Chapter 230: Real or Fake

Zhang Yun couldn’t help but protest. “You don’t even know what you lost, but you’re still pinning it on me?”

“I followed them last night and confirmed that none of them had my belongings. You were the only one who got away. And tonight… I’m certain that you have what’s mine!”

The Female Ghost was extremely certain. Judging from her tone, she didn’t seem to be making things up out of thin air.

Zhang Yun pondered for a moment. When she said he got away last night, she must be referring to when he entered his Personal Space at Old Tomb Ridge. Did the Female Ghost follow them to the wooden cabin afterward?

He had rushed over at dawn. Why didn’t she spot him then? Why wait until tonight to find him at Zhang Long’s house?

If it was because she was a ghost and didn’t dare to linger after daybreak, that made sense. But how did she know where Zhang Long and the others lived?

Since it was impossible to explain, Zhang Yun couldn’t be bothered to overthink it. He simply strode toward the large tree.

“I don’t care if you’re telling the truth or not. If you think I have your things, then come and get them!”

Zhang Yun appeared calm and composed, but he secretly felt a bit of regret. If he had known, he would have prepared a Weapon. Using a gun was inconvenient, but bringing out the Blood Demon Blade would have been nice.

The dozen-meter gap between them just now had been a psychologically safe distance for both sides. The moment he stepped forward, he shattered that harmony. The Female Ghost in the tree was visibly on edge.

“I know!” Zhang Yun suddenly shouted.

“You know?” The Female Ghost was somewhat surprised, but her interest was clearly piqued.

“That’s right! I know what you want from me!” Zhang Yun continued walking as he spoke. A dozen meters could be covered quickly. He wanted to lower her guard and get close enough to see if she was a real ghost.

“You’re a ghost. What else could you possibly want? Buried gold, silver, and treasures are worthless to you. You can only appear at night and have to hide during the day—that means your Cultivation isn’t high enough! Therefore, what you want is to absorb the Yang Qi of masculine men like us!

“I’m guessing you have a quota for absorbing Yang Qi, or maybe you need time to hibernate and digest it. That means you have to pick the most suitable target. Those guys definitely aren’t as masculine and robust as I am, which is why you came looking for me…”

Zhang Yun spoke with an air of confidence, making his wild theory sound completely logical. He successfully captured her attention and arrived at the base of the large tree.

He had originally planned to launch a sneak attack, but things got awkward once he reached the tree.

The Female Ghost in white was perched on a branch several meters above the ground. He had no idea how she had leaped up there so effortlessly. At the very least… Zhang Yun couldn’t do it.

He certainly knew how to climb trees, but if he were to huff and puff his way up, would it even count as a sneak attack anymore?

Trying to ambush someone while they looked down at him slowly climbing up would just be embarrassing.

Zhang Yun coughed dryly and was forced to change his strategy. “Ms. Female Ghost, why don’t you come down and chat? You see, I’m not even afraid of ghosts. Could it be that you’re afraid of humans?”

The Female Ghost stared down at him without a word, seemingly hesitating over whether she should retreat into the mountains.

Seeing her reaction, Zhang Yun relaxed. “Come on! Come down! Don’t worry, I’m just a normal guy with normal preferences. I caught a massive cobra during the day, and I didn’t try to be Xu Xian. Even if you’re Xiaoqian, I have no intention of being Ning Caichen.”

Sleeping with a snake or a ghost? Just thinking about it gave him the creeps.

“If you were really here to suck my Yang Qi, you should have waited until the dead of night when I was asleep. Since you came straight to me, you must want to resolve a problem. There’s no one else here…”

Persuaded by Zhang Yun’s words, the Female Ghost finally relented and drifted down from the branch.

Her descent was graceful, giving her the ethereal vibe of a fox spirit. However, only one thought crossed Zhang Yun’s mind: Should he kick her to the ground before she even landed?

As she dropped from the tree, Zhang Yun finally got a clear look at her. The reason she looked like a white specter was indeed because she was dressed entirely in white. But it wasn’t a traditional flowing gown. It looked more like… a white tracksuit?

Exactly! She wasn’t even wearing cloth boots, but a pair of white sneakers.

If she were a Female Ghost, then he’d be damned!

Zhang Yun grew increasingly convinced that she was a person playing dress-up!

However, as he studied her, he couldn’t glean any more details. The Female Ghost was wearing a mask.

“Look… since you’re pretending to be a Female Ghost, wearing a half-face fox mask would have been fine. A No-Face mask is just too out of place. Also, if you want to play the part, at least buy a cheap traditional Hanfu. If you want to be beautiful, get a Xiaoqian replica. If you want to be scary, go for the Chu Renmei look…”

Zhang Yun looked her up and down, shaking his head as he continued his critique. “This tracksuit and sneakers combo practically screams ‘modern person pretending to be a ghost.’ No wonder you wouldn’t let me get close earlier—you were afraid I’d see right through your disguise. But it’s too late now. Looking at you like this, I couldn’t be scared even if I tried…”

“Oh? What about this…”

The Female Ghost’s voice remained cold and detached, but she suddenly shot out a hand, aiming straight for Zhang Yun’s throat.

Zhang Yun reacted swiftly, stepping back just enough to dodge the sneak attack. However, the hand suspended in front of him didn’t retract, revealing fingernails that were at least two inches long!

“Hah, that manicure must be hard to maintain.”

The Female Ghost, however, spoke in an eerie tone. “My clothes rotted away. I don’t appear during the day out of a sense of shame. I took these clothes and shoes from your village at night. The mask belonged to some child as well.”

She pulled her hand back, inspecting her nails in the darkness. “It’s been hundreds of years since I last clipped them. They’ve grown so long…”

“Don’t try to scare me!” Zhang Yun declared loudly. “You’re just a person in a costume!”

Even so, he couldn’t help but glance at the ground. Legend had it that ghosts didn’t have a Shadow… but given the dark night and the shade of the tree, there was no Shadow to be seen in the first place!

Her attire couldn’t possibly belong to a ghost, but her explanation actually made sense. If her original clothes had rotted away and she had stolen a temporary set from the village at night, of course she would be wearing modern clothes!

Compared to other dresses and pants, a tracksuit was indeed the most forgiving on different body types.

“If it makes you feel better, you can just treat me as a human,” the Female Ghost said, staring intently at Zhang Yun through her mask. “What did you steal!”

Being stared at through a No-Face mask made Zhang Yun feel deeply uncomfortable, but by this point, he had already formulated a rough guess!

He hadn’t stolen an ordinary item. The thing that made this Female Ghost chase after him, yet remain unable to clearly articulate, was the Spiritual Qi from the coffin!

If her clothes had rotted away, how could her nails still grow? This wasn’t necessarily a Female Ghost, nor was she necessarily from centuries ago. Perhaps she was someone who had spent decades cultivating a certain Secret Technique, hiding inside a coffin and retreating underground for secluded meditation!

Whether it was the coffin itself or something inside it that provided so much Energy, the person meditating inside would have definitely noticed when Zhang Yun drained it completely. And they would be furious!

However, Zhang Yun’s method was something this Female Ghost couldn’t comprehend. That was why she assumed he had stolen a physical object, leading to the destruction of the Array, issues with the coffin, and so on.

“If you don’t tell me, I really won’t know what you’re referring to.” Zhang Yun shook his head, trying to bait more information out of her. “By the way, those two-inch nails of yours look pretty cool, but how do you wipe after going to the toilet?”