If it were before, I would have felt very vigilant, but there are not as many dangers in this small town.
Get up to open the door, where Li Tong is standing.
He looked hesitant and tense, his gaze at me held an element of incomprehension.
"Master." He raised his hand, handing over a red envelope.
I accepted it without giving a thought about how much money was inside.
Li Tong calmed down a bit, swallowing hard and asked, "You're too fierce... how did you do it?"
I hesitated for a moment and asked, "What?"
"It was last night... you followed that ghost thing... and the police arrested several people, wasn't it? My goodness, everyone in the town heard the noise and went to watch the show. I didn't see you there." Li Tong continued.
I hummed a sound.
As for what happened next, I wasn't particularly interested. I was about to close the door and send my guest away.
Li Tong seemed to get excited and kept talking incessantly.
After listening to a few more sentences, my eyebrows furrowed into a tight frown, giving me an inexplicable sense of suffocation.
Actually, last night wasn't too bad. As for the incident itself, it's quite normal for a dirty deal to harm innocent people. I learned nine ranks of arts in my earlier years and have sent many such dead bodies off.
According to what Li Tong said, the night before, when the police were arresting people, the man named Wang Xun had gone mad and shouted that he had killed someone. Suddenly, he came to his senses and talked about a lot of things.
Including the fact that they had gathered together not just to drink, but also to smoke.
And a few days ago, he deceived a female college student named Xiao Yu back, and they all played together. But then they got carried away, and she was tortured to death. She was buried in a pond at a half-finished construction site, and then a group of people covered it with cement, thinking it would be as if God knew nothing about it.
Not only that, but he also admitted that what he usually does is lure some female college students, specifically targeting those who love to play and are materialistic. He even targets those with poor family conditions. First, he showers them with sugar-coated bombs — high-end consumption. Once they get used to it, he then coaxes them into accepting clients.
He has deceived such girls, and there are at least a dozen of them.
Someone pools the resources under such people, and their business becomes very large.
At this point, Li Tong paused and sincerely admired, "Master, I have no idea how you managed to get him to say so much. Did you use a true spell? Are you not a spellcaster yourself?"
"This is good news, I'm afraid that the city will have to pull a big net, catching a lot of people."
"Alas, the drought kills the drought-stricken, and the flood kills the flooded. How come so many people are attracted to that scoundrel Wang Xun with his gangster face?"
"When you've finished talking, you can leave," I said, taking a slight breath of relief.
"This..." Li Tong hesitated, looking around the courtyard and said, "Master, don't you think about promoting Taoist methods? This is traditional Chinese culture. Taking advantage of this event, there's popularity. Just say a few words, and I will take photos..."
"Slam!" I closed the door directly.
The food didn't taste very good, and I ate until I was full. Reading a book, I couldn't concentrate for a while.
When a one-sided matter becomes comprehensive and extensive, it doesn't sit well with me.
The moonflies stood behind me, her hands lightly on my temples, gently kneading.
Obviously, she heard what Li Tong said.
"I haven't been able to sleep, I'm a bit restless."
"But I also understand now, what you said is right. We can't change most people, we can only do our best when we encounter them, isn't that right?"
"I never thought I'd tell you all the details of last night, but it turns out he came and talked about it.” Jia Ying's tone was much more thoughtful than the previous night. ”
"It's fine." I reached out and held Jia Ying's hand.
We were silent for a very long time before I finally pushed aside the chaos in my mind.
The two people tacitly decided not to bring up this matter again.
I continued to read my books and study my symbols.
Jia Ying stayed by my side, weaving bamboo crafts.
Life seemed to have returned to the tranquility of the past month.
However, there was a little more variety. It was Li Tong, who came almost every three days.
I didn't mention the video thing. He would come to send gifts and ask indirectly about various aspects of Taoists.
I didn't shut myself away from guests because I found that interacting with more people isn't a bad thing; it actually makes my mind more peaceful.
Li Tong also told me about the follow-up of Xiao Yu's case. He learned about it through his connections.
Wang Xun denied saying those things, claiming that he was drunk and rambling, pretending to think about making money through such things.
However, the police used what he said that day, along with interrogations of others, to successfully set up a net and arrest many people, making the case as solid as iron.
It's estimated that with multiple charges, Wang Xun's death penalty is unavoidable, and the others will either receive a suspended death sentence or life imprisonment.
Also, on the surface, there are no major issues with this case. In fact, the police themselves know of many suspicious details, including how a body that was so decomposed could end up at Wang Xun's house. They were even claiming to have buried the corpse.
Fortunately, the town has fewer surveillance cameras, and the half-finished construction site was even earlier disconnected from electricity. There is little video evidence left.
Li Tong also told me that some people had recently arrived in the town, not sure what they were looking for, but their auras didn't seem good.
I and Jia Ying were vigilant about this detail, and we stayed indoors for several days.
However, we didn't expect Li Tong to also not come for several days.
Around the fourth day, when I was back in my room at night and was about to rest, I heard a knock on the door.
I went out of the room, opened the gate, and there stood Li Tong.
But I could tell right away that something was off.
Li Tong's skin was very pale, his eyes may be wide open, but there was no sparkle in them. It seemed like he had undergone great suffering, and his chest was still without any movement.
This was no longer a living person, but clearly a corpse……
In the courtyard, Old Gong's head poked out of the night pot, appearing particularly alert.
Jia Ying, who was brought into the room, also came out. She hurried to my side and stared at Li Tong.
"Gasp..." Li Tong twisted his neck painfully, looking defeated.
Usually, Li Tong would speak or chat in a manner that resembled a sunny and cheerful young man.
Now, he appeared particularly painful, hopeless, and lifeless……
No, he was already dead. Right now, it's as if his soul is confined within his body, and that lifelessness is a natural occurrence.
"There... someone is looking for... you... to follow... you have to go... quickly..."
Li Tong hadn't finished speaking when his eyes suddenly became lifeless.
"Hmph."
A cold huff without emotion escaped Li Tong's mouth.
A sign appeared silently on his chest, tightly attached to him. The symbols on it resembled a ghost's face.
"A mere ordinary person has a tough mouth. He had to be killed, tortured, released, and then come to find you himself."
"However, I've found you at last!" Li Tong's tone was cold, laced with a hint of an accusatory attitude!
The current "Li Tong" seems to no longer be himself, but controlled by the talisman paper.
I could vaguely make out that there was a ghostly thread on the talisman paper, with an extremely heavy aura of yin.
He said that Li Tong had a tough mouth?
Was Li Tong killed, tortured, and then released before he came to find me?
This statement is not entirely clear, but by combining and analyzing it, we can know that Li Tong wasn't betraying me. He was sent to notify me.
Even dead people come to give a warning!
He came to deliver the message even in death! But he was unaware that his body had been tampered with.
I don't understand, why would I need to be notified if I was just staying in the town, completely harmless and not provoking any non- ordinary people?
How could someone find me? Why would they go after Li Tong first and kill him?
Though I didn't feel that Li Tong and I had a particularly close friendship, he had been speaking to me more often and with greater respect recently.
But seeing his miserable appearance and the attitude he had when delivering the message, I couldn't help feeling a surge of uncontrollable anger in my heart.
"No matter who you are, killing ordinary people is going too far!"
I spoke in a hoarse voice, each word dripping with restrained killing intent.
"Crossing the line? Hah, who crossed the line?"
"Your hand, reaching too far!" The cold sound of voice came from Li Tong's mouth.
The next instant, he abruptly turned around and ran wildly in one direction!
I was about to run after him, but Jia Ying grabbed my shoulder.
"It's definitely a trap..." she blurted out, "The other party is not friendly. We don't know their background, so we can't act recklessly."
