My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

The ghost's face changed drastically, and it retreated repeatedly, but it still tried to argue:

"You...you're lying! They're still alive! I just heard them screaming for help!"

Ye Qingfeng looked at him without saying a word.

Seeing that he didn't move, the demon grew bolder and pointed at his feet, shrieking:

"Look! He still has no shadow! He's a ghost! He wants to harm you!"

The hunters looked at Ye Qingfeng's feet again, and indeed, there was nothing there.

The young hunter's hands were trembling as he held the bow and arrow.

"So...who exactly is the ghost...?"

Ye Qingfeng sighed.

He raised his right hand and gently beckoned to the campfire beside him.

The burning campfire suddenly flickered, and a spark floated up from the fire, drifting gently to Ye Qingfeng's fingertip.

Ye Qingfeng flicked his fingers, and the spark stretched and deformed at his fingertips, instantly condensing into a spear about three feet long.

The spear was entirely golden-red, with a sharp tip and a straight shaft, and was formed entirely of condensed flames.

It was like a solid iron spear, trembling slightly in the air and emitting a soft "humming" sound.

The firelight shone on his face, creating a play of light and shadow that added an indescribable air of authority to his young features.

The hunters' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

The steel fork in the bearded man's hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

The young hunter stood with his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

The hunters stood rooted to the spot, as if frozen in place.

They stared at the flaming spear in Ye Qingfeng's hand, at the vengeful spirit beside him, and at Ye Qingfeng's ever-calm face, their minds blank.

The young hunter asked the bearded man in a low voice:

"Big...brother, is that Taoist priest...human or immortal?"

The bearded man's throat moved, but he didn't say anything.

Lu Yang puffed out his chest, looking smug.

"This is a Celestial Master! You lot are lucky to have met us today."

He paused, then said:

"If I had gone with that ghost, I'd probably be inside the tiger demon's belly by now."

Upon hearing this, the hunters broke out in a cold sweat.

The young hunter's legs went weak, and he knelt down, kowtowing to Ye Qingfeng:

"Thank you so much, Immortal Master, for saving my life! Thank you so much, Immortal Master, for saving my life!"

The other hunters also knelt down.

Ye Qingfeng didn't turn his head, he just waved his hand:

"stand up."

Then, carrying the flaming spear, he walked towards the vengeful spirit.

He walked slowly, but every step he took made the ghost tremble.

He stopped three feet away from the ghost.

The tip of the flaming spear was aimed directly at the throat of the demon.

Ye Qingfeng spoke, his tone still calm:

"Take another look, who is the ghost?"

The ghost's legs went weak, and he sat down on the ground with a thud.

He was trembling all over, his teeth were chattering, and he wanted to shrink back, but there was nothing behind him, nowhere to shrink back.

The flaming spear was less than a foot from his throat, and he could feel its scorching heat, as if it could burn him to ashes at any moment.

"Master...Master, spare my life! Master, spare my life!"

He finally broke down, prostrating himself on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly.

"I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't want to! The mountain tiger forced me! It forced me!"

Ye Qingfeng did not retract his spear, but simply looked at him:

"Mountain lord?"

The ghost cried out.

"It's those two tiger demons! They call themselves mountain lords, occupy the back mountain, and make me... make us, their accomplices, lure people away for them! I dare not disobey, or I will suffer..."

Ye Qingfeng:

"How many people have you harmed?"

The demon cried, "I didn't harm anyone! I really didn't harm anyone! Every time I was asked to lure people away, I... I secretly led them in another direction, making them take a different path..."

He looked up, his face streaked with tears.

"But nobody believed me! They ran away when they saw me, some even beat me... Once, a hunter shot me with an arrow, the arrow was full of cinnabar, and it hurt for months..."

Ye Qingfeng remained silent for a moment.

The ghost continued to cry, "I really have no other choice today... The mountain lord said that if he can't lure anyone else, he'll... he'll feed me to his minions... I..."

As the hunters listened, the ferocity on their faces gradually faded, replaced by hesitation.

The young hunter whispered to the bearded man, "Brother, what if what he said... is true?"

The bearded man frowned and remained silent.

Another hunter muttered, "Being shot with a cinnabar arrow, it hurt for months...that sounds rather pitiful..."

Seeing that something was wrong, Lü Yang was about to step forward to speak when Ye Qingfeng stopped him.

Ye Qingfeng looked down at the ghostly creature and suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, yet it made the ghost freeze, its kowtow momentarily halting.

"Are you done talking?"

The ghost raised its head, its face still streaked with tears, its eyes filled with pleading:

"Master, everything I'm saying is true! You must believe me!"

Ye Qingfeng did not answer, but squatted down to look him in the eye.

"You just said that every time you were asked to seduce someone, you would secretly lead them in a different direction?"

The ghostly apparition nodded repeatedly: "Yes! Yes! I wouldn't dare harm anyone!"

Ye Qingfeng: "What happened to the person you 'took' away?"

The ghost was stunned for a moment, opened its mouth to answer, but got stuck.

Ye Qingfeng said for him, "They're all dead. Aren't they?"

The ghost's expression changed slightly.

Ye Qingfeng continued, "You're leading them in 'another direction,' but aren't there tiger demons waiting in that direction too?"

The ghost stopped talking.

Ye Qingfeng stood up and looked down at him:

"You just said that a hunter shot you with an arrow, which contained cinnabar and caused you pain for months."

The ghost didn't know what he wanted to say, and simply nodded.

Ye Qingfeng: "Cinnabar is used to ward off evil spirits. Ghosts injured by cinnabar will indeed feel pain. But if you have truly never harmed anyone, how could you have cinnabar wounds on your body?"

The ghost's expression changed drastically.

Ye Qingfeng:

"Why did the hunter shoot you? Because you were seducing someone. Isn't that right?"

The ghost's lips trembled, and he could not speak.

Ye Qingfeng:

"You said the mountain king forced you, and you had no choice. But you also just said that you've been here for three years. In those three years, how many people have you seduced?"

The ghost lowered its head.

Ye Qingfeng:

"If you won't say it, I'll say it for you. At least ten."

The ghost trembled.

Ye Qingfeng:

"Those ten people died because of you, and you have to bear the consequences."

He paused, his tone still calm, yet every word he spoke was like a hammer blow:

"All the things you just said, such as 'secretly leading people in another direction,' 'not having the heart to harm people,' and 'being shot by a cinnabar arrow and suffering for months'—are all lies."

The ghost lay sprawled on the ground, too afraid to raise its head.

Ye Qingfeng:

"It's all nonsense; not a single word of it is true."

The hunters were stunned.

The young hunter opened his mouth wide, and after a long while, he finally managed to utter a sentence:

"This...this is all fake?"

The bearded man realized what was happening and spat out a mouthful of blood:

"That bastard! I almost fell for his trick!"

Another hunter cursed, "Playing the victim like that, I actually thought he was a good ghost!"