85. On the 85th day of quitting the circle, the question was about Sang Qiqi, who had already been beaten...
Duan Sui did not miss the flash of guilt in the girl's eyes.
He lowered his eyes, his thin lips curved into an arc, and he smiled silently. Then he said nonchalantly, "When I came from the underworld, I happened to meet Lin Yanjun. He said that the evil ghosts in the Seventh Palace must have taken the wrong medicine last night. They howled for more than two hours, causing him to dream of a song made up of the screams of little ghosts after he fell asleep."
Sang Qiqi: “…”
Is it really that loud? It shouldn't be that loud, right? She's quite well-mannered. Before torturing the little ghost, she even created three layers of ghost energy outside the small hell in the Seventh Hall to act as a soundproofing barrier.
How good must Lin Yanluo’s hearing be to be able to hear that?
So it was probably Lin Yanluo who was talking nonsense. Sang Qiqi secretly muttered, "I think Lin Yanluo is old and his sleep quality is not good, so he blames me——"
Pop.
A foot stepped over the storage room threshold and onto the ground, a deliberately made sound that exploded in Sang Qiqi's ears. Her ear twitched slightly, and Sang Qiqi suddenly felt a terrifying threat from behind. At the same time, it felt like some terrifying beast was staring at the back of her head. With a keen sense of something amiss, she slowly turned her head and, without warning, was met with Lin Yanluo's unshaven, expressionless face.
Sang Qiqi: “…”
Lin Yanluo wore his work-appropriate black and gold robe and a crown, looking quite imposing. His deep, dark eyes seemed capable of shooting lasers, slicing Sang Qiqi apart. Noticing Sang Qiqi's bewildered expression, he twitched his lips, a forced smile: "What did you just say? My ears are bad, I didn't hear clearly. How about saying it again?"
Sang Qiqi: “…”
What kind of shitty luck does she have? She rarely says bad things about ghosts and is even caught by them on the spot.
unreasonable.
With a sweet and adorable smile on her face, Sang Qiqi blinked her innocent eyes. She raised her hand and pointed at a leisurely man standing beside her, leaning against a shelf with his arms folded, looking like he was watching a lively scene. Without hesitation, she began to talk nonsense, "I just said that Duan Sui suffers from insomnia at such a young age. His sleep quality is so poor. He needs to pay attention. I know a famous traditional Chinese medicine doctor who can prescribe some Chinese medicine for him."
Lin Yanluo: “…”
Sometimes he really wanted to open Sang Qiqi's head and see what was inside.
How can you say something like taking a ghost to see an old Chinese doctor and asking him to prescribe some Chinese medicine for treatment?
and--
Is it really okay to say such things to the Big Boss of the Underworld?!
Lin Yanluo subconsciously glanced at Duan Sui, but was surprised to find that the man just raised his eyebrows after hearing this impolite "suggestion", and a smile appeared in his narrow eyes, which was completely different from his usual smiling tiger appearance, where the gentler the smile, the more murderous the intention.
...You don't even have a rebuttal?
When did you become so generous?
Lin Yanluo was suspicious, his gaze unconsciously lingering on Duan Sui for a long time. Duan Sui noticed and shifted his gaze slightly. As their eyes met, Lin Yanluo reacted immediately, turning his head to look at Sang Qiqi. But before he could say anything, Sang Qiqi took the initiative: "So, Mr. Lin Yan, why are you not working in the First Hall so early this morning and coming to my shop? Be careful, or you'll be fined for being late."
Sang Qiqi was indeed curious.
Her funeral service had been running for at least a month, and even on the opening day, Lin Yanluo didn't show up to join in the fun, like sending a flower basket or anything. And for the next month or so, he hadn't even been seen. Why did he choose to come today, when she was badmouthing someone?
"Let me tell you about the performance points you keep in mind every day." Lin Yanluo glanced at her, "I saw the news you reported, but since you have concealed the truth from the outside world and used your identities as members of the Jiuyou Tongshen Society to muddy the waters, there is no need to disclose it in the underworld. This incident is special, so I will hold your points down for now. After the Jiuyou Tongshen Society is resolved, I will give you more points."
Sang Qiqi blinked and asked a soul-searching question: "What if it's not resolved?"
Lin Yanluo: “?”
Seeing Lin Yanluo raise his hand, almost wanting to cover her mouth, Sang Qiqi immediately took a step back and hid behind Duan Sui. She tried to stand on tiptoe again, but found that Duan Sui was really tall. So she could only press down on his shoulders to push him down, and then reveal her face from his shoulders. "I'm just making an assumption, not saying it can't be solved. Now the police across the country have joined forces with local Taoist temples to siege the Taoist priests who appeared in the Jiuyou Tongshen Society. It's hard to guarantee that they won't hide like sewer rats. It may not be so easy to find them again."
"So if it's not resolved by the end of the year, will my points be increased?"
"add."
"Cooking the books? Wouldn't that be bad?"
“…”
Lin Yanluo subconsciously glanced at Duan Sui again. Very good. First he wanted to take the big boss to see an old Chinese doctor for treatment, and now he is accusing the big boss of cooking the books in front of him.
Lin Yanluo said with a stern face: "Don't worry, if you are the last one to be fired, I will give you my seat."
Upon hearing this, Sang Qiqi immediately said, "Then you can fire me now, and I will directly take over as the Yama King of the First Hall."
Lin Yanluo: “…”
That damn girl has been coveting his position for a long time!
Duan Sui listened to the conversation between the old man and the young, and seeing Uncle Lin's indescribable expression, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. He said a few more words to comfort Sang Qiqi: "I have a feeling that before the New Year, we will definitely be able to get rid of the Jiuyou Tongshen Society."
Sang Qiqi certainly hoped so. With the Nine Netherworld Divine Society on her mind, she wasn't in the best mood to sell funeral services. Touching the tip of her nose, she hummed in agreement and asked Lin Yanluo, "Do you have anything else to do? If not, I'll open the shop."
"It's okay."
He had come to the funeral service in person mainly to discuss what had just happened and to see if Big Boss was adjusting to the situation. But seeing as Big Boss wasn't even upset by Sang Qiqi's reckless remarks, he probably just liked Sang Qiqi's personality.
He felt relieved and waved to Sang Qiqi. As he turned to leave, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask Sang Qiqi, "When I first came here, I saw Yu Peng's face was bruised and swollen like a pig. Did you do this?"
Sang Qiqi blinked innocently again.
Seeing that Yu Peng had been so respectful and acted as her punching bag last night, Sang Qiqi decided to save him some face: "What does it have to do with me? He might have fallen while walking."
Lin Yanluo: "How could he fall like this while walking normally?"
Sang Qiqi: "He's stupid."
Lin Yanluo: “…”
Okay.
Although Lin Yanluo still didn't believe it in his heart, he didn't ask any more questions. He turned around and left the storage room and returned to the underworld.
Sang Qiqi gazed at his back, lost in thought. It wasn't until Lin Yanluo completely vanished into the storage room, with not even a trace of his robe visible, that she patted Duan Sui's shoulder and met his gaze. She said, "Lin Yanluo suppressed this matter, choosing not to report my contribution. He even came all the way here in person, even keeping Cui Mutou out... Is he worried that there might be accomplices from the Jiuyou Tongshen Society in the underworld?"
When Duan Sui heard the girl's voice, he couldn't help but sigh that Sang Qiqi was indeed very smart and perceptive.
"It depends on the situation," he answered truthfully.
Sang Qiqi let out a long sigh, "There are quite a lot of bad things going on in the underworld, but that's normal. After all, the underworld is huge, with many people and countless little ghosts. It's normal for some to have evil intentions."
After she finished her sigh, she shook her head, walked to the door, opened the glass door, and then hung up a small sign that said "Open Now".
Not long after, the funeral service welcomed new business. At the same time, Sang Qiqi also received a message from the introducer of the Jiuyou Tongshen Society's Beijing North Branch. The content was very simple, with only a few words: The plan is suspended, pay attention to concealment.
She sat cross-legged on the sofa and saw these eight words, clicking her tongue twice: "Very cautious."
"Look at this." Duan Sui next to her handed the phone to Sang Qiqi. She took a look and found that it was a popular Weibo post. The person who posted it was a travel blogger. Although the number of fans was not large, it should not be underestimated.
Cai Cai Loves Travel V: Who in my family understands? I got off the plane late at night and took a taxi. The driver thought I was from out of town and took me on a detour to the old town. I was so tired that I fell asleep in the car without noticing. When I woke up, I found myself on the road to the old town. I almost laughed out loud.
I rolled up my sleeves, turned on the recording, and was about to have a good argument with the driver about the essential moral qualities of a taxi driver, when a gust of wind came out from nowhere. Damn it! I have never encountered such an outrageous wind in my life. It actually overturned the car!
Okay, let's not talk about theory or not. We both fainted on the spot, and when we woke up, it was already daybreak. I called the police and 120 with only 3% of my phone battery left. Now I am lying in the hospital waiting for the test results. By the way, I want to complain to you about this damn luck / smile
"Demon wind?" These two words aroused Sang Qiqi's curiosity. She took the phone and opened the comment section, and saw the question and answer between this Caicai blogger and netizens.
A netizen asked: Was there any strong wind last night? I live in Xifeng District and didn't feel any wind.
Cai Cai Loves Traveling: Yes, it’s very exaggerated. When the police and medical staff arrived in the morning, they said they saw a lot of broken glass on the ground nearby.
A netizen asked: Is it in the northwest corner of the old city?! I was sleeping at a nearby construction site last night and was suddenly awakened by the sound of exploding glass. However, after getting up and walking around the construction site, I found that it was not a problem at the construction site, so I went back to sleep. / Covering my face
Cai Cai Loves Traveling: Yes, yes, right in the northwest corner. But then again, I thought I heard a ringing sound at the time... I'll play the recording, and you can listen to see if my ears are correct.
ring?
Sang Qiqi opened the audio file uploaded by Cai Cai Loves Traveling, turned the volume up to maximum, and then listened to the recording over and over again, head to head with Duan Sui. The hearing of evil spirits was far superior to that of ordinary humans. On the second listen, Sang Qiqi clearly heard the eerie ringing sound. Shortly after the ringing sounded, the car was knocked over and over by the wind. The sound of thumping and thumping was accompanied by a few screams, and after a few seconds, calm returned.
"It's the Sanqing Bell." Duan Sui straightened up and said confidently, "There was a Taoist priest in the old city last night."
"It looks like a fierce battle has broken out." Sang Qiqi frowned, many thoughts flashing through her eyes. Suddenly, she poked Duan Sui's waist and asked with a smile, "Why don't we go and take a look?"
Duan Sui glanced around the store, raised his eyebrows, and was about to ask what to do with the store when he saw Zhang Lin slowly walking into the store with a droopy face and a miserable look as if he was disliked by his parents.
The timing was just right.
Sang Qiqi pulled Duan Sui past Zhang Lin, patted his shoulder, and said lovingly, "I'll leave the store's affairs to you. I'll bring you something delicious when I come back."
Before Zhang Lin could recover from his parents' disdain, he heard Sang Qiqi and Duan Sui go out for something, and the excuse was still "I'll bring you something delicious when I come back." He sighed inwardly, rolled his eyes, and said in a long voice: "I know -"
“So is it still KFC today?”
"No, today it's McDonald's."
Whether it was KFC or McDonald's, Sang Qiqi was satisfied. Pulling Duan Sui along, they sped towards the old town. Shortly after they were out of sight, Zhang Lin welcomed a new customer, clearly a regular. He peered into the shop, but didn't see Sang Qiqi or Duan Sui. He jokingly asked, "Where are the two patriarchs? Why are you the only one left to look after the shop?"
Zhang Lin remained calm and said nonsense, "I went out on a date."
The old customer let out a wow. "I knew they had a chance. When I asked them, they refused to admit it."
Zhang Lin became curious after hearing this and leaned over to ask, "Who did you ask? My sister? Or my brother?"
"That must be your brother."
"I think so too." The one who asked was Sang Qiqi, who had already been beaten.
-
Sang Qiqi and Duan Sui quickly reached the northwest corner of the old city. Following Cai Cai's travelogue, they successfully located the location where the taxi had been overturned by the gust of wind. Afterwards, they circled several nearby buildings. While they didn't see any broken glass, they did spot windowless floors. After exchanging a glance, two ghostly figures teleported into the building.
In the empty room, wind occasionally blew in through the window without glass. A pile of broken wooden tables and chairs fell to the ground, and the concrete wall seemed to be embedded by something, with obvious pits.
"This is probably the place." Sang Qiqi looked around and concluded, "What a pity! When I first came here, I found that all the surrounding surveillance cameras were turned off. I guess I won't be able to find more information."
but--
"I remember when Li Quan and the horse-faced Taoist priest were sharing their information about the Jiuyou Tongshen Society, they mentioned that the person in charge of Yuantie Province was called Qianxu, and his usual magical instrument was the Sanqing Bell, right?"
"Right." Duan Sui narrowed his eyes slightly, his lips curled up. "Looking at the situation here, it looks like a fight broke out, but it was stopped in time. According to the description of the blogger on Weibo and the situation at the scene, the Taoist priest who attacked is quite powerful. If a fight broke out, it wouldn't just be a simple shattering of glass. This building might not be saved. But right now, there's only some damage to the walls and tables and chairs. It seems they don't want to attract widespread attention."
"Based on this analysis, it does seem quite consistent with a secret meeting of the Jiuyou Tongshen Society," Sang Qiqi said. "Li Quan said that the heads of several branches would occasionally travel to Jingbei or other places to make necessary contacts. This place is remote, and normally no one would come here, so it's quite suitable as a meeting place."
Moreover, the timing last night was also critical. It happened to be the time when the incident in Beiqing Village became a big deal, Ning Changsheng was involved, and police across the country were besieging Taoist priests of the Jiuyou Tongshen Society in various places. It was normal for Qianxu and other leaders to hold a meeting to discuss whether to hide or fight next.
Furthermore.
She had just received a message from her introducer that the plan had been suspended.
With so many coincidences coming together, it was hard for Sang Qiqi not to think too much.
"If my guess is true, there must have been a conflict between the several leaders of the Jiuyou Tongshen Society." She raised her red lips, her eyes gleaming. "It seems we did a good job of muddying the waters in Beiqing Village."
From now on, the Jiuyou Tongshen Society would definitely not implement the large-scale evil spirit breeding plan again, and the safety of all the targeted people would be guaranteed. As for them, as long as they could catch all the hidden rats little by little, everything would be fine.
-
Jiashan Prefecture, Liuyun Temple.
As soon as the news broke about Beiqing Village, Mingxin couldn't wait to pack up and head back to the monastery. He hadn't been back to the monastery in a while, and he'd originally planned to bring some local specialties from northern Beijing for his master and fellow practitioners. But since he was only returning temporarily, it wouldn't have made sense to bring any specialties, so he decided to go empty-handed.
He had arrived at the Taoist temple during the day, and the place was bustling with people. Although a few disciples who were chatting with pilgrims recognized him, they didn't exchange pleasantries. Mingxin took the opportunity to go to Taiwei Sanren's room. He pushed the door open and saw Taiwei Sanren talking to his senior brother. He went in and laid him down on the bed, exclaiming, "I'm so tired, so tired."
Taiwei Sanren: "...It's not decent."
Mingwu: "...It's unbearable to watch."
The two men clearly knew why Mingxin had returned to the temple, and they didn't question him, simply expressing their disdain for his behavior. Mingxin didn't care. His master and senior brothers had been scolding him like this since he was a child, and he was almost hearing calluses from it. He rolled over, yawned lazily, and asked, "What are you two talking about hiding in your room?"
"The police came to our door today and hoped that our Taoist temple could send some people over to help arrest the evildoers," Mingwu explained.
"Didn't you send it?"
"After hearing the seriousness of the matter from you, we naturally don't disagree."
"Who did you send?"
"Yunsheng. He offered to help."
"?" Mingxin scratched his ears as if he had heard something funny. His eyes were filled with disbelief. "Who, who are you talking about? Yunsheng? He offered to help the police crack down on those evil Taoist priests who are murdering people for money?"
Ming Wu glanced at his junior fellow student, who looked like he was talking nonsense, and asked him with a half-smile, "Can't you guess why he took the initiative to take this job?"
"Why?"
"Because he saw the video you posted. You said there was nothing unusual happening in Beiqing Village and that the so-called ghosts were all fake. And then, the story about the Taoist priests in Beiqing Village killing each other and over a hundred people dying in the village was exposed..." Mingwu patted his junior brother's head, looking at him as if he were a fool. "He thinks you're an idiot, and he wants to use this incident to trample you under his feet and vent his anger."
Mingxin: “…”
He rolled his eyes. "Tsk, who's the idiot? Does he even know how powerful that evil spirit is? I was stunned just by looking at it. If it was him who went to Beiqing Village at that time, he would have been affected as well. Speaking of which, you guys wouldn't really agree to this so easily, would you? Most of the Taoist priests who were caught by the police are probably in a similar situation to Beiqing Village. They've left traces in the local area, which means their plan to raise evil spirits is already underway... What good would Yunsheng's help be?"
"We are aware of this as well, so don't worry. Your Uncle Qingyang also left with Yunsheng and the police."
"Uncle Qingyang, that's possible—" Before he could finish his words, there was a hurried knock on the door of Taiwei Sanren's monastery. Mingwu glanced at his fellow apprentice, who lay sprawled like a maggot. Feeling sorry for him, he felt for his journey back to the Taoist temple, so he stood up and opened the door. As the door opened, he was met with the anxious gazes of the disciples. Without even a thought to bow, they said, "Brother Mingwu, the police just called. They say Uncle Qingyang and Brother Yunsheng are seriously injured and are in the hospital!"
What? !
Mingwu's face changed slightly, and Mingxin suddenly rolled off the bed.
He patted his messy clothes and said, "Which hospital is it? I'll go check it out."
Mingwu and Taiwei Sanren exchanged a glance, and the former said, "I'll go with you."
Liuyun Temple is located halfway up Jiashan Mountain, surrounded by mountains. The drive out takes about an hour. The brothers Mingwu and Mingxin changed into their Taoist robes and, after descending the mountain, were escorted to a hospital downtown by police. During their visit, the police explained their understanding of the events and the conditions of Yunsheng and Qingyang.
"We received news from Shouhe Village that, while no local boss had proposed building a temple, several Taoist priests had arrived and were promoting their teachings door to door. They also performed fortune-telling sessions at the village entrance every day. Because their methods were so effective, many locals flocked to join in the fun. Seeing they weren't committing any fraudulent acts, the village leader felt embarrassed to expel them. It wasn't until higher authorities issued an order to investigate and arrest the recent surge in Taoist priests that the leader, just in case, reported the incident."
"Because we reported it in time, when we went to Shouhe Village with several Taoist priests, those Taoist priests had not yet left and were just packing up. Taoist priests Yunsheng and Qingyang took the opportunity to rush forward and block their way. After that, a fierce battle broke out between the Taoist priests and those Taoist priests. Taoist priest Yunsheng was somehow held hostage by one of the Taoist priests. The Taoist priest threatened Taoist priest Qingyang with his life, asking him to let them go. Taoist priest Qingyang hesitated for a while, but he didn't expect the group of Taoist priests to go back on their word!"
"Before leaving, he actually attacked Taoist Master Yunsheng!"
Mingxin frowned as he listened, wanting to complain about Yunsheng, a guy who was always causing trouble but couldn't do anything for him. However, because there were outsiders present, he couldn't open his mouth directly. He could only ask angrily, "And then?"
"Master Yunsheng was stabbed in the chest. Just as the other Taoist priest was about to slash Yunsheng's neck, two very young Taoist priests suddenly appeared. I don't know what the two young Taoist priests did, but the Taoist priest who was holding Master Yunsheng down was beheaded in an instant. Master Yunsheng took this opportunity to struggle free. Afterwards, Master Qingyang and the two young Taoist priests engaged in a fierce fight with the Taoist priests from Shouhe Village, and those Taoist priests were successfully captured!"
"...Then why is my Uncle Qingyang also seriously injured?"
"Um," the police officer said with an embarrassed expression, "I heard that the young Taoist priest had developed some new spell, and Taoist Master Qingyang was accidentally injured."
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