Chapter 73: Retirement Day 73: This Taoist priest is better than Mingxin no matter how you look at it...
This bird has actually woken up twice, but every time it woke up, it would be knocked unconscious again by Sang Qiqi.
When she first woke up, Sang Qiqi was explaining a newly placed urn to a man wearing a thick gold chain. The urn was gleaming with gold, its exterior resembling a palace, every corner embodying the utmost in luxury and extravagance.
Although it is not real gold, it is good enough to be mistaken for the real thing.
The eldest brother was very pleased with this and repeatedly urged Sang Qiqi to quickly wrap up the urn. So, Sang Qiqi, carrying the urn, passed by the sofa and coffee table and caught a glimpse of a large gray-white bird that had woken up, realized something was wrong, and tried to flutter its wings to escape. The urn was lifted and dropped, hitting the bird's head. With a "duang" sound, the bird's body went limp and fell back with a thud.
Meeting her eldest brother's shocked gaze, Sang Qiqi remained calm and composed, "This is a new toy our child bought, but it seems to have some loose connections. It's squeaking like it's having a seizure."
Zhang Lin, the child named after him, lowered his head to sort out today's packing list and said vaguely, "There's no such thing as a cheap product. It's just that you don't want to pay more."
Sang Qiqi: “…”
The brat is quite into the role.
But the one who was more into the play was the eldest brother.
The eldest brother looked at Zhang Lin's young and innocent face, then at his obviously malnourished body. He spoke to Sang Qiqi with a complex and earnest tone: "Although children of this age may have a rebellious period, you still need to give them more pocket money. With such a small body, I guess they won't have enough food to eat, right?"
Sang Qiqi: “…”
Zhang Lin: “…”
The former owner of this body did look skinny and emaciated due to years of hunger, but the current owner had an unusual appetite.
It tastes so good that even a cow could eat it.
Zhang Lin realized that his elder brother was about to imagine Sang Qiqi abusing a child, so he couldn't help but touch the tip of his nose guiltily and blurted out, "I don't like eating. I like playing lucky draw."
When the eldest brother heard the word 'lottery', his kind expression suddenly changed. He turned around and said to Sang Qiqi, "It's better to give less money, so that these kids won't develop bad habits at such a young age!"
Zhang Lin listened to the education sponsored by his elder brother for a full twenty minutes, and finally saw his elder brother off with a tired face.
The second time the big bird woke up was when Sang Qiqi and the other two ghosts ordered takeout and were preparing to eat. This time it had learned its lesson and no longer flapped its wings wildly. Instead, it carefully crawled out from under the coffee table, tiptoed on its backs, and walked towards the window with its body bouncing. From time to time, it turned its head to look at the three people who had their backs to it and were completely immersed in the food.
It breathed a sigh of relief.
Until it was trying hard to jump onto the windowsill and was about to embrace the fresh air and sunshine, a chicken bone came from behind and hit it on the back of the head.
It fell to the ground with a thud again.
-
Sang Qiqi held the gray-white bird's two feet and shook it in front of her eyes. Seeing that the bird had its eyes closed tightly and looked like a dead body, she suddenly felt a little worried.
Previously, she was responsible for smashing the bird and the bird was responsible for waking up. Now the roles have been reversed and she has to be responsible for waking the bird up... She's not sure if she can help with this.
As Sang Qiqi sighed, Zhang Lin came over, hugging a pillow, and recalled all the interrogation techniques he had seen in TV dramas. He offered a suggestion: "Throw some cold water on me. I think it's feasible."
Sang Qiqi: “…”
Touching the black head in front of her with a loving look, Sang Qiqi said to Zhang Lin, "Next time you go back to the underworld, ask your brother Jingyu to take you to their small hell in the third hall twice."
I wouldn't say something as childish as throwing cold water on someone.
Zhang Lin: “…”
Throwing cold water on a soul wouldn't have much effect. Sang Qiqi was about to go to the haunted house next door to seek the help of a professional executioner, and see if his interrogation techniques had improved under her guidance. But Duan Sui, who had been sitting nearby, pondering for a long time, had already reached out. A dagger slowly emerged from his cold, long fingers, its silver-white blade gleaming blindingly in the light from the overhead lights. Sang Qiqi knew at a glance that this dagger could easily cut a ghost in two.
I guessed that Duan Sui wanted to use pain to wake him up, but...
She rummaged around and pulled out a striking snakeskin bag. She shook it with both hands, then reached inside and pulled out a tattered knife with a chipped blade. As Sang Qiqi shoved the knife into Duan Sui's hand, she confiscated the dagger from his hand and muttered, "I can tell you haven't been to the Seventh Hall to listen to my lectures. The first rule of torturing ghosts is to grind flesh with a blunt knife. Remember that."
Duan Sui recalled the look Xin Ji had given him after Sang Qiqi's lecture and chuckled, "I'll remember that."
Since the bird's soul would easily self-ignite once it was extracted, Sang Qiqi and Duan Sui decided to exploit a bug. They would stab it once the soul was extracted and then immediately stuff it back in. They did this quickly, and within five rounds, the bird began to tremble with pain from the five stabs, waking itself up from the pain.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Sang Qiqi and the other two staring at him. The experience of being knocked unconscious three times suddenly popped up in his mind. He knew that these three people must be not easy to deal with, so he decisively closed his eyes and pretended to be dead.
Sang Qiqi: “…”
What were you thinking? You have to take two more blows.
Sang Qiqi also pretended not to notice that he was faking fainting, and immediately called out to the two companions in front of her: "If he still doesn't wake up after being stabbed five times, then stab him a few more times."
As the faint voice fell, the big bird in his hand seemed to tremble.
Sang Qiqi's expression remained unchanged as she shoved the blunt knife into the hands of Zhang Lin, who was watching the fun, and nodded at him. "You seem eager to learn, so I'll give it a try. If you have talent, you won't have to be a packer in my little shop anymore. You can be an executioner in the underworld. Remember, after I pull out his soul, you immediately stab the knife into this damn Taoist priest's body. You can stab anywhere, but preferably in the chest, kidneys, thighs, or lower body. Pull it out immediately after. Hmm...but the knife is a bit blunt, and there are gaps on the blade. It might hook into the flesh and cause a little resistance, but don't hesitate, just use all your strength to pull it out."
Zhang Lin opened his mouth and responded dryly with "Okay".
He didn't know what the bird felt after hearing this, but he got goosebumps all over his body.
Glancing down at the knife that looked more experienced than him, he whispered, "Will I come?"
Sang Qiqi: "Come on, come on."
Without giving the kid time to react, he grabbed the Taoist's soul, which was bound by the spell chains, and yanked it outwards. The Taoist's soul was pulled out of the bird's body, and the chains that bound it began to emit a red light, and then the edges of his soul began to burn. Sang Qiqi cried out, "Hurry up, hurry up!"
Zhang Lin gritted his teeth and stabbed the side of his waist where Sang Qiqi had suggested.
He originally thought that stabbing with a knife was a very simple matter, but Zhang Lin never expected that the knife could be so blunt. It was like stabbing a very elastic ball, which knocked the tip of his knife back.
Zhang Lin: “…”
When Sang Qiqi saw this, she decisively raised her hand to help.
Greater force was applied to the handle of the knife, and this time the knife successfully pierced into the Taoist's side and was then pulled out in an instant.
Then Sang Qiqi stuffed the Taoist's soul into the bird's body.
Taoist priest:"……"
The pain of his soul being burned and the pain of his flesh being gouged out combined made his whole body tremble. But he didn't dare open his eyes. If he didn't, Sang Qiqi would once again pull his soul out of the bird's body. Finally, he gritted his teeth and roared in despair, "Enough!"
Sang Qiqi looked down at the soul that had been torn out halfway, then looked at the other party's eyes full of anger, and decisively stuffed him back.
The Taoist's soul was able to breathe and woke up in the body of the gray-white bird.
With his two feet on the coffee table, he endured the remaining pain in his soul and raised his body. He looked around and didn't see his apprentice, so he tried to calm down and said in a cold voice: "Three of you, I have no grudges against you. Why did you bother to capture me and torture me?"
Sang Qiqi glanced at him with a 'what do you know' expression on her face: "You don't even know who we are, how do you know we have no grudges against each other?"
The Taoist choked and then asked, "So who are you?"
Sang Qiqi: "That's none of your business."
Taoist priest:"……"
Not paying attention to the Taoist priest's strained, almost distorted expression, Sang Qiqi pointed at his short body, then at the three ferocious figures, and said, "You are now our prisoner. Please pay attention to your expression and words."
As he spoke, he turned on the recording on his phone: "First, introduce yourself, your name, age, identity, and the curse on your soul."
The Taoist priest wasn't surprised that Sang Qiqi and her group knew their souls were cursed. The fact that she could pull his soul out of the bird's body and put it back in at will was proof enough that she was quite capable.
But the Taoist didn't want to say it.
Sensing the other party's resistance, Sang Qiqi raised her eyebrows and weighed the blunt knife that had returned to her palm. She said, "I'll give you ten seconds to think. Ten, nine, eight, one, time's up."
The moment she finished speaking, she raised her hand and dug out the Taoist's soul from the bird's body.
Taoist priest:"!!!"
He roared, "Can you count?"
Sang Qiqi: "Pay attention to your expression and words."
Taoist priest:"……"
The Taoist gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and relaxed for a long time. The extreme anger that surged from the bottom of his heart subsided a little, but his eyes were still fixed on Sang Qiqi, as fierce as if he wanted to eat her.
The next second, a sharp dagger flew towards him.
This sudden move not only startled the Taoist priest, but also Sang Qiqi and Zhang Lin.
The two ghosts first looked at the dagger that had grazed the Taoist's eye like an arrow, leaving a fresh wound. The tip of the dagger was completely embedded in the tree trunk outside the window, leaving only the handle at the end trembling constantly.
One can imagine how much force the person who threw the dagger used.
So, Sang Qiqi and Zhang Lin turned to look at Duan Sui again.
The handsome young man remained expressionless. He gently lifted his fingers, and the rich, ghostly energy flowing from his palm flowed out the window like silk, wrapping around the hilt. A few seconds later, the dagger appeared intact in his palm. He looked apologetic and whispered, "Sorry, my hand slipped."
Sang Qiqi: “…”
Zhang Lin: “…”
Taoist priest:"……"
The atmosphere at the scene was silent for a few seconds. Sang Qiqi decisively turned around and used the so-called hand slip as a threat: "Did you hear me? If you don't tell the truth, I'll keep slipping."
Taoist priest:"……"
That guy at least acted, but you really didn't even bother to act.
The Taoist priest gently rubbed the wound at the corner of his eye with a bird's wing. In the end, he still didn't dare to continue to challenge the authority of the three ghosts. He could only speak frustratingly and frustratingly: "I was originally a disciple of Huayang Palace in Jinlin Mountain, and my Taoist name was Baiyuan. After I came down the mountain, I met a good friend. He came from a Taoist temple in Putuo, Wuhua Province, and his name was Qingwan. Although Qingwan was about the same age as me, he was much more capable than me. Later, Qingwan was hunted by an enemy. After killing Qingwan, the enemy used a trick to implicate him. He cast a spell on my soul and sealed me in the body of a bird."
Sang Qiqi noticed the key words in Bai Yuan's autobiography.
Putuo, Wuhua Province, Qingwan.
If Sang Qiqi remembered correctly, this was the senior brother of Taoist Qingcheng in the Meng Zhengxiang case.
Her eyes flickered as she stared at Bai Yuan silently for more than ten seconds, staring at him until he was sweating profusely. Then she raised her hand and slammed the blunt knife on the table. A smile appeared on her pretty face as she asked gently, "Do you think I'm free and am wasting my time here with you?"
Bai Yuan shrank his head.
Sang Qiqi sneered: "If you were really implicated by Qing Wan, how could you be so calm when you mentioned Qing Wan, and even call him a fellow Taoist?"
Or, the so-called involvement is false.
Or, Qing Wan gave enough chips to offset the curse on Bai Yuan.
Anyway, both of the above situations show that Bai Yuan did not tell the truth just now, and even if he did, it was half true and half false.
Bai Yuan hadn't expected Sang Qiqi to be so perceptive. He wanted to keep silent, but he was afraid of the knife. Having his soul ripped out was painful enough, and then being stabbed by a knife again and again—what was the difference between this and a fish on a chopping block?
But if I said...
He may not survive.
"We can make a deal." Duan Sui spoke slowly as his expression changed. His deep voice sounded gentle, like the gentle breeze and drizzle on a spring night, without a trace of aggression. "Tell us the truth about all the answers we need, and we'll release you and your little apprentice. Well... if the chips you offer are enough, we can even help you break the curse. I'm sure it must be very distressing for you, a healthy person, to be forced to squeeze into such a small body."
Bai Yuan's heart was uncontrollably moved.
But he had seen the terrifying scene when this man threw the knife at him before, so he didn't really think this man was harmless. His eyes drifted away, and he said with a stiff upper lip, "Why should I believe you?"
"You can also cast a curse on me." He asked Zhang Lin to go to the storage room and bring out the dying young Taoist priest and throw him in front of Bai Yuan. Duan Sui nodded and said, "I know it's difficult for you to cast a curse on me in your current condition. Then let your little apprentice do it for you. What do you think?"
Bai Yuan was not worried about whether his little disciple, who looked listless, could do the job. He narrowed his bird-like eyes, which were as big as black beans, with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
This man looked like he really wanted to make a serious deal with him.
If he could break the spell and leave, that would be a good thing. But… Bai Yuan folded his wings behind his back and said to Duan Sui, “Do you know how long I’ve been trapped in this narrow container? I’ve sought help from powerful Taoist priests before, but they’ve all failed. Are you sure you can do it?”
Duan Sui's expression remained unchanged: "I can't do that, but Taiwei Sanren from Liuyun Temple on Jiafu Mountain can."
Liuyun Temple on Jiafu Mountain?
Bai Yuan's expression changed slightly.
As Taoist priests, they naturally knew of the fame of the Liuyun Temple on Jiafu Mountain. While Liuyun Temple truly rose to prominence over a hundred years ago, it's still pretty much the same now. Taiwei Sanren is the temple's current foremost expert, so breaking his spell is a piece of cake!
A strong light flashed in Heidou's eyes. He no longer hesitated and said immediately, "I agree to your deal, but if you want to rescue my apprentice, I will let him cast a curse on you."
"nature."
Although he said he rescued the young Taoist priest, Duan Sui actually just gave the young Taoist priest's soul some medicine. He then dragged a corpse from somewhere and roughly moved the young Taoist priest's soul to another place.
Sang Qiqi: “…”
Zhang Lin: “…”
Bai Yuan: “…”
The young Taoist's body was damaged by the backlash of his curse, but the body he was possessing was intact. Feeling a slight stinging pain in his soul, he slowly opened his eyes. When he met the gazes of Sang Qiqi and the others, his face paled and his body suddenly retreated, crashing into the coffee table.
Until Bai Yuan borrowed the beak of the gray-white bird and spoke: "Bai Tong."
The young Taoist priest heard the familiar voice and turned his head sharply. Only when he saw the gray-white bird standing perfectly still did his fear gradually dissipate. Enduring the pain, he climbed up from the ground and bowed to Bai Yuan, respectfully calling him "Master." But when his eyes fell upon the hand that clearly did not belong to him, he froze.
He cast a questioning look at Bai Yuan, but Bai Yuan didn't say much. Instead, he said, "There's a piece of talisman paper with a strange pattern in your Qiankun bag. Take it out and use it on that person."
The wings pointed towards Duan Sui.
Bai Tong didn't understand, but he was very obedient. He found his body that was thrown aside, endured the strange feeling in his heart, and touched the Qiankun bag.
At the same time, Sang Qiqi winked at Duan Sui. Although she didn't open her mouth, her eyes seemed to say it all: Are you really going to let him cast a curse?
Duan Sui blinked: I have a way.
Sang Qiqi frowned: Are you sure?
Duan Sui smiled and quietly made an OK gesture.
Sang Qiqi was still a little worried, but she remembered that Duan Sui had been a ghost from Luofeng Mountain, so he must have some impressive life-saving skills. Furthermore, after spending so much time with Duan Sui, she could sense that he wasn't someone who was conceited and careless... She winked at him again, signaling: If he didn't feel right, he could cancel the contract immediately.
At the same time, she secretly made a death gesture with her right hand.
Duan Sui thought she was really cute, and nodded with a smile to show that he had received it.
Only Zhang Lin had a stern face.
I don’t understand it. I can’t understand it at all.
-
On the bright yellow paper silk that Bai Tong took out from his Qiankun bag, the red runes were so bright that it seemed as if there was rich blood flowing on it, and it also carried a disgusting and uncomfortable fishy smell.
Bai Tong's eyes were calm and he acted quickly.
It was the first time that Sang Qiqi watched an enemy demonstrate their talisman skills with the mentality of a bystander. Bai Tong bit his finger, and the blood from his finger seemed to have some strange attraction. When it fell on the bright yellow paper, it actually awakened the strange symbols on the paper. The symbols flowed on the paper, then slowly floated up in the air. With Bai Tong's angry shout, they smashed towards Duan Sui.
The spell passed through Duan Sui's snow-white shirt, passed through his left chest, sank into his skin and disappeared.
Bai Tong exhaled, and Bai Yuan, who had witnessed the whole thing, reminded him, "The curse has been cast. If you break your oath, you won't be trapped like me, with nowhere to hide. But you will still be constantly pricked by needles. If you don't believe me, you can try it."
"There's no need to try. Let's hurry up." Duan Sui didn't care much about the so-called needle-piercing punishment. He just said, "The spell you cast looks almost the same as the one you were struck by. You have the ability to cast a spell on others, but you can't remove it for yourself?"
With the deal in hand, Bai Yuan naturally did not hide it anymore: "This talisman paper spell is not mine, but a gift from above."
Above, gifts.
Sang Qiqi and Duan Sui exchanged a glance, but didn't ask any more questions. Instead, they brought the topic back to the original question: "Tell me the truth, what exactly is your curse?"
"Most of what I said originally was true. Qing Wan was indeed a fellow Taoist I made friends with. I was also implicated by him, and he did die."
Sang Qiqi believed that Qing Wan was dead.
After all, Qing Cheng had mentioned that his senior brother had been out in the world for several years without any news. At the time, Sang Qiqi had suspected that he might be suffering retribution, and now Bai Yuan had confirmed this fact.
"Daoist Qing Wan somehow angered a very hot-tempered Taoist priest. The Taoist priest looked young, no more than 27 or 28 years old, but he was quite skilled at casting curses. During their duel, Daoist Qing Wan was tricked by the other party. The curse took away Daoist Qing Wan's head, and then replaced it with a wild boar's head."
Sang Qiqi: “?”
I say you Taoists, please don’t be too outrageous.
but--
She couldn't wait to ask three questions in quick succession: "What's the name of this hot-tempered Taoist priest? Is there any contact information? In your opinion, is it possible for me to learn this kind of evil curse?"
No matter how you look at it, this Taoist priest has more prospects than Taoist Master Mingxin!
Bai Yuan: “…”
Seeing Bai Yuan's indescribable expression, Sang Qiqi sighed and said, "Forget it, just continue."
Bai Yuan wanted to open his mouth, but when he thought of Sang Qiqi's expression and enthusiastic inquiries, he didn't know what to say for a moment.
He calmed down, distanced the bird's body from Sang Qiqi, and jumped towards Zhang Lin. He then continued with his wings on his back, "I was right beside Daoist Qingwan when he died. The Taoist saw that we had a good relationship and believed that I was also responsible for the evil that Daoist Qingwan had done. So he stuffed my soul into the body of a passing bird and cast a curse on me, trapping me in this bird's body for the rest of my life."
"But this Taoist priest obviously didn't expect that although Daoist Fellow Qing Wan died, he left me an address. He originally wanted to introduce me to the organization he believed in, but he didn't expect to encounter an accident first. Fortunately, I also successfully came to Jingbei with this body and became a member of the organization. That master told me that as long as I can contribute to the organization, they will help me find the Taoist priest, kill him, and break the curse for me."
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