Chapter 23: Breaking the Greed, Could it be that he wants her to sit on it?
"Don't even think about escaping!"
A thin Taoist priest with a green face rushed into the room. Before he could stand firm, the yellow talisman in his hand flew out and went straight to the female corpse on the bed.
Luo Qingling quickly dodged, staring at Song Yutai, who was also clinging to the wall. Neither of them could understand what was going on. Unexpectedly, as the talisman paper approached the female corpse, it was spread apart by an invisible force, and the yellow talisman instantly dissipated like dust.
What is going on?
Before Luo Qingling and Song Yutai could react, three Taoists, one tall, one short, and one fat, filed in, each holding a magical tool and looking solemnly at the corpse. One of the fat, pale Taoists made a spell and launched a move at the corpse, but the magic was actually bounced back by the corpse's energy, nearly sending the Taoist flying.
"It's bad, it's bad, this time it's really bad!" A tall and a short Taoist priest stood on either side of the fat white Taoist priest, holding out their hands to support him, with cold sweat pouring down their foreheads. The tall, dark-faced Taoist priest looked around and said hurriedly, "What are you still standing there for? Get out of here quickly, the evil spirit has already invaded the female corpse, run!"
Before she could finish her words, Luo Qingling hurried out the door, followed closely by Song Yutai. Although she did want to find the real culprit for the woman who had died suddenly, that didn't mean she could fight the monster alone!
Just as the two stepped out of the threshold, there was a "splash" sound behind them, and something fell into the water.
"This is really the end—"
"Shut up! If you hadn't torn the talisman paper, would this have happened? Hurry up and find a solution!"
The four Taoists argued back and forth, their faces flushed. Just as they were at a loss as to what to do, they saw someone running towards them from a distance, followed by several monks. Luo Qingling squinted his eyes and saw that the person in front looked vaguely familiar.
"Four... Taoist priests, what's going on?" The man supported his hands on his knees and gasped for breath. After a while, he stood up and asked.
He is the virtuous and respected abbot of Xiangshan Temple!
Luo Qingling still remembered this person. It was the monk who took her and Qin Yanheng to see the terracotta warriors that day.
There was only a moment of silence in response to Abbot Dewang, everyone's thoughts were mixed. Seeing this, the abbot sighed and asked again: "That strange thing..."
The black-faced Taoist raised his chin towards the river. Luo Qingling followed his gaze and saw no trace of the female corpse on the wooden planks in the room! The lattice window was wide open at this moment. The river rippled outside the window. The sound of falling water just now -
"The demon possessed the woman and jumped off."
"What?!"
When everyone heard this, they dispersed. Bai Rushue stood in the middle in silence, her eyes fixed on the window from which the female corpse had just jumped.
Abbot Dewang suddenly felt hopeless. He shouldn't have believed the rumors and asked four Taoist priests to perform a ritual. How could a monster appear out of nowhere?
"Now that things have come to this, we'd better ask Prince Rong'an to come and capture him. We... really can't do it!" Qing Rudin wiped the sweat from his forehead, swallowed his saliva and said.
If he hadn't looked carefully at the missing hole on the talisman paper, how could this have happened? Besides, the only person in the capital who could catch monsters with this ability, besides the four Taoist priests, was the only disciple of the founder in the human world - Prince Rong'an Qin Yanheng.
Of course, Qing Rudian and others also wanted to see with their own eyes how capable the legendary little prince was that the master made an exception and accepted him as a disciple.
"Yes, yes, yes, go and invite the young prince over!" The clerks from the Dali Temple hurriedly rode their horses towards the capital.
The ferry crossing on the river is far away from the capital, and it takes half an hour to walk there. It will take some time for Qin Yanheng to get there. The four Taoists were afraid that the monster would return and attack, so they specially drew a formation on the ground and trapped everyone inside the formation. More than ten people talked about how to find the monster. Taoist Bai Rushue claimed that since the female corpse jumped into the river, it would be better to find a few people who can swim and go down to search.
"Old Bai, you're really thoughtful," Chi Ruxue interjected. "Let's not even talk about how deep and vast the river is, and how many people would be needed to search for it. Besides, the female corpse is now possessed by demonic energy and has turned into a corpse demon. Even if we find it, how can someone without Taoist skills capture the demon?"
"Why don't we split up a few boats and row them to the middle of the river to set up our formation..."
Luo Qingling sat aside, thinking quietly. Upon hearing this, he suddenly said, "The corpse demon is not in the river."
By now, she has figured out why the female corpse turned into a corpse demon. It turned out that the four Taoists accidentally released the evil spirit hidden in Xiangshan Temple while performing a ritual. Who knew that the demon was a bloodthirsty one? The female corpse that happened to die by the river was covered in blood, and the evil spirit followed the smell of blood to find her, and then what happened just now happened.
Moreover, according to her dream last night, the woman in the dream turned and disappeared into the mountains after calling for help. Now it seems that she must have transformed into a corpse demon by then. Although Luo Qingling did not dare to conclude that the corpse demon was not in the river, perhaps the corpse demon was just escaping by the river, rather than actually hiding in the river?
"The blood on the corpse hasn't completely dried yet. If the corpse demon lingers in the river for too long, it will inevitably attract fish, just like when everyone discovered the female corpse this morning." Luo Qingling sat cross-legged alone at the edge of the formation, a few arms' distance away from the others. "We don't know what the corpse demon intends to do now, but it certainly doesn't want its body to be eaten by fish, so I suspect it will find a way to come ashore."
"Madam Luo, you're absolutely right." Song Yutai dropped his playful smile and spoke seriously, which actually changed Luo Qingling's opinion of him. Song Yutai nodded in agreement, "Although I don't know much about Taoism, I'm also responsible for investigating cases. If you want to find someone, you have to infer their intentions. Madam Luo, you're doing the right thing."
When everyone heard this, no one responded. The clerk brought by Song Yutai stared at Luo Qingling without blinking, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"You are just a woman. You don't know Taoism and you don't know how to solve cases. How can you conclude that the corpse demon is not in the river with just a few words?" A black-clothed clerk questioned.
“Because she has brains.”
The person behind him spoke in a clear voice with a sarcastic tone.
"Your Highness," the black-clad clerk who had just questioned Luo Qingling heard this and hurriedly stood up with the others, bowing to Prince Rong'an, who had appeared behind them out of nowhere. The clerk was puzzled by Prince Rong'an's sudden appearance, even defending this young lady who had appeared out of nowhere. A few drops of sweat dripped from his forehead, but he dared not utter a word.
Luo Qingling sat up, looking up at the young man approaching gracefully. Qin Yanheng looked the same as he had seen him during the day, dressed in a round-necked red and black brocade robe, though the mutton-fat jade plaque on his collar was missing. It seemed he had returned to the Prince's Mansion and had been summoned out of the palace before he had had time to put it on.
Feeling his gaze, Qin Yanheng glanced at her, then looked at his chest following Luo Qingling's gaze, raised an eyebrow and said nothing.
"Young Prince Qin, what should we do now?" Abbot Dewang walked up to Qin Yanheng and asked with a frown. He only trusted this young prince now and would only listen to his words.
Qin Yanheng didn't respond. He walked straight to the window where the corpse demon had jumped away and carefully examined it. I don't know what he saw, but Qin Yanheng stretched out two fingers to pick up a strand of hair from the window sill. He looked back at the four Taoists with disgust, and said with a slight parting of his lips: "Don't you know how to use tracking magic?"
"This..." Bai Ruxue scratched her head and smiled awkwardly, "I forgot, haha."
“…”
Qin Yanheng closed his eyes secretly, not wanting to talk to this group of troublemakers. Then he took out a piece of talisman paper from his sleeve, drew two gestures on it with his fingers, and threw it into the air. The talisman paper disappeared from everyone's sight.
I guess that should be what Qin Yanheng called "tracking technique".
"I don't know where the corpse demon will come ashore. We must search along the river immediately without delay!" Qin Yanheng turned around and mounted his horse, then stretched out a hand towards Luo Qingling in front of everyone with an expressionless face.
"What for?" Luo Qingling sat there, somewhat confused.
Qin Yanheng glanced in front of him. The place was still some distance away from the horse's head and could still accommodate one person.
Could it be that he wanted her to sit on it too? How could this be so shameful! Luo Qingling looked around silently, signaling Qin Yanheng to restrain himself. There were more than a dozen people around, not just the two of them. If word got out...
"You're the only one who knows where the corpse demon is now," Qin Yanheng said, his words half-finished, but his meaning was clear enough: he simply wanted Luo Qingling to accompany him in the search for the escaped corpse demon. He blinked, glanced around, and continued, "Madam Luo, would you please come with me to find the corpse demon? Do you have any objections?"
"I dare not."
Everyone shook their heads, then lowered their heads and looked at their toes, proving with their actions that they would never spread this matter.
Seeing this, Qin Yanheng's gaze returned to Luo Qingling's face. He smiled and moved his fingers: "Why don't you get on quickly? If your carriage couldn't keep up with my speed, I wouldn't have the mercy to take you with me. When has this Ferghana horse ever carried two people..."
"If the young prince doesn't want to take me, then don't take me. I only know that the corpse demon will hide in the mountains, but I don't know where she is exactly. Why would you take me with you?" Luo Qingling couldn't stand the hypocrisy of this person.
Hearing this, the smile on Qin Yanheng's face disappeared. He tilted his head slightly to look at Luo Qingling, and opened his thin lips but said nothing: Golden Dragon Sword.
If it weren't for the Golden Dragon Sword binding him and preventing him from leaving her more than ten miles away, why would he need to find someone to take her with him? Did he think he had no scandals? Besides, he didn't want anything to be spread about Luo Qingling.
Luo Qingling glanced at his mouth, then smiled gently and imitated him and replied: I won’t go.
Why is she so... so annoying! Qin Yanheng raised his eyebrows and looked back, then sneered, shook his head while sitting on his high horse, then dismounted and walked straight to Luo Qingling, leaning down and whispering, "What do you want to do?"
Luo Qingling was furious when she thought about what happened during the day. She had never expected that the news of her portrait being rejected by Qin Yanheng would spread so far! She said confidently, "You've ruined my reputation. Why should I go with you?"
Huh.
Listen, listen, is this human language? The last time he went to pick her up, he had even specially prepared a veil to cover her up completely. When had he ruined her reputation?
"Unless the young prince explains the matter of the portrait immediately after returning to the capital!" Luo Qingling reminded.
portrait? What a portrait.
Qin Yanheng looked at her suspiciously, his eyes full of confusion. He only remembered that his mother had sent him portraits of a few noble ladies some time ago, but there were no other portraits... Thinking of this, Qin Yanheng's eyes slowly widened, and a smile appeared in his eyes as he looked at Luo Qingling.
"Madam Luo... also sent the portrait to my room?" Qin Yanheng's tone was slightly teasing. Yes, he remembered, it was indeed true.
Unexpectedly, he had completely forgotten about this matter, but he still reminded Luo Qingling.
Seeing the girl's sudden stiff expression, Qin Yanheng's mood brightened. He said, "Don't worry. When I return home, I'll arrest those who spread the rumor and beat them up for three days."
After saying this, he turned around and mounted his horse, not giving Luo Qingling a chance to refuse.
Everyone standing around the two of them pursed their lips tightly when they heard this, not daring to speak. Young Prince Qin's words seemed to be a response to Lady Luo, but in reality, they were giving them a heads-up!
If you dare to spread the news that Lady Luo and I rode on the same horse, I will beat you for three days.
Song Yutai, who was always talkative, shrank his neck, pursed his lips and silently mounted his horse.
Since Song Yutai didn't know any magic, Qin Yanheng ordered Song Yutai to lead the Dali Temple staff to continue investigating the woman's murderer. As for the corpse demon...
Qin Yanheng lowered his eyes to look at the hairy top of his head in front of him, then rode his horse into the mountains. The four Taoists set out in another direction, and the two groups parted ways at the ferry.
Abbot Dewang looked around and felt that it was safer to follow Prince Rong'an than the four Taoists, so he whipped his whip and followed.
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