"He indeed plays the abacus beads very well. On the surface, he publicly admits defeat at the Zhong Huangdao Temple and respects us, leaving enough face. In reality, he comes to Xiao's house to start a fight, perhaps believing that we cannot guess it was him." Lao Gong spoke with an eccentric tone: "It's good that we didn't get anything and lost even our disciples and grandchildren. Ah, his jade corpse should have been burned as well."
I didn't respond and walked directly into the main room.
The leaders of the ghost pavilion looked slightly ashamed on their faces, and I saw Cai Zhi among them.
At that time, I had Cai Zhi come to Zhong Huangdao Temple, and had the Xiao family send the jade corpse. After that, I had Cai Zhi leave.
Xiao's family had some business, and Cai Zhi came in time.
"Displaying divinity." Mu Ying walked beside me, her eyes conveying a hint of complexity and sorrow as she told me everything that had happened earlier.
"Yesterday night before the sky turned dark, Cai Zhi had already arrived at the Xiao family."
Because most of the leaders of the ghost pavilion had come here, they thought I was going to do something to Cai Zhi, and they all came to plead for mercy.
Mu Qi was handling matters at the headquarters of the Ghost Pavilion and did not come.
It was all a misunderstanding, with no danger. When Cai Zhi was preparing to leave with the others, the Daoist in white robes, who did not reveal his face, arrived.
He aimed to obtain the body of Mao Zhan, and the Mao Zhan body was with my parents. My parents had enough flesh to spare, so he did not get anything out of it.
The people of the Ghost Pavilion, the Mu family, and Fan Jie all reacted in time and teamed up to fight against him.
The Daoist was powerful, with peculiar martial arts skills, able to dodge quickly and kill even faster. Apart from the Mu family members, there were also losses among the Ghost Pavilion, and the body had already been sent away.
Mu Ying's words were concise and clear, essentially explaining everything.
Earlier, my father and I didn't say much. I only asked for details related to Ji Kui, letting my dad know that I knew who the perpetrator was.
"He won't dare to come a second time." Lao Gong glanced around the hall before saying, "We've wiped out his lair, and his disciples and granddisciples have been killed. Although it wasn't us who did it, it's still a way to vent our anger."
Mu Chang and Mu Qiong nodded, and they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The rest of the people in the main room were also somewhat calmer.
Cai Zhi said uneasily, "However, Senior... Ji Kui didn't show his face, and we can't be so sure it was him without evidence. After all, there's no proof. Might you leave some evidence behind at his lair? Otherwise, if he bites back, it might be even more troublesome than the trouble at Juqu Mountain. These wandering Daoists may like to act alone, but they are very good at standing together against a common enemy..."
"What evidence could there possibly be? The temple has already been burned down." Lao Gong huffed.
"Where is my younger brother Fan? That guy with a broken arm hasn't left yet. Won't my younger brother Fan be beaten half to death?" Lao Gong looked at Mu Chang and asked.
"He was stabbed in the chest with a sword, suffering a through-and-through wound. The wounds from the Xiao family's medicinal ointment are not very effective, so I had people send him to the hospital," Mu Chang replied.
"Fan younger brother is really useless." Lao Gong shook his head.
Suddenly, the weight on my shoulder lifted; it was Lao Gong's package that had slipped off and was thrown towards Cai Zhi.
"Fan younger brother has been discharged, you go and pick him up. This is a pill that was found in Ji Ku's home, it's not simple at all. Let's see what kind of effects it has," Lao Gong said as he spoke.
Cai Zhi bowed and said, "Understood."
"The Xiao family is unharmed. That's all, Master Luo, I'll be returning to Zhong Huangdao Temple now. If you find anything, please send word. I will report today's events to Yunjin Mountain, and there should not be any situation that Cai Zhi, the Deputy Leader of the Ghost Pavilion, needs to worry about," Zhang Si spoke solemnly.
I nodded in agreement.
With Zhang Si present and the backing of Yunjin Mountain, even if Ji Kui has no evidence, he dare not turn the tables and deflect the blame. He would likely hide himself even more.
Firstly, he fears the pursuit and accountability from Yunjin Mountain, and secondly, he needs to hide from those who are hunting him.
"That's true." Lao Gou licked his corner of the mouth before saying quietly, "He was fortunate to escape this time. We saved him from a calamity, but he killed our people. According to the law of cause and effect, he should owe us a debt. If he wants to frame us, let him wait for thunder and lightning to strike."
"Right, Master?" Lao Gong and I exchanged glances.
I did not respond.
If he really fears retribution, why would he treat the corpse in such a way and still be afraid of thunderbolts?
He knows feng shui and should avoid the sky when constructing houses.
......
Zhang Si left.
Mu Qiong and Mu Chang were dispersing the rest of the Xiao family and taking those caskets to be handled elsewhere.
Cai Zhi and the others also left.
I told my parents, Mu Ying, and Mu Qiong and Mu Chang about everything that happened tonight, including the duel earlier in the day.
All the details and connections have finally been made clear.
There's a problem here.
Ji Kui is not really a wandering Daoist, but only an identity he's hiding behind.
Who are the people chasing Ji Kui? Are they from any particular sect?
Zhang Si didn't mention it earlier, which means he didn't notice.
My parents are experienced and knowledgeable, they had robbed too many Daoist tombs in the past, they should have known.
Nor to mention the Xiao family, who have no idea at all.
Finally, my father made a conclusion: it's a hidden sect of mysterious Daoists.
This is actually not surprising. In such a vast realm of Yin and Yang, there are still some groups that are not well-known in the public eye, but have extraordinary power.
"Little hidden in the wild, great hidden in the city."
Who knows, there might be some respected individuals or Daoist lineages hidden within the city of Daxiang.
That would be strange if there were no hidden sects or lineages in the mountains and forests all around the country of Daxiang, including the entire domestic territory.
On the surface, we are not afraid of Ji Kui. Both the logic and power are sufficient to face him.
The problem behind the scenes is that, through Ji Kui, we have inadvertently drawn the attention of the sect that was chasing him.
My father also made a judgment that the other party may not necessarily be like Ji Kui, who would use corpse-keeping to cultivate medicine and produce elixirs. Maybe Ji Kui was a traitor who committed those acts after being expelled from the sect, which led to his own sect cleansing him.
This itself caused me a bit of a shock. This means that we may have used too much force?
Lao Gou rolled his eyes at my father and said, "A real sect wouldn't kill someone once they realize they made a mistake. That's not necessarily the case."
My father remained silent for a moment before saying, "This is indeed a problem."
The discussion comes to a halt here.
My father told me to get some rest, while the Xiao family would tidy up the mess.
When I returned to the courtyard of our residence, it was still dark outside. Lao Gou had disappeared again.
Mu Ying followed me into the house and poured me a cup of hot water.
I thought she would rest with me, after all, she had also not slept all night. But I didn't expect that Mu Ying would help me put my shoes away and hang up the Taoist robe I had taken off, then told me to get some rest, while she went to sleep beside me.
I was about to call out to Mu Ying, but when she walked to the door, she suddenly stopped and turned back to look at me.
"I always feel that maybe we're too unrestrained and have brought too many things to our doorstep. I cannot interfere with you. Destiny is still to be respected. Half a true man, only one step away from being able to know if your decision is right or wrong." Mu Ying said softly: "Call me if there's anything."
I didn't stop her.
After all, the Xiao family lost a lot of people today.
Destiny?
Is this also connected to the mysterious destiny?
