“Haunted? Another ghost?”
Logically speaking, hauntings were quite normal. Whether ghosts lingering in the yang world or those emerging from the nether realm, their proportion relative to all humans in the yang world was small, but their absolute numbers were far from few.
Thus, Buddhist temples, Daoist temples, and government offices never lacked business. Yet no matter how many, they did not come every day.
Moreover, after what happened with Yuanye, everyone was still sensitive. They feared it might be another powerful ghost king bored and looking for trouble.
Yuanjing stood up first, but Lu Zheng spoke first. “I will go take a look.”
Yuanjing said, “Let us go together.”
Daoist Mingzhang nodded. So Lu Zheng and Yuanjing went out together toward the front courtyard.
…
The villagers from Jinxi Town were not in the main Three Pure Ones Hall but had been arranged in a side hall in the front courtyard.
When Lu Zheng and Yuanjing arrived, they saw a middle-aged man with a young man, both waiting anxiously in the hall.
“Daoist! Daoist, save us!”
Yuanjing had once exorcised a demon in Jinxi Town, so the two recognised him. Seeing Yuanjing appear, they hurried forward, bowing repeatedly.
Yuanjing raised his hand to support them. The two could not bend at the waist but were held up by empty air.
“No rush. Sit first, both of you. Tell me the details slowly.”
Yuanjing’s expression was calm and composed. His demeanour was light, his eyes gentle, his voice warm. He looked every bit the accomplished Daoist sage.
“Yes, yes!”
“Daoist, please sit!”
The two sat down. They glanced at Lu Zheng but paid him no mind. Instead, they said tensely to Yuanjing, “Daoist, in our town there is an old mansion abandoned for many years. No one lives there.
A few days ago, residents around the mansion occasionally heard sounds of silk and bamboo music, dancing, and revelry from it in the dead of night. Bold people who approached found the mansion unchanged, with no trace of the noisy sounds.
However, music playing at midnight is still very frightening. The town is now in panic. Everyone fears the ghost will rage and feed on people.”
The middle-aged man finished, let out a long breath, then picked up the tea a young Daoist had just served him. He drank it in big gulps, only then realising it had gone cold.
“It has not harmed anyone?”
Yuanjing nodded and looked at Lu Zheng. “It sounds like a ghost occupying the mansion, simply enjoying itself.”
This kind of ghost affected human life more than those living in the wild or graveyards keeping distance from people, but caused less harm than vicious ones that killed and drained yang energy.
For such ghosts, Baiyun Temple’s usual approach was to teach them a lesson and send them to the nether realm.
Lu Zheng nodded. “It should be no major issue.”
“Then I will go.” Yuanjing said.
“Together. I have nothing else anyway. Since we encountered it, I will go with Senior Brother.”
“Fine!” Yuanjing naturally agreed.
Only then did the two villagers learn Lu Zheng was Yuanjing’s lay disciple brother. They quickly bowed.
“No need for courtesy. No time to delay. Let us set off now.” Lu Zheng said.
Yuanjing reported the matter to Daoist Mingzhang, then prepared. The four set off down the mountain toward Jinxi Town.
Jinxi Town was not close. The middle-aged and young man driving an ox cart would take two days. But Yuanjing pasted a divine travel talisman on the ox. The group moved slowly but swiftly, arriving outside Jinxi Town by mid-afternoon.
They also received news.
“A master from Lanshan Temple passed here yesterday, acted to drive away the ghost, then left hurriedly early this morning.”
Lu Zheng and Yuanjing exchanged glances. Unexpectedly, this ghost had some skill.
“No hurry. Ghosts’ auras are faint in daylight, hard to trace. We will go tonight.” Yuanjing said.
Lu Zheng nodded. Though he could drag the ghost out in daylight, exorcising demons in the mundane world needed some ritual sense. It showed professionalism to laypeople.
Such unspoken rules existed everywhere in modern industries, let alone in ancient times, especially for such a technical profession.
So the two were in no rush. They first went to the town elder’s home, ate dinner hosted by prominent town figures, instructed everyone to stay indoors that night, then learned the abandoned mansion’s location. They prepared swords, talismans, and artefacts fully before setting out.
…
Early hour of xu. Lu Zheng and Yuanjing arrived not far from the mansion. The sky was completely dark.
Lu Zheng looked around. Cold wind howled. Dark clouds covered the moon. Heaven and earth were without light.
Then a yin wind suddenly appeared from nowhere, mingling in the rolling cold wind, carrying threads of bone-piercing chill.
The next moment, faint qin music came from the mansion opposite, followed by konghou, pipa, dongxiao, and drum sounds.
It had to be said, it sounded rather good.
Lu Zheng stroked his chin. “It seems… the opponent is not simple…”
Yuanjing could not help taking a deep breath. “Good thing you came. What is going on? When did yang world ghosts become so powerful?”
Logically, most powerful ghosts were in the nether realm. Yang world ghosts were mostly unintentional lingerers with low cultivation.
Moreover, even powerful ghosts lingering in the yang world would not cause major disturbances. After all, the yang world belonged to the living.
“No idea. Let us check it out.”
As Lu Zheng spoke, another burst of yin qi suddenly appeared, with soaring murderous aura.
“Hm?”
Lu Zheng’s gaze sharpened. Yuanjing also suddenly focused on the mansion.
“Such strong murderous aura. How could the ghost appearing for days not have killed anyone?”
The next moment, the silk and bamboo music in the mansion stopped abruptly. A faint yin qi surged, standing in opposition to the newly arrived ghostly qi.
“Wrong. This ghost is not with the original one in the mansion.”
Yuanjing could not help smiling. “Encountering a ghost coming to provoke? Then this will be easy for us?”
Lu Zheng nodded and asked Yuanjing, “Shall we watch?”
“Of course. If it is an evil ghost, we naturally remove harm for the people!”
So they pinched invisibility formulas, cast breath-concealing techniques. Lu Zheng added an aura-restraining spell on Yuanjing. The two silently approached the mansion and flipped over the wall.
…
Jinxi Town villagers could not see the mansion’s truth, but it could not fool Lu Zheng and Yuanjing.
Now the old mansion had illusion spells cast on it. To anyone not deliberately probing, it appeared as a luxurious residence.
At this moment, a beautifully dressed palace lady holding an ancient qin stood at the main hall entrance, confronting a ferocious ghost in armour.
“Madam Qin, since your lord is dead, why not submit to me?”
The ghost chuckled sinisterly. “We will not return to the nether realm. We will occupy this mountain as kings in the yang world. Kill some people daily, take some pleasure. Would that not be delightful?”
Madam Qin’s eyes were wary. She said somewhat tensely, “Follow you? Then get killed together by enemies you provoke or experts?”
The ghost glared. “Nonsense! I am already in the yang world. As long as I do not cause chaos in prefectures or cities, who can kill me?”
The next moment, a faint voice rang out from nowhere. “I can kill you.”
