Just as I was about to concentrate and take another two seconds to look, Mao You San climbed the last few steps, just blocking my view.
No more looking.
I had a vague guess about the old Daoist.
I just didn't know why Mao You San had driven out the Hunter Path's corpse.
Here, it's clearly safer, yet he insists on having us change locations for a conversation.
...
The four of them climbed into the car with Kan Ying.
I briefly explained to Kan Ying what had happened after she had fallen unconscious.
Kan Ying's face turned exceptionally pale, and her fists involuntarily tightened.
Kan Ying lowered her head and looked at the nightpot, her expression filled with a slight sense of gratitude.
But I'm not sure when old Gong didn't float in the nightpot anymore.
Actually, this seems a bit off.
In the past, Old Gong would always hang above the nightpot whenever there was a matter at hand, once it got dark.
Now, he doesn't even show up?
I pondered over it.
Could it be because of Mao You San?
After all, Mao You San is a Yin-Yang master, and Old Gong is a ghost that has consumed the soul of a Yin-Yang master.
I glance over at Mao You San, who is sitting at the back row, silent and staring with his little green eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
Kan Ying drove the car out of the commercial street.
The late night was exceptionally quiet, with almost no cars on the road.
I hadn't discussed with Kan Ying about where a quiet place might be.
For Jin Yang, Kan Ying knows him better than I do. In fact, there aren't many places for me to settle.
About half an hour later, the car turned into a street, and I was taken aback—it was actually Ping'an Li Avenue.
The ginkgo trees along the sides of the road, reflecting under the moonlight, looked incredibly lush.
Soon, the car stopped at the gate of my villa.
Since the very beginning, after I encountered the Skinless Ghost here, I hadn't come back here.
I didn't come back because Sun Zhuo and Sun Dahai might be keeping an eye on this place; it's not safe at all.
Nowadays, Sun Dahai is dead.
Sun Zhuo's situation now would not allow him to keep an eye on this place.
My villa is indeed rather quiet.
The group got off the car, and I led the way inside.
We entered the living room on the first floor, and everything looked the same, but the floor was covered in dust.
Without ghosts, there was no cleanliness, and everywhere felt dead and silent.
Mao You San scanned the area left and right, nodding thoughtfully.
The next second, he suddenly snapped his fingers!
Two talismans flew out of his sleeve in a shot!
One of them landed on Yu Xiuxiu's head.
A moment ago, Yu Xiuxiu seemed dumbfounded, but now she stood there, frozen in place...
The other talisman landed on Kan Ying's waist, and on the old nightpot!
My pupils shrank slightly, but my facial expression didn't change.
Kan Ying looked a bit unnatural and whispered, "I'll go outside?"
Mao You San rolled his small, green eyes. "What good would it do to go outside? Luo Xian Shen will still tell you what he should and shouldn't say."
I: "..."
Kan Ying looked a bit embarrassed.
Then, Mao You San stuck talismans in various places around the house.
He seemed much better.
The next second, Mao You San stunned everyone!
"To help me, you need to enter the Si Gu Shan and bring out Sun Zhuo's body."
Pausing, Mao You San continued, "The person was sold to me; the transaction is complete. He was taken from me, and I could not go to Si Gu Shan because of some special circumstances. If you enter and bring out his body, I will help you."
His words were obviously an explanation, but there were many parts of it that I didn't understand.
These words didn't have much information content. It would have made more sense to say them directly in his home.
Moreover, I originally thought that what he would help me with was to kill Sun Zhuo.
But this matter, he made me do it.
To have me bring out the body clearly meant that I was to be the one to kill.
Then, what exactly is he helping me with?
Heaving a big sigh, I said in a deep voice, "I said I wanted Sun Zhuo to die, and I can do this. However, is it easy to get into Si Gu Shan? It's probably not that easy to catch someone there."
I didn't directly ask Mao You San what he was helping me with; I asked the question in response to the issues he had mentioned.
Mao You San nodded and said, "Of course, it's not easy. As long as you follow what I say and go to a place, you'll be able to easily bring out Sun Zhuo's body."
My heart suddenly jumped, and I immediately asked Mao You San where it was.
Mao You San, however, fell silent and gave me a deep look.
This made me feel even more unnatural.
"You can't go there now," Mao You San said in a low voice.
I: "..."
Mao You San's cryptic statement made me unsure how to respond for a moment.
Even Kan Ying looked bewildered.
"You're not even yourself anymore, how can you do anything? You're almost dead and still don't realize it."
Mao You San's next words made my face turn pale and I looked at him with shocked and uncertain eyes!
Kan Ying's face looked extremely anxious, her fists tightly clenched, and she watched Mao You San.
Sweat beads started to form on my forehead. Mao You San still looked at me deeply, and then he said, "Qin Wai, haven't you been told that you can't use the earth qi?"
My heart skipped a beat, and more sweat beaded on my forehead.
Mao You San pondered for a moment before revealing a thoughtful expression, "Apparently, I did mention it, and it seems he's not really after a flesh-devouring ghost. As your disciple, he still needs you."
I only felt that my heart was trembling and unsettled.
It seemed as if Mao You San was revealing a shocking secret...
I don't know about this secret, but Old Qin might know something...
Mao You San should have realized it completely...
"You, are not alive."
"You, are not even a dead person," Mao You San said again. His words made me even more bewildered and at a loss.
Because I felt even more confused about what he was trying to express.
"Do you know what 'earth qi plague' is?" Mao You San looked at me deeply and asked again.
I remained silent and shook my head.
Mao You San took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "The earth qi plague, though it originates from the ground, is not of yin energy, nor is it any form of yin-yang qi."
"The yin-yang qi, transformed into wind, produces clouds, brings forth rain, and circulates through the earth to give life!"
"Earth qi can be considered as life force, but it is a life force that has borne countless grievances. The grievances come from souls who have died unjustly, wrongly, and from various deaths caused by unwillingness."
My heart tightened slightly as I realized that Mao You San was explaining what earth qi is to me.
It seems like the earth qi plague is all the negative emotions and vitality of all the dead people? Negative vitality?
But before I could speak, Mao You San said again, "This abnormal vitality formed earth qi is everywhere. Everything has a spirit. Earth qi itself comes from the condensation of resentment. Naturally, it also has one, which is the plague ghost."
"The formation of the plague ghost is due to that region being extremely dirty and witnessing a massive tragedy."
"You, being a person who was to die, by some twist of fate, became the host for the plague ghost when it climbed out of the ground."
"But your master is not inferior in skill. He managed to seal off the earth qi, leaving only a small portion in you, which formed an abnormal kind of fate called the plague fate! You became a person who is neither dead nor alive, and you grew up."
"He found a spirit's life to balance this fate, and he subjugated it."
"Only in extremely special times, the earth qi will burst through your plague fate."
"There is a plague ghost in the earth qi, watching you every second!"
"In his eyes, you are just a body. When the talismans on your body become weaker and the earth qi appears more frequently, he can easily devour you!"
"You're not you anymore. All of you has become the wedding dress for the plague ghost!"
