Ghost Immortal

Master Si Mei took out paper and pen from his sleeve and copied down the complete method of the Soul-Soothing Incantation on the spot. He also asked Li Feng to copy down the method of the Guiding Lamp.

The two spellbooks were handed to Bai Wuchang, who examined them carefully before nodding in satisfaction.

"Alright, prepare 1 billion ghost money, find all the escaped ghosts within a month, add a soul-soothing spell and a guiding lamp, and we'll call it even."

He put away the spell and picked up the wine bowl from the offering table again.

The wine in the bowl had gone cold, but he didn't care and drank it all in one gulp.

"Four Eyebrows, you are a wise man. I'll give you a piece of advice: there is someone behind Gu Zhenren. If you want to investigate the source of the dark aura, just focusing on Gu Zhenren is useless. You have to investigate further back."

After saying this, he put the wine bowl back on the offering table and picked up the paper lantern hanging on the bamboo pole.

Black Impermanence also put away the soul-snatching rope and re-chained the remaining ghosts together.

Two underworld officials escorted the remaining ghosts slowly into the night sky, entering the Gates of Hell.

The silvery moonlight shone on the open ground in front of the mortuary.

The incense and candles on the offering table had long since gone out, and the seven wine bowls lay empty, with dark yellow wine stains remaining at the bottom.

The puppets on the stage hung crookedly on the crossbeams, and Zhong Kui's demon-slaying sword fell onto the table and broke in two.

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows stood in front of the offering table, his back view appearing particularly thin in the moonlight.

He was filled with remorse; it was truly unlucky to have such a wicked disciple as Qiu Sheng!

Qiulan cautiously approached and asked, "Master, are you alright?"

"First, dismantle the stage, remove the offering table, and put the puppets back in the storeroom."

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows said helplessly, "Starting tonight, the three of you will take turns patrolling the city. There are more than thirty ghosts that have escaped, and we must find them all."

"I'll figure out a way to deal with the ghost money issue slowly."

He turned around and his gaze fell on Qiu Sheng.

Qiu Sheng felt a chill run down his spine under his gaze, and shrank back, saying, "Master, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong, I shouldn't have..."

Master Si Mei interrupted him, sighing wearily, he was truly at his wit's end.

"Shut up! What's the use of saying something wrong now? You made this mess, so figure out how to clean it up yourself!"

He waved his hand and turned to walk into the mortuary.

"Clean up the outside, then come to the main hall. I have a task for you."

The eternal lamps in the hall were still burning, their pale red flames making the dozen or so coffins look somewhat eerie.

Master Si Mei sat on a futon in front of the statue of the Three Pure Ones, holding a jade slip in his hand, his brows furrowed.

Qiu Sheng, Qiu Lan, and Li Feng walked in and stood in a row in front of him.

Qiu Sheng's Taoist robe was torn in several places, and there were several bloody scratches on his face from the ghostly hand.

Qiulan's eyes were red, clearly she had been crying outside.

Li Feng appeared the calmest, but in reality, he was at his wit's end.

His life was like walking on thin ice, constantly struggling on the brink of death.

I thought my luck would change after becoming an apprentice.

But his luck continued to turn bad. Isn't it said that when you hit a low point in life, you bounce back? How come there's an even lower grave for him?

"We'll need your help with the ghost money issue."

Master Si Mei put down the jade slip and looked at his three disciples with a solemn expression.

"We need to gather 1 billion ghost money within a month. There's no way we can do that with just the few people at our mortuary. In the entire Qingyan City, there's only one person who can make that much ghost money."

Qiulan immediately realized what she meant and blurted out, "You mean Aunt He?"

Master Si Mei nodded helplessly.

"Yes, it's your Aunt He."

Qiu Sheng and Qiu Lan exchanged a glance, their expressions turning strange.

Confused, Li Feng whispered to Qiu Lan, "Senior Sister, who is Aunt He?"

Qiulan lowered her voice and explained, "Master He is my junior sister and a disciple of the Zhi generation in our Maoshan Sect. Her name is He Xiangu. She runs an incense and candle shop in Hejia Village, north of Qingyan City, specializing in selling ghost money and incense."

"Most of the ghost money that the Maoshan Sect pays to the underworld every year is made by Aunt He. Her craftsmanship is the best in our lineage. The ghost money she makes has 30% more spiritual energy than that of other families, so the underworld only recognizes the ghost money made by her."

Li Feng nodded slightly; this aunt did indeed sound like a talented person.

But Qiulan's expression clearly indicated that this matter was not so simple.

Qiu Sheng leaned closer and said jokingly, "Aunt He has liked Master for almost twenty years."

Li Feng gossiped, "Master hasn't agreed yet? That's a good thing."

"Master is devoted to the Tao, saying that a cultivator should not be troubled by personal feelings for his children." Qiu Sheng curled his lip, his face full of disdain.

"Mistress He cried several times over this matter. Later, she moved to Hejia Village. In recent years, apart from coming to deliver ghost money every year during the Ghost Festival, she basically doesn't come to the mortuary."

Li Feng instantly understood why the Four-Eyebrowed Taoist's expression was so strange.

It turns out the problem wasn't that we couldn't find someone to help, but rather that this person was too difficult to ask.

When Master Si Mei heard them chattering away, he coughed sternly, and his three disciples immediately shut up and stood at attention.

"Master He's skill in making ghost money is indeed the best in Qingyan City, without exception. Moreover, according to the quota of ghost money that the Maoshan Sect pays to the underworld every year, your Master He has hardly made any ghost money in recent years, so there should still be several hundred million in quota left unused."

"You all know about the conflict between her and me, and this whole thing was caused by you. So, I'm going to entrust this matter to the three of you."

Qiu Sheng said with a bitter face, "Master, you know Aunt He's temper. If we go, she'll definitely ask about you first. What are we going to say then?"

Master Si Mei took a letter out of his sleeve and handed it to Qiu Sheng.

"This is a letter I wrote to her. Just take it with you. She won't make things difficult for you once she sees the letter."

Qiu Sheng took the letter and looked at Li Feng with a bitter expression.

Li Feng didn't have any objections.

He didn't know Aunt He anyway, so going to Hejia Village wouldn't be a big deal.

Moreover, he is now quite curious about this nun.

What kind of person is this nun who can make even a Taoist master like Master Simei, who is devoted to Taoism, afraid to face her?

"Master, where is Hejia Village?" Li Feng asked.

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows took out a parchment map from his robes and handed it to them.

"Hejia Village is located north of Qingyan City. After leaving the city, go north along the official road for fifteen li, and when you see a willow grove, turn west and go another three li to reach it."

"The village is small, with only about twenty households. Your Aunt He's incense and candle shop is at the entrance of the village, with white paper lanterns hanging at the door. It's easy to spot."

He handed the map to Qiulan and added, "Bring some gifts with you when you go. Don't go empty-handed. Your Aunt He likes osmanthus cake, and Chen's Pastry Shop in the city sells it."

Qiulan took the map and muttered under her breath, "Master even knows what Aunt He likes to eat, and he says he's devoted to the Dao."

Master Si Mei pretended not to hear and continued, "Making ghost money requires templates for the runes of the dead. Your Aunt He has these templates, but ghost money cannot be made with just templates. It also requires specially made yellow paper, cinnabar ink, and the essence and blood of cultivators as a catalyst."

"Your Aunt He can make the yellow paper and cinnabar ink yourself, but the essence blood primer must be the blood of the cultivator who makes the ghost money. Ten billion ghost money is definitely not enough with just the essence blood of the three of you. Your Aunt He will tell you what to do then."

He waved his hand, signaling that his three apprentices could leave.

"Today is July 14th, and tomorrow is the Ghost Festival. Once the Ghost Festival is over, the gates of hell will close, but the ghosts that escape will not return on their own. You must find your Aunt He before the gates of hell close and settle the matter of the ghost money."

"As for finding the ghost, I will discuss it with Officer Zhao first. After you return from Hejia Village, all the senior and junior masters will be here, and we will discuss the ghost finding then."

Qiu Sheng wanted to tease his master a few more times, but Qiu Lan grabbed his sleeve and dragged him out of the hall.

The three walked out of the mortuary gate as dawn was breaking.

I tossed and turned all night on the night of July 14th, and the eastern sky began to lighten with the first light of dawn.

Several constables who rushed to the scene were helping the mortuary clean up the mess.

Constable Sun was also there, and when he saw Li Feng come out of the mortuary, his expression was quite complicated.

This was the fourth time he had seen the night watchman at a crime scene...

"Good morning, Officer Sun. Have you eaten yet?" Li Feng greeted him with a smile, without the slightest bit of embarrassment.

He didn't want to encounter so much bad luck, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Officer Sun waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to be so polite, and then pulled him aside to ask him a question.

"Officer Zhao briefly told me about what happened last night. Can Gu Zhenren really control ghosts? Is it really that evil?"

"Yes, and he's already controlling thirty-seven of them." Li Feng didn't hide anything, and he couldn't help but smile wryly.

Officer Sun's face immediately darkened.

Although he was a constable in the yamen, his cultivation was only equivalent to a seven-inch spiritual root. If he were to face a wicked cultivator of the level of Gu Zhenren, he would probably be torn apart alive by the ghost gu.

"The county magistrate already knows and is requesting reinforcements from higher authorities, but as you know, Qingyan City is very remote, and it will take at least ten days to half a month for reinforcements to arrive."

Li Feng could only chuckle.

In ten days or half a month, the daylilies will be too cold.

The Gu Master has thirty-seven ghost Gu puppets in his hands, and there is also a female corpse in the corpse pit that is recovering its strength.

By the time reinforcements arrive, Qingyan City may have already become a second mass grave.

But he also knew that these things couldn't be rushed.

The most important thing now is to sort out the matter of the ghost money first, and then figure out a way to find the runaway ghost.

As for the Gu Master and the female corpse, that's a matter for the next step.

By this time, Qiusheng and Qiulan had already packed their belongings.