Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 107 Baishou Temple

Chen Ji put down his pen, not knowing how to start.

These simplest words seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, weighing down the entire dark book.

When I looked up again, Sister Sun was already in tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

It took him a while to come back to his senses. He looked at Chen Ji and said slowly.

"Actually, I also know that those notaries might have deceived me, but they are all gone now. I am still alive. Even if they can deceive me, I feel at ease."

"Sir, you are quite capable. You should be able to give this Yin Book to them, right?"

"Naturally."

Chen Ji nodded.

With Lu Pan's badge here, I can just copy his aura. The Yin officials in this area should all know him, so they won't make things difficult for him.

"It would be great if we could meet..."

Sister Sun muttered to herself, then thought of something and shook her head.

"Sir, I'm already very grateful for your help. I dare not ask for more."

"If there is an opportunity, it's not impossible."

Chen Ji said slowly.

I knew from a previous chat with Lu Pan that Qingming Festival is as big a festival as the Ghost Festival in the underworld.

On this day, the gates of hell will open wide, and all ghosts who have families in the human world will return to enjoy the offerings. The entire underworld will be busy, and even the city god will be asked for help.

The woodcutter ghost has karma on his body and may have been imprisoned and punished, but if Sister Sun’s parents-in-law and son have not yet reincarnated, they may have a chance to come back.

With his help, seeing ghosts is not a difficult task.

"But the premise is that there is an opportunity. If Lu Pan or other Yin Messengers are too busy, it would not be good to delay their work because of these things."

"Natural, natural!"

Sister Sun thanked her repeatedly.

After thinking for a while, he put down the basket of incense, paper money and gold ingots.

"Sir, I don't know how to talk to the officials in the underworld, but I heard that the underworld likes these things, so I'm leaving them all to you. If you need them, use them as much as you can. Don't save money for me."

"Aren't you going to leave it to your son and parents-in-law?"

"It's only noon now, there's still time. I can make a lot more, enough for them. If you don't have enough, I can send some more over later."

"That should be enough."

Chen Ji said slowly.

Although the ghosts do need incense, paper money, it is roughly the same as in the human world.

The Yin book that he delivered had Lu Pan's aura on it, so even if he wanted to collect some money from passing incense offerings, it wouldn't be too much.

Besides, Sister Sun has prepared a lot, so it should be enough.

Chen Ji was thinking about something, but his hands did not stop moving. After writing the last sentence, he waited for the ink to dry, then wrote the necessary signature, and finally took out Lu Pan's waist badge and covered it with the aura of magic power.

A secret letter was written just like that.

After handing it over to Sister Sun, he had nothing to do, so he went out to the well to check for the loach monster.

But he did not sense the breath of the loach monster, and knew that he must not have returned yet.

So he told Miss Bai that he was going to the government office and also to the academy to ask.

"What are you doing there?"

"We need to offer sacrifices to the saint. Ask the town supervisor if there's anything you should be aware of. He should have been in charge of these matters in previous years."

"It's time to ask."

Miss Bai nodded.

"The saint caught the plague ghost for the town and gave us the plaque. The town should also express its gratitude."

"exactly."

Miss Bai wanted to talk to Baojiejun about the things to pay attention to when practicing in the human world, so Chen Ji went out alone to the government office.

When they arrived outside the government office, Zheng Yuan happened to be guarding the gate.

Seeing Chen Ji, he was slightly stunned and quickly put down his knife and bowed.

"Why did Taoist Master Chen come to the government office today?"

"I need to talk to the town supervisor about something. Is he still here?"

"It just so happened that the governor was about to go out for an outing, but someone from Hejian Prefecture came to deliver a report. It seemed that there was some other private matter, and the governor was chatting with him."

"It's already been half an hour, so it should be almost over. If the Taoist priest is in a hurry, I'll go and report it first."

"No rush, since we are meeting guests, we have to follow a first come first served basis. I'll just wait a while."

"Then I will take you to the flower hall to wait, so that the warden won't say that I neglected the Taoist priest."

"Alright."

Outside was the government office, and it was not convenient to entertain guests. Chen Ji just didn't like such serious occasions.

Even though the governor was not there at the moment and there was no lawsuit to be fought, Chen Ji instinctively did not want to stay in such a place.

So he went to the flower hall with Zheng Yuan.

When Zheng Yuan met a maid he had met before on the road, he would also greet her.

When they learned that he was here with Chen Ji to wait for the governor, someone brought him tea and snacks, which were exactly the same as what the governor had used to entertain Chen Ji that day.

Even the snacks in front of Zheng Yuan were the same, which made Chen Ji feel a little surprised.

When he came here before, although Zheng Yuan had some face, it was only limited to people he was familiar with, and it could make things easier for the yamen runners guarding the town entrance and the academy gate.

Now when I see him again, he has become a trustworthy subordinate of the town governor.

"It seems that Duke Zheng has also come forward."

Chen Ji smiled slowly.

Zheng Yuan was stunned, looked at Chen Ji and stood up to salute solemnly.

"I'm truly ashamed. It's all thanks to you that I'm valued by the town supervisor. I've been so busy these past few days that I haven't had time to come and thank you. Please forgive me for a few days."

"I?"

"Exactly!"

Zheng Yuan said seriously.

"Ghosts have been running rampant lately, haunting several nearby villages and towns. If it weren't for the Taoist priest's intervention, our town wouldn't be safe anymore."

"The town supervisor saw that I had a connection with the Taoist priest, so he wanted to promote me. That's why I said I took advantage of the Taoist priest's influence."

Chen Ji suddenly realized.

Li Jianzhen was indeed a smart man. He saw that he was not used to dealing with the government office, so he asked Zheng Yuan, with whom he had dealt before, to continue to contact him, and he did not mention the matter himself.

No wonder he could become the governor, his methods are indeed very clever and powerful.

But I can't say it all.

Chen Ji waved his hand.

"All of this was achieved through Duke Zheng's own hard work. Eliminating the demon was a matter of following the flow. There's no need to overthink it."

After saying that, he asked about the recent incidents of demons and ghosts.

I silently lament that it is still not very convenient to obtain information these days.

I am also a person who practices cultivation, but it is difficult to get this information whether I am in Tiejin Town or in the mountains.

The only source of information came from people who came to the pharmacy to get medicine and see a doctor, which was not as convenient as what officials like Zheng Yuan could get from the official newspaper.

There was nothing to do sitting around, and Chen Ji was also an expert in exorcising demons, so Zheng Yuan told him what he knew.

"Some people who were killed by demons have risen again and revived."

"Some people insist on occupying other people's ancestral halls and asking the villagers to build statues for them."

"And the scary dreams every night."

……

After talking about a few cases in bits and pieces, Chen Ji was also curious about how these things should be handled?

Zheng Yuan's eyes lit up.

"If I hadn't recently received the favor of the town supervisor, I wouldn't have known that ordinary people like us could actually eliminate demons and ghosts."

"Oh? How do you do it?" "Humans have yang energy, scholars have righteous energy, yamen runners have evil energy, and executioners have murderous energy. All of these can restrain evil spirits."

"The things reported by these villages are harmless. They are just wandering ghosts and animals with intelligence. We will send strong yamen runners and executioners with ghost-head knives and black dogs to the academy to worship the statue of the saint. Then we can take a scroll of the saint's scriptures and scare them away."

Chen Ji nodded slightly.

These are indeed ways that ordinary people can deal with demons and ghosts. I'm just curious how they know this.

"The Taoist priest from Qingfeng Temple said this when he came down the mountain. I only found out about it a few days ago."

Zheng Yuan said this and looked at Chen Ji.

"I just don't know if humans can kill demons?"

"Of course it's possible."

Chen Ji thought about the sword immortal that Miss Bai mentioned and replied slowly.

"Excuse me, Master, how do you do this?"

Zheng Yuan's eyes lit up.

"The method you mentioned is already capable of dealing with weak demons and ghosts. If a yamen runner has practiced martial arts, has strong Qi and blood, and wields a weapon imbued with evil spirits, and has a righteous mind, then even ordinary ghosts and gods would not want to provoke such a person easily, let alone demons and ghosts."

“Is that so…”

Zheng Yuan lowered his head and frowned, not knowing what he was thinking.

Chen Ji didn't disturb him. He waited for his eyes to clear up and come to his senses and bowed.

"It doesn't look easy. I was just overthinking it. If there's something urgent going on, I should go to Qingliang Mountain and find a Taoist priest or a monk."

"We shouldn't have taken it easy like the Zhanshui Town Cao Gang did, but ended up suffering a huge loss when we handled it ourselves!"

"How to say it?"

Since leaving Zhanshui Town that day, Chen Ji has really not paid attention to the situation there.

Of course, this is also because few people from Zhanshui Town come here to seek medical treatment. Most of the people who come here are merchants, so there are fewer opportunities to see a doctor, and naturally they don’t know much information.

"I heard that a while ago, a demonic ghost was haunting the Jinlu Garden in Zhanshui Town. Everyone who went there had their essence and blood sucked by the demonic ghost, becoming infected with ghost energy."

"I know this. Mr. Ding has also been there. I told him that there was a ghostly aura on him."

Chen Ji nodded.

"Yes, I forgot that the Taoist priest had also met Mr. Ding."

Zheng Yuan slapped his head and continued.

"Then I won't waste any more words. This matter was spread by Mr. Ding. Who knew that the news was leaked? The Cao Gang brought people to destroy the demons in Jinluyuan and dug up many corpses and human skins. It was a horrific sight and a heinous crime..."

Chen Ji was stunned.

But I didn't expect it to turn out like this.

It was clearly their doing, but the reputation now falls on the Cao Gang. I don’t know why the City God of Water didn’t take the opportunity to come out and attract some worshippers.

The City God is an outsider and his foundation is unstable. He needs incense and offerings for such a good thing as exorcising demons, but he lets it go. I don't know what's going on.

But that's not the point.

Chen Ji was even more curious about what Zheng Yuan meant by "suffering a loss".

Zheng Yuan hurriedly apologized and continued speaking.

"After the demon was eliminated, the Cao Gang also said that everyone who had been to Jinluoyuan before was infected with ghost energy and their essence and blood were depleted. If they are not treated in time, their lives may be in danger."

"If you want to get rid of the evil spirit and be healthy, you need to spend ten taels of silver to buy a protective amulet."

"Twelve?"

Chen Ji clicked his tongue.

If a Taoist like Yan Chixia went down the mountain to catch monsters, even if he sacrificed his life, he would only get ten taels of silver.

Now the Cao Gang wants ten taels for a protective talisman, they really have a good plan.

Besides, he might not know about other demons and ghosts yet, but no one knows the affairs of Jinluyuan better than himself.

Those people have ghost energy in their bodies, but it is only the loss of essence and blood. If it is not a long-term continuous consumption, they can recover in half a year at most, or in a few months, by basking in the sun for a few days and eating some warm and nourishing food.

These ten taels of silver were given away straightforwardly.

"Is anyone buying it?"

"Buyers flocked to the scene."

After Zheng Yuan finished speaking, he was worried that Chen Ji didn't know, so he explained it specifically.

"Those who can go to Jinluyuan are all wealthy customers. Ten taels of silver is just the cost of a meal. They don't take it seriously. Life is more important."

"People are panicking now, and they all want to ask for some talismans to protect themselves. Ten taels of silver is the price I asked from the Cao Gang. If I resell it, I might even have to pay twenty taels of silver."

"Besides, fishing is prohibited in the Hutuo River today, so the Cao Gang said that Yu Shui Langjun could come ashore to exorcise demons and catch ghosts, and he's quite skilled at it."

"What a way to make money."

Chen Ji sneered and shook his head.

As expected of the Cao Gang, whether it is the talismans or the Water Controlling Lord coming ashore, they are all for the purpose of making money.

But there is nothing wrong with this. If it can really keep people safe and the buyer is a wealthy family, it makes sense.

So Chen Ji shook his head.

"But accepting several thousand taels of silver can't be considered a loss, right?"

"It's not that I suffered a loss in this matter, but in another one."

Zheng Yuan then began to explain.

It turned out that someone had bought the Cao Gang's amulet, which had some effect when he got home that day, but he unexpectedly lay in bed the next day as if he had lost his soul.

Yet, some people saw him walking and reading in the house at night, but the food that was delivered to him remained untouched and smelled as if it had gone bad.

The family knew that it was haunted, so they asked the Cao Gang to deal with it, and also prepared to send people to find Taoist priests and monks.

But after seeing this, the Cao Gang's military advisor did not allow them to go find anyone, and only asked Yu Shui Langjun to wait until night to catch the monster and the ghost.

"It didn't work?"

"Not only did it fail, but even the Water Controlling Young Master who went there was lying on his bed in a daze, just like that man. Moreover, at night, there were several people in the house, casting shadows on the windows, which was very scary."

"The Cao Gang had previously been touting the effectiveness of their talismans, and now that something's happened, they can't shirk responsibility. Not only did they lose face and have to return the money they paid for the talismans, but they also had to spend an extra five hundred taels of silver to hire an expert to exorcise demons and catch ghosts. Isn't that a loss?"

Chen Ji nodded slightly.

In this case, it was indeed a big loss.

However, according to the theory of cause and effect, they claimed credit for killing the demon and sold the talismans. The money should not have belonged to them, so the actual loss was not that much.

This was difficult to explain to Zheng Yuan, so he changed the subject and asked about the newly invited experts.

"Where is this expert who actually wants five hundred taels of silver?"

"I don't remember where it is, but I heard it's in a temple on Qingliang Mountain. The monk said he wants to get a Guanyin statue soon, so he hopes the Cao Gang can donate money. When the time comes, we can burn incense and light candles. With the Bodhisattva's blessing, there will naturally be no demons or ghosts."

"Is it Baishou Temple?"

"It seems to be this name. How did you know it, Taoist Priest?"

Chen Ji was stunned, thinking that this world was really full of coincidences.

I had previously thought of going to the temple where the Buddha statue was placed that Madam Hongci mentioned, perhaps I could find some clues, but I didn’t expect to encounter it again.

Then he told the story of the craftsmen.

"This Buddha statue was also invited by Baishou Temple."

"Is that really a skill?"

Zheng Yuan asked.

"I'm not sure about that. I haven't even met the monks in the temple, so I don't dare to make any conclusions."

"If you ask me, it's better to invite Taoist Master Chen. He must be more powerful than those monks."

Zheng Yuan said seriously.

"Master Chen is definitely a powerful person, otherwise Mr. Shuyuan wouldn't have come to me in such a hurry!"

At this time, Li Pingyun's voice came from outside the flower hall.

The two looked back and saw that Jianzhen's face was full of surprise. He quickly walked to Chen Ji and looked excited.

"The Taoist priest is so patient that he even hid such a good thing from me and didn't tell me in time! If you hadn't come to me, I would have been kept in the dark!"

(End of this chapter)