I squinted my eyes and didn't say anything.
There was no need to worry about why heaven might have hidden its murderous intent. The situation was too straightforward. Longfeng Daoist Temple had fallen, and now, with my words, the city gate might have also fallen, and perhaps only the Guikane Shrine remained intact in the entire Jin Yang.
The City God Temple has only the lonely Huangshi, can he hold it up?
Perhaps, the Huangshu before me, has already not been him.
"Why did you come to see me?" He Youtian's tone was cold, laced with accusation.
"Reporting to the grand master, last night there were thunderstorms in the sky over Jin Yang. After that, I suddenly sensed that Sir Yè had collapsed. I have been searching for Sir Yè for a long time, and I roughly know that he may have been captured by some existence. Meanwhile, there has been a plague of ghosts in Jin Yang, and the City God Temple has always been precarious. After Sir Yè collapsed, I immediately burned incense and practiced magic to summon Sir Yè back and have him ceaselessly patrol the city. During the day, I also had the Day Patrol continue its uninterrupted patrols." As he spoke, Huangshu pointed towards the direction of the mental health center.
"This place is the residence of the Twenty-Eight Hells prisoners. By chance, as Sir Yè was patrolling, he saw several rare red-cloaked priests, so I came here immediately." Huangshu spoke with utmost respect.
"Then why do you know me?" He Youtian asked once again.
"The grand master has come to Jin Yang several times, and I have seen you. It's just that you haven't seen me." Huangshu replied.
He Youtian's hand had unknowingly clutched a bronze sword.
Huangshu's pupil contracted, and he immediately said, "Appear before me, testify for me!"
He Youtian furrowed his brow and looked at me: "Little younger brother, do you know him?"
I squinted slightly, scrutinizing Huangshu.
Huangshu looked at me with a stunned expression, then quickly scanned over my robes, his eyes became extremely complex.
"Nothing wrong with him, only the smell of death, no scent of the earth." Old Gong spoke up at the right time, he kept sniffing something constantly.
Upon hearing this, I heaved a sigh of relief.
Gradually, the killing intent on He Youtian's face dissipated.
"Earth aura?" Huangshu's face changed color again, looking extremely vigilant.
"Yes," He Youtian nodded, then said, "Forgive the City God, my Longfeng Taoist Temple has fallen, and almost all the Taoists there were not spared. The thunder you saw earlier was used to exterminate ghosts. As for the collapse and capture of Sir Yè that you mentioned, I can explain a little for you. He has been controlled by the plague ghosts and has become an accomplice."
Huangshu treated He Youtian with great respect, and in return, He Youtian also showed great politeness.
"Oh..." Huangshu was taken aback.
I heaved a small sigh before saying, "That's why we are more cautious, fearing that you might also be a plague ghost. Please forgive me, Huangshu."
My tone has calmed down a lot, and I clasped my hands together.
Huangshu's daze turned into a bitterness.
Without Sir Yè, the City God Temple is like a blind man... The Longfeng Taoist Temple was responsible for monitoring all the rules and regulations in Jin Yang. Our City God Temple was supposed to keep a watchful eye on the plague ghosts, but in the end, it was Longfeng Taoist Temple that suffered such a fate..."
"I had always thought that Han Bǎozǐ's attack on me was strange, with an emotional instability, but I didn't expect... it was caused by the plague ghosts..."
Clearly, Huangshu misunderstood, his eyes grew more complex.
I furrowed my brow slightly before saying, "As far as I'm aware, Elder Han has no issues. Perhaps, he wanted to use this incident to give you a warning."
Lao Gong looked at me with a glance and licked his lips.
I still maintain my calm.
I can't just say that Han Bazi misunderstood him; he's taking the blame for me and Si Yan?
Si Yan's face seems to be a bit uncomfortable, looking away.
"Why have you come to find us? What is it that you want?" He Youtian redirected the conversation back to the main topic.
Huangshu put away his emotions, straightened up a bit, and then said, "It's still about the plague ghosts. Jin Yang has changed in these past few days. Now that I've heard from you about the incident at Longfeng Taoist Temple, in fact, the City God Temple has already been under control. You should have seen it when the divine manifestation appeared; Wu Yong died a terrible death by the riverbank, yet he miraculously came back to life not long after."
"At that time, the Huangshi was in a struggle for the position of the new leader. After Wu Yong appeared, he killed those few people and suppressed the Huangshi."
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
The leader is indeed dead, and he coming back to life...
That's right. The plague ghost ate his corpse? That's a controlled ghost.
The manager, Yang, has not told me this news... This means that Yang has also died?
For some reason, I had previously thought of the Huangshi's fall as more of a speculation. But when the veiled evidence pointed to Manager Yang also meeting his end in the afterlife, an overwhelming wave of sadness and complexity flooded my heart.
"The plague ghosts are too cunning and ruthless, with no solution. Twelve years ago, when the earth's aura surged, we failed to catch them. Today, we have only the Ghost Shrine left in Jin Yang. The purpose of the Ghost Shrine is to capture the plague ghosts. Whether it is allowing them to develop or capturing them, both are extremely dangerous and will bring endless problems."
"I wanted to kill ghosts, so when Sir Yè saw the red-cloaked priests, I immediately came."
Huangshu finally explained the purpose of his visit.
I looked at Si Yan in disbelief, and He Youtian's eyes were filled with uncertainty. His peripheral vision glanced at the coffin of the Four Regulations Sage.
At this moment, Huangshu suddenly glanced at Tangyou's corpse, and he made a soft "hm?" sound.
He Youtian's expression immediately stiffened.
"This corpse..." Huangshu muttered: "There is a lingering ghost in a nearby village of the City God Temple. It only has a faint consciousness, which will be erased at any time. However, this lingering ghost has done many good deeds with its simple consciousness."
"When I discovered her, I used some underworld techniques to anchor her soul. Mostly because she couldn't be reborn, and there were no past traces."
"I didn't expect... to see her remains. The lingering ghost has been around for a while, but this corpse... it's still so lifelike?"
Huangshu's words made He Youtian shiver uncontrollably.
"Where?! Immediately take me there!" He Youtian's voice suddenly shot up, scaring Huangshu.
My heart gave a slight flutter.
Is this just a coincidence? Or is it destined by fate in some way?
Now, there's no way we can leave.
After getting on Huangshu's car, I contacted the previous driver and told him not to buy a coffin or come over right away. We might not leave for a few days, so we will contact him then.
The driver seemed somewhat disappointed.
During our journey to the City God Temple, Huangshu couldn't help but glance at me for a long time. He sighed lightly, "I didn't expect that you, the divine manifestation, have such good fortune to become the little apprentice of Elder Si at the Four Regulations Mountain. Is the grand master taking you as his apprentice on behalf of his teacher?"
Huangshu and I are already familiar with each other, so he doesn't have to worry about being proper.
"That's not the case, little brother. I'm the disciple of my master who remained outside. We just recognized each other." He Youtian replied.
"A?" Huangshu was taken aback for a moment, then fell silent.
My heart accelerated slightly, but I didn't want to interrupt much.
This is the time when speaking too much is bound to be a mistake...
Fortunately, Huangshu didn't say anything else.
He glanced at the coffin out of the corner of his eye and asked, "Then whose corpse is in this coffin?"
I took a shallow breath and replied first, "My master, the Four Regulations Sage."
