Chapter 69: The Sorcerer's Hiding Place

The cold moon was desolate, and paper money drifted across the sky.

This is called scattering "road-buying money."

In the funeral customs of the Divine Land, when a funeral procession passes an intersection, a virtuous and respected member of the family must scatter paper money.

First, it is to guide the deceased—the so-called "the deceased travels west, paper money paves the road."

Second, it is to lure away the wandering ghosts in the vicinity so they do not entangle the deceased.

Wu Laosi used the Art of Crossing to the Yin; at this time, his soul had left his body, and his physical body was like a wide-open door, which would attract those wandering ghosts and unclean things.

Legend has it that wandering ghosts have not entered the Netherworld, but they are not at ease; on one hand, they are entangled by the memories and obsessions of their past lives, and on the other, they must endure terrible loneliness and cold.

And when daylight comes and the sun shines, their souls will scatter.

To put it simply, it's like being on a planet where the day is like a lava hell and the night is freezing, enough to freeze a person's soul.

One can imagine how great the attraction of a warm physical body is to these things.

Sha Lifei had wandered the Jianghu; when he was down on his luck, he had also run to wealthy families to help organize weddings and funerals, so he was very familiar with this routine.

"Everyone, everyone, please do not disturb!"

He said flattering words while throwing the paper money with all his might.

Clatter!

The paper money danced, swirling rapidly in the blowing Yin wind, flipping up and down, and then returning to calm.

Li Yan sniffed. "They've gone!"

As the Yin wind dissipated, the swaying oil lamps also returned to calm.

Seeing this, Sha Lifei breathed a sigh of relief.

What was paper money?

Wu Laosi said he needed three jin, but he had bought a full eight jin. As long as the matter could be accomplished, scattering a few more handfuls was not a problem.

Of course, this was the polite way.

If scattering paper money couldn't coax them away, Li Yan would have to use his blade.

Afterward, a few more wandering ghosts came.

Of course, before they could get close, they had already been detected and warned by Li Yan.

Just then, another scent came from the riverbank in the distance.

It was icy and fishy.

Li Yan stood up abruptly, holding his Guanshan blade, and blocked Sha Lifei's front, while hanging the tassel of the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin on it.

Sha Lifei asked suspiciously, "What is it?"

As he spoke, he poked his head out to look.

Under the moonlight on the riverbank, a large snake as thick as a bowl slowly swam ashore, coiled into a snake formation, and hissed, flicking its tongue.

"Don't look into its eyes!"

Li Yan whispered, gripping his Guanshan blade tightly.

The previously calm tassel suddenly swayed gently, and icy Sha Qi overflowed.

Seemingly sensing the threat of the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin, the snake stopped moving forward and hesitated, flicking its tongue.

However, Li Yan did not dare to be careless at all.

He had heard Wang Daoxuan say that wandering ghosts are the most pitiful things in heaven and earth; their strength is insufficient, and even if they want to possess an ordinary person traveling at night, it requires a chance encounter and a great deal of effort.

Sometimes, people only need to spit and curse a few times to scare these things away.

A handful of road-buying money is enough to make these things leave.

Even more fortunately, because of the existence of the Chenghuangmiao soldiers in Xianyang City, the more powerful things dare not approach, and because the Chenghuangmiao performs food offerings and river lantern ceremonies every year to transcend the dead, the water ghosts drowned in the nearby river rarely cause mischief.

This kind of method where the soul leaves the body and the physical body is temporarily empty is most afraid of those things with cultivation, aside from fierce ghosts.

Once possessed, the behavior becomes like an animal.

When these things don't have high cultivation, they often occupy human bodies to practice, sometimes even using corpses to practice, drilling into graves and coffins, and coiling on top of the corpses.

Sometimes when people open a coffin and see a snake or fox coiled on the corpse, it is these little things practicing.

Finally, the snake sensed danger and twisted its body, drilling into the river.

Li Yan did not pursue; after all, protecting the body was more important.

Just like that, they passed the Hour of the Rat safely.

Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the six lamps of the Southern Dipper.

Once the Hour of the Rat passes, the difficulty of possession will greatly increase.

This Crossing to the Yin should be successful.

It's just that I don't know where that evil cultivator is hiding?

……………

On the other side, inside Xianyang City, at the Iron Blade Gang station.

Torches were bright, and there were groans and screams everywhere.

Zheng Heibei's face was gloomy as he watched his subordinates busy themselves.

Zhou Peide was imprisoned, the White Ape Gang was surrounded and suppressed, Yuan Qu had fled, and the Zhou family was now facing a great catastrophe, so he stayed at the Zhou mansion to discuss countermeasures with everyone.

Unexpectedly, the gang was attacked again.

"Gang Leader, it's the people from the Taixing Transport Agency!"

A subordinate with broken hands and feet gritted his teeth. "I recognize that transport leader. Usually, he's timid and doesn't even dare to fart when he sees me. I didn't expect..."

"Didn't expect what!"

Behind Zheng Heibei, a middle-aged man in a green shirt scolded angrily, "I told you long ago, don't provoke some people, especially those in the Jianghu."

"The people from the Taixing Transport Agency are also people you want to squeeze for profit? They are ruthless characters even in Chang'an. They just didn't want to argue with you; did you really think you had grown horns!" The speaker was named Liu Jincheng, one of the Eight Great Vajras, and also the head of the Changshun Escort Agency in Xianyang, ordered to follow and investigate.

He had traveled north and south, had knowledge, and knew what was good for him. He had warned Zheng Heibei and Yuan Qu several times, but neither of them bothered to pay attention.

Seeing the Zhou family in this state, he couldn't help but feel a surge of evil fire.

Zheng Heibei was originally a stubborn person. Knowing that these fellow disciples looked down on him, and now hearing his sarcasm, he snorted coldly:

"Feng Feng Shixiong Liu, my subordinates are not for you to lecture!"

"Hahaha... hopeless!"

Liu Jincheng was so angry he laughed and turned to leave.

Zheng Heibei also spoke in a fit of anger and regretted it after saying it. Seeing Liu Jincheng leave, his eyes flickered with uncertainty.

He didn't directly participate in the kidnapping of children, but he had helped from the side.

It was just that Yuan Qu had fled and Zhou Peide didn't know the inside story, so the yamen didn't come to make arrests, but some things, after all, cannot be hidden forever.

What was even more critical was Zhou Pan!

He could even sacrifice his own nephews and descendants, let alone him, who did the dirty work.

And his attitude toward him tonight was unusually kind...

!.

Thinking of this, a sense of fear inexplicably rose in Zheng Heibei's heart, but his face showed a different expression—angry and generous, he said in a deep voice:

"Brothers, rest assured, I will take care of your medical expenses to the end!"

"Someone, send them all to the Ren'an Hall medical clinic."

"Brothers, just rest and recover; this grudge will definitely be avenged!"

"Gang Leader is righteous!"

The Iron Blade Gang members were suddenly moved to tears.

Zheng Heibei nodded, and after ordering his subordinates to make proper arrangements, he turned and entered the room, pushed aside the bookshelf, and opened the floor compartment.

When he opened the small box inside, he was struck as if by lightning.

The box, which had been full of gold bars—his savings over the years—was now completely empty.

"You Laosi!"

Zheng Heibei couldn't guess who else had done it.

Although he was burning with rage, he knew this place was no longer safe to stay. He drilled into the secret passage in the room, emerged from a small courtyard near the Iron Blade Gang, changed his clothes, and disappeared into the darkness...

An hour later, the deputy gang leader saw that the candles had burned out and Zheng Heibei still hadn't come out. Feeling strange, he hurriedly entered the room to check.

Soon, a curse came from the room:

"The bastard, the Gang Leader has run away!"

…………

Unknowingly, it was the Hour of the Tiger.

In autumn, the nights are long and the days are short. The white of the fish belly had not yet appeared on the horizon, but the large rooster tied to the tree was pacing back and forth, then stretched its neck and let out a loud crow.

Sha Lifei and Li Yan hurriedly looked at the copper bell on the tree.

Wu Laosi had said that he would wake up at the crowing of the rooster. If he didn't pull the bell, it meant the spell had failed, and they should immediately burn the person and the coffin.

However, there was no movement from the bell.

Just as the two were worried, the hemp rope extending from the soil suddenly tightened, pulling the bell on the tree to sway left and right, clanging.

"Quick, do it!"

Li Yan and Sha Lifei hurriedly swung their shovels, dug away the surface soil, and then lifted the coffin lid together.

As soon as the coffin lid was opened, Li Yan's expression changed.

He smelled a rich Yin Qi, pure and icy.

Even without using his supernatural ability, he could see with the naked eye that the four walls inside the coffin were covered with a layer of white frost, and cold air was overflowing.

Wu Laosi was also covered in a layer of white frost, and his skin was frozen iron-blue and pale. Under their call, he slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were somewhat hollow and confused, as if he had just awakened from a dream.

Of course, after seeing the two, he quickly recovered.

Supported by Li Yan and Sha Lifei, Wu Laosi stood up with difficulty, then pointed to the southwest, his voice unusually hoarse.

"The people are right there, in an old tomb a hundred miles away!"

"There are still many children; if you want to save them, be quick!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to have sensed something. He struggled to stand up, pushed away Li Yan and Sha Lifei, knelt respectfully toward the south, and said tremblingly:

"Junior Wu Laosi was wrong, I am willing to accept punishment..."

Before he could finish, his body tilted, and he died.

"Feng Feng Shixiong!"

Li Yan was sorrowful and also somewhat shocked.

Wang Daoxuan had told him that supernatural abilities were not omnipotent; only when one's cultivation was high could one perceive some powerful things.

And just now, he had smelled nothing!

"Little Feng Feng Shixiong Yan, look!"

Sha Lifei, following Wu Laosi's previous instructions, gently lifted his upper garment.

On his back, the Hooked Order and chain patterns formed by various blood stasis marks had disappeared without a trace!

The scene before them made the two feel a chill in their hearts.

Li Yan gritted his teeth. "Let's proceed according to the plan."

"You go to the Chenghuangmiao to report, and also properly lay Feng Feng Shixiong to rest. I will go and keep watch first to prevent the evil person from escaping!"

Having said this, he and Sha Lifei lifted Wu Laosi into the coffin together, then flipped onto their horses, shook the reins, and rushed into the vast dark night...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 70 =====

(End of chapter)