Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 378 769 rounds
At the entrance of the cement house, three bewildered young men stood with their mouths agape, their expressions as if they had seen a ghost after hearing the words of the corpse-driving Taoist priest.

That shocked expression seemed to be silently conveying—what is this guy saying?

What? Bureau 769... and someone who raises ghosts wants to make peace?

Ran Qing subconsciously looked at Mo Li, who had traveled all over the country and was very knowledgeable, but saw that Mo Li was also confused and was completely unfamiliar with this so-called Bureau 769.

Long Zongshu hesitated, scratching his head: "Um... this Bureau 769 you mentioned, are you referring to the former Imperial Observatory?"

Upon hearing Long Zongshu's question, the corpse-driving Taoist nodded happily and repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, it's the former Imperial Observatory."

"Your Long family used to work for the emperor, so you all had official positions. Back then, the Imperial Observatory was in charge of you."

"But now it's the new century, where is the Imperial Observatory anymore?"

The corpse-driving Taoist priest introduced with a smile: "Bureau 769 was only established in recent years, but its work is similar to that of the Imperial Observatory in the past."

"However, the ecology in Zangke is relatively closed and unique, so the higher-ups basically don't care about Zangke. You may not be familiar with Bureau 769."

"I was sent here this time just to work as an investigator, to record what is happening here."

"But this time the opening of the gates of hell is too ferocious, especially in the last two days, those ancient evil spirits have gone mad and are killing people everywhere."

"Your Yue Zhao area is alright. With your Yin altar, which is used by people who walk the path of the dead, those ancient evil spirits are afraid of you, so they haven't gone too far."

“But in other cities of Zangke, Shunping, Lincheng, Qixingguan, Zangxi, Zangdongnan… people have been dying everywhere these past two days.”

"As far as I know, the number of unorthodox cultivators who died in Zangke in the past two days is more than double the number who died when the Gates of Hell opened ten years ago."

As the corpse-driving Taoist spoke, his expression turned bitter again: "Moreover, it's not just unorthodox Taoist practitioners who have died; many ordinary people have also died."

“Those ancient evil spirits are like they’ve gone mad, unlike any other time before, killing people everywhere, and we don’t know why.”

"I submitted a report to my superiors requesting reinforcements, but due to the unique terrain of Zangke, only a few people could come."

"Many members of the Xuanmen sect experience a significant drop in their skills and cultivation once they enter the Zangke region."

"Only a few people like me who take the unorthodox path are unaffected. But generally, those who take the unorthodox path are unwilling to join the 769th Bureau."

The corpse-driving Taoist priest complained bitterly.

Ran Qing looked at him and understood.

It turns out that there are official departments within the Yin-Yang Dao (the Way of the Living).

But upon closer reflection, it makes sense.

Hundreds of years ago, in the old days, Zong Shu and his family worked for the imperial court.

Even feudal dynasties back then knew how to recruit people with extraordinary talents, so naturally there would be similar departments now.

Ran Qing's understanding of Yin-Yang Dao came from the book "The Legend of Sister Shen Er's Demon Extermination" by Sister Shen Er. It did not mention anything about Bureau 769 or the Imperial Observatory, which is why she was unfamiliar with Bureau 769.

But in the era of Second Aunt, the whole country was in turmoil, warlords were rampant, and bandits, robbers, evil spirits and demons were everywhere. Many mountain demons even swaggered into the city.

In such a chaotic era, even if organizations like the Imperial Observatory existed, they would probably have been defunct in name only.

The corpse-driving Taoist also said that this Bureau 769 was only established in recent years.

As for what Liu Fang said, that the dragons and ghosts on Poyang Lake caused many deaths, which led to the fox den from Laowang Mountain running to Zangke... that does fit the habits of that fox den.

After all, this den of foxes seems to prefer living in those gloomy and eerie places rather than building their own nests, and they like to huddle together with other evil spirits. No wonder that den of foxes ran to Zangke to hide; it turns out they accidentally provoked a dragon-like ghost.

As for the reason why Liu Fang was so distressed and why the ancient evil spirits were so ferocious, Ran Qing also had a vague guess.

It's most likely related to the disappearance of the Ghost King from the Ghost King's coffin...

Looking at the corpse-driving Taoist priest with a pleading and sorrowful expression, Ran Qing said, "...So you asked those ghost-raising people for help? You wanted to get them to join forces with me?"

Bureau 769 has no personnel to go to Zangke, but a disaster has spiraled out of control there, and they definitely want to stop it.

Currently, the most powerful group of unorthodox practitioners in Zangke is probably the group of ghost breeders.

Although Ran Qing is not as good as Sixth Aunt, his special lineage as a spirit walker gives him some weight.

As soon as Ran Qing finished speaking, the corpse-driving Taoist shook his head repeatedly.

“Young Master Ran, you’ve misunderstood. It wasn’t me who sought their help; they came to me to ask for my assistance, wanting me to act as a mediator and invite you to join forces.”

The corpse-driving Taoist priest scratched his head as he spoke: "Those ghost-raising people said that if they join forces with you, they can kill the mastermind behind this."

"The reason why the ancient evil spirits are out of control in Zangke is because someone is secretly causing trouble."

"But to kill the mastermind, we need to enter the ghost realm of Wujiang and step into the underworld, which requires a spirit guide."

"I've already met with those ghost breeders. They've indeed lost several people, and it's quite urgent."

"But they couldn't find you, so they had to ask me to act as a mediator..."

After saying that, the corpse-driving Taoist looked at Ran Qing expectantly: "Young Master Ran, would you consider it?"

"We're all now targets of the Ancient Luo Ghost Soldiers; we're all in the same boat."

"If we can join forces to quell this disaster, we can not only protect ourselves but also save lives. It would be an immeasurable act of merit!"

After listening to the corpse-driving Taoist's explanation, Ran Qing roughly understood the cause and effect.

It seems that the ancient evil spirits are too ferocious, and even the group of ghost raisers can't withstand them, so they want to ask Ran Qing for help.
but……

Before Ran Qing could speak, Mo Li frowned and said, "Those ghost breeders are no good. They raise ghosts and harm people all over Zangke. What if we agree to join forces, and then they turn around and attack us..."

For Ran Qing and his group, the ancient evil spirits were terrifying, but the ghost-raising people were no pushovers either.

The death of Aunt Liu is still shrouded in mystery, and it is suspected to be related to the group of ghost breeders.

Moreover, this group of ghost breeders had previously sent a human-faced demon to harm Ran Qing. Later, after Ran Qing and the other two participated in the Dharma assembly, the ghost breeders also sent similar evil creatures to Ran Qing.

They were only spared because Ran Qing and the other two already possessed the Ghost Luo Ancient Coin.

These wicked ghost breeders are now saying they want to join forces?

Ran Qing asked, "...Who is the mastermind the ghost breeders mentioned? How do they know there's a mastermind behind it all?"

This group of ghost breeders clearly possessed more information than Ran Qing and his group.

The mastermind they're talking about... could it be the Ghost King who escaped to the human world?

Now, the land of Zangke is littered with dead bodies, and the ancient evil spirits are killing people in a frenzy. Could it be that the ghost king is behind this?

(End of this chapter)