Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

"So it’s Hero Yan."

Jiang Mu offered a polite compliment.

The three of them sat around the fire, chatting idly.

Although Yan Zixiao looked rough and boisterous, he was surprisingly insightful in conversation and told stories of the martial world with great animation.

Jiang Mu, for his part, played the role of a down-on-his-luck scholar, curious about the martial world but timid and fearful, letting out a gasp of amazement from time to time.

After a few rounds of wine, the meat was nearly finished.

Yan Zixiao suddenly stopped talking. His large, bell-like eyes narrowed, and a mysterious smile played on his lips as he looked at Jiang Mu and Xu Fu.

"You two, master and servant, have quite the nerve."

Jiang Mu paused. "Hero Yan, what do you mean by that?"

Yan Zixiao gestured at the vast, empty hall, his tone turning sinister. "Don’t you know? This Meiruo Temple... is haunted."

"Ghosts?!"

Xu Fu played along, letting out a cry of alarm. The firewood he was about to add to the fire clattered to the ground. "H-Hero Yan, please don’t scare us... out here in the middle of nowhere..."

Jiang Mu’s face also paled slightly, but he forced himself to remain calm.

"The sage taught us not to speak of... ghosts and spirits? There are no such things in this world. It must be nothing but baseless rumors."

"Hahaha!"

Yan Zixiao burst into laughter, the sound echoing through the spacious hall.

"Baseless rumors? The mass grave behind this temple is piled so high with bones it’s practically a mountain. There have been other travelers like you who didn’t believe the stories. They’d stay the night, and by the next day... heheh, all that was left of them was their skin."

He suddenly leaned closer to Jiang Mu.

His eyes glinted sharply in the firelight.

"Especially a young scholar like you, with your delicate skin and untapped vitality. The female ghosts love your kind the most. They’ll suck your life force dry, dig out your heart and liver..."

"Ah!"

Terrified, Xu Fu shrank behind Jiang Mu.

Jiang Mu trembled, his face pale, and stammered, "H-Hero Yan, you... you’re joking, right?"

Yan Zixiao stared at them for a long moment, then suddenly dropped his frightening expression. He stood up and shouldered his heavy Sword Box once more.

He glanced at the raging storm outside and said coolly:

"You’ll find out if it’s a joke or not after tonight."

"I’ve given you my kind advice; whether you listen is up to you. It’s not yet midnight. If you leave now, you might just save your skins.

But if you’re hoping for some romantic tale with a beautiful fox spirit...

Heh, when you end up dead, don’t blame me for not warning you."

With that, he didn’t wait for a response. He grabbed his wine gourd and strode out into the curtain of rain.

"Hero Yan! The rain is heavy..." Jiang Mu called out.

"The sons and daughters of the martial world have no fear of wind or rain!"

Yan Zixiao’s voice drifted back from a distance, filled with a heroic and solitary pride. "Look after yourselves!"

In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished into the vast, dark, and rain-swept night.

A dead silence fell over the hall once more.

The only sound was the occasional CRACKLE of the bonfire.

Xu Fu peeked out from behind Jiang Mu. Staring in the direction Yan Zixiao had disappeared, he pursed his lips and muttered disdainfully under his breath:

"Tch, who does that guy think he is, acting all high and mighty?

He barges in here in the middle of the night, mooches off our fire, scares us, and then runs off. I think he’s just a charlatan.

Young Master, don’t be afraid. I’m here. If any female ghosts dare to show up, I’ll take them down one by one!"

Jiang Mu withdrew his gaze, his eyes profound.

’This Yan Zixiao is no simple man.’

’He clearly sensed the demonic aura here and came specifically to exorcise it. His words just now were both a test and a well-intentioned warning.’

’I just don’t know if the big-bearded man really left, or if he’s hiding somewhere, watching.’

"Alright, enough of your nonsense."

Jiang Mu regained his composure and straightened his robes.

"Since we’re here, we’ll see it through. Although that big-bearded man’s words were exaggerated, this place is indeed strange. Stay alert."

"Yes, sir!"

Xu Fu grinned, pulled a short blade from the bottom of his book-carrier and hid it up his sleeve. Then he huddled by the fire, pulling his tattered cotton jacket tighter. "Well then, Young Master, I’ll catch a bit of sleep first. You’ll take the first half of the night?"

"Just go to sleep."

Jiang Mu pulled a yellowed, ancient book from his book-carrier and began to read it by the flickering firelight.

The rain continued to fall.

The wind howled, as if countless wronged souls were wailing outside the windows.

Time trickled by.

Soon, Xu Fu began to snore lightly, his breathing steady.

Jiang Mu sat upright by the fire, his expression focused on his book, as if the wind, rain, ghosts, and gods of the outside world had nothing to do with him.

An unknown amount of time passed, and the sound of the rain outside seemed to gradually lessen.

The night grew unnervingly quiet.

Suddenly, a faint, ethereal fragrance drifted abruptly to Jiang Mu’s nose.

It was not the sandalwood incense of a temple.

Nor was it the grassy scent of the wilderness.

It was a bewitching fragrance, like a mix of peonies and cosmetics, laced with a seductive quality and a warmth that stirred one’s Qi and Blood.

The finger Jiang Mu used to turn the page paused slightly.

’She’s here!’

"JINGLE..."

The crisp sound of a small bell rang out from outside the hall, sounding remarkably clear in the dead of night.

It was followed by the sound of light, delicate footsteps.

"...Excuse me, is anyone there?"

A soft, melodious female voice, like a warbler’s song, called out timidly from the hall’s entrance.

Jiang Mu looked up, frowning at the blurry, graceful silhouette outside the door.

As if plucking up his courage, he asked in a cold voice, "Miss, are you a human or a ghost?"

The footsteps at the door stopped for a moment.

Then, a beautiful figure in white slowly stepped over the high threshold and entered the dimly lit hall.

By the light of the fire, Jiang Mu finally saw her clearly.

Even for someone like him, who had seen such peerless beauties as Ling Ye and Shui Miaozheng, he couldn’t help but be stunned the moment he saw her.

Beautiful.

Utterly beautiful.

The woman wore a long, white gauze dress that was whiter than snow.

Her figure was graceful, her waist as slender as a willow.