Controlling the Five Thunders and the Two Worlds

Chapter 197 Unexpected Turn of Events During the Sacrifice

After seeing Hu Yufei off, Gu Zhao went to the pavilion, stretched, and sat down next to Zhuo Qingyan.

Zhuo Qingyan turned to look at Gu Zhao, her eyes smiling, "If you don't come out of seclusion soon, Yufei will be worried to death."

Gu Zhao nodded, "They were indeed very anxious; their eyes were red."

Zhuo Qingyan smiled without saying a word, but simply took out a handful of fish food and handed it to Gu Zhao.

Gu Zhao casually tossed a handful of food into the river, watching the koi carp swarm around to grab it. Then he asked Zhuo Qingyan, "When are we going to pay respects to Uncle?"

Zhuo Qingyan's smile was noticeably brighter, and she waved her hand, scattering a handful of fish food. "The day after tomorrow."

Gu Zhao nodded, "I'll invite Uncle Jingfeng along."

"No need to trouble Uncle Jingfeng, I have already asked him for Yuan Wenrui's soul."

Zhuo Qingyan reached into the leather pouch at her waist and took out the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner. With a gentle shake, a semi-transparent, illusory human face appeared on the banner, which was none other than Yuan Wenrui.

At the same time Gu Zhao saw Yuan Wenrui, Yuan Wenrui also saw Gu Zhao. He was in unbearable pain, his face full of pleading, looking at Gu Zhao with his mouth opening and closing incessantly, saying something indistinctly.

Gu Zhao glanced at him, stretched out his right hand, and snapped his fingers.

"Crack!"

A sliver of electricity flickered at his fingertips, startling Yuan Wenrui into a silent scream. He couldn't help but shrink back into the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner, but perhaps remembering the horror inside, he stopped in his tracks.

"Don't be afraid," Gu Zhao said to Yuan Wenrui with a smile. "You won't suffer for much longer. We'll go to pay respects to your uncle the day after tomorrow, and then we'll beat you until your soul is scattered and you'll never be reincarnated."

Yuan Wenrui, “…”

He seemed to want to say something more, but Zhuo Qingyan had already shaken the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner again, and his soul was "whooshed" back.

Gu Zhao stood up and said to Zhuo Qingyan, "Spring is here, flowers are blooming, and everything is coming back to life. Let's take a walk."

……

After spending another happy day with Zhuo Qingyan, Gu Zhao took her with him to Xiuyue County.

Inside the carriage, Gu Zhao, Zhuo Qingyan, Xiu Niang, and Bai Ke sat in a row, but the driver was neither Daoist Yansong nor Li Erping, who was now the supervisor of the Daluo Palace, but a Daoist from within the Daluo Palace.

This Taoist priest was not a bandit, but a chivalrous martial arts master who came to the rescue. He was outnumbered and nearly killed by the bandits.

Fortunately, Daoist Yansong also happened to be there and rescued him with a wave of his hand. He then kowtowed and became his disciple, entering the Daluo Palace.

After the New Year's Grand Ritual, he was also taught the "Supreme Noon Breathing Method" and the "Eight Pieces of Brocade for Harmonizing Qi," but perhaps due to insufficient aptitude or too little time, the effects are not yet visible.

However, he was a very good person, hardworking and conscientious. He wouldn't make Gu Zhao take action against ordinary thugs he encountered on the road, so he became Gu Zhao's coachman.

Recalling the envious looks his fellow disciples gave him, Mu Jie couldn't help but smile.

"You're laughing so happily, what's making you happy?" Bai Ke suddenly asked, peeking out from behind her.

Mu Jie quickly suppressed his smile. "It's nothing. I was just thinking about the sparring session with my fellow disciples yesterday. Is there anything you need me to do, Lord Bai?"

Bai Ke was very satisfied with the title "Lord Bai" and nodded seriously before pointing ahead and saying, "Turn around that mountain pass and take a small path up; you don't need to go into the city."

“Yes!” Mu Jie nodded emphatically.

He had helped prepare the incense and paper money that morning, so he naturally knew what this was for. He gently flicked the reins and quickened the pace of the carriage. "We must arrive before noon." Bai Ke shrank back and looked through the curtain at the many more convoys and pedestrians on the road around them. "It seems we've cleared out all the bandits around here."

The embroiderer smiled and said, "We are in Cuiluo Mountain. Wuhe County and Xiuyue County were the first to be safe. I heard that after the spring, even merchants from Tianquan Prefecture and Shide Prefecture came to do business."

“Tianquan Prefecture… Shide Prefecture…” Gu Zhao stroked his chin. “We are separated from Shide Prefecture by the Yongning River and from Tianquan Prefecture by Wuya Ridge. Are there many merchants there?”

Zhuo Qingyan looked outside and said, "It's precisely because of the treacherous mountains and rivers that there are so many merchants here!"

Gu Zhao thought about it and realized that this made sense.

As the group chatted casually, the carriage turned onto the mountain road and then, after many twists and turns, arrived at a secluded spot.

The embroiderer got out of the carriage first and asked curiously, "Isn't Uncle's grave in Xiuyue County?"

Zhuo Qingyan gracefully stepped off the car and said softly, "Back then, my father died unjustly. Everyone thought he was a sinner. If it weren't for a few disciples with a conscience, he would probably have been thrown into a mass grave."

Even so, he could only be buried in a remote place, unable to be buried with the common people.

Gu Zhao got out of the car and looked around. He found that the cemetery was not only remote, but also had few decent graves and tombstones. Almost all the graves were hastily buried, and there was little sign of worship.

But this is good, at least when fabricating the story of Yuan Wenrui, we don't have to worry about scaring ordinary people.

Mu Jie was very perceptive. After getting out of the car, he started cleaning and quickly cleaned up the area around Zhuo Qingyan's parents' tombstone. Then he set up an incense burner, altar, offerings of fruit and wine.

Once everything was ready, the group arrived in front of the tombstone.

The embroiderer handed several sticks of incense to everyone. Gu Zhao waved his hand, and then everyone's incense sticks were lit. Wisps of smoke rose with the wind and drifted around the cemetery.

"Father, Mother, your daughter is unfilial for only coming to see you now."

Holding incense sticks, Zhuo Qingyan spoke with sorrow, "For the past thirty years, I have been wallowing in self-pity, wanting only to escape, living a muddled and confused life, and disappointing my parents."

At this point, Zhuo Qingyan turned to Gu Zhao, "Fortunately, Brother Gu saved my life, comforted my daughter, and even found your two enemies."

Gu Zhaoju cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and Zhuo Qingyan continued, "Now that I have been reborn, I finally have the face to come and see you two."

The group inserted incense sticks into the incense burner and bowed again in worship.

Zhuo Qingyan took out the Ten Thousand Ghosts Banner and shook it gently. Yuan Wenrui's soul was thrown out and knelt in front of the tombstone.

"Yuan Wenrui, look up," Zhuo Qingyan said indifferently.

Yuan Wenrui involuntarily looked up and saw the words on the tombstone, which, though weathered by time, were still legible.

[The Tomb of Zhuo Jifeng and His Wife, Shi Zhuo]

“Um…Master…” Yuan Wenrui’s lips twitched, a mixture of crying and laughing.

"Master? You still have the right to call my late father's master?" Zhuo Qingyan's eyes flashed with anger, the scenes from that year still vivid in her mind. She raised her hand, about to shatter Yuan Wenrui's soul.

Just then, Gu Zhao suddenly turned around and saw a flash of green light in the nearby forest. A suction force acted on Yuan Wenrui's soul, trying to pull him away.

But before Gu Zhao could make a move, Zhuo Qingyan waved her hand, pulling Yuan Wenrui back into the Ten Thousand Ghost Banner.

"A sorcerer's soul is hard to find. Since you don't want it, why not give it to me?" A slightly teasing voice rang out. "I guarantee I'll make sure this man is thoroughly satisfied and avenge you."

(End of this chapter)