Chapter 27: The Vampire's Familiar is a Bat

Early the next morning, Zhang Cheng and Priest Da Yi rose early to practice martial arts, A-Hao was sweeping the courtyard, and A-Fang was making breakfast.

As soon as A-Hao opened the main gate, a man outside asked loudly, "A-Hao, is your master in?"

A-Hao took a look and saw it was a villager from the nearby Wu Jia Cun, the wealthiest one around; he immediately thought that big business had arrived. He turned back and shouted, "Master, someone is looking for you."

Priest Da Yi stopped his movements and replied, "Invite them in."

The villager outside heard the voice and walked straight in; seeing Zhang Cheng, he paused for a moment, then turned back to ask, "A-Hao, is this your junior fellow apprentice?"

A-Hao's face immediately flushed red; for a moment, he dared not say that Zhang Cheng, who looked even younger than him, was his junior uncle.

Priest Da Yi explained, "Of course not, this is my junior fellow apprentice; he is staying with me for a few days. Village Chief Wu, what did you send him to find me for?"

The villager raised his eyebrows at A-Hao and then said, "Master Da Yi, the situation is this: doesn't our village have a Feng Shui formation? But recently, quite a few problems have appeared in the village, so the village chief would like to invite you to take a look."

Priest Da Yi nodded and said, "Very well, wait for me to finish breakfast, and I will go to your village."

After breakfast, Priest Da Yi, along with Zhang Cheng and the other two, arrived at Wu Jia Cun. The village chief, Wu Youqun, had been a landlord in his early years and then made a fortune relying on foreigners to do business; every household in the village had some spare money.

Today, Wu Youqun had specifically invited Priest Da Yi, and it just so happened that his daughter, Wu Xiaoru, had returned, along with her sycophant, Captain Lou from the township office.

Wu Youqun greeted Priest Da Yi, then saw Zhang Cheng in his Daoist robe and asked suspiciously, "Master Da Yi, who is this?"

Priest Da Yi explained, "Master Wu, this is my junior fellow apprentice. You need not worry; he is just following me to observe."

Wu Youqun nodded and smiled, "I thought he was a new disciple you had taken in. I didn't expect this young Daoist to be your junior fellow apprentice. It seems this young Daoist also has impressive skills."

Priest Da Yi smiled with some pride, "Master Wu is right. My junior fellow apprentice here has remarkable abilities and is already capable of establishing his own Daoist temple."

Wu Youqun had only been polite and did not expect Priest Da Yi to speak so definitively. He hurriedly bowed to Zhang Cheng, saying, "Ah, my apologies, my eyes were dim. I did not know the young Daoist's skills; please forgive me."

Zhang Cheng waved his hand, "Village Chief Wu, there is no need for such formalities. My skills are not yet fully refined; this time I am also just following my senior fellow apprentice to learn."

Wu Youqun flattered, "The young Daoist is truly humble."

He then changed the subject, "Master Da Yi, I leave today's matter to the two of you."

Priest Da Yi nodded and said, "Then let us go up the mountain to look at the Feng Shui formation."

Wu Youqun led a group of people following Priest Da Yi, and they happened to run into Wu Xiaoru, who was returning on a bicycle. Wearing a Western-style dress, Wu Xiaoru stepped off the bicycle with Captain Lou's assistance and hurriedly stepped forward to ask, "Dad, what are you all going to do?"

Wu Youqun explained with a smile, "Xiaoru, Dad is taking Master Da Yi up the mountain to look at the Feng Shui formation."

"What, a Feng Shui formation?" Wu Xiaoru didn't understand, but since she happened to want to go up the mountain to see the scenery, she said, "Then I'll go with you, Dad."

Wu Youqun nodded, "Then follow along."

"Master Da Yi, please, this way."

Soon, their group arrived at a flat area on the mountain where they could see the entire Wu Jia Cun. Priest Da Yi took one look and said, "Master Wu, this village is surrounded by mountains on all four sides. On the left, the Golden Plate Offers Auspiciousness; on the right, the Water Pavilion Central Hall; in front, the Crane Pavilion of the Splendid Court; and behind, the Jade Green of the Golden Mountain. This perfectly matches the phenomenon of wind rising and water forming; it should be a place where both the population and prosperity flourish."

Wu Youqun frowned, "But recently, the livestock in the village have been restless, and the people have been sickly; the Feng Shui must have gone wrong."

Priest Da Yi felt the area for a moment; the wind at this mountain pass was blowing fiercely, so there was no problem there. He then felt the earth Qi and frowned slightly.

Wu Youqun hurriedly asked, "Master Da Yi,"

"where exactly is the problem?"

Priest Da Yi looked at Zhang Cheng and said, "Junior brother, do you know the reason for this?"

Zhang Cheng smiled, "Is senior brother testing me?"

Priest Da Yi smiled slightly.

Zhang Cheng was naturally confident; if he were anywhere else, he would only be able to act as a well-behaved junior brother. He pointed downward and said, "The wind is fine; it is the water that has the problem."

Priest Da Yi raised his eyebrows slightly, "Junior brother is so certain?"

Zhang Cheng nodded, "I am certain."

Priest Da Yi smiled, "Master Wu, let us go down and look at the Dragon Pearl in the water source."

The group turned back from the mountaintop and walked toward the mountainside. He saw his two disciples carrying things for Wu Xiaoru and Captain Lou, so he stepped forward and made the two return the items.

He hadn't said anything before because he wanted to punish his two disciples for not being focused, but now he intervened because he was protective of his own. People in the cultivation world generally didn't dare provoke Maoshan disciples; after all, Maoshan disciples were all interconnected and extremely protective. If you provoked the small ones, you would provoke a whole bunch of Maoshan priests.

Captain Lou didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of Priest Da Yi. Don't look at the gun in his hand; with Priest Da Yi's magic, he could make every shot miss, or even make him shoot himself.

Skipping the small interlude, Priest Da Yi led the people to the stream below the waterfall on the mountainside. He lifted a stone, revealing the Dragon Pearl inside, but the Dragon Pearl was already cracked.

Wu Youqun was very surprised. He had previously thought Master Da Yi was just flattering his junior brother, but he hadn't expected him to have real skills. He hurriedly asked, "Master Da Yi, Young Daoist, what should we do about this?"

Master Da Yi stood up and said, "Master Wu, no need to panic. I still need to go check the water source."

The group arrived at the water source and happened to see Captain Lou, who had been washing his boots, running up soaked to the bone, bringing with him a pile of dead tree branches covered in dead bats.

Zhang Cheng immediately said, "I'm afraid the problem with the water source lies with these bats. There must be a bat nest here."

Wu Youqun immediately said to Captain Lou, "Hurry and find the bat nest!"

Captain Lou immediately fawned, "Uncle, don't worry, I will definitely help you get this done."

Having said that, he shouted to the soldiers behind him, "Find me the bat nest!"

Zhang Cheng watched Captain Lou walk away and whispered to Priest Da Yi, "Senior brother, I feel this matter has nothing to do with our ghosts and monsters. Among Western ghosts and monsters, bats are the familiars of vampires. With such a large number of bats appearing here, I fear there is a vampire."

Priest Da Yi, who had always been in control, felt a bit insecure. He asked, "These Western foreign ghosts, can they also be dealt with using our Daoist arts?"

Zhang Cheng shook his head slightly, "The effect is negligible. However, the Samadhi True Fire can burn their bodies, which can also eliminate a vampire, or you can prepare a silver object, pierce the vampire's heart, and then cremate it."

Priest Da Yi also felt it was tricky. He said, "Junior brother, you know more about foreign ghosts than I do. In that case, this time you will be in charge, and I will assist you."