Chapter 754 - Knocking on the Door (2)
Knocking on the Door (2)
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Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Could it have something to do with the debate in the court?”
He could not help but guess.
That day, he packed up briefly and brought his two junior brothers and sisters to Shanyang County. With the support of the Divine Strider Talisman, the three of them arrived at the county city in only an hour.
Before they entered the city gate, they met the funeral procession. Paper money scattered on the road and fell with the wind. When they arrived in the city, what they saw was bleak and dilapidated. Other than the paper money floating on the street, there were only a few hurried pa.s.sers-by.
Half a year ago, Shanyang County was still very prosperous and lively. In just half a year, it had become as such.
Shen Ping stopped the pa.s.serby. Just as he asked a few questions, the pa.s.serby shook his head repeatedly and kept saying that he didn’t know. Seeing this, he could only bring his junior brothers and sisters towards the county office.
They arrived at the street of the county office and finally saw some liveliness.
“Constable Song.”
“Daoist Priest Ling Zhen, you’re finally here.”
When Constable Song saw Shen Ping and the other two, he quickly welcomed them into the county office as if he had found a life-saving straw. Then, he called for the constable to deliver good food and drinks. Without needing Shen Ping to ask, he told them about the situation in the county city.
“I don’t know what’s been going on in the past two to three months. People have been dying in the county one after another. I thought it was an ordinary murder case, but later on, I found out that it was haunted. And it’s not just one or two. These few days, it’s even more frequent. Even the Liu family in the county is in trouble, and the Liu family has a Daoist priest guarding them.”
Constable Song sighed. “If it was an ordinary case, we would have to solve it even if we had to risk our lives. However, we have no way to deal with evil spirits and ghosts. We can only ask Changling Temple. However, I heard from your Abbey Dean that Mount Daliang is not peaceful either. There are many demons. Now, the Daoist priest has finally arrived.
“Daoist Priest Ling Zhen, you must help our county office. The county magistrate is still in the Liu family and can’t welcome you personally.”
Shen Ping waved his hand. “It’s fine, Constable Song. Why don’t we go to the Liu family now?”
Constable Song was overjoyed. “Daoist Priest Ling Zhen, let me lead the way.”
The Liu family was a wealthy family in Shanyang County and could influence the decisions of the county magistrate. If something happened in the residence, it would definitely be more important than the other families. Shen Ping naturally understood the meaning behind Constable Song’s words.
“Senior Brother Ling Zhen, can you really exorcize ghosts?”
The beautiful junior sister behind him asked nervously. She and another disciple of the temple had just entered the sect not long ago and had only learned how to use ordinary talismans. If they encountered ghosts, they would also be helpless.
Shen Ping said casually, “It depends on the situation. It’s fine if it’s an ordinary ghost, but if it’s a stronger one, we should run faster.”
“Huh?”
His junior sister’s stunned look was quite adorable. It was just that she was too flat. The junior brother at the side did not even take a few more glances at her.
They went all the way to the Liu family. There was a white cloth hanging on the door of the residence. As soon as he entered the threshold, he heard a series of cries. It seemed that someone had just died in the house.
“It’s the third son of the Liu family’s master.” Constable Song said in a low voice and brought Shen Ping to the hall. “County Lord, Old Master Liu, Daoist Priest Ling Zhen of Changling Temple is here.”
When Old Master Liu, who was in grief, heard that it was Changling Temple, he hurriedly stood up and walked to Shen Ping. “Daoist Ling Zhen, you have to avenge my third son. Kill that evil spirit. No matter how much incense money it is, I will give it to you.”
It was obvious that Old Master Liu doted on his third son.
The county magistrate of Shanyang County also said, “Daoist Priest Ling Zhen, please exorcise ghosts and subdue demons as soon as possible and return peace to the people of Shanyang.”
Shen Ping hurriedly said, “County Lord, Old Master Liu, don’t worry. Ling Zhen will definitely do his best.”
At this moment, a Daoist priest in a Daoist robe walked out from the corner. He snorted coldly and said, “Why did the Changling Temple send three brats here? Do you think you three Daoist disciples can exorcise ghosts?”
He faced Old Master Liu and the county magistrate. “In my opinion, we should go to the prefecture capital as soon as possible and invite a Perfected Person over.”
Constable Song took a few steps forward. “Daoist Priest Ling Zhen once followed Daoist Priest Ling Wu to exorcise ghosts half a year ago.”
When Old Master Liu heard this, he said, “I trust Daoist Ling Zhen. As for going to the prefecture capital, well talk about it later.”
The Daoist priest could hear the dissatisfaction in Old Master Liu’s words, so he did not say anything else. He looked at Shen Ping and turned to leave the hall.
“Butler w.a.n.g, bring Daoist Ling Zhen and Constable Song to the room to rest. Then, tell Daoist Ling Zhen about the situation in the residence in detail.”
“Yes, my lord.” Butler w.a.n.g immediately made an inviting gesture. “Daoist Ling Zhen, Constable Song, please follow me.”
After arriving at the room, Butler w.a.n.g first asked the maidservant to serve tea and then said, “It’s like this. A few days ago, Third Young Master brought back a dancer who had yet to be served in the Yi Hong Courtyard. In the end, that dancer died that night. After Third Young Master got his servants to bury her, something happened.
“Priest Lin, who is in charge of the residence, personally fought with that evil spirit, but the outcome was not decided. The evil spirit has been coming every night for the past two days, disturbing the entire residence.”
After hearing this, Shen Ping asked, “In that case, that evil spirit was a dancer when it was alive?”
“Yes. According to Daoist Lin, that evil spirit is indeed a dancer brought back by Third Young Master. Daoist Ling Zhen, don’t be careless. Daoist Lin still has some ability, yet he can’t do anything to the evil spirit.”
Shen Ping nodded. He guessed that Butler w.a.n.g must be hiding something. Otherwise, even if a dancer who had just died had turned into a ghost, it was impossible for her to be so powerful. Just now in the hall, he had used his true spirit to check Daoist Lin’s cultivation. Although Daoist Lin’s cultivation was less than a hundred years, he still had fifty to sixty years of cultivation. It was not a problem for him to deal with ordinary ghosts.
“Daoist Ling Zhen, let me know if you need anything.”
After Butler w.a.n.g finished speaking, he left the servants in the residence and left.
On the other hand, Shen Ping began to use his magic power to create spell incantations, mainly fire incantations and lightning incantations. Ordinary Daoist priests with lower cultivation had to use special paper and ink to carry the spell incantations. If their cultivation exceeded 300 years, they could directly use their magic power to instantly condense the spell incantations.
In the past six months, he had relied on his devouring talent to cultivate every day. Up until now, he had only reached 200 years of cultivation.
The sky had just darkened when a woman’s cry sounded in the Liu residence.
“It’s here, the evil spirit is here!”
Old Master Liu and his concubines trembled in fear and hurriedly hid behind Shen Ping.
Constable Song and the others were also terrified. Only Daoist Lin sneered and crossed his arms, waiting to see the joke. He had fought with the evil spirit before and knew its strength very well.
Shen Ping calmly took out the spell incantation and formed a hand seal with the “Great Yin Talisman Sutra”. The runes on the spell incantation flickered and lit up. Then, they flew out quickly and landed above the lotus pond in the backyard of the residence.
“Lightning, Fire Spell Curse, suppress!”
Dozens of spells formed a hexagram, suppressing the invisible air.
Soon, a shrill scream came from below the spell. Then, a huge amount of Yin Qi burst out from the ghost’s body and instantly destroyed the spell.
“Stupid Daoist, you’re colluding with the Liu family. Die!”
The evil spirit transformed into a ferocious figure and charged towards Shen Ping. However, Shen Ping did not care. He turned around and stared at one of Old Master Liu’s concubines behind him. He said indifferently, “It has such strength in just a few days. Tell me, what power is behind you?”
The concubine had a bitter expression on her face. “Da-Daoist priest, what are you talking about?”
The talisman sword slashed down. The concubine’s expression changed drastically. With a bang, she transformed into a large lump of foul-smelling pus, but her body had already flown out.
Shen Ping casually threw out a few spells to suppress the hall. “Constable Song, protect Old Master Liu and the others. Don’t leave this hall.”
He left behind a sentence and followed closely behind and arrived outside the county in ten minutes.
“d.a.m.n Daoist, you’re quite bold to chase after me.” The ghost turned around with a charming face. She was only wearing a translucent gauze dress. Under the night wind, one could vaguely see her figure.
“A ghost that can condense a Yin body has at least a hundred years of cultivation. What’s your purpose in pretending to be a dancer to harm the Liu residence?” Shen Ping asked calmly.
The ghost smiled and said, “Naturally, it’s to lure out you, Daoist Priest Ling Zhen.”
“Oh, what do you mean by that?”
“Daoist Priest Ling Zhen, it seems like you have a bad memory. Half a year ago, you met Ghost Concubine’s maid, Chunxiang, right? She gave you the Blood Taisui..”