Feigning supernatural powers

Night had fallen.
Li Family Manor gradually quieted, leaving only the occasional bark of a dog and the distant calls of birds from the forest. Some rooms within the estate still glowed with candlelight; ever since rumors of monsters began, many dared not sleep in the dark.

Several patrols made their rounds in the manor, though a few martial artists had been hired to keep evil at bay, their numbers were few. Most patrolling duties fell to sturdy common folk, and the chill of the night made their hearts uneasy.

“Fourth, hey, Fourth!” One of the guards called in a low voice from behind. “Come with me over there—I need to take a leak.”

“Why? Just go by yourself.” The one called Fourth was clearly reluctant.

“I’m scared to go alone. Just come with me, okay?” the other pleaded.

“All right, all right.” Unable to resist, Fourth told the others to wait and doubled back to join his companion.

The two of them walked to the edge of the woods. The guard loosened his belt and began relieving himself into the darkness, muttering, “I wonder how long this will go on. We came here to guard against thieves and bandits, sure—but now we have to deal with monsters too? I heard the family’s already hired a Taoist master. I wonder what he’s capable of—if he’s any match for the monster… Hey? Fourth, why are you so quiet?”

As he spoke, he realized something was wrong. Turning around, he saw Fourth, who had just been there, had vanished without a trace.

Where had he gone?

A chill ran through him. He turned, desperate to hurry back.

But as he swung his gaze forward, he was met with a massive, green-faced, sharp-toothed ghostly visage!

“Ahhh—!”

The guard and the ghostly face howled in unison—whose scream was louder, who could tell? Only after crying out did the guard remember to pull up his trousers, while the malevolent spirit raised its claws!

He spun around.

He fled! It gave chase!

“Ghost!” the guard shouted as he ran.

The shout had barely left his lips when a crisp voice rang out overhead: “A disciple of Mount Shu is here—what evil dares run amok?”

A streak of dazzling sword light followed, bright as a meteor in the night, flashing down in an instant.

The fiend, seeing the sword light coming fast and fierce, raised its claws to block. With a clang, the sword’s force sent it flying several yards. Wasting no time, the creature turned and fled!

Two figures flashed after it, leaping to give chase.

It fled! They pursued!

There would be no escape.

“Think you can run?” Chu Liang’s voice rang out, clear and commanding. From his sleeve shot a red cord, striking with perfect aim ahead of the fleeing ghost, binding it tightly in an instant!

The Demon-Binding Rope!

With a thud, the ghoul crashed to the ground, unable to rise. At once, it cried out, “Spare me! Young master, have mercy!”

They hardly needed its plea for mercy. Chu Liang and his companion had already noticed something was amiss—though the face was ghostly, its movements lacked any true yin energy; it was clearly a man in disguise.

As Lin Bei landed, he looked at the figure bound tightly in the tortoise-shell knot and, without thinking, blurted, “Is it big? Does it feel good?”

“Huh?” Both Chu Liang and the ghostly figure turned to him in confusion.

“Oh… Sorry, the way he’s tied up just made me blurt it out…” Lin Bei quickly apologized. “Never mind, you go ahead.”

Chu Liang ignored him and demanded, “Are you man or ghost?”

“I’m human! I’m human!” The impostor struggled, trying to free his hands, but the knot would not give. He could only roll helplessly.

Chu Liang saw his intent and stepped forward, yanking off the ghost mask to reveal a man’s face beneath.

He seemed to be a cultivator, though not a skilled one—perhaps only at the early stages of the second realm, unlikely to possess any serious mystical arts.

“Who are you? Why come to Li Family Manor pretending to be a ghost?” Chu Liang pressed.

“I just thought it would be fun…” the man replied softly.

“Heh, don’t try to fool us,” Lin Bei sneered. “You can see we’re a bit… unhinged. If you lie, there’s no telling what we might do.”

The man’s face flickered with fear. He glanced at the rope binding him and sensed the threat was real; if he lied, the consequences might truly be dire.

With terror in his eyes, he raised his head. “Gentlemen—please don’t be angry, I’ll tell you everything!”

“It was the manager of Jingyue Pavilion on the River Qinnan who sent me. He said—I was to stir up trouble at Li Family Manor, frighten people, maybe even injure someone to make things worse.”

“Jingyue Pavilion?” Chu Liang was not greatly surprised; he had suspected as much when Steward Cui first described the situation. At such a critical moment, it was natural for them to benefit most from chaos.

“Yes! I was only following orders. Gentlemen, why not let me go? I swear I’ll sever all ties with Jingyue Pavilion!” the man begged.

“Let you go? Wishful thinking.” Lin Bei glared. “What should we do with him?”

“Tie him up for the night,” Chu Liang said. “Tomorrow, hand him over to Steward Cui. With all the trouble this monster business has caused, he’ll want to make an example of the culprit.”

“No, please, gentlemen, have mercy! It’s my first time here!” the man pleaded.

“Save it. Everyone caught says it’s their first time.” Lin Bei scoffed. “Just tell the truth—how many times, who else, where, who sent you… The more you confess, the better your chances we won’t notify your family and friends…”

The man listened, dumbfounded, then hurriedly protested, “I swear, I really am here for the first time! The manager of Jingyue Pavilion thought the previous monster incidents at Li Family Manor weren’t frightening enough—no casualties—so he sent me to make it worse!”

“No…” Chu Liang frowned. “Steward Cui said the monster only targeted women, not men, but this one just scared a guard. He also said the previous monster was swift—no one saw its face. This one doesn’t seem to fit…”

As he pondered, a woman’s scream echoed from within the manor.

“Ah—!”

“There’s another monster, after all.” Chu Liang’s eyes sharpened. He turned to Lin Bei. “Watch him. I’ll check it out.”

“Got it!” Lin Bei no longer minded being the assistant—after all, it was clear his cultivation was not on Chu Liang’s level.

Turning to the man bound tightly on the ground, Lin Bei’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “That tying technique is truly professional… Wait, what’s that smell?”

“Heh…” The impostor gave a sheepish grin. “When I scared that guard, he was urinating… I was standing right in front of him…”

“….” Lin Bei’s brows knitted in disgust. He shook his head. “Chu Liang’s magic tool is really something else.”