Chapter 83: Retiring on the 83rd Day I Lied to You, I Died on the Spot. ...
After knowing the truth, everyone was silent for a while.
They were both impressed by the girl's intelligence and worried about her safety. Everyone knew the funeral home was within the village, and the commotion would only attract Li Quan and his group. This was confirmed by the villagers, who were so distracted by the temple fair that they drove away any outsiders.
Mingxin's brows were furrowed so tightly that even the full-sugar milk tea in his mouth seemed tasteless. He swallowed the pearls with a bitter taste. After a long time of holding back, he couldn't help asking, "Is she still there?"
Peng Qiu and Zhang Lin's gazes focused on her. Sang Qiqi paused for a moment before saying, "We've confirmed that Li Quan and his men only have the ghosts of some of the villagers who died in their bags."
In fact, when Sang Qiqi asked about the girl's whereabouts, Li Quan initially claimed she was still hiding in the mines. The other Taoist priest holding the statue scoffed, "Do you think we're stupid? The day we entered Beiqing Village, we thoroughly searched it from head to toe, searching not only for troublemakers but even for wandering spirits. With this sudden incident at the funeral home, it's obvious that the girl is causing trouble. Would we let her go?"
Li Quan and the horse-faced Taoist priest, seeing the truth revealed and Duan Sui's torture before their eyes, trembled and told the truth: "She's dead! We caught her the same day she caused trouble at the funeral home. We had the evil spirits we kept devour her."
The Taoist priest holding the statue noticed Sang Qiqi's suddenly dark expression, as if he had caught her sore spot. He immediately gave a malicious smile and described in detail the scene of her being eaten. "You will never guess how tragic her death was. The evil ghosts we raise are all evil ghosts. Each ghost has dozens of lives on their bodies. After losing their human thinking, they surrounded the girl like vicious dogs, chasing her wherever she ran. First, they bit off the girl's leg. The girl cried in pain, calling your name, asking why you didn't save her--"
Before he could finish his words, a door made of black fog suddenly appeared in front of him.
Duan Sui gently grasped Sang Qiqi's wrist and pulled her behind him. He looked at the Taoist priest with his long eyes, his thin lips curled up in a smile: "From your tone, it seems that you are enjoying this feeling."
The Taoist holding the statue sighed, "What else?"
He hated Sang Qiqi to death. He had never dreamed that Sang Qiqi would disguise herself as Li Quan and come to Beiqing Village to stir up trouble. Their Beiqing Village branch was clearly the fastest-moving branch in the entire Jiuyou Tongshen Society. In a week at most, this deity nurtured by human flesh and blood would be fully formed, and by then, their status within the Jiuyou Tongshen Society would be elevated.
He had been watching other people's faces for so long, and now when it was finally his turn to be the master, Sang Qiqi intervened and destroyed everything he was about to have!
The most hateful thing is that this woman actually wants to sow discord within their Jiuyou Tongshen Society!
The Taoist holding the statue became angrier and angrier. He saw half of Sang Qiqi's face hidden behind Duan Sui. He opened his mouth to describe the scene of the girl being eaten by evil spirits to stimulate Sang Qiqi, but he saw Duan Sui's fingers slightly raised, and the door surrounded by dark ghost fog opened slowly. It was only opened a crack, and a terrible and sharp roar leaked out from it. At the same time, a bloody and murderous breath approached. Within two seconds, a hand with five sharp claws grabbed the door panel with a snap.
Gusts of cold wind blew into the already narrow room, cutting the Taoist's face like a knife. The stinging pain and an unknown fear made his originally sarcastic and sneering expression change instantly.
Duan Sui raised his eyelids slightly, watching the other person's pale face with interest, and chuckled softly, "Since you enjoy it so much, you should try it too."
The moment the words fell, the hand clinging to the black door grasped the collar of the Taoist holding the statue with unexpected speed. Amidst the other's stunned screams, it quickly dragged him inside.
As soon as half of the Taoist's body entered the door, he felt an extremely terrifying and oppressive breath. The horror that came at him made it difficult for him to breathe. He didn't know what he saw, and his body suddenly began to shake wildly. The arm that was about to be pulled into the door suddenly burst out with absolute strength, pressed the door, and struggled desperately, trying to resist the force that was pulling him in.
But it didn't work.
Although Sang Qiqi didn't know what this door was, it didn't stop her from raising her foot and kicking the other person on the butt, kicking the person in.
The ghost who was pulling the Taoist holding the statue obviously didn't expect Sang Qiqi to do this. He watched the Taoist flying past him, paused, and silently closed the door.
But before the door was closed tightly, a scream was clearly heard from inside.
It was clearly the Taoist holding the statue.
Sang Qiqi and Duan Sui's expressions remained unchanged as they listened to the screams. Duan Sui waved his hand, and the mist-shrouded gate vanished silently. He then turned his attention to Li Quan and the others. Having witnessed their companions' fate, even without experiencing what lay beyond that gate themselves, they could already guess it wasn't a good place. Li Quan quickly spoke, "It's not as exaggerated as he said. The whole thing about him calling your name and asking why you didn't save her was fake..."
Of course Sang Qiqi knew this.
The Taoist holding the statue just saw that her expression changed because of the girl's death, so he tried to poke her sore spot to provoke her.
Sang Qiqi glanced at him calmly, "Tell me everything you need to tell me. Tell me everything you know about the Jiuyou Tongshen Society. If you can give me a satisfactory price, I will spare your life and let you reincarnate."
Li Quan's eyes lit up: "Really?"
Sang Qiqi: "If I lied to you, I would die instantly."
Li Quan and the horse-faced Taoist priest couldn't wait to speak. Sang Qiqi threw out a recorder and pressed the record button. After nearly an hour of narration, Li Quan and the horse-faced Taoist priest finished their story with dry mouths and smoke in their throats. Their eyes were full of hope. "Here's all the information we know. I absolutely didn't lie to you."
Sang Qiqi raised her eyebrows and asked, "Are you sure? You know you need to wait in line to be reincarnated in the underworld, right? If I find out you've lied during this time, not only will you lose your chance to be reincarnated, but you'll also be taken to hell to be punished."
Li Quan nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice.
Sang Qiqi looked at him quietly for five seconds, then suddenly raised her lips and said, "Okay."
Then he stepped back and turned away.
At the same time, the black door emitting a terrifying aura reappeared, and the aura in the storage room was plundered crazily. Li Quan and the horse-faced Taoist priest seemed to react suddenly and realized that Sang Qiqi was lying to them. Their faces changed drastically, and they turned around and wanted to run out without caring about anything else for a moment.
But it was too late.
The door opened a crack again, and a ghostly hand pulled the two inside. Duan Sui smiled as he watched them being devoured with hideous fear on their faces. "To be precise, she didn't lie to you. After all, I'm the one who killed you."
Pop.
After the door closed, Duan Sui slowly straightened his slightly wrinkled shirt and brushed off the non-existent dust on his sleeves.
-
Pengqiu and Mingxin stayed at Sang Qiqi's funeral for nearly an hour. During that time, although Sang Qiqi mentioned the organization that Li Quan and others belonged to, she did not mention the name of the Jiuyou Tongshen Society. She told Pengqiu and Mingxin, "If nothing unexpected happens, the authorities will soon report on the situation in Beiqing Village. By then, you will definitely attract the attention of the members of the organization. I suggest that you two pretend to leave Jingbei and return to your own Taoist temple to deal with the issue of the statue's mark."
Mingxin's mind was racing. "You're worried that members of that organization might come knocking on our door and discover that the divine statue marks on Pengqiu and me have been removed long ago. If they wanted to investigate, they'd find out we didn't leave Jingbei during that time. That proves someone must have helped us, and that person is most likely the one who messed up Beiqing Village."
Sang Qiqi nodded.
Mingxin nodded: "I understand. I will return to Liuyun Temple immediately after the news comes out. However..."
Mingxin drew out his words, turning his head and staring at Pengqiu with a half-smile. "According to Boss Sang, this organization is full of Taoists, but we all know that true Taoists can't learn any real skills without a master to guide them. So, fellow Taoist Pengqiu, are you sure there aren't any spies from that organization in your Huanlongtai? Be careful when you go back, or your house will be robbed."
Pengqiu's brows furrowed more and more as Mingxin spoke, but strangely, he did not refute.
Now, Mingxin’s expression could no longer be maintained.
"I stabbed you on purpose, why didn't you argue with me? Is there really something wrong with your Huanlongtai?!"
Mingxin wasn't the only one captivated by Pengqiu's reaction. Sang Qiqi, Duan Sui, and Zhang Lin all turned their gazes to him. The young Taoist priest remained silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating whether to speak the truth. But thinking of the countless villagers who had perished in Beiqing Village, and the unknown girl who had resolutely returned to a dangerous place to seek help, he sighed and spoke truthfully, "Actually, I should have concluded my training and returned to Huanlongtai three years ago, but... I learned of the conflict between Huanlongtai and Liuyun Temple at the exchange meeting, and after my senior brother withdrew from the sect, I gave up."
The simple phrase 'Senior Brother has resigned from the sect' immediately alerted Mingxin. His eyes flickered dangerously over Pengqiu, and his voice was as eerie as if speaking to a ghost: "If I remember correctly, after the incidents at Huanlongtai and Liuyun Temple, only one disciple was expelled from the sect, and that was Sushi, who nearly killed my senior brother. Is your senior brother Sushi?"
Yo.
We are still acquaintances.
Sang Qiqi adjusted her sitting position and placed her palm to the side, resting it on Duan Sui's thigh. Duan Sui looked down, took out a bag of cream-flavored sunflower seeds from a drawer on the side, opened the package, and placed it in her palm.
Sang Qiqi picked up some melon seeds and started eating them.
Pengqiu noticed Sang Qiqi's behavior out of the corner of his eye and was a little shocked for a moment, but he quickly regained his attention and nodded under Mingxin's murderous gaze.
Mingxin: “…”
He dug into his Qiankun bag and pulled out a whisk and several talisman papers, a sort of 'die, you bastard!' But Pengqiu said, "I understand Fellow Daoist Mingxin's anger, but what happened back then was indeed unusual. Senior Brother Sushi has been fond of strange and bizarre spells ever since he began practicing talismans. Although Master had some complaints about this matter, seeing that Senior Brother Sushi had a clear mindset and wouldn't act recklessly, we chose to indulge him."
"I grew up with Senior Brother Sushi, and no one knows his character better than I do. He's straightforward and has a bit of a bad temper, but he absolutely wouldn't lie. After the exchange meeting that day, he told me that the spell he prepared to deal with Fellow Daoist Mingwu wasn't the evil spell he used on the scene, and it seemed his talisman paper had been replaced."
"Are you kidding me?" Ming Xin sighed. "Doesn't your senior brother carry his talisman paper with him? Could it be replaced by someone else?"
"That's indeed the case." Pengqiu's eyes were calm as he whispered, "I know that Fellow Daoist Mingxin might not believe it, but..."
Sang Qiqi raised her hand and interrupted, "Well, Taoist Pengqiu just said that your senior brother voluntarily left the sect, but Taoist Mingxin said that he was expelled. What's going on?"
Pengqiu was stunned for a moment before answering, "After the accident with Senior Brother Sushi and Taoist Fellow Mingwu, Senior Brother Sushi realized he might have been set up, so he asked my uncle to investigate thoroughly, but he disagreed. He said that in all the Taoist temple exchanges over the years, Liuyun Temple has always taken first place, and it's a rare occasion for us, Huanlongtai, to take first place. A win is a win, and there's no need to stir up trouble."
Having said this, Mingxin's eyes almost rolled to the sky.
The whisk and talisman paper in his hand transformed into pillows on the sofa. He kneaded and pressed them vigorously, sneering, "I'm deeply impressed by your uncle-in-law. He's been fanning the flames the entire time. The other Taoist temples couldn't stand it anymore and didn't even bother to disqualify your senior brother Su Shi. They just said we could have another match without the curse. Your uncle-in-law teamed up with a few old judges to refuse no matter what. He even threatened to mock my Liuyun Temple for not being able to afford to lose. The future temple master is both incompetent and narrow-minded!"
Mingxin still remembers that he was as angry as a rabid dog at that time, and he wanted to rush up and bite off the neck of that stupid master uncle with one bite.
Later, it was his senior brother who pulled him back.
"Master's uncle's behavior was indeed questionable." Pengqiu sighed. "Later, not long after returning to the Taoist temple, Master passed away, leaving the position of the head of Huanlongtai Temple vacant. Originally, that position should have belonged to Senior Brother, but the ridiculous thing is that Master's uncle used the exchange competition to assert that Senior Brother Sushi was cruel and ruthless, and his reputation was now tarnished, making him unfit for the position of head of the temple."
Mingxin: “…”
Sang Qiqi: “…”
Sang Qiqi bit off the melon seed shell with a crunch, a look of disbelief on her face. "So the one who's in charge of your Huanlongtai now is your uncle with the conflicting left and right brains?"
Hearing the undisguised disgust in Sang Qiqi's words, Pengqiu pulled his lips slightly in embarrassment and nodded in agreement.
"The other party has been at Huanlongtai for many years, so his status is naturally not comparable to Senior Brother Sushi's. When he made that statement, many of his uncles and aunts sided with him. Senior Brother Sushi felt that they were disgusting, so he simply took the master's relics and asked to leave the temple."
"As for Huanlongtai, they probably thought Senior Brother Sushi's actions were unsightly, so they announced to the public that Senior Brother Sushi was expelled by them."
"Then you'd better not go back to Huanlongtai. Your uncle doesn't sound like a normal person and is quite vicious." Sang Qiqi suggested, "Are there any other powerful Taoist priests around you?"
"I can go find Senior Brother Su Shi."
"That's fine too. Just create the illusion that you're looking for help and avoid any possible detection from those guys."
"Okay, I understand."
After a few more brief conversations, Pengqiu stood up to take his leave. Mingxin watched his back disappear from his sight, curling his lips. Although he didn't say anything, the anger he directed at him seemed to have lessened considerably. Retracting his gaze, he looked at Sang Qiqi and said, "Actually, what I said initially wasn't meant to be directed at him. Of course, I definitely meant to disgust him. Besides that, I really think those Taoists might have come from various Taoist temples."
"Look, there are so many Taoist temples and Taoist priests across the country, it's impossible to count them all. They say they're entering the secular world to gain experience, but it's not impossible that they're actually doing bad things. What's more, there's the exchange of talismans. When they do bad things, they change bodies and no one knows who is who."
"Your concerns are justified," Sang Qiqi praised him. "So I suggest that when you return to Liuyun Temple, go directly to your master, Taiwei Sanren, and don't get too close to other people."
Mingxin was stunned, feeling like he had shot himself in the foot. "Do you think our Taoist temple has it too?"
"That's not the case. I just think that some people in your Taoist temple aren't very smart, so it's not impossible that they could be bewitched."
Mingxin belatedly realized who Sang Qiqi was talking about: "That idiot Yunsheng, right? Don't worry, I'll be on my way. I'll be leaving now."
After sending Mingxin away, Sang Qiqi stuffed the melon seeds back into Duan Sui's hands. Before Duan Sui could bend down to put them in the drawer, Sang Qiqi poked him in the side, her eyes sparkling. "I haven't had time to ask you yet, what's the situation with that door of yours?"
Duan Sui: “…”
I knew Sang Qiqi would definitely be interested.
He explained, "It's like a prison. All the evil spirits caught by Luofeng Mountain over the years have either died or been thrown in there for reformation."
Sang Qiqi let out a long "oh" and then asked darkly, "Have you ever thought about what would happen if one day the gate of your prison was suddenly knocked open by the evil spirits inside?"
"I'm the only one who can open the door. As long as I'm alive, they definitely can't open it. If I die, they'll die with me." Duan Sui stood up, raised an eyebrow at Sang Qiqi, and said soothingly, "So, don't worry."
Sang Qiqi thought to herself that she was no longer worried, but she was becoming envious.
-
On the afternoon of the next day, the public security department of Xizhou City, Yunnan Province, issued a police report about a temple fire in Beiqing Village, which resulted in seven deaths and one serious injury.
Sang Qiqi sprawled on the sofa, skimming through the police report. The gist of it was that the eight Taoist priests in Beiqing Village were actually vicious frauds, committing murder, looting, and other crimes, and their presence in Beiqing Village was ill-intentioned. The night before, there was a suspected internal conflict among the eight priests, with some being beheaded, others stabbed in the kidneys. Only one survived, having just been released from the ICU. As for the temple fire, it was set by a Taoist priest named Li Quan to cover up his crimes.
As soon as this news came out, it immediately caused a sensation across the entire Internet.
[As long as you live long enough, you'll see everything. Eight Taoists fought each other and killed seven of them?!]
[From the village next door, the fire the night before last was so bright that we could see it clearly from our village.]
[So the hauntings in Beiqing Village are related to these Taoist priests?]
[Hmm? Aren't the rumors about Beiqing Village being haunted false? Both Taoist priests @明心@彭丘 have debunked them.]
[The rumor is true, but we're not entirely sure what the situation is. I suspect even the villagers of Beiqing Village haven't figured out what's going on.]
[From the neighboring village, I heard these Taoist priests were recommended by the big boss of Beiqing Village? How is the big boss now?]
[It's unlikely to get any better. I heard nearly a hundred people died in Beiqing Village recently, and it seems they were all killed by these Taoist priests. The boss must be panicking right now :)]
Dai Jianhua is indeed not very calm now.
Although he was a resident of Beiqing Village, he had made a comeback in the past two years thanks to Ning Changsheng's help and had settled in the capital of Yuantie Province, where he had purchased an extremely expensive villa. Living far away, he naturally learned about the news more slowly. He only learned half an hour before the online public opinion erupted that the newly built temple in Beiqing Village had been burned to ashes overnight, and that the Taoist priests inside had been largely wiped out.
He hurriedly opened the bedroom door and went to the study to call the person in charge of Beiqing Village. As soon as the call was connected, before Dai Jianhua could say anything, the other party said, "Boss Dai, what did you tell us when you brought these Taoist priests to the village? You said that building a new temple in the village, and having these powerful masters guarding it, would bring peace to our village."
Of course, the person in charge didn't believe this nonsense, but the other party's arrival did seem insignificant to their village. Besides, Dai Jianhua donated so much money, so he had to give him the face he deserved.
But who could have thought that such a thing would happen just three months later!
Their Beiqing Village has been built from nothing for so many years, but so many people have never died!
Is this what you call bringing peace?
This is clearly a group of troublemakers!
Dai Jianhua knew the other party's anger was justified, so he didn't act like a boss. Instead, he asked in a gentle voice, "So what's going on now?"
"Didn't the internet say it all? The temple burned down, and seven of the eight Taoist priests died... Boss Dai, considering you donated a lot of money to our village, let me remind you, you brought these people here, and now that something's happened... I'm afraid the police will find you soon. Think carefully about how to explain it to them."
After saying that, the phone was suddenly hung up, and only the busy tone rang rapidly in my ears.
Dai Jianhua's face was grim, his fingers gripping the phone tighter, his knuckles turning white from exertion. Leaning back in his executive chair, he took a deep breath, burying his anger and worry deep within him. He then placed the phone in front of him and dialed an unidentified number.
"Hello."
Dai Jianhua seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard the deep, hoarse, and slightly aged voice. He couldn't wait to tell the other party the news he had just learned. Then he hurriedly asked, "Master, what should I do now? The police will probably find me soon. If they ask about Li Quan and his group, what should I say?"
"How do you answer?" The man seemed to sneer and said, "No need to answer."
No need to answer?
What does this mean?
Dai Jianhua couldn't figure it out and was about to ask, but the moment he raised his eyes, he saw a ghost on the glass window. Then, fear filled his pupils, and a ghost hand tightly gripped his throat, and he stopped breathing in an instant.
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