Dao Qi Wu Zang Guan Guan: I became a Daoist Master in the 1990s

Chapter 15 Taoist priest catches ghosts
Qi Yun only learned on the way that the ghost had moved!

"Although the ghost has moved to a different place, we should still go and show our faces at the Zhang family's place first."

The reward notice is posted there; if we don't go and make the formality, and if that family in the north of the city is destitute, wouldn't our trip have been a complete waste? We might not even get a bowl of hot soup!

As soon as he finished speaking, Xuanjizi turned around abruptly.

His weathered face suddenly darkened.

"The Dao heart!" The old Daoist's voice was low and hoarse. "If the Dao heart is clouded, it is like casting a bright pearl into darkness! It loses its foundation!"

My Five Viscera Theory exists to vanquish demons and protect the people, not to provide entertainment for wealthy families or to serve as a stage for traveling troupes to perform tricks!

A few ounces of gold and silver, is it worth you having such crooked thoughts?
Today they do false things for money, and tomorrow they will do unrighteous things for even more money!

This is a case of losing more than you gain!

Qi Yun looked at the undeniable solemnity and heartache in the old Taoist's eyes, and his cheeks instantly burned.

“Master is right…Disciple…Disciple knows his mistake! He was momentarily blinded and forgot his principles.”

Seeing the genuine remorse in his expression, Xuanjizi felt a surge of anger at his son's lack of ambition subside, and his tense expression softened.

He withdrew his hand, his tone still serious, but lacking its previous sharpness: "Never mind."

When one first enters the path of enlightenment, one is deeply tainted by worldly affairs, and it is only natural to have such worldly concerns.

However, it is important to remember that those who cultivate the Tao should be mindful of compassion and take doing good deeds and accumulating virtue as their foundation.

Only when one's mind is clear and pure, unmoved by external things and untainted by greed and desire, can one go far and climb higher on the thorny path of seeking the Great Way.

The mortal world is a whetstone for testing your resolve; lest it rust and dull your edge.

"Your disciple will remember your teachings, Master!"

Qi Yun took a deep breath and straightened his back. "I will never forget!"

The master and apprentice fell silent and headed deeper into the north of the city.

The further north you go, the more rapidly the prosperity of Qingyang Prefecture fades away, revealing the barren and filthy underworld beneath.

The road beneath our feet was no longer paved with bluestone slabs, but a bumpy dirt road, repeatedly trampled by wheels, animal hooves, and countless pairs of worn-out straw sandals. Mud and sewage mixed together, accumulating in the low-lying areas to form black pools that emitted a foul stench.

Broken pottery shards, rotten vegetable leaves, and tattered rags whose original color is indistinguishable are carelessly discarded in corners and along roadsides.

The low-lying mud-brick houses stood side by side, with large patches of plaster peeling off the walls to reveal the dark rammed earth underneath. Many of the thatched roofs had long since rotted and collapsed, barely covered by tattered mats and broken planks.

The air was filled with a complex, suffocating, sour odor.

It was the smell of sweat, urine, cheap coal smoke, long-uncollected garbage, and some kind of food that had completely rotted.

Xuanji Zi continued walking, his sharp eyes scanning the dilapidated doors on both sides.

Qi Yun followed closely behind.

At the alley entrance, several women dressed in patched coarse cloth clothes were gathered together, pointing and whispering towards the innermost part of the alley. Their hushed conversations sounded like a swarm of restless flies buzzing around.

"What a tragedy! A perfectly healthy person was driven mad by the beating!"
That gambling bastard from the Song family, his heart and soul have been stolen by dogs!

A gaunt woman slapped her thigh, spitting as she spoke.

“Who says otherwise!” a woman carrying a tattered basket chimed in, her voice filled with a sense of desolation, “They used to be such a respectable family, living in a large brick and tile house in Willow Lane in the west of the city!”

That gambler managed to lose his entire fortune!
Moving here! The only reason that gambling addict would stop was because she was pregnant; now that the baby is gone, the sky has fallen!

She bled so much, she couldn't even get off the bed, and that heartless bastard thought she was unlucky that very night, so he beat her again... Tsk tsk, I could hear the noise even through the wall, it chilled me to the bone!

"What a tragedy!" another old woman shook her head and sighed. "It's only been a few days! Last night, I got up to use the bathroom, and it was terrifying! I heard rustling noises coming from her room, and... and she was humming a song!"
Singing those nursery rhymes to lull babies to sleep! It's the middle of the night, it's creepy!
"I held my pee in!" she said, shivering with lingering fear.

“That’s right!” the gaunt woman immediately chimed in, her voice even lower, carrying a tense feeling of having discovered a secret. “This morning I heard from Old Li that that gambling addict has racked up another mountain of debts and has said that he’ll sell his crazy wife to a brothel in the south of the city to pay off the debts in a few days!”

Xuanji Zi stopped at the alley entrance and exchanged a knowing glance with Qi Yun.

The old Taoist nodded slightly, confirming Qi Yun's guess.

Without further hesitation, the two walked straight to the most dilapidated wooden door at the end of the alley.

The door was tilted, as if a gust of wind could blow it over.

The door was riddled with wormholes and cracks, the hinges were rotten, and it was half-closed, revealing a corner of the equally messy courtyard inside.

Xuanjizi raised his hand and tapped his knuckles on the dilapidated door a few times, producing a dull, hollow sound.

"Is Madam Song at home?" The old Taoist's voice was not loud.

The room was deathly silent, save for the howling wind whistling through the cracks in the broken door.

The chatter at the alley entrance stopped.

The women, like fish drawn by the scent of fish, immediately gathered around, scrutinizing the old and young Taoist priests with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

"Taoist priest?" The thin woman, the boldest of them all, peeked out and asked, "You...are looking for the crazy woman from the Song family?"
What could possibly happen to her family? Could it be… they've really been possessed by an evil spirit?

As she spoke, her eyes widened suddenly, and recalling the eerie nursery rhyme from last night, her face turned deathly pale. "Good heavens! Could it be... could it be that her unlucky child... has returned?"
It's said that children who die young harbor a lot of resentment and are most likely to haunt their mothers!

Xuanji Zi frowned slightly, unwilling to say more, and only vaguely said: "May the Heavenly Venerable grant you boundless blessings. My master and I were passing by this place when we noticed something unusual about the atmosphere here, so we came to investigate. There is nothing else here."

"Something's off about the aura?" the woman carrying the basket cried out. "Taoist priest, you're not trying to fool us!"
Her house is the most eerie in this alley! Last night, who among the neighbors didn't hear the noise?

"It's definitely haunted! Taoist priest, you must have mercy and save... uh, save us neighbors!"

She wanted to say "save that crazy woman," but she swallowed the words back, ultimately afraid of getting bad luck herself.

The old Taoist priest was not good with words. Faced with the women's barrage of questions and their obviously disbelieving eyes, he was speechless for a moment, and his gray eyebrows furrowed even more tightly.

Seeing this, Qi Yun stepped forward and stood in front of the old Taoist priest, his face showing a youthful sincerity that was somewhat reassuring: "Aunties, please don't worry. My master's Taoist magic is profound, and he is most compassionate."

We did sense that the house was filled with yin energy, which was detrimental to the living and that there might be evil spirits lurking in the shadows, so we went to check it out.

Whether it's a person or a ghost, you have to go in and see for yourself to be able to tell.

If there truly are evil spirits, my master and I will do our utmost to exorcise them and restore peace and tranquility to this place.

His tone was calm and his logic clear, both pointing out the danger and reassuring people.

His words calmed the women down.

The gaunt woman stamped her foot: "Hey! What are we waiting for! That crazy woman is probably singing in there again!"

"Master, we'll lead the way for you!"

As he spoke, he reached out and pushed open the already half-closed, dilapidated door.

"Madam Song? Madam Song?" The women mustered their courage and called out, peeking inside. Their voices sounded particularly abrupt in the empty, dilapidated courtyard.

No one answered.

The crowd surrounded Xuanjizi and Qiyun, and surged into the courtyard.

(End of this chapter)