Chapter 247

Mount Qingcheng?

That's Dujiangyan, not Fengdou.

Looking at it this way, if this was a wave clue, at least the current direction was not what the Great Emperor hoped to see.

So, this meant that in the game between the Heavenly Dao and the Great Emperor written in Brother Xiaoyuan's code of conduct, the Heavenly Dao won?

Tan Wenbin flicked his hand forward, and the two children left his shoulders, floated to the back, and began to push the wheelchair.

Brother Xiaoyuan had the "Four Ghosts Carrying the Sedan," and he, Tan Wenbin, now had "Two Ghosts Pushing the Cart."

It was just that this was also a type of technique; any special tossing movements by the two children now would make Tan Wenbin's coldness intensify and become even more agonizing.

"Hmm?"

The Daoist moved his peach-wood sword to the front, touched the hilt, and then touched the blade. Why did he have a feeling that this sword was hotter than usual?

"Daoist, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, keep walking."

Just like that, under the moonlight, the Daoist and the middle-aged man walked in front, followed by a wheelchair moving on its own.

"Daoist, this is the house. Look at the other houses in the village, then look at this one. This house is broken beyond belief."

"Sigh, the two children living in such a home have indeed been wronged. In that case, let me save them from this sea of suffering."

The Daoist first took a step and chanted a spell. To avoid disturbing the people inside as much as possible, his voice was kept very, very low. After the preparatory work was finished, the Daoist stuck a talisman on his head and limbs, then took out a piece of yellow paper and held it with the peach-wood sword.

The tip of the sword flicked, but the yellow paper didn't move at all.

The Daoist was stunned, then flicked it again, but there was still no change.

The Daoist simply steeled his heart and continuously tapped the yellow paper with the sword tip. Sparks flew out midway, but they quickly extinguished, far from enough to ignite it.

The middle-aged man didn't understand these things, but he could tell something had gone wrong.

"Daoist..."

"Give me your lighter."

"Oh, okay."

The Daoist took the lighter, and with a "click," produced a flame and lit the yellow paper.

In the past, with the same procedure, the yellow paper should have long since burned into ashes. He didn't know what was wrong tonight.

After the yellow paper burned out, the Daoist could only guess in his heart that perhaps the air in the coastal area was humid and his yellow paper had become damp.

After the final procedure was completed, the Daoist signaled the middle-aged man to wait here, and he walked inside alone.

The door was locked. The Daoist poked his peach-wood sword inside and flicked it, the bolt fell, and then he pushed the door open and entered generously.

Outside, the middle-aged man was waiting anxiously.

Tan Wenbin, sitting in the wheelchair nearby, was also frowning.

He had the ability to stop this, but his interference would very likely cut off this clue.

The most rational and cold-blooded approach would be to sit and watch the Daoist "steal" the children, let them return to Mount Qingcheng, and then he and the others would use this as a reason to go to Mount Qingcheng to rescue and find the children, pushing the causal line forward to confirm it.

Tan Wenbin knew that this was Grandma Wang Lian's house; she was a mahjong friend of Grandma Liu, and it was obvious that there was a line that could be pulled up later.

Soon, the Daoist came out, followed by the two children, each with a talisman stuck to their foreheads, eyes closed, neither crying nor making a fuss, as if sleepwalking.

Seeing the children brought out, the entanglement in Tan Wenbin's heart disappeared.

The Daoist was full of confidence and stopped the middle-aged man from coming forward to carry the children away, instead pointing his wooden sword forward, and the two children naturally followed their pace.

Regarding this, the Daoist explained: "There's no need for that. We are not here to 'steal' the children; we are here to save them."

The middle-aged man's face twitched when he heard this, but he still agreed: "The Daoist is right. The car is parked at the village road entrance; let's be a bit faster."

The Daoist stroked his goat beard and quickened his pace slightly.

His original intention was to speed up, but as soon as the speed increased, the two children following behind had disordered steps, and their bodies began to sway.

Seeing this, the Daoist could only cough lightly and slow down again.

Tan Wenbin's wheelchair followed them all the way to the side of the village road, where a small car was parked on the road.

When the middle-aged man went to open the car door, Tan Wenbin's gaze fell on him, first extremely gloomy, but soon, he lowered the intensity and became slightly softer.

"Ah..."

The middle-aged man only felt his neck being gripped by an invisible giant hand, unable to breathe at all, so he had to let go of the car door handle and kneel on the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" The Daoist looked puzzled, stepped forward to check, and asked, "Do you have asthma? Did you bring medicine?"

The middle-aged man wanted to explain that he wasn't sick, but he could only wave his hands, and no matter how wide he opened his mouth, he couldn't make a sound.

At this moment, the Daoist finally realized the nature of the problem. He immediately took out a talisman paper and stuck it on the middle-aged man's forehead.

This talisman paper could change into seven colors, each representing seven different strengths of evil spirits.

However, as soon as the talisman paper was stuck on, it ignited directly.

The Daoist's eyes widened in fear, he looked around in a panic, and scolded tremblingly:

"What kind of monster dares to... dares to cause trouble in broad daylight!"

The response to him was a palpitation from the heart.

"Hiss..."

The Daoist clutched his chest and knelt down, as if he had a sudden heart attack.

The next moment, Tan Wenbin unraveled the miasma in front of him, revealing his figure.

At this moment, Tan Wenbin had gray hair, a withered appearance, and thick death energy. Without any disguise, he looked like a ghostly evil being.

The two children floated toward the Daoist and the middle-aged man respectively, whispering silently, and cast the curse into their bodies.

This was a delayed curse. If the cursed person couldn't find a way to break it in time, their constitution would become worse and worse. Within a month, they would die of a strange disease with their intestines pierced and stomachs rotten.

Moreover, the two children could sense the location of the curse they had cast.

After the curse was completed, the two children floated back to Tan Wenbin's side.

At the same time, Tan Wenbin also lifted the suppression on the middle-aged man and the Daoist.

The middle-aged man looked at Tan Wenbin with horror, his chest heaving violently.

The Daoist was also very afraid, but he instinctively took out a small talisman packet folded into a square from his sleeve and threw it at Tan Wenbin.

The two children wanted to intercept it, but were stopped by Tan Wenbin's consciousness.

But even though Tan Wenbin didn't do any blocking, in his panic, most of the talisman packets thrown by the Daoist deviated and scattered to other places, and only one hit Tan Wenbin's neck.

Tan Wenbin was already filled with ghost energy, so this kind of talisman packet still had some effect, and Tan Wenbin deliberately didn't suppress it, intentionally maximizing the effect of the talisman packet.

"Sizzle..."

A small patch of charred black appeared on his neck.

Tan Wenbin was very dissatisfied with this bit of damage.

He had to signal the two children to continue pushing the wheelchair forward to bring greater pressure to the Daoist.

"Ah, for the sake of the righteous path, slay the demon!"

The Daoist decided to stake everything on one throw, holding the peach-wood sword, and rushed toward Tan Wenbin.

Tan Wenbin still didn't block, just silently signaled the children to remember to adjust the direction when pushing the wheelchair.

"Pfft..."

The peach-wood sword stabbed Tan Wenbin's right arm, and the evil-slaying aura on the sword began to react with the ghost energy in his body.

Then quickly, the color of the peach-wood sword began to turn black.

Obviously, the material and quality of this sword were not up to par; not only did it fail to purify the evil spirit, but it was instead polluted by the evil spirit in reverse.

This wouldn't do; not even a drop of blood flowed out.

Tan Wenbin signaled the two children to continue pushing the wheelchair forward so that the peach-wood sword could stab deeper. Finally, it stabbed in, and it bled.

Originally, Tan Wenbin wanted to continue causing more injuries, but the Daoist saw that the evil spirit he had stabbed not only didn't retreat but actively launched a charge at him, so scared that his hands shook, he dropped the peach-wood sword and turned to run.

Seeing the Daoist run away, the middle-aged man didn't dare to delay. He first scrambled up with his hands and feet, fell again after a few steps, and then scrambled to catch up with the Daoist's back.

They not only left the two children they had stolen out of the house here, but even the car was left here.

Tan Wenbin's gaze fell on one of his godchildren and said:

"Go quickly to Old Man Li's house and ask Brother Xiaoyuan for help. Say the opponent's methods are superb, I am seriously injured, and my life is in danger."

The godchild's ghost eyes blinked; obviously, he couldn't understand this kind of lie to ghosts.

"Go."

The godchild turned into a black shadow and floated toward Li Sanjiang's house.

Tan Wenbin had saved the two children from Wang Lian's house.

But if he wanted this causal line not to break, he had to actively add karma to it, such as his own "revenge line" after being "seriously injured."

That Daoist had some ability, but it was limited to just some. Tan Wenbin had the ability to kill them both directly.

It was just that he couldn't kill them, nor could he capture them, because capturing them might lead to subsequent disputes. What if their temple came to look for people, and they had a good attitude of admitting mistakes or even carried out the act of destroying their relatives for righteousness and cleaning up the sect?

He had to scare them away and let them go back. When the time came to follow this line to Mount Qingcheng, it would be simple.

In addition, Tan Wenbin wasn't worried that his "lies" would make Brother Xiaoyuan worry. Brother Xiaoyuan would know he was definitely fine as soon as he saw the godchild he sent to deliver the message in good condition.

Just as Tan Wenbin sat in the wheelchair and shrank his body further inside, a figure suddenly darted out from his side and continued to chase in the direction where the Daoist and the other man had fled at a very fast speed.

At this speed, it was estimated that it wouldn't take long to catch those two back.

"Brother You..."

True Lord Bai He couldn't hear him, just running blindly.

Tan Wenbin had no choice but to cast a spell on the figure that was about to run out of his spell-casting range.

As soon as the spell was cast, Lin Shu You stopped his steps. Accompanied by the flickering of his vertical pupils, divine power circulated through his body, quickly suppressing the curse power.

"Brother Bin?"

Lin Shu You walked back suspiciously while scratching his head.

"I let them run on purpose, don't chase."

"Ah?"

Tan Wenbin first moved his fingertips to completely dispel the curse power on Brother You, then looked at the two children with talisman papers stuck to their foreheads beside him and said:

"Carry these two children back to Grandma Wang Lian's house. Tell them that you bumped into them on the village road being stolen by two human traffickers, and you saved them.

The traffickers were scared away by you, and the car was left there.

Oh, and report it to the police by the way."

"Alright, Brother Bin."

Lin Shu You immediately did as he was told.

Soon, there was gradually movement in the village. Not only were there cries of lingering fear from Wang Lian's house, but nearby neighbors also began to constantly notify other villagers to check on their own children.

This gang of traffickers actually dared to enter the house in the middle of the night to steal children; it was truly too terrifying.

The police arrived soon and towed the car away as evidence.

The license plate was also a "Chuan" character, driven here from Rongcheng. If there were no accidents, the vehicle information should also be registered under that middle-aged man's name.

Mainly because those two weren't professional traffickers, and they didn't expect accidents to happen when they came to steal children, so they left behind an extraordinary number of clues.

On the dam at the bearded man's house.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Brother Binbin, you did very well."

Tan Wenbin: "It's all thanks to the 'River Walk Code of Conduct'."

"From the current point of view, this game should be the Great Emperor's loss. The Great Emperor miscalculated our position in the heart of the Heavenly Dao."

The river water was led by the Great Emperor in the direction where he was, but unfortunately... Sichuan-Chongqing was too big.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Yin Meng and continued: "Mengmeng, is there any meat left at home?"

Yin Meng: "Yes, but that's prepared for cooking tomorrow."

"Take it and practice first, then offer it to your ancestors."

"Alright, Brother Xiaoyuan."

Yin Meng took out the "practice materials" and began the process. After the gu insects submerged into the meat, the meat rotted rapidly, and one by one, the insects crawled out, gradually dividing into two sequences.

One row crawled around Yin Meng on the ground, while the other row flapped its wings and flew around Yin Meng.

Before long, the flying insects landed and changed to crawling, while the original crawling insects flew up and changed to circling. Everything appeared orderly.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Very good."

Yin Meng: "Brother Xiaoyuan, I am considering mixing toxins. A single insect cannot withstand highly toxic substances. I am thinking of adding non-toxic or weakly toxic ones to them, and then having them perform permutations and combinations during attacks to gather into new highly toxic substances."

"A good hypothesis, the feasibility is very high. However, before that, I think you need to consider more how to shorten the preliminary steps so that the practicality can be higher."

"Mm, I'm working hard, please give me a little more time."

"Make the offering."

"Okay."

Yin Meng began to burn paper for the sacrifice. This time, the yellow paper was burned quite normally, and no characters appeared in the wine bowl.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Now, it's completely confirmed."

Tan Wenbin: "Last time we went to the mountain city, I heard that Rongcheng's hot pot has a different flavor."

Yin Meng said happily: "Are we definitely going to Rongcheng?"

Although it wasn't directly returning to her hometown, Yin Meng was still extremely excited to hear her hometown accent again.

Li Zhuiyuan: "When Shan Shan Daye comes, I will start helping Runsheng wake up his consciousness."

Tan Wenbin looked at the pitch-black night: "Shan Shan Daye should be here soon."

According to Shan Shan Daye's past habits, he would come early to catch a breakfast.

Old Man Li was also very doting on Shan Shan Daye. Even if it was morning, he would let Auntie Liu cook rice and stir-fry a few dishes, not letting Shan Shan Daye drink porridge.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Mengmeng, when Brother You comes back, you also notify him to continue paying attention to the situation around him, preferably being able to pick up one or two more wave clues."

"Understood."

"Understood."

Tan Wenbin: "It's not guaranteed that Old Man Li will go to touch the lottery again tomorrow. If he touches out another luxury five-day tour of Rongcheng, uh... would it be too obvious?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Hard to say. Perhaps this time the Heavenly Dao is angry at the Great Emperor's provocation and deliberately retaliated in this way? Furthermore, it is also a form of appeasement for us."

Yin Meng: "Meaning, the Heavenly Dao is actively protecting us."

Tan Wenbin: "This is the united front value we have fought for."

Yin Meng: "At least for now, we are being blessed by Heaven."

Tan Wenbin: "You are the first person I've seen whose ancestor's blessing and Heaven's blessing conflict."

At this moment, Li Sanjiang's anxious shouting came vaguely from outside:

"Little Marquis Yuan~ Little Marquis Yuan~ Where are you~"

Woken up by the movement in the village at night, learning that human traffickers had entered Wang Lian's house in the middle of the night and two children had been abducted to the village road entrance, Li Sanjiang was shocked and immediately went to his great-grandson's bedroom to check. Seeing that his great-grandson was not in the room, Li Sanjiang was so scared that he thought his own Little Marquis Yuan had also been trafficked.

When he saw Li Zhuiyuan running toward him, Li Sanjiang breathed a sigh of relief and hugged the boy:

"Oh my, you scared your great-grandfather to death."

"Great-grandfather, it was Brother You who chased away the traffickers and saved the children. I accompanied him to explain the process to the police."

"It's all that messenger's fault for not making it clear, really."

Li Sanjiang naturally couldn't bear to blame his Little Marquis for running out late at night without sleeping, just holding the boy's hand and leading him home, not daring to let go for a moment on the way.

After returning home, Li Zhuiyuan just took a shallow nap before hearing the movement from downstairs.

It was Wang Lian and her husband who brought the two children over to thank Lin Shu You. Wang Lian asked the two children to kowtow to Lin Shu You. Lin Shu You was a bit embarrassed and wanted to decline, but under Brother Xiaoyuan's gaze, he could only accept.

The police had already locked onto the criminal suspect through the license plate information, surnamed Ding, named Ding Shanquan, which happened to match the information provided by Wang Lian's family.

While the police were conducting a search locally, considering that the other party might flee back to Rongcheng after the failure, they also sent a notice to the Rongcheng police, asking them to help assist in the investigation and arrest.

While it was still lively on the dam here, a hunchbacked figure walked over; it was Shan Shan Daye.

He did arrive early, arriving before breakfast, but he looked dejected and heavy-hearted.

Li Sanjiang, with a cigarette in his mouth, stood on the dam and said: "What's wrong, Shan Pao, did you lose the rice jar again?"

Shan Shan Daye looked up at Li Sanjiang: "Where is Marquis Runsheng..."

Li Sanjiang: "Didn't I tell you on the phone? Marquis Runsheng and Zhuangzhuang are at the construction site. Let your Marquis Runsheng mix well there. In the future, he might be able to be a contractor. Isn't that much better than doing our old trade?"

Shan Shan Daye: "Sanjiang, Marquis Runsheng is in trouble."

Li Sanjiang: "Nonsense, he's doing fine at the construction site, what trouble could he be in?"

Shan Shan Daye stomped his feet in a hurry: "I'm not lying to you, Sanjiang, Marquis Runsheng is really in trouble, he must be in trouble, my Marquis Runsheng!"

"What's wrong with you? I'm asking you what's going on, did you lose so much money you got hysterical?"

Shan Shan Daye sat on the ground, took out stacks of money with curled edges from his pocket, and scattered them randomly:

"I won money, damn it, I've been winning money these days!"

(End of chapter)