Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 344: Driving away wolves and devouring tigers
In the dark mountain forest, the night wind rustled.

After the dazed and confused middle-aged man finished speaking, the three people present fell silent.

Even Ran Qing, who was walking at the very front, couldn't help but pause.

No one expected this selfish, shameless middle-aged man to say such a thing.

This is not something Ran Jianfei would say... at least not in the past.

Ran Qing subconsciously turned around and looked at Ran Jianfei in the dark mountain forest.

This middle-aged man, who seemed to have lost his soul, remained dazed and confused.

This dazed, blank look is both annoying and somewhat pathetic.

Ran Qing didn't say anything, but calmly turned around, hugged the jar containing the ghost, and continued walking down the mountain.

He found himself becoming increasingly calm when facing Ran Jianfei.

Not only was his previous aversion gone, but upon hearing the middle-aged man's dazed and confused thoughts, and hearing that the man actually felt guilty and wanted to make amends... he was surprisingly calm.

If it were a month ago, he might have felt excited or heartbroken at this moment.

But now, he feels completely at peace.

Hearing Ran Jianfei's remorseful and guilty words, Ran Qing felt a strange sense of relief.

This guy isn't completely shameless, is he?

The journey back was incredibly peaceful.

Mo Li and Long Zongshu were both careful not to say anything, not knowing what Ran Qing was feeling at the moment, and dared not disturb him.

Ran Jianfei, who was in a daze, also remained silent, staring fearfully at the jar that Ran Qing was holding.

After becoming mentally impaired, he developed an extreme fear of ghosts.

Ran Qing and his group returned the way they came, quickly passing through the dark forest and back onto the road. They rode their motorcycles through the streets and alleys, finally arriving at the cement house on Park Road at 9:10 p.m.

The television in the room was turned on again, and Ran Jianfei happily ran to watch it.

Ran Qing brought the jar containing the ghost into the main room and began soaking it in wine in front of the ancestral tablets of Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher.

He opened the jar, transferred the ghost inside to the clay pot he used to make medicinal wine, tied the clay pot with a red rope, and then poured in the medicinal wine.

The sand jar immediately began to vibrate and hum, and the ghost inside struggled incessantly.

But once it fell into Ran Qing's hands, this ghost naturally couldn't escape.

Ran Qing, having easily accomplished everything, let out a soft sigh of relief.

The ghost that was unexpectedly acquired was even more ferocious than imagined, and it might be enough for Ran Qing to complete the technique of refining ghosts in a vat.

At this moment, the large vat in the main room was almost overflowing with writhing dead faces, as if they would spill over at any moment.

Those writhing, dead faces somehow resembled bubbles boiling in a pot.

Ran Qing stood silently in the main room for a long while, seemingly lost in thought.

When he came out of the main room again, it was already past ten o'clock.

At this time, television stations gradually shut down, and the search results on television sets kept showing striped patterns. The programs would not start airing again until dawn the next day.

Long Zongshu coaxed Ran Jianfei, who was fussing about watching TV, to go wash his feet, just like coaxing a child.

Mo Li sat at the door, gazing absently at the park road under the night sky, lost in thought.

Little Cotton lay lazily at Mo Li's feet and actually fell asleep.

Seeing Ran Qing walk out of the main room, Mo Li said softly, "...The refining of ghosts in the vat is about to be completed."

Ran Qing nodded and sat down next to Mo Li: "It went even more smoothly than I expected."

He had originally prepared to invoke the descent of past masters at a critical juncture.

The strange group of ghost-raising people, and the unusual phenomenon of the gates of hell being wide open and evil spirits running rampant in Moonlit City, made Ran Qing dare not delay.

A gut feeling told him that the sooner he found the Ghost King's Coffin, the safer he would be.

If things drag on, they might encounter danger. Thinking about it carefully, Ran Qing has already offended quite a few wicked people.

The ghost-raising man, Grandpa Ju, and Kawamata Tanikichi, whose fate is unknown... these are all potential threats.

After finding the Ghost King's Coffin, Ran Qing still needs to think about how to deal with these enemies.

Mo Li shook his head and said, "Perhaps they are waiting too..."

As Mo Li spoke, he looked intently at Ran Qing and said, "Very few people know the requirements for completing the Ghost Refining Technique in the Vat."

"But these people all know that the old woman found the Ghost King's Coffin ten years ago. They might be waiting for you, waiting for you to find the Ghost King's Coffin, and then following behind you, waiting for their chance to strike..."

Mo Li put forward an extremely dangerous guess.

Ran Qing paused for a moment, then nodded: "That's possible."

This period has been too peaceful and smooth.

Although the ghost keeper might not be able to find Ran Qing, the two evil spirits, Shou Taiye and Chuan Zeng Danji, have been keeping an eye on Ran Qing.

That strange old man, Shou Taiye, disguised himself as Ouyang Xue and followed Ran Qing for a period of time, but disappeared after the failed attack at the Torch Festival.

As for Chuan Zeng Danji, he remained silent for a long time after Ran Qing destroyed his nurturing ground.

Last night, they actually let Ran Qing and the other two leave so easily.

Among these factors, the intimidating power of the ancestral tablets of the spirit mediums might play a role.

But what Mo Li said is also possible.

Perhaps that eerie old man, Kawazaki Tankichi, is waiting for Ran Qing to scout the way to the Ghost King's Coffin.

Once Ran Qing begins his scouting and sets off to find the Ghost King's Coffin, his enemies will follow him.

At that time, deep within the treacherous and unpredictable ghost realm of the Wujiang River, a group of enemies will be lurking...

Ran Qing shook her head and said, "This might not be a bad thing."

Upon hearing Ran Qing's words, Mo Li was taken aback and looked at him in surprise.

Despite the potential danger, Ran Qing remained remarkably calm.

Ran Qing said, "The ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom has been passed down to this day, and countless evil ghosts and monsters have gathered in the depths of the Wujiang Ghost Realm."

“If we rush in, even if we are very careful, it will be extremely dangerous.”

“But if other living beings come in with us… the evil spirits of the Ancient Demon Kingdom don’t care whether you are good or evil.”

Ran Qing smiled and said, "It's actually a good thing that Grandpa Shou and the others dare to follow us; it can help us share the burden."

My sixth aunt used a similar method about ten years ago.

Not only did she gather ten companions, but she was also witnessed by other unorthodox cultivators when she was about to reach the Ghost King's Coffin.

With Aunt Liu's abilities, it wouldn't be difficult for her to do it quietly.

But she still went there in a grand manner.

Looking back now, perhaps it was Aunt Liu who deliberately lured other unorthodox practitioners to help share the burden.

The Ghost King's Coffin is located deep within the Ghost Realm of the Wujiang River, in the heart of the ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom.

To find the Ghost King's coffin, one must traverse the entire Ghost Kingdom.

In that ghost kingdom, who knows how many terrifying evil spirits there are...

Mo Li fell silent upon hearing Ran Qing's words.

She looked at Ran Qing silently and said, "You want to use a wolf to devour a tiger, but... be careful you don't get eaten by the wolf or tiger."

Ran Qing sighed and shook her head: "There's nothing we can do about it."

"We can't just stay away from the Ghost King's Coffin because we're afraid of our enemies."

(End of this chapter)