Zombie World: Starting as an apprentice of the Thunder King

Seeing the old manor lord in pain, Lin Bei had no choice but to cruelly perform a ritual to help him pass on to the afterlife!

After a person dies, their soul is escorted by ghost messengers to the underworld for trial. Seven days later, the underworld will allow the soul to return home for a final look before entering the cycle of reincarnation.

However, during this period, the souls of the dead cannot linger in the mortal realm. According to the laws of the underworld, if a soul lingers in the mortal realm for one day, it will be punished in the underworld for one hundred years!

Lin Bei helped the old manor lord up and said softly, "Old man, your wife's soul has already been reincarnated. She will surely be reborn into a good family in her next life."

The old manor wiped away his tears and bowed deeply to Lin Bei.

"Young Taoist priest, your kindness and virtue are immense; I will remember them for the rest of my life."

Lin Bei helped him up: "Old man, please don't do this. As a member of the Taoist sect, this is what I should do."

The old manor lord straightened up, took out a small cloth bag from his sleeve, and stuffed it into Lin Bei's hand.

"Young Taoist priest, I don't have anything valuable. Please take this money for your journey."

Lin Bei pushed it back: "Grandpa, I can't accept your money."

"You must take it!" The old manor owner tried to shove it back at him. "You saved me and helped my wife pass on to the afterlife. What is this little bit of money? If you don't take it, I'll feel terrible."

Looking into the old manor lord's cloudy yet determined eyes, Lin Bei accepted the cloth bag without further hesitation.

"Thank you very much, sir."

The old manor owner smiled, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out.

"Young Taoist priest, are you staying here again tonight?"

Lin Bei glanced at the sky; the sun was already setting in the west.

"Stay, I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

The old manor owner nodded happily, "Good, good, good, I'll go cook for you, you can have a good meal tonight."

That evening, the old landlord prepared a table full of dishes.

Braised pork belly, steamed fish, scrambled eggs, and vegetable and tofu soup—these are all home-style dishes, but they are made with care and taste delicious.

Lin Bei ate three large bowls of rice and cleaned up all the dishes on the table.

The old manor owner sat beside him, watching him eat with a smile, while he himself ate only a few bites.

"Grandpa, why aren't you eating?"

"I've already eaten, please have some."

Lin Bei knew that the old master was reluctant to eat, so he put the last piece of braised pork into the old master's bowl.

"Grandpa, please eat too. I can't eat this much by myself."

The old manor owner looked at the braised pork in his bowl, and his eyes reddened again. For so many years, no one had served him any food.

After finishing his meal, Lin Bei sat in the courtyard, looking at the stars in the sky.

The stars on Qingzhu Mountain are just like that, bright and twinkling. I wonder what Master and my senior brother are doing.

The old manor owner came out carrying a pot of tea and sat down next to Lin Bei.

"Young Taoist priest, where are you going tomorrow?"

Lin Bei thought for a moment and said, "Let's head south and see where it takes us."

"To the south... to the south there's Mount Qingcheng. I heard there's a Taoist temple on that mountain, and the Taoist priests there are incredibly skilled. Would you like to go and take a look?"

Lin Bei's eyes lit up: "Qingcheng Mountain? Okay, I'll go take a look."

"By the way, sir, do you know if there are any demons or monsters causing trouble around here?"

The old manor owner thought for a moment and said, "Yes, there is. I heard that there's been a lot of trouble in the county town recently. They say that a vengeful ghost is harming people in the town and has already killed several people."

The county magistrate offered a reward of one hundred silver dollars for catching the ghost, but several Taoist priests went and all returned empty-handed. One of them was even injured by the ghost and is still lying in bed.

Lin Bei slapped his thigh and immediately decided, "Okay, I'll go to the county town tomorrow to take a look."

The old manor owner glanced at him, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

"Grandpa, what do you want to say?"

"Young Taoist priest, I've heard that the evil spirit is very powerful, you...you must be careful."

Lin Bei smiled confidently: "Don't worry, there are very few people in this world who can hurt me!"

The next morning, Lin Bei bid farewell to the old manor lord and headed towards the county town.

The old manor lord stood at the entrance of the mortuary, watching Lin Bei's retreating figure until he disappeared at the end of the road, before turning back.

The county town was not far from the mortuary; it took only two hours to get there.

The county town was much larger than the town, with wide streets lined with shops on both sides, bustling with people.

As soon as Lin Bei entered the county town, he saw a notice posted at the town gate.

The notice read: "A vengeful ghost has been causing trouble in this county recently, harming countless people. Anyone who can catch the ghost will be rewarded with one hundred silver dollars!"

Lin Bei glanced at the notice, then stepped forward and tore it down.

A soldier guarding the city saw this and came over.

"Are you a Taoist priest?"

Lin Bei nodded, drew his peach wood sword from his waist, and brandished it.

"Lin Bei, disciple of Daoist Shi Jian of Qingzhu Mountain!"

The soldier looked him up and down, somewhat suspiciously: "How old are you?"

"eighteen."

"Eighteen years old? The youngest of the Taoist priests who came before us was over thirty, and they couldn't subdue that evil spirit. You're just a young kid..."

"Whether we can subdue them or not, we'll find out by trying." Lin Bei folded the notice neatly and stuffed it into his pocket. "Take me to see the county magistrate."

The soldier, still somewhat skeptical, led Lin Bei to the county magistrate's office.

The county magistrate was a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, sitting in the main hall with a worried expression.

When the soldiers brought in a young man, County Magistrate Tang was taken aback.

"Who are you..."

Lin Bei clasped his hands in greeting: "Lin Bei, disciple of Daoist Shi Jian of Qingzhu Mountain, has come here to share the county magistrate's burdens."

County Magistrate Tang's eyes lit up: "Master Shi Jian? The Thunder and Lightning Dharma King Shi Jian?"

"It is indeed my master!"

County Magistrate Tang strode up to Lin Bei and looked him up and down.

"Good, good, good! Master Shi Jian's disciple must be very capable!" County Magistrate Tang held Lin Bei's hand. "Master Lin, you've finally arrived. That vengeful ghost has caused a lot of harm, already taking seven lives. If this continues, I won't be able to explain myself to the province."

Lin Bei chuckled and asked, "Where is that vengeful ghost causing trouble?"

"In a house in the east of the city," County Magistrate Tang sighed. "That house originally belonged to a wealthy merchant and his entire family of seven. They were all killed by that vengeful ghost, and now the house is a haunted house. Nobody dares to go near it."

"I invited several Taoist priests, but none of them could subdue that vengeful ghost. One of the priests went in but was beaten out by the ghost and lost an arm. He is still lying in bed now."

Lin Bei remained calm after hearing this. He figured that if even a few rogue Taoist priests couldn't handle the evil spirit, it probably didn't have much ability. "Don't worry, County Magistrate," he said, "I'll go take a look."

"Master Lin, should we bring a few more people?"

"No need, I can manage on my own."

County Magistrate Tang arranged for several soldiers to take Lin Bei to the east of the city, and also sent someone to notify the security captain!

The house was located in an alley in the east of the city. It had blue bricks and gray tiles, and two stone lions at the entrance. It looked quite impressive.

But now the gate of the house is covered with seals, and the ground in front of the gate is covered with a layer of lime!

Lin Bei stood at the entrance of the house, took out a compass, and the needle spun wildly, pointing into the house.

"The yin energy is very strong; there are definitely vengeful ghosts!"

Lin Bei put the compass away, pushed open the door, and went inside.

The soldiers behind them looked at each other, none of them daring to follow them inside.

Although they were carrying guns, those things were completely useless against ghosts!

Lin Bei stood in the courtyard, looking around. The courtyard was not large, with a locust tree in the middle and a well under the tree.

The locust tree's branches and leaves were so lush that they covered most of the courtyard, preventing even sunlight from getting in.

Lin Bei walked to the well and looked down.

A dense aura of yin energy rose from the bottom of the well, many times denser than the aura of the well in the mortuary.

Lin Bei frowned and pulled out an exorcism talisman from his bundle!

Just then, the gate of the house suddenly closed, and the courtyard became dark, even the few rays of sunlight disappeared.

A chilling aura surged from all directions, enveloping Lin Bei.

Lin Bei sneered, "You coward, come out now."

A low laugh came from the darkness.

"Hehehe..."

The laughter came from near and far, elusive and unpredictable, sending chills down one's spine.

Lin Bei placed his right hand on the Demon-Slaying Sword, held the exorcism talisman in his left hand, and stared at his surroundings.

The laughter grew closer, and suddenly a dark shadow floated out of the well, coalescing in the air into the shape of a man.

The man was dressed in white, his face was deathly pale, and his eyes were empty, dripping with black blood.

A strange smile played on his lips, and his tongue lolled out, almost reaching his chest.

Lin Bei looked at the vengeful ghost and his heart sank: Damn it, I misjudged and was careless. This ghost's resentment is even stronger than that of the male ghost in Qing Dynasty official robes at the mortuary. It has at least four hundred years of cultivation.

The white-clad ghost tilted its head, looked at Lin Bei, revealed a strange smile, and beckoned to him.

"Another one coming to die, little Taoist priest. Your scent really attracts ghosts!"