Chapter 164: The Old Ghost Slave

Shi Bading's hand was behind his back, pressing against the sword hilt.

"Just chop this scoundrel and throw him out to feed the evil spirits!"

His journey out this time had been nothing but misfortune.

He had been tricked by the Pingtian Society at Shuangjiang Pass, and upon arriving at Huangya Village hoping to skim some merit, he had nearly been harmed by a group of treacherous and foolish villagers!

His belly was so full of rage that he only wanted to chop someone to vent.

The Village Head, however, showed not a shred of fear at this moment; he stared with wide eyes, refusing to yield, and locked gazes with Shi Bading.

It was clearly as if he were saying: If you have the guts, chop me!

Xu Yuan held Shi Bading back and sneered, "He still isn't convinced."

The Village Head used his tongue to push the rag blocking his mouth out, then cursed loudly, "You pack of black-skinned dogs! If you offend the ancestral spirits, death is certain!

If you have the ability, chop me!

Once I become a vengeful ghost, I will follow the ancestral spirits, drink your blood, and eat your flesh!"

Shi Bading, unable to contain his fury, drew the great sword from behind his back with a clang, and swung it down toward the Village Head's neck.

A sword pill flew in, blocking Shi Bading's great sword.

Xu Yuan pressed down on Shi Bading's shoulder and said, "Shi Patrolman, please trust me."

Xu Yuan picked up a spirit tablet from the offering table.

The Village Head cursed, "Black-skinned dogs! You are insulting my ancestors!"

Xu Yuan snorted, turned the spirit tablet over, and on the back was written another name: "Your ancestors?"

Everyone in Huangya Village bears the surname Huang.

Therefore, on all the spirit tablets in the village temple, the names were all "Huang So-and-So."

But just now, when Xu Yuan used the Yin-Yang Press to look, none of the nameplates formed by the spirit tablets bore the surname Huang.

Xu Yuan picked one up to look, and indeed, this spirit tablet had a problem.

"You are the ones who truly shame your ancestors!"

Xu Yuan dropped the spirit tablet and asked Qin Taichen, "Among these spirit tablets, which name is this person's ancestor?"

Qin Taichen looked and said, "I recall the Village Head Huang Chengwei's father was named Huang Achuan."

Xu Yuan found the spirit tablet for "Huang Achuan" among those tablets, turned it over, and saw another name written on the back: Zhou Mingyan.

"Hahaha," Xu Yuan laughed loudly, "Huang Chengwei, was your mother the one who bore you with Huang Achuan, or with Zhou Mingyan?"

The Village Head's face turned red, yet he showed not a shred of guilt: "We are all poor people; to survive here, while your Spirit-Cleansing Bureau cannot protect us, we can only find our own way.

Whoever can protect us, we revere. Is there a problem with that?"

Xu Yuan: "Oh, so it is our responsibility that you recognize a ghost as your father?"

"Hmph!" The Village Head snorted coldly and turned his head away, unwilling to answer.

"Whoever can protect you, you revere. How noble that sounds. If everyone were like you, taking whoever offers milk as a mother, then everyone in the world should just go revere evil spirits."

The Village Head remained stubborn: "And what is wrong with that?"

Xu Yuan asked coldly, "In these years, how many people in the village were infected by yin qi and transformed into evil spirits?"

"N-not many... no, there were none at all!"

Xu Yuan shook his head in disappointment: "Truly foolish! Do you still think that as long as we are in this temple, we will surely be slaughtered by the evil ghosts you revere? Do you think that if you die, you will instead be able to enjoy power and privilege alongside those evil ghosts?"

The Village Head truly thought this.

Xu Yuan suddenly opened his mouth, and a breath of flame shot out from within.

A ghostly wail suddenly echoed in the void; that old ghost was forced out by the fire in his belly!

Xu Yuan spread out the carriage and sealed the old ghost inside.

The Village Head couldn't help but cry out, "Father..."

Xu Yuan laughed: "Your father? Is it the father Huang Achuan, or the father Zhou Mingyan?"

The Village Head's face flushed red once more.

"The evil ghosts you revere do not live here; this is merely a place for them to indulge in pleasure.

Why does your father, that old ghost, live here alone?"

The Village Head kept his lips tightly shut and did not answer.

Xu Yuan sneered, "You think that if you don't speak, we have no way of knowing?"

Xu Yuan looked at the members of the Spirit-Cleansing Bureau and said, "Divine Cultivators, come out."

With a rustle, five or six people stood up.

Among them was Jia Yi.

"My lord," Jia Yi stepped forward voluntarily, clasping his hands in a fist, "This subordinate is an Eighth-Rank Divine Cultivator, currently the highest level of Divine Cultivator here."

Xu Yuan then pointed at the carriage, "Make this old ghost speak without holding anything back."

Jia Yi immediately said, "Easy as pie."

Xu Yuan opened the carriage, and that old ghost, Huang Achuan, stared with two gloomy ghost eyes, swirling a gust of yin wind, and pounced out with a whoosh.

It still felt somewhat unconvinced!

It felt that having served various Ghost Lords for many days, it had learned quite a few skills from them.

It knew "Name-Calling Soul-Confusion," knew "Blowing a Person's Three Flames," knew "Stepping on Shadows to Harm People," and so on.

Just now, that young man suddenly spat fire, startling it, and then it was trapped in that cage.

Now they actually dared to let it out; it would have to fight these black-skinned dogs properly!

It was already dark; the Ghost Lords must have already descended the mountain. As long as it held out until the Ghost Lords arrived, these black-skinned dogs would merely be a delicious meal.

Jia Yi had already made preparations.

As soon as the old ghost Huang Achuan lunged out, a tiger-leopard sound erupted from his throat:

"Hmph!"

Instantly, the old ghost Huang Achuan felt his ghostly body stiffen; the techniques the Ghost Lords had taught him after being served to their satisfaction could not be used even once.

After subduing the old ghost, Jia Yi pressed one nostril shut and, using the other, sucked the old ghost in with a mighty pull.

The old ghost Huang Achuan turned into a wisp of black mist and drilled into the nostril.

Divine cultivators also have different lineages.

Their methods for "capturing soldiers" and "refining soldiers" differ from one another.

The lineage Jia Yi belongs to uses the "Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound" to capture ghosts.

But the tiger-leopard sound is the tiger-leopard sound, and the thunder sound is the thunder sound.

Jia Yi's current level cannot yet wield the "Thunder Sound."

Jia Yi suppressed him with his clear and condensed "True Self Spirit," inspected the old ghost Huang Achuan thoroughly, then shook his head and said, "Your aptitude is far too poor. You only know a few tricks to bluff with, those 'ghostly trifles.' There is no value in recruiting you as a Yin Soldier."

He then pressed his nostril shut again and exhaled.

Pfft—

The old ghost Huang Achuan was released once more.

However, this Huang Achuan had had his self-will erased by Jia Yi; with his memories intact, he could now achieve "answering every question."

"My lord, you may begin your questioning. This soul can last for about half an hour longer."

After that, it would dissipate completely.

Xu Yuan nodded and asked the old ghost Huang Achuan, "What exactly is the business conducted in this village temple?"

The Village Head watched from the side with a cold sneer.

He and his father had both witnessed the methods of the Ghost Lords; they were beyond comprehension! They were absolutely beyond human resistance.

Since his own father's soul had been mixing with the Ghost Lords for so long, the Village Head simply could not believe that the Filth-Dispelling Bureau truly possessed methods to make his father reveal any truth.

But the old ghost Huang Achuan stood in a daze, answering whenever questioned: "This humble one here fulfills all the Ghost Lords' demands, serving them to their satisfaction.

If they wish to eat people, I provide them with living humans; if they wish to sleep with women, I select one from the village's wives and daughters to their liking."

The Village Head's face, once cold and arrogant, instantly froze.

(End of this chapter)