Philip's Appearance

Hearing Stein's words, I was so thrilled I nearly fainted. I never expected the first item to be valuable—even if I didn't use it myself, I could still make money reselling it!

But then Stein excitedly started juggling the Shark Bone Sword—only for it to snap moments later.

"What the hell? Shark bones can break?" I exclaimed.

"I barely touched it! Just a few simple sword flips!" Stein quickly defended himself.

At that moment, Antonio waved his phone in front of me. He had just looked it up—the real Shark Bone Sword was 1.9 meters long, its blade adorned with intricate patterns, currently enshrined in the Zhi Xuanfeng Temple at the White Pigeon Walled Ruins in Tongming Village, Mazhang District. In other words, the one in our hands was a fake.

Damn it. Got my hopes up for nothing. No wonder it broke so easily—turns out there was more than just junk in here.

We kept searching, but most were either useless dharma artifacts—worn-out relics that crumbled at a touch—or outright fakes. We found three counterfeits in total. Apparently, even the Li family wasn't infallible—they got duped too. Goes to show how murky this business could be.

Luckily, we still managed to salvage three barely functional inferior-grade dharma artifacts from the pile.

A Rusty Mortar and Pestle

Its lantern-shaped end had a three-pronged tip, but the pestle was badly rusted. The mortar fared slightly better, though still aged.

Its full name was the Vajra Pestle and Mortar, which came in wood, iron, or copper variants. Ours was iron—once rusted, its power diminished significantly. Still, better than nothing.

A Scratched Bagua Copper Mirror

Stein claimed this could force ghosts and monsters to reveal their true forms and even immobilize them.

But the mirror was so worn, our reflections barely showed. Whether it still worked remained to be tested.

A String of Buddha Beads (Missing a Few)

No idea if functional, but like the others, it was a low-tier dharma artifact.

If it worked at all, that'd be a win. The real worry was whether it had any power left.

Neither Stein nor I were experts in dharma artifacts, so we decided to take all three—just in case.

After hours of searching, only three possibly usable items emerged from the entire box. Guess treasure hunting relied on luck—you couldn't strike gold every time.

Before we knew it, evening fell. We packed our bags, ready to rest up before tomorrow's journey to Mount Zhongnan.

This trip was bound to be dangerous. I didn't know if we'd all return safely. I kept praying silently—if something happened to me, so be it, but my friends mustn't get hurt!

The night passed without dreams, and morning came quickly. After breakfast, we were about to leave when an unexpected visitor arrived—Philip.

When a thousand ghosts had surrounded the village house before, he'd saved my life. Both Stella and Luna had been introduced to me by him, in a way helping my business along.

As Raul Master's third disciple, his strength was undeniable—far surpassing Stella and Luna's. Yet after our last parting, we'd never met again. What brought him here so suddenly?

"Philip, long time no see. What brings you here?" I asked, surprised.

Philip glanced at our heavy bags but didn't question them, as if already knowing our destination.

"Master's orders. I'm to escort you to Mount Zhongnan," he said, his gaze settling on the little fox with unusual seriousness.

The fox shrank back fearfully, avoiding his eyes. She hid behind me, clutching my coat tightly, not daring to speak.

"Is Raul Master spying on me? How does he know where I'm going?" I frowned, more irritated than grateful for this "protection."

Raul Master clearly kept many secrets from me. He'd been guiding me covertly all this time, always aware of my whereabouts. It made me feel manipulated—like a pawn in his game.

For all his wisdom and virtue, I refused to be controlled by anyone—even for my own good.

"Master can divine many things. As for the details, I don't know. I'm just following orders," Philip replied. "Don't worry—he means you no harm. Only concern for your safety."

I smiled bitterly. I hope so. But I'd have to confront Raul Master over tea someday. He knew too much.

My father had warned me: those involved with the netherworld eyed our Tang family covetously. None were trustworthy—all craved our Ghost Soldier Tattoos and the secret of immortality hidden within. This suspicion made it hard to trust anyone until I uncovered the full truth.

Philip's presence did guarantee safer travels. Yet his hostile stare at the fox unsettled me.

"Master, look at him! Hmph!" The little fox pouted, scared but powerless. Against Stella she stood no chance—let alone Philip.

"Hey, ease up. She's a demon I tamed—does no harm," I interjected quickly.

Philip's expression darkened. "You keep a demon? That's unwise."

It's a long story, and I couldn't be bothered to explain it to him. Anyway, the little fox was completely harmless—nothing bad would happen—so I told him to rest easy.

Philip snorted coldly. "Won't harm people? Hmph, demons have demonic natures. They're just hiding it for now—like wild beasts that don't bare their fangs every second, but sooner or later, the truth will come out!"

Rather than arguing further or glaring at the little fox, Philip simply said he'd wait for us outside and told us to hurry up.

"Stuck-up..." The little fox stuck out her tongue as Philip left. But his words left me deep in thought—was it true that a demon's nature would inevitably surface someday?

Yet looking at the little fox's harmless face, I couldn't imagine her ever killing anyone. Maybe... back when she followed the three-tailed fox, she had been like that. But I would make sure to keep her in check—never letting her do evil.

Once we finished packing, our group—now four humans plus one demon—boarded a bus to Mount Zhongnan.

The journey was long and bumpy. I dozed off almost immediately, only to be trapped in a nightmare—visions of everyone drenched in blood, lying on the ground begging for help: Antonio, Stein, even the little fox. It was as if they were all about to die!