The Vengeful Ghost Awakens

After Wu Ming departed, Madam Zhou and the servants arrived just in time.

Madam Zhou looked around, then turned to ask me, "Has Wu Ming left, Master Zhong?"

I nodded and approached the abandoned well. "Everything she needed was in here, and she has reclaimed what belonged to her. I believe she won't be coming back."

In my heart, I felt that Wu Ming still possessed a shred of her benevolent nature. She had numerous opportunities to kill us, yet she never raised a hand against us.

Hearing my words, Madam Zhou showed a puzzled expression. "This well contained Wu Ming's belongings?"

"Yes," I replied.

Madam Zhou shook her head in disagreement. "Although the well has been abandoned for a long time, I have the servants clean it thoroughly during every festival. None of them have ever seen any strange objects in the well. I haven't either."

"Does that mean only Chu Ling and I could see them?" Tu Er quickly chimed in.

Madam Zhou pondered and nodded. "Indeed. Or perhaps Master Zhong possesses the Heavenly Eye?"

I scratched my head and replied sheepishly, "How could I possibly have the Heavenly Eye?"

If I truly possessed the Heavenly Eye, I would have made a name for myself long ago, rather than remaining an obscure, nobody of a Daoist.

Madam Zhou stood there staring into the well, her gaze as distant as the endless sea. After a long while, she spoke, "I remember now."

"What do you remember?" Tu Er and I asked in unison.

Madam Zhou recalled carefully, "When I first married into this family, I heard the Old Master mention that we must not use the water from this well, nor hang laundry near it, because Old Madam Zhou had cast a House-Tranquilizing Ward over it."

A House-Tranquilizing Ward? Who on earth would cast such a spell on a well? The more she spoke, the harder it was to believe.

Of course! It was highly likely that Chu Xing wanted to deceive Wu Ming, preventing her from reclaiming these items. Chu Xing was truly a man of unrepentant evil.

And Wu Ming, by having the living soul of the little girl lead us here, wanted to use my hands to retrieve the bronze mirror and hairpin. Thinking of this, I became even more certain that Wu Ming still cared for Chu Yao.

Tu Er was about to ask something, but I stopped her. It was better to let them believe the well was used for a House-Tranquilizing Ward; at least it would give them some peace of mind.

Madam Zhou looked at me, then turned her hazy gaze toward Tu Er. She likely understood that we did not wish to elaborate, so she refrained from asking further.

I said to Madam Zhou, "Everything seems to have settled now. Tu Er and I have other matters to attend to. Thank you for your hospitality, Madam Zhou."

Madam Zhou replied politely, "No need to be polite. You have helped me so much, yet I haven't had the chance to repay you." As she spoke, she slipped a large banknote into my hand.

"It was only right," I replied, pushing the money back to her.

With that, Tu Er and I did not linger for another moment. We headed straight home.

First, we would prepare some necessary equipment, and then we would head toward Yuanhuan Village to go up the mountain.

I would stay at home tonight at most. Tu Er stayed by my side as well. In the end, we only rested until dawn before hurriedly setting off.

This time, we decided to head up the mountain from the direction of Yuanhuan Village, which would also allow us to check if Master Yao's grave had remained undisturbed.

When we arrived at Yuanhuan Village, the once-desolate scene had become even more tragic. The village's already small population had dwindled to almost nothing.

Most of the people here had pale, sickly complexions. Despite the sweltering midday heat, I could still feel gusts of cold wind blowing past, as if we were in the dead of winter.

We walked deeper into the village. From afar, an old woman quickly approached us and advised earnestly, "Children, don't go in there. Most of the people here have already moved away."

"Has something happened, Grandma?" I asked in confusion.

The old woman sat down with difficulty on a roadside boulder. "Over the past month, a ghost has suddenly appeared in the west. Merchants and those who went up the mountain to gather firewood were all frightened out of their wits by it. Later, it grew even more rampant, terrorizing one person after another. It even devoured all the livestock we raised..." At this point, the old woman could not help but wipe her tears with her sleeve.

The west? Wasn't that Master Yao's house? Could the vengeful ghost wreaking havoc be none other than him?

I looked at the silver-haired old woman, feeling a pang of pity in my heart. "The villagers have all moved away, so why do you still remain here?"

The old woman sighed, her voice heavy with sorrow. "It's not that we are reluctant to leave, but most of those who stayed are elderly folks with no children or grandchildren. How could we find a better place to live? After all, enduring this fear is better than starving to death out there."

Hearing her words, neither Tu Er nor I could remain indifferent to their plight. Thus, I decided to help the villagers drive away the vengeful ghost.

I helped the old woman up and slipped some money into her hand. "I don't have much, only some spare silver. Please take this to buy food for a few days. I will stay here to help everyone catch the vengeful ghost."

"How can it be caught?" the old woman said in a trembling voice.

"Please rest assured, Grandma. We will do our best to help everyone."

"You are living immortals!" She clasped her hands, preparing to kneel and kowtow, but Tu Er quickly supported her.

We decided to investigate the direction of Master Yao's house first.

The house remained the same, except that overgrown weeds had completely obscured the path leading to it. The front porch was covered in ivy.

Looking at the scene before me, my heart stirred slightly. If his son were still alive, how warm and cozy this house would have been.

The wind blew, swaying the ivy, and all my thoughts drifted away with the breeze.

Tu Er observed carefully and said, "There is no ghostly Qi in the house. Everything is perfectly normal. Perhaps we guessed wrong."

I shook my head in disagreement. "There's still his grave. We can't draw any conclusions just yet."

Tu Er nodded.

Finding no clues here, we made our way toward Master Yao's grave.

I knew it! Someone had interfered with this. The four grave-sealing banners had been removed, and even the grave itself had been dug up.

Who on earth could have done such a thing?

Tu Er walked toward the grave and looked closely. "Chu Ling, there is no coffin inside."

"No coffin?" I gasped, my eyes filled with apprehension.

Tu Er stepped back and gripped my hand tightly. "This place is filled with resentment. It's making it hard for me to breathe. I feel like this place is extremely dangerous."

I instinctively pulled her behind my back, then scattered glutinous rice mixed with cinnabar around the grave. "He will definitely return here to gather his Qi. Once he steps on the glutinous rice and cinnabar, we will seize the opportunity to capture him."

"Will we be able to do it?" Tu Er asked.

I sighed, having no clear answer in my heart. "We have no choice but to try. If we can capture him, we can help everyone. If not..."

"Then what?" Tu Er asked anxiously.

I smiled and replied, "Then you run away, and I'll be responsible for holding him back."

"No way!" Tu Er practically shouted at me, her eyes filled with immense worry.