Chapter 56: Huang Ying Makes a Move

I sat on the sofa holding Huang Ying in my arms. Happiness is the hardest thing in the world to replicate, for everyone experiences it differently.

I swear, if I could right now, I would protect Huang Ying right here on this sofa.

After teasing her playfully a few times, I stood up and went to eat.

At present, my mission has four parts: first, protect Huang Ying; second, increase my strength; third, find Li Yun; and fourth, discover a way to make Huang Ying manifest physically.

I have a feeling that soon, a great upheaval will occur around me. I just don’t know if it will be for better or worse.

What I must do now is to steer that upheaval toward a positive outcome.

Grandfather taught me many things, but they were mostly theoretical knowledge. I haven’t yet turned these theories into practical experience—like knowing the design of a nuclear bomb but never building one. Holding a blueprint alone never frightens anyone.

“Are you coming out with me?” I asked Huang Ying after finishing my meal.

She nodded.

“All right then, today we’ll team up and catch some ghosts!” I winked at her. She shot me a resentful look, probably because she herself is a ghost.

The only way to improve our strength now is through real combat. True growth comes only from battle.

The first stop for strengthening ourselves: the Mass Graveyard.

Within the city, this is one of the few places I know where ghost spirits gather. The last time Huang Ying got into trouble, I came here to hunt. Now, I’m back again.

These ghosts have all been here for quite some time; a few have lingered for fifty or sixty years, making it very dangerous. This is why I brought Huang Ying along.

Even during the day, the Mass Graveyard feels eerie; now, at night, every sound around us is strange and unsettling.

Though it’s terrifying here, I have no reason to be afraid, especially with Huang Ying by my side.

“Wait here for me!” I told Huang Ying at the edge of the graveyard. If she went in, those wild ghosts would be scared stiff and I wouldn’t even have to lift a finger.

Huang Ying understood and nodded, stopping to watch me from the perimeter.

I moved slowly into the graveyard alone. The moment I stepped in, I sensed impatience nearby.

I smiled but didn’t use any external tools to fend them off. True power comes from the strength of one’s soul. Relying solely on external objects will never raise one’s abilities.

I closed my eyes, focused my mind, and suddenly saw a faint thread—my own soul—stretching out, its end resting behind a pine tree.

Opening my eyes, I took a few steps swiftly toward that pine tree.

I bit my middle finger and grabbed at the air. A faint, barely tangible figure appeared—it looked like a recent spirit, only a few years old. Such ghosts cannot increase their power; they were easily dealt with.

I found several more like this, all only a few years old.

What’s going on? Last time I came here, I had Grandfather’s help to enter, and there should have been some stronger spirits. I felt puzzled. Could it be that last time, after collecting souls, I scared them off and they left? This trip was a waste, with no formidable spirits here.

I strolled back slowly to Huang Ying and said, “Huang Ying, suck on me!”

She was startled, then immediately stepped back two paces, shaking her head: “No!”

“Come on! Just suck me!” I stepped forward, grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her close enough that our faces were nearly touching.

Okay, I admit it was a little mischievous, but it was just to tease her a bit—her exasperated look was quite charming.

Suddenly, I realized that improving my strength might be simple: I just need Huang Ying to absorb my soul.

“No, it’s dangerous!” Huang Ying clearly understood my meaning and didn’t take it the wrong way.

“At worst, you can give it back to me afterward!”

The moment I said that, her face flushed red. The last time she took my soul, we actually kissed—she was the one who initiated it.

“But we can’t kiss now…” Huang Ying paused for a few seconds before saying that.

If anyone else had said that, I might have just shrugged and walked away. But coming from Huang Ying, it was unexpected.

“Who says we can’t kiss?” I pouted, thinking of a certain master’s method: applying lip balm. Lip balm has no spirit, so it should work. I must find a chance to try it.

“Try it now, just for two seconds!” I urged Huang Ying, eager to test the idea.

She nodded, then stood facing me and closed her eyes.

If this weren’t a serious moment, I would have held her and stolen a couple of kisses.

As Huang Ying closed her eyes, I concentrated, making sure my soul wasn’t completely drawn away.

One second passed, and she opened her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Uh… Is that all?” I opened my eyes, feeling nothing at all.

“Are you tickling me? No, I didn’t even feel it. Try again!”

Huang Ying nodded and closed her eyes again.

This time, I felt it very clearly—my soul was being eroded, but only slightly. As long as I concentrated a little, the erosion stopped immediately.

Why is this girl so hesitant? I’m a man, not porcelain.

Just as I opened my eyes, about to tell her to try harder, I caught a shadow moving in the woods ahead, behind Huang Ying.

“Huang Ying, come behind me!”

I stepped in front of her and stared at the shadow.

It was a man leaning against a tree, moonlight casting his shadow on the ground.

Though I couldn’t see his face clearly, I had a sense he was watching us.

I shielded Huang Ying behind me, eyes sharp and ready to attack.

Huang Ying’s face lost its earlier ease; her expression became serious.

Suddenly, the whole world fell silent—even the insects stopped chirping.

“Who are you?” I shouted at the shadow.

“…”

He didn’t answer, still leaning against the tree.

“You’re right here!”

I turned to Huang Ying and then cautiously stepped toward the shadow. When I first entered the graveyard, I looked around carefully. There were no other shadows here, and my intuition told me the disappearance of all the older souls must be connected to this man.

After a couple of steps, the shadow moved.

He slowly extended his right hand.

A yellow-brown beam of light rose from the grass as his hand moved.

When the light reached chest height, he suddenly swung his hand, and the beam streaked through the night sky like a wild horse breaking free, leaving a slash in the void aimed at us.

The beam shot out of the woods. I saw clearly—it was a peachwood sword.

The sword’s target was not me but Huang Ying.

“Dodge!” I shouted, turning just as the sword narrowly missed me and stabbed behind me.

The sword struck the tree with a sharp thud.

But Huang Ying had already vanished from where she stood.

I exhaled sharply. Huang Ying, after all, is a century-old female ghost. If she was taken out so easily, that would be too weak.

I turned back and saw Huang Ying had appeared right beside me.

“You’re okay?” I asked.

She nodded solemnly, staring ahead. I had never seen her so serious before. Now, she finally carried the aura of a century-old ghost. She reminded me of the red Dragon Qing from “The Legend of Sword and Fairy 3,” whereas before she was more like the blue Dragon Qing. I realized that if Huang Ying were cast as Dragon Qing, it would be a perfect, natural performance—no special effects needed.

The shadow moved again. He raised his other hand and formed hand seals; the peachwood sword also began to dance in the air in rhythm with his movements.

This time, the sword’s blade still aimed at Huang Ying.

“Who exactly are you?” Huang Ying turned to the shadow, her voice cold, like when we first met.

The shadow remained silent, but his sword did not. It lunged toward Huang Ying as she spoke.

Her eyes snapped shut. The peachwood sword stopped less than a meter behind her, suspended in midair.

This is the power of the soul. Just as the soul can control people, it can also control objects.