"Fellow Ghost Cultivator Daoist." Ye Fan maintained his amiable smile. "Can we have a proper talk now?"
"No... don't come closer..." You Sha stared blankly at Ye Fan, his eyes completely devoid of color. "I'll tell you anything you want to know... please, for the love of all that is holy, don't come any closer..."
You Sha's voice repeated these words incessantly, making him look like a broken puppet.
"Then speak," Ye Fan leisurely leaned back into the lounge chair.
"My name is You Sha. I was ordered by Third Brother to monitor you all..." You Sha began to speak, his voice trembling.
Perhaps due to the immense shock he had suffered, his speech was noticeably jumbled.
Sometimes he would trail off mid-sentence, deep in thought, only to suddenly snap back to a previous point.
You Sha spoke slowly, haltingly, and it took about fifteen minutes before he finished.
"So, that's how it is..."
After hearing his account, Ye Fan and the Little Demoness looked at each other with sudden understanding.
The "Ancestor" You Sha mentioned should be the outsider that the ghost king in the graveyard had spoken of.
The one who incited the populace to rebellion with dark arts, thereby bringing ruin to the entire kingdom of the departed souls.
If he was a Ghost Cultivator, then everything made sense.
Souls filled with negative emotions were a great tonic for Ghost Cultivators.
The destruction of an entire nation could be considered a super feast.
As for why this "Ancestor" wouldn't just kill people and absorb their souls directly, instead of going through all that trouble, Ye Fan didn't know.
Although he had clashed with Ghost Cultivators many times before, he truly had no interest in their cultivation methods.
He had no desire for a cultivation system that turned one into a grotesque, inhuman monster.
He hadn't expected such a large Ghost Cultivator organization to be lurking in Ge City. If word got out, it would surely cause a stir.
Either a flood of self-righteous individuals would emerge to slay demons and protect the righteous, or it would attract some morbid collectors.
Some cultivators with peculiar thought processes enjoyed capturing Ghost Cultivators as collectibles. Ye Fan had known one such individual in a previous life...
It was because I posted numerous quests to find a jade pendant that they took notice of me.
Initially, they suspected I possessed the jade pendant. However, after a few encounters, they came to believe I didn't.
Their previous deliberate attempts to draw my attention were simply because they were lacking high-end combat power within their organization at the time.
In their estimation, only their Third Brother and the sect leader, who was in seclusion, could contend with me and the Little Demoness.
Since Third Brother was occupied, they could only send them to harass and probe us relentlessly.
The sudden change in plans later on was all due to the impending opening of the Evil Flame Ruins.
"So, your Third Brother intends to go to the Evil Flame Ruins first to search for any possible jade pendants?" Ye Fan glanced at You Sha. "And sending me here was just to keep track of my whereabouts?"
"Yes..." You Sha pointed at the Little Demoness with a dazed expression. "And to see if the Demonic Path organization would make contact with this young lady."
"What about that Demonic Path organization?" Ye Fan continued to ask.
"They are all people of the Demonic Path, just like this young lady." You Sha replied mechanically. "As for anything more, I don't know."
Ye Fan asked several more questions, but You Sha stated he didn't know anything further.
Seeing Ye Fan stroking his chin in silence, You Sha assumed Ye Fan thought he was withholding information.
This terrified him immensely!
"I'm telling the truth..." You Sha's body trembled like a sieve. "I'm only responsible for surveillance and tracking... I don't know anything else... I don't know... I really don't know anymore... I've told you everything I know..."
As he spoke, another foul odor emanated from beneath him: the fool had wet himself out of fear!
It was quite a predicament for a Void Comprehension stage cultivator who had already achieved辟谷 (bìgǔ - abstaining from grains) to wet himself twice in one day!
The Little Demoness covered her nose in disgust and flung a stream of black energy towards You Sha.
The black energy formed a barrier, enveloping You Sha and thus blocking the repulsive odor.
Ye Fan no longer paid attention to You Sha and began to ponder on his own.
Now that he knew who was targeting him, things were much easier.
This Ghost Cultivator organization was no different from the portable chargers he had encountered before. One group coveted an item, while the other wanted his life.
Ye Fan, who didn't fear death, naturally wouldn't be bothered by such matters.
However, the Evil Flame Ruins mentioned by You Sha piqued Ye Fan's interest.
Since it was information left behind by that outsider ancestor from the past, the probability was likely quite high.
He had been running around busily before, and unexpectedly, in this manner, he had stumbled upon a clue.
But then again.
Evil Flame Ruins...
Thinking of that elder with his left eye twitching erratically, Ye Fan's expression became a little strange.
It must be a coincidence...
Perhaps "Evil Flame" was just a name for a type of fiery energy.
Speaking of that Master Evil Flame, Ye Fan couldn't recall ever seeing him display any techniques related to "Evil Flame"...
Maybe the Second Elder was calling him... "Squinty"?
...
Lost in thought, Ye Fan's mind began to wander again.
"This fellow is useless now, isn't he?" the Little Demoness inquired. "What should we do with him?"
"Oh, do as you see fit," Ye Fan replied casually.
"Since he's no longer useful, let's just kill him," the Little Demoness muttered.
This wasn't to say the Little Demoness was bloodthirsty and always wanted to kill people.
After all, this was the cultivation world.
The very first lesson every cultivator learned wasn't about any cultivation technique or theory, but a single sentence.
Mercy towards enemies is murder towards oneself!
Even the most innocent and kind-hearted individuals would gradually adapt to this rule after being baptized by the bloody storms of the cultivation world.
The Little Demoness had witnessed more than once how people close to her had lost their precious lives due to a moment's leniency.
Cultivators were indeed strange beings.
In the eyes of others, they were labeled with many tags.
Decisive and ruthless.
Cold and unfeeling.
Selfish.
And so on.
They simply wanted to survive and become stronger.
Upon hearing that the Little Demoness intended to kill him, You Sha showed no signs of terror or fear.
Instead, a flicker of excitement appeared in his eyes!
It was a radiant joy, the happiness of finally finding release...
"Big Sis, wait a moment." Just as the Little Demoness was about to act, Banana-kun suddenly spoke up.