Seeing this, Wu Yuanzhong didn't dare to make a sound to disturb them.

"Later, you will call all the villagers from these two villages to the government office."

"yes."

When the villagers of Ningqu Village and Yuanping Village got off work, they were suddenly panicked when they heard that the imperial teacher was going to summon them.

After everyone arrived, Wu Yuanzhong went to invite Gu Lingze over.

When he walked in, all the villagers stared with bated breath and hurriedly knelt down to salute.

Gu Lingze raised his right hand slightly and called out, then seeing their embarrassed expressions, he smiled.

"Don't be nervous, everyone. I called you here today just to ask about the bandits."

Everyone was visibly relieved, and the two village chiefs stepped forward, "Excuse me, sir."

Gu Lingze asked about the number of bandits, their appearance and the time they saw the gang, and the answers from both sides were basically the same.

"You almost all meet at Youshi." That is around 6 to 8 in the evening.

He looked at the judge beside him and asked, "When was the last time Lord Zhou went there?"

"It was just after noon, but no bandits were seen."

Gu Lingze nodded and looked at Magistrate Wu again.

Magistrate Wu stepped forward and replied, "I also arrived there at the hour of You yesterday."

After Gu Lingze finished asking all the questions, he sat on the chair with his eyes downcast, thinking about things. The others automatically kept quiet.

"Cough, cough, cough." A villager in Yuanping Village suddenly started coughing.

The village head was immediately horrified and knelt down to plead guilty, "Master Imperial Master, please forgive me."

Before Gu Lingze could speak, a cold wind suddenly blew past, and everyone shivered violently.

"It's so cold, so cold." Prefect Wu couldn't help but speak, and white mist kept coming out of his mouth as he spoke.

Except for Zhou Tongpan, everyone else present started to chatter and let out gasps.

Judge Zhou looked around, confused as to what had happened.

The young master had a charcoal brazier lit and a felt was hung in front of the door, and the villagers were all wearing thick coats, so this kind of situation shouldn't have happened.

Gu Lingze immediately stood up and raised his hand to draw a line in the air.

Rays of light of pale golden color appeared in the air along with his fingers, forming a complex pattern.

"The Supreme Star, responds to situations without stopping, drives away evil spirits and binds demons, protects life and body, the three souls are eternal, the spirit is not lost, and it is urgent as the law commands."

"Edict!"

Following Gu Lingze's low shout, a light golden pattern rushed up and hovered above everyone's heads.

Streams of black air were sucked out of them, floating into the golden runes and disappearing.

The temperature in my body suddenly warmed up, and I was no longer as bone-chilled as before.

"Sir, this, this is..." Magistrate Wu asked in panic after he caught his breath.

Other villagers were also terrified, especially those in Ningqu Village.

The head of the village said tremblingly: "Sir, since that day, this situation has happened to us every time the twilight hour comes."

Gu Lingze nodded and said comfortingly: "The negative energy in your body has been expelled, and this situation will not happen again in the future."

When Prefect Wu heard this, instead of feeling comforted, his face turned pale.

He has been afraid of ghosts and spirits since he was a child, and now he is shaking even more violently than before.

"May I ask, Master Imperial Master, where does this evil energy come from?"

Gu Lingze looked at him and said, "The bandits you encountered that day were not human beings, but ghosts."

Zhou Tongpan finally understood why he was the only one who was safe and sound just now.

Because apart from the national teacher, he was the only one who didn't see the group of bandits.

At this time, Zhao Chengmo lifted the felt and walked in from outside, scaring Prefect Wu so much that he jumped on the spot.

"Greetings to Lord Xuan Yi."

After Zhao Chengmo woke up, he walked up to Gu Lingze and asked, "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later." Gu Lingze looked at the villagers and said, "It's all right now. You all can go back and eat first."

After paying their respects, the villagers walked out one by one. Seeing that Magistrate Wu looked very unhappy, Gu Lingze handed him a talisman.

"This is a talisman I drew myself to drive away ghosts. If Magistrate Wu is really worried, he can carry it with him. Ghosts won't dare to approach him."

Wu Yuanzhong was immediately filled with gratitude. He took it carefully and immediately put it in his arms.

Gu Lingze and Zhao Chengmo returned to their room and called Xu Mingyan to have dinner together.

While eating, he briefly recounted the incident.

"Based on the current situation, the bandits should have turned into earthbound spirits after their death."

"Earthbound spirit?" Xu Mingyan asked with some confusion: "Isn't it a ghost?"

Gu Lingze replied: "It's a ghost, and a resentful ghost."

He put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a cloth. "The conditions for forming an earthbound spirit are very harsh. First of all, these people must have died in a disaster or accident before their life span ended."

"Because his life span has not yet ended, there is no ghost to lead him, so he cannot go to the underworld to reincarnate."

"These ghosts have no memory of their deaths, so they repeat the process of the day they died every day. Day after day, their resentment will grow deeper and deeper."

Xu Mingyan thought for a moment and asked, "Will everyone who dies in an accident become a ghost after death?"

Gu Lingze shook his head and said, "If it was an accident that happened to the person himself, it would also be a symbol of the end of his life span, but the death of the earthbound spirit was caused by someone else. This is the difference between the two."

After listening to his explanation, Zhao Chengmo asked, "When do you plan to leave tomorrow?"

Gu Lingze smiled and said, "Before the evening hour."

Zhao Chengmo said: "I'll go with you."

"good."

The next afternoon, the two men set out with a team of black-clad soldiers.

After arriving at the place, Gu Lingze handed An Wenhong a packet of cinnabar and ordered the Black Cloth Army to smear it on their weapons.

After about an incense stick of time, a group of twenty to thirty people suddenly appeared from the west and walked towards the crowd.

All the black-clothed soldiers had their hands on the hilts of their swords, in a state of alert.

Gu Lingze frowned slightly. He didn't expect that in just a few days, the resentment of these earthbound spirits would increase exponentially.

If it is not eliminated today, it will become a serious problem.

Unlike their previous act of turning a blind eye, the closer this group of bandits got to them, the slower their steps became.

Gu Lingze knew that they had already noticed something, so he didn't wait any longer and took the lead to face them directly.

The appearance of this group of bandits was no different from that of living people, but after seeing him, they immediately opened their mouths wide, revealing a row of sharp teeth, and black air continued to emerge from their bodies.

The two sides soon fought together, and the sound of weapons was endless.

This group of bandits are desperate criminals, and their blades are fierce, but if they were alive, they would be no match for a well-trained army like the Black Clothes Army.

But now he has become an earthbound spirit, full of hostility and with strength unmatched by ordinary people.

Gu Lingze summoned the Mo Shuang Sword and attacked the earthbound spirit with the thickest black energy.

Zhao Chengmo had just dealt with one and was about to go forward to help when a gust of cold wind blew by and the string of giant clam beads tied around his waist seemed to be cut off at the root by something.