Chapter 153: Sable

"Why live in a place like this?" I asked as the two of us walked through the dark alleyway.

"Because it's cheap, and it's very close to the bar where I sing," An Mo replied.

"You don't strike me as someone hard up for money."

"Right. If I wanted to sleep with people for cash, money wouldn't be an issue at all. Is that what you're thinking?" An Mo asked with a hint of self-mockery.

I chuckled and kept quiet.

"I only sleep with people I like. No charge," she said.

We arrived at An Mo's place. While the exterior was messy and neglected, the interior was decorated in a cozy, distinctly feminine style.

"Have a seat. I'm going to take a shower." An Mo hooked a finger under my chin, turned with a bewitching grace, grabbed her pajamas, and stepped into the bathroom.

I lit a cigarette and glanced around the room, my gaze finally settling on a rather peculiar Buddha statue on the desk.

Standing about a foot tall, the statue was exquisitely carved. A Buddha sat cross-legged, but seated astride his lap was a woman with her legs spread wide, locked in a passionate embrace.

"A Joy Buddha. Fascinating," I muttered to myself.

Moments later, An Mo emerged from the bathroom, clad in a semi-transparent nightgown.

She glided lightly to my side, looped her arms around my neck, and looked at me with hazy, alluring eyes.

At that exact moment, a puff of pink vapor suddenly drifted out from the Joy Buddha statue.

A sweet, intoxicating scent hit my nostrils, and my eyes rolled shut as I collapsed heavily onto the large bed.

Instantly, a figure materialized from within the Joy Buddha, transforming into the naked apparition of a woman.

"Xianxian, please don't hurt him, okay?" An Mo asked, her expression conflicted.

The female spirit looked at An Mo and said, "Sister, why would I hurt him? I practice authentic Joyful Buddhism. It will only benefit him, never harm him."

With that, the spirit looked down at me and gasped in delight, "Sister, you've really found a supreme treasure this time. Look at how potent his vital male essence is!"

The spirit lunged toward me with impatient eagerness. But right then, my eyes snapped open, and I struck out with a sealing incantation.

The female spirit let out a miserable shriek and was sent flying backward by the force.

"You... how did you..." An Mo stammered, utterly shocked.

"So, just a female ghost preying on men's vital essence," I said indifferently.

"No! Xianxian practices authentic Tibetan Joyful Buddhism. It won't harm you at all!" An Mo hurried to explain.

I laughed out loud. "If this female ghost hadn't absorbed a shred of genuine Buddhist intent, she would have scattered into nothingness long ago. While the orthodox Joyful Sect does use sexual union as a form of cultivation, it fundamentally relies on the harmonization of yin and yang. This ghost, however, exclusively feeds on a man's vital essence. Anyone she drains will inevitably die a violent death within a year."

"No... that's not true! She's my sister. She wouldn't lie to me!" An Mo cried out, still refusing to believe it.

Right at that moment, the female ghost suddenly lunged forward amidst a swirl of eerie, chilling wind. Screaming, she clawed at me with ghostly talons.

I raised a hand, and a talisman shot forward like a lightning bolt, slapping squarely against the female ghost's chest. She let out a piercing wail as her ethereal body began to twist and contort.

"Spare me, Master! I was wrong! I won't hurt people anymore..." the female ghost shrieked, begging for mercy.

"Xianxian, you've been lying to me all along. Why?" Her face instantly draining of color, An Mo finally understood the harsh truth.

"Sister, save me! I was forced into this! If I don't feed on men's vital essence, my soul will scatter!" the ghost wailed tearfully.

With a flick of my finger, the talisman transformed into a soul-binding chain, locking the female ghost tightly in place.

"Speak. How did you get mixed up with the Joyful Sect?" I demanded coldly.

Terrified, the female ghost confessed everything.

Her name was An Xianxian, and she and An Mo were biological sisters from a poor mountain village in Wudong.

Ten years ago, the two sisters had left home to find work.

While An Mo was willing to endure hardship, An Xianxian quickly lost herself in the glittering vices of the city. The sisters parted ways, each taking a different path.

Unable to resist temptation, An Xianxian had joined a secret society called the Joyful Assembly, mingling night and day with men.

Because of her aptitude, she caught the eye of a lama belonging to the Joyful Sect, who made her his cauldron-consort. Through him, she gained access to the secret techniques of the Joyful Sect and began practicing in secret.

Good times never lasted, however. One day, the lama was gravely injured. To heal his wounds, he completely drained her of her life force. Sustaining her drifting spirit with crude techniques, she managed to hide inside a Joyful Buddha statue.

After hiding and cultivating within it for two years, she finally gained enough power to escape. She tracked down her older sister, An Mo, and exploited her trust to lure men to the apartment so she could drain their vital essence for her cultivation.

"Where is that lama now?" I asked.

"I only know he used to be registered at the Golden Summit Temple in Huaishui. I have no idea where he is now," An Xianxian trembled as she spoke.

"Master, please spare me! I promise I'll never harm anyone again!" Seeing the murderous intent in my eyes, An Xianxian wailed in desperate supplication.

"Spare you? Then why didn't you spare the men whose vital essence you drained dry?" I sneered. Raising my hand, I unleashed a surge of spiritual energy that instantly obliterated An Xianxian's soul into oblivion.

An Mo let out a piercing scream, tears streaming down her face as she collapsed limply onto the floor.

I walked toward the door, but after a few paces, I suddenly stopped. Turning around, I walked back to the desk and stared at the broken pieces of the Joyful Buddha statue.

With a light sweep of my hand, I shattered the remnants completely, revealing a folded object hidden inside.

My gaze sharpened. I picked it up and unfolded it. My breathing grew heavy. It was a map fragment—the exact same map from the one I had found inside my parents' photograph frame, though this piece was somewhat larger.

"The Joyful Sect..." I murmured to myself.

I glanced back at An Mo, let out a soft sigh, and turned to leave.

The next day, I made a trip to the Golden Summit Temple, only to be told that the lama had already left, rumored to have gone to cultivate in the Wolong Mountain Range.

...

Outside Shuanglin Town, beneath an ancient locust tree, I built a campfire and roasted a wild pheasant.

Throughout this journey, I had traveled entirely on foot, maintaining the persona of a wandering physician.

Perhaps, for me, this was also a form of cultivation—one that at least allowed my restless heart to find some measure of peace.

Once the chicken was roasted, I tore off a leg and began to eat.

Just then, I looked up and spotted a small creature with purple fur darting through the grass not far away. A faint scent of blood drifted from it.

"A sable? That's a rare breed," I thought to myself. Breaking off a small piece of chicken, I dangled it and beckoned to the little creature.

It crept out slowly, and I noticed several bleeding wounds on its body.

It was weak, injured, and starving.

When it reached a spot about three meters away from me, it stopped, refusing to advance any further.

I tossed the piece of chicken over. The little creature instantly caught it in its mouth and began to devour it ravenously.

Yet, after eating only half, the little creature suddenly swayed as wisps of faint black Qi enveloped its body.

It turned as if to flee, but collapsed onto the ground with a thud, its round eyes half-open as it fought desperately to stay conscious.

"Poisoned?" I walked over and picked the little creature up.

"It's snake venom. Aren't sables supposed to be immune to snakes? You're really bringing shame to your entire species," I remarked.

The little creature seemed to understand me, glaring up at me with resentful, weak eyes.

"Oh? You understood that? Are you about to become a spirit too? Fine, heaven loves all living things; I'll help you detox." With that, I began examining the little creature.

Rolling it onto its back, I chuckled, "Ah, it's a female sable. Behave yourself. Wait, it looks like you swallowed something you shouldn't have."

I pressed gently on the sable's belly, and instantly, a fiery red bead popped out of its mouth.

I picked up the bead and examined it. It radiated an unusual aura, though I couldn't quite pinpoint what made it special.

Pocketing the bead, I cleansed the sable of its poison and tended to its wounds.

Only then did I notice that it had passed out completely.

Early the next morning, when I opened my eyes, I found the sable standing on its hind legs right in front of me, letting out a series of frantic squeaks.

"Sorry, I don't speak beast language. Little guy, go wherever you want. Just don't get caught by anyone else—they won't be as kind as I am," I said, hoisting my medicine chest with its fluttering banner onto my back as I walked toward the town.

"Squeak!"

The sable shot forward, landing squarely on my shoulder, and resumed chattering anxiously into my ear.

I grabbed it by the scruff, tapped it lightly on the forehead, and said, "Quiet. If you want to follow me, fine; if you want to leave, go whenever you want. Make another sound, and I'll roast you too."

The sable shrank back, plopped its rump down on my shoulder, and crossed its front paws, looking thoroughly aggrieved.