Ah Hu and the others were too late to come and rescue them.

At the critical moment, Mingzhuo made her move, kicking the person who attacked her in the chest and sending him flying.

Ah Liang stared blankly at the fruit knife lying on the ground, then suddenly screamed in fear.

He remembered! When the butler sent someone to call him, he grabbed a fruit knife and put it in his pocket. But strangely, why did he take a knife? And why did he go and try to assassinate the young mistress? Was he crazy?

Butler: "You bastard, what are you yelling about! This isn't over yet, I'm calling the police!"

Ah Hu snorted coldly and stepped forward to subdue the man.

Mingzhuo stopped him.

She looked at the trembling man and sighed, "Butler, don't call the police, it wasn't him."

Ah Liang clutched his head: "Third Miss, please don't do this! Just call the police and have me arrested, or I'll go crazy!"

Mingzhuo stepped forward and squatted down in front of him: "Do you think you did what just happened?"

Ah Liang nodded honestly; he had a clear memory of his thought process.

Butler: "Third Miss, please don't speak up for him! Such a wicked person doesn't deserve any sympathy!"

Mingzhuo looked into the man's pupils, where her own reflection was clearly visible, and smiled kindly.

Then he suddenly slashed across with both fingers.

Being so close, Ah Liang couldn't react at all. He only felt as if a blade had sliced ​​through him, followed by a sharp pain before his vision went dark. He covered his eyes and screamed.

Everyone was taken aback, wondering what the Third Miss was doing.

Even if you're very angry, you shouldn't hurt someone's eyes. Otherwise, you'll become unreasonable even if you're right.

Mingzhuo said coldly, "Aren't you coming out yet?"

Ruan Mingying looked at Mingzhuo with a puzzled expression. Who was her sister talking to?

Mingzhuo raised his hand and slapped A Liang on the head. A Liang coughed up a mouthful of blood, and there was a worm-like thing wriggling in the blood!

The thing was too small for everyone to see clearly, and they were about to take a closer look when Mingzhuo shouted, "Close your eyes!"

She stepped forward and killed the thing with a single sword strike. The thing let out a miserable scream, then turned into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared.

Everyone was still in shock and watched this scene in disbelief.

Good heavens, what was that just now?

"Could it be a ghost?" someone said, still feeling uneasy.

Mingzhuo: "No, he doesn't have any ghostly or yin energy on him."

On the contrary, there is also a pure and powerful aura, which is why it is so hidden and not easily detected.

If other Taoist priests had come today, they might not have been able to see through the trick, since the exorcism talismans and rituals were ineffective.

Mingzhuo squatted down to examine the ash that the thing had spat out. "This should be some kind of Gu. It's very strange. It seems to be raised with incense ash, yet it can get into people's eyes and control their minds."

Gu worms are generally considered to be evil and fearful of the extremely yang energy of incense ash. Yet this thing can feed on incense ash, which is very strange.

Ruan Mingying grasped the key point: "Was A Liang just manipulated?"

“Yes.” Mingzhuo nodded, then looked at Aliang, “Have you encountered any strange people or strange things recently?”

Ah Liang shook his head in confusion, then suddenly thought of something and hesitated for a moment.

"I don't know if it counts... but one night I dreamed of my deceased girlfriend, who told me to go to the incense burner at Beishan Temple and grab a handful of incense ash to take home."

"Beishan Temple?" Mingzhuo searched his memory but had no recollection of it.

Ah Liang: "Yes, it's called Beishan Temple. It's a small Taoist temple that I came across a few years ago when my girlfriend and I were walking the Ancient Tea Horse Road in Dasong Mountain."

The Dasong Mountain range spans several provinces and cities. The ancient Tea Horse Road is the road that people used to travel on horseback to trade and spread civilization among the cliffs and towering mountains.

The ancient Tea Horse Road of Dasong Mountain has a long history, but it gradually declined due to the development of water transport and has been abandoned for many years.

Those suspension bridges, wooden walkways, smoke-filled caves, and religious relics have gradually been buried among the mountains.

A few years ago, outdoor adventure suddenly became popular, and travel companies came up with a new way to make money: taking curious and energetic young people to the Ancient Tea Horse Road for adventure, training, and camping.

They even came up with a gimmick, saying that couples who support each other while traversing the Ancient Tea Horse Road will receive blessings from the ancients and gods, and grow old together.

Ah Liang and his girlfriend traveled along the Ancient Tea Horse Road with a tour group.

Most of the ancient road is built on cliffs, making it impossible to create artificial passages. They could only obtain abundant supplies at the starting and ending points.

The remaining two campsites and two supply points are expensive and have limited variety because the supplies are transported up the mountain by porters.

Beishan Temple was located between the longest supply points along the way. He and his girlfriend were almost fainting from lack of water when they saw the Taoist temple on the cliff.

His girlfriend said that he looked like a reclusive master. The two asked for water to drink, which gave them the strength to continue their journey.

His girlfriend later died in an accident, and he has never been able to get over it.

So, for several nights in a row, he dreamed that the other party told him to go to Beishan Temple. So he walked along the Tea Horse Road again, found the ancient Taoist temple hidden in the mountains, and brought home some incense ash.

From that time on, he would often feel a daze and find himself doing some strange things.

But he would rationalize those actions in his mind; that was his thought, what he wanted to do.

After hearing the story, Ruan Mingying looked at Mingzhuo nervously, "Zhuozhuo, you're not going to that Beishan Temple, are you?"

Mingzhuo shook his head firmly. "How could that be? I don't like camping. Besides, A Liang just said that once you set foot on the Ancient Tea Horse Road, there's no going back, because there's no way down the mountain, you can only go forward. I can't do that. I like the hustle and bustle of the world, and I especially love the comfort of a hotel bed."

According to A Liang's description, Beishan Temple is located in the very middle of the Ancient Tea Horse Road, which means that no matter which way she goes, she has to camp there for two nights.

That's definitely not acceptable; she doesn't want to live such a hard life.

Mingzhuo made a phone call to Wu Jiao and told him about what happened at Beishan Temple.

Ask the Xuanmen to help send people to investigate, since the creatures from the mountains have come out and are harming people, the Xuanmen cannot ignore this.

Wu Jiao said enthusiastically, "Don't worry, Teacher Ruan, I will personally oversee this matter and make sure to find out everything about Beishan Temple!"

Mingzhuo hung up the phone with satisfaction. This was the advantage of having connections and influence; he didn't have to do everything himself.

She thought for a moment. She couldn't figure out the tricks of the incense ash poison from Beishan Temple for the time being, but she had a way to deal with this harmful talisman.

She placed the talisman on the coffee table, then took something and placed it on top of the talisman.

Ruan Mingying asked with great interest, "What is this? Is it a character from that ancient costume drama? It's quite good-looking."

The wooden puppet is incredibly lifelike, with a gentle yet mysterious air, like a high priest from a fantasy drama. It is pale and noble, with a hint of evil amidst its compassion.

"No." Mingzhuo bit his finger, dripped a drop of blood onto the puppet's brow, made a hand seal, and then said to the puppet, "Go—"

"Go find the person who uses magic and make them suffer."