Chapter 108: The 108th Day of Retirement Besides them, there are also you...

Considering that Qianxu's incident happened in northern Beijing, Huiming moved the meeting place from northern Beijing to Fumin County, Changyi Province where he was located just in case.

Although other responsible persons felt that his decision was somewhat selfish and intended to save trouble, they did not say anything in the end.

Time passed quickly and it was the appointed day.

Fan Bei, dressed casually and carrying a backpack, looked like a perfectly normal tourist exiting the Fumin County high-speed rail station. Passersby instinctively turned away. Tall and with rugged features, his short, plaster-green hair and unshaven beard gave him the air of a freshly released prison inmate. As he walked the high-speed rail station corridor with an intimidating face, a vacuum gradually formed around him.

Within two minutes, he discovered that the vacuum zone was gradually expanding, and the number of pedestrians around him, some hurried and some leisurely, was rapidly decreasing. In less than twenty seconds, the surroundings became empty, the noisy conversations of tourists gradually dissipated, and not even a shadow could be seen.

He stopped and stood there, looking around.

The cold white bricks of the passageway reflected his features, and he could clearly see the wariness and alertness in his own eyes. His eyes narrowed slowly, and he tightened his grip on the shoulder strap of his backpack. With a foreboding feeling, he asked in a deep voice, "Who's causing this?"

The only response he received was endless silence.

This silence lasted for a long time, so long that Fan Bei's brows began to frown, and the sound of his heart beating became faster and heavier. He gradually developed some irritation, although he knew very well that whoever lost control first would be the first to die.

But the atmosphere right now is suffocating.

He took a deep breath and just as he was forcing himself to calm down, a gust of wind suddenly blew across his cheek.

The next moment, his pupils began to lose focus, his body went limp little by little, and he fell heavily to the ground.

There was still some shock on his face at having been tricked.

There was a soft clicking sound.

The slender figure slowly walked to Fan Bei's side. Sang Qiqi kicked his face, which was drooping to the ground when he fell, with her toes. The man's clear facial features were imprinted in her eyes, and a meaningful smile slowly appeared at the corner of her mouth.

-

late at night.

Fumin County, which has little nightlife, fell into silence early, especially Phadok Temple.

The gates of the mountainside temple were tightly shut. Occasionally, nocturnal creatures could be heard rustling and rustling. Amidst this commotion, a door to the pilgrims' accommodations quietly opened. Two young pilgrims, clutching their stomachs, scurried to the back door. One of them lowered his voice and asked, "Are you sure there's a dog hole here that we can use to get out?"

"Of course, I checked it out during the day. You're right if you follow me," the tall young man whispered back. He turned on his flashlight, hunched over, and crept stealthily along the wall, complaining as he went, "If I believe my mom again and tell her to come to the temple for meditation, I'll be a pig. She even said the vegetarian food at Fade Temple tastes better than meat. How could I have believed such nonsense?"

"Yes, I just saw people eating barbecue and I'm so greedy. Luckily, there are errand boys willing to take the order."

The muttering sounds gradually moved away from the accommodation area, and two figures soon came to the dog hole of Fade Temple. Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one at the scene, the two men quickly got into the dog hole and came to the outside of the temple. They successfully saw the errand runner in yellow clothes waiting under a tree.

Even though they were far away, the two of them seemed to be able to smell the barbecue aroma emanating from the packaging bags in each other's hands.

The tall young man took a deep sniff and was so moved that he almost cried: "Yes, that's the smell."

After receiving the barbecue from the errand boy, the two men thanked him repeatedly and were about to walk back when they saw a figure flash by on the wall behind them. The tall young man immediately gasped and his voice rose uncontrollably: "Fuck, did you see that?!"

The companion rubbed his eyes, and without caring whether to barbecue or not, he pulled the tall young man and ran towards the wall.

But when the two reached the edge of the wall, there was only a wild cat looking down at them. It meowed softly, then jumped up and disappeared.

"Strange, I just saw someone... and he was a fat guy."

"I saw it too. It's a bit like Master Huiming's!"

The two looked at each other, took a deep breath, and started to take out their phones to post.

Foot of the mountain.

Huiming tapped the ground, gathered his black and gold Taoist robe, and sped toward his destination. He had chosen a village at the foot of the mountain as the venue for today's meeting of leaders. This village was somewhat unique. Due to its remote location and lack of development prospects, many of the young people had left early for the big cities, leaving only a group of elderly people.

These old men are either deaf or have poor eyesight, and if they build a magic circle around them, no one will know of their existence.

The shabby house was right before his eyes. Huiming's figure flashed quickly, stepping from the damaged second-floor balcony into the spacious master bedroom. At the same moment, several pairs of eyes hidden in the darkness raised their heads and looked towards him.

Huiming counted the servants and found that there was still half an hour left before the agreed time, and there were still six people missing.

Over the next half hour, the branch heads who had not yet arrived arrived one after another.

Fan Bei was the second to last to arrive. Hui Ming saw his tall figure leaping in from the balcony and couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you arrive in Fumin County a long time ago? Why are you here just now?"

Fan Bei raised his eyelids and casually explained, "Don't you want to be the last one to appear?"

As he spoke, he glanced around and suddenly raised his eyebrows: "Oh, there are still two missing."

Gong Xiang raised his lip when he heard this. He was the youngest of the Taoists present, yet he looked incredibly mature, even sporting a long beard. Stroking his beard with his fingers, he spoke with a half-smile, "With Pingyangzi here, you still want to be the last one to appear?"

Everyone knows that the Taoist priest Pingyangzi always acts like a boss. Those who know him naturally know that they are of the same level, while those who don’t know him would think that they are Pingyangzi’s subordinates.

"We're here." Just as the words fell, a deep voice rang out from behind Gong Xiang. The voice was particularly hoarse and harsh. But Gong Xiang and his companions were obviously used to it, and they all looked up at the balcony.

Pingyangzi was also wearing a black and gold Taoist robe, and still looked like an old man with a slightly hunched back, but his neat posture and sharp eyes gave him an aura that was completely different from his appearance.

A beeping sound was heard.

Hui Ming looked down at his phone, then glanced around the room, frowning. "Strange! It's time, why isn't Li Shu here?"

Li Shu, who is also the head of the Jiuyou Tongshenhui branch, is in charge of the Tengxing Province area. This man is young and rose to the position by stepping on the head of the previous head. Although they have not had much contact, Hui Ming also knows that his methods are extremely ruthless and sophisticated.

"He probably won't be coming." The hoarse, unpleasant voice sounded again. Meeting the puzzled gazes of Huiming and his group, his face, hidden under his hood, lifted slightly. He pursed his lips and said, "While everyone was hiding here and there because of the Beiqing Village incident, Li Shu's mission was almost completed. I heard that after tonight, perhaps the spirit your Excellency needs will appear. Then, perhaps Li Shu will step over you and me and become your Excellency's favorite."

When he said the last two sentences, his eyes swept over Pingyangzi vaguely.

Ping Yangzi's pupils shrank slightly, and the others' expressions changed.

"Are you kidding us? Police across the country are cracking down on Taoist priests, and even those Taoist temples that haven't been bribed are helping. How can he complete the mission?" Gong Xiang asked with a frown, only to be met with a reply, "Then you'll have to ask Feng Heti."

"Who is this?"

"The president of a pharmaceutical company that made his fortune in Tengxing Province." The hoarse voice rang out again, this time tinged with a hint of sarcasm. "He spent decades expanding his pharmaceutical group into one of the nation's leading companies, only to contract an incurable disease. As soon as Li Shu showed up, Feng Heti treated him like a deity from heaven. Under the guise of a new drug trial, he recruited countless volunteers from across the country to pave the way for his divine transformation."

But he had no idea that his illness was caused by Li Shu.

Of course, perhaps with Feng Heti's intelligence he had guessed it, but unfortunately, as an ordinary person, he had no means to resist Li Shu, nor was he willing to die so easily. In the end, he could only accept his fate and step into the trap prepared for him by Li Shu.

Thinking of this, he said, "If you know anything about Qianxu, Pingyangzi, please tell us quickly. With Li Shu ahead of us, if we don't work harder, when the master comes out of seclusion, there's no telling whether we'll be able to meet again alive."

This sentence made everyone present's expression change suddenly again.

Ping Yangzi, however, rarely relaxed his expression and pursed his lips, saying, "I'm very pleased. It seems that you are thinking with your brains and didn't just assume that I killed Qianxu."

Hui Ming, who subconsciously believed that Ping Yangzi had killed Qian Xu, said: "..."

A slight heat appeared on his face, and he coughed lightly, pretending not to hear it.

Ping Yangzi didn't notice that his expression looked a little guilty.

"Someone in northern Beijing has already noticed the existence of the Jiuyou Tongshen Society and used Ning Changsheng to lure Qianxu out." This simple sentence summarized the cause of Qianxu's death. He lowered his eyes, gently twisted his fingertips like dead trees, and said lightly, "But I haven't found out his identity yet. He's hiding well and I'm afraid he will be difficult to deal with. In addition, I suspect he was responsible for the incident in Beiqing Village."

"Is there anyone that even you, Pingyangzi, can't find?" Pingyangzi glanced at the man and said calmly, "If you don't believe me, come to Jingbei and see for yourself."

"No, I still want to live two more years."

"From what you said, this guy must be quite capable." Gong Xiang stroked his beard and frowned in thought, "I suggest we find a way to lure him out and kill him. It's not a good sign when the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light. Qianxu is at least middle-class among us. We have all seen the life-saving treasures in his hands and the evil spirits he raises. It's impossible for ordinary people to kill him."

Hui Ming nodded repeatedly after hearing this: "Pingyangzi, you have a good brain, think of a solution."

Pingyangzi's hand holding the armrest of the chair paused slightly, and he sneered in his heart. Now he was praising his smartness. Didn't he always say that he was cunning and treacherous?

Before he could speak, Fan Bei, who had uttered only two words since his appearance and had slumped lazily into a chair, slowly raised his hand. He sat in the shadows of a corner, and from Huiming's perspective, only a faint glimpse of his rugged features could be made out. The dark undertones of his complexion made him appear mysterious. Huiming stared at him for a moment longer, a strange unease rising within him. But he ignored it, instead asking, "Do you have a solution?"

Fan Bei shook his head.

Hui Ming was speechless for a moment and was about to ask him to stop making trouble, but he saw Fan Bei push away the chair and his tall body slowly stood up.

He flicked away the nonexistent dust from the corner of his clothes with his long fingers, then stepped under the light. Facing the strange looks and expressions of the remaining nine people, he smiled softly, "No need to try to lure him out."

Huiming was confused: "Why?"

"Why?" His voice rose, a hint of a half-smile etched in it. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Fan Bei's tall figure seemed to have been ripped from every bone, suddenly collapsing to the ground. At the same moment, the light illuminated a bright, smiling face. Sang Qiqi, her hair tumbling down her cheeks, emerged from Fan Bei's body without warning. Feeling the gazes around her shift from confusion to shock and horror, her smile deepened, her voice softening. "Of course it's because I came to you."

The moment the last syllable fell, the space confined by the magic circle was instantly hit by a crazy collision. Then, thick black fog covered the sky and the moon, and enveloped everything around. The shrill screams of countless evil spirits exploded in the ears of Pingyangzi and others.

Hui Ming, who was closest to the victim, suddenly felt his eardrums getting slightly hot. He subconsciously covered his ears, and when he withdrew his hands, a pool of thick blood had gathered in his palms.

The look that was already filled with horror became even more terrified.

Are you kidding me?

He was an experienced Taoist priest who had killed and raised ghosts for many years, but one day he was actually shocked to the point of bleeding by the screams of an evil ghost!

The other branch leaders were clearly shocked by this scene, all drawing their weapons and staring at Sang Qiqi with absolute wariness. Although they didn't know Sang Qiqi at all, and she didn't look like a powerful figure, they could tell she was something special just from the fact that she had the audacity to possess Fan Bei and come before them.

When everyone was on guard, only Ping Yangzi stared at the girl's smiling face with his sharp eyes, and uttered her name word by word: "Sang, Qi, Qi."

It was really her!

"I've heard of your great name, Taoist Priest Pingyangzi, for a long time. I didn't expect to finally meet you today." Sang Qiqi folded her arms and leaned against the corner of the table behind her, seemingly oblivious to the tension of the situation. She arched her brows and smiled brightly. "To be honest, I've heard of your Taoist name from Taoist Priest Qingcheng and Taoist Priest Baiyuan a long time ago, but I've never been able to meet you, which makes me quite regretful."

One sentence, two names, made Pingyangzi's anger surge.

Hui Ming and the others looked at each other, with surprise in their eyes.

They naturally had no interest in Bai Yuan's status, but Qing Cheng was different. This person was Ping Yangzi's apprentice. They had heard that both of Ping Yangzi's apprentices had died outside, and Ping Yangzi had yet to find the murderer... and it turned out to be this young girl before them?

"You killed Qingcheng, you killed the Taoist priest from Beiqing Village, you killed Yangjing, you killed Qianxu too?!"

"More than that." Sang Qiqi stretched out her slender fingers and counted them. "Although Bai Yuan and Bai Tong are small Karami, they are also counted as my achievements. Of course, besides them, there are also--"

She looked at the people in front of her and smiled brightly: "Everyone."

ha!

ridiculous!

"You were able to kill Qianxu, which shows that you have some skills, but I think it was also caused by Qianxu's carelessness. Now you want to kill the nine of us by combining our forces, which is a bit wishful thinking!"

Pingyangzi sneered and waved his arm. Two huge evil ghosts suddenly emerged from his wide cuffs. When one of them saw Sang Qiqi, his pupils constricted and he was obviously very shocked.

Sang Qiqi raised her eyebrows and greeted enthusiastically: "Hi, ten thousand yuan."

When the evil ghost heard this number, its demonic energy instantly surged. Finally realizing it had been tricked, its fury instantly seized upon it. Without waiting for Ping Yangzi's orders, it rushed towards Sang Qiqi, and the moment it neared her, it opened its abyssal maw. The pitch-black space felt incredibly oppressive. As the evil ghost drew closer, a chilling chill enveloped Sang Qiqi. However, her expression remained unchanged. As the maw attempted to swallow half of her body, she fiercely punched the evil ghost's jaw.

The exaggerated force and irresistible speed caused the evil ghost to feel a sudden pain in its mouth, and its consciousness suddenly dissipated. A few seconds later, as its consciousness gradually returned, it found itself pinned to the ground by Sang Qiqi's fist. An exaggerated pain radiated from its mouth like a spider web, spreading outward in all directions.

"ah--"

A shrill scream accompanied by the sound of caracalla rang out. When Sang Qiqi retracted her fist and stood up, the ten thousand yuan had fallen to the ground like a puddle of mud.

Sang Qiqi turned her eyes and looked at another evil ghost not far away.

The evil ghost met her beautiful almond eyes and his body trembled subconsciously.

Ping Yangzi and his group, who were watching this scene, also had grim expressions, especially Ping Yangzi himself. This was the evil ghost he had raised, so naturally no one knew its strength better than him. Sang Qiqi had actually knocked the evil ghost out with a single punch, leaving it powerless to fight back. This woman's ability was no mere talk.

No wonder Qianxu fell into her hands.

But Pingyangzi still didn't think that Sang Qiqi would be the winner of today's plan.

Nothing else.

There is no comparison between Sang Qiqi and nine branch heads.

Without further hesitation, Pingyangzi swept the wide sleeves of his Taoist robe once more, and several talisman papers suddenly rose in the air. Seeing this, Gong Xiang and the others also swept their whisks. Magical instruments like command flags, peachwood swords, and Sanqing bells pressed against the talisman papers, creating circles of transparent ripples. In an instant, the entire space was filled with wind and clouds, and countless lights burst out from the talisman papers, rushing towards Sang Qiqi.

He was deprived of air, his skin peeled off, his blood vessels expanded and contracted, and evil spirits continuously jumped out of the magic weapon.

The rumbling thunder was accompanied by cold wind blades that stabbed at Sang Qiqi from all directions. They were so dense that there was no gap at all, and they could prick people into hedgehogs.

But Sang Qiqi remained calm.

Suddenly, she curled her red lips and raised her hand. The black mist flowing around her instantly turned into a barrier standing in front of her. When it hit the ground with a clang, silver lightning struck, making a crackling sound. The wind blade was wrapped by the black mist and melted, turning into a breeze that blew past Sang Qiqi's ears. The black mist it brought wrapped around her body, making her seemingly broken body recover at a rapid speed. In just half a second, a complete Sang Qiqi stood in front of them again.

It was not until this moment that anyone noticed something was wrong.

The hoarse, piercing voice, with a hint of sharpness, suddenly pierced Sang Qiqi: "You are not a human, you are a ghost!"

Sang Qiqi clapped her hands and praised, "You have a very good eye. You didn't notice it until now."

In order to show the advantages of ghosts to the Taoist priests, Sang Qiqi suddenly opened her arms. The next moment, the evil ghosts thrown out by the nine old Taoist priests on the ground to try to deal with Sang Qiqi suddenly felt that their bodies were restrained. Soul-binding chains silently and swiftly emerged from Sang Qiqi's body and directly clamped their bodies.

The evil spirit began to struggle.

But with every movement, the chains trapped them more tightly.

In just a few seconds, the evil ghost let out a shrill scream.

At the same time, black mist began to emerge from their bodies. At first, the black mist rose very slowly, but as time went on, it increased second by second. Ping Yangzi and his party finally realized what the black mist was!

As more and more black fog rose up, the size of the trapped evil spirits gradually decreased and became transparent.

At a certain moment, the evil ghost's body suddenly collapsed on the spot, and was blown away by the wind like dust. At the same time, the black mist instantly condensed into Sang Qiqi's body. She took a light breath, a look of disgust on her face, and whispered, "It tastes terrible."

boom!

The moment he finished speaking, a powerful aura erupted from the dense fog-filled space, knocking the nine defenseless Taoists to the ground. Ping Yangzi crouched on the ground, his pupils trembling slightly.

He originally thought that Sang Qiqi was just a powerful Taoist priest, but he didn't expect that the other party was actually a ghost!

And the other party is definitely the most powerful ghost he has ever seen in his life!

A slight fear spread from his heart, but for Ping Yangzi, the stronger emotion was excitement and madness. His eyes were fixed on Sang Qiqi, with only one thought in his mind -

If he could subdue such a powerful evil spirit, then... his Pingyangzi's position in the Jiuyou Tongshen Society would definitely be unmatched!

With excitement in his eyes, he turned to the other eight people and said, "Everyone, no matter how capable Sang Qiqi is, she's only one person! If the nine of us join forces, we can definitely take her down easily!"

Sang Qiqi tilted her head and looked at Hui Ming and his group.

The faces of the people at the back changed slightly, and they were not as good-tempered as Ping Yangzi at all.

But at this time, there seems to be no other choice except to fight back head-on.

Hui Ming and the others looked at each other, then got up from the ground, their expressions gloomy, and were ready to attack at any time.

Glancing at their actions, Sang Qiqi softly sighed, "It's a good thing to have dreams."

But unfortunately, she preferred to watch the pitiful look of Pingyangzi and his group as their dreams were shattered.