Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

Chu Mingkong sighed. Although he still controlled the female ghost's actions, he had freed her from the corrosive influence of the extreme yin power.

"I'm quite adept at revenge and resolving grievances. I don't know if those high-ranking officials in Jin are still around. If they are, I'll take you, the female ghost, to seek revenge. If they aren't, I'll just have to perform a ritual to help you pass on to the afterlife."

Chapter Twenty: Qingning: Such a huge female ghost, in my supermarket!

Now that the female ghost has been caught, the Gu family can finally sleep peacefully.

Chu Mingkong planned to peacefully send the female ghost to the afterlife, which would require a long night run, meaning he wouldn't be able to take Aunt Gu with him.

When the news reached Qingning, not long after, a graceful young woman with a spirited air appeared outside the Gu residence.

"Qingning, I called you over in the middle of the night." Chu Mingkong patted her head apologetically.

"No problem, lying down is just meditation anyway, it's good to come out for a stroll. Where's the female ghost?" Wei Qingning glanced behind Chu Mingkong a few times, but didn't see that he had brought her out.

How could Chu Mingkong dare to let the female ghost roam around the mansion? He had elderly parents and young children to care for. What if the female ghost escaped in the blink of an eye? So, to be on the safe side, Chu Mingkong confined the female ghost to the room.

"He's in the room. In a moment, go and check all the rooms in the Gu residence to make sure there are no remaining little ghosts."

"Row!"

Wei Qingning released the little witch rabbit she had bound by her contract. The little thing looked like a fluffy ball, but in the blink of an eye it turned into a blur and disappeared, quickly darting through the rooms of the Gu residence.

The little rabbit's last room was Gu Jun Gui's room, which was also the place where Chu Ming Kong trapped the female ghost.

Wei Qingning opened the door and saw a pale ghost with half its body stuffed into the wardrobe door, only its lower body and hips exposed.

"Brother, the way you trapped Gui Chong is quite unique... He's already immobilized, so there's no need for this."

I'm just being considerate of your feelings, girl.

Unable to hear Chu Mingkong's thoughts, Wei Qingning reached out and used witchcraft to bind the female ghost with several mysterious chains, pulling her out of the wardrobe.

When the girl saw the swaying flesh, her expression froze, and then she clenched her fists, her desire to deliver the dead growing stronger!

We can no longer allow this evil spirit to harm humanity. Tonight, she will be in the supermarket! A powerful female ghost!

"I'll go to that ghost brothel later to check the situation and see if what happened to the female ghost is real. If it is, I'll try to help her resolve her grievances." Chu Mingkong explained the plan and added, "Are there any other female ghosts in the Gu family? I plan to deal with this matter before coming back to pick up Aunt Gu."

Not sure if all the ghosts had been caught, Chu Mingkong was worried about leaving Aunt Gu alone at her parents' home.

"That's it. My little rabbit has already explored all the ghost wood furniture. The yin energy accumulated on those pieces of furniture has been absorbed by this female ghost. The Gu family only has this one."

Gu Jun Gui had just been hiding from the female ghost with her clansmen in the next room when she overheard Chu Ming Kong's discussion. She timidly opened the door, checked the corridor outside from both sides, and then ran back to her own room.

"Mingkong, if you're going out to deal with this female ghost, then hurry up and go. I still have the talisman your master gave me, so don't be afraid!"

Having just learned about the female ghost, Gu Jun Gui was afraid, but he also felt sympathy for the girl.

“My master gave you a protective talisman, Aunt Gu? She probably snatched it from Master Yun, so the quality should be pretty good... Alright, since Aunt Gu has said so, I’ll go and come back quickly.”

Wei Qingning was even more motivated. She said to Aunt Gu, "Don't worry, Aunt Gu. With me here, I'll make sure to send this female ghost back to the right path in the world, send her on her way, and let her re-enter the cycle of reincarnation!"

The female ghost: "......"

......

In the pitch-black night, a flying sword soared through the air, weaving through the stars.

A well-proportioned, robust but not burly man sat cross-legged on it, holding a slender and graceful girl in his arms. A chain was attached to the end of the sword hilt, and the female ghost girl was bound and hung high in the air by the chain, somewhat like flying a kite.

However, it was very convenient for Chu Mingkong and Wei Qingning to travel together. They didn't need to use a carriage, and the journey wasn't particularly long, so flying swords were especially convenient.

Chu Mingkong recalled Wei Qingning's words before he set off, staring blankly ahead, and asked:

"Qingning, is there really such a thing as reincarnation in this world?"

Sitting in her elder brother's lap, Wei Qingning was in high spirits. Hearing his question, she snapped out of her reverie:

"There is such a saying, but no one knows if it is true. I think it means that when a person dies, the spiritual energy absorbed into the body returns to the world. If it turns into a ghost, the soul does not dissipate, but becomes an evil thing due to resentment. Some of them can even continue to cultivate as ghost cultivators, which deviates from the normal laws of heaven and earth."

That day in the Golden Palace, I saw the ghost cultivator who was the soul of the emperor, and now I have encountered a female ghost and heard about the ghost brothel, a social organization.

Chu Mingkong wondered if there might be a ghost kingdom or something similar.

And there was something that bothered him: could the appearance of this ghost be a signal that the day of the flourishing of Yin was approaching?

Are ghostly spirits common?

"It's not common. Everyone has regrets and resentments, but even if everyone in a village dies, there's no guarantee that a single ghost will emerge. But if it happens during a chaotic time, such things will become more frequent."

I can't say for sure whether it's because chaotic times lack a stabilizing force to suppress evil spirits, or because chaotic times are particularly prone to generating great resentment, giving rise to evil spirits and demons.

The flying sword traveled along the route Gu Wenkai had indicated, the route where the ghost had been encountered. In the darkness, a few carriages could indeed be seen moving along the road, the horses running side by side, the drivers chatting together late at night.

Chu Mingkong released his senses and found that those were normal people; there was no indication that they were ghosts if you touched them casually.

It seems that seeing ghosts is not an easy thing.

He lowered the height of his flying sword and followed, pretending to ask for directions.

"Brothers, I am a junior cultivator from the Wenqing Pavilion. I've heard that there have been ghosts around here recently. Have any of you heard anything similar?"

The coachmen, seeing this figure riding on a sword, were filled with longing and envy. They gasped in amazement for a while before saying:

"Yes, Jin is not a peaceful place. Occasionally you may encounter unclean things, but you can usually just pretend you didn't see them."

"Yes, I've encountered a ghost market before. It's a real ghost market, not a night market. Sometimes you'll even see girls asking for help in the middle of the night, but only a fool would get out of the car to help them!"

"Aren't you afraid?"

Wei Qingning was curious. These people had no cultivation at all. The talismans hanging on their cars were all fake, without any magic or spiritual energy. They were just for psychological comfort.

The driver shrugged: "I am scared, but what can I do if I'm scared? If a ghost wants to kill me, I'll die. If I don't drive at night, I'll starve and die anyway."

Another driver chimed in, "To be honest," and added:

"Hey, fellow cultivator, what are you doing here? Exorcising ghosts? I've heard there's been a Taoist priest or something around here these past few days. Is he your brother?"

"No, I heard there's a haunted brothel here, so I came to check it out."

"Hehehe, one day when I get bold enough, I'll have to go and see for myself. If I can't go to a paradise, I can always go to a brothel!"

Chu Mingkong could hear a hint of dialect mixed in their Mandarin accent, guessing that they had been traveling around for some years. So he asked if any wealthy merchant's daughter had eloped with someone, or if any scholar had topped the college entrance exam and then abandoned his wife and children.

It can only be said that such gossip really can't be kept secret. The rickshaw drivers who travel all over the country, regardless of whether the news they hear is true or not, they do have a lot of hearsay versions, and they can list several at once.

Chu Mingkong carefully screened the characters in the stories and quickly narrowed it down to a few.

"Alright, I'll get going now. Thanks to the two drivers." Chu Mingkong tossed them two silver coins as a tip for directions, and his flying sword increased in speed.

The two coachmen were still basking in the excitement of receiving the silver when they suddenly saw the flying sword with a voluptuous female ghost whose eyes were filled with resentment tied to it.

It just floated right past them, scaring them so much their eyes almost popped out.

......

The Jin region is now in chaos. The seeds of this evil were sown when the King of Jin was still alive, but at that time, he suppressed the internal turmoil within Jin and prevented any major disturbances.

Now that the Prince of Jin has fallen, the court is leaderless. The royal family was about to decide who would take charge of the affairs of Jin, but a little over a month later, the emperor was also killed by Chu Mingkong from next door.

Now, Jin was completely a no-man's land. The officials who used to control the people could no longer manage them and could only hide in big cities, waiting for the turmoil in the capital to pass. As long as a new emperor was elected, they would be able to be reinstated.

Zhang Youshu sat in the small courtyard, looking at the letters conveying the situation in the capital, and sighed repeatedly.

The people of Jin are now in a state of panic, and banditry has broken out. Fortunately, the ferocious beasts that occasionally appear from the abyss pose no real threat to these bandit strongholds and have not yet gained much traction. In this situation, one careless move could mean certain death.

Running away is the safest option, but if you run too far away, you might miss out on potential opportunities and attention. If you run to Xiling, which is closer, the area is heavily guarded and is like a small, strict kingdom. If you hide there, you might get caught within a few days.

Despite his sigh, Zhang Youshu still harbored some expectations!

This expectation stems from... his father-in-law died, hehe!

On the day his father-in-law entered the capital, Chu Mingkong also entered the capital to behead the emperor. The battle spread to every corner of the palace, and his father-in-law, happy Wenle, unfortunately passed away.

In this situation, he, as the son-in-law who married into the family, would have room for advancement, and might even have the opportunity to turn the tables and completely take over his father-in-law's family, becoming a pillar of the family.

However, all of this will have to wait until things settle down.

these days,

We have to persevere!

We need to pray!

They should keep a low profile and wait until the turmoil in the capital subsides, and the royal family fights and kills each other to produce a new emperor. Only then will they have a chance to be reinstated to their original positions.

As long as you don't die, as long as you survive, the future is bright!

"Husband, have some sweet soup. How is the situation in the capital?" Zhang Youshu's wife brought over a bowl of sweet soup, her face full of worry.

"We still have to wait... Ah!"

Zhang Youshu held the bowl and spoon, looked down, and was horrified to see a familiar yet terrifying female ghost's face reflected in the sugar water!

Her hand went limp, and the bowl and spoon fell to the ground with a crisp shattering sound, startling the quiet courtyard.

Chapter Twenty-One: Unleashing Ghosts to Commit Evil!

The elegant man in white robes retreated repeatedly. When he met the dark eyes of the female ghost, his face was filled with terror. He stared at the ghostly woman floating in mid-air in disbelief, speechless.

His wife screamed, "A ghost!" and hurriedly hid behind Zhang Youshu, her lips trembling as she stared at the female ghost.

The female ghost was a pale white figure in the darkness. Her entire eye was black, with no whites, like two empty holes trying to devour the one with hatred in her heart.

Soon, another unfamiliar male voice came from the courtyard, and several eyes focused on Zhang Youshu.

"So, this female ghost is looking for you?"

The couple looked over and saw a man and a woman appear in the yard.

The man was handsome and robust, with an undeniable domineering and ruthless air about him. The woman was smart and capable, with a pretty face and a strong, tailored outfit, exuding an air of confidence and strength.

The chains in the girl's hands bound the female ghost, making it clear that the ghost was brought by the couple.

"You Shu, is this... your friend?" the young woman, barely ten years old, asked, glancing fearfully at the female ghost a few times, and then occasionally stealing glances at the man opposite her.

Zhang Youshu remained silent, feeling guilty and unable to answer.

Chu Mingkong snorted softly. Seeing that this top scholar could still hide in the courtyard and drink the sweet soup brought by his beloved wife, he felt even more sympathy for the female ghost.