Water Ghost

This voice…

Zheng Que’s expression instantly turned grave. There were four voices speaking, all in the unchanged tones of children, indistinguishable as male or female. But the Cui family only had two members, and Cui Fugui was right beside him.

Moreover, the content of those words: Cui Fugui’s daughter was in danger!

At the same time, Cui Fugui acted as if he hadn’t heard anything, stepping forward to pat the gate and shouting loudly, “Ni’er, open the door quickly! I’ve brought Zheng Que!”

The courtyard was completely silent, with no response from Cui Ni’er.

Cui Fugui immediately felt something was off and was about to call out again when Zheng Que strode forward and kicked the wooden gate with a powerful blow.

Bang!

The wooden gate swung open with a crash, half of a broken latch falling from behind it, revealing an empty courtyard.

The courtyard wasn’t large, with some dried vegetables spread out on the compacted dirt ground. In one corner stood an old well with a worn-out railing.

Seeing this, Cui Fugui was clearly taken aback. When he had gone out earlier to find Zheng Que, he had specifically told his daughter to wait behind the gate and open it for him. So why was his usually obedient daughter nowhere to be seen?

Just then, Zheng Que hurried toward the well, speaking rapidly as he moved, “Uncle Cui, stay right where you are. Don’t go near the well!”

As he spoke, he had already reached the edge of the well and looked down into it.

In the deep, dark bottom of the well, a young girl in coarse cloth clothing was submerged, struggling desperately. Her arms, hands, and feet continuously scraped against the moss-covered well walls, stirring up splashes of water, as if she had accidentally fallen in.

However, through the vision of the 【Spirit Eye Technique】, Zheng Que saw that the girl was being held underwater by four children with blurred faces and dripping wet bodies, all pressing her down with their hands and feet.

One child clung to the girl’s legs, dragging her toward the bottom of the well. Two others each held onto her struggling arms, preventing her from surfacing. The final child pulled her hair, pressing her head firmly into the water to keep her from making any sound.

These four children looked somewhat familiar, their bodies shrouded in Yin Qi like swirling black smoke, turning the bottom of the well into a murky darkness.

Four water ghosts!

All at the second layer of the 【Tongue-Tearing Hell】!

Just as Zheng Que leaned over to look into the well, one of the water ghosts suddenly looked up, its cold, sinister gaze instantly locking onto him. Its mouth, resembling melted wax, immediately opened wide.

In the next moment, a water arrow shot from the water ghost’s mouth, whistling as it sped directly toward Zheng Que’s face.

Zheng Que’s expression changed, and he hastily leaned backward.

Whoosh!

The water arrow grazed past Zheng Que’s forehead, missing his brow by a hair’s breadth.

Zheng Que felt a surge of alarm. Although the Yin Qi of these four water ghosts was only at the second layer of the 【Tongue-Tearing Hell】, water was their domain, allowing them to exert power close to the third layer.

As he was thinking this, Qing Li’s two arms suddenly extended like venomous snakes striking from their burrows, instantly reaching into the well.

Splash, splash, splash…

The well water churned and stirred, waves rising continuously.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

A dense barrage of water arrows immediately shot out from the bottom of the well.

The well opening was narrow and cramped. Qing Li’s two arms had no room to dodge and were instantly struck by numerous water arrows. However, a surge of Yin Qi flowed throughout her body, leaving her arms completely unharmed.

Splash!

Immediately after, Qing Li’s submerged arm seemed to grab something and swiftly retracted it.

A thin, small figure was forcibly pulled from the well. Its appearance resembled that of a human child, but its entire body was pale with a melted texture, its blurred features twisted and ferocious, filled with malice and hostility.

As soon as this water ghost was dragged ashore, it opened its mouth, shooting a translucent water arrow straight at Qing Li.

Thud!

Qing Li raised her hand to block the water arrow, her expression instantly turning cold. A coarse rope materialized out of thin air, looping around the water ghost’s neck and hoisting it high into the air.

At the same time, Qing Li grabbed the water ghost’s legs and pulled with a sudden, sharp force.

Rip!

In an instant, the water ghost was torn apart like a piece of fabric, its body shredded into pieces.

The Yin Qi swirling around it rapidly dissipated. The water ghost’s head and limbs scattered across the ground, soon transforming into a pool of clear water that seeped into the soil and vanished without a trace.

Seeing Qing Li dispatch a water ghost so swiftly, Zheng Que felt reassured. “First, rescue the person.”

As he spoke, he began forming a series of peculiar hand seals.

Qing Li snorted coldly and was about to continue attacking the water ghosts in the well when her body uncontrollably transformed into a streak of blood-red light, merging into Zheng Que’s hand before turning into dense black and white patterns that surfaced on his skin.

These patterns surged and converged toward one side of Zheng Que’s neck, resembling vigorously growing roots, clustering together to form the pale, delicate face of a young girl.

【Spirit Descent Technique】!

Seeing Zheng Que suddenly use this spell, Qing Li’s head was momentarily stunned before erupting in fury. “Human brat! Quickly give control of the body to me!”

Zheng Que ignored Qing Li and immediately leaned over to peer into the well.

At the bottom of the well, the water surface still rippled slightly. The remaining three water ghosts continued to press down on the girl’s body, holding her submerged. The girl floated in the water, her hands and feet having stopped moving, clearly having lost the strength to struggle.

The three water ghosts noticed someone appearing at the well’s opening and simultaneously looked up, opening their mouths. Water arrows shot out, targeting the upper half of Zheng Que’s body.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

Zheng Que had struggled to dodge even a single water arrow earlier, but now, with the 【Spirit Descent Technique】 active, his speed and reactions were extremely swift. He immediately raised his fist, smashing toward the water arrows aimed at him.

Bang, bang, bang…

Wherever his fist struck, the water arrows shattered into droplets, falling back into the water. One of Zheng Que’s arms suddenly elongated, and in the blink of an eye it plunged into the well water, grabbing the girl’s wrist.

Immediately after, Zheng Que exerted force, pulling the girl out of the water in one swift motion.

Splash, splash, splash…

As the girl was lifted, the three water ghosts still clung tightly to her limbs, dragged out of the water along with her.

Seizing the moment the three water ghosts left the well water, Zheng Que focused his gaze. A rope appeared around the neck of one water ghost, instantly hoisting it upward.

At the same time, his other arm rapidly extended, grabbing the water ghost clutching the girl’s hair and immediately restraining it.

Then Zheng Que opened his mouth, but what emerged was the voice of a child. “Don’t run! Come save us!”

This was the voice of the water ghost Qing Li had just torn apart.

Hearing this voice, the last water ghost immediately released its grip on the girl’s feet and lunged fiercely toward Zheng Que at the well’s opening.

Just as Zheng Que was about to press his attack, Qing Li’s head beside his suddenly darted forward. Her neck elongated like a serpent, plunging into the well in an instant and biting down on the neck of the last water ghost.