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

The young hunter patted his chest:

"Oh my god...it really is a ghost..."

The bearded man sneered:

"Do you believe me now?"

When the female ghost saw that her trick had failed, the pitiful look on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a ferocious expression.

It stood at a distance, pointing at the hunters and cursing:

"You bunch of idiots! You really think that lousy circle can protect you forever? When the King arrives, none of you will escape!"

The more he cursed, the uglier it became:

"Keep hiding inside like a turtle! Come out if you dare! Come out and fight me!"

The young hunter, angered by the insults, couldn't help but retort:

"Come in! Come in and you'll be burned alive!"

The female ghost was so angry she jumped up and down, but she didn't dare to approach the circle. She could only pace back and forth in the distance, cursing incessantly.

The old fox, hiding behind a rock, watched and shook his head.

What's the use of cursing this idiot?

Just as it was about to speak to the female ghost to return, suddenly—

The female ghost's cursing stopped abruptly.

It stood there, stiff as a board, its expression shifting from ferocity to terror.

"No...no..."

It murmured and raised its hand.

That hand is fading.

It's not burning, but rather like an ink painting being soaked in water, gradually fading in color and becoming transparent.

The old fox's pupils contracted.

The female ghost screamed in agony:

"No! I don't want to die! I don't want to..."

Before it could finish speaking, its body completely vanished.

Like a gust of wind, it left nothing behind.

......

The old fox lay stiffly behind the rock.

It knows what this means.

Those evil spirits were restrained by the king using his demonic power.

They exist because the King is alive, and their souls are controlled by the King.

When the king died, they vanished as well.

That scoundrel was cursing so loudly just now, but he's gone in the blink of an eye.

The king is dead.

That tigress who had cultivated herself for a hundred years is dead.

The old fox's mind went blank with a "buzz".

It suddenly turned its head, looking at the circle, at the hunters who were still completely unaware, and at the invisible yet incredibly powerful fire barrier.

The person who set up the restriction...

The man who killed the king...

That would require immense supernatural power.

The old fox's fur stood on end.

It no longer hesitated.

He turned and ran.

It ran incredibly fast, its four paws scrambling through the dirt, before plunging headlong into the darkness without looking back.

It ran dozens of feet away before daring to look back.

The campfire was still burning, and the hunters were still standing in the circle, completely unaware that the danger outside had passed.

The old fox gritted his teeth and kept running.

We can't stay on this mountain anymore.

This place is no longer safe to stay.

We have to run, run as far as possible.

It plunged into the depths of the dense forest and disappeared into the darkness.

......

Around the campfire, several hunters were still nervously watching outside.

The young hunter asked in a low voice:

"Brother, why isn't that ghost cursing anymore?"

The bearded man frowned:

"have no idea."

Another hunter said:

"Did they leave?"

The bearded man shook his head:

"Never mind whether it's gone or not. We'll just stay in this circle and not go anywhere. We'll wait for the Taoist priest to come back."

The hunters nodded and sat down again.

The night breeze blew, and the campfire flickered.

In the distance, the mountains and forests were completely silent.

The roar of the tiger was never heard again.

The moon gradually began to set in the west.

Just as the hunters were getting impatient, footsteps suddenly came from the darkness.

The young hunter jumped to his feet, staring nervously in that direction:

"Who?!"

A familiar voice came:

"It's us."

The young hunter was taken aback, then overjoyed:

"The Taoist priest is back!"

Several hunters stood up and craned their necks to look in that direction.

Sure enough, three figures slowly emerged from the darkness.

Leading the way was Ye Qingfeng, whose gray-blue Taoist robe remained impeccably clean under the moonlight, without a single wrinkle.

Lü Yang followed behind, carrying a sword on his back and a wine pouch hanging at his waist, walking with a swagger.

Finally, it was Shen Zhaoyue's turn; her complexion was better than before.

Several hunters rushed forward, but stopped a few steps away from Ye Qingfeng, not daring to get too close.

The man with the thick beard rubbed his hands together, his face beaming with smiles.

"Master, you're finally back! That tiger demon..."

Ye Qingfeng nodded slightly:

"Removed."

The hunters were stunned by those two short words.

The young hunter opened his mouth wide:

"Except for...?"

The bearded man slapped him on the back of the head:

"Nonsense! If the Taoist priest makes a move, how could it be fake?"

The young hunter rubbed his head and chuckled foolishly.

The bearded man looked at Ye Qingfeng again, his eyes filled with admiration:

"Master, you are truly a master strategist! The circle you drew for us before you left was indeed incredibly powerful!"

He pointed to the scorch mark on the ground and recounted everything that had just happened.

When he spoke of the male ghost reaching in and being burned to ashes, he danced with excitement, his face beaming.

When talking about how the female ghost had pretended to be pitiful and deceived them, he patted his chest, looking terrified.

There were some doubts when it came to the sudden disappearance of the female ghost.

Finally, he gave a thumbs up:

"Master, your methods are truly amazing! That evil spirit cursed outside for ages, but it couldn't do anything to us!"

Lu Yang listened with great interest, occasionally interjecting with a question.

Hearing the female ghost cursing, he laughed so hard he almost fell over:

"Insulting you? They're about to die themselves, and they still have the mind to insult people?"

Shen Zhaoyue stood to the side, not smiling, but listening silently.

After listening, Ye Qingfeng nodded slightly:

"The ghost disappeared because the tiger demon was dead."

The bearded man was taken aback for a moment, then understood:

"I see!"

Suddenly remembering something, he glanced at the sky, then at Ye Qingfeng and the other two:

"Master, it's the middle of the night, you lot must not have a place to rest, right?"

Lü Yang's eyes lit up:

"Are there any inns in your town?"

The bearded man scratched his head:

"There is an inn, but the innkeeper..." he said in a low voice.

"That shopkeeper is related to the former town mayor; he's no good."

If you all go, he'll definitely interrogate you a lot, and might even try to extort money from you..."

He glanced at the other hunters, gritted his teeth, and said:

"Master, if you don't mind, why don't you stay at my house for the night? My house is at the east end of town. Although it's simple, it's clean."

My wife is a great cook; she'll make you a hot meal first thing tomorrow morning!

The other hunters exchanged glances, all somewhat envious, but said nothing.

After all, the bearded man was their leader, and once he spoke up, no one could easily take his place.

Ye Qingfeng looked at him but did not answer immediately.

The bearded man, feeling a little nervous under his gaze, rubbed his hands together and said:

"Master, I... I'm not trying to curry favor with you, it's just... you've helped us so much, we have to show our appreciation. If you think my home is too simple, then..."