Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 218: Chapter 161: The Magnificent and Peerless Female Sword Immortal

The next moment.

”BOOM!”

Another massive silhouette slammed in from the side, sending the Broken Sword flying!

The Faceless True Monarch Statue landed like a great mountain in front of Wan Ze, blocking the path between him and the Broken Sword. It remained in its cross-legged posture, hovering in mid-air. Its featureless face was turned toward the Broken Sword, and its entire body radiated a faint golden light—a clear warning not to approach.

The Broken Sword tumbled through the air before righting itself. Its blade trembled violently, as if seething with rage.

But as it faced the True Monarch Statue, it didn’t dare to charge forward again.

Just then, a figure in white appeared in the distance, seemingly walking on moonlight as she approached.

The Female Sword Immortal stood suspended in the air. With a single step, she crossed over a hundred meters, appearing nearby in the blink of an eye.

She hovered in mid-air as if on a leisurely stroll. Her two bloody sockets were fixed on Wan Ze as she tilted her head, as if trying to figure something out.

But no matter how she pondered it, she couldn’t figure out why this person had suddenly vanished, only to reappear just as suddenly.

Wan Ze watched the scene unfold before him, silent.

A Broken Sword glaring at him menacingly, a True Monarch Statue protecting him, and a Female Sword Immortal who could be either human or ghost.

’Three pairs of ”eyes”... well, the Female Sword Immortal doesn’t have eyes, but those bloody sockets are more terrifying than any eyes could be... In any case, they’re all staring at me.’

”Looks like there’s no getting rid of you tonight,” Wan Ze sighed.

He cupped his fist toward the True Monarch Statue in a gesture of respect.

”See you around, brother.”

The moment he finished speaking, he severed his connection to the Spiritual Form with a single thought.

”WHOOSH!”

His figure vanished into thin air once more.

The Broken Sword had been bobbing angrily in mid-air, brimming with pent-up fury it was dying to unleash. But when Wan Ze vanished, it froze on the spot.

The next moment, it shot forward as if it had gone mad, zipping back and forth around the spot where Wan Ze had disappeared. Its blade quivered violently, as though it were both searching for something and letting out a string of silent curses.

The Female Sword Immortal’s brow twitched faintly.

Nearby, the True Monarch Statue rumbled a few times, the tremors conveying a clear emotion.

Confusion!

Utter confusion!

But it seemed to have disturbed the Female Sword Immortal.

Without even turning her head, the Female Sword Immortal casually waved a hand, and a brilliant flash of sword light slashed down!

BOOM!

The True Monarch Statue was sent flying, crashing and tumbling down into the forest below, snapping a swath of trees in its wake.

The moonlit forest fell silent.

The Broken Sword was still circling the spot.

The Female Sword Immortal hovered in mid-air, looking down at the scorched patch of earth, lost in thought.

...

”How bizarre.”

Wan Ze opened his eyes, back in the real world.

He sat on the edge of his bed, frowning.

He decided he wasn’t going back in there tonight.

The place had gotten too bizarre; it was completely unsuitable for Cultivation.

He got up to wash. As he brushed his teeth, he couldn’t stop thinking about the True Monarch Statue. ’Why did it protect me? Did it mistake me for someone else? Or does it have some ulterior motive?’

’I can’t figure it out.’

’Might as well stop thinking about it.’

...

「By morning, the sky was bright.」

Wan Ze jogged along a street bordering the park. The morning breeze carried a winter chill that felt pleasant against his face.

After a half-hour run, he bought some soy milk and fried dough sticks from a roadside breakfast stall and headed back.

A figure was squatting at the entrance to the martial arts hall, neck hunched, looking like a frostbitten quail.

When Sun Beixi heard the footsteps, he looked up, revealing a shockingly haggard face. He had dark, bruised-looking circles under his eyes, and his hair was a chaotic mess sticking up in all directions. It was obvious he hadn’t slept a wink.

”Chief...” he greeted weakly, his voice hoarse.

Wan Ze couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. ”Don’t tell me you actually cried all night.”

Sun Beixi looked utterly miserable. He waved a hand dismissively. ”Not quite. Anyway, I’ve come to terms with it... When it rains, it pours.”

He followed Wan Ze inside, rambling as he went. ”You’re gonna laugh, but I had a dream last night. I dreamt a female ghost was chasing me, trying to hack me to pieces with a sword. That broad was vicious. She chased me all night, so I didn’t dare fall back asleep.”

Wan Ze stopped short.

”A female ghost?” He turned to look back at Sun Beixi. ”With a sword? Trying to hack you up?”

Sun Beixi blinked. ”I know it sounds a little out there, but it’s true! The second I close my eyes, I dream of her—white clothes, no eyes... Hey, don’t laugh, she really has no eyes! Just two gaping holes, staring right at you!”

But the smile on Wan Ze’s face had already frozen.

’White clothes, no eyes, uses a sword...’

He stared at Sun Beixi for a few seconds before suddenly asking, ”You didn’t happen to turn into a stone statue, did you?”

Sun Beixi was baffled. ”Uh, no... Chief, why would you ask that?”

Wan Ze just shook his head and didn’t explain.

The two entered the martial arts hall and sat at the stone table in the courtyard.

Wan Ze handed him some of the soy milk and fried dough sticks. Sun Beixi took them and bit into a dough stick, chewing absentmindedly.

”It was absolutely awful!” He fumed at the memory of the female ghost. ”If I dream about her again, I swear I’ll beat the crap out of her!”

Wan Ze glanced at him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

’Looks like I was overthinking things.’

”I’m planning on heading over there again today,” Wan Ze said, taking a sip of soy milk. ”In your state, you should probably stay here and get some rest.”

Sun Beixi hesitated for a moment but didn’t argue.

He hadn’t slept all night, and his heart was already racing. He was genuinely afraid he might just drop dead from exhaustion.

Just then, Zhai Jia walked in from outside. He was dressed in workout clothes with sweat on his forehead, obviously just back from a morning exercise session.

He immediately spotted Sun Beixi’s haggard state and walked over with a grin. ”Well now, what happened to Old Sun? Were you out stealing cattle last night?”

Sun Beixi just waved his hand, looking completely drained.

Zhai Jia sat down, grabbed a fried dough stick, and asked with his mouth full, ”What was that I heard about a female ghost? What’s going on?”

Sun Beixi’s face turned pale. ”Don’t even ask. I dreamt a female ghost was chasing me all night.”

”A female ghost?” Zhai Jia’s eyes lit up. ”Was she hot?”

Sun Beixi nearly choked on his soy milk.

”Hot?” He recalled that eyeless face and shuddered. ”Like hell she was! No, wait, she’s actually *from* hell!”

Zhai Jia roared with laughter. ”That just means you’ve got a guilty conscience and she’s come to collect.”

”What guilty conscience?!” Sun Beixi cried, looking miserable. ”I’m a good, law-abiding citizen!”

Zhai Jia patted his shoulder with the look of a seasoned veteran. ”There, there. Dreams are always the opposite of reality. Dreaming about a female ghost chasing you means you’re going to get lucky in love today. Trust me, I’m never wrong about this stuff.”

Sun Beixi gave him a complicated look.

After breakfast, Sun Beixi watched Wan Ze and Zhai Jia get into a car.

He knew Wan Ze was going to retrieve the coffin.

’I just don’t get why the Chief wants to keep that thing. Even if it’s some old antique, there’s no reason to bring it back, right?’

’Something like that is just bad juju.’

But he quickly pushed the thought aside.

’Whatever the Chief does must be right.’

Yawning over and over, he went to a nearby hostel and rented a room by the hour.

He was just too tired.

He flopped onto the bed and closed his eyes.

And then... he dreamed of the female ghost again.

White clothes, no eyes, holding a sword. She was standing right in front of him.

Sun Beixi froze for a second, and then he just snapped.

”Is this ever going to end?!”

He shot to his feet and pointed at the female ghost’s face. ”Come on! If you’ve got the guts, then strike me down!”

The female ghost raised her sword.

The sword fell.

”HOLY SHIT, THAT HURTS—!!!”

Sun Beixi clutched his shoulder, screaming. She had actually cut him!

”You’re actually doing it?!”

He turned and bolted!

The female ghost gave chase!

”GET AWAY FROM ME!!!”

”LADY IMMORTAL, I WAS WRONG!!!”

...

Sun Beixi’s eyes flew open, and he sat up, gasping for breath.

He was sitting up in bed, drenched in sweat, his heart pounding wildly.

”What the hell is going on?”

His voice trembled.

’Why does that ghost hag appear the second I close my eyes?’

Refusing to accept it, he lay back down and closed his eyes.

A dozen seconds later, he woke with a start, drenched in sweat.

He lay down again.

He woke up again.

He lay down again.

He woke up again.

Sun Beixi sat on the bed, his eyes bloodshot, his expression one of near-total collapse.

But he was so, so tired.

He yawned, his eyelids growing heavy. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep again.

Soon, his entire body began to tremble, as if he were desperately trying to wake up but was being held down by some mysterious force.

「Half an hour later.」

He lay collapsed on the bed, foaming at the mouth.

...

「In the forest.」

The shipping container was loaded onto a truck, and the transport team began the journey back.

Wan Ze sat in the passenger seat, watching the forest flash past the window.

Zhai Jia drove, glancing over at him from time to time. ”Are you really keeping that thing?”

Wan Ze nodded. ”I want to study it.”

He didn’t reveal his true purpose.

’There was an indescribable, subtle feeling when I was doing my Cultivation in that coffin, but I’m not sure if it was just my imagination.’

’Besides, telling someone about it would make them think I’ve lost my mind.’

Zhai Jia was about to say something else when Wan Ze’s communicator rang.

He answered it, and Sun Beixi’s wailing came through the speaker.

”CHIEF, SAVE ME!!! THAT FEMALE GHOST IS HAUNTING ME!!! THE MOMENT I CLOSE MY EYES, SHE’S ALL I CAN SEE!!!!”

Wan Ze froze.

Zhai Jia, who had overheard, was dumbstruck. His foot eased off the accelerator. He stammered, ”Is... is he for real? Is he actually possessed?”