Setting a Small Goal First

The sun was shining.

Beneath a Pagoda Tree. 

Yu Qi'an was sitting by the mouth of the well, eating watermelon. 

When Li Chu walked over, he saw his master looking all too otherworldly even when he was just eating watermelon. Even when he rolled his sleeves and spat out the seeds, all had an inexplicable temperament to it. 

"Eh? Want a piece?" Yu Qi'an said with a smile. 

"Thank you, Master." Li Chu also sat down. 

Yu Qi'an looked at Li Chu, thinking that the air of his disciple eating watermelon was so handsome. 'He really do look like me back in the day.'

He twirled his beard as he smiled. "What are you taking me for? These fruits were sent by that Miss Li yesterday. She came looking for you, and I just benefited by proxy."

"Miss Li?"

"Her name is rather uncommon, so I've forgotten. She's the one with thin waist, long legs, perky chest and round buttocks—a lady with a very nice figure."

Li Chu shook his head, unable to recall. 

"Oh, she has a mole on the left side of her chest." Yu Qi'an added. 

"Huh?" Li Chu was even more confused. 

"Oh right, she also left fifty taels of silver."

"Li Xinyi." Li Chu immediately recalled. "She is working for the Imperial Administration Bureau, and we have deal with a mystery case together before. Those fifty teals of silver is my promised reward."

As he said, he blinked again. 

'Is there a mole on the left side of Li Xinyi's chest?' 

No, what he was confused about was why Li Xinyi had to personally see to a trivial matter like sending him his reward. In the past, Zhou Dafu had always sent one of his junior constables over. 

And she should have returned to Hangzhou's Magistrate Office long ago. 

Yu Qi'an followed up in a timely manner. "She seemed to be looking for you for some other matter, but seeing that you were not around, she made her leave."

"Oh." Li Chu nodded. 

Yu Qi'an ate another piece of watermelon, wiping his mouth as he raised his eyes and glanced at Li Chu. "Aren't you going to ask her what's the matter about?"

"If it is something important, she will come over again." Li Chu shrugged indifferently. 

"Sigh." Yu Qi'an looked at his disciple and let out a sigh of resignation. 

"Master, I have something to ask you." After being interrupted by Yu Qi'an, Li Chu had almost forgotten what he originally wanted to do. 

"Oh? What's the matter?"

"I have a doubt. If there is a group of ghosts that stays peacefully in one place where humans don't disturb them, and they do not harm humans. In this case, can I destroy this group of ghosts?" Li Chu asked seriously. 

"Haven't you already been doing this all this while?" Yu Qi'an asked. 

In the recent year, Li Chu had been grinding weak monsters at Ten Li Slope to level up. Although Yu Qi'an did not know his purpose, he did know of this habit. 

"But these ghosts' cultivation is far higher, and have intelligence, different than those Ghost Lanterns," said Li Chu.

Yu Qi'an pondered for a moment and said slowly, "Hehe, there is a saying among us cultivators who had travelled the realm, 'spiritual creatures and monsters can be taught, demons and ghosts not so'."

Li Chu leaned forward, revealing an open-minded look that sought advice. 

"It means of the four Evil Beings, there are distinct differences between them."

"Spiritual creature formed through the cultivation of all beings is a sort of ascension of lifeform. There is no good or evil in spiritual creatures themselves. Those who do good are good ones, and those who do evil are evil ones. Good spiritual creatures can be taught and guided, just like that little fox that visits the monastery every day, we can co-exist peacefully. Only evil spiritual creatures needed to be eradicated.

"Monsters, are creatures born in the realm, and are essentially no different from birds and beasts. Similarly, if they mind their own business, then humans should not disturb them.

"Because they have their own path to walk."

"Their own path—" Li Chu muttered. He was seemingly deep in thought. 

"Demons on the other hand are creatures which had been demonized." Yu Qi'an's expression grew slightly serious.

"Once one falls into demonization, it is extremely difficult to return from it. If it is left to live in the world, it will certainly cause a bloodbath, so it must be eradicated.

"Ghosts, are transformed from the soul of living creatures. And for various reasons, they did not set foot on the cycle of death and rebirth, only to remain in this world. But whatever the reason, this is not the path they should take. From the moment of their birth, they have already strayed from the path. So, in any case, eradicating ghosts is tantamount to help them get back on the right path.

"For demons and ghosts, you can eliminate without needing to consider whether they are righteous or not. It is also because of this reason that eliminating ghosts is called deliverance, and to give something deliverance is meritorious. So regardless if they have any intelligence or not, it is not considered killing."

"So, the criterion for judging whether to kill or not is to determine if the being is on the right path, right?" Li Chu asked. 

"You could say that." Yu Qi'an smiled and nodded. 

Li Chu, seemingly gaining some new insights, nodded. 

As he watched Li Chu got up and leave, Yu Qi'an said to his back, "I wonder which ghost has such wretched luck."

...

It was nighttime. 

The haunted building of the Liu family. 

The storm last night seemed to have no effect on the place at all, and it was still peaceful and gloomy as ever. 

But as a figure in a cyan Daoist robe slowly approached, the picture became a little more beautiful. 

In fact, recently, Li Chu had been thinking that the Ghost Lanterns had been providing fewer and fewer experience points, if only there was a new training spot with higher experience points. 

But he was not familiar with grounds far away, and there might very well be trouble. 

The Liu family's haunted building was perfectly in line with his needs. 

There were little people around, and lots of ghosts, plus it was close to home. 

And by the looks of things, it seemed that the ghosts here could appear out of thin air. If that was the case, then they were likely endless. 

As if it was prepared just for his training. 

The only concern he had was these ghosts had been originally living here peacefully, if no one did something stupid here, they would not have come out to hurt people. Then for him to use them to level up, wouldn't it be somewhat inhumane? 

But Yu Qi'an's words today had resolved his concerns. 

I am not levelling up, nor am I killing these ghosts, but rather I am providing them deliverance, and help those who had got astray back onto the right path. 

It was just like a doctor who cured and saved people, like a teacher who taught and educated people. It was a great and noble act. 

I am destroying you for your own good. 

Of course, throughout the process of treatment or education, there would be a little pain. 

But he promised it would only hurt just a little. 

After that short pain, one could start a brand new life. 

With such noble intention, Li Chu stepped into the gate of the Liu family's haunted building. 

At this very moment, the light of the righteous path shone upon the haunted building. 

He followed the room order and knocked on the first room. "Is there a ghost in the house?"

There was a babbling noise inside it, and it seemed like there was one. 

Li Chu pushed the door open and saw a ghost in a performer's getup, wearing a long dress costume, and he could not tell whether it was a man or a woman. 

Seeing Li Chu come in, it sang at the top of its voice, "The pain, oh the pain, as a man gently pushes me, with my voice trembling and face blushing—"

Li Chu heard that and felt something was wrong with this performer. 

Yet he still said very politely, "Hello, I'm here to deliver you. It may hurt a little, so bear with me for a bit, it will get better soon."

The performer ghost seemed to have understood what he said and wanted to express its opposition to that idea physically. 

But Li Chu did not give it any chance to do so. 

DUSSH---

A sword light flashed past, and the babbling voice still echoed in the room, but the ghostly body had disappeared. 

Deliverance was successful. 

Li Chu felt a bit nobler. 

Correspondingly, he was one step closer to level 72. 

As he walked out of the room and looked at the four-story building, Li Chu felt that he should first set a small goal. 

Let's get up to level 100 first. 

...

Three hundred miles northwest of Yuhang Town. 

Mount Whitebone, The Barrow Cave. 

Two hoarse and dreary voices rang out again. 

This time there was panic in their voice. 

"That little Daoist Priest is back killing again! He is knocking on every door to look for ghosts and killing them in turn! In just one night alone he had cleaned out the entire building!"

"What? Can't you do anything to stop him at all?"

"If you have seen the way he drew his blade, you wouldn't be saying such foolish things."

"We have to do something! Or else when the day of our King is released from his seal comes, both you and I will have our heads on the chopping block!"

Another voice went silent again, and then it spoke again. 

"I am praying, praying that he will not come over again tomorrow."