A master of metaphysics is farming.

As we walked towards the mountains on the outskirts of the city, it started to rain halfway up the mountain, and the raindrops on the wild grass soaked our trouser legs.

Holding a large umbrella, they walked to the top of the mountain, where the ram's white coat was revealed. There was nothing beside him as he turned his back to Xiang He and gazed at the distant mountains.

"I would be grateful if you could come here, Daoist Master."

The voice was ethereal, calm, and very peaceful.

Xiang He stepped to his side and looked into the distance together, but it was mostly dark and they couldn't see anything at all.

"No trouble at all, but is there anything I can help you with?"

"Master, can you smell anything?"

Xiang He twitched her nose a few times and raised her hand to cover it. "It smells like blood. This is where the master and the others fought last time. It seems there were quite a few dead and injured."

"Please take a look, Taoist priest."

Xiang He rubbed his slightly blurry eyes and looked in the direction the man was pointing. Below, in the deep ravine, there were a few wisps of black, yin energy, not heavy, but dense.

"Buried underground?"

“Hmm,” Shan Di flicked his sleeve, “He was fine a few days ago, but suddenly became resentful tonight. I would appreciate it if you could send him off, so as not to disturb the spirits in the mountains.”

These vengeful spirits are those who died in the fight that night. It is likely that Xing Ji and the other person buried them here, thus preventing these dead bodies from being left to rot in the wilderness.

Xiang He bent down and peered down, where wisps of eerie energy swirled within the mist. "Can't you drive them away?"

“No.” Shan Di turned his head slightly to look at her. “The mountain encompasses everything, even the dead.”

Xiang He understood his meaning; he simply wanted to appease these vengeful spirits and prevent them from growing increasingly resentful and harming the spiritual beings in the mountains.

"Okay, let me try."

She straightened up and twirled the umbrella handle in her hand. As the large umbrella slowly turned, raindrops sprinkled out.

His right hand formed a mudra in front of him, his eyes gazing downwards with a haughty air. "The sky is clear and the Qi is pure; the three lights shine brightly; dark clouds and purple canopies illuminate my body: lonely souls, heed my command; rest in peace..."

A clear voice rang out, and moonlight shone on the large umbrella, creating shimmering halos.

The lingering yin energy below suddenly stopped, but after a moment it began to surge again, rushing straight towards He like a sharp blade.

The not-so-large amount of yin energy surged up, directly in front of He and then flowed behind him.

As Xiang He and Shan Di turned around, the swirling, gloomy aura, like mist and smoke, lingered for a long time.

This puzzled Xiang He. She lowered her hand from the seal and tilted the large umbrella backward. "What is it?"

The swirling mist before them did not dissipate, but then it lowered slightly. The mountain ram swept it away with a flick of its sleeve, and the swirling yin energy disappeared, transforming back to its former appearance, all kneeling on one knee on the ground.

Xiang He shuddered and quickly took a few steps to the side, "Why are you kneeling like that...?"

There were four ghosts kneeling on the ground, all dressed in black, just like the black-clad men who had been released that night. They were indeed the assassins who had been killed that night.

The four ghosts lowered their heads and remained silent. Xiang He bent down to look at his face and saw that their eyes were dark and lifeless, their faces were dull, and they were completely out of it.

Seeing her worried expression, Shan Di twirled a strand of hair between his fingers and smoothed it down. "Daoist Master, these people were trained as assassins before they died, and they have no independent consciousness after death. Perhaps they received orders after hearing your incantation?"

"Huh? This is because they've been indoctrinated with too many commands of obedience, and even as ghosts they still follow them..." Xiang He blinked her innocent big eyes, "I'd better call the underworld officials..."

"Master...we don't want to leave yet..."

Her fingers stopped abruptly, and she stared thoughtfully at the ghost speaking before her. "Why?"

A ghost looked up at her with empty eyes, "No relatives, no joy in life, and indifferent to death?"

This rhetorical question stunned Xiang He and Shan Di. They were taken aback by his words: if one obeys orders while alive, there is no joy in death, and one's life in vain...

It turns out that even assassins have greed, anger, and ignorance, and they still have obsessions.

Seeing their blank expressions, Xiang He smiled and narrowed her eyes, looking at the six ghosts in front of her, "Stand up."

Sure enough, the four ghosts immediately stood up straight.

Seeing this, Xiang He grinned from ear to ear. Shan Di immediately saw through her thoughts and said with a helpless smile, "It's fine to drive them for now, but it would be better for you to let them leave."

"Stay with me for now. I'll be heading to the capital soon, and who knows what might happen? Keeping them here to do my bidding is a good way to survive."

He Sui'an is being hunted down every day, so she'll be traveling with him. If they encounter any unexpected situations, she'll have an unseen helper to lend a hand.

"It's best for the Taoist priest to use it sparingly, since it's the result of killing and carries too much malevolence."

Xiang He nodded vigorously, "The mountain god is right. I won't use it often, so I'll just keep it with me just in case."

Seeing that she had made up her mind, Shan Di didn't say anything more.

Xiang He looked at the large umbrella in his hand, pointed to the next rib, bit his fingertip and wrote a talisman on the rib, forming a single character.

She raised the umbrella high, her right middle finger extended and her index finger clasped together, declaring, "I give the order, and the four demons obey."

The four ghosts knelt down on one knee in unison, "We obey your command!"

"I am Xiang He, the thirteenth generation disciple of Shanqing Temple. I hereby make a pact with you four ghosts: follow me closely and obey my orders. Those who disobey will have their souls destroyed, and those who defy me will have their spirits scattered."

"We obey your command with our souls and keep our promise with our spirits."

Upon hearing the agreement, Xiang He's lips curled slightly. "Blood oath."

The four ghosts immediately slashed their wrists with their fingertips, drawing out black, yin blood. Xiang He closed her eyes slightly and pointed her two fingers forward. As her lips and teeth moved slightly, the blood of the four ghosts gradually condensed in front of her fingertips.

When she opened her eyes again, the blood clot on her fingertip shimmered slightly. "What are your names?"

"No name or surname."

Xiang He lowered his gaze and moved his finger to the lower half of the umbrella ribs he had just written. “You are named Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, which refer to the seasons of heaven and earth.”

"Yes!"

Xiang He touched the umbrella rib with the blood clot in his hand, and with a quick movement of his fingertips, wrote down the names of the four people.

One of the umbrella ribs gleamed, and Xiang He closed the umbrella, draping the handle over her shoulder. "That's enough, you guys go have fun."

Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter were all stunned. The giant ghost in front of them looked at them with confusion. "Daoist, Daoist Master, can we go anywhere?"

Xiang He smiled gently, "Da Chun, it's very peaceful right now. It's not time to use you guys yet. Just go for a stroll and don't show yourselves and scare people."

Da Chun, who had just been given a name, was stunned again. "Rest assured, Daoist Master?"

"Why are you worried? You had the chance to kill your people, but you appeared in front of me instead, which means you didn't have a strong desire to kill, so I won't interfere."

The four ghosts were stunned for a moment, and only when Xiang He turned away and stopped looking at them did they disappear and hide.

Looking at the four ghosts hiding in the shadows, Shan Di smiled and said, "Daoist Master is indeed different from ordinary people, so he is so at ease letting these ghosts roam freely."

"We can't just keep them confined, can we? That would only fuel their resentment. It's better to let them roam free."

"What the Taoist priest said makes sense."

Xiang He was still turning the umbrella handle in her hand. A cold breeze rustled through the night, and Xiang He shivered. She turned and walked down the mountain.

"Mountain God, I will keep a close eye on the spirit you are looking for. I hope you will continue to protect this place as always."

"nature."