Zombie World: Starting as an apprentice of the Thunder King

"Just go in and ask!" Lin Bei stepped into the clinic.

The clinic was small. Right at the entrance was a counter, behind which sat an elderly doctor with gray hair, wearing reading glasses and flipping through a medicine book.

Hearing someone come in, he looked up and saw Lin Bei and Shi Shaojian wearing Taoist robes. He was taken aback at first, then a smile spread across his face.

"Two Taoist priests, are you here to get medicine?"

Lin Bei bowed respectfully and said, "Old man, we are Taoist priests passing by and would like to ask you something."

"Please speak, Taoist priest."

"I saw several houses in town with talismans pasted on their doors. What's going on?" Lin Bei pointed to the crooked talismans on the door frame.

The old doctor sighed and put down his medicine book: "It's all because of that philanthropist Xu."

"Xu the Great Philanthropist?" Lin Bei and Shi Shaojian exchanged a glance.

"It's Master Xu Feng from the east end of town." The old doctor lowered his voice. "Master Xu is the most famous philanthropist in our town. He gives rice and flour to poor families during festivals, and he has done a lot of work in repairing bridges and paving roads. The people in the town all remember his kindness."

"But..." the old doctor hesitated for a moment, "In the past six months, several young women have gone missing in the town, seven or eight in total."

"We reported it to the authorities, but they didn't find anything. The county officials came twice, but they left without finding anything."

"Then someone spread the news that the girls were being haunted by something unclean, so everyone asked for talismans and pasted them on their doors to keep them safe."

"The talismans in my clinic were drawn by Li the fortune teller next door, who said they could ward off evil and bring good fortune."

Lin Bei frowned even more after hearing this: "Those missing women, are they related to the philanthropist Xu?"

The old doctor's expression changed slightly. He looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "I was just guessing. Master Xu is a great philanthropist in our town. Logically, we shouldn't doubt him."

"But the strange thing is, several of the missing girls had worked as maids in the Xu family..."

He stopped there and didn't say anything more. He just waved his hand and said, "Daoist, the affairs of this world are hard to explain. You two are just passing through, so don't get too involved. Just rest for the night and continue your journey tomorrow morning."

Lin Bei nodded, thanked him, and led Shi Shaojian out of the clinic.

Unexpectedly, they ran into Xu Feng as soon as they stepped out. This Master Xu was strolling around with his concubine. He had an honest and simple face, and no one would have guessed that this matter was related to him. However, Lin Bei sensed a trace of magical power on him.

Shi Shaojian leaned closer and whispered, "Is this Xu Feng, the great philanthropist? He does look quite kind."

"Looks familiar?" A cold glint flashed in Lin Bei's eyes.

He cultivates the Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture, and his Dharma Eye has opened, making his perception of Qi much more acute than before.

Xu Feng was shrouded in a thick aura of resentment, which contrasted sharply with the kind smile on his face.

Such people are either ruthless butchers or practitioners of some evil or heretical practices.

How can someone filled with resentment possibly accumulate merit?

Moreover, he noticed something else: about several dozen meters behind Xu Feng, there was a figure sneaking around him.

The man was wearing a drab gray short jacket, his head was down, and he walked as close to the wall as possible, but his eyes were fixed on Xu Feng's back.

What really caught Lin Bei's attention was the faint, almost imperceptible aura of yin energy emanating from that person.

"Let's go back first!"

"Going back already? Not going to shop anymore?" Shi Shaojian was taken aback.

"Something came up; we'll talk about it when we get back."

The two returned to their inn room. Lin Bei closed the door and, in a low voice, recounted what he had just observed.

After hearing this, Shi Shaojian slammed his hand on the table: "That Xu Feng is clearly no good! No wonder he has so many talismans plastered on his clinic; they're probably used to suppress something!"

Lin Bei looked speechless: "Didn't you just say that person looked kind?"

"That was just now, now is now!" Shi Shaojian argued.

Lin Bei rolled his eyes. This guy's face changed too fast!

"You could say he's an evil cultivator, but his cultivation aura is very weak, at most he's at the Taoist level, he can't cause any trouble at all."

Lin Bei crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, and stretched his legs out on the table. He said softly, "The key is the person following him. They have a sinister aura about them. That's interesting."

"So what do we do?"

"Let's go check out the Xu residence tonight. I'm sure there's something fishy going on!"

As night fell, the town lights gradually went out, with only a few sporadic barks echoing in the alleys.

Lin Bei changed into a dark robe, and Shi Shaojian also tidied himself up. As they walked out, he asked in a low voice, "Junior brother, how many talismans did you bring?"

"A hundred or so should be enough!"

Under the cover of night, the two stealthily made their way to the back wall of the Xu residence.

The Xu residence was not large, consisting of two courtyards, with blue bricks and gray tiles, and was kept clean and tidy.

Lin Bei lightly leaped over the wall, and Shi Shaojian followed suit. The two squatted on the wall and looked into the courtyard.

The courtyard was quiet, with only the main room lit up, where a figure could be vaguely seen sitting.

Lin Bei didn't rush down. He lay on the wall for a while, sensing the atmosphere inside the courtyard.

There was indeed a faint yin energy in the courtyard, but it couldn't hide it from him.

Lin Beichong and Shi Shaojian made a hand gesture, and the two of them lightly landed in the courtyard, their toes touching the ground without making a sound, and crept along the wall towards the main room.

The window of the main room was half-closed, and through the crack, one could see Xu Feng sitting in a grand chair, holding a cup of tea in his hand, with a small black flag next to him. The flag was embroidered with strange patterns and exuded a faint eerie aura.

Lin Bei's pupils contracted slightly; that flag was clearly an evil magical artifact.

Just as they were about to take a closer look, they suddenly heard a faint noise from outside.

The two quickly disappeared into the shadows in the corner of the courtyard, holding their breath.

Before long, a figure climbed over the back wall, moving nimbly and swiftly, landing almost silently.

Lin Bei looked closely and saw that the man was wearing a gray short jacket, the same one who had followed Xu Dashan during the day.

After climbing into the yard, the person had a clear objective: to head directly towards the backyard.

Lin Bei and Shi Shaojian exchanged a glance and silently followed the man in gray.

The man in gray walked through a corridor to a locked storage room in the backyard. He took out a thin wire from his pocket, quickly picked the lock, and slipped inside.

The storage room was filled with jars and old furniture, covered in a thick layer of dust, looking like it hadn't been cleaned in a long time.

The man in gray skillfully bypassed the clutter and walked to an inconspicuous wooden shelf in the corner. He squatted down, felt around on the floor tiles for a while, and then lifted it up forcefully, revealing a trapdoor underneath, which showed a dark hole.

A thick, chilling aura emanated from the cave entrance.

The man in gray couldn't help but shudder, then crawled inside.