Zombie World: Starting as an apprentice of the Thunder King

As I passed by Wencai, I saw him staring blankly at Ren Tingting, looking utterly dejected and heartbroken!

"What are you looking at! Let's go!" Uncle Nine slapped him on the back of the head.

Wen Cai was jolted back to his senses by the slap, and followed the strait out with lifeless eyes, but couldn't help looking back one last time as he left.

Ren Tingting sat in the main seat, talking to Awei with her head down. Her smile was sickeningly sweet, but to him it was like a needle piercing his heart.

As soon as they stepped out of the Ren residence gate, Qiu Sheng immediately approached and said, "Master, how is it? Tingting doesn't seem to be doing quite right..."

"Something's not right!" Uncle Nine continued walking, his tone deep: "She's like someone has taken her soul away. Her speech and actions are inexplicably stiff, but I can't sense any lingering evil energy on her."

"What about Awei?" Shi Shaojian followed up and asked.

“Awei doesn’t seem to be acting strangely either.” Uncle Nine’s brows furrowed even deeper. “His aura is clean and pure, without even a trace of yin energy. Instead, he seems like… a completely normal person.”

"This doesn't make sense," Lin Bei suddenly said. "Awei is being controlled by Liu Santong, and no one has helped him break the spell, yet my uncle didn't find anything unusual during his two investigations."

"Logically speaking, a normal person would feel something when someone from the Taoist sect tests their magical power."

"But Awei didn't react at all. Either someone cast a more advanced spell to completely cover up the traces, or he was also possessed."

"Possession is unlikely." Uncle Nine shook his head. "There's no trace of yin energy left on Ah Wei's body; he doesn't seem to be possessed by any yin entity."

"He may have been under a more sophisticated spell, one that is hidden deep within his soul and cannot be detected without careful examination."

Wen Cai walked at the back of the group, head down and silent, his mind filled with Ren Tingting.

He also sensed that something was wrong with Ren Tingting, but she was about to marry Awei, so what could he do? There was nothing he could do.

Back at the mortuary, Uncle Nine paced back and forth in the main room, pondering a solution!

In fact, according to Lin Bei's idea, he could just go there in the middle of the night and snatch the person. As long as he acted quickly, who would notice?

Si Mu came over from the backyard and was also very surprised to hear that Ren Tingting was going to marry Awei.

To Lin Bei's surprise, his Uncle Four Eyes shared the same thought: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's just go to the Ren residence and snatch them out, won't that solve the problem?"

"And that Ah Wei, he's a soul-searcher!"

"If you can't come up with a plan, then don't say anything. Kidnapping someone and searching their soul in front of a room full of gentry?"

Uncle Nine glared at him. "Do you have any evidence that she's being controlled? If we act without evidence, what will the townspeople think of us?"

"Are you trying to stop me from living in Renjia Town?"

"This won't work, that won't work, so what should we do? We can't just watch that good-for-nothing marry that girl, can we?" Si Mu shrugged.

Uncle Nine was silent for a moment, about to speak, when Wen Cai suddenly stood up from the corner, his voice trembling: "Master! Tingting has definitely been deceived! That bastard Awei must have used some evil magic to harm her!"

Uncle Nine glanced at him: "Don't say anything, sit back down!"

"I..." Wen Cai opened his mouth, but was glared at by Uncle Jiu, so he had no choice but to obediently sit back down on the stool.

But his clenched fists and reddened eyes betrayed his true feelings.

This young man still doesn't understand his place!

Qiu Sheng sighed and patted him on the shoulder, but Wen Cai angrily shook off his hand.

Uncle Nine ignored Wen Cai's petty emotions and continued to say to Lin Bei, "The spell on Miss Ren may not be a soul-controlling spell. I suspect it is a love spell or something similar."

"These kinds of spells are specifically designed to bewitch the mind and distort emotions. Those under the spell will develop a false love and dependence on the caster. Moreover, the spells are hidden very deeply and cannot be detected by ordinary investigation methods."

"There's such a spell?" Shi Shaojian seemed somewhat intrigued upon hearing this!

"What? You want to learn?" Uncle Nine suddenly looked at him.

Shi Shaojian's expression immediately changed, and he quickly chuckled, "Hehe, how could that be? I was just asking!"

"Then how can we break this curse?" Lin Bei ignored Shi Shaojian; even though his kidney meridians were sealed, he was still thinking about these things.

"The Cleansing Mantra!" Uncle Nine said confidently. "This mantra can expel all filth and evil spirits, including spells lurking deep in the mind. As long as the magic power is sufficient, it can completely force out the spells in Miss Ren's body."

"That makes things simple!" Si Mu interjected from the side. "You and Lin Bei both know this door god incantation. On the wedding day, you two find an opportunity to get close to her, and a cleansing incantation will solve everything."

Uncle Nine nodded: "That's the only way."

Wen Cai sat in the corner, listening to their discussion about how to save Ren Tingting, and the feeling of frustration in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

He was the first person to know Tingting, the one who longed for her day and night, but when his master and the others discussed matters, no one asked him a single question.

Fine, you all ignore me and look down on me, but you'll all regret it sooner or later!

Inappropriate thoughts began to sprout in Wencai's heart...

Just when everyone at the mortuary was at a loss, Wencai... suddenly disappeared.

That evening, Qiusheng returned from town, opened the door and called out to Wencai, but no one answered. He went to the kitchen but couldn't find him, and then searched the backyard and rooms, but still couldn't find him.

Qiu Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and he ran to the main room to find Uncle Jiu: "Master! Something terrible has happened, Wen Cai is missing!"

Uncle Nine was drawing a talisman when he heard this. He paused, the inspiration in his brush died, and the talisman became unusable. He looked up and asked, "When did this happen?"

"I don't know. He was feeding the chickens in the yard when I went out this afternoon, and he was gone when I came back!" Qiu Sheng said anxiously. "Could something have happened to him?"

Uncle Nine put down his pen, his gaze slightly somber.

Wen Cai had been quiet and reserved these past few days, barely speaking during meals, and often lost in thought while drawing talismans. Uncle Jiu knew it was because of Ren Tingting, but he didn't take it too seriously.

This child has always been thoughtful and tends to keep things to himself, but he'll be fine on his own after a couple of days.

But now that everyone's gone, things are different.

"Lin Bei, Shao Jian, go out and look for them." Uncle Jiu stood up. "Qiu Sheng, come with me to town."

The group split up; Lin Bei and Shi Shaojian headed out of town, while Uncle Jiu and Qiu Sheng went into town to inquire.

At this moment, in a small tavern at the east end of town, Wen Cai was sitting in a corner with two empty wine jugs and a bowl of peanuts in front of him.

With his pockets empty, this was all he could afford, and it was all the wages he had saved up over several years!

He had been drinking alone here for most of the hour, his face flushed, his eyes revealing seven parts drunkenness and three parts love for Ren Tingting.

"Heaven and earth may pass away, but this sorrow will last forever, Tingting...!" Wencai, overcome with emotion, even began to recite poetry.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became, and the more he drank, the more uncomfortable he felt.

Why does Lin Bei get everything when he arrives?

Why is it that Shi Shaojian, who only started learning the craft halfway through his career, can be praised as a genius?

I've worked so hard for so many years and haven't gotten anything in return?

Even his master thought he was useless...

Why is it that even Awei can take Tingting away from him...?