Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

"Where do you think all the gods have gone?"

Chen Mo was asking about the location of the altar.

It looks like he's talking to himself.

"God?" The old man leaning against the west wall suddenly spoke up. "These days, everyone is too busy taking care of people, who cares about gods or anything like that?"

"If there really is a God, how could He allow these evil things to come out and harm people?"

As he said this, he stood up, but his eyes were fixed on the two students.

The child slipped out of her arms and landed at her feet.

Two slender legs support a small body, with fine wood grain at the joints, and white bone-white teeth inlaid on the knees and elbows.

It's a doll, a lifelike doll.

The three porters widened their eyes simultaneously.

Wu Wenbin's expression changed. He stepped the female classmate behind him, turning himself to face the old man.

"Grandpa, what are you doing?"

The firelight flickered, and the doll stood upright on the ground, its head pressed down by the old man's hand.

He tapped the doll's head three times with his fingers, the rhythm being strange: two short taps followed by one long tap.

"A ghost...a ghost!"

Liu Mancang jumped to his feet, dropping the half-eaten pancake in his hand into the fire, sending sparks flying. "This is something only corpse-transporting masters from western Hunan would use!"

"It's not a corpse driver." Zhou Dayou's voice trembled. "A corpse driver drives the dead, this is... this is a puppet."

Sun Gui didn't speak, but his hand had already touched the carrying pole at the base of the wall.

The carrying pole is made of bamboo, about three feet long, with iron hoops at both ends. It is used to carry goods and also as a means of self-defense for these porters.

His gaze swept back and forth between the old man and the doll several times.

"Don't move."

The old man suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but everyone in the temple could hear him clearly.

"We're not looking for you, so go hide over there."

"I've been waiting here for almost half a month, just for these two things."

His gaze swept over the three porters, and a smirk appeared on his lips. "You guys who are in a hurry, just stay there quietly and don't move. Once I've taken care of things, you can go wherever you want. It's no trouble."

Sun Gui's voice trembled, "What did you say?"

The old man didn't answer. He looked down at the puppet at his feet and began to mutter incantations.

Standing in front of the fire, Wu Wenbin slowly raised his head. "Old man, we have no grudge against you..."

His voice was no longer that of a gentle young man, but rather somewhat gloomy.

"No grudge?" The old man sneered, interrupting him. "You've been dragging this stillborn child along this road for half a year, harming countless people. Don't you know how many people you've hurt?"

"Are you trying to meddle in other people's business today?"

Wu Wenbin's face began to change, turning from grayish-white to bluish-gray. His skin began to peel off in patches, revealing the grayish-green flesh underneath, which emitted a strong, fishy stench.

The female student behind him also looked up. Her features were no longer visible; her nose was just two black holes, and her lips were turned up, revealing her white teeth.

There were no eyeballs in the eye sockets, only two loach-like things that slithered in and out, dark brown in color, occasionally peeking out with their flat mouths showing.

"Oh my god..."

Liu Mancang plopped down on the ground, using his hands to push himself back, shouting, "Ghosts! They're ghosts!"

Zhou Dayou was also terrified. He almost dropped the carrying pole in his hand and huddled against the wall, his lips trembling and unable to speak.

"evil creature."

The old man roared, crossed his hands, and formed a mudra.

The doll's two thin legs suddenly pushed off the ground, and its entire body shot out at an incredible speed.

It was only about two feet tall, but it leaped straight for Wu Wenbin's face. Its five fingers were spread out, and each fingertip was inlaid with a bone-white tooth buckle, which gleamed with a cold white luster in the firelight.

Wu Wenbin reached out to block it.

His arm was no longer recognizable as human; the entire arm...