Ita Era

Chapter 165 Night Detective
There were only two pieces of fermented pork, prepared for Ding Shi and Sha Bi. Sha Bi picked up his piece of meat and said, "Tie Zhu, Cui Hua, you eat." He then tried to pass the meat to them.

Tie Zhu hurriedly waved his hand to stop him, saying, "No need, no need. This was specially cut by your Aunt Cuihua to treat you. I'll go to the village entrance tomorrow morning to get some fresh pork. You can make do with this for tonight."

Tie Zhu wouldn't eat, and Sha Bi certainly wouldn't either. He glanced at Ding Shi, who used his chopsticks to cut the pork in half; the fat looked exceptionally delicious and tempting. Seeing this, Sha Bi was even less likely to eat, and instead put the meat into Ding Shi's bowl, saying, "This is a reward for you."

Ding Shi smiled and said, "Thank you."

Ding Shi's smile made Sha Bi uneasy, but he knew one thing: the more you eat, the more mistakes you make; the less you eat, the less mistakes you make. Tie Zhu and his wife were the only ones who didn't eat the fermented meat, so Sha Bi wouldn't eat it either.

Ding Shi agreed with Sha Bi's idea, but Sha Bi's idea had one premise: that Tie Zhu and his wife were really bad people.

Tie Zhu is the only Taoist priest in the village, and the villagers seem to know how to possess someone, which is one of the pieces of evidence that Tie Zhu is a bad person. However, possession can indeed prevent evil spirits from doing evil, so its intention is good. Ding Shi believes that this alone is not enough to prove that Tie Zhu is a bad person.

Another reason Shabi believed Tiezhu was a bad guy was the clash of red and white omens. Funerals and weddings were rare in the village, yet they happened to coincide so precisely, which seemed too coincidental. There was an auspicious time for the bride's arrival at her home, while the funeral procession was all about speed. Therefore, Tiezhu, who could control the funeral time, was very likely a bad guy.

During today's negotiations, Ding Shi could sense Tie Zhu's anxiety and helplessness. On the other hand, Feng Qiniang, on the bride's side, strongly advocated for the White Team to back down and even persuaded the groom to bribe them with a large sum of money. When the Red and White families discussed Ding Shi's suggestion to postpone the wedding, Feng Qiniang also strongly opposed it.

Ding Shi didn't have the opportunity to ask about the auspicious time or other details, so he couldn't make a conclusion about Feng Qiniang. Perhaps Feng Qiniang was a professional matchmaker who wouldn't allow any stain on her profession.

Furthermore, Cuihua was extremely anxious when she saw the red and white spirits clashing, and she asked Dingshi to inform Tiezhu and stop the clash. This shows that Cuihua didn't want to see anything bad happen. It also shows...

Thinking of this, Ding Shi looked at Sha Bi. The reason why this guy had his eye on Cui Hua was that he had discovered that Cui Hua's skills were higher than Tie Zhu's.

The Soul Slave Talisman, simply put, is an active way to attract ghosts to possess a person. The ghost power cultivated by Foolish Dagger involves attracting ghosts to reside within one's body, using the power of evil spirits to act. The two are essentially the same. Foolish Dagger certainly wouldn't miss an opportunity that could greatly enhance his profession.

But what will Stupid Bone do?

Ding Shi avoided Sha Bi's gaze, stood up nonchalantly, and poured himself a bowl of tea. Cui Hua looked at Ding Shi with concern, but didn't know how to express herself. Ding Shi spoke first, explaining, "I don't like soup."

Sha Bi's heart skipped a beat. You don't like drinking soup? What do you mean? He knew that Ding Shi loved drinking soup the most. Even though he knew that many meat broths had too high a purine content and were not good for the body, he still ate soup with every meal.

Is there something wrong with this soup? Sha Bi looked at the ten empty seashells in front of him, as well as the empty seashells in front of Tie Zhu and Cui Hua, and was filled with doubt.

Ding Shi took a sip of tea and continued eating rice.

Village rule: Do not eat offal, no matter what kind of offal it is.

Shellfish also have internal organs.

Ding Shi raised an eyebrow and smiled at Sha Bi: I'm not telling you.

Sha Bi was inwardly frightened but outwardly remained calm. He finished his rice in two bites, stood up, and said, "Enjoy your meal, I'm full."

Ding Shi said, "There's still half a bowl of soup left, don't waste it."

Sha Bi looked at Ding Shi, who was smiling. This guy's mind was in turmoil; only when his mind was in turmoil could his actions go wrong, and only then could Sha Bi know what he was plotting.

Ding put down his chopsticks and said, "I'm full. I'm going for a walk."

"Where are you going?" Tie Zhu noticed Ding Shi walking outside, so he put down his chopsticks and followed him out. He looked westward, where a few rays of sunlight still pierced the sky, but the earth was already shrouded in darkness.

Ding Shi pointed to the sky: "The moon is nice today."

Tie Zhu looked up at the moon for a while and said, "In Tianmen Village, we usually call it a star."

Ding Shi corrected: "The stars are nice today."

Tie Zhu said, "You must be back before 11 o'clock, otherwise the yin energy will be too strong and will harm your health. I'll leave the door open for you."

Ding Shi said, "Thank you, Uncle Tiezhu."

"I'm going too." Silly Bike jumped out, unzipping his pants as he ran. He was going to relieve himself.

The world was plunged into darkness, and the few starlight could not illuminate the way home. I could barely make out the direction of the road, but fortunately the road was relatively flat, and I did not fall into any hole.

The two crossed the three-meter bridge and reached the center. Sha Bi said, "Over there."

Ding Shi looked in that direction and saw Xiao Ni holding a torch, standing in front of Ji Yue's house. Ji Yue hadn't found Ji Shan; she was sharing a house with Dong Cheng, a Confucian woman, so Ji Yue's original house was empty.

The two watched as Xiao Ni strode into Yuan Jiyue's house.

Just as the two were about to look away, they saw that the light in Ji Yue's courtyard had suddenly increased, rising higher than the wall. They wondered what kind of supernatural power Xiao Ni had used.

Thinking of this, Ding Shi made a hand seal, and a beam of light swept out in all directions. The beam of light had an attack range of 20 meters, and its power increased the closer the distance. Ding Shi and Sha Bi walked and stopped intermittently, using the light in their palms as flashlights.

Upon reaching Xidong, one sees a group of vengeful ghosts dressed in tattered military uniforms standing at the crossroads, illuminated by four white lanterns hanging at the funeral parlor at the village entrance. They are lined up neatly and all looking in the direction they came from.

Ding Shi remembered what Tie Zhu had said: They were waiting for the bus home.

Ding Shi watched for a while and then said, "Let's go."

Ding Shi took two steps, but heard no response. He turned around and saw Sha Bi standing straight, facing the village entrance, motionless.

"Fool?"

Sha Bi seemed to be awakened, slowly turning his head. Ding Shi's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly lowered his head, avoiding Sha Bi's gaze. Sha Bi walked towards Ding Shi step by step. Ding Shi stepped back, his hand forming a hand seal, and light from his palm struck Sha Bi's body. Sha Bi remained unmoved and continued walking towards Ding Shi.

Ding Shi remembered Tie Zhu's instructions: Avoid it.

So Ding Shi stepped aside, and Sha Bi walked past Ding Shi, continuing straight ahead until he reached the end of the road. At this point, he should have turned left or right, but he didn't; instead, he crashed directly into a wall. With blood streaming from his nose, Sha Bi turned left and continued walking forward.

Ten steps later, Sha Bi bumped into a tree by the roadside, then turned left and walked into the paddy field a few steps later.

Sha Bi didn't give up; he continued walking forward step by step. He felt no pain, no sensation, his back was ramrod straight, and he lifted each step almost to knee height.

"I'll come back to see you again." Ding Shi turned and walked to the right, and soon arrived at Liu Niang's house.

Ding Shi jumped onto the wall and saw Ru Jiaxi and Liu Niang drinking tea. Hu Tou was nestled in Liu Niang's arms, also participating in the conversation. Hu Tou looked at Xi Jiu and didn't see the same wariness as Ding Shi; he seemed to welcome Xi Jiu very much.

Liu Niang brought Tiger Head water to wash his feet, dried them, and went to the room with him. Xi stood in the front hall, gazing wistfully into the darkness.

It was eight o'clock in the evening. Ding Shi had been squatting for half an hour when he finally saw Liu Niang come out of the small tiger's house. Upon seeing Liu Niang, Xi couldn't wait to stand up and walk towards her. Liu Niang made a shushing gesture and stepped forward to lead the way.

Xi followed Liu Niang into the main room. Liu Niang looked outside and then closed the door.

Even after the door to the main room closed, Ding Shi was still completely bewildered: What's going on?
I came here to rid the world of evil and promote good, how did I become a lecherous voyeur peeping at women's private moments? I shouldn't be here, I should be on the roof.

Ding Shi didn't possess any lightness-body techniques. Although his primal force allowed him to jump high, his landing weight remained the same, preventing him from reaching the roof. He could only peek through the passageway behind the main house. This passageway was also the one where the coffin was found at Ji Yue's house earlier that day. The house structure was largely the same, and this passageway was rarely used, usually serving as a partial warehouse.

Ding Shi wasn't afraid; he was just conflicted about whether or not he should go and check on the situation.

Since we're already here, and it's not like we haven't seen it before, one of my high school classmates is proud to have seen 1TB of it.

Ding Shi landed in the courtyard and skillfully slipped through the main hall into the passageway. After a few steps, he reached the back of the main house. Two meters up, there was a wooden window for ventilation, below which sat a black coffin. Ding Shi sighed. Sure enough, Ita was lazy; the house's structure was a complete clone of Ji Yue's.

Coffins are quite common, so they didn't have much of a psychological impact on Ding Shi. He carefully stepped onto one and peered through the narrow crack in the window.

Upon closer inspection, Ding Shi realized he had misunderstood. He saw the two sitting at the table, with Xi writing on a piece of paper in front of him, and Liu Niang clumsily trying to learn to write as well.

Xi said softly, "These two words are Liu Niang."

As Liu Niang copied the text by the oil lamp, she whined, "It's so hard to write!"

Ding Shi's heart skipped a beat. What kind of enchanting voice could possess such a captivating beauty?
Xi encouraged her from the side, but her eyes looked strange. Then Xi said, "That's not how you hold a pen." She stood behind Liu Niang, put her arms around Liu Niang, held Liu Niang's hands, and slowly wrote characters stroke by stroke.

After writing the words, Liu Niang turned her head and smiled at Xi Jiu. Xi Jiu bent down and reached down with his left hand along the clothes.

Damn! I thought it was that plot, but it turned out to be that plot, and it's still the same plot.

Ding Shi carefully descended from the coffin and left the passageway. Just as he was about to walk into the living room, he saw Hu Tou holding a round log as thick as a fist, with a belt tied around his waist and a wood-chopping knife tucked behind the belt. (The log was made of wood and hollow, making it easy to insert the knife, and even if he fell, it would be difficult to cut himself.)
Tiger Head stood at the entrance of the main room with his head down. At this moment, sounds were already coming from the main room. Although it wasn't the main course, Ding Shi was sure that Tiger Head could hear such a delicious appetizer.

Tiger Head remained motionless, and under the dim lantern light, he looked exceptionally eerie.

About five minutes later, the sound indicated that the appetizers were finished and it was time to serve the main course. Tiger Head raised his left hand and gently pushed the main door. The door opened silently inward, and Tiger Head grasped the log with both hands and stepped into the main room.

To avoid becoming the center of the commotion, Ding Shi seized the opportunity to slip away and crouched back up in the darkness behind the wall. He had barely settled in when screams erupted from the main house. However, it seemed to be more than one-sided abuse; soon, Liu Niang's voice rang out: "Stop hitting her! Stop hitting her!"

It seems that the wood and the axe did not kill Xijiu instantly, and the noisy noise did not last long.

Xi Jiu's voice came through, neither too loud nor too soft: "What's going on?"

Ding Shi immediately moved to the side and saw that Hu Tou's hands and feet were tied and he was placed on the ground. Xi had a piece of cloth placed on his head, as if he had suffered a serious head injury.

Because Liu Niang was not open to Ding Shi, Ding Shi could only see a pixelated Liu Niang, who knelt on the ground begging Xi Jiu to spare Hu Tou.

Ding Shi deduced that Tiger Head's father possessed Tiger Head's body, and at night, the evil spirit entered the killing rule. Because Xi Jiu and Liu Niang were together, the killing rule was triggered, and the evil spirit within Tiger Head was activated. However, the evil spirit was trapped in Tiger Head's body and could not use its supernatural powers to attack Xi Jiu.

However, compared to a mindless pure evil spirit, the possessed evil spirit can use the tiger's head's brain to think, so it prepared a gift package of logs and a machete.

Unfortunately, this instance didn't seal the Force, so Tiger Head failed to defeat Xijiu, which is quite awkward now.

Ding Shi was also embarrassed. What was going on now? Obviously, Xi Jiu, that lecherous scoundrel, would continue to chatter with Liu Niang. Liu Niang was already willing, and now she had a weakness. Things that shouldn't happen would happen.

Previously, it was a mutual consent matter, and Ding Shi had no right to interfere. But now, Xi seems to be suspected of threatening Liu Niang.

Xi helped Liu Niang up, put an outer garment on her, and said gently, "Take him back first. To prevent him from hurting anyone else, don't untie the ropes."

Liu Niang readily agreed, picked up the bound Hu Tou, and took him back to his room. After a while, she came out of the room, hesitated at the door of the main house, and seemed somewhat embarrassed that Hu Tou's father had caught her in the act, but she still went into the main house and closed the door.

Ding Shi looked up at the stars and sighed: You say I'm the protagonist? I don't believe it.

Climbing over the wall, Ding Shi headed towards Tie Zhu's house, only to find Sha Bi still strolling in the fields. Ding Shi was helpless; Sha Bi needed to discover the flaw in the illusion himself to break it.

However, Ding Shi did not go home immediately. Instead, he went to Shuanzi's house, but instead of going inside, he squatted on the neighbor's wall and hid behind a tree.

As luck would have it, two burly men carried a coffin out of the backyard and placed it in the left wing room. Then they carried the missing Ji Shan out of the main house and placed him at the entrance of the left wing room.

About a minute later, a woman hurried back and handed a talisman to a burly man. The man folded the talisman in half, stuffed it into Ji Shan's pocket, and then carried Ji Shan into the left wing room and placed him in the coffin.

After they finished, the three of them extinguished the lanterns, leaving only one, and left Shuanzi's house together.

It is clear that Jishan was indeed kidnapped and used as bait to lure out the evil spirit Shuanzi.

Ding Shi didn't go inside, but went to Ji Yue's house instead: "Ji Yue, Ji Yue."

Ji Yue and the Confucian woman shared a bed, each with their own quilt. Hearing someone call her name, Ji Yue sat up, and the Confucian woman hurriedly reminded her, "Don't answer randomly if someone calls your name at night."

Ji Yue: "It seems to be Ding Shi from the male-male team."

The Confucian woman said, "I can't tell."

Ji Yue: "I'll go out and take a look."

Ji Yue pushed open the door to the side room, and a beam of light shone on her, nearly making her scream. Ji Yue looked towards the wall in the light, but it was pitch black and she couldn't see anything. A moment later, the light returned, illuminating Ding Shi's face. Ji Yue was still terrified; this was more frightening than a ghost.

(End of this chapter)