"Do you have a grudge against Zhang Facai and Sister Su?" Long Xiaoshan asked.
Shen Yuerong shook her head, hesitated for a mont, and said, "What grudge could there be? I didn’t know him before I ca here. If there were any conflicts, it’s because his mine had several accidents, and I sent people several tis to demand rectification. Moreover, I nad him in criticism during the etings."
Long Xiaoshan slapped his thigh and said, "That’s exactly it; I thought it must be sothing like that!"
He spoke to the Evil Ghost, "Was it Zhang Facai who locked you on the Soul-Nourishing Wood?"
"No, it was a Taoist," said the Evil Ghost.
Long Xiaoshan’s brow furrowed. A Taoist— it seed that Zhang Facai had an accomplice.
And naturally, a rural nouveau riche couldn’t have such great abilities to control ghosts.
It appeared that without resolving the root of the problem, this matter wasn’t over. Besides, by disrupting the ghost’s spirit, he had undoubtedly offended that Taoist.
Long Xiaoshan spoke gravely, "Where is that Taoist now?"
"He is in the Lotus Temple in the village," the Evil Ghost said.
Shen Yuerong said, "I know of the Lotus Temple; it’s rumored to be efficacious. There’s an old Taoist there who usually appears kind and benevolent. I had no idea he would do such things. I’ll have the police arrest him right now."
Shen Yuerong’s face darkened.
Being hard in secret, she too was filled with rage.
"Sister Shen, do you think the police will be useful? You want to tell them that Zhang Facai instructed the old Taoist to drive out ghosts to harm you?"
Shen Yuerong froze, indeed, this was too far-fetched. Using this reason to arrest soone, aside from whether the higher-ups would believe it or not, it would only harm her official career—a township chief believing in such superstitious things like demons and gods.
"Sister Shen, you wait here; I’ll go to find that Taoist," Long Xiaoshan said.
"I’ll go too."
"Sister Shen, don’t. The Taoist definitely has so tricks up his sleeve. Your going will be of no use; I’m enough," he said.
Shen Yuerong sighed, acknowledging the truth in his words. Moreover, facing the ghost-controlling old Taoist, she felt rather uneasy, saying, "Xiaoshan, be careful. If it’s dangerous, leave right away."
"Don’t worry," he assured her.
Long Xiaoshan then said to the Evil Ghost, "Now, lead the way for ."
The Evil Ghost quickly got up, barely holding its form together. However, it was obviously much weaker; it seed Long Xiaoshan had dealt it a severe blow.
With it leading the way, Long Xiaoshan wound through the village and reached a small hilltop.
On the hilltop there was a small Taoist Temple.
"Immortal, that Taoist is in there," the Evil Ghost said tremblingly.
Long Xiaoshan nodded. Now deep into the night, there was no one around. He approached the temple stealthily, using the Spirit Eye to peer inside.
Indeed, in one of the rooms of the temple, there was a Taoist, around fifty or sixty years old, with three long beards, who really had the appearance of soone with Dao Bones.
To his surprise, in the bed of the old Taoist lay a woman.
She seed to still carry so charm; Long Xiaoshan spat in disgust.
This old Taoist indeed was no good.
Outwardly sanctimonious, but privately indulging in thievery and prostitution.
He approached the wall, leaped up with force, braced himself on the top of the wall, and flipped over.
Long Xiaoshan crept to the outside of the room. As it was sumr, the windows were not tightly shut. He picked up a stone from the ground, pried the window open, and threw it at the bed.
Crack!
The stone struck the woman right where her sleep acupoint was located.
"Who?" The old Taoist, very alert, heard the noise and sat up abruptly.
Long Xiaoshan climbed through the window and stepped into the room.
"Who are you?" the old Taoist, wearing only a pair of underwear, leaped from the bed and drew a magical sword from the head of the bed, glaring at Long Xiaoshan as he shouted.
Long Xiaoshan waved the paperweight in his hand and said, "Old Taoist, what do you say this is?"
Seeing the paperweight, the old Taoist’s face instantly changed.
It was his magic artifact for nourishing ghosts, and of course he recognized it. Now that soone had brought this thing to his doorstep, it was clear that a fellow practitioner had broken his thods.
He hadn’t expected that in such a remote backwater, there would be such a skilled person, and moreover, such a young lad.
To know that his magic artifact was no ordinary object, the ghost he nurtured had been fierce for so years, not easily suppressed by common ans.
After several shifts in his expression, the old Taoist’s eyes twinkled and he said with a smile, "So, a fellow practitioner has co to visit, the old Taoist offers his respects."
With that, the old Taoist clasped his hands together and bent at the waist.
As he bent over, a fierce light flashed in the old Taoist’s eyes, and suddenly he lunged with the magical sword from below, his movent swift, bringing a faint whistling through the air.
However, Long Xiaoshan had been very vigilant, and after breaking through the first level of Qi cultivation, his body’s reflexes had beco even quicker.
He dodged in a flash.
At the sa ti, Long Xiaoshan closed in and threw a punch.
The old Taoist had so decent swordsmanship, exchanging several rounds with Long Xiaoshan.
Obviously, Long Xiaoshan was young and strong, and with True Qi at his side, he struck the old Taoist’s hand and sent the sword flying.
The old Taoist was shocked; he had trained in martial arts, able to withstand a few robust n with ease.
He had not expected this young man not only to understand Daoist magic but also to be so formidable at hand-to-hand combat.
Seeing Long Xiaoshan pounce, the old Taoist quickly pinched a talisman and threw it out, shouting "Activate!"
Pfft!
The talisman transford into a fireball and hurled towards him.
Long Xiaoshan was startled, having never encountered such a situation; unable to dodge in ti, he could only strike forcefully with the Peach Wood Sword. A flash of white light, and with a bang, the Peach Wood Sword exploded, sparks flying in all directions.
The hand of Long Xiaoshan throbbed with pain.
Seeing that his Fire Talisman had not killed the young man, the old Taoist’s face was filled with alarm, and he scrambled toward the window, moving with agility that belied his age of fifty or sixty years.
Long Xiaoshan grabbed a small stool beside his foot and hurled it at the old Taoist.
The stool struck the old Taoist’s acupoint, trapping him in the window, unable to move.
A ghostly shadow rushed in from outside the window, plunging into the body of the old Taoist instantly.
The old Taoist began to scream.
Normally, the old Taoist could have subdued the ghost, but now that Long Xiaoshan had immobilized his acupoints, he couldn’t move. His face turned pale with shock as he shouted and struggled. After a while, the old Taoist’s face turned cyanotic, his mouth agape, eyes bulging, dying there with a stiff and horrified expression on his face.
A ghostly shadow rose from the old Taoist’s body and continuously bowed to Long Xiaoshan, saying, "Thank you, Immortal, for allowing to take my revenge."
"Forget it!"
Long Xiaoshan hadn’t intended to kill the old Taoist, but he had died like this.
And since this evil ghost had killed the old Taoist, it also indirectly cleared a potential threat for him. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to deal with the old Taoist, who couldn’t be apprehended by law, and letting him go would have ant worrying about him seeking revenge in secret, given his nature.
He dragged the old Taoist’s body over to the bed.
Long Xiaoshan’s Spirit Eye searched the room and discovered a hidden compartnt underground. He opened it and found so books, so on geomancy, so on crafting talismans, and others on Daoist magic.
Seeing these, Long Xiaoshan’s eyes lit up.
This old Taoist actually had so skill.
Ever since he started catching ghosts, he had taken great interest in this area; these materials were much better than the half-baked stuff found on the internet.
He quickly stuffed all the books into his jacket.
Then, he found a notebook. Opening it, he saw it was a ledger that recorded the old Taoist’s financial dealings. Long Xiaoshan’s eyes fell upon Zhang Facai’s na; it ntioned the money Zhang Facai had given the old Taoist, totaling nearly a million.
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