Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 274 The Vanity Taoist
Beneath a yellow fruit tree whose trunk and branches were covered with sharp thorns, an old Taoist priest, looking sickly, wiped the water from his chest.

Upon hearing Ran Qing's question, the big-mouthed, boastful, and vain old Taoist priest made no attempt to hide his true intentions and answered directly.

"Master Dao, all my zombies have been destroyed, and I have no corpses to use now."

"Isn't your Ran family masters of corpse refining? Get me a couple of walking corpses to use. Although the Ran family's corpse refining techniques are different from yours, they'll do."

"Once we get through this period, I'll go find the zombies myself."

"Zangke is so dangerous now, I won't feel at ease without a couple of corpses on hand."

The corpse-driving Taoist priest made a request.

Mo Li listened with a strange expression and looked at Ran Qing.

Ran Qing paused for a moment, then said, "I'm afraid this won't help you, Daoist."

Although the Corpse-Driving Taoists are also a lineage of corpse-controlling individuals, they use readily available zombies. They find zombies that have undergone transformation and use special methods to control them and make them obey commands.

The Ran family's Corpse Control technique involves transforming ordinary corpses into special walking corpses that can obey commands.

Whether the corpse-driving Taoist could use the walking corpses created by the Ran family's corpse-refining technique is another matter, and Ran Qing also doesn't know the Ran family's corpse-refining technique.

But the old Taoist priest thought Ran Qing was making excuses, and he glared at him, saying, "What? Do you think this old Taoist priest can't afford to pay or what?"

"If you can create two walking corpses for me within ten days, I'll give you 30,000 yuan."

"What I say is what I mean. This price won't leave you at a loss, will it?"

Thirty thousand yuan...

Upon hearing the price, Ran Qing was momentarily tempted.

But it only lasted for a moment, since he didn't know any corpse refining techniques.

Mo Li's eyes darted around, and he suddenly said with a grin, "Master Liu, aren't you looking for the tomb of the ancient Miao king?"

"If we find the tomb of the ancient Miao king and excavate his body, you won't need ordinary zombies anymore, right?"

Mo Li said with a grin, "We can't help you with corpse refining, but we can lead the way to dig up graves."

"Is that grave near the fox den below the stone temple? If you go alone, those foxes will cause you trouble, but we can guide you."

"Ran Qing has a pretty good relationship with that fox den. If we lead the way, the foxes won't give you any trouble this time... How about you pay the 30,000 yuan if you dig up the corpse of the Ancient Miao King?"

Mo Li, quick-witted, immediately put forward an even more tempting proposal.

Leading the way to dig up graves was indeed not a difficult task for Ran Qing.

Once it's done, you can get 30,000 yuan for free; it's practically risk-free and highly profitable.

But upon hearing this, the old Taoist priest shook his head listlessly and said dejectedly, "Don't mention it, I've already dug up that grave."

"It was when I went in that I was ambushed by that den of foxes, and that's how I met my end."

"Otherwise, this den of foxes plus Tao Zhenyong think they can harm me, Daoist Master? Bah! Even ten more Tao Zhenyongs wouldn't be enough!"

The old Taoist priest boasted to himself, then said with a frustrated expression, "When I pried open the coffin of the ancient Miao king, it was actually empty."

"That ancient Miao king actually achieved corpse liberation!"

"Damn it, given the terrain and feng shui of Lao Wang Mountain, he should have become a thousand-year-old zombie! How could he have successfully transformed into a corpse? It's like he's been cursed."

"The Taoist priest went through so much trouble to find this place, only to find no body and get sprayed in the face with the stench of the corpse from the coffin... Sigh... If the stench hadn't blinded him, the Taoist priest wouldn't have been ambushed by that den of foxes."

The old Taoist priest muttered to himself, bringing up again the story of the fox den that had ambushed him.

This incident bothered him deeply; he felt ashamed and kept trying to make amends. Ran Qing thought for a moment and asked, "Old Taoist priest, do you know Xiong Dacheng and Tao Zhenyong? What do these two do?"

The old Taoist priest in front of him was not one of the ghost-raising gang, but he knew Tao Zhenyong, and perhaps also Xiong Dacheng.

This is a breakthrough.

Without hesitation, the old Taoist priest replied, "Xiong Dacheng? He's just a rat from Sichuan who raises ghosts."

"He committed murder in Sichuan when he was young and fled south to hide in the mountains of Zangke. He was short-sighted, greedy, and brainless; he was a complete scoundrel and drunkard."

"As for Tao Zhenyong, he came from Nanzhao Province and has been in Yue Zhao for more than ten years. He works as a broker here."

"Do you two youngsters even know what a 'tooth person' is?"

The old Taoist priest spoke with an expression that said, "I'm testing you two little kids."

He not only revealed the identities of Xiong Dacheng and Tao Zhenyong, but also explained their backgrounds in great detail.

That proud little expression was clearly showing off his extensive knowledge.

Seeing that Mo Li and Ran Qing remained silent, the old Taoist stroked his mustache and said with satisfaction.

"You two youngsters don't understand, so today I'll teach you a lesson."

"A broker was a common profession in the old days, much like a modern real estate agent. But brokers had a wider range of services."

“In the past, brokers were very common. They could be asked to help with things like gathering information, renting houses, and even some matters related to the supernatural.”

"There are very few people with these teeth now. The most famous one in Moonlight City is Tao Zhenyong."

"However, this industry is all about making dirty money. As the old saying goes, even innocent people like drivers, boatmen, shopkeepers, and spies should be killed."

The old Taoist priest was in a very good mood after showing off his extensive knowledge and experience.

Ran Qing found it somewhat amusing. This old Taoist priest, despite his advanced age, was so vain and talkative, acting just like a child.

However, the old Taoist priest's big mouth did indeed help him resolve his doubts.

Ran Qing asked, "Then, Daoist Master, do you know how to find Xiong Dacheng?"

If we can get Xiong Dacheng's address from the old Taoist priest, we won't need to bother Old Sheepskin.

But as soon as Ran Qing finished speaking, the old Taoist priest, who had been smug and talking nonsense, suddenly became wary.

He stared at the two little children in front of him and said, "What? You want to go find Xiong Dacheng...do you have a grudge against him?"

"Or are you trying to interfere in the affairs of the Ghost Altar?"

The old Taoist priest made wild guesses about Ran Qing's purpose.

He then said, "I advise you not to provoke those people; those guys are all bad news."

"The one in charge is even more sinister than the rest."

"I, Daoist Master, finally managed to shake off those lunatics. Instead of staying away, you two little brats want to come to my door?"

"I'm only telling you the truth because you two little kids saved my life. I wouldn't care about anyone else's life or death."

"The guy leading that group is extremely wicked; I, Daoist, don't even dare to say his name."

"Once its name is mentioned, it might come knocking on our door in no time."

"They're raising ghosts everywhere, plotting big schemes. They're not on our side. You two little kids shouldn't get involved out of curiosity. Once you're involved, you won't be able to escape!"

(End of this chapter)