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“How did you know he was a skin-peeling ghost?” Tao Yaoye asked the question that remained unanswered by the late Mr. Zhang.

Lu Yang was cleaning up after the battle, sweeping the ashes of the skin-peeling ghost into a small pile which Tao Yaoye helpfully collected into a dustpan.

“It’s quite simple, I recalled what the parrot said. ‘Who are you and where is

Mr. Zhang?’

“After we met Shang Yuan, she deliberately drove us away, keeping us far from the Shang Family.

“This indicates that the current Mr. Zhang is no longer the person Miss Shang knew and was extremely dangerous.

“There are three possibilities for the replacement of Mr. Zhang’s identity.” “First, Mr. Zhang was possessed. But why would such a ghost linger in the Shang Family for so long? Personally, if I had possessed someone, the first thing I would do was to leave Taiping Village and seek a Feng Shui treasure land to continue my cultivation. Moreover, Mr. Zhang’s talent isn’t quite remarkable, whoever possessed him would have done better possessing the head of Shang Family,” Lu Yang explained, putting himself in the ghost’s shoes.

“Second, someone disguised himself as Mr. Zhang. But this doesn’t make sense either, the Shang Family doesn’t have many valuable assets. Why would someone want to pose as a housekeeper? Does he have a fetish for servitude? Even if the Shang Family had valuable assets, why wouldn’t he just rob them directly? With his late-stage Foundation Establishment level of cultivation, he could do as he pleased in Taiping Village.

“The third possibility is that he is a skin-peeling ghost. These creatures love to collect human skins, disguise themselves as humans and live amongst us.” Skin-peeling ghosts were once human, but became ghosts upon death; a form of ghost cultivators. Most types of ghost cultivators suffer from some sort of psychological disorder.

For example, skin-peeling ghosts detest being unveiled. They strive to convince themselves that they are human, speaking and acting like one. When they grow tired of one identity, they change to a new one, repeating this cycle.” Lu Yang’s reasoning was sound and convincing, Tao Yaoye was impressed, and she couldn’t help but admire his clear-headedness, quite far from the nervous Senior Brother Lu she had seen on the flying boat.

Despite possessing the same knowledge as Lu Yang, Tao Yaoye found herself unable to think as deeply as he did in such a short time. It was a difference of cognitive agility.

“Sweep up the ashes, they are the proof of our completed mission,” said Lu Yang as he took out a small white porcelain jar to contain the ashes of the skin-peeling ghost.

The encounter with the skin-peeling ghost was an extension of the main quest, and killing it would certainly yield a greater reward than finding the parrot. Outside, the sound of footsteps approached the gate, stopping abruptly as if several people had just woken up from a dreadful dream and didn’t dare to enter the room.

The identities of the people outside were not difficult to guess. Lu Yang laughed heartily, “Head of the Shang Family, you can come in now. I’ve slain the skin-peeling ghost. It’s safe here.”

With a loud creak, the door was pushed open by the head of the Shang Family. Behind him stood his wife and daughter, as well as the maidservants and manservants, a total of twelve people, all presenting expressions of relief after a narrow escape.

“Many thanks to you, sages, for eliminating the skin-peeling ghost, and saving the lives of our twelve members of the Shang Family!” The head of the Shang Family knelt down, with the others following suit.

The unpredictable skin-peeling ghost could have killed them all once tired of its housekeeper persona!

“You’re too kind, Head of the Shang Family. As disciples of the Seek Dao Sect, it’s our duty to slay demons and uphold righteousness,” Lu Yang replied, slightly taken aback by the dramatic display while quickly helping everyone to their feet.

“Please forgive us, esteemed sages, for the ghost’s elusive nature and unpredictable actions. We had no idea where it came from.” “Ever since it started impersonating Mr. Zhang, the ghost wouldn’t allow us to leave the Shang Family. No one was allowed to reveal its secret, anyone who dared to do so would meet their doom!”

At this point, Shang Yuan, standing to one side, couldn’t hide her guilt. As a gentle lady of a prestigious family, all the coldhearted actions she had taken while in her boudoir were merely intended to keep Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye distant from danger.

Shang Zhongtian, the head of the Shang Family, continued with a sincere tone, “Alas, I am just a retired man living in the countryside, all my wealth as a cultivator has been converted into gold and gems, which would be useless to you as a reward. If you need anything, even if I have to sell my estate, I will do my utmost to fulfill it.” This was not mere politeness, but a genuine offer to express his gratitude for their lifesaving aid.

in the eyes of the disciples of the Seek Dao Sect, his wealth was nearly worthless.

However, Lu Yang did have a request.

“I heard that you experienced a life-threatening horror during a tomb raid, which led you to wash your hands of the Cultivation World. May I know what exactly happened back then?”

Tao Yaoye looked at Shang Zhongtian with keen interest. Tomb raiding, life and death, great horror, severance from the world; all these sounded like an intriguing story, possibly even holding grand opportunities. She always enjoyed exploring unknown and mysterious places.

Although Lu Yang wasn’t as excited about exploring the unknown as Tao Yaoye, he was interested in hearing stories of strange events.

The head of the Shang Family’s eye twitched involuntarily. To be honest, he had no desire to recall that terrifying past, however, he couldn’t refuse to answer their question as they had saved his life.

He dispersed the crowd, especially Shang Yuan who tried to stay covertly, leaving only Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye behind.

“You cannot repeat what I am about to tell you today.

Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye nodded in agreement.

Confirmed with their response, the head of the Shang Family began telling the story of what happened twenty years ago.

“Thirty years ago, I, Shang Zhongtian, was quite well-known as a tomb raider in the Qi Refinement Stage. Even if others detested me, I was quite notorious,” The Head of the Shang Family reminisced his glorious past with a prideful tone and hands on his hips.

Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye were a bit puzzled, unclear as to why Shang Zhongtian seemed so pleased with his infamy.

What they didn’t know was that it was quite a competitive business between tomb raiders. Being notorious meant having exceptional skills.

“When I raided tombs, I was always cautious. I never touched big or ancient tombs. All of us in the trade know that big tombs have ghosts, and ancient ones have immortals.”

The ‘ghosts’ referred to here were not merely skin-peeling ghosts of the Foundation Establishment Stage, but the more powerful entities among ghosts. “Qi Refinement cultivators are poor. Their valuable belongings are passed onto the next generation. So, their graves don’t contain anything worth looting.” “Foundation Establishment and Golden Core Stage cultivators possess considerable assets. After death, they would habitually leave some of their wealth for their descendants and use the rest as funerary goods. That small portion alone could make me quite a fortune.” “Unfortunately, who could always remain dry if frequently walking by the river? There was one time when I was excavating a Golden Core tomb and found out, to my surprise, that it was a grave within a grave. The Golden Core grave was the accompaniment to the main grave, which belonged to a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator!”

“According to the rules of our profession, one should not dig graves of cultivators significantly higher than their own level. However, I was so thrilled at the time. I was at the peak of Qi Refinement, and even considered that if I ran, I would be as fast as a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Since tomb raiding didn’t involve battling, I could count myself as a Foundation Establishment cultivator by rounding up, so I thought there was nothing dangerous in digging up a Nascent Soul Stage grave that had just fallen into my lap.”

“So, after offering incense to our ancestors for their blessings, I began digging the Nascent Soul Stage grave.”