Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Lin Yuan summarized his experience: he only asked two questions, and the ghost in the mirror did not open its mouth to answer. Instead, it showed fragments of its memories to answer, and then automatically disappeared after answering.

He couldn't be sure of the specific rules of the Black and White Mirror for the time being, but he figured they were pretty much the same. There was no rush; he would leave first and make plans later.

He opened his eyes and stood up, only to feel dizzy and seeing stars. He had to squat down again to relieve the dizziness.

But this dizziness was quite severe, clearly not just caused by squatting for too long, but most likely caused by communicating with the ghost in the mirror just now.

After a while, Lin Yuan was finally able to get up and move around, only to find that the door was closed. He went to open the door and found that it was locked from the outside.

He knocked on the door and shouted, "Is anyone home? Open the door..."

There were guards outside the door. Hearing the noise, one of them drew his sword and shouted, "Are you a man or a ghost?"

Lin Yuan suppressed the urge to curse and said politely, "I am Lin Yuan, a student of Master Xu. Please open the door and let me out..."

"It's good that you're alright!" The man breathed a sigh of relief and comforted him gently. "Rest inside for a while. The Taoist priest from the Immortal Temple will be here soon. As long as the priest says you're alright, we'll let you leave."

"This?" Lin Yuan was worried that the Taoist priest at the Immortal Temple might see through him, so he pleaded, "Sir, I only came here with Master Xu today. Just now, when Constable Li shouted to leave quickly, I accidentally fell to the ground and passed out. Now that I've woken up, I'm not possessed by any evil spirits. Please let me go..."

"Young master, it's not that we're heartless, but there have been many cases of evil spirits possessing people and harming them in the past. Although we are martial artists, we still have to be careful. We hope you understand."

Seeing that his pleas for mercy were in vain, Lin Yuan had no choice but to wait inside the house. Thinking of Manager Zhang, who had been skinned alive in the east bedroom, he had to hide in the west study.

I randomly picked up a book and opened it to find that it was a pharmacopoeia called "Annotations on Blood Ginseng". After flipping through it for a while, I found that it was all about blood ginseng, from harvesting, cleaning, drying, processing, to final storage, as well as quality assessment and how to use it medicinally.

He was bored and drifted off to sleep.

Wait until noon.

A large group of people gathered outside the door, and you could hear people knocking and banging on the doors and windows.

"Master Dao, the talismans are affixed, and the doors and windows are sealed."

"Okay, open the door."

"yes!"

Lin Yuan was awakened by the noise outside. He yawned and opened his eyes to see an old Taoist priest with a sage-like appearance barging in.

The old Taoist priest was dressed in a black Taoist robe, wearing a tall crown, holding a compass, and making a finger gesture with his right hand, performing the ritual of divination while chanting incantations. He pointed at him, and a dark shadow flew over out of thin air, instantly transforming into a large net that enveloped him.

The black net quickly tightened, binding him tightly so he couldn't move.

Two Taoist priests in green robes quickly stepped forward and pinned him down.

Lin Yuan was greatly alarmed, but he feigned composure and said, "Fellow immortals, I am a human, not a ghost. Please release me..."

The old Taoist priest glanced at him, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he seemed slightly surprised, but he ignored him and said to those around him, "Put a talisman on him and carry him out into the sun."

Lin Yuan continued to introduce himself, but the old Taoist master still ignored him. One of the tall Taoists laughed and said, "Whether it's something or not is not up to you. We'll let you go after we've finished your ritual."

The tall Taoist priest quickly affixed a Taoist talisman to his forehead, hands, and feet, then carried him to the courtyard and placed him in the sun to dry. He then called over the nearest constable to guard him; it was none other than his old acquaintance, Li Shi.

The tall Taoist priest immediately returned to the attic and reported, "Master, the talisman for the deliverance has been posted. However, I don't think that boy is possessed by a ghost."

"Hmm." The old Taoist master had naturally understood long ago, but things still had to be done completely.

He glanced at the divination plate, then looked on with some doubt. He walked around the room, then circled Zhang's corpse twice, and asked in bewilderment, "This man was skinned alive, and his resentment is palpable. According to the divination plate, there should be a lingering spirit within him, but where did his spirit go?"

"Master Dao, newly born Yin spirits cannot last long. After this long while, the yang energy of the living has surged through them, and they may have already dissipated. Even if they haven't dissipated, without the nourishment of Yin evil, they can only hide in dark corners and eke out a living."

The tall Taoist priest, familiar with the details, suggested, "Why not close the pharmacy for forty-nine days and have the Zhang family set up an altar to perform a ritual for the deceased?"

"Yes, you're right, let's do it that way!"

"Yes, Master Dao!" The tall Daoist smiled knowingly, accepted the order and went downstairs to convey the Daoist master's instructions, ordering Zhang Tingzhang to seal up the pharmacy, and also ordering the steward Qian, who had just been sent by the Marquis's mansion, to set up an altar.

Manager Qian was sent by the second young mistress. He had just taken over the pharmacy and hadn't even settled in when he heard that the shop was to be closed for a long time. He was sweating bullets, worried that he wouldn't be able to do business. He hurriedly came to plead with the old Taoist priest and offered him money and silver.

The old Taoist priest didn't even glance at it, but the tall Taoist priest took the unclean object, weighed it in his hand, and then winked at the old Taoist priest.

The old Taoist master smiled calmly and said, "Very well, I will perform the ritual myself. You can reopen your business in three days."

"Thank you for your trouble, Master!" Manager Qian said with a forced smile, but inwardly he cursed, "Which bastard invited this group of greedy devils?"

He had no choice; even with his status as a marquis, he was still no match for the Taoist masters of Lin Yuan Immortal Temple.

The abbots of the Taoist temples in each county of Daliang concurrently held the position of Junior Attendant, a rank of fifth grade, while the county magistrates were only of the sixth or seventh grade.

The abbots of the Taoist temples in each prefecture also held the position of Zhongzheng, a rank of the third grade, while the prefectural governors were only of the third grade.

The abbots of the Taoist temples in each prefecture concurrently held the position of Grand Justice, a second-rank official, while the prefectural governors, who held military and political power, were only second-rank officials.

The abbot of Linyuan Immortal Temple holds the authority to evaluate local scholars and potential immortals, and even powerful and wealthy families have to serve him.

Although the old Taoist master was only an inner disciple of the Lin Yuan Immortal Temple, his status was more esteemed than that of many low-ranking officials, and even the county magistrate had to treat him with respect.

No one dared to disobey what he said, Zhang, the head of the Carp Pavilion, and Qian, the steward of the Marquis of Jiuling's mansion.

……

During the hottest days of summer, Lin Yuan, having been exposed to the scorching sun for a long time, was both hungry and thirsty, and begged for water from those around him.

Feeling guilty, Li Shi, seeing that he had returned to normal, picked up a teapot and fed him tea: "Brother Lin, here."

After finishing his water, Lin Yuan let out a long sigh: "Thank you for your trouble, Officer Li."

He thought to himself, "If it weren't for you, how could I have suffered like this?"

But then I thought, if it weren't for Li Shi, I wouldn't have been able to find the right way to open the mirror.

Lin Yuan's anger subsided considerably. He wondered whether he should tell Li Shi about the murderer, thus fulfilling his promise to Manager Zhang.

But how can we get to the point without it seeming abrupt?

Not wanting to attract the attention of the old Taoist priest and Manager Qian, he pondered for a moment, then, seeing that there were outsiders around, could only wait for an opportunity.

"I've dragged Brother Lin into this mess. I'll treat you to drinks after your funeral rites are over," Li Shi comforted him.

"Don't worry about it, Officer Li." Lin Yuan thought of Master Xu, "I wonder if my esteemed teacher is still at the shop?"

"Mr. Xu is old and was frightened, so I had Gou'er help him rest in the back room."

"Oh." Lin Yuan had no comment on this brilliant Mr. Xu.

At this moment, the tall Taoist priest returned: "The Taoist master said that the Heavenly Gang Suppressing Evil Net has been removed from your body. You can move around in the courtyard, but you must not leave. Please ask Constable Li to keep an eye on him and ensure that he does not tear off the Taoist talisman for the next three days."

"Rest assured, Master Gao!" Li Shi bowed.

After the Taoist priest removed the evil-suppressing net and left, Lin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and stretched his limbs.

Li Shi had the pavilion guards bring Lin Yuan a chair, brew a pot of fresh tea, and prepare some snacks. Since they were all from the pharmacy, he didn't mind spending the money, and everyone ate and drank together.

This year, Yuanhu Lake flooded, but not many people drowned. Most died from starvation and disease. If you were exposed to the sun, you could have food and drink. In the countryside, people would fight tooth and nail for that.

Thinking about it this way, Lin Yuan felt better.

The two chatted as they ate, and Lin Yuan took the opportunity to inquire about the Lin Yuan Immortal Temple. Although he had some prior knowledge of it, he didn't know much about its intricacies.