Chapter 239: First Time Being a Ghost, Lacking Experience

"Impulse is the devil," as the saying goes. And it perfectly described Xiao Li right now.

Niu Tianhu and his men drove off the government soldiers. He then rushed to his daughter, holding her and checking her from head to toe. Seeing her covered in blood, he was so frantic that tears welled up in his eyes.

"Jiahua! Daughter, say something! Say something to your dad!"

Xiao Li watched him with a blank expression, found a spot to sit down, and closed her eyes without a word.

Watching the man who had just led a group on a bloody rampage now scrunch up his face, his eyes brimming with tears as he stared at her, made Xiao Li feel worse than if she’d been slashed by a sword.

Xiao Li wanted to ignore him, but Niu Tianhu wouldn’t let her be.

"Jiahua, please talk! Why are you covered in blood?"

’Duh. How could I not be after killing so many people?’

"Jiahua, just answer me. What happened? Where are you hurt?"

His massive, bear-paw-like hands gripped her shoulders, and Xiao Li felt like she was about to be shaken apart.

’If he could actually shake me out of this body, that would be great. Right now, this is just pure torture.’

Xiao Li quickly cut him off. "I’m not badly hurt. Just bring me some medicine, and I’ll apply it myself."

Niu Tianhu’s eyes, wide as bronze bells, stared at her. "Where are you hurt?"

Xiao Li: "..."

Xiao Li could understand Niu Tianhu’s concern for his daughter, but with her soul inside this body, his overbearing affection was more than she could handle.

In the end, she showed Niu Tianhu her wound and let him apply the medicine.

Ugh. Watching him apply the medicine with his large hands, as delicately as if he were holding an embroidery needle, and seeing the pained expression on his face, as if he were feeling it more than her...

’What could Xiao Li say? The man was heartbroken for his own daughter. What right did she have to complain?’

After the wound was medicated and bandaged, Niu Tianhu stared at her for a long time before finally getting up to handle other matters. Even then, he kept looking back every few steps, terrified something would happen to her. He only left for good after a woman volunteered to watch over Xiao Li.

Three hundred government soldiers had come. Over seventy were dead, forty were captured, and the rest had fled.

The stronghold’s losses were even more severe. More than forty of their people were dead, seventy or eighty were seriously injured, and over a hundred had minor injuries.

Countless homes had been burned to the ground, and many possessions were lost.

If one were to ask why the government soldiers suffered more deaths than the people of the stronghold, the answer lay with the current "Niu Jiahua."

The dead were gathered in the center, the wounded were carried off for treatment, and others scrambled to put out fires and salvage their belongings.

Even in such a busy and sorrowful time, people couldn’t help but whisper about "Niu Jiahua."

They were survivors of a catastrophe, utterly shocked and filled with an almost reverent awe for her strength. "She just took her saber and cut a path, killing anyone she saw. No one could stop her. Those government soldiers... she killed forty or fifty of them by herself. Every strike was fatal, right to the neck."

Although they were common folk, this was a bandit stronghold. To seize supplies, they revered strength. Both men and women knew a bit of self-defense, but truly just a little.

Aside from the young men and Niu Tianhu’s group who often went out to fight and raid—and had truly seen blood and killed before—many in the stronghold had never even harmed another person, especially the girls.

Before today, Niu Jiahua had never killed anyone. Yet she had suddenly erupted, slaughtering so many government soldiers, fighting like a hundred men, and scaring the rest into retreat.

The scene had been utterly breathtaking.

"If it weren’t for her, we all would have died."

"How did Jiahua suddenly become so strong? It’s like she had divine help."

"I think she was pushed to her limit. Look, she can barely move now. It’s obviously from overexertion."

"But if only she’d acted sooner, then Granny wouldn’t have died..."

Letting their discussions swirl around her, Xiao Li sat perfectly still. She looked like she had fallen asleep from exhaustion, but in reality, she was trying to figure out how to leave.

She had no desire to be trapped in someone else’s body again.

Xiao Xuanyang had been her parallel-world self. Niu Jiahua was not.

Although having a body she could move was a good thing, she couldn’t accept the fact that she had taken over someone else’s.

"Um... excuse me... Who are you?"

A trembling voice echoed from within the body. Xiao Li’s eyes snapped open. "Niu Jiahua."

The voice gave a soft "Mm," then hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Thank you, Senior, for saving me and the people of the stronghold. May I ask who you are?"

Xiao Li: "A wandering ghost."

The person inside fell silent. Xiao Li added, "You figure out a way to push me out."

Niu Jiahua sounded puzzled. "Senior, you don’t want my body?"

Then, her voice dimmed. "I know I’m ugly..."

Xiao Li was speechless. ’What does this have to do with being pretty or ugly?’

"I only possessed you because I couldn’t stand watching those government soldiers assault women. Now that it’s over, it’s time for me to go."

That was the logic, but Niu Jiahua couldn’t help but feel that Xiao Li was disgusted with her.

Neither of them spoke again, which thoroughly frightened the woman who had stayed behind to watch over her.

’It’s over, it’s over. That girl Jiahua’s been possessed!’

Watching the woman run off, Xiao Li paused for a second. She hadn’t even noticed someone else was there. ’Not a big deal...’ my ass!

The moment Niu Tianhu heard his daughter was possessed, he immediately sent for the stronghold’s witch. The witch began chanting and dancing around "Niu Jiahua," and even tried to force her to drink talismanic water.

Xiao Li had no intention of drinking that. Annoyed, she thought, ’Niu Jiahua, if you don’t come out, I’m going to get physical.’

Niu Jiahua’s voice was panicked. "No, no, don’t! I’m trying to think of something! I... I don’t know what to do either..."

"Senior, aren’t you a ghost? You think of something!"

Xiao Li: ’First time being a ghost. Lacking experience.’

Niu Jiahua was about to cry. ’...Who could possibly have experience with this?!’

Just as the talismanic water was about to be poured down her throat, Xiao Li finally figured out the trick and abruptly pulled herself out.

Niu Jiahua’s eyes flew open, and a full bowl of talismanic water was poured straight into her mouth before she even had time to spit.

"WAAAH! It tastes awful! Dad..."

Hearing this, Niu Tianhu’s face broke into a wide grin. "Wonderful! It’s Jiahua! This is my Jiahua!"

Thinking Niu Jiahua was unaware of what happened, he quickly explained, "You were just possessed. Granny Liu helped you drive the evil thing away. It’s good you’re back to your senses. Quick, thank Granny Liu."

Niu Jiahua looked from Granny Liu to her father and said sullenly, "But Dad, the ’evil thing’ you’re talking about is the one who just saved us."

Niu Tianhu and Granny Liu looked at each other, speechless. "This..."

"Uh, Jiahua, you get some rest. Dad still has things to take care of, so you just rest well."

With that, Niu Tianhu left. Niu Jiahua sighed and lay back on the bed. She knew her father would never accept her point of view.

She was the one who had been restrained, the one who had been molested. She remembered the despair, rage, and disgust with perfect clarity. It was that ghost who had saved her.

And had killed so many government soldiers, saving so many people.

That’s why even though Xiao Li had said she was a ghost, Niu Jiahua wasn’t afraid of her.

In the stronghold, people were either busy setting up altars and mourning the dead, or repairing houses and gathering their belongings.

Xiao Li felt this group had absolutely no sense of crisis. "The government has already made its move, which means they obviously intend to eradicate this bandit stronghold," she mused aloud. "Now that so many soldiers are dead, they definitely won’t let this matter rest. I’m afraid another fierce battle is coming."

Niu Jiahua said with pleasant surprise, "Senior, you’re still here!"

Xiao Li, who was floating by a pillar, looked at Niu Jiahua on the bed in confusion. "You can still hear me speak?"

Niu Jiahua nodded eagerly. "Yes."

Xiao Li found it miraculous. ’But this is good. If someone can hear me, they should be able to help me out.’ However, the next sentence hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Senior Granny."

Xiao Li nearly fell off the pillar. "I’m not *that* old. You can just call me ’Big Sister.’"