Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 103 [Tracking Technique] (7000 words)
Chapter 7000 [Tracking Technique] ( words)
The third brother's dojo was quite large, with a separate building and a fairly large courtyard. However, it was located a bit remote, further north in Kowloon Tong.

However, I think it is precisely because of this that they can get such a large place as a temple. Otherwise, in Hong Kong, where every inch of land is valuable and even a thousand-foot house can be called a mansion, if it is in those popular areas, such a large temple would probably cost a sky-high price.

Chen Yan and Chu Keqing hailed a taxi outside the hospital and headed to the Taoist temple. It was already past seven in the evening when they arrived - it was actually quite inappropriate to go to the mourning hall to pay respects at this time.

The two took a taxi all the way to the outside of the dojo, and just as they arrived at the intersection, they saw a black flower ball hanging on the gate of the dojo.

When I walked to the door, the gate of the Taoist temple was open. I walked through the yard and saw the mourning hall set up in the living room.

A black cloth was hung on the door frame, and wreath stands were placed from the mourning hall all the way to the roadside.

As soon as Chu Keqing and Chen Yan walked through the gate, two young men who were smoking in the yard immediately came up to them. They were both wearing the same T-shirt with the word "Dojo" printed on it, but the T-shirts were both pure black, probably specially made for funerals.

Chu Keqing immediately revealed her identity, saying that she was the head of the Yun Sect, Chu Keqing, and that she came from Jinling Prefecture. The two young men immediately sent one of them to report, and a few moments later, two men walked out of the mourning hall.

One was dressed in full mourning attire, with a white scarf on his head, while the other was in a black suit with a white bandana tied around his arm.

The two men were in their thirties or forties. The one in the mourning clothes looked a little older, while the one in the black suit looked more energetic.

After talking with the two men for a few sentences, Chu Keqing learned that they were both disciples of the third senior brother: the one dressed in filial piety clothes was the second disciple, and the one in the black suit was the third disciple.

The two disciples immediately showed great enthusiasm when Chu Keqing, the head of the Yun Sect, came to pay her respects. They called her "Master Aunt" and hurriedly welcomed her into the mourning hall.

The mourning hall was decorated in a very solemn manner, with a frozen coffin placed in the middle. A black and white portrait draped with a black cloth was hung on the wall, and on the table in front of the coffin were memorial tablets and incense burners.

In front of him, there was a brazier on the ground and two cushions.

Chu Keqing first stared at the portrait on the wall for a long time, then she took a deep breath, took three incense sticks from the second disciple in filial piety clothes, walked to the tablet to burn incense, and then took a stack of paper money from the man in black suit and squatted in front of the brazier to burn it.

Chen Yan said nothing, just stood quietly by the side.

Through the tablet, Chen Yan learned the name of his third senior brother: Huang Mingyi.

Chen Yan once talked with Chu Keqing about how the names of several fellow disciples and herself were all given by their master.

Mingyi, this name should be what is expected of him.

Chen Yan shook his head in his heart. It was a pity that Huang Mingyi probably went against his master's expectations.

Judging from the photo hanging in the mourning hall, this third senior brother had a good-looking appearance, with a square face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, but there was a bit of rebelliousness in his eyes.

Huang Mingyi never married or had children. Although he had some friends in Hong Kong over the years, his funeral arrangements were handled by his disciples.

Chu Keqing squatted in front of the brazier and burned pieces of paper money in the fire. The woman's expression seemed calm, but there was actually a hint of ups and downs in her eyes.

People are dead. All the previous grudges are basically gone with these pieces of paper money, and nothing is left.

Chu Keqing stood up, then turned and nodded to the two disciples kneeling beside her. The two disciples kowtowed in return as filial sons.

Chu Keqing said slowly: "Does my senior brother have anything to say?"

The second disciple, dressed in mourning clothes, shook his head: "Master passed away suddenly, and there was no one around at the time, so he didn't leave any words."

The third disciple in the black suit signaled his senior brother with his eyes, then turned to Chu Keqing and said, "Master often mentions the young aunt from Jinling Mansion to us. He always says that they have a very good relationship and grew up together. He also says that you are a master of Taoism. Master has always been very optimistic about you and always praises you..."

Chu Keqing's eyes turned a little colder.

Full of praise?

It would be more like he scolded me behind my back for being ignorant of the current situation... Chu Keqing sneered in her heart.

Seeing the mercenary man in a black suit in front of her, Chu Keqing felt a little unhappy and shook her head, "It was Huang Mingyi's eldest disciple who called me before. Where is he?"

Both disciples had strange expressions on their faces. The second disciple, who was wearing mourning clothes, immediately said in a tone filled with righteous indignation, "Who knows where he's gone! Master's body is still warm, and he suddenly left without even saying goodbye! I think this guy's conscience has been eaten by a dog! Master valued him the most when he was alive, but after his death, this idiot has no filial piety at all!"

"Right!" The man in the black suit immediately joined in the condemnation. "Master trusted him the most when he was alive! He even entrusted the dojo's accounts to him! He suddenly ran away the morning before yesterday. He's the one who manages the money and the accounts, so who knows how much money he's made off with! We've been looking for him too, but we can't find him."

Chu Keqing frowned and asked a few more questions carefully. From the two people's cursing, she was able to piece together the general idea of what had happened.

That senior disciple suddenly left the temple one morning two days ago.

When he left, he didn't say goodbye or speak to anyone in the temple, and after that, there was no news from him and he couldn't be contacted no matter how hard he tried.

In addition, he was originally responsible for accounting and money, so people would naturally suspect that he had absconded with the money after his master's death.

Chu Keqing also asked whether this person had received any phone calls or contacted anyone before leaving, but she couldn't get any information.

"He was the master's first disciple. After the master died, he made everyone obey him. When he was packing up the master's belongings, he even locked the office door and only allowed him in!"

"Yeah, yeah! They're guarding against us like they're thieves! We're all Master's disciples too!

I suspect he must have gotten his hands on the money that his master had entrusted him to manage, and now that his master is dead, no one is asking him about the money, so he must have run away with it!"

"Exactly! He's the one who manages the money and accounts on a daily basis. Besides Master, he's the only one who knows exactly how much cash and assets the dojo has. I think he's just a ruthless person who ran away with Master's money."

The two disciples didn't seem to care much about the disappearance of the eldest brother, but they were very enthusiastic in criticizing him.

Chen Yan's heart moved, and he probably understood what these two people were thinking.

Originally, if the eldest disciple was still alive, the Taoist temple would naturally be inherited by the eldest disciple after Huang Mingyi's death - the money and accounts would also be in his hands.

However, his departure gave the second and third sons great hope.

Regardless of whether the boss ran away with the money or not, first put the charge of being unfilial and the charge of "running away with the money" on his head.

Especially when in front of someone of "elder" status like Chu Keqing, the crime must be publicized first - maybe they have done similar things in front of other guests who came to pay their respects in the past two days.

It's just two dogs fighting over food, and what they are fighting for is the position of the person in charge of this dojo in the future.

Chen Yan even used the Qi-gazing technique to look at the two people...

There was no fluctuation of vital energy in the two of them, probably because they failed to practice the skills and did not enter the Tao.

In the subsequent conversation, Chen Yan also roughly heard some news.

In Huang Mingyi's dojo, his three disciples—the eldest, second, and third—were all his direct descendants. While Huang Mingyi focused on making friends with influential clients, the eldest disciple was responsible for all the day-to-day affairs of the dojo, including the financial accounts—a clear sign of the deep trust he held in his eldest disciple.

The difference in status between the second and third sons can be seen.

The second and third brothers were weak and had not learned any martial arts, but they should have learned some skills in geomancy and feng shui. They were able to sit in the clinic independently and take on some business. Under the name of Huang Mingyi's direct disciples, they had gained a little fame.

In addition to joining forces to criticize the missing eldest disciple in front of their elder Chu Keqing, there was actually something dirty going on between the two of them. During the conversation, they were trying to please Chu Keqing, both openly and covertly, and tried to leave a good impression in front of this elder.

At the same time, they are intentionally or unintentionally stepping on each other.

For example, the second disciple, who wears filial piety clothes, would imply that he usually sits in the dojo, diligently teaching skills to the third generation of disciples, while the third disciple is always busy outside, and no one knows what he is busy with...

The third disciple, however, said that he was usually busy with welcoming and seeing off guests, trying hard to make friends with guests, going out to do feng shui readings, and taking on many wedding and funeral ceremonies. He worked hard and made great contributions, while the second disciple spent his days leisurely in the Taoist temple...

After listening for a while, Chu Keqing became a little impatient. She responded perfunctorily and said some impartial words.

She is Huang Mingyi's junior sister and the legitimate leader of Yun Sect.

In Hong Kong, Huang Mingyi actually claimed to be the direct descendant of the Yunzong, an authentic Xuanshu sect in the mainland.

So Chu Keqing is naturally considered a family member.

Since she had come to pay her respects, she didn't have to leave immediately. The dojo had arranged a rest room for her, and the second disciple had even let her stay inside. It was clear that he was trying to curry favor with the senior sister, hoping that she would speak well of him in the future battle for the position of the dojo leader.

Chen Yan remained silent throughout the whole process, letting Chu Keqing deal with the two guys. After standing for a while, Chu Keqing said that she was a little tired after traveling all the way.

The two of them hurriedly led Chu Keqing to the guest rooms behind the Taoist temple to rest.

As Chu Keqing's "assistant", Chen Yan was also assigned a guest room next to Chu Keqing's room.

The rooms of ordinary families in Hong Kong are very small, probably a regional characteristic.

After Chu Keqing returned to her room and sent away the two disciples of the Taoist temple who were fighting openly and secretly, Chen Yan came over immediately.

"Excuse me, Senior." Chu Keqing also sighed. "My senior brother doesn't know how to judge people, and the disciples under him are not up to the task. Before the master's body is even cold, they start to criticize each other like this. It's a joke."

Chen Yan waved his hand: "It doesn't matter, it has nothing to do with me anyway."

As he spoke, Chen Yan looked at Chu Keqing: "Did you see anything in the mourning hall?"

Chu Keqing frowned and shook her head, saying, "I used the Qi-gazing technique to look at Third Senior Brother's coffin in the mourning hall, but..."

"But the luck has dissipated, so there is nothing to discover." Chen Yan sighed.

The two looked at each other, their eyes somewhat solemn.

Huang Mingyi in the coffin, his spiritual sense, that is, his soul, has completely disappeared! This is a bit weird.

Chen Yan said slowly, "Generally speaking, when a person dies, it takes some time for their spiritual awareness to dissipate and their soul to disperse. Huang Mingyi's seventh day is the day after tomorrow, which means today is only the fifth day after his death.

Huang Mingyi's cultivation is quite good. With half a lifetime of practice, his spiritual perception should naturally be much stronger than that of ordinary people.

In just five days, the soul had completely dissipated—when I watched from the funeral hall, the fate had been completely wiped out, not a trace left. This speed of dissipation was very unusual!

According to Huang Mingyi's level of cultivation, the disappearance of his spiritual sense after death should last at least seven days, right? There is no way it would have completely dissipated before the fifth day.

Chu Keqing's eyes moved slightly: "So, Senior, what you mean is that my third brother's soul was devoured when he was killed?"

Chen Yan remained silent. Chu Keqing suddenly remembered what Huang Mingyi's two disciples had just said, and she said, "That missing senior disciple was alone collecting my third senior brother's belongings! Could it be that he found some clues among the belongings and then went out to investigate... Perhaps there's something crucial hidden in my third senior brother's belongings?"

Chen Yan smiled and said, "Do you want to go look for him? I advise you not to hold out hope. Even if he is there, he should have been taken away by that senior disciple.

Even if they didn't take it away, after the eldest disciple disappeared, the second and third brothers in the family must have searched Huang Mingyi's things several times. If you look for it now, I'm afraid you may not find anything. "

Chu Keqing took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Give it a try, just in case you find something."

Chen Yan pondered for a moment: "I have a better and easier way."

Chu Keqing's eyes lit up.

Chen Yan said slowly: "Although I don't know what devoured Huang Mingyi's soul...

But this is a port city!

I think the probability of there being any wild monsters that devour human souls in a modern international metropolis is too small.

The one who killed him was obviously an opponent hiding behind the scenes, and that must be a monk.

There is a reason why monks use the method of devouring human souls.

Monsters devour human souls in order to nourish their inner elixir. They swallow them and then go back to digest them, and then they disappear without a trace.

But the monks could not swallow and digest the souls they took away.

The purpose of soul-stealing magic is to capture the person's spirit. After returning, they will use the spirit to refine some evil spells or magical tools, such as the Hundred Ghosts Banner, or use the spirit's ghost energy to raise little ghosts... all of which are useful."

Chu Keqing was a smart person and immediately understood what Chen Yan meant. She said, "You mean... my third brother's soul was taken away! But because cultivators always have a use for souls, so... since it's useful, they must have kept it! Instead of letting it disappear immediately?"

“I can’t say for sure, but the possibility is very high and it’s worth a try.”

Chu Keqing frowned: "Senior, how do you want to try it?"

Chen Yan smiled and said, "Come closer and listen."

·
At twelve o'clock in the night, Chu Keqing brought Chen Yan back to the mourning hall.

At midnight, the gates of the temple were already closed, and many of the disciples had gone back to rest. Only two of Huang Mingyi's direct disciples remained in the mourning hall, keeping vigil.

However, these two people probably didn't have much filial piety. When Chen Yan and Chu Keqing walked back to the mourning hall, they saw the third brother standing in the yard in a black suit, smoking, holding a mobile phone in his hand, and he didn't know what he was browsing.

The second son was sleeping soundly in a chair in the corner of the mourning hall.

Chu Keqing's sudden arrival startled the man in the black suit. But when he saw the second brother sleeping, a hint of joy suddenly appeared on his face. He immediately came over and didn't bother to wake the second brother. Instead, he came up to Chu Keqing and said, "Master, why haven't you rested yet so late?"

Chu Keqing pretended to look sad and shook her head, saying, "I'm thinking of your master... I remember that when I was a child, I studied with him, and now he's lying here..."

Chu Keqing sighed softly and glanced at the man in the black suit. "The leader of your sect is no longer here. From now on, the temple left by your master will have to rely on you two disciples to help each other and support it."

The man in the black suit nodded immediately and said, "I was thinking about Master at night too. I felt so upset that I couldn't calm down. I hid outside in the yard and smoked."

As he spoke, he deliberately glanced at the second brother who was sleeping in the chair, and whispered, "Master, don't blame the second brother. He was also anxious about Master's funeral and had several arguments with others during the day. He must have fallen asleep because he was mentally exhausted."

These words are like a needle hidden in a cotton ball, seemingly to excuse the second brother, but in fact, the words "anxious and angry" and "quarreled with others several times" are meant to hint to Chu Keqing that the second brother has a bad temper and is not good at handling interpersonal relationships.

If you think about it more deeply, how can a person with a bad temper, who easily quarrels and conflicts with others, and who does not know how to handle interpersonal relationships be a good leader in the Taoist temple?

Chu Keqing was smart, so she naturally heard the hint in the words of the man in the black suit, but she just smiled and said nothing.

Chen Yan came over, patted his black suit, and said with a smile: "Senior brother, do you have a cigarette? Lend me one. I left in a hurry and forgot to bring any..."

The man in black suit glanced at Chen Yan. Although he had seen him following Chu Keqing all day, he did not take a young man like him seriously because of his young face.

But at this moment, Chu Keqing smiled and said, "I haven't introduced you to each other yet. My nephew, this person is called Chen Yan. He is not a disciple of our Yun Sect. In fact, he is the son of a great senior in our profession in the mainland.

It can be said that the senior trusted me and sent him to my side to gain some experience with me."

The man in the black suit's eyes lit up when he heard this!
How could it be simple for someone like this to be politely addressed as "Senior" by the head of the Yun Sect?
It turns out that this young man named Chen Yan is the nephew of a big boss!
Suddenly, the look in his eyes when he looked at Chen Yan became a little more enthusiastic.

He quickly pulled out a pack of cigarettes and said with a smile, "Junior Brother Chen Yan, let's go and have a cigarette together. It just so happens that I haven't had enough just now."

Chen Yan smiled and nodded, then walked out of the mourning hall side by side with the two men in black suits and went to the yard outside.

The two men found a place sheltered from the wind and stood still. Chen Yan smoked a cigarette with the man in the black suit and exchanged some casual greetings.

He specifically inquired about the origins of the wreaths he saw in the mourning hall today. There should be quite a few famous people in the local metaphysics of Hong Kong City on them.

In particular, he saw a name: Zhong Hongliang.

Among all the signatures on the wreaths, there was only one with the surname Zhong, so naturally Chen Yan took notice.

"Oh, you mean Master Zhong. He's quite famous in Hong Kong City. People say he and our master are the twin immortals of Hong Kong City, Huang in the north and Zhong in the south.

Our master’s temple is in Kowloon Tong, which is an old district.

Mr. Zhong’s business is all in the south, where there are many rich people.

So, while Master Zhong may seem to have the same reputation as our Master, he actually earns far more money than our temple. Even the richest people in Hong Kong, those on Mount Taiping, treat Master Zhong as a guest of honor.

Regarding this point, our master actually, hey..."

After the man in the black suit said a few words, he seemed to realize that he had talked too much. As a disciple, how could he talk about his master's faults behind his back?
He quickly changed the subject and said, "Mr. Zhong sent a wreath this time, but he himself didn't show up. I heard that something happened to him more than a month ago. It seems that he fell on the mountain while doing feng shui for someone and broke his leg.

After that, Mr. Zhong stayed at home to recuperate and hardly went out for more than a month.

That's normal, actually. It takes a hundred days for a broken bone to heal. And he's old, too. A broken leg at that age will take longer to heal than a younger person. So I guess he won't be going out for the time being."

After listening to this, Chen Yan nodded.

That old Zhong broke his leg. It must have been the last time I used the Curse Tracking Technique to investigate him. The paper figurine fixed his soul, and he was not paying attention, so he fell and got hurt...

Have you been injured and haven't gone out for more than a month?
·
After the two of them smoked a cigarette in the yard, Chen Yan returned to the mourning hall and saw Chu Keqing sitting on a cushion and burning paper money in a brazier.

In the corner, the second brother was still sound asleep. When the man in the black suit came in, he didn't bother to wake the second brother up, but just stood quietly at the door and sneered.

Chen Yan walked over and Chu Keqing nodded slightly to him, and Chen Yan knew that the matter was settled.

Afterwards, Chu Keqing burned another stack of paper money, pretended to yawn, and got up to go back to rest. Chen Yan also nodded to the man in black suit and left with Chu Keqing.

Chu Keqing returned to the room, but Chen Yan left halfway and no one knew where he went.

After another seven or eight minutes, there was a knock on Chu Keqing's door. She opened the door and let Chen Yan, who was standing outside, into the room.

When Chen Yan entered the room, he was holding a bunch of things in his hands, and he put them all on the table after entering the room. Chu Keqing looked over and saw that it was a pair of copper scissors, a stack of talisman paper, and a small box of cinnabar.

These things were just taken from other rooms in the Taoist temple by Chen Yan - this is a Taoist temple after all, and other things may not be easy to find, but there are a lot of things like talisman paper and cinnabar, so they are not difficult to find.

Chen Yan slowly took out a brush from his arms - it was the brush made of fox tail hair that Su Yi had given him.

Afterwards, he asked Chu Keqing for Huang Mingyi's birth date, dipped his brush in cinnabar, and gently wrote it on a piece of talisman paper. Then he picked up the copper scissors and, in a few strokes, cut the talisman paper into a small paper figurine the size of a palm.

Chu Keqing took a deep breath and took out a crumpled piece of paper money from her pocket!

Slowly spreading out the paper money, he found a small tuft of hair wrapped inside!

"That second brother didn't notice you opening the coffin and cutting hair, right?" Chen Yan looked at Chu Keqing.

Chu Keqing shook her head: "I was afraid that he would wake up halfway. After you went out to smoke, I slapped a talisman on the second brother's head to make him fall asleep. After cutting his hair, before you finished smoking and came in, I took the talisman back - no one would notice."

Chen Yan noticed that Chu Keqing's face was not very good, and frowned and said: "You..."

Chu Keqing shook her head and sighed softly, "It's nothing, it's just that Third Brother died a tragic death. When I saw his appearance when I opened the museum, I couldn't bear it."

Chen Yan nodded and stopped talking. Instead, he gently pointed his finger, and the tuft of hair on the paper money slowly floated up. Then a cluster of flames emerged, and soon burned out, turning into a wisp of green smoke.

Chen Yan silently recited the spell, quickly made a few finger seals, exhaled a breath of energy, and shouted in a low voice: "Go!"

The wisp of green smoke soon floated onto the paper figure with Huang Mingyi's birth date and eight characters written on it!
Then, Chu Keqing opened her eyes wide and watched, and saw the paper man swaying crookedly on the table, and then slowly floating up!

This is magic!

It's real magic!

It's not some magic!
It is a spell that can be cast without relying on drawing talismans!

Chu Keqing shouted excitedly in her heart. Her beautiful eyes were bright as she stared closely at the entire process of Chen Yan's spellcasting, afraid of missing even a single detail.

Seeing the paper figure floating up, Chu Keqing took a deep breath and whispered in a low voice, suppressing her excitement: "Senior, this is..."

"Your senior brother's birth date and hair! I'll cast a spell using the Soul Tracking Technique! This paper figure will naturally return to your senior brother's soul...his spirit."

As Chen Yan was speaking, Chu Keqing saw that the paper figure floating in the air... moved!
Chen Yan immediately stood up and gently pushed open the window of the room.

The paper figure fluttered and flew out of the window...

Chen Yan's face was solemn: "Let's go, follow it, and you will find your brother's soul."

After saying that, he grabbed Chu Keqing's wrist, leaped up, and with a single move of "Dodge", he took Chu Keqing out of the window...

·
(End of this chapter)