Da Hu and Su Lai watched the figure with vigilance. Yu Daohen was severely injured, and the three young lads, Zhou Fu, could not be of much help.
"Master Yu, do you know who this fellow is?" Su Lai asked, hearing the implication in Yu Daohen's words that he recognized the person.
Yu Daohen grinned, but the pain on his face forced him to immediately retract his smile.
Da Hu managed to suppress his laughter, but Su Lai was almost crying with mirth.
"Now look, this guy can't even show off anymore."
"Get lost," Yu Daohen shot Su Lai a glare and then looked at the figure in the dense fog. "This guy is the culprit who lured us into this Peaceful Village and won't let us leave."
Upon hearing this, Da Hu and Su Lai immediately became serious. Su Lai directly pulled out his blood-red wooden staff.
If it weren't for this fellow, they wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess.
Yu Daohen shook his head, stopping Su Lai, who was about to attack. "I'll go talk to him."
Su Lai quickly grabbed him. "Master Yu, with your current condition, let alone a Shagui, even a minor ghost could easily defeat you. Let me go."
Da Hu chimed in, "That's right. You can barely walk in your current state."
Yu Daohen shook his head. "Don't worry, this guy won't attack. In fact, he'll thank us."
Su Lai and Da Hu understood what he meant and finally let Yu Daohen go.
Yu Daohen, dragging his injured body, walked into the dense fog.
Approaching within three meters of the figure, Yu Daohen spoke, "Your plan is brilliant. Using our hands to deal with that Ghost King and observing the conflict from the sidelines. Do you believe I can make you spit out everything you've gained?"
As soon as Yu Daohen finished speaking, the figure suddenly knelt down, and a woman's voice emerged, "Master, you misunderstand. I have no such intentions."
Seeing the figure kneel, Yu Daohen was perplexed. "Then why did you lure us to Peaceful Village? Wasn't it to use our hands to get rid of that Ghost King?"
The figure admitted, "I did want to use Master's hand to eliminate the Ghost King, but not for myself."
"Not for yourself?" Yu Daohen asked, puzzled.
The figure nodded. "Yes. Master, please listen to me."
The figure began to speak.
Her name was Zhang Hong. She was originally a villager of Peaceful Village. Five years ago, when Zhang Hong had just turned eighteen, her nineteen-year-old sister was chosen as a sacrifice. To prevent her sister from facing death, Zhang Hong took her sister's place on the sedan chair on the day of the sacrifice.
Once, Zhang Hong managed to escape when the Ghost King was not paying attention, but she was eventually discovered. Although her physical body was killed, her soul narrowly evaded pursuit.
Thus, Zhang Hong's soul lingered outside Peaceful Village for five years.
During these five years, Zhang Hong cultivated diligently. However, she knew that to deal with the Ghost King, she would need to cultivate for at least a hundred years. By then, Peaceful Village would likely be a scene of carnage, with no one left.
Therefore, Zhang Hong devised a plan: at the cost of burning her soul, she created the dense fog, waiting for someone capable of slaying the Ghost King to appear, trapping them and using their hand to destroy the malevolent spirit.
Yu Daohen looked at the figure. "If I'm not mistaken, your soul cannot last much longer. Although the consumption of souls by this fog is not significant, no one can withstand it for long, especially with your low cultivation level."
Zhang Hong knew this and had already resigned herself to soul dispersion.
Yu Daohen sighed helplessly. "Some things are simply unchangeable. The villagers of Peaceful Village have been blinded by money. No matter how much effort you put in, it's futile. It's completely useless."
"If Peaceful Village truly wanted to escape this malevolent spirit, they could have invited a master to eliminate it long ago. In the end, they are unwilling to give up their wealth and their current luxurious lifestyle."
Zhang Hong had long understood this, but she was unwilling to admit it.
Yet, after waiting for so many years, the villagers of Peaceful Village still had not broken free from the temptation of money.
Peaceful Village had countless opportunities to invite a master to kill this malevolent spirit, but they were simply unwilling.
Yu Daohen sighed. "Some things are set in stone. You cannot save them."
Zhang Hong was in despair. She understood that this was the last hope for saving Peaceful Village, but that single hope had been destroyed by them with their own hands.
Zhang Hong was no longer able to wait. This was a hopeless cause.
"I trouble Master to act this time. This humble girl has nothing to repay you with. In the next life, I wish to be your ox or horse. Perhaps I will no longer have a next life."
Golden light points emanated from Zhang Hong, and her body began to become transparent.
Yu Daohen sighed and comforted her. "Even though it's impossible to succeed now, you have at least allowed Peaceful Village to live for another twenty years. With the malevolent spirit severely injured, the village will not be wiped out within twenty years. You have done enough."
"Thank you, Master!" As Zhang Hong's voice faded, she completely dissipated into the air.
The surrounding dense fog also slowly receded. Yu Daohen looked at the golden light that vanished into the air and sighed helplessly. "Human hearts are inherently selfish. But there are always a small number of people willing to sacrifice themselves for others. Uncle Li on the bus, and Zhang Hong here, they were both willing to sacrifice themselves to protect everyone."