Right on this street was a night market, full of chatter and bustle. The incident drew a crowd, who gathered around, pointing and gawking at the spectacle.
The old man slumped at the door, sobbing uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face.
There were also some people who knew about it chatting with the onlookers, saying quite a lot of things.
The old man used to come from the village. Back then, he married a beautiful woman and had three children, and life was quite good. However, he never took care of his own mother. He didn't even give her any money for living expenses and didn't even visit her once.
When the old man was young, he used to say to people that when people get old, they should just lie in a grave and die. Who wants to take care of old farts or old women? Dying early is better. It's a blessing to the children.
In the end, he couldn't earn any money. Not only did his wife run off with someone else, but his grown children also left him penniless and eager for him to die soon.
The son of a heartless person is also heartless. How the old man treated his own mother is exactly how his son treated him!
Poorly deserved!
Their actions already ignited a silent fury within me, urging me to take action for retribution.
However, the words of others made me realize that this old man had indeed been heartless all his life.
Yes, that old woman had lived a life of constant loneliness and reliance. Now that she's dead, she's become an emotional ghost, with her only obsession being her son, who won't even return to see her.
He deserved to end up like that, didn't he?
As the argument escalated, when they saw the crowd growing, the three brothers only cursed the old man's bad luck and then dispersed.
The old man staggered to his feet, entered the house, and closed the wooden door.
I did not go forward to help.
There are some people who are heartless and willing to live a life of suffering.
The old man falls into this category.
Until the very last moment, even when Death claimed him, he would still struggle to survive.
Leaving Yijiang Avenue, I walked along the riverbank, stopping at a secluded place with no one around. Using the Yin Mountain bamboo paper stained with the old man's eyebrow blood, I folded a paper person the size of my palm as a form of farewell to the old woman.
Looking at the pitch-black river surface, my thoughts became somewhat chaotic for a moment.
In a blink, it had been more than half a year since I first returned to Jindie.
From avenging Tang Qianqian, to now, with my connection to Youyang Ju, and with my parents' matters taking shape, my own destiny is intertwined with mine. Given enough time, everything will unfold as I wish.
Fate has spurned me, has spurned the Luo family, but it has at least cast a slightly longer glance my way.
As I was about to return to Huāyíng's home, I suddenly felt a sense of unease. There was an unobtrusive sense of following in the shadows.
Xu's family?
Ghost Shrine?
I immediately became extremely vigilant, planning to head towards a street with more people.
In the past, I would think that a quiet, deserted place was better. But now I understand that a crowded, noisy place is safer. There are rules in both bright and dark places. Even Ghost Shrines dare not act too arrogantly in the midst of ordinary people, especially not in broad daylight.
As I was about to step out, a slender figure appeared in front of me, blocking my way.
Wearing a white Daoist robe and with long hair flowing down her shoulders, it was indeed Shi Yan!
I had never expected that the guardians of the Taoist hall had followed me.
As Shi Yan was the guardian of the Taoist hall, it should be Mingjing True Person and Sun Zhuo. But why is it Shi Yan who has come instead?
What are they planning to do?
Or is Shi Yan following the instructions of Mingjing True Person?
Because she has somewhat dealt with me before, and they are using her to make me let my guard down?
I looked at Shi Yan with extreme vigilance, but she looked at me with a complex gaze.
Previously, she often appeared indifferent, quite different from her current demeanor.
"Kan Senior Apprentice wants to see you," Shi Yan said, her voice slightly weary. Her demeanor was similarly weary.
My pupils contracted slightly.
Han Qun wants to see me?
This is even more unsettling. Han Qun should have been sent to be reborn by now!
I said nothing and took a step back.
Shi Yan furrowed her brow and took a step forward.
"Shi Yan Dao Master, let me go. There are many reasons for this, without having to use Han Brother. He should have moved on long ago." I said in a low voice.
Shi Yan's demeanor became even more weary, and her gaze held a trace of daze.
"Yes, he should have moved on long ago, but he hasn't. He wants to see you."
"He can't tell his senior apprentice yet," Shi Yan said again.
My eyebrows knitted together, and for a moment, there were more doubts in my eyes.
There was always some sort of interaction between Han Qun and me. Among the guards of the Taoist hall, everyone might have something fishy going on, except for the two people who are fine.
Han Qun, Han Zaozi.
Right in front of me, Shi Yan said that Han Qun wants to see me and wants to avoid Han Zaozi.
Then why doesn't Han Qun come himself?
My suspicion of Shi Yan grew even more, and I dared not believe a single word she said.
If she has something fishy going on, and I follow her only to end up facing Mingjing True Person and Sun Zhuo, I will be left empty-handed and have to risk my life for nothing!
"Brother Han can come see me himself."
I slightly shook my head, expressing my attitude in words.
"He can't come. He will be discovered. Luo Xianshen, why have you become indecisive? Or do you not believe me?" Shi Yan asked again.
"I don't think of myself as indecisive. If I were to trust people carelessly, Luo would have died a tragic death long ago." I replied honestly.
Shi Yan: "……"
"I trusted you back then." She spoke in a low voice again.
"You also trusted Sun Zhuo," I said.
For a moment, there was an extreme silence between the two of them.
I turned to leave once again, but Shi Yan's figure flickered and quickly blocked my way.
She raised her hand, but instead of holding a mere piece of jewelry, she had a jade hairpin in her grasp.
She flicked her hand, and the jade hairpin flew towards me!
After catching the jade hairpin, I hesitated for a moment because it was Shi Yan's hairpin.
The original Han Qun gave this thing to me as a token.
In the regulated Daoist hall, I took it out, and it ended up in Shi Yan's hands.
"You can sense this and know why Han Qun can't come," she said.
"I can't help him. Currently, only you can, and only you can believe." Shi Yan bit her lower lip and whispered again.
My pupil contracted slightly.
Sense?
Usually, only something that harbors a spirit can sense it.
Han Qun is not a ghost, but a living zombie demon!
The host of the living zombie demon should be its own body, not something else.
Han Qun has become a ghost?
How is that even possible?
This is impossible! If a zombie demon becomes a ghost, it must become a dismembered corpse. To break a blood-level living zombie demon, the opponent's strength must be incredibly formidable. Most importantly, Han Qun has Han Zaozi as his father.
Could it be that Han Zaozi also got into trouble? He wasn't able to protect Han Qun?
In my thoughts, I quickly pricked my middle finger and touched it to the jade hairpin.
My consciousness trembled violently, and the room I saw before me was empty.
This room is extremely simple, with walls made of bamboo houses.
I felt a sense of elusive presence.
A ghost is usually elusive.
But it's not just that...
Normal vengeful ghosts, even if their feet can't touch the ground, wouldn't be as unstable as this...
My gaze shifted slightly downward, and I saw Han Qun's chest.
What shocked me was that Han Qun's chest appeared somewhat hollow, with wisps of gray gas flowing.
It seemed as if Han Qun would disperse at any moment.
A sense of sorrowful consciousness spread through my mind...
It's a mixture of resentment and some amount of blame.
I jolted awake, abruptly breaking out of my perception, and when I looked at Shi Yan, I couldn't suppress my shock and suspicion.
"Who struck the blow!?"
"Sun Zhuo!?" I emphasized my tone.
"It wasn't Sun Zhuo." Shi Yan shook her head, and her eyes reflected more complexity.
"Then who was it, Mingjing True Person?" I asked again.
"It was... Senior Apprentice Han," Shi Yan closed her eyes, her expression showing extreme suffering.
