The peach trees were already spreading a heavenly scent when they finally set off. Accompanied by a steady rain of fresh blossoms, they left the house at the foot of the mountain. At first, they made slow progress, but Xinxin learned quickly and made progress. Every morning, her training with Jia Fu was like a dance. Her qi was powerful and cyan blue in color, while Jia Fu's qi was bright white with golden sparks. When their essence powers collided, sparks flew, and one might think two immortals were dancing with each other.
Along the way, Xinxin kept finding medicinal herbs that she only knew from books and tried all sorts of things. She was a gentle, sensitive person and more than once prevented Jia Fu from killing innocent demons for no reason. No matter how often he explained to her that they were corrupt beings. Xinxin disagreed with him: they did no harm, and as long as they didn't hurt anyone, they shouldn't be hunted for no reason. Jia Fu relented, he was patient in her lessons, and soon the two were a well-coordinated team.
Whether they were purifying corrupted qi, exorcising curses, spirits, or stubborn demons. Jia Fu always relied on Xinxin to watch his back. The girl herself blossomed. She was full of energy and life. There was no trace of the lanky, tomboyish woman. Her body was feminine, curvy, and healthy. Transparent jewelry jingled in her hair, and Jia Fu herself pinned her hair up in elaborate braids. One could easily have mistaken her for a heavenly being. She was so full of vitality and life force.
"Master, Master," an elderly man with white hair and beard knelt before Jia Fu and Xinxin.
"Please, Master, help me," he begged. Jia Fu helped the old man up and Xinxin pulled up a chair.
"What's troubling you?" Jia Fu asked, handing the man a cup of tea. The old man looked as if he had walked a long way. His clothes were untidy, his hair was sticking out of his braid, and his whole body was shaking. They were alone in the small teahouse on their hiking route, so no one overheard when the pale-faced man began to speak.
"Dear sir. A few days ago, I passed by a temple that has been abandoned for a long time. I have been using it since I started commuting regularly between villages and towns to deliver messages and letters. But the last time, someone in a nearby village warned me that it was haunted," the man said breathlessly. Jia Fu and Xinxin listened.
"I didn't pay much attention to the superstitious talk, and when it got late, I stopped at the temple as usual to rest. And how can I put it? As soon as night fell, I heard ominous noises and a buzzing in the air. It got cold, and all the doors and windows kept slamming open and shut," he said, clutching his chest. Xinxin and Jia Fu exchanged glances. If it was a ghost, it was quite harmless. Most didn't hesitate and immediately hurt the people who disturbed their peace.
"Maybe it's a very young ghost that has only recently started causing mischief," Xinxin wondered aloud as they assured the man they would look into it and left. Jia Fu walked beside her.
"It doesn't matter how old a ghost is, it depends on the circumstances of its death how aggressive it becomes. If it's actually one that just wants to be left in peace. It could be a child's ghost," he replied. Xinxin took a deep breath.
"You mean a child died nearby recently?" she asked. " We've been here for a while, we would have heard something like that," she objected.
"It's possible that it was an accident and the child can't find its way home. You know yourself that even children in this world are not automatically safe," he pointed out. Xinxin's face darkened.
The journey was long, and even without stopping, they didn't arrive at the temple until late in the evening. It was old, the roof had already collapsed in places, and the gate hung loosely on its hinges. Xinxin stepped over the high threshold, which was supposed to keep spirits out, and peered inside. It was now autumn, and the dry leaves were being blown across the crumbling stone floor, from which weeds sprouted.
Stone statues and lanterns had been knocked over, everything was dry and eerily silent. Jia Fu glowed in the darkness with his white robes covered in fine frost and strode to the center of the square in front of the small but once magnificent building. He looked and listened attentively. Xinxin joined him. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest and her head tilted.
"I don't sense any ghostly aura or anything demonic or supernatural," she said quietly. Jia Fu nodded. They exchanged a glance and then parted ways, each heading in a different direction to explore the grounds. Xinxin conjured a flame with a talisman, illuminating the darkness in front of her. It lasted much longer than the flame she had shown him at the Zhao estate. At first glance, nothing had changed: a small stream flowed across the estate, old, rotten tables and chairs stood around in the back garden, and a withered, gnarled tree stood guard. Xinxin knelt down and pushed the leaves aside.
Her fingers slid over the damp earth, examining it. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and a metallic whirring filled the air. Xinxin dodged, the dagger, bent into an almost perfect circle, whizzed past her, circled her head, and flew back to the first floor of the temple. Before the dagger could rush at her again, she pushed off from the ground and, while doing a somersault in the air to dodge it again, drew her sword. It was nothing special. Jia Fu valued simple things. In his eyes, luxury was superfluous. But Xinxin wielded the sword with a practiced hand. Sparks flew as she parried the circular blade several times. She ran across the wet floor and jumped up the weathered facade of the temple.
With a few leaps, she reached the second floor. Xinxin threw open the doors and rushed inside, followed by Jia Fu's shimmering ghost blade flying into the room. The hooded figure hissed as he suddenly had to fend off two attackers. He was fast, agile, and skilled. The air was filled with crackling spiritual magic and the sound of steel dancing against steel. The hooded figure managed to knock the sword out of Xinxin's hand. The next moment, she struck him in the chest with a talisman. He groaned and flew through the narrow room, crashing through the old wooden wall. Xinxin pulled her sword out of one of the struts again and, together with Jia Fu's ghost sword, followed the hooded figure outside.
The hooded man in gray rags, with strips of cloth wrapped around his body to keep his clothes in place, growled. He had landed right in the courtyard, at Jia Fu's feet. The difference between them was enormous. The man in brilliant white moved only slightly, raining down blows on the man with his sword, which he controlled with simple incantations. Xinxin landed in front of the two and rushed towards him. Jia Fu's sword retracted and struck his palm like a bright, shining flash of lightning. Xinxin cornered the man in rags, who stumbled and fell. "What's this?" he yelled. "I haven't done anything to you, why are you attacking me in the middle of the night?" Xinxin held the tip of her sword in front of his nose. She was slightly out of breath, but all in all, such a fight didn't bother her much. She scratched her nose.
"You attacked me," she replied, slightly confused.
"Because you broke into my temple, this is my home," the man scolded.
"Stop it, you can't just occupy a house and claim it as your own," Xinxin shouted back.
Jia Fu looked around. He let his gaze wander over the weathered courtyard, the faded carvings, and the broken seal above the entrance gate.
"You've caused quite a lot of trouble. People are really afraid of this place," Xinxin cried indignantly.
"Good, then at least they'll leave me alone!" the young man shouted back.
"Who do you think you are?" Xinxin retorted angrily.
"Moon Sword Mu Bai," Jia Fu replied in a calm voice. Xinxin and Mu Bai looked at him. "In the broadest sense, this was indeed once his home," he explained, striding toward the young man. He reached out a hand and helped him up. He signaled to Xinxin with a gentle smile that she could put away her sword. "A long time ago, this was once the residence of some members of the Moonlight Sect. But fifteen years ago, all the sect members were called back. They had a heated dispute with a neighboring clan, which ultimately led to the annihilation of both families," he said. Mu Bai gritted his teeth. Tears burned in his eyes. "The two families destroyed each other?" Xinxin asked skeptically. Jia Fu nodded and motioned for the two to sit down on the old furniture. He wiped his chair clean before sitting down. He conjured a fire talisman and let it burn while he began to treat Mu Bai's injuries.
Xinxin looked unhappy, but helped him apply her homemade herbal paste made from five miles of herbs.
"Both families were highly respected healers, but also well versed in poisons. Since neither of them wanted to give in, in the end no one knew why the feud broke out, and so they poisoned each other and their land. Diseases and curses spread, and ten years ago, both families were said to have been completely wiped out," he explained, gently squeezing Mu Bai's shoulder. Xinxin looked at Mu Bai from the side. Obviously, not everyone from the Moonlight Clan was dead.
But since the young man remained silent, they didn't ask any further questions. Xinxin played with a yellowed leaf. Jia Fu had taught her a lot about the different sects. The Moonlight Clan had been healers. She remembered that her master had some of their books and had described them as true masterpieces. But they had also been excellent fighters, quiet and graceful. The Moonlight Blades in Mu Bai's possession were surely their last heirloom. The clan was never described as malicious or power-hungry. Xinxin looked at Mu Bai for a while.
"So you spent a lot of time here at the outpost?" she asked gently. Mu Bai nodded.
"My uncle lived here, and so did I, until I was seven. Then we were all called back," he said. His gaze slid past Xinxin as if he saw something behind her that was hidden from the others.
"Since I was still so young, the children and the elderly stayed behind in a hidden village, but as Jia Gongzi just said, there was no escaping the curses and diseases. Then, ten years ago, my Shizun fled with me and a few others. We hid and trained day and night to take revenge. But the curses found us..." He broke off. Mu Bai loosened the fabric and revealed a fiery red mark on his chest that spread out in a spiral pattern. "Over time, we all fell ill and died. Last year, my Shizun also died. I left our hideout, ready to take revenge on everyone and..."
"There was no one left to take revenge on?" Jia Fu finished the sentence for him. Mu Bai sighed heavily. Tears ran from the corners of his eyes as he nodded. Xinxin placed a hand on his forearm.
"Curses uttered out of hatred grow weaker as the hatred dies. If you are willing to bury your resentment, we may be able to heal you," she said softly. Jia Fu nodded in agreement.
"That's right. This curse was uttered by people filled with hatred and feeds on that very hatred. I assume it got really bad when you set out on your journey?" Jia Fu pressed. Mu Bai scratched the red marks and nodded.
"That's right. For a long time, I didn't think this fight made sense, but after my Shizun died, the hatred flared up inside me and I stormed off, and then it grew bigger," he confessed. There was silence for a while, then he looked at Xinxin.
"You can cure a curse?" he asked skeptically. Xinxin grinned at him.
"Of course," she announced confidently.