.

She added, “I said that the water ghost was dealt with by us, and he claimed it was him. From his appearance, it seems he just arrived in Changjing and is short on money, trying to cut in on our reward.”

She then grinned and said, “Heh, interesting!”

“I see…” Song You also found it interesting.

After going to Peach Blossom Peaks and seeing the ghosts vanish, he had considered that such problems might arise.

If it were mountain demons or monsters causing trouble, they could just bring in their heads to claim the bounty. But for ghosts or similar entities, unless there were specific tools for ghost capturing or identification, their souls would dissipate once they were dealt with, making it hard to leave evidence.

Without evidence, disputes were inevitable. There would always be unexpected events and unscrupulous people in the world.

It was possible to invite an official to accompany them to avoid disputes. However, sometimes having an official present was inconvenient, and some common folk experts used their own methods to deal with demons and ghosts rather than relying on spells. If others saw their methods, there was a risk of them being copied, which made them reluctant to involve officials.

“Which side does the county magistrate believe more?”

“Generally, they trust us more. This is our third time here. However, the other person performed some

jianghu

techniques on the spot, so it's uncertain who the county magistrate trusts more now. It’s hard to say.”

“What should we do?”

“It’s fine! You don’t need to worry!” The heroine waved her hand dismissively. “The officials in the

yamen

told us to come back tomorrow for further questioning. I’ll handle it myself. No matter what, I definitely won’t let the reward be taken by someone else!”

“Do you have any plans?”

“The other person is quite arrogant. When I offered him a tael of silver today as a friendly gesture if he needed money when we left the county

yamen

, he rejected it, saying he wanted at least half,” the heroine said with a grin.

She added, “Heh, regardless of whether there's a result tomorrow or how the official rules, it'll take at least a few days before we can get the money. That man is a

jianghu

sorcerer, and if he wants to claim the reward, he has to leave the city. If he pushes me too far, I'll just wait until he leaves the city, then have a talk with him. If we can't come to an understanding, I'll simply kill him with my blade.”

“…” Song You pondered for a moment.

In truth, for him, he would rather not compete with local cultivators and

jianghu

people in Changjing for such a straightforward demon-catching bounty. But not wanting to compete was one thing; now that they were already involved, and someone was trying to seize their credit and reward, that was another matter entirely.

After thinking it over, he said, “The area outside of Changjing is still under the Emperor’s rule. If you resort to violence, it might carry risks.”

“I have experience, so the risks are not that great!”

“I understand the ways of

jianghu

,” Song You said, “but while

jianghu

methods are indeed effective, and you’re skilled in them, it still depends on the situation. For dealing with demons and ghosts and this

jianghu

sorcerer, sometimes the methods of the Daoist cultivators might be more effective.”

“What’s your plan?”

“I’ll go to the county

yamen

with you tomorrow and talk it out.”

“And how will you talk it out?”

“Just try.”

“…” The heroine hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

Though she didn’t want to trouble him, having a simpler and less troublesome solution was a good thing. She decided to see what he would do.