Ji Fuyao
"What? Are there any other ways?" Si Mucheng pressed.
Zhao Wentian chuckled: "Not a solution, but the orthodox way."
Si Mucheng had absolutely no idea how there were any unorthodox methods for exorcising ghosts.
Zhao Wentian smiled and glanced at Wen Ya, then said to Si Mucheng, "You have no idea, your master is the one who is heretical and unorthodox."
Si Mucheng quickly turned to look at Wen Ya, and seeing that her expression was normal, he was still roaring in his heart: She's still sitting here! Who says bad things to someone's face like that!
Zhao Wentian remained smiling, completely unafraid, and continued, "Only Wen Ya would speak so kindly to those ghosts about their obsessions, and then send their souls away after dispelling those obsessions. People die every day, and if everyone were to act like her, not only would it be a thankless and exhausting task, but the efficiency of exorcising ghosts would also be low. In the long run, how many more evil spirits would emerge?"
"You don't do this?" Si Mucheng asked in surprise.
“We don’t have the ability to see ghosts, so if we can’t see them, we don’t have that much compassion. In the end, what does what those ghosts did in life have to do with us?”
Si Mucheng subconsciously frowned slightly. Although he knew there was some truth to Zhao Wentian's words, the image of the long-tongued ghost hanging on the old house wall and Zhang Wei's dejected appearance inexplicably surfaced in his mind. Those were once living, breathing people, unable to reincarnate because of their attachments; the old saying goes, they died with their eyes wide open. How could allowing them to leave without any regrets not be considered a connection? Because death, in itself, is a regret.
Zhao Wentian could tell what Si Mucheng was thinking just by looking at his expression, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh: "Wen Ya, your disciple is quite like-minded with you."
Wen Ya pursed her lips, showing no reaction to their conversation, as if they weren't talking about her at all. She simply stood up and walked out.
Zhao Wentian glanced back and laughed, "Going to the toilet."
Si Mucheng withdrew his gaze and returned to the previous topic: "So, how did you do it?"
Zhao Wentian twirled the brush in his hand between his fingers, made a gesture, and smiled, "Put it back, place it in the magic array, recite the purification incantation to dispel the obsession in your heart, and then send it into reincarnation. All the souls collected each day are purified in a unified manner. It's simple, brutal, and extremely efficient."
Si Mucheng opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. He turned his gaze back to the window, where Zhang Wei was still standing under the tree, his back slightly bent, as if the hopes he had in life continued to be carried even in death.
The conversation ended there. Zhao Wentian already knew that Wen Ya had been cultivating and traveling for so many years, always using this laborious and thankless method of exorcising souls. She was an exception in this line of work, so he didn't find anything strange about her.
Before we knew it, it was noon, and the teahouse brought out the food.
Wen Ya wasn't talkative, but luckily Si Mucheng was sweet-talking and lively, and in no time he and Zhao Wentian were already on friendly terms. Zhao Wentian really thought this guy was much more interesting than Wen Ya, and wondered where Wen Ya had found such a gem. He held up his teacup and winked at Si Mucheng: "Hey, why don't you come to my Taoist temple? It'll definitely be more interesting than following Wen Ya, what do you say?"
Si Mucheng was internally screaming: She's still sitting here! Who steals someone's boyfriend right in front of them?!
Zhao Wentian continued to tempt him: "My family's Taoist temple is very powerful. Wen Ya also studied here when she was little."
Si Mucheng turned his head in surprise to look at Wen Ya, only to see her drinking soup with her head down, her eyelids lowered, concealing her thoughts.
"Pfft," Zhao Wentian laughed, "Why are you staring at her like that? Are you so afraid of her?"
"Hey," Si Mucheng pleaded, "Brother, stop teasing me!"
Zhao Wentian waved his hand cheerfully, indicating that the matter was over.
The teahouse has two floors, with private rooms on the second floor. After finishing their meal, the three of them went downstairs to leave. Si Mucheng was surprised to find that the first floor of the teahouse was full of people. Because they sell vegetarian meals at reasonable prices, many migrant workers from the surrounding area come here to have lunch.
"I told you this place would be very successful, and sure enough, business is booming now. It's all thanks to me!" Zhao Wentian said smugly, seeing the scene unfold.
Si Mucheng asked in surprise, "Is this teahouse yours?"
Zhao Wentian approached with a smile: "How about it, young master, your family is so wealthy and powerful, would you like to come to my family's Taoist temple?"
Si Mucheng was at a loss for words, feeling utterly overwhelmed. Just as he was about to ask Wen Ya for help, he saw her standing at the top of the stairs, gazing in a certain direction.
Si Mucheng paused for a moment, then followed her gaze to a man sitting in a corner on the first floor eating. The man was wearing a plaid shirt, his hair was neatly styled, and he looked rather sullen while eating.
It's Guo Li.
The teahouse was located near the technology park; in Zhao Wentian's words, it was a hidden gem in the city. However, Si Mucheng hadn't expected Zhang Wei's former team leader to come here for a meal. He scoffed, "Have they done too many evil deeds?"
But how can someone who does evil feel guilty or afraid?
He was about to ask Wen Ya if she had any plans when Wen Ya turned her gaze away expressionlessly and walked straight out the door. Seeing this, Si Mucheng hurriedly followed her out.
Zhao Wentian hadn't given up trying to poach him, and put his arm around Si Mucheng's shoulder: "Hey, really not going to consider it? My family's Taoist temple is on that mountain behind here."
Si Mucheng looked in the direction he was pointing and saw that this place was a development zone, with a bit of a rural-urban integration department feel to it. There were also long, undeveloped mountains around it. Si Mucheng didn't know that there was a Taoist temple hidden in the mountains. He had lived in Qicheng for so many years and he didn't know that.
Zhao Wentian continued, "With your Yin-Yang Eyes, I'd even give you the position of Young Master..."
Seeing that he was starting to talk nonsense again, Si Mucheng was about to speak when suddenly a gust of wind rushed towards him, and Zhao Wentian, who was beside him, reacted even faster. He let go of Si Mucheng, turned around, and dodged the chicken beak that was about to peck his face.
Si Mucheng's eyes widened: "Wen Xiaofeng!"
Zhao Wentian came to his senses and looked at the colorful, arrogant white-feathered chicken, exaggeratedly patting his chest: "Hey, Wen Ya, you need to control your chicken. Wen Xiaofeng, we haven't seen each other for so long, and you're trying to peck me right away."
Wen Xiaofeng ignored her and flew to Wen Ya's shoulder with a single flap of her wings.
Zhao Wentian waved his hand: "Forget it, forget it, adults don't hold grudges against chicks." Then he said to Wen Ya and Si Mucheng, "I'm leaving now."
Wen Ya hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.
Zhao Wentian looked knowing and tilted his head: "Don't worry, I'll ask my old man about your lamp when I get back." He thought for a moment, then added, "If you have some free time, why don't you come up the mountain sometime and let the old man take a look at that magic weapon?"
Wen Ya was most concerned about this matter, and upon hearing this, she nodded and agreed.
Seeing Zhao Wentian leave, Si Mucheng silently breathed a sigh of relief. He walked side by side with Wen Ya for a while, staring curiously at Wen Xiaofeng. Its majestic and proud appearance, with its bright feathers, did not look like it had flown a long distance at all.
Si Mucheng was about to make a joke, but Wen Ya's expression hadn't relaxed since morning. He thought of Zhao Wentian's words and couldn't help but ask her in a low voice, "Are you really planning to use the purification spell to send Zhang Wei's soul away directly?"
Wen Ya's expression softened slightly. She pursed her lips and said, "There's not enough time. The initiative he's seeking isn't in my hands, and it seems there's no solution right now. To prevent 'him' from becoming an evil spirit, we need to send 'him' into reincarnation as soon as possible."
Have you ever used a purification spell before?
“Of course there are,” Wen Ya’s expression turned cold. “Some ghosts become evil spirits directly after they die. Their desires are too great and greedy, and there’s no way to dispel their obsessions, so we can only use formations to refine and dispel them. But Zhang Wei…”
"'He' was just an ordinary person, wasn't he?" Si Mucheng crossed his hands behind his head, turned his back to Wen Ya, and walked backwards, continuing, "'He' was just a somewhat pathetic ordinary person in life, and 'his' obsession was just a trivial matter that was insignificant to others. I can understand it. When an ordinary person dies, what they are thinking about in their final moments is just an ordinary little thing. It's actually a little heartbreaking that they are unwilling to pass away because of such an ordinary little thing."
Wen Ya gave Si Mu Cheng a serious look. Her actions had always been criticized by various schools of Taoism. Indeed, what she did was thankless and arduous, but she still persisted in her own Tao. But she didn't expect that Si Mu Cheng could understand.
"I just feel that only when a person is willing to reincarnate can they be free from worldly ties in the next life." Two pairs of eyes full of longing appeared before her eyes again, and her expression dimmed for a moment.
Si Mucheng seemed to sense something, he stopped and patted her shoulder: "Let's try again, at least so we can have a clear conscience."
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