"It's just a big deal." Lao Gong rolled his eyes.
He suddenly broke up and vanished without a trace, despite his nose making a powerful sniff.
This was not because Lao Gong's soul body shattered, but rather, he deliberately dispersed to explore the entire Taoist temple?
I did not panic.
Zhang Si looked at me with a different kind of gaze.
"Purple... to some extent, it should be at the same level as a real person... I've heard of Jin Yang's Ten Thousand Evils Ghost. This Yang Spirit Ghost can't be the same as that Ten Thousand Evils Ghost. Master Luo, having a ghost as a servant of the immortal... Your time to ascend to immortality should be drawing near..."
Zhang Si spoke in a low voice, his eyes brimming with deep envy.
I just smiled, not answering anything.
After a moment of contemplation, I stepped into the Taoist temple.
Upon careful observation, there was nothing wrong with the Taoist temple.
Everything seemed so ordinary, so worn and dilapidated.
I could see a door curtain next to the clay figurine. With the wind blowing, it seemed there was a courtyard behind it, which was very quiet and serene.
The Taoist's senses are much stronger than those of ordinary people. Under normal circumstances, even when Jixiang and Jiyang are resting, they can sense someone entering the Taoist temple.
It's just that both Zhang Si and I are strong in power, and because we deliberately concealed our movements, they didn't notice.
Perhaps, it's also related to the array here. We were able to walk so easily to the Taoist temple with Lao Gong leading the way.
Habit makes them think that outsiders can't come here by nature.
A few minutes later, Lao Gong reappeared in front of the Taoist temple door, waving his hand at me and Zhang Si.
After we walked out, Lao Gong gave a glance and looked up to the slanting sky, slowly floating in that direction.
After taking a few steps, we gradually moved away from the old Taoist temple.
"Why are you leaving? There's nothing wrong with the Taoist temple inside," Zhang Si finally questioned.
"I can figure it out with my toes," he said, shrugging his shoulders, "His disciples and great-grandchildren have no suspicions of him. There must be nothing wrong with the Taoist temple," he continued, "Monks eat meat and steal, would they steal from the temple? That's for sure they would go to a Buddhist temple. Similarly, there is a place for Ji Kui to live. Heh heh, his disciples and great-grandchildren don't know about it and have been living a hard life with him all along."
Zhang Si's face instantly tensed, and my heart sank even further.
Indeed, Lao Gong has discovered the problem!
The time Lao Gong disappeared was actually just a few minutes, but it took us more than ten minutes to walk over there.
The ghost moves faster, and more importantly, it basically ignores the array. Zhang Si and I had to follow Lao Gong's guidance, continuously moving in specific directions.
A small courtyard appeared in our line of sight.
The courtyard was very clean, with blue bricks and black tiles. There were several vegetable plots in front of the door, growing vegetables. The air was filled with a faint fragrance, even mixed with some medicinal aroma.
"Hmm?" Zhang Si looked slightly suspiciously and said, "It seems like I didn't sense any Yin energy. Master Luo, did you notice anything?"
I shook my head, indicating that I didn't sense it.
Lao Gong didn't say a word, leading us into the courtyard.
The sense of constraint that I felt subconsciously was gone. Just as Lao Gong reminded us, he said that there was no such thing as a Fengshui array here, and arrays were only used to block roads and seal breaths.
He walked straight into the front room.
We followed him and pushed open the door.
We entered the hall, making a creaking sound as we did.
The moonlight filtered through the translucent tiles above, making everything appear quite simple.
There was another door inside, and as we followed through, we saw another courtyard in front of us.
The small courtyard wasn't empty at all, and there were actually several vegetable plots there.
No, upon closer inspection, it wasn't the vegetables we were accustomed to. Instead, it was various medicinal herbs that were being grown.
The fresh fragrance of the herbs was the source of the scent.
There were five rooms in a row behind the courtyard, a total of five.
"Where is the body hidden?" Zhang Si's tone grew slightly more serious.
"Let's look for it. I'm not a god, after all. I can only sense that there are wandering ghosts all around this place and the peculiar nature of the courtyard. There's no time to investigate thoroughly," Lao Gong muttered.
Zhang Si walked towards one of the rooms with large steps.
I exhaled heavily and walked towards another door.
My anxiety was growing, and my entire body was gradually tensing up.
Basically, it's clear that Ji Kui is suspicious. It's natural to take action at this point. Finding more concrete "evidence," we can justify ourselves!
In the end, it's rather ironic.
At the end of the day, this is a paradox. Ji Kui initially wanted to uphold justice by making me hand over Qi Yucun, but now the situation has reversed completely!
What's even more bizarre is that after searching two rooms, I found nothing. There was no body, nor any ghosts.
The rooms were mostly filled with medicine cabinets, containing all sorts of medicinal herbs, many pots used for brewing medicine, and some medicinal cauldrons.
We returned to the courtyard, and Zhang Si also came out.
His face looked very unnatural, and he looked at Lao Gong and said, "Did we make a mistake?"
"You old fellow, why do you change your tune so often? Aren't you steadfast?" Lao Gong rolled his eyes again.
" Indeed, there are no related corpse things. There are mostly medicinal materials, cauldrons, and I saw rooms filled with medicine bottles, all of them being refined. Ji Kui is not only good at Yin cultivation and Fengshui, but also some other skills. He is refining medicines and not just using corpse ghosts to enhance himself..."
Zhang Si exhaled heavily, "Eating pills can also be a way to break through. It's not your fault that Ji Kui has Fengshui skills. Maybe he feels most secure with that method of dealing with corpse ghosts?"
Lao Gong seemed to be in a state of uncertainty, flipping his white eyes back and forth.
"Let's go. Entering someone's home arbitrarily is not good. Master Luo and Ji Kui's master-disciple relationship is also quite good. Don't let it turn sour," Zhang Si said decisively, and he tends to be reasonable when he makes a decision.
I also looked towards Lao Gong and said, "Is there any other place we haven't found? Take a closer look and see if there's any problem hidden in the shadows?"
"Is it hidden in a secret chamber with the help of Fengshui techniques?"
My previous doubts about Lao Gong's character were due to my own unstable mind.
Now that I've understood and overcome it, I am more aware that Lao Gong would not act rashly.
Zhang Si didn't speak for a moment, waiting for Lao Gong's response instead.
"There is no secret room, I've checked the ground under the rooms. What tricks is this old guy playing?" Lao Gong suddenly raised his head and forcefully blew some wind upwards!
In reality, it's a very ordinary action. However, with Lao Gong's current level, it no longer appears ordinary.
A faint purple ghostly aura instantly spread throughout the courtyard.
A creepy scene occurred.
Above the courtyard, numerous white, gray, and black figures appeared in the sky, as well as shadowy figures in red robes. Some green shadows were even mixed among them.
All these are ghosts.
However, they are already lifeless ghosts without consciousness.
"You old fart, do you think this is normal?" Lao Gong sounded a bit weird.
Zhang Si fell silent abruptly. He slightly raised his head, and there was a faint sheen of sweat on his brow.
Even to those who practice Taoism, it's not common to see such a sight. Everywhere are wandering ghosts.
"But...there really isn't any problem here. Catching a thief requires catching him in the act. Even if all these are wandering ghosts, there's still an explanation. Ji Kui has suppressed many corpse ghosts, and he has Fengshui skills, so the remains of those corpse ghosts are nearby?"
"That's right. If he's using the corpse ghosts for something, even for the amalgamation I thought about earlier, then there shouldn't be any wandering ghosts at all!" Zhang Si emphasized his tone.
"Master Luo, you should understand my meaning. We should focus on the issue itself, not the person." He added.
I nodded slightly.
Indeed, Zhang Si clearly believed Lao Gong's words. At that time, he was indeed worried about the problem.
As long as there are no problems at present, he has no more doubts.
"These words are not right," Lao Gong said in a melancholy tone, "Good Fengshui locations are chosen to suppress corpse ghosts. Even if they become wandering ghosts, they will linger around the place of suppression instead of wandering around everywhere. There is also a peak on Digu Mountain that is sold as full of wicked disciples who defy their masters and ancestors. They don't roam around the mountain gate either. Unless this place is actually suppressing those..."
Lao Gong's words were cut off abruptly.
He suddenly lowered his head and looked downwards.
My and Zhang Si's faces slightly changed, and we lowered our heads simultaneously.
What we saw was normal earth, with nothing strange about it.
However, Lao Gong disappeared into the soil instantly.
In the next instant, after Lao Gong reappeared, his entire face looked terrifying.
This expression was the one he showed the most often at Heicheng Temple.
"Heavenly Longevity eats people, and he eats corpse... huh... this old guy doesn't waste anything. He's eaten them all!"
Lao Gong's expression was so shocking and exaggerated that it made my skin prickle with goosebumps. A shiver ran down my spine!
Zhang Si moved!
He slanted his hand, and a thin, delicate sword appeared in his palm. He pierced and lifted it towards the medicinal plots, where medicinal herbs were grown!
The soil scattered instantly, revealing a head at the tip of his sword!
Not just any head, but a Corpse Head!
The corpse head had roots growing all over its face, even in its eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. There were roots coming out of a crack in the bone on its head, and the medicinal stems were growing out of there!
The corpse head's mouth was wide open, as if it were howling, but there was a talisman stuck to its side, clearly indicating that it had struggled in vain and become the nourishment for this medicinal plant...
"Using a corpse to nourish medicine, what an evil method, unheard of and unseen... Those pills are all made from medicinal materials that have absorbed the essence of the corpse and ghost spirits!" More sweat beads formed on Zhang Si's forehead, and they were even more fine.
Suddenly, Zhang Si violently raised his head, looking around in disbelief.
"Someone is coming! Let's leave first. It's not a good idea to stay here for too long!"
I also heard the sound of footsteps, coming from the front, from the courtyard ahead.
This is not Ji Kui's footsteps. I have fought with him before and I know his strength.
The steps were slightly weaker, and there were at least five people.
Publicly, everyone's awareness of Ji Kui and his master-disciple-scholar is that there are three of them.
There are actually guards here?
And where has Ji Kui gone?
I suddenly took out my mobile phone, looked at the screen, and to my surprise, there were no signal bars.
"No good!"
I thought of where Ji Kui might have gone, and I was even more startled.
"It's really bad... we can't escape!" Suddenly, Lao Gong's hands and feet disappeared, becoming just a head that fell onto my shoulder. He was on high alert, staring at the front door curtain as if facing a big enemy, but he didn't realize the danger I had thought of!
