Chapter 245

"Ah!"

"Done."

Yin Meng hooked her finger, and the *gu* insect flew back. After circling her finger, it burrowed into her sleeve and disappeared.

Lin Shu You didn't rush to put on his clothes but faced the mirror on the wall with his back, turned his head to look, and discovered a blood hole the size of a pinky nail had appeared on his back.

"I was wondering why it hurt so much today."

Yin Meng took a Band-Aid, applied it to Lin Shu You, and explained: "Apologies, recently it and I have been practicing a new secret art taught by Brother Xiaoyuan. It might have practiced until it went into *qigong* deviation."

This small wound didn't count for anything; Lin Shu You naturally wouldn't get angry, but instead asked curiously:

"What secret art?"

"It's one created by Brother Xiaoyuan based on its and my characteristics. It is currently still in the stage of running-in and practice. If it is practiced successfully..."

"How is it?"

"It's quite harmful to people."

"Then I'm truly looking forward to it."

Putting on his clothes, Lin Shu You walked into Tan Wenbin's room.

At this time, Tan Wenbin was curled up in the corner of the bed, with several books placed in front of him. His eyes were slightly open, and his eyebrows seemed to be hung with a hint of frost.

When Lin Shu You entered, he instinctively felt that the cold air in the room was stimulated and began to actively repel him.

Tan Wenbin's eyelids lifted, and the repulsion disappeared.

"Brother Bin, good morning."

"Mm, morning."

"How long did you sleep last night?"

"Consciousness was missing for a little while."

"That counts as sleeping, right?"

"Just consider it deep sleep."

Lin Shu You first took away the books on the bed, then helped Brother Bin put on his clothes, and then carried Brother Bin downstairs to sit in the wheelchair.

According to convention, after pushing him down the dam, they first turned into the peach forest to visit Runsheng, who was still soaking in the water at this time.

The water level in this pit was dynamic; every time it was full and overflowing at the beginning, and then it would lower day by day. However, Brother Xiaoyuan had a way to fill it up again.

"Brother Bin, I see the injuries on Runsheng's body seem to have recovered almost completely."

"Let him soak more if he can; it's a rare opportunity."

"So that's how it is."

"Let's go, push me to the riverside for a walk."

"Alright."

After pushing to the riverside, Tan Wenbin raised his hand to signal to stop.

"Just here, let me stay here alone for a while."

"Then I'll come back later."

"Mm, good."

After Lin Shu You left, Tan Wenbin shrank his body into the wheelchair.

By his ear were the whispers of the two children.

Brother Xiaoyuan was right; after the two children woke up, Tan Wenbin's situation became even more difficult. His body and soul were enduring the pain of ice needles piercing through them every day.

The two children could also perceive their foster father's torment, so they tried to sleep as much as possible, didn't make many movements, and if they occasionally communicated, they would try their best to lower their "voice" and reduce their own ghost energy fluctuations.

Both sides now actually had no quality of life to speak of. Fortunately, no matter how bitter or difficult, it would be fine after enduring this period of time. Tan Wenbin had a feeling of experiencing in advance the final sprint of the college entrance exam that parents accompany their children to do.

Ahead, two young people were walking over with schoolbags. Tan Wenbin recognized them; they were Brother Xiaoyuan's relatives, Pan Zi and Lei Zi.

Pan Zi and Lei Zi had long ago given up on the college entrance exam, so naturally, there was no urgency of studying. The two squatted in front of Tan Wenbin. Lei Zi took out loose cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to Pan Zi, and started puffing clouds and mist.

They couldn't see Tan Wenbin.

Pan Zi: "This school attendance is truly meaningless."

Lei Zi: "Who's saying it isn't."

Pan Zi: "My parents know I can't pass with my grades. I said it would be better to 'drop out' early and go to the brick kiln to move bricks for two more months, but they just wouldn't agree, thinking of letting me continue until the college entrance exam to try my luck. Heh, doing this paper, if you know it, you know it; if you don't, you don't. How can you rely on luck?"

"Dropping out" here doesn't mean truly dropping out. Generally, before the high school or college entrance exam, the head teacher is happy to see students with bottom-tier grades voluntarily give up, which can avoid affecting other students and also raise the enrollment rate. By then, they just need to come to school to collect a graduation certificate.

Lei Zi: "My parents are having the same daydream. If you ask me, the only one in our Li family with a brain is the little aunt's family. Look at the little aunt, then look at Yuanzi—what on earth are we struggling for?"

Young people have many worries, which can't be finished talking about all night, but sometimes they are also very short, short to the point of just one cigarette's time, because there is no second cigarette in their pockets.

Throwing the cigarette butt away casually, the two stood up and prepared to leave. Very coincidentally, they walked toward the position of Tan Wenbin behind them.

Tan Wenbin raised a finger and shook it lightly.

"Ouch."

Pan Zi's body stumbled, and he was supported by Lei Zi.

"What's wrong with you?"

"My left foot tripped over my right foot."

"Heh, hahahaha!"

The two carried their schoolbags, hooked shoulders and backs, and walked away in a sloppy manner.

The sun gradually came out, and the sunlight became bright. Tan Wenbin shrank himself into the wheelchair and closed his eyes.

He hadn't been squinting for long before the sound of a motorcycle came from the village road in the distance.

Tan Wenbin was too familiar with this engine sound. In the past, as long as he heard this sound appear at home, he would immediately jump up to turn off the TV and put the remote control back in its place.

It wasn't that he hadn't considered means of cooling down, but he was too lazy to bother. Anyway, he couldn't fool his father. As long as his father wasn't in a bad mood when he came home, he generally wouldn't find trouble with him.

Opening his eyes to look, he saw Tan Yunlong riding a motorcycle past. After a while, he saw Tan Yunlong riding the motorcycle back again.

He didn't go to Grandpa Li's house; he was truly just turning around in the village.

Tan Yunlong left empty-handed.

Tan Wenbin continued to close his eyes, enjoying the sun.

The sun gradually rose, and three hours passed just like that. Lin Shu You came once in the middle, and seeing Brother Bin was still enjoying it, he left again.

"Ding-a-ling..."

Hey, it was the familiar bicycle bell sound again.

Tan Wenbin opened his eyes again. This time, what he saw was Zhou Yunyun. He was also familiar with her bicycle bell sound; she used to ride that bicycle to school.

Why hadn't she returned to Jin Ling for school yet? Was the holiday that long?

Tan Wenbin, sitting in the wheelchair, had the feeling of sitting in a grave waiting for relatives to come to sweep his grave one after another.

What was even stranger was that Zhou Yunyun actually parked her bicycle by the village road and then walked toward here along the riverside.

She passed in front of Tan Wenbin and then squatted down diagonally in front.

Tan Wenbin leaned against the wheelchair, tilted his head, and examined his partner.

She had lost weight. There was less flesh on her face.

This wouldn't do; she had to eat it back quickly. Being too thin didn't look good.

The two children at Tan Wenbin's shoulders each put their index fingers into their mouths, looked at Zhou Yunyun for a while, then turned their heads to look at their foster father for a while, and finally, the two children looked at each other and smiled.

After Zhou Yunyun looked at the river surface for a long time, she stood up, walked back to the village road, and left riding her bicycle.

Brother Xiaoyuan said that he now not only looked more like a dead person than a dead person, but in fact, he should be in a state of "dead as dead can be."

Therefore, for people who were truly close, a strange induction would be produced, which was that their hearts felt empty, and they felt flustered.

After a while, Lin Shu You walked over.

"Brother Bin, going back?"

"Did you guide her over?"

Tan Wenbin believed in love, but didn't believe love could pierce through his ghost-art camouflage.

"Ah?" Lin Shu You scratched his head a bit awkwardly. "I thought Brother Bin, you wanted to see her. I just ran into her in the village, so I told her that Brother Bin, you used to like sitting here blowing in the wind and daydreaming."

"Mm, well done."

"Hehe."

"Alright, A You, push me back."

"Alright."

"Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof!"

A yellow-and-white dog was barking near-crazily. Several villagers were using tree branches and stones to hit it.

This dog had just bitten someone and was clearly already mad; it couldn't be kept. But because there were no handy tools at hand, no one dared to step forward easily. Being bitten once would require many injections later, which was too troublesome.

At this time, Lin Shu You was pushing Tan Wenbin over. The mad dog looked at the many people opposite, turned its head, and immediately flew toward Lin Shu You to bite him.

Lin Shu You just let go of the wheelchair, preparing to step forward and solve it with one kick, but before the mad dog could get close, it suddenly let out a miserable howl. Its four limbs stiffened, and after rubbing against the ground, it fell to the ground and couldn't get up. Immediately after, fresh blood flowed out of the dog's mouth.

A You turned his head in surprise to look at Brother Bin.

Solving a mad dog was the smallest matter; it was mainly the way it was solved.

Just now, Lin Shu You didn't perceive any killing intent from Brother Bin, and didn't even perceive how Brother Bin performed the art, and the mad dog just died suddenly.

"Brother Bin..."

"Curse."

Tan Wenbin had just cursed that mad dog to death.

"Brother Bin, your current means are a bit scary."

No killing intent, cursed to death instantly.

Although he knew it couldn't produce such a miraculous effect on true *Xuan* Sect people or evil spirits, even if it was just aimed at ordinary people, it was already very terrifying.

"This bitterness wasn't suffered in vain." Tan Wenbin narrowed his eyes. "If the body is no good but it couldn't bring about an improvement in strength, wouldn't I be dragging the team's hind legs?"

After those few villagers ran over to confirm the dog was dead, they left. When leaving, they also pointed at Lin Shu You, signaling him to handle the dog's corpse. No one dared to eat such a mad dog.

Lin Shu You picked up the mad dog's corpse and pushed Tan Wenbin back to Big Beard's house.

Brother Xiaoyuan was standing on the dam.

"Brother Xiaoyuan!"

Li Zhuiyuan walked toward this side, first signaling Lin Shu You to lift his clothes to check his physical condition, then frowned slightly.

"Brother Xiaoyuan, what's wrong?"

"Take some time to tell the *Tongzi* that body transformation doesn't need to be too refined. The further back, the higher the cost, and the less cost-effective it is. He is picking at details now."

"Good, I know."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Tan Wenbin sitting in the wheelchair: "Regret it?"

Tan Wenbin tried hard to pretend to be relaxed: "How could I? I feel like I'm simply strong as hell now."

Li Zhuiyuan: "What's going on with this dog?"

Lin Shu You: "The mad dog bit someone, and Brother Bin cursed it to death instantly. I'm preparing to find some grass to burn it."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Keep it for now; it's just right for Yin Meng to use."

Lin Shu You said in surprise: "Mengmeng can even use mad dogs to make poison now?"

At this time, Yin Meng walked out of the house holding a pile of formation materials.

Li Zhuiyuan handed a stack of formation design drawings to Lin Shu You: "Go help Mengmeng set up the formation for Brother Runsheng."

"Good."

Lin Shu You threw the mad dog's corpse into a corner, washed his hands, and walked into the peach forest with Yin Meng.

Li Zhuiyuan went to push Tan Wenbin's wheelchair. The wheelchair was very heavy. Although Tan Wenbin was now thin and weak, he wasn't without weight, but the teenager pushed it very easily.

"Brother Xiaoyuan, Runsheng is about to wake up."

"Mm. My original intention was to let him soak for a while longer, but his wild nature is about to wake up a step earlier."

Arriving at the pit, Lin Shu You and Yin Meng had already inserted quite a few formation flags around it.

Li Zhuiyuan was certain that no matter how crazy Runsheng went, he wouldn't hurt him, but if Runsheng left this place, he wouldn't show mercy to ordinary living things.

Therefore, before he helped Runsheng recover his self-consciousness, he had to restrict his personal freedom.

The formation was set up. Li Zhuiyuan squatted by the pit and tapped on Runsheng's forehead with his finger.

Runsheng opened his eyes, which were all white, unable to see a hint of black.

He instinctively opened his mouth, exerted force from his waist, and wanted to tear the teenager down like a wild beast.

But before his body could leave the water surface, Li Zhuiyuan activated the formation, and Runsheng was forced to lie back down, only able to struggle slightly in the water.

Li Zhuiyuan said to Lin Shu You and Yin Meng: "You two arrange a shift; every six hours, someone must come here to check and replace the damaged formation materials."

Yin Meng: "Brother Xiaoyuan, Runsheng he..."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Actually, I can start helping him wake up his consciousness now, but his wild nature has just risen. If we want him to be able to better face and suppress this wild nature in the future, we have to wait until his wild nature is thoroughly stimulated before taking the next step of treatment."

Tan Wenbin: "Only in this way will he not be easily out of control in the future, and Runsheng can better master this power."

Li Zhuiyuan: "It seems you haven't read few books recently."

Tan Wenbin: "There was nothing else to do, so I could only read books. It's a pity, I didn't fall into this state when I was in high school; otherwise, the college entrance exam would only have been taken better."

Li Zhuiyuan asked Yin Meng: "Is the temporary formation on the dam set up?"

Yin Meng: "Not yet, I'll go now."

Soon, the one-time formation on the dam was also set up.

For this, Xiao Yingying specifically took all the paper offerings originally placed there into the house, and then went to Li Sanjiang's house holding Benben.

Yin Meng stood in the formation, and the mad dog's corpse was placed in front of her.

Lin Shu You stood beside her, full of expectation. He was very curious about what the secret art Brother Xiaoyuan specifically tailored for Mengmeng and the *gu* insect was.

Li Zhuiyuan: "A You."

"Here, Brother Xiaoyuan."

"Don't just watch; be ready to respond at any time."

"Understood."

Lin Shu You straightened his back and stood at the edge of the formation.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Mengmeng, you can start."

Yin Meng nodded, stepped out, and waved her hands to form seals.

Because the running-in wasn't sufficient yet and she hadn't deeply understood the true meaning of the secret art, the prelude had to be more complicated. Yin Meng didn't dare to miss any process.

Lin Shu You felt Yin Meng's pace was a bit familiar, but Brother Xiaoyuan was here, and the *Tongzi* didn't dare to communicate with him blatantly.

Tan Wenbin, sitting in the wheelchair, opened his mouth: "Sacrificial dance?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Star Constellation Yin-Yang Step, it is a branch of *Nuo* opera, belonging to the *Wu* (shaman) branch, used to communicate with gods and ghosts, and also often used for sacrifices to ancestors."

The pace finished, the seal was completed, and Yin Meng let out a low shout. Holding incense in her left hand and a *talisman* in her right, she flicked three times. The incense and *talisman* ignited, and she raised her arms high, performing the kowtow ceremony.

The next moment, the *gu* insect flew out from Yin Meng's body and directly burrowed into the mad dog's corpse.

Soon, the mad dog's corpse began to expand constantly like blowing up a balloon. Just when it looked like it was about to explode, dense holes appeared, the corpse shriveled back rapidly, the skin and flesh on it began to rot, and immediately after, it began to roll like boiling water.

Tan Wenbin: "Sacrifice... who is this sacrificed to?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Who else could it be?"

Tan Wenbin: "The Great Emperor of Fengdu?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Mm."

Why Yin Meng's cooking had poison, and ordinary people couldn't enjoy it, was because what she cooked were offerings.

Li Zhuiyuan was based on this characteristic of Yin Meng, letting her use the method of performing the sacrificial ceremony to sacrifice this mad dog's corpse to the Fengdu Great Emperor, thereby receiving feedback from the Great Emperor.

Ordinary people wouldn't dare to do this. After all, who would dare to offer a dead dog that had gone mad to the Great Emperor?

Li Zhuiyuan didn't have such scruples, because if one day he was arrested back to Fengdu and the Great Emperor read out his crimes, the one in front of him... wasn't qualified to be listed on it.

Suddenly, a group of black insects crawled out of the rotting flesh, one of which was the *gu* insect body, glowing with golden light.

Yin Meng was trying hard to control these newly born insects through her *gu* insect.

The insect swarms began to arrange and combine on the ground, and everything appeared orderly.

But when Yin Meng intended to control them to fly, pairs of wings like ladybugs spread and flapped, and the insects flew up collectively.

But immediately, the originally neat queue began to appear chaotic, and insects constantly collided and fell. One place collided, and everywhere collided. The whole scene began to turn into a mess.

Immediately after, whether they were on the ground or flying, all the insects fell into intense, restless agitation, and finally, they all rushed toward Yin Meng collectively. This was to perform a backlash!

Li Zhuiyuan: "A You!"

Lin Shu You's figure appeared behind Yin Meng, pulling her out of the formation. The gu insect was not slow either; it quickly darted out and landed back in Yin Meng's cuff.

Li Zhuiyuan clenched his palm, the formation activated, and all the insects inside were crushed instantly.

Yin Meng: "Brother Xiaoyuan, I'm too stupid, I failed..."

Li Zhuiyuan: "The difficulty of the mad dog's corpse was still a bit large. Practice from the simplest one first. Let Liu Yi buy you more meat every day when she buys groceries. The type isn't limited, as long as it's fresh."

Yin Meng: "Good, I understand."

Yin Meng walked into the house, moved out an offering table, and solemnly performed the sacrifice again.

This was what Brother Xiaoyuan taught her: every time she practiced this secret art, regardless of success or failure, she should properly offer a sacrifice to the Great Emperor as an apology.

The candle flame on the offering table flickered, and Yin Meng lit the yellow paper and sent it into the fire basin.

Suddenly, clearly there was no wind, but the burning yellow paper spun itself and flew out, finally falling into the wine bowl on the offering table, turning into fly ash.

Yin Meng: "Brother Xiaoyuan, there are words..."

"Telling you to return home to worship ancestors again?"

"No..."

Li Zhuiyuan walked over and looked down.

Four extremely distorted characters appeared inside the bowl—【Return to Sect and Take a Master】.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 246 =====