What Mokoya had said earlier only made me realize that we needed to be vigilant about the village of the red ghosts. It was only later that waves of panic surged through my mind.
Each year, one person gets married, isn't that Yuxiu?
The boneless woman with skin like dried corpses proved that every woman who ventured into the mountains had perished!
Sure enough, the ghosts were doing their ghostly business, draining the women's vital energy.
The red ghosts in the mountains, having seen through Yuxiu's fate as an eight-defeated widow, were driving her to become a person of great misfortune and then to become a ghost of great misfortune?
After a half-hour of silence, Jiao Ying said, "I have only investigated so much information. It is likely that if the village of the red ghosts were further away, we would not have been able to gather so much information."
"Compared to each other, the power in the province where Jin Yang is located is more chaotic, and each city district dominates its own area. The Southwest Province is slightly unified, with Daxiang as the core, and the branches of its power spread out. By the way, Daxiang has a Guǐ City, which is similar to Jin Yang's Meng Fang, but Meng Fang is centered on Yuyangju, and all other merchants are at a lower position. In Guǐ City, various merchants are standing thickly, and their rules are chaotic. Even worse, there have been many cases of fighting inside Guǐ City. A few years ago, people from Guǐan went inside for some missions to see if there were any people who could pull out the red ghosts from within the village of the red ghosts. However, no one could complete it."
I digested the information for a few minutes. The details Jiao Ying told me should be a compilation of what Guǐ City and her friends investigated.
And also, I've made a note of the information about regional power structures.
"We need to be extremely careful. I always feel that this trip isn't going to be as easy as it seems." Jiao Ying's eyes showed a hint of worry.
"Not a problem. I still have the four-ruled clear mirror with me." I smiled and comforted Jiao Ying.
Jiao Ying finally felt a little more at ease.
To be honest, Miao San giving me this item has been a tremendous help.
True, even Wei Youming, a cultivator of the Realm, would have to bow to this divine artifact if I don't know how to use it.
Even the red ghosts, no matter how stubborn or annoying they might be, will have to retreat when faced with the four-ruled clear mirror.
"Where did you go earlier? Didn't you say you were going to make preparations?" Jiao Ying changed the topic and asked me.
I replied truthfully, "I went to the Zhou family and brought Fan Jie with me."
Jiao Ying's eyes narrowed slightly, and I directly explained the reason.
Then, Jiao Ying pursed her lips and gently moved closer to me.
"I've checked the map around the village of the red ghosts. The village is situated at the foot of a mountain where three provinces meet. You can't possibly feel at ease with Xiuxiu there, can you? In any case, you need some peace and quiet. We can stay nearby, and once we're strong enough, we'll bring Xiuxiu out and return together to Jin Yang." Jiao Ying spoke softly.
I hadn't said anything yet, but Yuxiu had walked over to my side. She pulled on Jiao Ying's sleeve, and while Jiao Ying was a little confused, she was pulled away from me by Yuxiu.
Yuxiu stared at Jiao Ying in a daze.
Jiao Ying was stunned for a while before she broke into a wry smile.
She didn't give it too much thought.
I didn't think much of it either. Miao San had explained to me earlier that Yuxiu's "reliance and closeness" towards me was because a strand of her soul was integrated into mine.
Jiao Ying proposed that we leave as soon as possible. We are now on our way. After all, Yuxiu doesn't have an ID, and it's inconvenient to do anything. Driving there would take another two days.
I then realized and told Jiao Ying about the incident where Jiaowu was hit by a dump truck.
Jiao Ying immediately covered her mouth, looking panicked.
That's natural. Jiao Ying needs to go to the hospital, and I need to accompany her.
As we were leaving, I saw Fan Jie sitting in the front hall drinking tea.
He also saw me and enthusiastically stood up. I walked straight out, and he sat back down, remaining motionless.
By the time we reached the hospital, it was almost dawn.
Jiao Ying whispered, "Why hasn't Old Gong come out? It's so strange."
She didn't mention it, but when she did, I suddenly realized that Old Gong had gone into the night urinal when he left the Zhou family. There was a bit of connection between him and this incident. He usually cared so much about women's opinions; why didn't he explain to Jiao Ying?
Just as I was thinking this, Old Gong suddenly manifested on the night urinal, looking at Jiao Ying with a sycophantic expression.
"Little miss calling for Old Gong?"
In the next second, however, the rooster crowed and Old Gong disappeared into thin air.
Jiao Ying looked up at the sky and didn't feel any discomfort.
I looked at the night urinal for a bit longer and felt something wasn't quite right.
Old Gong's appearance seemed a bit too deliberate?
Just then, why didn't he come out earlier?
There was no need. I couldn't figure it out either.
Of course, I didn't tell Jiao Ying these details.
Jiao Ying contacted Jiao Chang, and we arrived at Jiaoqiong's ward quickly.
Jiaoqiong looked somewhat pitiful. His head was wrapped in bandages, his legs were in plaster casts, and he was hanging from the ceiling.
Next to him was Jiao Ying's mother, who kept wiping her tears.
Jiaoqiong was wincing and grimacing. To be honest, for his age, his expression and actions were a bit comical. But then again, it seemed like he had always been like that.
Before Jiao Ying could even express her concern, Jiaoqiong's eyes were wide with excitement, focusing on my waistband where the night pot was kept. His voice was particularly excited.
"Displaying divine powers, he is a ghost who can foresee the future! He looks grotesque, but his abilities are boundless!"
"Too damn awesome! Do you know, the moment I hit it, I understood everything!"
"There are too many surprises on you!"
Jiaoqiong winced in pain. Jiao Chang directly hit him on the head with a hammer, causing him to cry out in pain.
Jiaoqiong didn't back down, saying, "Father, don't you understand the significance? You almost ate Old Gong with your bamboo skill when your head was in front. If you really ate him, it would have caused big trouble! Sheng Ming has Old Gong. Whatever we do will be unstoppable. Even if we go back, we can let Old Gong calculate for us in the future."
"Once we return, Dad, don't let anyone else know about Sheng Ming and my matters for this period, to avoid bringing trouble upon ourselves." Jiao Ying knelt beside the bed and explained.
...
By the time we left the hospital, the sky was already bright.
Jiao Ying took me to have some food before returning to the Jiao family.
In the front hall, Fan Jie was so tired that he had his head hung low and was asleep.
I and Jiao Ying quietly stood in front of him, and Fan Jie's head nodded a few times, then he woke up with a start.
"Lu Daoist!" He stood up, swaying and swaying, and then supporting himself on the chair handle.
In the next second, his entire body stiffened, and he looked uneasily at Yuxiu behind me and Jiao Ying.
"Have you heard of the village of the red ghosts?" I came straight to the point and asked Fan Jie.
Fan Jie swallowed hard and mumbled, "The village of the red ghosts? Ah……Lu Daoist……are you thinking of going to that ghostly place?"
"Have you been there?" I asked in return.
"No… I haven't, but over the years, the Guizi Street has been getting better and better. The rewards for certain things are getting higher and higher. The Guikan once posted information on Guizi Street, saying that anyone who could catch the red ghosts could have the Guikan do something for them without any conditions."
"The Guikan, the place specifically used by ghosts, couldn't even handle the red ghosts. This matter naturally became a big issue in Guizi Street, and those in the Southwest Province who understand the relationship between ghosts and humans know even more about it."
"But the red ghosts... are not easy to deal with. They may... be even more fierce than this lady."
"Lu Daoist, is your teacher going with you? And what about the fortune-teller? I asked the people here earlier, but they wouldn't tell me anything."
"Oh, right, I also need to go back to the Zhou family. I'll need to bring some gear for the job. I came out empty-handed and it's not ideal."
Fan Jie shot out a string of questions all at once.
